NBI nabs forger of works by Edades, Tabuena

Works of famous Filipino painters Romeo Tabuena and Victorio Edades have allegedly been forged and sold to art dealers, according to the National Bureau of Investigation-National Capital Region (NBI-NCR). 

 

The NBI-NCR arrested former customs police Ramil Granada during an operation against selling of fake paintings, John Consulta reported on GMA News TV's "State of the Nation" on Tuesday night.

 

An original artwork by Tabuena or Edades, a national artist for painting, ranges from P1 million to 2 million. The fake works were sold for only P50,000 to art dealers.

The modus of the suspect involved presenting a fake certification of authenticity to potential buyers and issuing a manager's check.  

The manager's check supposedly serves as a guarantee in case the client wanted to back out from the purchase of the painting and request a refund.

However, transactions usually happened at the end of the week so the victims wouldn't easily find out that the account has no funds. 

 

According to the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Granada's arrest is the second case of fake painting sale in four weeks.

 

In a phone interview with NCCA's spokesperson Atty. Trixie Angeles, she reminded, "When works are forged, not only do we deprive the families or the artist himself of potential income; it degrades his work."

 

Iloilo-born Tabuena is a neorealist Filipino painter. Almost monochromatic watercolors and dark oil paintings are some of his signature works. His major works also include a government-commissioned mural called Filipiniana at the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. in 1957. 

 

Edades of Pangasinan is the Father of Modern Philippine Art.  He challenged Fernando Amorsolo's classical style.

His work The Builders in 1928 that  showed construction workers covered in grime and dirt is the first known Modernist painting in the Philippines. He was named National Artist for Painting in 1976. 

 

Atty. Efren Meneses, director of NBI-National Capital Region, said that they are already have a follow-up operation to trace the source of the fake paintings. NBI is also calling on the Granada's victims to come out and file a case against the suspect.  —Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News