MANILA—Fifteen sculptors from the woodcarving district of Betis have opened their 16-day exhibit at the Manila Cathedral on Monday to help raise funds in sustaining the Dukit Festival in the Guagua town of Pampanga.
Running until April 8, the exhibit “Sacred Arts of Betis” sold three works on opening day, according to the organizers Betis Dukit Heritage Foundation Inc. (BDHFI) and the Manduquit Anluagi ning Santa Ursula (MASU).
The proceeds will be contributed to support the street dancing and on-the- spot-woodcarving competitions that have been held under the auspices of the St. James the Apostle Parish in Betis since December 2012, according to Ester Beltran, BDHFI treasurer.
Willy Layug, recipient of the Presidential Merit Award for Ecclesiastical Art and founder of MASU, gathered the artists who agreed to time the exhibit for Lent to express their belief that “arts and faith go together.”
The artists and their works on exhibit are Alberto I. Pangilinan (Jesus), Jeffrey Rubio (Pagtanggap sa Krus), Rhen Layug (Matthew 11:22-33), Russel Pangilinan (Sentesiado), Edwin Layug (Ecce Homo), Nicolas “Nick” Lugue (Jesus Cautivo), Francisco G. Sibug (Resurrection), Alexander Bisda (Sto. Niño), Rozaldo Franche (Mother Teresa and Child), Luisito S. Cayanan (Cristo Rey, Creation of Man), Harold G. Aguilar (Dolor), JimWel Pinlac (Dolor), Gaspar Sibug (La Pieta), Ardie De Dios (Dolorosa, Kristo) and Willy T. Layug (Salvator Mundi). The prices of their works range from ₱110,000 to ₱600,000.
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, who was born and raised in Betis; Monsignor Rolando de la Cruz, rector of the Manila Cathedral; and Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral of the Department of Public Works and Highways blessed and inaugurated the exhibit at the Blessed Souls Chapel.
In his speech, Cardinal David noted the Kapampangan connection to the Manila Cathedral as he welcomed the Betis artists. He said the first Kapampangan Cardinal, Rufino Santos, oversaw the restoration of the building after World War II. Architect. Fernando Ocampo and his Kapampangan artisans reconstructed the structure while art and heraldy master Galo Ocampo of Sta. Rita town made the stained-glass windows.
De la Cruz said the Manila Cathedral is honored in hosting the exhibit and in supporting the Dukit Festival, also expressing hope that the works will “lead to the worship of the Divine.”
The BDHFI, Don Honorio Ventura State University and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) have been giving woodcarving and clay modelling lessons through Layug among inmates in the BJMP Guagua jail out of the seed money donated by Cardinal David. #
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