ILOILO CITY—Residents and businessmen in Boracay expressed shock and outrage over the removal of a statue of the Virgin Mary on top of Willy’s Rock, a landmark and one of the most visited and photographed spot by tourists on the island-resort.

The statue was chiseled off its foundation past midnight by a still unidentified man, said Supt. Rolando Vilar, chief of the Boracay Special Tourist Police Office.

A source, who asked not to be identified, said a resort owner near the area heard smashing sounds and later saw seven men carrying what appeared to be a sack.

The grotto of the Virgin Mary is on a large rock formation just a few meters from the shoreline at Station 1 in Barangay Balabag at the northern end of the 1,032-hectare island.

The area is among the most visited because of the grotto and because it is considered the best area along Boracay’s four-kilometer stretch of white sand beach.

Vilar said that before the incident, authorities have already received reports that some resort owners near the grotto had wanted the statue removed and replaced with a marker engraved with the Ten Commandments.

“We learned that there has been disagreements on the statue because of religious beliefs,” Vilar told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Vilar said those responsible for the removal of the statue could have only wanted to replace it.

“We are still investigating who was responsible and who ordered it. If it is not returned to the Church, then it could be considered as theft,” he said.
Resort owners and tourists condemned the removal of the statue.

“We are shocked how an icon of the island and for Catholics was removed in such a manner. It has become a symbol of the community,” said a resort owner, who asked not to be identified.

Facebook posts and community websites have also condemned the removal of the statue. One post offered a P5,000 reward for the capture of those who removed the statue.

“Wow. I cannot believe someone would do something as evil as that,” another post read.