SAF mural now hangs in office of VP Binay

MANILA, Philippines - The 26-foot mural honoring the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers slain in an encounter with Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25 now hangs at the Coconut Palace in Pasay City where Vice President Jejomar Binay holds office.  

The mural was installed on a wall at the ground floor of the Coconut Palace so that all visitors could see the artwork, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said in a statement yesterday.

Binay used the mural as backdrop when he delivered his “true state of the nation address” at the Cavite State University (CvSU) in Indang last Monday where he paid tribute to the slain SAF members.

The OVP quoted a source as saying President Aquino ordered the mural removed from the wall of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) allegedly because visitors were taking photos or “selfies” with the mural.

But Malacañang yesterday denied that the Office of the President had something to do with it or that Aquino ordered its removal.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.confirmed that the mural of the 44 slain SAF commandos at the PNPA was removed but it was replaced by a statue that was built in their honor.

“There is no basis or truth to reports that the Office of the President has anything to do with the mural,” Coloma said in Filipino, adding that the Erehwon Center for the Arts that owns the mural had to “put it out” because there was no museum at the PNPA.

“The owner, Erehwon Art Center, took the mural after they observed that there’s no appropriate place for it and there is no museum in the police camp,” Coloma said.

He said retired police general Ricardo de Leon, who heads the Philippine Public Safety College that supervises the PNPA, reported that a monument to honor the gallantry of the SAF 44 was erected inside Camp Mariano Castañeda in Silang.

Aquino had been criticized for not mentioning the slain SAF commandos in his sixth and last State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City last July 27.

In his speech at the CvSU last Monday, Binay recited the names of all 44 slain police officers whose faces were printed on a mural placed on stage.

“In Mamasapano, 44 officers gave up their lives for the country. But their heroism was neither acknowledged nor mentioned in the SONA. They did not even get a TY (Thank you),” Binay said.

The mural titled “Tagaligtas 44” was painted over three weeks by professor Grandier Gil Bella, Jerico de Leon, professor and former University of the Phiippines Fine Arts dean Leonilo Doloricon, Camille dela Rosa, Lourdes Inosanto, Jonathan Joven, Othoniel Neri, Emmanuel Nim, Eghai Roxas and the late Dario Noche of the Erehwon Center for the Arts. – With Delon Porcalla