THE DECLARATION OF PHIL.

INDEPENDENCE & has the right to be independent and free from the
MALOLOS CONSTITUTION; POLITICAL CARICATURES OF Spaniards and is no longer tied politically with them.
AMERICAN ERA With a government in operation. Aguinaldo
The Spanish regime lasted for about three hundred thought that it was necessary to declare the
thirty-three years that was considered the longest independence of the Philippines. He believed that such a
more would inspire the people to fight more eagerly
regime in Philippine History. The Filipino revolutionary
against the Spaniards and at the same time, lead the
forces under Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the
foreign countries to recognize the independence of the
sovereignty and independence of the Philippine islands country. Mabini, who had by now been made
from Spanish colonization in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, Aguinaldo’s unofficial adviser, objected. He based his
1898. Then on January 23, 1899, the First Philippine objection on the fact that it was more important to
Republic was inaugurated after the promulgation of the reorganize the government in such a manner as to
Malolos Constitution. convince the foreign powers of the competence and
stability of the new government than to proclaim
A. 1898 DECLARATION OF PHILIPPINE Philippine independence at such an early period.
INDEPENDENCE Aguinaldo, however, stood his ground and won.
By: Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista On June 12, between four and five in the
ABOUT THE AUTHOR afternoon, Aguinaldo, in the presence of a huge crowd,
proclaimed the independence of the Philippines at Cavite
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista (17 December el Viejo (Kawit). For the first time, the Philippine National
1830 – 4 December 1903), also known as Don Bosyong, Flag, made in Hongkong by Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo,
was a lawyer and author of the Declaration of Philippine assisted by Lorenza Agoncillo and Delfina Herboza, was
Independence document. A distant relative of the Rizal officially hoisted and the Philippine National March
family, Philippine national hero José Rizal always sought played in public. The Act of the Declaration of
his advice during his school days in Manila. Independence was prepared by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista, who also read it. A passage in the Declaration
Bautista solicited funds to finance the campaign
reminds one of another passage in the American
for the reforms in the Philippines. He then became a
Declaration of Independence. The Philippine Declaration
member of the La Liga Filipina, Cuerpo de
was signed by ninety-eight persons, among them an
Compromisarios, and La Propaganda. In 1896, the
American army officer who witnessed the proclamation.
Spaniards arrested and imprisoned him at Fort Santiago,
The proclamation of Philippine independence was,
as he was suspected for being involved in the Philippine
however, promulgated on August 1 when many towns
Revolution. He defended himself and was later released
has already been organized under the rules laid down by
from prison. He became the first adviser of
the Dictatorial Government.
President Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898, and subsequently
wrote the Declaration of Philippine Independence. On 14 CONTENT ANALYSIS
July 1899, Bautista was elected vice-president of Tarlac's
Revolutionary Congress. He was later appointed judge of Every year, the country commemorates the
the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan. anniversary of the Philippine Independence proclaimed
on 12 June 1898, in the province of Cavite. Indeed, such
event is a significant turning point in the history of the
country because it signalled the end of the 333 years of
CONTEXT ANALYSIS
Spanish colonization. There have been numerous studies
The Act of Declaration of Philippine done on the events leading to the independence of the
Independence was written and was read by Ambrosio country but very few students had the chance to read the
Rianzares Bautista in Spanish and translated by Sulpicio actual document of the declaration. This is in spite of the
Guevara. It was written to use for the declaration of historical importance of the document and the details
freedom of the Philippines after the war against America that the document reveals on the rationale and
and Spain. The declaration was signed by 98 persons and circumstances of that historical day in Cavite.
at the end of it, emphasizing an American present in Interestingly, reading the details of the said document in
there with no official role. It is said that there are hindsight is telling of the kind of government that was
American army officer who witnessed. The main reason created under Aguinaldo, and the forthcoming hand of
for having the declaration is to symbolize that Philippines the United States of America in the next few years of the
newly created republic. The declaration was a short "like an electric spark" through different towns and
2,000-word document, which summarized the reason provinces like Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas, Bulacan,
behind the revolution against Spain, the war for Laguna, and Morong, and the quick decline of Spanish
independence, and the future of the new republic under forces in the same provinces. The revolt also reached
Emilio Aguinaldo. Visayas; thus, the independence of the country was
ensured. The document also mentions Rizal's execution,
The proclamation commenced with a
calling it unjust. The execution, as written in the
characterization of the conditions in the Philippines
document, was done to "please the greedy body of friars
during the Spanish colonial period. The document
in their insatiable desire to seek revenge upon and
specifically mentioned abuses and inequalities in the
exterminate all those who are opposed to their
colony. The declaration says:
Machiavellian purposes, which tramples upon the penal
"...taking into consideration, that their code prescribed for these islands." The document also
inhabitants being already weary of bearing the narrates the Cavite Mutiny of January 1872 that caused
ominous yoke of Spanish domination, on account the infamous execution of the martyred native priests
of the arbitrary arrests and harsh treatment Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora,
practiced by the Civil Guard to the extent of "whose innocent blood was shed through the intrigues of
causing death with the connivance and even with those so-called religious orders" that incited the three
the express orders of their commanders, who secular priests in the said mutiny.
sometimes went to the extreme of ordering the
The proclamation of independence also invokes
shooting of prisoners under the pretext that they
that the established republic would be led under the
were attempting to escape, in violation of the
dictatorship of Emilio Aguinaldo. The first mention was
provisions of the Regulations of their Corps,
at the very beginning of the proclamation. It stated:
which abuses were unpunished and on account
of the unjust deportations, especially those "In the town of Cavite Viejo, in this
decreed by General Blanco, of eminent province of Cavite, on the twelfth day of June
personages and of high social position, at the eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, before me,
instigation of the Archbishop and friars Don Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, Auditor of
interested in keeping them out of the way for War and Special Commissioner appointed to
their own selfish and avaricious purpose, proclaim solemnize this act by the Dictatorial
deportations which are quickly brought about. By Government of these Philippine islands, for the
a method of procedure more execrable than that purposes and by virtue of the circular addressed
of the inquisition and which every civilized nation by the Eminent Dictator of the same Don Emilio
rejects on account or a decision being rendered Aguinaldo y Famy."
without a hearing of the persons accused."
The same was repeated toward the last part of
The above passage demonstrates the the proclamation. It states:
justifications behind the revolution against Spain.
"We acknowledge, approve and confirm
Specifically cited are the abuse by the Civil Guards and
together with the orders that have been issued
the unlawful shooting of prisoners whom they alleged as
therefrom. the Dictatorship established by Don
attempting to escape. The passage also condemns the
Emilio Aguinaldo whom we honor as the
unequal protection of the law between the Filipino
Supreme Chief of this Nation, which this day
people and the "eminent personages." Moreover, the
commences to have a life of its own, in the belief'
line mentions the avarice and greed of the clergy like the
that the is the instrument selected by God in spite
friars and the Archbishop himself. Lastly, the passage
of his humble origin, to effect the redemption of
also condemns what they saw as the unjust deportation
this unfortunate people, as foretold by Doctor
and rendering of other decision without proper hearing,
Jose Rizal in the magnificent verses which he
expected of any civilized nation.
composed when he was preparing to be shot,
From here, the proclamation proceeded with a liberating them from the yoke of Spanish
brief historical overview of the Spanish occupation since domination in punishment of the impunity with
Magellan's arrival in Visayas until the Philippine which their Government allowed the commission
Revolution, with specific details about the latter, of abuses by its subordinates."
especially after the Pact of Biak-na-Bato had collapsed.
The document narrates the spread of the movement
 Another detail in the proclamation that is worth This often-overlooked detail reveals much about
looking at is its explanation on the Philippine flag that the historically accurate meaning behind the most widely
was first waved on the same day. The document known national symbol in the Philippines. It is not known
explained: by many for example, that the white triangle was derived
from the symbol of the Katipunan. The red and blue
"And finally, it was unanimously resolved
colors of the flag are often associated with courage and
that, this Nation, independent from this clay,
peace, respectively. Our basic education omits the fact
must use the same flag used heretofore, whose
that those colors were taken from the flag of the United
design and colors and described in the
States. While it can always be argued that symbolic
accompanying drawing, with design
meaning can always change and be reinterpreted, the
representing in natural colors the three arms
original symbolic meaning of something presents us
referred to. The white triangle represents the
several historical truths that can explain the subsequent
distinctive emblem of the famous Katipunan
events, which unfolded after the declaration of
Society, which by means of its compact of blood
independence on the 12th day of June 1898.
urged on the masses of the people to
insurrection; the three stars represent the three
principal Islands of this Archipelago, Luzon,
B. THE MALOLOS CONSTITUTION AND THE FIRST
Mindanao and Panay, in which this
PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC
insurrectionary movement broke out; the sun
represents the gigantic strides that have been By: Felipe G. Calderon
made by the sons of this land on the road of
progress and civilization, its eight rays ABOUT THE AUTHOR
symbolizing the eight provinces of Manila. Felipe Gonzales Calderon, known as the 'Father
Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, of the Malolos Constitution", was born on April 4, 1868
Bataan, Laguna and Batangas, which were in Santa Cruz de Malabon now Tanza), Cavite, to a
declared in a state of war almost as soon as the Spanish nobleman, Don Jose Gonzales Calderon, and
first insurrectionary movement was initiated; Doña Manuela Roca who was of Spanish-Filipino
and the colors blue, red and white, blood. Calderon was the author of the Malolos
commemorate those of the flag of the United Constitution, which was enacted on January 20, 1899 by
States of North America, in manifestation of our the Malolos Congress that established the First
profound gratitude towards that Great Nation Philippine Republic. The original was written in Spanish,
for the disinterested protection she is extending which became the first official language of the
to us and will continue to extend to us." Philippines.
Notably, Calderon established two law
universities -- Liceo de Manila, the first law college in
the Philippines, and the Escuela de Derecho (School of
Duties). He taught in both institutions. In 1904, he was
appointed member of a commission to draft a proposed
Penal Code. He also organized the La Proteccion de la
Infancia (The Protection of Infants) that established a
humanitarian institution to protect and care for
disadvantaged children. His Encyclopaedia Filipinas was
published in 1908.
He died on July 6, 1908 at the age of 40.

