2 centuries-old bells stolen from Cagayan church

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines  – A pair of bells, said to be among the region’s oldest, was stolen from the belfry of a church in southern Cagayan over the weekend, a belated report disclosed.

Senior Inspector Jaime Bartolome, police chief of Peñablanca town, said thieves entered the belfry of the town’s St. Mary’s Parish Church last Sunday night and carted away the centuries-old bells, a large one and a small one.

It was only the following morning when church officials learned of the theft, Bartolome said.

He said antique collectors raved about the antique bells when they visited the church about a month ago. 

“This is the only lead that we have so far, but of course, it does not necessarily mean that those persons were responsible for the theft,” he added.

Fr. Rizaldy Acacio, the parish priest, said the bells had come from Solana town more than 50 years ago.

Councilman Rizaldy Dimalicad said local officials used the missing bells to warn the townsfolk of impending disasters like floods and landslides.

This is the third time that antique bells were stolen in churches in Cagayan, where the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, one of the country’s oldest, was based before it was transferred to Vigan in Ilocos Sur.

In July 2008, the 17th-century bronze bell of Buguey town was stolen. Three years earlier, Cagayan also lost its 279-year-old bell at the Church of San Miguel Archangel in Gattaran town.

Bearing the markings “Santa Maria Ora Pronobis (Pray for Us),” the latter bell had been at the belfry of Nassiping Church since 1726 until it was stolen on the night of November 2005. 

Last year, the pure ivory head of the three-centuries-old, four-foot statue of one of Cagayan’s patron saints, Our Lady of Victories, was stolen from the Amulung town church.