Polytechnic University of the Philippines

70-year-old Rizal sculpture restoration completed, unveiled at the NALLRC

Gary Musa, News, Department of Humanities and Philosophy

The two-year-long restoration of the Rizal statue, estimated to be more than 70 years old, was unveiled in a heritage ceremony held at the Ninoy Aquino Library and Learning Resource Center (NALLRC) on December 16, 2024.

The refurbished Rizal statue that stood for a long time in the former PUP Lepanto campus has found its temporary home at the University Library and Learning Resources Center of the PUP Mabini Campus.

Rizal’s journey—from rubbles to independence
Assoc. Prof. Leonardo Dela Cruz, who is also a PUPian artist, spearheaded the rebuilding of the statue, all the way from its former location in the former PUP Lepanto (which is now the PUP Rizal Campus) to its transient installation at the University Library.

According to Dela Cruz, he stumbled upon Rizal in a social media post by Raq Esquerra on July 11, 2022. Esquerra took a photo of Rizal and uploaded it on Facebook, gaining public engagement. The statue was said to be found inside the compound of the former place of Philippine College of Commerce in Lepanto, Manila, the old name and place of PUP. During that time, there was an ongoing construction of the Manila campus extension, which is now the newly built PUP Rizal Campus.

On the next day of July 12, 2022, Dela Cruz immediately went to Lepanto to see Rizal on the spot. The statue had a lot of obvious defects and damage. Hands were missing, part of the head and neck were shattered, the cement was already eroded, and the overall paint color was waning.

The finding of the Rizal statue deserted in the mess of the ongoing construction project was then reported to the construction contractor since the figure was an actual University heritage. Thereafter, Rizal’s journey to restoration then began. PUP’s Center for Heritage Studies was one of the offices initiating support for the project.

Kicking off the restoration initiative
On November 2022, the University Cultural Heritage Committee of PUP was formed, primarily aiming to preside over the official process of restoration and lead dialogue and linkages to fund the transport and reparation of Rizal, until its future homecoming to the PUP Rizal Campus. The restoration project helped gain momentum through the help of the offices of the Center for Humanities and Philosophy under the Research Institute for Culture and Languages. Various external organizations such as Constantino Foundation’s Subcommittee on Visual Arts also helped realize the project.

Reflecting the restoration initiatives, a seminar-workshop on cultural mapping and heritage was held on May 29-30, 2023, at the Claro M. Recto Hall. The workshop also covered the importance of the preservation of cultural artifacts and trained the participants on the relevant steps in the art mapping and restoration work, including the statue of Rizal.

By July 2023, Rizal was successfully transported from Lepanto to PUP Mabini Campus Library, serving as a guard for 1 year and 4 months before being handed to an artist who would do the restoration work.

On November 11, 2024, Rizal was brought to the University of the Philippines, at the studio of the artist Raul Funilas, also known as Tata Raul. He worked on Rizal in his studio for 16 days. After a successful job, Rizal was returned to the Library on December 11, 2024, covered, until its unveiling on December 16, 2024.

Rizal’s Heritage Value in PUP
According to Dela Cruz, Rizal has been a usual symbol of history; and as a statue, a witness of history. Said to be created in the midst of the American Occupation which officiated the popularization of the sculpturing of Rizal figures and monuments, the maker of the statue is an unknown artist believed to be doing public works.

The sculpture metaphorically witnessed the long history of PUP—when PUP was still the Philippine School of Commerce in the 1940s, becoming the Philippine College of Commerce in 1952, until it became the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 1978. The more than 70 years of Rizal’s statue literally and figuratively embodies the rich social history of the people, especially the community of academic institutions that also uphold Rizal as an important icon of education.

The uncovering of Rizal coincided with the 120th year of PUP, deepening its emblem in the educational history and artistic culture of the University. Rizal’s journey will culminate when it returns to its original home, in the new PUP Rizal Campus in Lepanto.

The restored Rizal Sculpture is open to the public. Please register at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYDOaJtXDnMHaSNWZLUn6pMmGAaYg6MkLJmnbanO21BIDdgA/viewform

70-year-old Rizal sculpture restoration completed, unveiled at the NALLRC
_{Renewed Rizal guarding the library; receiving flowers on the Rizal Day of December 2024.}

_{(1-4, Above) Rizal when found on the spot in the midst of ongoing construction in PUP Lepanto.

(5, Above, right) Restoration artist Tata Raul ready to transform the symbolic icon in PUP and Philippine History.}

70-year-old Rizal sculpture restoration completed, unveiled at the NALLRC
_{Some members of the PUP’s Heritage Committee who led the Rizal Restoration Project.}