Shenivel E.

Bante BSED 1B

A. The First Voyage around the World (1519-1522): An Account of Magellan's Expedition
by Antonio Pigafetta

The First Voyage Around the World by Magellan authored by Antonio Pigafetta became
an access to let the Philippines be known to the Wests. It is a detailed account that
presented the first record of globalization and the great opportunity to be aware of the
diverse culture in each island they stepped into. The navigation route that Magellan and his
sailors designed has geographical and symbolically linked different cultures and civilization
that provided exchanges and achievements in commerce and religious practices.
Furthermore, the Pigafetta’s daily written journal revealed the discovery of the Magellan
Route or the Strait of Magellan that played a role in making the world understandable as it is
today. It was also indicated in the said travelogue that Magellan’s unfinished
circumnavigation exposed that the earth was much larger than what they thought it would be
and proved that it is indeed round.

Antonio Pigafetta, or also known as Antonio Lombardo, was a famous and rich explorer
that served on board of galleys of the Knights of Rhodes. He later joined Portuguese captain
Magellan when he heard about the latter’s plan of exploring the world. Pigafetta became the
geographer and scribe of the group. His account contains the recorded names of places,
vocabulary of natives, customs, attires, foods, tradition as well as his own first-hand
experience of the journey. Moreover, it was considered as an eyewitness account of their
astounding voyage. It is a narrative representation of the events that happened during their
trip, specifically in the land of Philippines. In the book, Pigafetta stated that it is Magellan
and his crew who converted some of the natives to Christianity. Magellan was also the one
who gave the image of an infant Jesus Christ made by Pigafetta that nowadays we call Sto.
Niño. and thus, Magellan indeed died in the Philippines. Pigafetta then published The First
Voyage Around The World by Magellan after he returned in Italy. The said book was based
on his original journal that was reportedly lost. As of now, the book has only four copies
remained preserved at different places.

The Spaniards funded Magellan’s plan to go to East via westward direction to Spice
Island in search of spices as it was in-demand among the Europeans because of its various
benefits. Magellan was given five boats with 270 men. Unfortunately, at the end, only
Pigaffeta and 17 other men were the ones who completed the first circumnavigation of the
world and one ship called Victoria. However, historians saw inconsistencies, defects of
sources and biases on Pigafetta's account. The statements: “Cilapulapu’s forces were about
1,500” and “We converted approximately 800 natives in a single day” stirred historians as
they said that the estimations regarding quantity is not a hundred percent reliable. They also
noticed how Pigafetta pleasingly described Magellan without any negative remarks that
showed his loyalty to his captain and friend. Furthermore, the claims of the author such as
(1) “First Mass in the Philippines” happened on the Good Friday (first Sunday after the holy
Friday) at 8th of April 1521. However, Pigafetta did not explicitly state where it specifically
 took place. The only entry about the first claim is that the crew was with the kings of Butuan
and Calagan Island, Raia Colambu and Raia Siaui. The first mass in the Philippines
happened in the island of Masaua, Butuan is accepted as part of the country’s history. Yet,
Francisco Albo’s log (considered as the shortest among all accounts) claims that the first
mass actually happened in Limasawa (9 45’N) rather than Masaua as during that time, there
were no safe and rich harbor on the latter island considering the fact that Magellan’s crew
focuses on finding ports and large cities to trade and collect spices in which why they arrived
at Zubu (modern day Cebu). Associating Pigafetta’s Journal and Albo’s log, the latter’s
account best fits the location of the Limasawa, at the southern tip of Leyte. The occurrence
of the first mass was never mentioned but the planting of the cross on the mountain top are
present in both accounts. The second claim is all about the (2) miracle of converting the
natives to Christianity. During that time, the natives have certain artifacts they consider as
their idols in which they kept on sacrificing and offering animals for a bedridden man to heal.
Magellan told them that if the sick man were to be baptized, he would heal quickly. After
which, the man who turned out to be the Prince’s brother spoke for the first time and could
walk within days. Though Magellan’s act caused the natives to strengthen their faith and
convert to Christianity, there were many factors to consider as how the sick man recovered.
According to Pigafetta, Magellan made the sick man drink almond milk and made him eat
daily which could be the reason of his recovery. This claim is more likely a bias of Pigaffeta
as it is not entirely feasible in today’s time that baptism could aid an illness just like how
presented in his writing. (3) The books I encountered during elementary stated that Lapu-
Lapu is the one who killed Magellan by using a spear which led the former considered as
the first bayani. However, according to Pigaffeta’s account, it was not indicated that Lapu-
Lapu was the one responsible of Magellan’s death as there were a battalion of soldiers and
one of it could have killed the Captain. Overall, the book played a big contribution to
European historiography as it preserved and popularized the achievements of Magellan and
Elcano’s expedition.