CONTEXT ANALYSIS
After returning to the islands. Aguinaldo wasted
little time in setting up an independent government. On
June 12, 1898, a declaration of independence modelled
on the American one, was proclaimed at his
headquarters in Cavite. It was at this time that Apolinario
Mabini. A law, and political thinker, came to prominence which "the mild sway of justice and right" would be
as Aguinaldo’s principal adviser. Born into a substituted for "arbitrary rule." When this was published
poor Indio family but educated at the University of Santo in the islands on January 4, 1899, references to
Tomas, he advocated "simultaneous external and "American sovereignty" having been prudently deleted,
internal revolution," a philosophy that unsettled the Aguinaldo issued his own proclamation that condemned
more conservative landowners and ilustrados who "violent and aggressive seizure" by the United States and
initially supported Aguinaldo. For Mabini, true threatened war.
independence for the Philippines would mean not simply
liberation from Spain (or from any other colonial power)
but also educating the people for self-government and CONTENT ANALYSIS
abandoning, the paternalistic, colonial mentality that the
Spanish had cultivated over the centuries. Mabini's The Excerpts from the Malolos Constitution
True Decalogue, published in July 1898 in the form of Ten Article 3. Sovereignty resides exclusively in the people.
Commandments, used this medium, somewhat
paradoxically, to promote critical thinking and a reform Article 5. The State recognizes the freedom and equality
of customs and attitudes. His Constitutional Program for of all religions, as well as the separation of Church and
the Philippine Republic, published at the same time, State.
elaborated his ideas on political institutions. Article 19. No Filipino in the full enjoyment of his civil
On September 15, 1898, a revolutionary and political rights shall be hindered in the free exercise
congress was convened at Malolos, a market town of the same.
located thirty-two kilometer north of Manila, for the Article 20.1. Neither shall any Filipino be deprived of:
purpose of drawing up a constitution for the new The right of expressing freely his ideas and opinions
republic. A document was approved by the congress on either by word or by writing, availing himself of the
November 2, 1898. Modelled on the constitution of press or any other similar means.
France, Belgium, and Latin American countries, it was
promulgated at Malolos on January 21, 1899, and two Article 20.2. Neither shall any Filipino be deprived of:
days later Aguinaldo was inaugurated as president. The right of joining any association for all the objects of
human life which may not be contrary to public morals.
American observers traveling in Luzon
commented that the areas controlled by the republic Article 23. Any Filipino can find and maintain
seemed peaceful and well governed. The Malolos establishments of instruction or of education, in
congress had set up schools, a military academy, and the accordance with the regulations that may be
Literary University of the Philippines. Government established. Popular education shall be obligatory and
finances were organized, and new currency was issued. gratuitous in the schools of the nation.
The army and navy were established on a regular basis
Table of Titles
having regional commands. The accomplishments of the
Filipino government, however, counted for little in the
1. The Republic
eyes of the great powers as the transfer of the islands
2. The Government
from Spanish to United States rule was arranged in the
3. Religion
closing months of 1898.
4. The Filipinos and Their National and Individual Rights
The Treaty of Paris aroused anger among 5. The Legislative Power
Filipinos. Reacting to the US$20 million sum paid to 6. The Permanent Commission
Spain, La Independencia (Independence), a newspaper 7. The Executive Power
published in Manila by a revolutionary. General Antonio 8. The President of the Republic
Luna, stated that "people are not to be bought and sold 9. The Secretaries of Government
like horses and houses. Upon the announcement of the 10. The Judicial Power
treaty, the radicals, Mabini and Luna, prepared for war, 11. Provincial and Popular Assemblies
and provisional articles were added to the constitution 12. Administration of the State
giving President Aguinaldo dictatorial powers in times of 13. Amendment of the Constitution
emergency. President William McKinley issued a 14. Constitutional Observance, Oath, and Language
proclamation on December 21, 1898, declaring United
States policy to be one of "Benevolent Assimilation" in
 The Malolos constitution is the first important Cartoons became an effective tool of publicizing
Filipino document ever produced by the people's opinions through heavy use of symbolism, which is
representatives. It is anchored in democratic traditions different from a verbose written editorial and opinion
that ultimately had their roots in American soil. It created piece. The unique way that a caricature represents
a Filipino state whose government was "popular, opinion and captures the audience's imagination is
representative and responsible" with three distinct reason enough for historians to examine these political
branches -- the executive, the legislative and the judicial. cartoons. Commentaries in mass media inevitably shape
The constitution specifically provided for safeguards public opinion and such kind of opinion is worthy of
against abuses and enumerated the national and historical examination (Readings in Philippine History,
individual rights not only of the Filipinos and of the aliens. 2018).
The legislative powers were exercised by the POLITICAL CARICATURES OF THE AMERICAN ERA
Assembly of Representatives composed of delegates
By: Alfred McCoy
elected according to law. To make the function of
Congress continuous, the document provided for a ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Permanent Commission which would sit as a law-making
body when Congress was not in session. The assembly Born on June 8, 1945 in Concord, Massachusetts,
elected the President of the Republic. The Cabinet, United States, Dr. Alfred "Al” W. McCoy is a Professor of
composed of the Secretaries of the different SE Asian History at the University of Wisconsin at
Departments of the government, was responsible not to Madison where he also serves as director of the Center
the President, but to the Assembly. The administration of for SE Asian Studies. He's spent the past quarter-century
justice was vested in the Supreme Court and in inferior writing out the politics and history of the optimum trade.
courts to be established according to law. The Chief McCoy has spent the thirty years writing about
Justice of the Supreme Court was to be elected by the Southeast Asian History and politics. His publications
Assembly with the concurrence of the President and the include Philippine Cartoons (1985), Anarchy of families
Cabinet. (1994), closer than others: Manhood at the Philippine
The constitution as a whole is a monument to the Military Academy (2000) and Lives at the Margin (2001).
capacity of the Filipinos to chart their own course along After earning a Ph.D. in Southeast Asian history at Yale,
democratic lines. In a period of storm and stress, it the writings of McCoy on this region has focused on two
symbolized the ideals of a people who had emerged from topics; Philippine Political History and Global Opium
the Dark Ages into the Light of Reason. Trafficking. The Philippines remains the major focus of
his research. His teaching interests include; Modern
Philippine social and political history, U.S. foreign policy;
Colonial empires in Southeast Asia; illicit drug trafficking;
The Malolos Republic
and CIA covert operations.
Owing to the objections of Mabini to some
provisions in the Constitution, Aguinaldo did not
immediately promulgate it. POLITICAL CARICATURES
In his book Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of
The leaders of Congress compromised by
inserting some amendments. After promulgating the the American Era (1900-1944), Alfred McCoy, together
Malolos Constitution, the Filipino leaders proceeded to with Alfredo Roces, compiled political cartoons
inaugurate the first Filipino Republic on January 23, published in newspaper dailies and periodicals in the
1899. aforementioned time period. For this part, we are going
to look at selected cartoons and explain the context of
each one.
In the second part our lesson, we will examine
some political caricatures/cartoons, which is a form of The first example shown was published in The
art that gained full expression during the American era. Independent on May 20, 1916. The cartoon shows a
These cartoons were made by Filipino artists to record politician from Tondo, named Dr. Santos, passing his
national attitudes toward the coming of the Americans crown to his brother-in-law, Dr. Barcelona. A Filipino
as well as the changing mores and times in the guy is depicted wearing salakot and barong Tagalog was
Philippines. trying to stop Santos, telling the latter to stop giving
Barcelona the crown because it is not his to begin with.
 The fourth cartoon depicts a cinema. A blown-up officer
The second cartoon was also published by The was at the screen saying that couples are not allowed to
Independent on 16 June 1917. This was drawn by neck or make love in the theatre. Two youngsters
Fernando Amorsolo and was aimed as a commentary to looked horrified while an older couple seemed amused.
the workings of Manila Police at that period. Here, we
see a Filipino child who stole a skinny chicken because he
had nothing to eat. The police officer was relentlessly
pursuing the said child. A man wearing a salakot, labelled
Juan de la Cruz was grabbing the officer, telling him to
leave the small-time pickpockets and thieves and to turn
at the great thieves instead. He was pointing to huge
warehouses containing bulks of rice, milk, and grocery
products.

The next cartoon was published by The

Independent on 27 November 1915. Here, we see the
caricature of Uncle Sam riding a chariot pulled by
Filipinos wearing school uniforms. The Filipino boys were
carrying American objects like baseball bats, whiskey,
and boxing gloves. McCoy, in his caption to the said
cartoon, says that this cartoon was based on an event in
1907 when William Howard Taft was brought to the
Manila pier riding a chariot pulled by students of Liceo de
The third cartoon was a commentary on the Manila. Such was condemned by the nationalists at that
unprecedented cases of colorum automobiles in the city time.
streets. The Philippine Free Press published this
commentary when fatal accidents involving colorum
vehicles and taxis occurred too often already.

