The National Bureau of Investigation has launched a manhunt for a former superintendent of the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center suspected of stealing close to 200 elephant tusks that the Bureau of Customs seized in 2009 and turned over to the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB).
Elephant tusks can be smuggled into the country by boat through Mindanao, that’s why it’s better for authorities to go straight to the buyers to catch the illegal traders, Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon said Wednesday.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has ordered an inventory of all ivory pieces owned by Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, whom National Geographic linked to the illegal ivory trade, to determine if these were acquired before 1981, the year the Philippines became a signatory to an international ban on ivory trade.
Msgr. Cristobal Garcia has been suspended and stripped of all his positions in the Archdiocese of Cebu on orders of the Vatican while the Holy See investigates the child abuse case that stemmed from accusations that he molested altar boys more than 20 years ago.
While most of the staff of religious stores in Sta. Cruz, Manila, claim that they do not offer statues with ivory parts because it is illegal, a couple of stores still sell these images with a price tag of P40,320 and another at around P230,000, the Philippine Daily Inquirer learned Tuesday.
Msgr. Cristobal Garcia has always been proud of his collection of religious icons and paintings.
Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz called on the public to refrain from using ivory tusks for religious images.
A Catholic prelate came to the defense of Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, who was caught in a controversy involving ivory smuggling in the Philippines.
A Cebu priest known for his collection of religious icons carved from ivory may have incriminated himself with his revelations on the illegal trade in an investigative report appearing in the National Geographic and reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
In March 2010, smuggled elephant tusks estimated to be worth P3 million were stolen from the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Nature Center in Quezon City, where they had been stored.
Belonging to the Archdiocese of Cebu, he is the head of the Commission on Worship; the rector of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Jesus Nazareno in Cansojong, Talisay; and director of the archdiocese publications, “Bag-ong Lungsuranon” and “Mag-ambahan Kita,” according to the 2008-2009 Catholic Directory of the Philippines.
Thousands of elephants are butchered every year for their ivory tusks that are carved into religious objects, including the most-prized Sto. Niño (icon of Jesus Christ as a boy) in the Philippines, a National Geographic investigation of the direct link between religion and ivory smuggling shows.