Pigafetta’s chronicle enriched the historiography of the Philippines as it contains

essential information about the 16th century conditions of the Visayan Islands. It also
became a source of local textbook writers and publishers as historical information about the
beginning of Christianity in the country. Additionally, it offers a glimpse of the pre-colonial
attitudes, traditions, customs and linguistic features of ‘native’ Filipinos particularly residing
in the islands of Visayas.

B. The Declaration of Martial Law by Ferdinand Marcos

Former President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1081 declaring martial law
over the entire country on September 21, 1972. In the said document, there were six (6) general
orders that defined specific acts and commands that served as the initial working foundation of
Martial Law in the Philippines (Agbuya, 2017). (1) Marcos declared total control over the entire
government which includes all the government agencies and instrumentalities. Also, he
proclaimed the use of all powers of his office including his role as a commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines. (2) Marcos directed the Minister of Defense to arrest
opposition figures (including Benigno Aquino), journalists, student and labor activists, and
criminal elements whose names were listed in an accompanying appendix. (3) He proclaimed
the continuous function of all government offices under existing officials and employees in which
government agencies, local government units, and government owned or controlled
corporations are included. (4) Marcos also ordered the enforcement of curfew that spanned
from 12AM to 4AM. (5) He also prohibited public demonstrations and public assemblies such as
demonstrations in critical industries (e.g. manufacturing or processing of essential commodities
or products for exports) as well as in hospitals and educational institutions. Lastly, (6) Marcos
declared the prohibition of possession of firearms outside the residency of an individual
excluding certain individuals whose names were listed.

Then Justice Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile recalled that one late afternoon of December
1969, the former President instructed him to study about the his powers as commander-in-chief
of AFP under the provisions of the 1935 Constitution which the latter specified that “the study
must be done discreetly and confidentially.” Along with the timeline, Marcos also ordered then
Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor and Jose Almonte to study how Martial Law was applied
in other countries along with its consequences. Almonte recalled that the result of their study
stated that Martial Law may impose acceleration of development; however, the Philippines
would become a political archipelago with devastating, divided politics. In addition, the outcome
of the study led to the conclusion that “the nation would be destroyed because, apart from the
divisiveness it would cause, Martial Law would offer Marcos absolute power which would
corrupt absolutely.” With the help of Efren Plana and Minerva Gonzaga Reyes, Enrile submitted
the only copy of the confidential report about Martial Law’s legal nature and extent to Marcos by
the end of January 1970. A week later, Marcos called Enrile and ordered him to organize the
documents needed to implement Martial Law in the Philippines. In 1971, to lay the groundwork
that extreme measures might be needed in the future, Marcos met with business leaders,
intellectuals of University of the Philippines, and of course, the military. On May 8, 1972, Marcos
instructed the military to update him about the plans and the list of personalities to be arrested.
He also met Enrile discussing the finalization of the required legal paperwork in which on August
1, 1972, both of them met with Marcos’ most trusted military commanders to deliberate tentative
dates for the declaration of Martial Law. The said proclamation was signed by Ferdinand
Marcos on September 21, 1972, yet broadcasted two days later to the public. The Martial Law
was lifted on January 17, 1981 where Marcos signed Proclamation No. 2045.

The Declaration of Martial Law shows that Ferdinand Marcos had visions for the Philippines yet
others claim that his vision was for his own and not for his countrymen. It was also considered as
one of the darkest era of the Philippines. One of the stated reasons why Marcos implemented
Martial Law is the rising number of communist threat and the alleged ambush of his Defense
Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile. However, there were reports that say the ambush was stage in order
to justify the imposition of Martial Law as Enrile then admitted in 1986 (Official Gazette). One of the
claims of those who opposed Marcos regime said that the reason why youth nowadays still think that
he was the greatest president of all times due to his proclaimed censorship (e.g. shutting down
medias).