The last cartoon was published by Lipang

Kalabaw on 24 August 1907. In the picture, we can see
Uncle Sam rationing porridge to the politicians and
members of the Progresista Party (sometimes known as
the Federalista Party) while members of the Nacionalista
Party look on and wait for their turn. This cartoon depicts
the patronage of the United States being coveted by
politicians from either of the party.
FILIPINO GRIEVANCES AGAINST GOV. WOOD; SPEECH The point of confrontation between Wood and
OF CORAZON AQUINO the Filipino officials led by Quezon came to the fore with
the Cabinet Crisis of 1923. This crisis was sparked over
FILIPINO GRIEVANCES AGAINST GOVERNOR WOOD
Wood’s order to reinstate an American police detective
by: Jose Abad Santos and Jorge Bacobo named Ray Conley. Conley was the head of vice squad of
the Manila Police tasked with running after the operators
ABOUT THE AUTHORS of gambling and opium den and their patrons. He was
Jose Abad Santos was born in San Fernando, charged with accepting bribes from gambling den
Pampanga. He was a Pencionado and studied law in operators apparently as revenge by criminal elements
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He was because of his efficient drive against them. The city
appointed Undersecretary of Justice in 1921 but gave up mayor of Manila, Ramon Fernandez, and the Secretary of
the position at the height of the cabinet crisis in Interior, Jose P. Laurel, believed in Conley’s guilt. The
1923. He served as chief legal counsel of the Senate Court of First Instance, however, found the evidence
President and the Speaker of the House of against Conley as insufficient and inconsistent, and
Representative and it was during this time when he ordered the case against the detective dismissed. Wood
joined the Anti-Wood campaign. He was appointed ordered Conley reinstated but Conley’s enemies wanted
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1932 and him charged administratively of keeping a mistress and
became Chief Justice nine years later. On April 11, 1942, having made false statement that the mistress was his
the Japanese army arrested him in Barili, Cebu and he wife. Laurel tried to have Conley investigated
was subsequently brought to Mindanao. On May 7, administratively but Wood objected saying that this
1942, he was executed in Malabang, Lanao in the would make Conley’s accusers his judges. Wood himself
presence of his son Pepito. encouraged the investigation of Conley on the charge of
keeping a mistress and making false statement. An
Jorge Bocobo was born in Gerona, Tarlac on independent Committee of Investigation was convened
October 19, 1886. In 1907, he earned his Bachelor of and it found Conley not guilty of the charges. Wood then
Law degree from Indiana University under the sent a memorandum to Laurel ordering Conley’s
Pensionado program of the colonial government. He reinstatement. Laurel transmitted a letter to Mayor
was a close associate of Manuel L. Quezon and served as Fernandez requesting compliance and then tendered his
one of his speech writers. He became president of the resignation as Secretary of the Interior. Conley who was
University of the Philippines from 1934 to 1939 and later reinstated, retired with full benefits.
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1942-
1944. He died on July 23, 1965. Filipino officials then accused Wood of meddling
in the details of the local government which should have
GOVERNOR LEONARD WOOD AND THE FILIPINOS been handled by the Filipinos. Quezon saw this incident
After Woods replaced the highly popular as an opportunity to embarrass Governor Wood by
Harrison on October 5, 1921, he vetoed 64 of 217 bills resigning form the Council of State. At the time, the
passed by the Legislature compared to only five under ruling Nacionalista party was facing the prospect of
Harrison. According to the Filipinos, the bills were defeat in the 1923 elections. Quezon needed a villain to
dismissed on the flimsiest motives. Wood for his part fight and keep himself in power. Following Quezon’s
saw the vetoed bills as poorly made or unconstitutional. resignation, Mayor of Manila, Speaker of the House,
The strictness of Wood was perceived as an affront to Manuel Roxas, and all the Filipino Department
the newly found liberties by Filipino leaders like Secretaries also resigned. Wood accepted the mass
Quezon. Wood was also aghast to learn that the resignation of the Filipino officials. Quezon, as President
government was in a financial crisis and it was of the Philippine senate, refused to confirm for his part,
subsidizing losing corporations like the Philippine and refused to confirm all officials appointed by Wood to
National Bank, the Manila Railway Company, and replace the officials who resigned. The Cabinet Crisis
Manila Coal Company which became inefficient because plagued the rest of Wood’s term until his death on
of having too many employees, many of whom were August 7, 1927 while being operated on for a brain
recommended by Filipino officials. Wood moved to tumor.
streamline these corporations and make them self- THE PROTEST
sufficient. The threat of removing officials placed there
by patronage of Filipino officials made Wood their "In the face of this critical situation, we, the
personal enemy. constitutional representatives of the Filipino people,
met to deliberate upon the present difficulties existing to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom. Today, I
in the Government of the Philippine Islands and to have returned as the president of a free people.
determine how best to preserve the supremacy and
In burying Ninoy, a whole nation honored him. By that
majesty of the laws and to safeguard the right and
brave and selfless act of giving honor, a nation in shame
liberties of our people, having faith in the sense of
recovered its own. A country that had lost faith in its
justice of the people of the United States and inspired
future found it in a faithless and brazen act of murder. So
by her patriotic example in the early days of her history,
in giving, we receive, in losing we find, and out of defeat,
do hereby, in our behalf and in the name of the Filipino
we snatched our victory.
people, solemnly and publicly make known our most
vigorous protest against the arbitrary acts and For the nation, Ninoy became the pleasing sacrifice that
usurpations of the present Governor-General of the answered their prayers for freedom. For myself and our
Philippine Islands, particularly against Executive Order children, Ninoy was a loving husband and father. His loss,
No. three times in our lives, was always a deep and painful
one.
Fourteen years ago, this month was the first time we lost
SPEECH OF CORAZON AQUINO DURING THE JOINT
him. A president-turned-dictator, and traitor to his oath,
SESSION OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS
suspended the Constitution and shut down the Congress
Philippines being in Martial Law under the that was much like this one before which I am honored to
leadership of Ferdinand Marcos experienced a lot of speak. He detained my husband along with thousands of
brutality from the government. This urged Corazon others – senators, publishers and anyone who had spoken
Aquino to be a strong advocate for the restoration of up for the democracy as its end drew near. But for Ninoy,
democratic country to bring back the power to Filipino a long and cruel ordeal was reserved. The dictator
people. To declare freedom from Marcos regime, to already knew that Ninoy was not a body merely to be
mark a new beginning for Filipinos and to appeal financial imprisoned but a spirit he must break. For even as the
assistance to cope with all the adversities the Philippines dictatorship demolished one by one the institutions of
is facing during her time were the intentions of her democracy – the press, the Congress, the independence
speech. She also credited her husband Ninoy Aquino for of the judiciary, the protection of the Bill of Rights – Ninoy
conceptualizing achieving peace through peaceful means kept their spirit alive in himself.
in her speech. Corazon being the first female president
The government sought to break him by indignities and
successfully restored civil rights and abolish 1973
terror. They locked him up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a
constitution and made remarkable contributions to the
military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and
Philippines.
held the threat of sudden midnight execution over his
head. Ninoy held up manfully–all of it. I barely did as well.
AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND For 43 days, the authorities would not tell me what had
happened to him. This was the first time my children and
President Corazon C. Aquino was the 11th
I felt we had lost him.
president and the first female president of the
Philippines. When President Ferdinand Marcos called for When that didn’t work, they put him on trial for
a snap election in 1986, she became the opposition’s subversion, murder and a host of other crimes before a
presidential candidate. When she narrowly lost the military commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and
election, Aquino and her supporters challenged the went on a fast. If he survived it, then, he felt, God
results. This resulted to the so-called EDSA revolution, intended him for another fate. We had lost him again. For
prompting Marcos to seek exile in Hawaii. On the 25th of nothing would hold him back from his determination to
February 1986, Aquino was sworn into office. see his fast through to the end. He stopped only when it
dawned on him that the government would keep his body
alive after the fast had destroyed his brain. And so, with
Speech of Her Excellency Corazon C. Aquino barely any life in his body, he called off the fast on the
President of the Philippines During the Joint Session of fortieth day. God meant him for other things, he felt. He
the United States Congress did not know that an early death would still be his fate,
that only the timing was wrong.
Three years ago, I left America in grief to bury my
husband, Ninoy Aquino. I thought I had left it also to lay At any time during his long ordeal, Ninoy could have
made a separate peace with the dictatorship, as so many
of his countrymen had done. But the spirit of democracy armed goons crashed the polling places to steal the
that inheres in our race and animates this chamber could ballots but, just the same, they tied themselves to the
not be allowed to die. He held out, in the loneliness of his ballot boxes. You saw a people so committed to the ways
cell and the frustration of exile, the democratic of democracy that they were prepared to give their lives
alternative to the insatiable greed and mindless cruelty for its pale imitation. At the end of the day, before
of the right and the purging holocaust of the left. another wave of fraud could distort the results, I
announced the people’s victory.
And then, we lost him, irrevocably and more painfully
than in the past. The news came to us in Boston. It had to The distinguished co-chairman of the United States
be after the three happiest years of our lives together. But observer team in his report to your President described
his death was my country’s resurrection in the courage that victory:
and faith by which alone they could be free again. The
“I was witness to an extraordinary manifestation of
dictator had called him a nobody. Two million people
democracy on the part of the Filipino people. The
threw aside their passivity and escorted him to his grave.
ultimate result was the election of Mrs. Corazon C.
And so began the revolution that has brought me to
Aquino as President and Mr. Salvador Laurel as Vice-
democracy’s most famous home, the Congress of the
President of the Philippines.”
United States.
Many of you here today played a part in changing the
The task had fallen on my shoulders to continue offering
policy of your country towards us. We, Filipinos, thank
the democratic alternative to our people.
each of you for what you did: for, balancing America’s
Archibald Macleish had said that democracy must be strategic interest against human concerns, illuminates
defended by arms when it is attacked by arms and by the American vision of the world.
truth when it is attacked by lies. He failed to say how it
When a subservient parliament announced my
shall be won.
opponent’s victory, the people turned out in the streets
I held fast to Ninoy’s conviction that it must be by the and proclaimed me President. And true to their word,
ways of democracy. I held out for participation in the when a handful of military leaders declared themselves
1984 election the dictatorship called, even if I knew it against the dictatorship, the people rallied to their
would be rigged. I was warned by the lawyers of the protection. Surely, the people take care of their own. It is
opposition that I ran the grave risk of legitimizing the on that faith and the obligation it entails, that I assumed
foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be the presidency.
fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers but for the
As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That is
people in whose intelligence I had implicit faith. By the
my contract with my people and my commitment to God.
exercise of democracy, even in a dictatorship, they would
He had willed that the blood drawn with the lash shall
be prepared for democracy when it came. And then, also,
not, in my country, be paid by blood drawn by the sword
it was the only way I knew by which we could measure
but by the tearful joy of reconciliation.
our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship.
We have swept away absolute power by a limited
The people vindicated me in an election shamefully
revolution that respected the life and freedom of every
marked by government thuggery and fraud. The
Filipino. Now, we are restoring full constitutional
opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority
government. Again, as we restored democracy by the
of the votes, even if they ended up, thanks to a corrupt
ways of democracy, so are we completing the
Commission on Elections, with barely a third of the seats
constitutional structures of our new democracy under a
in parliament. Now, I knew our power.
constitution that already gives full respect to the Bill of
Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship Rights. A jealously independent Constitutional
called for its doom in a snap election. The people obliged. Commission is completing its draft which will be
With over a million signatures, they drafted me to submitted later this year to a popular referendum. When
challenge the dictatorship. And I obliged them. The rest is it is approved, there will be congressional elections. So
the history that dramatically unfolded on your television within about a year from a peaceful but national
screen and across the front pages of your newspapers. upheaval that overturned a dictatorship, we shall have
returned to full constitutional government. Given the
You saw a nation, armed with courage and integrity,
polarization and breakdown we inherited, this is no small
stand fast by democracy against threats and corruption.
achievement.
You saw women poll watchers break out in tears as
My predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a Marshall plans and their like were felt to be necessary
communist insurgency that numbered less than 500. companions of returning democracy.
Unhampered by respect for human rights, he went at it
When I met with President Reagan yesterday, we began
hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that insurgency
an important dialogue about cooperation and the
had grown to more than 16,000. I think there is a lesson
strengthening of the friendship between our two
here to be learned about trying to stifle a thing with the
countries. That meeting was both a confirmation and a
means by which it grows.
new beginning and should lead to positive results in all
I don’t think anybody, in or outside our country, areas of common concern.
concerned for a democratic and open Philippines, doubts
Today, we face the aspirations of a people who had
what must be done. Through political initiatives and local
known so much poverty and massive unemployment for
reintegration programs, we must seek to bring the
the past 14 years and yet offered their lives for the
insurgents down from the hills and, by economic progress
abstraction of democracy. Wherever I went in the
and justice, show them that for which the best
campaign, slum area or impoverished village, they came
intentioned among them fight.
to me with one cry: democracy! Not food, although they
As President, I will not betray the cause of peace by which clearly needed it, but democracy. Not work, although
I came to power. Yet equally, and again no friend of they surely wanted it, but democracy. Not money, for
Filipino democracy will challenge this, I will not stand by they gave what little they had to my campaign. They
and allow an insurgent leadership to spurn our offer of didn’t expect me to work a miracle that would instantly
peace and kill our young soldiers, and threaten our new put food into their mouths, clothes on their back,
freedom. education in their children, and work that will put dignity
in their lives. But I feel the pressing obligation to respond
Yet, I must explore the path of peace to the utmost for at
quickly as the leader of a people so deserving of all these
its end, whatever disappointment I meet there, is the
things.
moral basis for laying down the olive branch of peace and
taking up the sword of war. Still, should it come to that, I We face a communist insurgency that feeds on economic
will not waver from the course laid down by your great deterioration, even as we carry a great share of the free
liberator: “With malice towards none, with charity for all, world defenses in the Pacific. These are only two of the
with firmness in the rights as God gives us to see the many burdens my people carry even as they try to build a
rights, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the worthy and enduring house for their new democracy,
nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the that may serve as well as a redoubt for freedom in Asia.
battle, and for his widow and for his orphans, to do all Yet, no sooner is one stone laid than two are taken away.
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace Half our export earnings, 2billionoutof4 billion, which
among ourselves and with all nations.” was all we could earn in the restrictive markets of the
world, went to pay just the interest on a debt whose
Like Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary
benefit the Filipino people never received.
before mercy. Like Lincoln, I don’t relish it. Yet, I will do
whatever it takes to defend the integrity and freedom of Still, we fought for honor, and, if only for honor, we shall
my country. pay. And yet, should we have to wring the payments from
the sweat of our men’s faces and sink all the wealth piled
Finally, may I turn to that other slavery: our $26 billion
up by the bondsman’s two hundred fifty years of
foreign debt. I have said that we shall honor it. Yet must
unrequited toil?
the means by which we shall be able to do so be kept from
us? Many conditions imposed on the previous Yet to all Americans, as the leader of a proud and free
government that stole this debt continue to be imposed people, I address this question: has there been a greater
on us who never benefited from it. And no assistance or test of national commitment to the ideals you hold dear
liberality commensurate with the calamity that was than that my people have gone through? You have spent
visited on us has been extended. Yet ours must have been many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many
the cheapest revolution ever. With little help from others, lands that were reluctant to receive it. And here you have
we Filipinos fulfilled the first and most difficult conditions a people who won it by themselves and need only the help
of the debt negotiation the full restoration of democracy to preserve it.
and responsible government. Elsewhere, and in other
Three years ago, I said thank you, America, for the haven
times of more stringent world economic conditions,
from oppression, and the home you gave Ninoy, myself
and our children, and for the three happiest years of our
lives together. Today, I say, join us, America, as we build United States and effectively implemented an essentially
a new home for democracy, another haven for the similar foreign policy to that of dictatorship. For example,
oppressed, so it may stand as a shining testament of our Cory recognized that the large sum of foreign debts
two nation’s commitment to freedom. incurred by the Marcos regime never benefited the
Filipino People. Nevertheless, Cory expressed her
intentions to pay off those debts. Unknown to many
Analysis of Cory Aquino’s Speech Filipinos was the fact that there was a choice of waiving
the said debt because those were the debt of the dictator
Cory Aquino’s speech was an important event in and not the country. Cory’s decision is an indicator of her
the political and diplomatic history of the country government’s intention to carry on a debt driven
because it has arguably cemented the legitimacy of the economy.
EDSA government in the international arena. The speech
talks of her family background, especially her Reading through Aquino’s speech, we can
relationship with her late husband, Ninoy Aquino. It is already take cues, not just on Cory’s individual ideas and
well known that it was Ninoy who served as the real aspirations, but also the guiding principles and
leading figure of the opposition of that time. Indeed, framework of the government that she represented.
Ninoy’s eloquence and charisma could very well compete
with that of Marcos. In her speech, Cory talked at length
about Ninoy’s toil and suffering at the hands of the SPEECH OF PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS DURING
dictatorship that he resisted. Even when she proceeded THE TERMINATION OF MARTIAL LAW
talking about her new government, she still went back to
It was on September 21, 1972 when the late President
Ninoy’s legacies and lessons. Moreover, her attributions
Ferdinand Marcos promulgated Proclamation No. 1081,
of the revolution to Ninoy’s death demonstrates not only
placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law in order
Cory’s personal perception on the revolution, but since
to protect the integrity of the Republic from the rising
she was the president, it also represents what the
wave of lawlessness and the threat of a communist
document discourse was at that point in our history.
insurgency. This liberties, closed down Congress and
The ideology or the principles of the new media establishments, and caused the arrest of
democratic government can also be seen in the same opposition leaders and militant activists.
speech. Aquino was able to draw the sharp contrast
between her government and her predecessor by
expressing her commitment to a democratic constitution SPEECH OF PRESIDENT MARCOS DURING THE
upholds and adheres to the rights and liberty of the TERMINATION OF MARTIAL LAW
Filipino people. Cory also hoisted herself as the
reconciliatory agent after more than two decades of a ABOUT THE AUTHOR
polarizing authoritarian politics. For example, Cory saw Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. was
the blown-up communist insurgency as a product of a born on September 11, 1917, in Ilocos Norte province. He
repressive and corrupt government. Her response to this was a member of the Philippine House of
insurgency rooted from her diametric opposition of the Representatives (1949-1959) and Senate (1959-1965)
dictator. (i.e. initiating reintegration of the communist before winning the presidential election. After winning a
rebels to the mainstream Philippines society.) Cory second term, he declared martial law in 1972, that
claimed that her main approach to this problem was eventually leads to economic stagnation and recurring
through pace and not through the sword of war. reports of human rights violations. Marcos held onto the
Despite Cory’s efforts to hoist herself as the presidency until 1986 when his people rose against his
exact opposite of Marcos, her speech still revealed rule and he was forced to flee. He died on September 28,
certain parallelisms between her and the Marco’s 1989 in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii.
government. This is seen in terms of continuing the During World War II, Ferdinand Marcos served as an
alliance between the Philippines and the United States officer with his country's armed forces, later claiming
despite the known affinity between the said world super that he was also a top figure in the Filipino guerrilla
power and Marcos. The Aquino regime, as seen in Cory’s resistance movement. At the end of the war, when the
acceptance of the invitation to address the U.S. Congress American government granted the Philippines
and to the content of the speech, decided to build and independence on July 4, 1946, the Philippine Congress
continue the alliance between the Philippines and the was created.
Marcos was inaugurated on December 30, 1965. His first the debt service ratio before this administration was
presidential term was notable for his decision to send more than 40 percent of the dollar earnings the previous
troops into the fray of the Vietnam War, a move he had year. This has been reduced to 20 percent; and now, as
previously opposed as a Liberal Party senator. He also of 1980, reduced to 18.72 percent of foreign exchange
focused on construction projects and bolstering the earnings in the previous year.
country's rice production. Marcos was reelected in 1969,
When Marcos took over as President in 1965, most of the
the first Filipino president to win a second term, but
indebtedness was short-term indebtedness payable
violence and fraud were associated with his campaign,
within one year, two years, three years, and five years.
which was believed to be funded with millions from the
More than 90 percent. All of these were immediately
national treasury. Marcos decreed martial law in 1972.
shifted or converted into long-term indebtedness, for
some reason or other, because of inefficient
management of our affairs. Because of their bad
CONTEXTUAL & CONTENT ANALYSIS
creditworthiness, they could not borrow any money
On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos from anywhere. The most that the World Bank could lend
placed the Philippines under Martial Law. The them before
declaration issued under the Proclamation 1081
suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority
in the country. Marcos defended the declaration 1965 was $40 million. By 1975 and 1976, the World Bank
stressing the need for extra powers to suppress the rising had changed its opinion of the Philippines so much so
wave of violence allegedly caused by communists. that it was ready to lend at a single time $500 million. But
most of these borrowings did not go to the government.
Marcos wants to save the republic from evil elements like
They went into productive enterprises. The borrowings
communists by declaring the Military Law. Instead of
of government do not go to pay for salaries or what
losing and losing communists, their members grew
those, in government, call ordinary or current
stronger and more, they fueled against the Marcos
expenditures— housekeeping, salaries of officers and
regime.
employees, as well as furniture and equipment. On the
Marcos wanted to change society through the Military current budget, there is always a surplus. Since 1965 to
Law. He already changed society because the Filipinos the present, there has always been a surplus in the
are already afraid of him. Social reforms also included the current budget of the Republic of the Philippines.
implementation of a nutrition program. There are 4,000-
They have borrowed but only for purposes of productive
daycare centers all over the land. Their model, which has
enterprise. These are the self-paying and the self-
been adopted by the United Nations—health program, a
regenerating enterprises which people must support.
family planning program which had been long denied the
And, incidentally, nobody lends you money if you cannot
humblest and the poorest of the countrymen.
put up a counterpart fund. The least amount of
Government reform a program in the word “PLEDGES”
counterpart fund that is required is about 50 percent of
which means Peace and Order; Land Reform; Economic
the entire cost of the project.
Development; Development of moral values;
Government Reform; Educational Reforms and Social The international reserves were increased from
Services. practically zero in 1965. The statistics say the US $282
million were left in the Central Bank. When Marcos asked
The Gross National Product increased from P55,526
the Central Bank, however, he was told that their
million in 1972 to P192,911 million in 1979 at 1972
commitments exceeded the US $300 million. And,
constant prices or P269,781 million at current prices. The
therefore, they did not have enough foreign exchange to
Gross National Product increased from P55,526 million in
pay their indebtedness as of 1965. The foreign exchange
1972 to P192,911 million in 1979 at 1972 constant prices
reserves were practically zero. And later they have the
or P269,781 million at current prices. Savings and time
US $3.1 billion in the Central Bank as the foreign
deposits have increased from P5,402 million in 1972 to
exchange reserves of the Republic of the Philippines. It
P49,116 million as of September 1980. Gross domestic
was said truly that the rich will grow richer because they
investments have not only doubled but trebled,
have the funds and the capital. And they have no
quadrupled, quintupled. From P11,573 million in 1972, it
intention of confiscating private property. It is not a part
was increased to about P78,198 million in 1980, while
of the ideology of the New Society to confiscate private
gross national savings increased from P11,679 million in
property and private enterprise. But they shall regulate
1972 to P62,395 million in 1980. There was a time when
wealth so it shall not be utilized to brutalize the poor and undeniably enjoy now. Moreover, the primary source
the weakness of our people. And thus, it is that the rich should let us learn from the lessons of the past.
must pay heavier taxes.
In 1972, the percentage of families with incomes of
P1,999 and below was 24.3 percent. In 1979, this had PAINTINGS OF JUAN LUNA AND FERNANDO
been reduced to 11.2 percent, or by more than one-half. AMORSOLO
The families with incomes of P30,000 and more. In 1972,
there was only 5 percent of them out of the entire JUAN LUNA'S PAINTINGS
population. Now, there are more than twice that. There
is 12.8 percent of those who have this high income. And AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND
considering that almost all of these families that Marcos Juan Luna (October 23, 1857- December 7, 1899) was
speak of life in the rural areas, the New Society certainly known as the “Finest arts and First International Filipino
has effectively changed the standard of living of the Painter”. He was the son Juaquin Luna de San Pedro y
Filipino masses. Finally, the effective minimum wage had Posadas and Laureana Novicio y Ancheta that was born
increased from P4.75 in 1972 to P23.30-24.70 in 1980. on October 23, 1857, in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. He was
There has been a major change in government since the influenced to paint by his brother Manuel who was also
proclamation of Martial Law. The Congress that makes a painter. Juan Luna is considered one of the greatest
and outsourcing laws has been abolished. The senators Filipino artists in Philippine history with masterpieces
and representatives have been removed from duty. such as Solarium, The Death of
Under the Military Act, the President had the legislative Cleopatra, and Blood Compact. He was a Filipino
power. He made Presidential Decrees, General Orders, painter, sculptor, and a political activist of the Philippine
and Letter of Instruction. These will govern the Revolution during the late 19th century. He was one of
Government and all civilian powers. The Presidential the first recognized Philippine artists. His close friendship
Order is valid and forceful as the laws issued by the with National Hero Jose Rizal has sparked Philippine
former Congress. nationalism and pride. Juan Luna was mostly known for
HISTORICAL & CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE his works as being dramatic and dynamic, focusing on
romanticism and realism styles of art.
As the country was suffering from grinding poverty,
widespread corruption, a stalled political and judicial On December 8, 1886, Luna married Maria de la
system, and internal violence, three alternative Paz Pardo de Tavera, a sister of his friend Felix and
explanations for the martial law decision may include the Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, the couple traveled to Europe
following: and settled in Paris. They had one son, whom they
named Andres and a daughter who died in infancy.
The official, the constitutional explanation is the threat
of violent rebellion. Educational Background

