Cebu cops seize 10 antique icons

CEBU CITY — Police intelligence operatives intercepted 10 icons believed to be antiques, the other day in what could be the first solid lead to the spate of icon thefts in the province.

Some of the seized icons were whole statues of saints, while other images were dismembered such that some had no arms, hands or heads.

It took elements of the Provincial Intelligence and Investigation Division almost five hours to tail the L-300 van carrying the icons from the time it left Basak, Cebu City at about 1:30 p.m. until it reached Mandaue City and stopped in front of H.E. Industry along M.H. Del Pilar street.

There, two men disembarked and unloaded the statues from the van, until the police came and held them for questioning. Investigators refused to identify them pending further investigation.

Police could not confirm if the recovered statues and antique pieces were indeed the icons stolen from different churches in the province.

Since Friday night, police have been conferring with the Archbishop Palace and the Cebu Cultural Heritage Commission to determine if the seized icons were stolen.

Police said they have since tagged three men involved in the icon robberies but they found the closest link to an antique buyer in Barangay Basak.

They admitted finding it hard to pin down persons involved in the surreptitious antique dealings because they tend to travel around Central Visayas most of the time.

Icon robberies are no small operations and are done methodically. Intelligence agents said canvassers scout for icons as targets of heists. Often, the canvassers are the ones who sell the icons.

Icons, they said, are priced depending on their age and make. Those made of ivory are more expensive than those made of wood.

Since last year, there have been 19 reported burglaries in parishes all over the province. Of these cases, 15 involved thefts of icons.

Last Maundy Thursday, a 150-year-old image of St. John the Baptist was stolen in broad daylight from the baptistry of the Oslob church.

Icon robbers have also struck in the parishes of Sibonga, Dalagute, Pinamungajan, Cordova, Catmon, Dalaguete, Boljoo, Alcoy, Badian and San Remegio. — Freeman News Service