Charles Teves
Former PCGG commissioner Andy Bautista said the Picasso piece spotted in the living of convicted plunderer Imelda Marcos could be worth around P8 billion.
Netizens first noticed the Femme Couche VI in the photos of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s visit to his mother.
The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan wanted the painting seized in 2014. However, the agency only confiscated a replica.
“Personally I know that what we seized was a fake, it was a tarpaulin so it’s still with them,” former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) chairperson Andres Bautista told Rappler in a phone interview.
Under Bautista, the PCGG was able to retrieve 15 paintings from a Marcos home in San Juan.
In a sit-down with Teleradyo, Bautista said the one in Imelda’s home could sell for $155 million.
“Ang pinakamahalagang painting ni Picasso ay naibenta ng $155 million. So more or less mga P8 billion ang isang painting na ito,” he said.
“Now siyempre hindi natin alam kung anong kalidad ‘no, anong klase ‘no pero talagang ito si Pablo Picasso, isa sa mga talagang Masters and talagang napakahalaga nitong painting na ito,” he added.
He was shocked to see the painting in the photos. He said there are more paintings to be confiscated from the Marcos family.
“I left PCGG in 2015. Pero nung pag-alis ko dyan, ang naaalala ko, is that meron pang 156 paintings na missing na kailangan pang habulin,” he said.
He’d like to see the PCGG be more persistent in going after the Marcos family’s ill-gotten wealth.
“Sana bigyan ng pansin ng mga namumuno ngayon ng PCGG, ng ating Office of the Solicitor General, kunin na natin ‘tong painting na ‘to habang meron pang panahon.” he said.
“At maliban dyan Johnson, alam mo yung mga alahas na nakabinbin…napakahalaga nung mga alahas na ‘yan. At yang mga alahas na yan ay again pag-aari ng taumbayan kung kaya’t dapat nating protektahan at siguraduhin na ang mga alahas na ‘yan at kung yan man ay ibebenta ay dapat ibalik ang nakaw na yaman na ‘yan sa ating kabang bayan,” he furthered.
👉🏻 @TheNewPCGG pic.twitter.com/GDrbZCUqCq
— Andy Bautista (@ChairAndyBau) May 11, 2022
In the “Kingmaker” documentary, Imelda briefly talked about the painting, saying that the patriarch told her that “you know how to spend money properly because you buy beauty.” Authorities didn’t find the piece during their 2019 raid of Imelda’s home in Makakit City.
The World Bank-United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Stolen Asset Recovery claims the Marcoses plundered $10 billion during the late dictator’s reign.