Another view sees martial law as Marcos' way of He received his degree in Bachelor of Arts at Ateneo de
circumventing congressional and bureaucratic Manila and enrolled later at Escuela Nautica de Manila
obstruction to achieve reforms and eliminate corruption- where he became a sailor. This did not stop Luna from his
-whether for altruistic or selfish reasons. pursuit of developing his artistic skills. He took lessons
under the famous painting teacher Lorenzo Guerrero and
The "imperialist lackey" view focuses on Marcos' also enrolled at Academia de Dibujo y Pintura under the
relations to the United States and multinational business Spanish artist Agustin Saez.
interests. Marcos is protecting foreign investors and
granting huge incentives for oil exploration, against the Luna left for Barcelona in 1877, together with his
wishes of the Congress; some believe that his purpose is elder brother Manuel, who was a violinist. While there,
to stabilize himself in power and avoid demanding that Luna widened his knowledge of the art and he was
the United States pay rent on its Philippine bases. exposed to the immortal works of the Renaissance
masters. One of his private teachers, Alejo Vera, a
This document will help constructively recognize the famous contemporary painter in Spain, took Luna to
contributions of President Marcos to the country's Rome to undertake certain commissions. In 1877, Juan
economic, social, cultural, and educational development. Luna traveled to Europe to continue his studies and
These contributions have shaped our nation as it is today. enrolled at Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. It
We also have to put a premium on his legacies which we was in 1881 when he received his first major
achievement as an artist and this is through winning a in Madrid. The 1881 Madrid painting contest was Luna's
silver medal at the Nacional de Bellas Artes(National first art exposition. Because of the exposure, Luna
Demonstration of Fine Arts) with his work “The Death of received a pension scholarship at the Ayuntamiento de
Cleopatra.” From there, he continued to gain recognition Manila. After the painting competition, Luna sold it for
and respect as an artist. Juan Luna kept on impressing the 5,000 Spanish pesetas, the highest price for a painting at
European and Filipino society through the Nacional de the time. As Luna's "graduation work", The Death of
Bellas Artes with outstanding works such as the Cleopatra was acquired by the Spanish government for
“Spolarium” which won gold in 1884 and “Battle at one thousand euros.
Lepanto” in 1887.
Awards
• Silver Medal for La Muerte de Cleopatra (Death
of Cleopatra), Rome 1881
• Silver Palette for Dafinis Y Cloe (Roman Youths),
Rome, 1881
• 1st Gold Medal (1st Class) for Sploliarium (Rome,
1884
Blood Compact, Paris 1885
• Silver Palette with Laurel for Spoliarium (Madrid,
1884) It depicts the traditional “kasikasi” or drinking
ceremony which was a symbol of friendship, peace, and
• 1st Gold Meda (3rd Class) for Spoliarium goodwill among those executing the compact. Blood
(Madrid, 1884) Compact executed by the Spaniards in the Philippines
held on March 16, 1565, between Don Miguel Lopez de
• Diploma of Honor for Las Damas Romanas
Legazpi and Rajah Sikatuna of Bohol.
(Roman Ladies), Paris, 1886
• Diploma of Honor for La Mestiza en Su Tocador
(The Mestiza in her Boundier), Venice, 1886
• Gold Medal/Special Award for La Batalla de
Lepanto (Paris, 1887)
• Bronze Medal for Hymen, Oh Hymenee (A
Roman Wedding) (Venice, 1886)
• Honorary Award for Chiffonier (Paris, 1888)
• Gold Medal (Posthumous Award) for Peuple et Spoliarium
Rois (People and Kings), Paris, 1882
The painting features a glimpse of Roman history
• Silver Medal (Posthumous Award for El Pacto de centered on the bloody carnage brought by gladiatorial
Sangre (The Blood Compact), Paris, 1886 matches. Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the
• Silver Medal (Posthumous Award) for Don basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Paris, 1886 dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly
possessions.
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
At the center of Luna’s painting are fallen gladiators
The masterpieces of Juan Luna were created during the being dragged by Roman soldiers. On the left, spectators
Spanish Colonization of the Philippines in the 19th ardently await their chance to strip off the combatants of
Century and some were created during the midyears of their metal helmets and other armories. In contrast with
American Rule in the Philippines. the charged emotions featured on the left, the right side
meanwhile presents a somber mood. An old man carries
Death of Cleopatra, Rome 1881
a torch perhaps searching for his son while a woman
The famous painting was a silver medalist or second prize weeps the death of her loved one.
winner during the 1881 National Exposition of Fine Arts
The Spoliarium is the most valuable oil-on-canvas España Y Filipinas meaning “Spain and the Philippines” is
painting by Juan Luna, a Filipino educated at the an oil on wood painting of Juan Luna in 1886. The two
Academia de Dibujo y Pintura (Philippines) and at the women together are the representation of Spain and the
Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. With a size Philippines. The painting also is known as España
of 4.22 meters x 7.675 meters, it is the largest painting in Guiando a Filipinas (Spain Leading the Philippines).
the Philippines. A historical painting, it was made by Luna
In this painting, Juan Luna wants to show the strong bond
in 1884 as an entry to the prestigious Exposicion de Bellas
between Spain and the Philippines. It also revealed the
Artes (Madrid Art Exposition, May 1884) and eventually
true hope and desire of every Filipino to have an equal
won for him the First Gold Medal.
treatment between Spain and the Philippines, even Spain
leading the Philippines in a progressive country.

