GUAGUA -- Kapampangan artist is currently in the province of Bohol to bring back to their former splendor some of the century-old churches that have been damaged by the earthquake almost three years ago.
Presidential Merit Awardee for Ecclesiastical Art Willy Layug said that he is proud to be part of the effort to bring back the churches to their former glory and contribute to the ecclesiastical art of the said churches in the area.
In Bohol, 21 out of 25 churches is nearly complete but would have to undergo refurbishing not just on the interior furniture but also the once lavish artworks and sculptures as well as paintings that once graced this churches.
Layug is famed for his hyper-realistic style having been schooled in Spain a few years ago. He is back from a refresher trip from Spain just this Holy Week.
The artist is currently doing a painting for one church in Bohol. He added that the paintings will be in fact his first full blown projects outside the genre of sculpture.
He is among the most sought after sculptors in the country today. He now joins the elite rank of four other “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” Filipino awardees, which include musician and composer Ryan Cayabyab, noted liturgist and theologian Dom Anscar Chupungco, OSB, Jesuit composer and Cebu politician-writer Mariano Jesus Diosomito Cuenco and musician Rev. Fr. Eduardo Pardo Hontiveros.
The Kapampangan artist from Betis in Guagua is the first Filipino to up the first ever Filipiniana-inspired altar dedicated to Filipino Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Blessed Pedro Calungsod at the prestigious Pontifico Collegio Filippino.
He has done major retablos including that at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Nueva Ecija, the St. John Cathedral in Lingayen-Dagupan, San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod and Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.
Layug, a presidential merit awardee for his outstanding achievement in Ecclesiastical Art, was also named Outstanding Guaguaeño for sculptor, most outstanding kapampangan for ecclesiastical art and best actor in the 39th Metro Manila Film Festival for “Dukit,” an autobiography of his life as an artist. He is the most accomplished sculptor of his time.