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CEBU CITY — After months of negotiations and a looming threat of legal action, the "stolen" pulpit panels from the Patrocinio de Maria Santisima Church in Boljoon are finally set to return home.
The Cebu Provincial Capitol confirmed that the sacred artifacts will be returned in the coming months. The announcement was made late Thursday night via a post on Sugbo News, the official social media arm of the capitol.
According to the capitol, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has been notified that the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) will return the religious artifacts by March. This agreement follows a series of unsuccessful attempts to reclaim the panels, which were taken from the church in the 1980s.
‘PANELS’ TALK Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia (left) and Church representatives Fr. Brian Brigoli (second from left), chairman of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, and Msgr. Renato Beltran, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cebu, discuss the developments in their efforts to recover the ‘stolen’ panels of Boljoon Church. PHOTO BY KAISER JAN FUENTES
Garcia, together with the Archdiocese of Cebu and the Municipality of Boljoon, had initially planned to file criminal and civil charges against NMP Executive Director Jeremy Barns for retaining the cultural treasures.
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In a press conference on Monday at the governor's office, Garcia announced that the charges would include violations of the Anti-Fencing Law, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.
The pulpit panels, which depict saints such as St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Thomas of Villanueva, were taken from the Boljoon Church. In February 2024 these were donated to the NMP by the Bautista couple, Edwin and Aileen, which will also be among the respondents of some of the cases prepared.
Despite numerous appeals from the Cebu Provincial Government and the Archdiocese of Cebu, including formal letters sent to Barns last year and subsequent calls for dialogue, their requests had gone largely unanswered. The NMP's non-cooperation and delays in addressing the issue eventually led local officials to consider legal action.
Garcia expressed frustration at the NMP's continued inaction, stating that the legal cases were necessary to hold those responsible accountable.
The provincial government pointed out that not only had Barns ignored requests to return the panels, but the unauthorized restoration work conducted at the NMP also violated heritage protocols.
The situation was further complicated when Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco, who also sits on the NMP Board of Trustees, intervened, calling for greater transparency in the handling and restoration of cultural artifacts.
While local leaders and the public are relieved by the news of the panels' return, the status of the legal charges remains uncertain. The Capitol has not yet disclosed whether legal actions will continue or be dropped in light of this development.
In an earlier interview with The Manila Times, Boljoon Mayor Jojie Genesse Derama, emphasized how vital the return of these historic panels would be for his town.
"We will rejoice about it. We will further strengthen our faith in God," Derama said.