The Parisian Life

Juan Luna painted this masterpiece in 1892 when
he was staying in Paris, France. It is called The Parisian
Life but is also known as Interior d’un Cafi (meaning
“inside a cafe”). He used oil on canvas to create this 22 x
31-inch painting.
This may seem like any other old piece of artwork but the
FERNANDO AMORSOLO'S PAINTINGS
details and story of this masterpiece are one of a kind.
The men in the background are actually three well known AUTHOR'S BACKGROUND
Filipinos: Juan Luna himself, Jose Rizal, a very famous
author and hero, and Ariston Bautista Lin, the first owner Fernando Cueto Amorsolo (May 30, 1892 – April 26,
of the painting. These men were all living in France at 1972) is one of the most important artists in the history
that time. of painting in the Philippines. Amorsolo was a portraitist
and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Fernando
Amorsolo was born on May 30, 1892, in Paco, Manila to
Pedro Amorsolo, a bookkeeper, and Bonifacia Cueto.
Amorsolo spent his childhood in Daet, Camarines Norte,
where he studied in a public school and was tutored at
home in Spanish reading and writing. After his father’s
death, Amorsolo and his family moved to Manila to live
with Don Fabian de la Rosa, his mother’s cousin, and a
Philippine painter. At the age of 13, Amorsolo became an
apprentice to De la Rosa, who would eventually become
the advocate and guide to Amorsolo’s painting career.
España Y Filipinas During this time, Amorsolo’s mother embroidered to
earn money, while Amorsolo helped by selling
Her mirror image is said to resemble the
watercolor postcards to a local bookstore for 10 centavos
archipelago of the Philippines – her outstretched arm
each. Amorsolo’s brother, Pablo, was also a painter.
being the island of Palawan. Another interesting detail is
the darkness on the woman’s neck and the line going During his lifetime, Amorsolo was married twice
from her head to the top of the picture. This apparently and had 14 children. In 1916, he married Salud Jorge,
shows that the Philippines was going through a time of with whom he had six children. After Jorges death in
struggle which could very well be because they were 1931, Amorsolo married Maria del Carmen Zaragoza,
being oppressed by the Spanish at that time. with whom he had eight more children. Among her
daughters are Sylvia Amorsolo Lazo and Luz Amorsolo. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Five of Amorsolo children became painters themselves.
The masterpieces of Amorsolo were created during
Amorsolo was a close friend to the Philippine sculptor
the American colonial rule and the Japanese
Guillermo Tolentino, the creator of the Caloocan. It is
occupation of the Philippines during World War II.
believed that he had painted more than 10,000 pieces,
his Rice Planting (1922), which appeared on posters and CONTENT ANALYSIS
tourist brochures, became one of the most popular
images of the Commonwealth era. He died on April 24, The painter Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) was a
1972, at the age of 79. dominant figure in the visual arts of the Philippines
during the decades before the Second World War and
Educational Background into the post-war period. His oeuvre is characterized by
scenes of the Filipino countryside, harmoniously
Amorsolo earned a degree from the Liceo de Manila Art
composed and richly colored, saturated with bright
School in 1909 and entered the University of the
sunlight and populated by beautiful, happy people: it is
Philippines' School of Fine Arts. He was a portrait artist
an art of beauty, contentment, peace, and plenty – which
and known painter of rural Philippine landscapes. He
perhaps explains its enduring popularity in the
graduated with honors from the U.P. in 1914 and got a
Philippines to this day. Moreover, Amorsolo's paintings
study grant in Madrid, Spain. He was also able to visit
commemorate the different tradition, cultures, and
New York, where he encountered postwar
customs of Filipinos.
impressionism and cubism, which would be major
influences on his work. Don Fabian De La Rosa advocate
and guide to Amorsolo’s painting career while Diego
Velasquez is the major influence of Amorsolo’s and
Enrique Zobel De Ayala gave him the grant to study in
Madrid, Spain
Awards
• 1908 2nd Prize, Bazar Escolta (Asociacion
Internacional de Artistas), for Levendo Periodico
• 1922 1st Prize, Commercial and Industrial Fair in
the Manila Carnival
Planting Rice with Mayon Volcano
• 1929 (1939?) 1st Prize, New York’s World Fair,
Planting Rice with Mayon Volcano was painted in 1949.
for Afternoon Meal of Rice Workers (also known as
Happy Filipino villagers in their bright clothes and straw
Noonday Meal of the Rice Workers)
hats work together amid a green and sunlit landscape of
• 1940 Outstanding University of the Philippines plenty. Behind them, releasing a peaceful plume of
Alumnus Award steam rises the beautifully symmetrical cone of Mayon
stratovolcano. It is the ash erupted by the volcano over
• 1959 Gold Medal, UNESCO National Commission its highly-active history that has made the surrounding
• 1961 Rizal Pro Patria Award landscape fertile, and the tranquil cone appears here to
be a beneficial spirit of the earth standing guardian over
• 1961 Honorary Doctorate in the Humanities, the villagers and their crops. Mayon’s eruptions can be
from the Far Eastern University very destructive (as in the violent eruption of 1947, not
• 1963 Diploma of Merit from the University of the long before this picture was painted, when pyroclastic
Philippines flows and lahars brought widespread destruction and
fatalities) but here the relationship between the volcano
• 1963 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, and the surrounding landscape is depicted as a positive,
from the City of Manila fruitful and harmonious one. Mayon is a celebrated
• 1963 Republic Cultural Heritage Award symbol of the Philippines, and its presence in Amorsolo’s
painting emphasizes his wish to represent the spirit of
• 1972 Gawad CCP para sa Sining, from the the nation on canvas.
Cultural Center of the Philippines
 clothes that the women are wearing are an older style,
more vintage, and really depict the traditional styles. The
skirts the women are wearing are long and their tops
were like a traditional “kimona”. The three women are
sewing passionately which demonstrates elegance. The
painting was not that kind of vibrant in the eyes but can
set your mood is calm. The setting is inside of a house
which is more like a “Bahay Kubo” The main colors that
were used in the painting were brown, red, blue, and
yellow. The mood and visual effects that this painting can
be considered are calmness and serenity. The painting
The Fruit Pickers under the Mango Tree shows a contrast of colors of brown to yellow which is
Fernando Amorsolo created this painting during the year not harmonious. The artist balanced his characters and
1937. This year was the rise of women's rights. Many the background in his painting which makes the painting
events for the Filipinas occurred during that time. One, balanced. There are no real lines in the painting because
the Philippines held a plebiscite for Filipino women on it is painted in a pointillist style.
whether they should be extended the right to suffrage;
over 90% voted in the affirmative. Also, for the first-ever,
Filipino women were given the right to vote during
elections.
The artist, Amorsolo, created this artwork to show the
true value of Filipinos. They are hard- working yet happy
of what they are doing. It was to also make the world
aware of the true Filipina beauty. Overall, this painting
was intended to show Filipino’s characteristic glow. This
can be proven by looking at the characters in the
painting.
The artwork is entitled Fruit Pickers Under the Mango
This is a representative of Amorsolo's World War II-era
Tree. It was painted by Fernando Amorsolo a famous
paintings. Here, a Filipino man defends a woman, who is
Filipino artist. It was made by using oil on 25 1/4 x 37 1/2
either his wife or daughter, from being raped by an
inches canvas and was finished in the year 1937.
unseen Japanese soldier. Note the Japanese military cap
at the man's foot.
After the onset of World War II, Amorsolo's typical
pastoral scenes were replaced by the depictions of a war-
torn nation. During the Japanese occupation of the
Philippines during World War II, Amorsolo spent his days
at his home near the Japanese garrison, where he
sketched war scenes from the house's windows or
rooftop.
During the war, he documented the destruction of many
landmarks in Manila and the pain, tragedy, and death
experienced by Filipino people, with his subjects
including "women mourning their dead husbands, files of
The Making of the Philippine Flag
people with pushcarts and makeshift bags leaving a dark
The painting shows three women namely Marcella burning city tinged with red from fire and
Marino de Agoncillo (on the right side) refer as the blood."Amorsolo frequently portrayed the lives and
mother of the Philippine flag, with the help of Lorenza suffering of Filipina women during World War II. Other
and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad which is actually the World War II-era paintings by Amorsolo include a portrait
daughter of Marcela. They were tasked by Gen. Emilio in absentia of General Douglas MacArthur as well as self-
Aguinaldo to sew the first flag for the new republic. The portraits and paintings of Japanese occupation soldiers.
THE RAIDERS OF SULU SEA where it demonstrated the open-armed resistance to the
colonial rule of the Muslims.
We live in a pluralistic world and a conflict-torn world.
Sad to say that some of these are the open armed Prof. Barbara Watson Andaya, born on June 7, 1943, is
conflicts and bloody resistance between Muslims and an Australian historian and author who studies Indonesia
Christians. and Maritime Southeast Asian History. She had done
extensive researches on women’s history in Southeast
The gap of these two religious standpoints was Asia, and of late, on the localization of Christianity in the
undeniably huge. But what really happened in the gap of Region.
these two that it seems to continue years after until
today? How and why these Muslim People were called She received her Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of
pirates and raiders? Are they really what they call and Education in Asian Studies from the University of Sydney.
identify, “The Raiders of the Sulu Sea?” She also earned her Doctoral in Philosophy in Southeast
Asian University at Cornell University with a
specialization in Southeast Asian History and got her
THE RAIDERS OF SULU SEA Masters Degree at the University of Hawaii. She teaches
courses as a full-time professor in Asian Studies and is the
THE BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHORS AND NARRATORS director of the University’s Center for Southeast Asian
Icelle Gloria Durano Borja Estrada was born in Studies. She was the president of the American
Zamboanga City and was a 7th generation direct Association for Asian Studies from 2005 to 2006.
descendant of Vicente Alvarez, the hero of Zamboanga Dr. Julius Bautista is currently appointed as Senior
City during the Spanish-American War. She earned her Lecturer at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at
first degree at Western Mindanao State University the National University of Singapore. He remains as an
(WMSU) of Bachelor of Science in History Education; Associate of the Religion and Globalization in Asian
then continued finishing other degrees at Pilar College, Contexts Cluster at Asia Research Institute.
Zamboanga City; University of the Philippines Diliman
College of Fine Arts, major in Art History; and Ateneo de He is an anthropologist and cultural historian
Zamboanga City. who earned a Doctorate degree in Philosophy in
Southeast Asian Studies from the Center for Asian
She is a collector of art and is a member of the Societies and Histories at the Australian National
National Commission on Museums of the National University. He was a Visiting Fellow at ARI's Religion and
Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines, Globalisation in
President of the Mindanao Association of Museums and
for many years, was a curator of Art Museum Exhibits in Asian Contexts Cluster from 2005 to 2011. His
the Philippines and abroad. teaching and research interests include Catholicism in
the Philippines, Comparative World Religions, The
Dr. Samuel Kong Tan is a Samal-Taosug-Chinese Filipino material culture of Southeast Asia, Pain, Nociception and
born in Siasi, Sulu. He earned his Masters Degree in religious ritual, Ethnographic practice and methodology,
History at University of the Philippines Diliman and his and Asian-Australian heritage scholarship.
Doctoral in Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies at
Syracuse University, New York, USA. He is a published Halman Abubakar is a Taosug and a town councilor of
Author and served as the Chairperson of UP Diliman’s Jolo, Sulu, and is a member of the educated Abubakar
Department of History and was also the Chairman and Clan of Jolo. He asserts that the attacks on the Spanish
Executive Director of the National Historical Institute in forces were the Moro reaction to Spanish and American
1998. imposition on the Moro People.

