Blast destroys Marcos bust in Tuba

A 20-meter tall bust of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos on a highway in Tuba town, northern Benguet province, was blasted early yesterday by unidentified suspects believed to be treasure hunters.

Police said the blast was powerful enough to destroy the forehead, eyes and nose of the concrete bust.

The Marcos bust is a landmark travellers see when en route to the northern summer resort city of Baguio. Benguet Governor Raul Molintas condemned the incident and said police have initially found out that the blast was the handiwork of treasure hunters.

He said Cordillera police have told him that before the incident, a white van was seen in the area. "If indeed they were treasure hunters, they may have lost their sanity," Molintas said.

The governor, however, could not brush aside long-time talk that there may be treasure in the bust. "Why would someone in his right mind destroy a tourist attraction and a facility that was financed by people's money?" he asked.

Elpidio Gabriel, public information officer of the Cordillera police office, said that investigation by is still going on and could not ascertain what kind of blasting material was used.

The bust that lies along Marcos Highway overlooking the Lingayen Gulf was erected by the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) in the 1970s despite protests from tribal Ibalois who resided in the area but were "displaced" to give way for the bust, a PTA building and a mini-golf course.

The bust is located on the ancestral lands of Ibaloi settlers, who claimed the PTA acquired the land illegally.

Last year, a court in Benguet ordered the PTA to return the lands to the Ibalois.

Pablito Sanidad, chairperson of the Free Legal Assistant Group said in a statement that many groups had contemplated blasting the bust since Marcos was ousted by an uprising in 1986.

Sanidad said the destruction was uncalled for.

"The destruction of the Marcos bust is very unfortunate. It served a valuable purpose," Sanidad said.