Still no complaint over Rizal Park art theft – MPD

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Police District (MPD) has yet to receive a formal complaint for the theft of the P500,000 bronze sculpture that went missing from Rizal Park last month, an official said yesterday.

Chief Inspector Francisco Vargas told The STAR the lack of complaint is one of the stumbling blocks in the investigation.

“What will you solve if you don’t have a complaint?” he asked.

The artwork of Juan Sajid Imao was reported missing from the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) garden in Rizal Park on Oct. 19.

The artwork was donated eight years ago, before Imao, an award-winning sculptor, was diagnosed with retinis pigmentosa, a disease that causes eventual blindness. Imao is also a son of National Artist Abdulmari Imao.

Vargas said the theft was likely an inside job as the sculpture stands about four feet tall and weighs 80 kilos – it is unlikely for the sculpture to be stolen from the garden of the AAP without anyone noticing it. Only those who know the real value of the Imao piece will take an interest in it, he added.

Despite the absence of a complaint, investigators have gone around Manila’s junk shops in an effort to find the sculpture. The search, however, proved futile.