He is well-known for his famous book “A History He promotes indigenous martial arts "Silat" –
of the Philippines”, briefly describes the human history historic and significant on Taosug bladed weapons; as a
and culture of the Philippines, focusing on three Filipino form of self- defense and glorifies the historic and
cultural communities--the Moros, the Indios, and the symbolic significance of these weapons. He also shares
Infieles--and examining how these groups reflect the the sentiments of his people by resenting the
country's history and development. characterization of Western Colony and Filipino
historiography as "pirates".
He shared his view about the colonial depictions
of Moro “Slave raiding” in the Philippines coastal towns Dr. Margarita “Tingting” R. Cojuangco is a Filipino
politician, philanthropist, and socialite. She was the
former Chairman of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino off the Spanish Forces. They really had to suppress the
(Kampi) party, was governor of Tarlac, and was an Spanish presence here in the peninsula because the Fort
Undersecretary of the Department of Interior and Local was their base of operations.
Government and a member of the Council of Philippine
According to some historians, slave raiding happened in
Affairs (COPA). She is a columnist in The Philippine Star
the Philippines long before the Western Powers arrived
and was a candidate for a seat in the Senate in the 2013
but it was never widespread productivity. The arrival of
Philippine Senate Election.
the Spanish and the desire to dominate trade in the
She studied at the University of Santo Tomas region trigger slavery. The Spanish refer to the slave
with a doctorate degree in Philosophy of Public Safety, raiders as Moros. If they weren’t from different tribes,
finished her Masters in National Security Administration they would challenge the Spanish authority for
(MNSA) at the National Defense College, and holds occupancy.
doctorate degrees in Criminology and Philippine History.
The pirates that were described by the Colonial Powers
She is known for her humanitarian projects and involved activities of different tribes in the Mindanao
works among Muslim communities and her participation Area as well as the Sulu Archipelago. These 3 Muslim
in the peace talks with the Moro National Liberation Groups were the Balangingi- Samal Tribe, the Illanuns,
Front. and the Taosugs. The Illanuns and Balangingi-Samal
group were both long-standing seafaring communities
and would often join forces with the Taosugs that is
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS known for its fierce warriors. All of the piratical attacks
and retaliatory attacks conducted from Sulu and
It is the 18th Century, and life from some of the coastal Maguindanao always carried these contingents.
inhabitants of the Philippines was anything but idyllic.
For without warning, they could be attacked by the History also questioned, should these raiders from the
merciless Illanuns –the raiders of the Sulu Sea. These south be called “Pirates”? Do these raiders fight for
raiders were fearless and fiercer in battle even against personal gain or just serving their local, political masters?
better armed, technologically superior colonial forces. The documentary informants stated that “pirates” is
misleading because it doesn’t cover raiders and people
To the western colonists, these raiders are nothing but who acted on behalf of the state. It was then concluded
barbaric pirates; and they were hunted down and such. that the Moro act was an act of retaliation against the
But there is speculation that these raiders are not the foreign occupier and was sanctioned by the sultanates in
savages they were made out to be, but nearly indigenous the name of a higher course: Islam.
people defending their way of life against the foreign
oppressor. There is little doubt that these raiders were There was also a certainly great deal of pressure from the
skilled fighters and deadly swordsmen, but they are also South for populations in the Visayas to become
expert sailors and builders of formidable vessels of war. Islamized. But, the presence of the Spanish in the Visayas
These raiders are not just bandits but a well- organized and Northern Luzon disrupted the spread of Islam. The
force that could attack with the precision of strategy, Spanish Colonial Administration thought it was their
giving these western colonial forces a run for their lives. responsibility to prevent the spread of Islam from the
south to the Christianized populations in the North. They
On December 8th, 1720, the Southern regions of have an impressive empire that their conquest is not only
Mindanao were occupied by Spanish soldiers that were motivated by these colonies but also by the opportunity
then identified as Zamboanga City. It sits at the tip of the to propagate Christianity. Therefore, Christianity deploys
Southwest peninsula of the Philippines that is protected quickly displacing Islam and Indigenous Tribal beliefs.
by the city’s Fort Pilar –a ten-meter-high wall that acted
as a defense fortress. The Fort served as the base of The Spaniards weren’t concern about what the people in
operations to check on slave-raiding going on the north the South were after but rather, was really more than
and back. that they really undermined the commercial interests of
the region. Through this, they gained new power in the
King Dalasi was the King of Bulig in Maguindanao who region which was exerting its own agendas and its own
led in attacking the Fort Pillar together with the forces of influences. However, the Sultanates in the South just
the Sulu Sultanate; burned the town around the Fort, cut wanted to do was to maintain their power, if not,
down the line of provisions for the Spaniards, and began increase it a little bit more. Both sides use religious
a war against the soldiers inside the Fort. Dalasi’s raiders ideologies to further influence and feed their objectives.
fight with a vengeance and desire to rip Zamboanga City
Behind the clash of religious doctrines was a more peninsula, and as far north as Luzon; particularly in White
compelling reason for the Spanish to bring the slave Beach near Subic Bay, Zambales. Balangingis are
raiders to the hill –the spoils of trade with the orient. considered to be part of the larger group of Sama-Badjao
Something the Spanish wanted a full- control of. In many and speak the Balangingi dialect.
respects, the Spanish wanted to be a part of this
In the early nineteenth century, an entire ethnic group,
exchange in trade but also wanted to do so in
the Samal Balangingi of the Sulu- Mindanao region,
conjunction with the conversion of religious perspective
specialized in state-sanctioned maritime raiding,
and mindset and colonization of our Islands.
attacking Southeast Asian coastal settlements and
trading vessels. This paper traces the process of the
formation of the Samal Balangingi as an ethnic group
CONTENT ANALYSIS
comprised of 'pirates' and their captives, and their
The documentary film addressed the resistance of the continued sense of belonging to the island stronghold of
People in the South, the Moros, from the Spanish- Balangingi, even after its inhabitants were forcefully
American Colonial forces in the Southern region of the resettled between 1848 and 1858. The paper also
Philippines. stresses just how critical the Spanish resettlement policy
directed against the deported Samal Balangingi was for
1. The Moro People are not really pirates or rebels their future cultural and social life. It highlights the
but indigenous people who demonstrated resistance inextricable relationship between maritime raiding,
from the Spanish forces. slavery, forced migration, 'homeland', and cultural
2. The most celebrated attack was the December identity as being critical factors that led to the
8th, 1970 attack by King Dalasi. emergence of new ethnicities and diasporas. By
highlighting the problems of self-definition and the
3. The Moro act was an act of retaliation against reconstruction of identities and the meaning of
the foreign occupier and was sanctioned by the homeland and lost places, as a revealing social and
sultanates in the name of a higher course: Islam. psychological process in its own right, the case of the
4. Spaniards were concerned about the Samal Balangingi challenges lineal notions of history and
commercial interests of the region and to propagate bounded static conceptions of 'culture' and ethnic
Christianity. groups that were imposed, imagined and maintained by
Europeans both prior to and after colonization.
5. Slave-raiding was part of the bigger regional
trade in the Islands of Southeast Asia. 2. The Illanuns

6. Artifacts originating from China that was found The Illanun, called Iranun and Ilianon as well, are closely
in Butuan City are proof of the great distances travelled related culturally and linguistically to the Maranao and
by the Sea farers of Sulu and the trading activities they Maguindanaon. The Illanun language is part of the
were involved in Austronesian family that is most closely related to
Maranao. When the Spaniards left, however, contact
7. The Western Colonial Ruling sand open-armed between the Maranao and Illanun decreased.
conflicts in the Southern region of the Philippines cause
the impoverishment of Muslim Areas economically and The majority of Illanun live along the coastline in the of
religiously. the towns of Nulingi, Parang, Matanog, and Barira in
Maguindanao Province, Mindanao; along the Iliana Bay
coast, north of the mouth of the Pulangi River; and all the
way to Sibugay Bay in Zamboanga del Sur and even the
The Three Muslim Tribes
western coastal plain of Borneo. Illanun, a Malay term
1. Balangingi-Samal Tribe meaning “pirate,” is appropriate for the people of this
ethnic group, who were once regarded as the fiercest
The Balangingi, also known Northern Sama or Northern pirates in the Malay area.
Sinama, is an ethnolinguistic group living on the Greater
Sulu Archipelago and the southern and western coastal 3. The Taosug Tribe
regions of the Zamboanga peninsula in Mindanao. They
The dominant ethnic group in the Sulu archipelago
are mostly found in Lutangan and Olutangga islands in
because of their political and religious institutions, the
Zamboanga del Sur, Basilan Island of the Sulu
Tausug occupy Jolo, Indanan, Siasi, and Patikul in Sulu
Archipelago, coastal areas of Zamboanga coast
(ARMM). There are also scattered settlements in
Zamboanga del Sur and Cotabato, and all the way to Southeast Asia. Large lanongs were also inaccurately
Malaysia, which has an estimated Tausug population of known by the Spanish as joangas or juangas. The name
more than 110,000. Lanong is derived from Lanun, an exonym of the Iranun
people.
Tausug is a combination of tau (person) and suug (the old
name of Jolo Island). The present generation of Tausugs 2. Garay
are believed to be descended from the different ethnic
Garay is a traditional native warship of the Banguingui
groups that had migrated to the Sulu archipelago.
people in the Philippines. These are the fast-attack boats
Traditionally the Tausug are sailors, pearl divers and of the Samalian Tribes. They were made of Bamboo
traders, their ancestral homelands in the Sulu wood and Nipa Palm and could carry more than 100
Archipelago have vigorous tidal currents that flow from sailors. The ship was 25 meters long and 6 meters across
the Sulu and China Seas to the Celebes Sea. This and hounds the power magazine and cannon at the
translates literally into the name people of the current. barrel. With 30 to 60 oars in each side, the Garay was
faster than any other sea-going vessel of its time.
This native tribe, the first group in the archipelago to be
converted to Islam, possess a courage that is beyond In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were
doubt, their bravery is supposed to be unquestionable, commonly used for piracy by the Banguingui and Iranun
therefore the Tausug are often named Tau Maisug or people against unarmed trading ships and raids on
brave people. coastal settlements in the regions surrounding the Sulu
Sea. They are smaller, faster and more manoeuvrable
They are proud Muslims renowned for their fierce
speeding boats replaced from the juangas. The name
resistance in the face of Spanish Conquerors, for 300
means "scattered" or "wanderer" in the Sama language
years the Tausug and the Spanish were engaged in
of the Banguingui.
almost continuous warfare, which ended when the
Spaniards left the Philippines. The Tausug regards 3. Salisipan
themselves superior to other Philippine Muslims and still
Kakap (also known as salisipan) is a canoe-shaped boat
live a combative way of life, running away from a fight is
which sometimes have outriggers. They are often used
considered shameful. One old Tausug proverb says:
by the Iranun and Banguingui people of the Philippines
Hanggang maybuhay, may pag asa, meaning; Never
for piracy and for raids on coastal areas. They are usually
admit defeat as long as you live.
part of fleets with larger motherships like pangajava,
garay, or lanong warships.
The Ancient Maritime Vessels of the Moro People Among Malays, this type of boat is used as a boat
of war or passenger boat. Raiding fleets are used as
The Moro People used compasses, browsed telescopes,
auxiliary vessels. These boats were used to collect
and the stars to navigate the seas. They are also
manpower and ships from friendly raiding bases along
knowledgeable about the monsoon of the region and use
the way; eventually, building a fearsome, organized sea
them to travel extensively during the month of August
force.
and October in a period called “The Pirate Season.”
1. Lanong
The Ancient Weapons of the Moro People
Lanong is a large outrigger warship used by the Iranun
and the Banguingui people of the Philippines. It could 1. Kalis / Kris
reach up to 30 m (98 ft) in length with 6 meters wide
It is a type of double-edged Filipino sword, often with a
hounds, each at cannons mounted at the bar and had
"wavy" section The kalis's double-edged blade can be
two biped shear masts which doubled as boarding
used for both cutting and thrusting. The sword is more
ladders. It has 24 oars at each side rowed by captures
than 300 years old and it was used during the time of the
slaves that served as their flagships.
Spanish colonization. It is a weapon for warfare and
Each vessel carried a hundred to hundred-fifty servility. It is 2 meters in length and was carried not only
men including a captain, soldiers, slaves to row and by slave raiders into battle but also nobles and high-
captured local slaves to navigate unknown waters. The ranking officials of southern Sultanates. It’s double-edge
vessels were specialized for naval battles. They were blade is used for easier slashing and penetration to the
prominently used for piracy and slave raids from the mid- bone that would stick so it’s very hard to pull.
18th century to the early 19th century in most of
2. Barong Fort served as the base of operations to check on slave-
raiding going on the north and back.
Barong or Barung is the one Taosug warriors use to cut
off an M-14 and a carabiner because its blade is thick. It
is a deadly weapon and a sword with a single-edge leaf-
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
shape blade made of thick type of steel. It is also a 1-
meter long weapon that was used to enclose hand to The historiography documentary film “Raiders of the
hand battle to cut Spanish firearms down to size. This Sulu Sea” is a presentation of the study of the history that
weapon is used by Muslim Filipino ethnolinguistic groups happened in the mid-17th century and the years after
like the Tausug, Sinama or Yakan in the Southern that was still in the line with the Moro-Spanish past. It
Philippines. vindicated the Moro Wars in the Mindanao Region, as to
the influence of Religious Ideologies and economic forces
3. Kampilan
that drove the clash resistance –to what was the
Kampilan is the longest sword that was used by the aftermath of it; that will serve as an insight to what
Illanuns. It is a heavy, single-edge sword that has two happened on the Southern tip of Zamboanga City and the
horns projecting from the blunt side of the tip which was Western Power sufficing it with artillery and force.
used to pick up the head of the decapitated body. The
The history of the Moro people is part of the backbone
Kampilan has a distinct profile, with the tapered blade
of the historical development of the Philippines. It was
being much broader and thinner at the point than at its
asserted in the film that no Philippine history can be
base, sometimes with a protruding spikelet along the flat
complete without the study of Muslim development and
side of the tip and a bifurcated hilt which is believed to
the Colonization that occurred.
represent a mythical creature's open mouth. At about 36
to 40 inches (90 to 100 cm) long, it is much larger than The historical relevance in the Southern
other Filipino swords. Philippines and the Spanish Colonization is concerned
with the line of conflicts in the historical development:
4. Armor
Political: The Moro People frayed for their political
The armor was made from carabao horn. Its steel plate
power hold that was gradually assimilated into the
was molded to fit the body and held together by chain
jurisdiction of the Philippine Government.
mail. It could also deflect the blows from a sword but
useless against firearms. Social: The resistance of the Moro People against the
religious influence of the Christianity that was widely
spread by the Spaniards
The Ancient Weapons of the Spanish Forces
Economic: Commercial ventures of natural resources
1. Musket fuelled the growing demands of slaves from the south
that intensify the frequency of the Moro people of their
The musket could fire 90 meters. It was inaccurate and
raiding expeditions.
took several stages steps to reload.
Cultural: The artistic indigenous crafts making of the
2. Cannons
Slave raiders through the boats and weapons made and
It is a type of gun classified as artillery that launches a used; and also, the pattern of trade that has begun years
projectile using propellant. In the past, gunpowder was ago between China and India long before the entry of
the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless Western Powers.
powder in the 19th century. Cannons vary in caliber,
range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower.
Different forms of cannon combine and balance these CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE
attributes in varying degrees, depending on their
In the modern context and setting of the Philippines
intended use on the battlefield.
today, we live in a pluralistic world and a conflict-torn
The Fort Pilar of Zamboanga City Zamboanga City world. Sad to say that some of these conflicts have been
sits at the tip of the Southwest peninsula of the abetted, if not aggravated by religions, flaring up in open
Philippines that is protected by the city’s Fort Pilar –a armed conflicts and bloody resistance between Muslims
ten-meter-high wall that acted as a defense fortress. The and Christians. The Philippine context of which we have
to share open armed conflicts was in Mindanao, and equipped to recognize different types of interpretation,
have been portrayed as Christian-Muslim Conflict. why these may differ from each other, and how to
critically sift these interpretations through historical
The “Raiders of the Sulu Sea” presents the study of the
evaluation. Interpretations of historical events change
history that happened in the Moro- Spanish past. It
over time; thus, it is an important skill for a student of
vindicated that the different standpoints of the two
history to trace these changes in an attempt to
parties was brought forth by the influence of Religious
understand the past.
Ideologies and economic forces that drove the clash
resistance. Muslim- Christianity Rivalry is until today, With several possibilities to interpreting the
sufficing in our era. past, another important concept that we must note is
multiperspectivity. This can be defined as a way of
The history of the Moro people and the Colonization that
looking at historical events, personalities, developments,
happened in Zamboanga City will always be a part of the
cultures, and societies from different perspectives. This
backbone of the historical development of the
means that there is multitude of ways by which we can
Philippines. It abridges us to the perspective of knowing,
view the world, and each could be equally valid, and at
understanding, and commemorating the importance of
the same time, equally partial as well. Historical writing
the history of the Southern Region of the Philippines.
is, by definition, biased, partial, and contains
The contemporary relevance in the Southern preconceptions. With multiperspectivity as an approach
Philippines and the Spanish Colonization is concerned in history, we must understand that historical
with the line of causations in the Philippine setting and interpretations contain discrepancies, contradictions,
context today: ambiguities, and are often the focus of dissent.

