PHNO-HL: PH IN ILLEGAL IVORY TRADE: PRIEST AT CENTER OF INT'L CONTROVERSY

PH IN ILLEGAL IVORY TRADE: PRIEST AT CENTER OF INT'L
CONTROVERSY


[PHOTO -SAVE THE ELEPHANTS: Kimani, a huge bull elephant cared
for in the Ol Pejeta conservancy near Mt. Kenya, Africa, wears a collar
containing a SIM card. The conservation group Save the Elephants spearheads the
project where it places mobile phone SIM cards on elephants' collars then sets
up a 'geofence' using a global positioning system that mirrors the
conservatory's boundaries. The elephants can then be tracked, saving them from
poachers. AP]
MANILA, OCTOBER 1, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Kirstin C. Bernabe -
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.
The country has become one of the destinations of the illegal ivory trade
mainly because Filipinos are fond of religious statues made only of the finest
materials, said the cover story of the magazine's October issue titled "Ivory
worship." It was written by Bryan Christy, who visited the country five times
for the story.

[PHOTO -FROM THE
PHILIPPINES CONNECTION: In an overfilled church Monsignor Cristobal Garcia,
one of the best known ivory collectors in the Philippines, leads an unusual rite
honoring the nation's most important religious icon, the Santo Niño de Cebu
(Holy Child of Cebu). The ceremony, which he conducts annually on Cebu, is
called the Hubo, from a Cebuano word meaning "to undress."]
Christy went to Cebu and met one of the best known ivory collectors in the
country, Msgr. Cristobal Garcia. He is "the leader of a group of prominent Sto.
Niño collectors who display their icons during the Feast of the Sto. Niño in
some of [the province's] best shopping malls and hotels," the report said.
"His anteroom is a mini-museum dominated by large, glass-encased religious
figures whose heads and hands are made of ivory: There is an ivory Our Lady of
the Rosary holding an ivory Jesus in one, a near-life-size ivory Mother of the
Good Shepherd seated beside an ivory Jesus in another. Next to Garcia's desk a
solid ivory Christ hangs on a cross," it said.
Heirlooms
They are not just investments but heirlooms as well, said the NatGeo report.

"Many believe that what you invest in devotion to your own icon determines
what blessings you will receive in return. For some, then, a fiberglass or
wooden icon is not enough. For them, the material of choice is elephant ivory,"
it added.
For a Third World country where most people are living below poverty line,
some may see this devotion as lavish but for others, it is "an offering to God."

"The elaborate displays [of Sto. Niño] are often owned by families of
surprisingly modest means. Devotees have opened bankbooks in the names of their
ivory icons. They name them in their wills," it said.
Christ himself
The report said some Filipinos believed that the Sto. Niño de Cebu (Holy
Child of Cebu) was Christ himself. It noted that 16th century Spaniards
"declared the icon to be miraculous and used it to convert the nation, making
this wooden statue, housed today behind bulletproof glass in Cebu's Basilica
Minore de Sto. Niño, the root from which all Filipino Catholicism has grown."
The Sto. Niño is believed to be a replica of the icon devotees believe Ferdinand
Magellan brought to Cebu in 1521.
"I don't call it extravagant," said Fr. Vicente Lina Jr. (Father Jay),
director of the Diocesan Museum of Malolos and curator of his archdiocese's
annual Sto. Niño exhibit). "'I call it an offering to God.' He surveys the child
images, some of which are decorated in 'lagang,' silvery mother of pearl flowers
carved from nautilus shells," said in the report.
Crooked line
"When it comes to Sto. Niño devotion too much is not enough. As a priest,
I've been praying, 'If all of this stuff is plain stupid, then God, put a stop
to this,'" Father Jay was quoted as saying in the report.
He went as far as saying that the ivory used for the statues were smuggled
but for him, "it is like straightening up a crooked line."
"Father Jay points to a Sto. Niño holding a dove. 'Most of the old ivories
are heirlooms,'" Lina said. "'The new ones are from Africa. They come in through
the back door,'" he was quoted as saying.
"'It's like straightening up a crooked line: You buy the ivory, which came
from a hazy origin, and you turn it into a spiritual item. See?" Lina said, with
a giggle. "His voice lowers to a whisper. 'Because it's like buying a stolen
item,'" the report said.
Int'l embarrassment
"If this allegation is true, this illegal wildlife trade would be an
international embarrassment for the Philippines and the Filipinos. This must
stop," said Antonio Oposa Jr., an environmentalist lawyer.
Oposa said his group was studying other possible legal actions it may take.

