Finally, the four missing panels of the Spanish-era pulpit of Boljoon Church have been reinstalled in their rightful places, joining the sole panel that was left in the possession of the Church.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma presided the thanksgiving mass at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio de Maria Santisima in Boljoon on March 21 for the repatriation of these panels. He also formally unveiled them for all to see.
But Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia is now training her sight on one more panel, a sixth one, that is still missing from the pulpit to this day; as well as other church items of precious value that have been stolen from various heritage churches in Cebu in the 70s and the 80s.
“The saga continues. I ask all media to kindly focus beyond the five panels and focus on that white spot where the sixth missing panel continues to be missing and missed,” the Governor said.
“I once again direct my plea, my prayer, that whoever is in possession of that sixth panel, please return this panel to its rightful owner, the Archdiocese of Cebu. Please return it to the people of Boljoon. Give it back to the heritage of the Cebuanos,” she added.
Archbishop Palma, who in a dramatic fashion delivered his homily from the antique pulpit, credited the Governor for her determination and uncompromising position which prompted the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) to return the said panels to Cebu.
“Dako ang akong kalipay ug pagpasalamat sa tanan, but for today, I just would like to mention ang inahan sa atong Probinsya tungod sa iyang paningkamot, tungod sa iyang tinguha — the Honorable Governor Gwen Garcia!” the Archbishop said in his homily.
NMP Director-General Jeremy Barns was also present at this important occasion, alongside National Commission for Culture and the Arts chairman Victorino Manalo; Congressman Edsel Galeos, Vice Gov. Hilario Davide III; Board Members Stanley Caminero, Raymond Calderon, and Glenn Soco; as well as Boljoon Mayor Joie Genesse Derama.
“Nganong importante kining pulpit nga nia karon ang pari magsermon dinhi? Because the Word of God becomes alive when preached and when reflected upon, pamalandong sa atong kinabuhi,” Archbishop Palma said.
NO WITCH HUNTING
It was Gov. Garcia who first made the call for the repatriation of the four panels when they resurfaced, after having been missing for over three decades, at the exhibit of the NMP on February 14, 2024.
Through a series of press conferences carried live via 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗯𝗼𝗡 𝗲𝘄𝘀 and other media channels, she vehemently called on NMP to return these precious heritage of the past, especially that the Boljoon Church is a declared National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Institute was listed as a National Cultural Treasure by the NMP itself.
During her last press conference on the matter, she announced that she had been given the special power of attorney by the Archdiocese of Cebu to sue the NMP, prompting its board of trustees to act on the matter swiftly and arrange for the panels’ return.
The panels have been the subject of controversy when they have gone missing for almost four decades without the approval of the then-Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal in the 1980s. Such removal, therefore, is a criminal offense and a sacrilege.
Aside from the final missing panel, the Governor is also asking those who are in possession of other Church objects, illegally taken from various old churches in Cebu, to return them.
“Since we are here in this present time, we certainly can outline a process by which the mistakes of the past can be righted by us, not by accusations, blame-throwing, and witch-hunting but by appealing to the better nature of those who have these items and who might finally wish to make things right,” she said during a press conference after the mass. | JMT
