The Archdiocese of Cebu and the provincial government of Cebu recently issued separately requesting the National Museum to return the stolen four panels from Boljoon Church in the late 1980s.

Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma stressed that the panels are “integral to the patrimony of the church as part of her missionary work and thus considered as sacred,” adding that the removal of the four wooden relief panels from the pulpit of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santissima in Boljoon, Cebu is nothing more than “sacrilege.”

“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 on the official page of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, on the other hand, 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,” Garcia said. “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.”

Meantime, the National Museum of the Philippines earlier stated that it is willing and 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.

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

However, Capitol consultant Atty. 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 object.”

To recall, the panels were allegedly stolen during the time when Fr. Faustino Cortes was the parish priest. Palma said there were no records in the Archdiocese of Cortes’ requesting approval to deconsecrate them for removal, much less conveyance to third parties in exchange for monetary purposes of the parish.