P.5-M sculpture stolen from Rizal Park

MANILA, Philippines - A bronze crown sculpture valued at P500,000 was stolen from the garden of The Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) in Rizal Park.

AAP president Fidel Sarmiento discovered that the work of multi-awarded sculptor Juan Sajid Imao had been missing while taking photographs in the Kanlungan ng Sining (Artists’ Haven) garden on Saturday. 

Sarmiento was working on the photo database of AAP’s website when he noticed that one of the eight sculptures in the garden was gone.

“When I pointed my camera at where the sculpture was supposed to be, there were only plants,” he said.

The exact date as to when the sculpture went missing is not clear.

 Sarmiento and Kenneth Montegrande of the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) surmised that it was during the time when the gardens underwent landscaping.

“We don’t know yet if it was taken to be sold to a collector or for scrap,” he said. “We are calling on those who may receive the sculpture to return it.”

The sculpture is about four feet tall and weighs about 80 kilos. Imao donated it to the park about eight years ago, before he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that causes eventual blindness.

Imao is a son of National Artist Abdulmari Imao.

Sarmiento is hoping that Imao’s work had not yet been sold to junk shops.

Montegrande said they have already tapped the Manila Police District to help them and are already coordinating with the contractor responsible for the renovation.