The Augustinian Friars of the Province of Santo Niño de Cebu-Philippines (Order of Saint Augustine) expressed full support to the Archdiocese of Cebu on its declaration of ownership of the four pulpit panels and the demand for their immediate repatriation to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Patrocinio de Maria Santissima in Boljoon, southern Cebu. 

In an official statement issued on February 26, 2024, the congregation said that the pulpit panels are considered important artifacts of Catholic Cebuano heritage that bespeak as well of Augustinian legacy.

“The foundational and socio-pastoral ministry of the Boljoon Parish holds dear in the memory of the Augustinians in the Philippines,” the statement reads. 

The congregation mentioned of Fray Julian Bermejo, one of its prominent ministers in Boljoon town, known as the builder of the coastal defense system of “baluartes” (watchtowers) that shielded local settlements from constant attacks and raids of marauders. 

The Augustinian Friars of the Province of Santo Niño de Cebu-Philippines (Order of Saint Augustine) joined the call for a fraternal dialogue to “settle the accompanying issues in the interest of justice and fairness, and joint advocacy of protecting and preserving our common patrimony.”

The Municipality of Boljoon has asked the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) to open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the pulpit panels that were said to be stolen from the town’s church in the 1980s and found their way to the museum many years later.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has also called for the “immediate return” to Boljoon the pulpit panels that were donated to the NMP by private art collectors.

As for Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, she has directed the province’s consultant on cultural affairs, Dr. Jose Eleazar Bersales, to also look into the matter.

Cebu 2nd District Representative Edsel Galeos has filed a bill at the House of Representatives urging the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts and the NMP to return to Boljoon the said church panels lost purportedly in 1989. 

NMP said it is open to a “constructive dialogue and exchange of technical assistance” with parties concerned to facilitate sharing with Cebu the four 19th century panels with the images of Saint Thomas Villanueva, Saint Ambrose of Milan, Saint Gregory the Great, and Saint Augustine of Hippo.