‘156 paintings hard to recover from Marcoses’

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) admitted yesterday it would be very difficult for the government to recover all the 156 paintings allegedly collected by the Marcoses during the dictatorship as these were concealed by family members and close associates, officials said yesterday.

PCGG chairman Andres Bautista said only 12 of the 156 paintings have been located so far.

In a radio interview, Bautista said there are 300 masterpieces allegedly acquired by the Marcoses using public funds; half of these have been auctioned off in 1991.

PCGG Commissioner Ma. Ngina Teresa Chan-Gonzaga said of the 12 paintings, four have been located in New York City, while eight are still in the possession of former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos in her different residences in the Philippines.

“It is possible that the originals were passed on to others or given to trusted associates for safekeeping,” Bautista said, adding rich families with expensive paintings only display replicas of their collections.

The Sandiganbayan Special Division last Monday issued a writ of preliminary attachment ordering the seizure of the eight paintings namely, LaBaignade Au Grand Temps by Pierre Bonnard (acquisition cost at $52,500); Madonna and Child by Michelangelo Buonarroti ($3.5 million); Vase of Red Chrysanthemums by Bernard Buffet (no available data on acquisition cost); Still Life With Idol by Paul Gauguin ($1,000,500); Portrait of the Marqueza de Sta Cruz by Francisco De Goya ($800,000); L’Aube by Joan Miro (8,000 pounds); Femme Couchee VI (also known as Reclining Woman VI) by Pablo Picasso ($45,100); and Jardin de Kew pres de la Serre 1892 by Camille Pisarro ($420,000).

The other four paintings located in New York are the Le Cypres de Djenan Sisi Said (or Algerian View) by Albert Marquet (acquisition cost  $67,500); L’Eglise et la Seine a Vetheuil by Claude Monet ($138,800); Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge by Claude Monet ($791,800); and Langland Bay by Alfred Sisley ($200,000).