Bonaficio statue suffers at the hands of vandals.

Manila: Not even a revered landmark as ubiquitous the statue of hero Andres Bonifacio has escaped victimisation by crooks in the capital.

According to reports, a television reporter was covering a story on the occasion of the 114th anniversary of the birth of the hero last Sunday when he noticed several items missing from the statue - a landmark in the national capital.

Abner Mercado, a reporter for the ABS-CBN network was doing a documentary on the site of Bonifacio's statue in the Arroceros district when he noticed the absence of objects that were integral to the statue.

Among the pieces missing were brass versions of Bonifacio's "itak" - a local version of the machete - and his revolver.

Manila city officials expressed outrage over the incident. "You would not expect such items would be taken from such a revered figure as Andres Bonifacio," Manila sixth district councillor Maria Lourdes Isip said, adding such an act could be considered "sacrilege" on the part of nationalists.

Investigation ordered

She said people come and go near the monument and had it not been for Mercado's news report, the incident would have gone unnoticed by the public.

The City government, on orders of Mayor Alfredo Lim, had ordered an investigation into the incident, Isip said.

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