“He was here for a fishing expedition.”
This was how Fr. Tito Soquiño, OSA described the real intention of National Geographic magazine reporter Bryan Christy who linked Msgr. Cristobal Garcia to the illegal ivory trade.
Soquiño, in an interview, yesterday said he’s happy that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Region 7 eventually cleared Garcia of the controversy which erupted with the cover story of the National Geographic magazine in October 2012.
‘The Augustinian priest said he too was interviewed by Christy about the devotion to the Sto. Niño. But Soquiño was surprised when the article came out as a long investigative piece about the illegal ivory trade in several countries, including the Philippines.
The demand for ivory is behind the wide-scale slaughter of African elephants for their tusks.
“He (Christy) asked me about the Sto. Niño and he even went here (Basilica del Sto. Niño). I never thought he was actually looking for ivory. Maybe, he didn’t get something here (so he left). Everything I told him about the child Jesus did not even come out in his article,” he told Cebu Daily News.
The 16th century Sto. Niño image in the basilica is made of wood.
In the magazine article, Garcia was described as “one of the best known ivory collectors in the Philippines” and was quoted as giving Christy advice on how to smuggle an ivory figurine to the United States, even sharing his contacts of ivory dealers in Manila.
NBI-7 Supervising Agent Gregorio Algoso said they inspected the priest’s collection of almost 5,000 religious icons in Cebu and found only three that appear to be made of ivory.
But since the NBI lacks the expertise to determine the age of the ivory and whether it was procured before a 1981 global ban on ivory smuggling, they can’t hold Garcia liable for possession or smugging.
The NBI, however, can reopen the case if new evidence against Garcia is unearthed.
Msgr. Esteban Binghay, episcopal vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu, urged the faithful to continue praying for Garcia who was suspended by the Vatican earlier in June 2012 due to a revived child abuse case involving an altar boy in the United States 30 years ago.
“We’re hoping and praying that Msgr. Cris will be able to surpass the test of his life,” he said.
Binghay, a canon lawyer, said the Vatican’s suspension of Garcia was not absolute.
“He could not celebrate Mass in public but he can still do it in private,” he explained.
“Msgr. Cris may still be serving the consequences of an alleged offense he committed several years back but the sin has been forgiven by God,” he added.
Binghay said the Vatican has not ruled yet on Garcia’s case.
Cebu Archishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal declined to give a comment on the latest development.
Garcia was head of the Commission on Worship of the Cebu Archdiocese and a central figure in the celebration of the annual Feast of the Sto. Niño.
Binghay said Garcia is now based in Manila and continues to help the Church although his name is no longer mentioned officially.
Garcia founded the Society of the Angel of Peace , a monastic group whose members serve during Masses of the archbishop and other liturgical celebrations.
“Archbishop Palma told us in one of our meetings that Msgr. Cris continues to help us even if he’s in Manila. Msgr. Cris obviously has the talent and the brains which the Church needs. We should not waste whatever he can do for the Church,” Binghay said.
Fr. Soquiño, an environmental advocate in the Agustinian order, said the NBI ruling on the ivory case is a form of vindication for Garcia although the probe can be re-opened once there is evidence other than what had been earlier presented.
“From the very start, I knew Msgr. Cris is innocent,” he said.
Soquiño said the Philippine Church has discouraged the use of ivory in making religious icons since the Philippines became a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) which earlier declared a global ivory trade ban in the 1980s.
“The Church adheres to that regulation. Although we still have images made of ivory now, these were acquired long before the ban. Beyond the Cites existence, the making of icons from ivory should be discouraged in churches. Church people should be aware of that,” he said.
The NBI 7 said the three ivory icons of Fr. Cris have not been not been tested in a laboratory for confirmatory examination because the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has not provided an expert who can determine the age of the ivory.