Chapter 3

“One Past but many Histories”:

Controversies and Conflicting
Views in Philippine History
 Learning Outcomes
• State the different versions of four of the controversial issues in
Philippine history;
• Analyze the conflicting views presented on some historical
events that shaped the history of the Philippines; and
• Make a critical evaluation of the issues in Philippine history.
• Four of the controversies that have continuously been
subjects of discussions, conflicting at time misunderstanding
among friends who differ in their views about them are the:
site of first mass in the Philippines, the Cavite Mutiny, the
Retraction of Rizal and the Cry of Balintawak.
• Lately, the EDSA People Power, was it a revolution or
not and whether Marcos is a hero or not and if he
deserved to be buried at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani,
have been added to the controversies in Philippine history.
A. THE SITE OF THE FIRST
MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES:
MASAU OR LIMASAWA?
 Antonio
Pigafetta
• The historian of Magellan expedition.
• One of the men of Magellan who was
able to return to Spain on board the
Victoria (the only ship which survived the
expedition)
 A. The site of the First Mass in the Philippines:
Masau or Limasawa?

• As chronicled by Pigafetta, the first mass in the Philippines

archipelago was celebrated on March 31, 1521 along the
shores of what referred to by him as Mazaua.

• Mazaua- An island located at the tip of Southern Leyte. It

was believed to be Limasawa.
 A. The site of the First Mass in the Philippines:
Masau or Limasawa?

• Writing of J. Mallat about the first Mass in the Philippines.

- “On Palm Sunday, Magellan went in person to the Village of
Butuan, erected an altar decorated with leaves and flowers and
had the crew of hid three vessels go ashore to hear the first Mass
ever celebrated in those far way regions, in which he was so
anxious to have said in order to give thanks to the God of the seas
for the protection which He had given to the expedition.
 A. The site of the First Mass in the Philippines:
Masau or Limasawa?

• In commemoration of the birth of Christianity in the

Philippines, RA No. 2733 was enacted on June 19, 1960 – it
also known as Limasawa Law.
• Limasawa Law – it declared the site in Magallanes, Limasawa
Island in Leyte as a national shrine, the place having been the
site of the first Mass un the Philippines. However, this law was
not signed by the President.
 A. The site of the First Mass in the Philippines:
Masau or Limasawa?

• The declaration of Limasawa as the site of the first Mass in the

Philippines as embodied in the unsigned law was contested by some
historians:

• SONIA ZAIDE : She identified Masao in Butuan as the

location of the first Christian Mass.
 A. The site of the First Mass in the Philippines:
Masau or Limasawa?

• CONGRESSWOMAN CHING PLAZA – She filed a bill in

Congress in 1995 contesting the Limasawa claim, asserting that
Butuan was the site of the First Mass.
• The controversy about the first Mass was referred to the National
Historical Institute (now National Historical Commission of the
Philippines) for further study and recommendation.
 A. The site of the First Mass in the Philippines:
Masau or Limasawa?

• After the further study Dr. Samuel K. Tan, then Chairman of the
NHI, reaffirmed Limasawa as the site of the first Mass in the
Philippines.
• Despite of the reaffirmation of the NHI that Limasawa was the site
of the first Christian Mass in the archipelago, this controversy and
conflicting view continue to haunt many scholars and students of
Philippine history and the controversy did not stop there.
B. The Cavite Mutiny
 B. The Cavite Mutiny
• There are four versions related to the Cavite Mutiny –
the Jose Montero y Vidal, Spanish historian version;
the version of Governor-General Rafael Izquierdo;
the version of Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo te
Tavera; and that of the French writer, Edmund
Plauchut.
B. The Cavite Mutiny
• Jose Montero y Vidal Versions
- According to him it as a
“revolution,” an attempt by the Indios
to topple down the Spanish government
in the Philippines.
 B. The Cavite Mutiny
• Governor-General Izquierdo Versions
- On the other hand, he used this event
as a vehicle to implicate the Filipino
priests who were then active in their
secularization of the Philippine parishes’
campaign.
 B. The Cavite Mutiny
• Jose Montero y Vidal and Governor-General
Izquierdo Versions
- They both believed that the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was
planned earlier, that it was a conspiracy among the
educated, the mestizos, the native lawyers, citizens of
Manila, Cavite and the Filipino priest.
B. The Cavite Mutiny
• Trinidad Pardo de Tavera Versions
- For him, the Cavite event was just a
mutiny of the natives, soldiers and workers
in the Cavite arsenal who were disheartened
because of the removal of the privileges
which they used to enjoy earlier.
 B. The Cavite Mutiny
• Edmund Plauchut Versions
- He stated in his account that the Cavite Mutiny
happened because of discontent of the arsenal workers
and soldiers in Cavite fort which originated from the
order of the governor (Izquierdo) which exacted taxes
from the Filipino laborers in the engineering and
artillery corps in the Cavite arsenal, and required them
to perform forced labor deducted from their pay
envelope.
C. THE RETRACTION OF
RIZAL
C. THE RETRACTION OF RIZAL
• One of the most controversial issues in
Philippine history is the retraction of Jose Rizal.
Until today, this retraction issue is a subject of
discussion among historians, researchers and
students of history.
C. THE RETRACTION OF RIZAL
Rizal’s Doubt on the Catholic Church

• The publication of Rizal’s two novels, the Noli Me Tangere and

the El Filibusterismo, made Rizal a target of the ire and
persecution of the friars.
• In his novels he attacked the friars and practices of the Catholic
Church.
C. THE RETRACTION OF RIZAL
Rizal’s Doubt on the Catholic Church

• Excommunicado – it means that the person was expelled from

the Catholic Church and thus he could not receive its
sacraments.
• Rizal was never cowed in his desire to expose what he believed
were abusive practices of the religion which he brought up to.
C. THE RETRACTION OF RIZAL
The Beginning of the Retraction Controversy

• The retraction issue of Rizal started with the

publication of Retana claiming that he had the
retraction document of Rizal.
C. THE RETRACTION OF RIZAL
Analyzing the Retraction Issue
• There are many questions about analyzing the
retraction of Jose Rizal. (you must read it on
pages 66-68 of your book)
D. THE CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN:
WHEN AND WHERE?
D. THE CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN:
WHEN AND WHERE?
• Where and when? These are the two questions asked
of this significant event in the history of the
Philippines, the Cry of Pugad Lawin/Balintawak?

• How and when did this controversy start?

D. THE CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN:
WHEN AND WHERE?
• Balintawak had always been the site for the cry
recognized by historian and students.
• This was in all the books in Philippine history being
used in all schools.
D. THE CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN:
WHEN AND WHERE?
• Teodoro Agoncillo stirred the controversy when he
said that the event actually happened on August 23,
1896, not August 26, and the site was Pugad Lawin
and not Balintawak.