Security in Intramuros fortified

Acting Tourism Secretary Robert Dean Barbers has ordered the tightening of security in Intramuros, Manila following the theft of a 300-year-old gold image of the child Jesus from the historic San Agustin Church last week.

Barbers, who is the concurrent Philippine Tourism Authority chief, has formed a special task force to assist police in the immediate recovery of the image and to secure other historical icons in Intramuros.

"I have initiated the creation of a task force that would help in the retrieval of the Sto. Nino image as part of fortifying security within Intramuros," he said.

Barbers appealed to the thieves who stole the Sto. Niño whose image is cuddled by the Lady of Consolation and Correa to immediately return the image to the San Agustin Church "as God-fearing Filipino Christians."

"I hope that the conscience of these robbers will finally catch up on them that what they did was not just an ordinary crime of theft but a sacrilege to the eyes of God. I appeal to whoever is responsible for this incident to contemplate on their actions and return the holy image immediately," he said.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza ordered the Western Police District (WPD) to identify, locate and arrest those responsible for the theft.

Atienza tapped WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong to investigate the incident and monitor antique shops in Malate and Ermita, where the stolen items could be sold by the thieves.

The valuable collections inside the San Agustin Church and the Manila Cathedral and other historical locations within the Intramuros area are part of the many significant heritage sites of the country being supported and promoted by the Department of Tourism.

Barbers, likewise called on possible antique and art collectors interested to buy this stolen image of the infant Jesus to also think twice in entertaining the idea of purchasing such a religious icon for they will likewise "commit not just a crime of fencing stolen goods but also a crime against God."

The theft was discovered at around 2 p.m. on Feb. 13 when a janitor found the crown in the confessional box.

After hiding in the confessional box, the thieves reportedly tiptoed their way up the altar and then casually walked out of the church with the precious parts of the disassembled image stashed in their pockets.

The thieves left the silver crown of the child Jesus in the confessional area and the torso and clothes in a corridor a few steps away. The torso is made of ordinary light materials like wood.

Missing are the image’s head, arms and limbs which are made of ivory and its shoes which are made of gold.

The Our Lady of Consolation was left untouched by the thieves apparently aware that its ivory extremities and crown could not be removed without causing a ruckus. According to a Church handout, the crown of the Virgin, with its pearls "weighs more than a dozen ounces of the purest gold, it was generously spruced up with rubies, emeralds and other precious stones."