Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia delivered a speech during the official turnover and unveiling ceremony of the stolen Boljoon pulpit panels on Friday, March 21. | Photo from Sugbo News
CEBU CITY, Philippines – “My plea was just return them.”
This was the message of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to individuals who currently possess stolen artifacts that belong to the Church.
Garcia made her appeal following the recent repatriation of four stolen pulpit panels at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santisima in Boljoon, southern Cebu.
READ: Historic reunion: Boljoon’s long-lost pulpit panels finally return home
Five of the sacred 19th-century carved wooden panels have now been installed at the pulpit inside the town’s parish church, decades after it was declared missing.
One of the panels, however, is yet to be retrieved. This prompted Garcia to appeal to whoever was in possession of the sixth panel to return this to the Archdiocese of Cebu as soon as possible.
READ: Boljoon celebrates return of four long-lost pulpit panels
Boljoon Pulpit Panels
In a press conference that was held after the official turnover and unveiling of the panels to the public on Friday, March 21, Garcia implored members of the community to reevaluate whether religious items, like the pulpit panels, should remain in their personal possession.
According to the governor, those who will turn over such sacred items to set things right will not be interrogated, accused, or blamed.
READ: Gov. Garcia wants Boljoon pulpit panels returned
Garcia said that instead of spending time and energy on a “witch hunt” to find every person in possession of relics, she is appealing to the kindness of their hearts.
“Right now, I would rather not go on a witch hunt but instead, appeal to the better nature of these men and women who have these items. There are much too many positive things that we can accomplish than focusing on the mistakes of the past which we were never part of and we had no control. But 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,” she said.
READ: Gwen appeals to one who has 6th missing Boljoon church panel
Moving Forward
Garcia added that dwelling on the issue of who to blame for the loss of every religious artifact, which were likely sold off as antiques many years ago, will only hinder the process of moving forward towards greater milestones.
Instead, she called onto the current possessors of similar religious artifacts to follow the example of the National Museum of the Philippines on the return of the Boljoon pulpit panels to the rightful owner.
“That’s such a positive signal and we hope that this will be a direction moving forward that should also be a gentle nudge to those that are in possession of other religious items that belong to the Archdiocese and belong to the parish,” Garcia said.
Cebu Archbishop Palma approved of the Governor’s message and expressed his satisfaction with the public’s rising interest in the preservation and protection of sacred relics.
“As of now, I am very happy that there is a growing interest on things related to culture and tradition,” he said.
As of this writing, the search continues for the last missing Boljoon pulpit panel.