Political: The Moro People constructs an autonomous

political entity in the South, supported by the
SITE OF THE FIRST MASS
Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act No. 11054)
People debating on the first mass story find it as a
Social: The acceptance and acknowledgment for the
religious and geographical matter. Religiously, it marks
Moro People with regards to religious differences and
the birthplace of Christianity in the Philippines.
ideologies in our modern time.
Geographically, it challenges the "accuracy" of Spanish
Economic: To combat the freedom to attain and acclaim narratives about the Philippine spaces and places, and
natural resources against the oppression of big their movements between these places. Numerous
companies and international trading system; and also debates have been made on this controversy and it was
the tax system supported by TRAIN LAW that would only even elevated and fought over to the Congress. Both
threaten continuing poor areas in the South. camps persist with their claims and they continuously
challenge each other’s evidences and assertions. In
Cultural: The preservation of the indigenous crafts and March 1998, however, the disputed issue was officially
products in the South and the continuity of performing settled when the National Historical Institute (NHI)
indigenous arts and beliefs is a way of keeping the culture declared Limasawa to be the site of the first catholic
alive. mass. Despite the foregoing verdict, the pro-Masao
group has not stopped from asserting its claim until
today.
But as a Filipino, what is the significance of this
THE SITE OF THE FIRST MASS first Eucharistic celebration issue? The value of this
controversy rests on the fact that the conduct of the first
“Making sense of the past” is a process wherein
Holy Mass is associated with the introduction of
historians utilize facts collected from primary sources
Christianity on Philippine soil. Historically, it corrects
and then draw their own reading so that their intended
geographical distortion contained in Philippine
audience may understand the historical event. The
historiography.
premise is that not all primary sources are accessible to
a general audience, and without the proper training and
background may do more harm than good.
Interpretation of the past, therefore, vary according to THE BUTUAN TRADITION
who reads the primary source, when it was read, and The Butuan claim rests upon a tradition that was almost
how it was read. As students of history, we must be well- unanimous and unbroken for three centuries, namely the
17th, the 18th and the 19th. On the strength of that Islands in the name of the Crown of Castile, as having
tradition and embodying it, a monument was erected in taken place at Butuan on Easter Sunday of 1521.
1872 near the mouth of the Agusan River at a spot that
The other Jesuit writer of the mid-17th century
was then within the municipal boundaries of Butuan, but
was Father Francisco Combes S.J. (1620-1665) who, like
which today belongs to the separate municipality of
Colin, had lived and worked as a missionary in the
Magallanes, named after Ferdinand Magellan. The
Philipines, and whose Historia de Mindanao y Jolo was
monument was a brick pillar on which was a marble slab
printed in Madrid in 1667, two years after the author's
that contained an inscription which might be translated
death and five years after Colin's work was published.
as follows:
Combes’ History of Mindanao was also reissued 230
To the Immortal Magellan: the People of Butuan years afterwards in a handsome edition edited by
with their Parish Priest and the Spaniards resident Wenceslao Retana assisted by Father Pastells, In his
therein, to commemorate his arrival and the celebration account of Magellan's voyage, Combes gives a somewhat
of the First Mass on this site on the 8th of April 1521. different version of the route taken by the Discoverer.
Erected in 1872, under the District Governor Jose Ma.
For our present purpose, the main point in that
Carvallo.
account is that Magellan landed at Butuan and there
The monument was erected apparently at the planted the cross in a solemn ceremony. Combes does
instigation of the parish priest of Butuan, who at the time not mention the first Mass. What he mentions are the
was a Spanish friar of the Order of Augustinian other two events which, from Pigafetta's account, had
Recollects. The date given for the first Mass (8 April 1521) occurred on the same day as the first Mass, namely the
may be an obvious error, or it may be a clumsy and planting of the cross and the formal claiming of the
anachronistic attempt to translate the original date in Archipelago on behalf of the Castilian Crown. These
terms of the Gregorian calendar. In any use, that events, says Combes, took place at Butuan.
monument is a testimonial to the tradition that remained
vigorous until the end of the 19th century, namely, that
Magellan and his expedition landed at Butuan and THE EVIDENCE FOR LIMASAWA
celebrated there the first Mass ever offered on Philippine
soil. I. The Evidence of Albo's Log-Book

