LOST PAINTING #1. Three Women (2009). 29.5 x 40 inches. Acrylic on canvas.

MANILA, Philippines - Two paintings of National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera were stolen while in transit from a gallery in Los Angeles to Singapore last week.

Cabrera said the two acrylic on canvas paintings were part of a series of 9 pieces that he did for an exhibition of the AndrewShire Gallery in Los Angeles. He said all the paintings were sold and that the 2 stolen paintings were the last to be shipped by the gallery owner.

"Someone bought [the 2 paintings] and the gallery was sending it from LA to Singapore because the gallery owner lives in Singapore. She was supposed to deliver it already," Cabrera said in an interview on Mornings@ANC.

A March 8 letter sent by Gallery Director Sandra Baik to Cabrera said FedEx employees picked up the paintings -- "Three Women" and "Twins" -- in Los Angeles last February 26. She said the paintings were carefully wrapped and package-sealed in a tube.

LOST PAINTING #2. Twins (2008). 48 x 48 inches. Acrylic on canvas.

She said she received an empty tube in Singapore on March 8 "with the cover having been carefully sawn off, but with my address and details clearly stamped on the tube."

Baik said she had already received notification to formally proceed with a claim against FedEx after the company failed to locate the two paintings.

The gallery director raised several questions about the theft including how an empty tube could pass customs in Singapore without a record and why FedEx refuses to share the name of the individuals who would have potentially handled the tube.

She said she has already notified local and international auction houses about the theft, with a request to "keep an eye open for any suspicious activity."

In the letter, Baik apologized to Cabrera for losing the paintings under her watch.

"In all the years that we have shipped art across continents, we have never had something like this happen to us. FedEx has always been entirely reliable with their collection and delivery schedules, and the risk of blatant theft from a secured facility, honestly, never seriously crossed our minds," she said.

FedEx management, meanwhile, said the company is already cooperating with the authorities in the investigation.

"Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time...FedEx regards security as a top priority. Every effort is made to ensure all shipments reach their destination on time in the same condition in which they were sent," the company said.

Cabrera said he was saddened by the loss of the paintings. "It's quite sad. It's not the money but the missing paintings. I am quite surprised that a very reputable delivery company lost the painting, that it was stolen," he said.

Born on April 10, 1942 in Malabon, BenCab is widely hailed as a master of contemporary Philippine art. He has won several major art awards in a career spanning four decades. In 2006, he was conferred the Order of National Artist for Visual Arts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacañang Palace.