GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Filtered By: Lifestyle
Lifestyle
‘Tagaligtas 44’: Painting honoring Mamasapano fallen unveiled
A portion of 'Tagaligtas 44'
Measuring 7 feet by 26 feet, the painting is intended to pay “a lasting tribute” to the slain members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP SAF), said Rafael Benitez, founder of the Erehwon Center for the Arts in Quezon City.
“The artists of the Erehwon Center for the Arts have produced a mural and a monument in honor of the SAF 44. Years from now, the public should remember their deaths. Their deaths should continue to serve as an inspiration to young men and women who join the police force to serve with the ideals of honor and duty,” said Benitez.
The project was undertaken in collaboration with the PNP and will be installed at the PNP Academy (PNPA) in Silang, Cavite, before March 14, Benitez said.
PNPA Director Police Chief Supt. Armando E. Ramolete will lead the formal dedication ceremonies for the artwork.
Erehwon Arts Collective head artist Grandier Gil Bella (left) with NCRPO Senior Supt. Gilbert D.C. Cruz at the unveiling.
Cruz provided guidance and technical advice to the group of artists, formally known as the Erehwon Arts Collective, that executed the mural.
Cruz said “the heroic deeds of the police force must not stop with the deaths of the SAF 44.”
“Let the deaths of the SAF 44 be a reminder and a lesson to all Filipinos that there are Filipinos willing to die for all Filipinos,” said Cruz. “We must stop the blaming and the fault-finding.”
Monument
According to Erehwon curatorial consultant Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete of the University of the Philippines' Asian Center, an 18-foot monument called “Bantayog Tagaligtas: Heroic 44,” is being crafted by a team led by visual artist Jose Giroy, an apprentice of National Artist Napoleon V. Abueva.
Giroy, in another interview, said the monument he is sculpting is “a war memorial depicting every member of the SAF 44 in a relief portrait on a monolithic pedestal.”
The logos of the PNP and the SAF form separate “defensive shields” at monument’s bottom, he said.
“A funerary statue composed of empty boots, an upturned M16 rifle, and a beret emblazoned with the SAF seal adorn the monument’s topmost part,” Giroy said.
A visual representation of the monument is also on display at the Erehwon Center for the Arts.
Three roses
At the unveiling were PNP and PNPA officials represented by Cruz and Police Senior Superintendent Neil B. Alinsangan, PNPA commandant of cadets as well as Jesus Varela, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI), which financially supported the monument "Bantayog Tagaligtas: Heroic 44."
PNPA 2015 valedictorian Cadet First Class Dennis M. Yuson Jr. (right) and Cadet First Class Kenneth F. Lumbre, the sixth-ranked cadet of the same graduating class, were among the very first ones who were able to view the work.
In a separate interview, UP Diliman Fine Arts Prof. Grandier Gil Bella, the collective's head artist, said the 10-member team was under pressure to finish the work before the March 14 PNPA homecoming. Work on "Tagaligtas 44" started on Feb. 21.
“The team wanted to present the SAF 44 using loosely the imagery of Elysium,” said Bella, referring to the ancient concept that either denotes “a place or state of perfect happiness” or “the place at the ends of the earth to which certain favored heroes were conveyed by the gods after death.”
Bella, however, was quick to emphasize that in this case, “the Tagaligtas mural presents the SAF 44 in a state of grace or an extremely relaxed situation.”
“We worked hard to convey the imagery of the SAF 44 members in a happy pose or disposition, not the worried or anxious warriors. While we knew that the operation ended tragically, we want to capture the imagery of the SAF 44 as peace-makers,” Bella said.
“We are hoping that generations of Filipinos will remember the SAF 44 as peace-makers at their glorious moment. They were individuals who had unique stories behind them,” he added. “One of them died carrying three roses he wanted to give to his girlfriend. Another died sending SMS to his wife requesting for a P100 load. Each of them had a story to narrate.”
The painting shows each member of the SAF 44 in full combat gear, with the commanding officers and senior inspectors in front, the middle-ranking patrolmen positioned in the middle, and the junior-ranking patrolmen at the rear.
The SAF motto “Tagaligtas” is emblazoned across the top portion of the mural.
Led by Bella as head artist, other members of the team are: Jerico De Leon, former UP Diliman Fine Arts Dean Leonilo Doloricon, Camille dela Rosa, Lourdes Inosanto, Jonathan Joven, Othoniel Neri (assistant head artist), Emmanuel Nim, Dario Noche (head researcher and photo documentor), and Eghai Roxas. — BM, GMA News
Before its transfer to the PNPA in Cavite, the painting can be viewed at the Erehwon Center for the Arts (294-5286) at No. 1 Don Francisco Street, Villa Beatriz, Old Balara, Quezon City. with telephone numbers.
LOADING CONTENT