The Butuan tradition was already in possession Francisco Albo joined the Magellan expedition as a pilot
by the middle of the 17th century: so much so that it was ("contramaestre") in Magellan's flagship "Trinidad". He
accepted without question by two Jesuit historians who was one of the eighteen survivors who returned with
otherwise were quite careful of their facts. Sebastian Elcano on the "Victoria" after having
circumnavigated the world. Albo began keeping his own
One of these historians was Father Francisco diary -- merely only a log-book - on the voyage out, while
Colin S.J. (1592-1660) whose Labor evangelica was first they were sailing southward in the Atlantic along the
published in Madrid in 1663, three years after his death. coast of South America, off Brazil. His account of their
The work was reissued 240 years later in a magnificent entry into Philippine waters (or, as it was then called, the
three-volume edition annotated by Father Pablo Pastelis archipelago of San Lazaro) . . . may be reduced to the
S.J. (Madrid, 1903). following points:
Colin had obviously read some authentic On the 16th of March (1521) as they sailed in a
accounts of Magellan's voyage for his narration is westerly course from the Ladrones, they saw land
accurate up to the landing in Homonhon, (He spells it towards the northwest; but owing to many shallow
Humunu, as does Pigafetta.) After that, Colin's account places they did not approach it. They found later that its
becomes vague, He abruptly brings Magellan to Butuan name was Yunagan.
without explaining how he got there. Then he brings him
to Limasawa (which he misspells Dimasaua), and from They went instead that same day southwards to another
there the account becomes again accurate and detailed. small island named Suluan, and there they anchored.
The important thing in Colin's account as far as our There they saw some canoes but these tied at the
present purpose is concerned, is the fact that he Spaniards’ approach. This island was at 9 and two-thirds
represents the first Mass, as well as the solemn planting degrees North latitude.
of the cross and the formal taking possession of the Departing from those two islands, they sailed westward
to an uninhabited island of "Gada" where they took in a
supply of wood and water. The sea around that island That fits the location of the small island of Limasawa,
was free from shallows. (Albo does not give the latitude south of Leyte. The island's southern tip is at 90°54' N.
of this island, but from Pigafetta's testimony, this seems
It is to be noted that Albo does not mention the first
to be the "Acquada" or Homonhon, at 10 degrees North
Mass, but only the planting of the cross upon a
latitude,)
mountain-top from which could be seen three islands to
From that island they sailed westwards towards a large the west and southwest. This also fits the southern end
island named Seilani which was inhabited and was of Limasawa. It does not fit the coast of Butuan from
known to have gold. (Seilani – or, as Pigaffeta calls it, which no islands could be seen to the south or the
"Ceylon" – was the island of Leyte.) southwest, but only towards the north.
Sailing southwards along the coast of that large island of
Seilani, they turned southwest to a small island called
II. The Evidence from Pigafetta
"Mazava". That island is also at a latitude of 9 and two-
thirds degrees North. The most complete account of the Magellan expedition
is that by Antonio Pigafetta entitled First Voyage Around
The people of that island of Mazava were very good.
the World. Like Albo, he was a member of the expedition
There the Spaniards planted a cross upon a mountain-
and was therefore an eyewitness of the principal events
top, and from there they were shown three lands to the
which he describes, including the first Mass in what is
west and southwest, where they were told there was
now known as the Philippine Archipelago, but which
much gold. "They showed us how the gold was gathered,
Magellan called the Islands of Saint Lazarus. Of
which came in small pieces like peas and lentils."
Pigafetta's work there are two excellent English
From Mazava they sailed northwards again towards translations, one by Robertson (from the Italian) and
Seilani. They followed the coast of Seilani in a another by Skelton (from the French).
northwesterly direction, ascending up to 10 degrees of
The pertinent section in Pigafetta's account is that part in
latitude where they saw three small islands.
which he narrates the events from the 16th of March
From there they sailed westwards some ten leagues, and 1521 when they first sighted the islands of the Philippine
there they saw three islets, where they dropped anchor Group, up to the 7th of April when the expedition landed
for the night. In the morning they sailed southwest some at Cebu. That was a period of approximately three weeks.
12 leagues, down to a latitude of 10 and one-third
degree. There they entered a channel between two
islands, one of which was called "Matan" and the other Pigafetta's Testimony Regarding the Route
"Subu”
The route taken by the Magellan expedition may be
They sailed down that channel and then turned reconstructed if we follow Pigafetta's account day by
westward and anchored at the town (la villa) of Subu day. Here is a summary of his account.
where they stayed many days and obtained provisions
and entered into a peace-pact with the local king. 1. Saturday, 16 March 1521. – Magellan's expedition
sighted a "high land" named “Zama!" Which was some
The town of Subu was on an east-west direction with the 300 leagues westward of the Ladrones (now the
islands of Suluan and Mazava. But between Mazava and Marianas) Islands.
Subu, there were so many shallows that the boats could
not go westward directly but had to go (as they did) in a 2. Sunday, March 17. – "The following day" after sighting
round-about way. Zamal Island, they landed on "another island which was
uninhabited" and which lay "to the right" of the above-
Such is Albo 's testimony. The island that he calls Gada mentioned island of “Zamal." (To the "right" here would
seems to be the acquada of Pigafetta, namely the island mean on their starboard going south or southwest.)
of Homonhon where they took in supplies of water and There they set up two tents for the sick members of the
wood. The large island of Seilani which they coasted is crew and had a sow killed for them. The name of this
the island of Leyte. Coasting southwards along the island was "Humunu” (Homonhon). This island was
eastern coast of that island, then turning southwest they located at 10 degrees North latitude.
came upon small island named, Mazava, which lies at a
latitude of 9 and two-thirds degrees North. 3. On that same day (Sunday, 17 March). – Magellan
named the entire archipelago the "Islands or Saint
Lazarus", the reason being that it was the Sunday in the
Lenten season when the Gospel assigned for the Mass 10. Thursday, 28 March. – In the morning of Holy
and the liturgical Office was the eleventh chapter of St. Thursday, they anchored off an island where the
John, which tells of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. previous night they had
4. Monday, 18 March. – In the afternoon of their second 11. They remained seven days on Mazaua Island. What
day on that island, they saw a boat coming towards them they did during those seven days, we shall discuss in a
with nine men in it. An exchange of gifts was in effected. separate section below, entitled "Seven Days at
Magellan asked for food supplies, and the men went Mazaua.”
away, promising to bring rice and other supplies in "four
12. Thursday, 4 April. – They left Mazaua, bound for
days.'
Cebu. They were guided thither by the king of Mazaua
5. There were two springs of water on that island of who sailed in his own boat. Their route took them past
Homonhon. Also, they saw there some indications that five "islands": namely: "Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai,
there was gold in these islands. Consequently, Magellan and Catighan.
renamed the island and called it the " Watering Place of
Pigafetta thought that Ceylon and Baibai were
Good Omen" (Acquada la di bouni sr gnialli).
separate islands. Actually, they were parts of the same
6. Friday, 22 March. – At noon the natives returned. This island of Leyte. "Canighan" (Canigao in our maps) is an
time they were in two boats. and they brought food island off the southwestem tip of Leyte. They sailed from
supplies. Mazaua west by northwest into the Canigao Channel,
with Bohol Island to port and Leyte and Canigao Islands
7. Magellan' expedition stayed eight days at Homonhon:
to starboard. Then they sailed northwards along the
from Sunday, 17 March. to the Monday of the following
Leyte coast, past Baibai to "Gatighan". The identity of
week, 25 March.
Gatighan is not certain. But we are told that it was twenty
8. Monday, 25 March. – In the afternoon, the expedition leagues from Mazaua and fifteen leagues from "Subu"
weighed anchor and left the island of Homonhon. In the (Cebu).
ecclesiastical calendar, this day (25 March) was the feast-
13. At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three
day (of the Incarnation, also called the feast of the
islands of the Camotes Group, namely, Poro, Pasihan and
Annunciation and therefore "Our Lady’s Day." On this
Ponson. (Pigafetta calls them "Polo, Ticobon, and
day, as they were about to weigh anchor, an accident
Pozon.") Here the Spanish ships stopped to allow the king
happened to Pigafetta: he fell into the water but was
of Mazaua to catch up with them, since the Spanish ships
rescued. He attributed his narrow escape from death as
were much faster than the native balanghai — a thing
a grace obtained through the intercession of the Blessed
that excited the admiration of the king of Mazaua.
Virgin Mary on her feast-day.
14. From the Camotes Islands they sailed
9. The route taken by the expedition after leaving
[southwestward] towards "Zubu".
Homonhon was "toward the west southwest, between
four islands: namely, Cenalo. Hiunanghan, lbusson and 15. Sunday, 7 April. – At noon on Sunday, the 7th of April,
Albarien." Very probably "Cenalo" is a misspelling in the they entered the harbor of "Zubu" (Cebu). It had taken
Italian manuscript for what Pigaffeta in his map calls them three days to negotiate the journey from Mazaua
"Ceilon" and Albo calls "Seilani": namely the island of northwards to the Camotes Islands and then southwards
Leyte. "Hiunanghan" (a misspelling of Hinunangan) to Cebu.
seemed to Pigafetta to be a separate island, but it is
That is the route of the Magellan expedition as
actually on the mainland of Leyte (i.e. "Ceylon"). On the
described by Pigafetta. It coincides substantially and in
other hand, Hibuson (Pigafetta's lbusson) is an island east
most details with the route as described in Albo's, log. In
of Leyte's southern tip.
that route, the southermost point reached before getting
Thus, it is easy to see what Pigafetta meant by to Cebu was Mazaua, situated at nine and two-thirds
sailing "toward the west southwest” past those islands. degrees North latitude.
They left Homonhon sailing westward towards Leyte,
The question may now be asked: Could this "Mazaua"
then followed the Leyte coast south yard, passing
have be Butuan? Or more precisely, could it have been
between the island of Hibuson on their portside and
the "Masao" beach in the Agusan River delta, near
Hiunangan Bay on their starboard, and then continued
Butuan?
southward, then turning westward to "Mazaua".
Seven Days at Mazaua venerated. Magellan and the Spaniards returned to the
ship for the noon-day meal, but in the afternoon, they
In that island of “Mazaua" — which according to both
returned ashore to plant the cross on the summit of the
Pigafetta and Albo was situated at a latitude of nine and
highest hill. In attendance both at the Mass and at the
two-thirds degrees North - the Magellan expedition
planting of the cross were the king of Mazaua and the
stayed a week. "We remained there seven days," says
king of Butuan.
Pigafetta. What did they do during those seven days?
5. Sunday, 31 March. – On that same afternoon, while on
Was it possible (as some writers have suggested) that the
the summit of the highest hill, Magellan asked the two
expedition left Mazaua, went south to Butuan, offered
kings which ports he should go to in order to obtain more
Mass there, and then returned to Mazaua before
abundant supplies of food than were available in that
proceeding to Cebu?
island. They replied that there were three ports to
The answer must be sought in Pigafetta's day-by-day choose from: Ceylon, Zubu and Calagan. Of the three,
account of those seven days. Here is the summary of his Zubu was the port with the most trade. Magellan then
account: said that he wished to go to Zubu and to depart the
following morning. He asked for someone to guide him
1. Thursday, 28 March. – In the morning they anchored thither. The kings replied that the pilots would be
near an island where they had seen a light the night available "any time." But later that evening the king of
before. A small boat (boloto) came with eight natives, to Mazaua changed his mind and said that he would himself
whom Magellan threw some trinkets as presents. The conduct Magellan to Zubu but that he would first have to
natives paddled away, but two hours later two large bring the harvest in. He asked Magellan to send him men
boats (balanghai) came, in one of which the native king to help with the harvest.
sat under an awning of mats. At Magellan's invitation
some of the natives went up the Spanish ship, but the 6. Monday, 1 April. – Magellan sent men ashore to help
native king remained seated in his boat. An exchange of with the harvest, but no work was done that day because
gifts was effected. In the afternoon of that day, the the two kings were sleeping off their drinking bout of the
Spanish ships weighed anchor and came closer to shore, night before.
anchoring near the native king's village. This Thursday, 28
7. Tuesday, 2 April, and Wednesday, 3 April. – Work on
March, was Thursday in Holy Week: i.e., Holy Thursday.
the harvest during the "next two days", i.e. Tuesday and
2. Friday, 29 March. – "Next day. Holy Friday, " Magellan Wednesday, the 2nd and 3rd of April.
sent his slave interpreter ashore in a small boat to ask the
8. Thursday, 4 April. – They leave Mazaua, bound for
king if he could provide the expedition with food
Cebu.
supplies, and to say that they had come as friends and
not as enemies. In reply the king himself came in a boat "We remained there seven days," says Pigafetta. Every
with six or eight men, and this time went up to day is accounted for. The Mass on Easter Sunday was
Magellan’s ship and the two men embraced. Another celebrated on that island of Mazaua, and not in Butuan
exchange of gifts was made. The native king and his or elsewhere.
companions returned ashore, bringing with them two
members of Magellan’s expedition as guests for the
night. One of the two was Pigafetta. III. Summary of the Evidence of Albo and Pigafetta
3. Saturday, 30 March. – Pigafetta and his companion Taking the evidence of Albo's log-book together with that
had spent the previous evening feasting and drinking from Pigafetta's account, we may take the following
with the native king and his son. Pigafetta deplored the points as established:
fact that, although it was Good Friday, they had to eat
meat. The following morning (Saturday) Pigafetta and his 1. Magellan's expedition entered Philippine
companion took leave of their hosts and returned to the waters south of the island of Samar and towards Leyte
ships. and then southwards parallel to the eastern coast of that
island and that of the adjoining island of Panaon.
4. Sunday, 31 March. – “Early in the morning of Sunday, Rounding the southern tip of the latter, they anchored
the last of March and Easter day,” Magellan sent the off the eastern shore of a small island called Mazaua.
priest ashore with some men to prepare for the Mass. There they stayed a week, during which on Easter Sunday
Later in the morning, Magellan landed with some fifty they celebrated Mass and planted the cross on the
men and Mass was celebrated, after which a cross was summit of the highest hill.
 2. The island of Mazaua lies at a latitude of nine
and two-thirds degrees North. Its position (south of
Leyte) and its latitude correspond to the position and
latitude of the island of Limasawa, whose southern tip
lies at 9 degrees and 54 minutes North.
3. From Mazaua, the expedition sailed
northwestwards through the Canigao channel between
Bohol and Leyte, then northwestwards parallel to the
eastern coast of this latter island, then they sailed
westward to the Camotes Group and from there
southwestwards to Cebu.
4. At no point in that itinerary did the Magellan
expedition go to Butuan or other point on the Mindanao
coast. The survivors of the expedition did go to Mindanao
later, but after MagelIan's death.

IV. Confirmatory Evidence of Legazpi Expedition

There is confirmatory evidence from the documents of
the Legazpi expedition, which sailed into Philippine
waters in 1565, forty-four years after Magellan. One of
the places that Legazpi and his pilots were anxious to visit
was precisely Mazaua, and to this end they inquired
about "Mazaua" from Camotuan and his companions,
natives of the village of Cabalian at the southeastern end
of the island of Leyte. Guided by these natives, the
Legazpi ships rounded the island of "Panae" (Panaon),
which was separated from Leyte by a narrow strait, and
anchored off "Mazaua” – but they found the inhabitants
to be hostile, apparently as a result of Portuguese
depredations that had occurred in the four-decade
interval between the Legazpi and the Magellan
expeditions.
From Mazaua, they went to Camiguing (which
was visible from Mazaua), and from there they intended
to go to Butuan on the island of "Vindanao" but were
driven instead by contrary winds to Bohol. It was only
later that a small contingent of Spaniards, in a small
vessel, managed to go to Butuan.
The point seems clear: As pilots of the Legazpi expedition
understood it, Mazaua was an island near Leyte and
Panaon; Butuan was on the island of Mindanao. The two
were entirely different places and in no wise identical.