Seven of the 32 murals of local sportsmen at the Baguio athletic bowl have been vandalised.
“It is bound to happen,” said a sad artist Ged Alangui, who inspected the walls as he is about to start the final push for the Heroes Wall of Fame Mural Project at the wall of the 78 year old sports facility.
“It is expected for any Mural anywhere in the world, so we have to restore it,” said Alangui whose works were not spared.
Three of Alangui’s 10 works have been vandalised including that of car racer Carlos Anton, wushu taolu’s Daniel Parantac and volleyball player Majoy Baron.
Gladys Labsan’s 12 works at the bleachers that were vandalised include wushu master Tony Candelaria, the late journalist Narciso Padilla and the late world boxing champion Roberto Cruz.
Padilla’s vandal had his lips “sealed” with a white paint.
Apparently the vandal knows the sportsmen vandalised, summed Alangui with Padilla’ s mouth sealed. Padilla is a former radio and television broadcaster and a one time city councilor who worked to have athletes recognised and given rewards.
Cruz is the first and only boxing world champion who ruled the World Boxing Council light welterweight division in 1962.
Harold Banario’s work vandalised is joduka Helen Dawa.
It is the second work of Banario that was defaced after former wushu sanda player Mark Eddiva which was vandalised by a mentally challenged in June last year before the 32 sportsmen second phase of the Mural Project was finished.
Alangui is set to start the last phase or the “Final Push” anytime soon with four wushu taolu players – John Keithley Chan and the siblings Karizha and twin brothers Justin and Dustin Chan.
He is also expected to do the faces of the late Dr. Charles Cheng and journo Ramon Dacawi. Pigeon Lobien