The Archdiocese of Cebu and Cebu Provincial Government issued a statement separately requesting the National Museum to immediately return the stolen four panels from Boljoon church in the late 1980s.

"They are integral to the patrimony of the church as part of her missionary work; and thus, considered as sacred," Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma said.

Palma cited as sacrilege in the removal of the four wooden relief panels from the pulpit of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santissima in Boljoon, Cebu.

"The Archdiocese of Cebu hereby asserts its ownership of these panels and requests their immediate return to Boljoon at the pulpit where they were surreptitiously removed," Palma said in a post on the official Facebook page of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia invited National Museum officials to come to Cebu for a constructive dialogue on the return of the panels.

"These are supposed to be immovable objects that should not have been extricated from the pulpit, part and parcel of the pulpit itself," the governor added.

"The conservation of heritage sites, structures, relics, the tangibles, and intangibles is now part of our own Cebuano culture as well. It is a way of life for us," Garcia reiterated.

"We extend our assurance to Governor Gwen Garcia, Mayor Jojie Derama, Archbishop Jose Palma, and the community of Boljoon that the NMP is eager to engage in constructive dialogue and exchange of technical assistance to facilitate sharing the four panels with the people of Cebu as soon as possible," the National Museum of the Philippines, meanwhile, said in a statement released on Monday afternoon.

"Our donors procured these specific panels through legitimate means, highlighting their commitment to ethical acquisition," said NMP as it added that the church artifacts have "dynamic ownership and circulation."

However, the Provincial Capitol consultant and lawyer Benjamin Cabrido Jr. said it was robbery not just theft.

"There is no such thing as dynamic ownership because ownership cannot be transferred through theft or through robbery," Cabrido said. " Even if they will say that we bought this from this person, it will not change the character of that thing and make it a valid object in a contract. There was no point in the dynamic transfers of these four artifacts that would convert these into a legal team (sic) object."

The panels were stolen during the time when Fr. Faustino Cortes was the parish priest. Palma said there were no records in the Archdiocese that Cortes' requesting approval to deconsecrate them for removal, much less conveyance to third parties in exchange for monetary purposes of the parish. If there were one, this wouldn't have been approved.