SAF44 mural now at Coconut Palace

The mural of the slain 44 Special Action Force commandos removed from its original place at the Philippine National Police Academy in Silang, Cavite, can now be seen at the ground floor of the Coconut Palace, the official residence of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

 

In a text message to GMA News Online Thursday, Joey Salgado, Binay’s spokesperson, said the 26-foot artwork was installed on Tuesday.

 

The mural was pulled out from the PNPA in April because it allegedly upset higher ups because visitors and cadets were having selfies with it as background, he said in an earlier interview. 
 

He said they borrowed the mural as a backdrop during the ‘true’ State of the Nation Address of Binay on Monday.

‘Tagaligtas 44’

 

A press statement from the Office of the Vice President said the mural called "Tagaligtas 44" and an 18-foot war monument dubbed "Bantayog Tagaligtas: Heroic 44" were installed in the PNPA in Silang, Cavite on March 14, the annual homecoming of the alumni, with Binay as special guest.

 

The artworks are owned by Erehwon Artworld Corp and were completed by a group of Quezon City artists 40 days after the SAF 44 were killed by suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Mamasapano.

 

The mural was finished in three weeks by Professor Grandier Gil Bella (head artist); Jerico De Leon; Professor and former UP Fine Arts Dean Leonilo “Neil” 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.

 

Professor and Dr. Reuben Ramas Cañete of the Asian Center, UP Diliman was asked by Erehwon to advise the artists in conceptualization and design. 

 

The mural depicts SAF 44 members as a relief portrait on a monolithic pedestal while the logos of the Philippine National Police and the SAF form separate "defensive shields" at its bottom front. A funerary statue composed of empty boots, an upturned M-16 rifle, and a beret emblazoned with a SAF seal adorns its topmost part.

 

It also depicts each of the fallen heroes, in full combat gear and in various unit configurations. The commanding officers and senior inspectors are shown in front, middle-ranking patrolmen are in the middle, and junior-ranking patrolmen are at the rear.

The SAF 44 men

 

Binay, in his address Monday, hit President Benigno Aquino III for not mentioning the SAF 44 men in his State of the Nation Address last week. 

 

"Sa Mamasapano, apatnapu't apat ang nagbuwis ng buhay. Nguni't kahit pahapyaw, hindi nabanggit ang kanilang kabayanihan sa SONA. Kahit T.Y. ay wala,” he said.
 

Binay named each and every SAF 44 men in his address and described them as "Mga taong tumupad sa kanilang sinumpaang tungkulin, mga taong nag-alay ng kanilang buhay, mga taong tunay at tapat na Pilipino."

 

To the men, Binay said, "Nagpapasalamat at sumasaludo ang bayan sa inyo. Mabuhay ang SAF 44.”

 

But the widows of the slain police officers asked politicians not to use the death of their loved ones for their personal interests.

 

“Tumulong na lang po siya makamit namin ang hustisya, huwag lang puro salita. Hindi kasi nakakatulong sa pagkuha namin ng hustisya kung gagamitin lang nila kami para siraan ang isa't-isa,” said Rachel Sumbilla, widow of PO3 John Lloyd Sumbilla.

 

Aside from Sumbilla, other slain SAF commandos were:

 

—KG, GMA News