Imelda Marcos founded the cultural centre now holding the exhibition

Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos has joined a growing protest over an art exhibition pairing religious icons with phallic symbols.

She said Mideo Cruz's exhibition at Manila's cultural centre had "desecrated" something sacred.

The exhibition - which features a crucifix with a model penis attached - has provoked outrage in the mainly Catholic country.

Mr Cruz says it is intended to be about the worship of icons.

The exhibition, entitled Poleteismo or Polytheism, includes a statue of Jesus with the ears of Mickey Mouse, and a wall collage featuring images from Christ and the Virgin Mary to the Statue of Liberty and US President Barack Obama.

"This speaks about objects that we worship, how we create these gods and idols, and how we in turn are created by our gods and idols," said the Filipino artist, referring to the 300 years of Spanish rule that brought Catholicism to the Philippines and the current influences from the US.

Mr Cruz admitted he wanted to provoke a reaction but has been surprised by the strength of the response, reports the BBC's Kate McGeown in Manila.

He has received death threats and hate mail, and one of his pieces has been vandalised, she says.

Mrs Marcos is one of the country's main patrons of the art and founded the cultural centre in the 1970s when her husband Ferdinand was president. She saw the exhibition for herself and said she was "shocked" by it.

"There were so many symbols of the male organ there - something sacred to be desecrated. It is sad, and it should not happen here in the cultural centre," said the 82-year-old.

Roman Catholic leaders are threatening to sue Mr Cruz and the exhibition organisers, and one group has written to the cultural centre asking for the exhibition to be taken down.

But the cultural centre insists it is fulfilling its mandate to cultivate artistic expression.

"It is part of our culture to question, to seek answers, to look behind the surface and try to dig out what our real values are," the centre's president, Emily Abrera, was quoted as saying on the website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.