Centuries-old Cagayan image loses head, hands to robbers

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – The annual fiesta of Cagayan’s Amulung town this week takes a somber note as robbers took the ivory head and hands of the centuries-old image of Our Lady of Victories, one of the province’s patron saints, last weekend.

Senior Inspector Ramon Macarubbo, Amulung police chief, said a servant at the Church of Our Lady of Victories, one of northern Luzon’s oldest, found the image without its head and hands at around 7:30 p.m. last Oct. 23, but the theft was reported only the following morning.

Church officials in Cagayan could not be reached for comment.

The desecration of the four-foot image, which originated from Spain, happened just as the parishioners were preparing for their annual fiesta where they would pay homage to their patron saint.

The image’s stolen parts were made of pure ivory. On top of their religious, historical and cultural value, they are reportedly worth at least P100,000. 

Police are still clueless on the case. “But we are making all efforts to recover the stolen items and likewise have the suspects answerable for what they have done,” Macarubbo said.

Records show that the Amulung Church was built in 1746 and Spanish officials gave the image to the then alcalde mayor, Manuel Romero. 

Predominantly populated by the Ilocanos and Itawes, Amulung, a former barrio of Iguig town, became a town on Dec. 15, 1734. A fourth-class municipality, it is about a 30-minute ride from or 25 kilometers north of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan’s capital. 

This is the third time that religious artifacts have been stolen in church premises in Cagayan, where one of the oldest Church districts, the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, was located before it was transferred to Vigan (now a city) in Ilocos Sur. 

In July 2008, the 17th century bronze bell of the Buguey parish church was stolen. In November 2005, the Church of San Miguel Archangel in Gattaran town lost its 279-year-old bell to robbers.

Bearing the markings “Santa Maria Ora Pronobis (Pray for Us),” the Gattaran bell had been at the Nassiping Church belfry since 1726 until it was stolen.