"[If these were true,] we see violations of the CITES (the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), Wildlife
Conservation Act, Anti-Fencing Law, Customs Code and others," he said.

Probe
Without judging before hearing, Oposa said his group had asked the Department
of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation and Department of Environment and
Natural Resources to investigate the people responsible for the illegal trade in
the country.
"We have also asked the Interpol to conduct an investigation on the people
behind this illegal wildlife syndicate," he said.
"It has long been known in the international circles that the Philippines is
a source, a buyer and a conduit in the illegal wildlife trade. This must stop,"
Oposa added.
Christy said he met with Garcia to understand the country's ivory trade and
to get a lead on who were behind 5.4 tons of illegal ivory and 7.7 tons that
customs agents seized in Manila in 2009 and 2005, respectively, and 6.1 tons
bound for the Philippines seized by Taiwanese authorities in 2006. He said the
seizures represented 1,745 elephants assuming an average of 10 kg of ivory per
elephant.
New ivory gets into the country from Africa through Muslims from Mindanao by
bribing authorities along the way, according to Lina.
"And you just keep on paying so many people so that it will enter your
country," Lina told Christy.
Tips on smuggling
In the report, Garcia told Christy how he could smuggle an ivory Sto. Niño
into the United States.
"'Wrap it in old, stinky underwear and pour ketchup on it … so it looks
shitty with blood. This is how it is done,"' Garcia told Christy.
"Garcia gave me the names of his favorite ivory carvers, all in Manila, along
with advice on whom to go to for high volume, whose wife overcharges, who
doesn't meet deadlines. He gave me phone numbers and locations," Christy said.

"If I wanted to smuggle an icon that was too large to hide in my suitcase, I
might get a certificate from the National Museum of the Philippines declaring my
image to be antique, or I could get a carver to issue a paper declaring it to be
imitation or alter the carving date to before the ivory ban. Whatever I decided
to commission, Garcia promised to bless it for me," the NatGeo writer said of
Garcia's advice to him.
Christy said in the report that "a few families control most of the ivory
carving in Manila, moving like termites through massive quantities of tusks. Two
of the main dealers are based in the city's religious-supplies district,
Tayuman. During my five trips to the Philippines I visited every one of the
ivory shops Garcia recommended to me and more, inquiring about buying ivory."

"More than once I was asked if I was a priest. In almost every shop someone
proposed a way I could smuggle ivory to the US. One offered to paint my ivory
with removable brown watercolor to resemble wood; another to make identical
hand-painted statuettes out of resin to camouflage my ivory baby Jesus. If I was
caught, I was told to lie and say 'resin' to US Customs. During one visit a
dealer said Monsignor Garcia had just called and suggested that since I'd
mentioned that my family had a funeral business, I might take her new, 20-pound
Sto. Niño home by hiding it in the bottom of a casket. I said he must have been
joking, but she didn't think so," Christy said.
On sick leave
The Philippine Daily Inquirer repeatedly called Garcia through his two mobile
phones on Monday afternoon but there was no answer. It was learned that the
monsignor was on sick leave and was in Manila.
Christy said the Philippines' ivory market was small compared with, say,
China's, but it is centuries old and staggeringly obvious.
"Collectors and dealers share photographs of their ivories on Flickr and
Facebook. CITES, as administrator of the 1989 global ivory ban, is the world's
official organization standing between the slaughter of the 1980s—in which
Africa is said to have lost half its elephants, more than 600,000 in just those
10 years—and the extermination of the elephant. If CITES has overlooked the
Philippines' ivory trade, what else has it missed?" Christy said.


Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved




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