So much has already been written about how Jaime Ponce de Leon found the holy grail of Philippine art, Juan Luna's Hymen, oh Hymenee. Allow us our own version, this time, exactly our exclusive interview with the man whose name has been permanently etched in the annals of Philippine art.

It was one languid afternoon when Jaime allowed us a glimpse into the person who, at first, would seem just like the boy next door, or more aptly, the hometown boy made good, unassuming, relaxed and cool in his mien. These traits, I now realize, had made things easy for him to convince collectors to open up to him and allow him to view their treasures that all the years they had kept away from the public eye.

The way he operates, we can look forward to more of Jaime's discoveries, all for our good and wellbeing as a nation. Let's wish him luck as we hope he finds more of the treasures that should be right at home with us.

Our series on Jaime ends with our conversation where he lets us in on what, so far, may be considered the most important journey of his lifetime. To future collectors, scholars and arts entrepreneurs, take the cue from Jaime. Nothing beats persistence, dedication and commitment to one's life's work.

But where was it?

Daily Tribune  (DT): So, tell us about Luna briefly because it's all over. But we need your point of view.

Jaime Ponce de Leon (JPDL): This Luna was in the consciousness of everyone who knew Luna. There is no important publication about Luna without this painting. There are the books of Jack Pilar, and there's the Lopez book that was published in 1980. And all the way back to the 19th century on Ilustracion Filipina. But the question was, where was it?

DT: So, it existed no doubt. But where was it all the while?