The “Mango Harvesters” painting by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo was recovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after it was stolen from the Hofileña Museum in Negros Occidental’s Silay City last week.

Silay police chief, Colonel Mark Anthony Darroca, said the NBI conducted an entrapment operation that resulted in the arrest of two individuals in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, on Thursday night, July 11, for allegedly selling the stolen painting for only P3.5 million.

Meanwhile, the National Museum of the Philippines, in a statement yesterday, said they received the artwork from NBI for assessment.

The museum said the painting was indeed the stolen masterpiece.

“We look forward to the return of ‘Mango Harvesters’ to its rightful owners and home at the Hofileña Museum, and to the successful prosecution of all persons who were involved in the theft of this valuable piece of the nation’s cultural and artistic heritage,” it said.

Earlier, the Hofileña Museum reported that the painting was discovered missing after a group of tourists visited the museum on July 3.

Silay police said one of the two suspects who stole the “Mango Harvesters” painting was identified by a pedicab driver.

The driver’s description of the male suspect matched the mugshot of one of their persons of interest.

The pedicab driver transported them to the city public plaza after the incident.

The stolen painting, titled “Mango Harvesters,” valued at millions, was owned by the Hofileña family.

It was one of Amorsolo’s early works in 1936, measuring 12 by 18 inches, and was displayed on the second floor of the museum./WDJ