CEBU, Philippines – The four panels removed from the heritage church of Boljoon in southern Cebu province will return on March 13, be put on public exhibit, and then be reinstalled on the pulpit from which they were taken in the late 1980s.
That was the agreement in a meeting on Tuesday, February 25, between Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) Director General Jeremy Barns, along with representatives from the Archdiocese of Cebu and the Boljoon town government.
It was the first time Garcia and Barns met after controversy erupted over the panels in 2024. Garcia met twice with NMP Board of Trustees Chair Andoni Aboitiz but never with Barns.
The four panels are among six that once adorned the pulpit of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santisima in Boljoon. They were removed in the late 1980s and thought lost for decades until they resurfaced at the NMP on February 13, 2024, as part of the “Gift to the Nation” exhibit, showcasing the donation of the items by collector couple Edwin and Aileen Bautista.
The return of the items was delayed by a dispute over ownership. The NMP said the donation by the Bautista couple made the museum the rightful owner of the panels, with donation documents specifying that the panels remain with the NMP.
Garcia and the archdiocese argued that the items were stolen and ownership was never transferred. The archdiocese said that whether the panels were carted away by thieves or, as some alleged, sold by the parish priest, they were still considered stolen.
“My question is, why can’t you give up the claim of ownership, what’s in there?” Father Dan delos Angeles, one of the lawyers of the archdiocese, asked Barns during the meeting.
“Because it’s already in the books of the government, sir,” Barns replied. He said they needed to follow the “disposal process for government properties” based on the rules of the Commission on Audit and the Department of Budget and Management.
“But this has never become government property, director general, with all due respect. This is not government property, this is stolen property,” delos Angeles responded, citing the International Council of Museums code of ethics on due diligence to verify provenance.
Garcia and delos Angeles also objected to the language in the NMP board resolution, which stated a transfer of ownership back to the Archdiocese of Cebu.
Delos Angeles argued that the archdiocese never gave up ownership of the items. Garcia also objected to the use of “deaccessioning” in the NMP resolution, saying it should simply state that the panels were being returned to their original owners.
In the end, the ownership question was settled in favor of the archdiocese, and the panels will return to Cebu in March.
The meeting ended on a cordial note, sources said, with Barns telling the group he would see them again for the turnover in March, and Garcia inviting him to join the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo, the governor’s signature tourism program.
Garcia, who had threatened to file charges against Barns, told the group in the meeting: “See, we are very, very reasonable people. I do not unilaterally decide, we always listen to everyone.”
She then turned to Barns: “But when I feel that the Cebuanos are getting burdened or are suffering, the mother instinct kicks in and I’m a mother dragon.”
Father Brian Brigoli, chair of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission of the Cultural Heritage of the Church, told Rappler the panels will be turned over to Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma on March 13 at the Archdiocesan Museum of Cebu in Cebu City.
The panels will then be brought to Boljoon via motorcade on March 14.
From March 14 to 18, they will be put on public exhibit in the parish church.
On March 19, the panels will be reinstalled in the pulpit. The fifth panel, currently on display at the parish museum, will also be reinstalled, Brigoli said. The space for the one remaining missing panel will be left empty.
Brigoli said old photos will serve as references for where each panel should be placed.
The pulpit with its panels will then be unveiled in a Pontifical Mass by Archbishop Palma on March 21.
Brigoli said the return is timely as the parish will celebrate the feast day of Saint Joseph, the town’s secondary patron saint. The saint’s feast day is on March 19, but the town will celebrate it on March 15. When St. Joseph was declared the secondary patron saint, his feast day was set on the nearest weekend to March 19.
Brigoli said he was happy with the development and that he always had a “gut feeling” the panels would eventually be returned. He also said what happened to the panels will set a precedent for many other items stolen from churches in Cebu. – Rappler.com