19TH CENTURY PANELS. The four 19th century wooden panels donated to the National Museum of the Philippines in this undated photo. The Archdiocese of Cebu on Wednesday (May 22, 2024) said the panels would soon be returned to Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santissima in the province's Boljoon town, per its mutual agreement with the National Museum of the Philippines in a meeting on Tuesday (May 21). File photo courtesy of Radyo Pilipinas
The Archdiocese of Cebu (AoC) on Wednesday announced that the four long-lost pulpit panels from the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santissima will soon be returned to the province's Boljoon town.
This was among the key points of Tuesday's meeting between the archdiocese's officials led by Arcbishop Jose Palma and the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) led by Director General Jeremy Barns, the archdiocese said in a social media post.
“As per Fr. (Brian) Brigoli, the Chairman of the Cebu Archdiocesan Committee for Cultural Heritage, the meeting between the AoC and NMP is very productice and constructive that will surely be advantageous for the valorization of the cultural heritage of the Archdiocese of Cebu particularly in Boljoon,” it said.
Aside from the return of the pulpit panels, the two sides also mutually agreed that the "issue of ownership will be settled separately due to pertinent technicalities that bind both parties that will be settled first before the issue of ownership is resolved".
It said the NMP will go beyond the issue of the pulpit panels and is willing to collaborate with the archdiocese in terms of conservation and restoration of the Boljoon Heritage complex which covers the church, convent, musuem, escuela catolica and their adjunct structures.
It said other agreements will be further discussed in succeeding meetings.
Last February, Palma asked the NMP to return the four pulpit panels, saying these sacred items were removed from the church without permission.
The appeal was issued several days after the NMP announced the receipt of early 19th-century panels depicting the founder of the Augustinian Order.
The wooden panels were donated by "private collectors" Edwin and Aileen Bautista. PNA