Philippine History

A study of
The First Catholic Mass
in the Philippines
and
The Cavite Mutiny

Submitted by:
Alfhie C. Agbayaani- BSBA-HR
Julie M. Pi-ay- BSHM

Submitted to: Ms. Ethel Valdez

1. What is Multi-Perspectivity?

-refers to multiple subjects' views on one particular object; in the case

of history education, multiperspectivity typically concerns a historical event or
figure.

2. Where did the first Catholic Mass takes place in the Philippines?

MASAO

*1872- a monument to commemorate the site of first mass in the Philippines was erected in
Butuan.

*1953- The people of Butuan asked the Philippine Historical Committee to rehabilitate the
monument or place a marker on the site.

**On the basis of this objection the monument was re erected but the marble slab stating it was
the site of first mass was removed.

*Zaide identified Masao in Butuan as the location of the first mass. The basis Zaide’s claim is
the diary of Antonio Pigafetta, chronicle of Magellan’s voyage.

Evidence of MASAO

1. The name of the place

2. The route from Homonhon

3. The latitude position

4. The geographical features a) the bonfire b) the balanghai c) house d) abundance of gold e) a
developed settlement.
LIMASAWA

*Jaime de Veyra stated that the first mass was celebrated in Limawasa not in Butuan.

*Historian Pablo Pastells stating by the footnote to Francisco Colin’s Labor Evangelica that Magellan
did not go to Butuan but form Limasawa to Cebu.

* Francisco Albo ( pilot of Magellan’s flagship does not mention the first mass but he writes that they
erected a cross on a mountain which overlooked three islands the west and the southwest.

*James Robertson agreed with Pastells in a footnote that “Mazua” was actually Limasawa.

* in the authentic account of Pigafetta, the port was not in Butuan but an island named Mazua
( Masawa).

*Father Bernard studied all the Pigafetta’s maps, which place in Mazau off the southern tip of the
larger island of Leyte., a check with the modern maps will show that this jibes with Limasawa and not
Masao or Butuan.

EVIDENCE of LIMASAWA

1. The evidence of Albo’s Log-Book

2. The Evidence of Pigafetta a) Pigafetta’s testimony regarding the route; b)The evidence of
Pigafetta’s map c)The two native kings d) The seven days at “Mazaua” e)An argument from
omission
3. Summary of the evidence of Albo and Pigafetta.
4. Confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi expedition.

Additional information:

1. ANTONIO PIGAFETTA - around 1491 when he was born at Vicenza, Republic of Venice or
was know now as Italy and died at the aged of 39-40 around 1531 - He studied astronomy;
geography and cartography - an Italian scholar and explorer from the Republic of Venice -
He travelled with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew on their First
Voyage around the world - He was one of the 18 men who returned to Spain in 1522

2. The first Catholic Mass in the Philippines was held on March 31, 1521 (Eastern Sunday)

3. Father Pedro de Valderrama

4. Located at the Southern Leyte * a popularly known as the birthplace of the Church in the
Philippines. *Holy First Mass marked the birth of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines.
3. What Happened in the Cavite Mutiny?
Mutiny -a rebellion against authority.

-comes from an old verd “mutine” which means revolt.

One hundred and forty years ago, on January 20, 1872, about 200 Filipino military personnel of Fort San
Felipe Arsenal in Cavite, Philippines, staged a mutiny which in a way led to the Philippine Revolution in
1896. The 1872 Cavite Mutiny was precipitated by the removal of long-standing personal benefits to the
workers such as tax (tribute) and forced labor exemptions on order from the Governor General Rafael de
Izquierdo.

Izquierdo replaced Governor General Carlos Maria de la Torre some months before in 1871 and
immediately rescinded Torre’s liberal measures and imposed his iron-fist rule. He was opposed to any
hint of reformist or nationalistic movements in the Philippines. He was in office for less than two years, but
he will be remembered for his cruelty to the Filipinos and the barbaric execution of the three martyr-
priests blamed for the mutiny: Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, later
collectively called “Gomburza.”

The mutineers were led by Sgt. Fernando La Madrid; they seized the Fort and killed the Spanish officers.
Fearing a general uprising, the Spanish government in Manila sent a regiment under General Felipe
Ginoves to recover the Fort. The besieged mutiny was quelled, and many mutineers including Sgt. La
Madrid were killed. Later, others were sentenced to death or hard labor.

Izquierdo used the mutiny to implicate Gomburza and other notable Filipinos known for their liberal
leanings. Prominent Filipinos such as priests, professionals, and businessmen were arrested on flimsy
and trumped-up charges and sentenced to prison, death, or exile. These include Joaquin Pardo de
Tavera, Jose Basa, and Antonio M. Regidor. It was said that the Cavite mutineers got their cue from
Manila when they saw and heard fireworks across the Manila Bay which was really a celebration of the
feast of the Lady of Loreto in Sampaloc.

When the Archbishop of Manila, Rev. Meliton Martinez, refused to cooperate and defrock the priests, the
Spanish court-martial on February 15 went ahead and maliciously found Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and
Zamora guilty of treason for instigating the Cavite mutiny. Two days later, the three priests were put to
death by garrotte in Bagumbayan, now known as Luneta. (Garrote was a barbaric Spanish method of
execution in which an iron collar was tightened around the prisoner’s neck until death occurred.)

Father Burgos was of Spanish descent, born in the Philippines. He was a parish priest of the Manila
Cathedral and had been known to be close to the liberal Governor General de la Torre. He was 35 years
old at the time and was active and outspoken in advocating the Filipinization of the clergy. He was quoted
as saying, “Why shall a young man strive to rise in the profession of law or theology when he can vision
no future for himself but obscurity?”

Father Zamora, 37, was also Spanish, born in the Philippines. He was the parish priest of Marikina and
was known to be unfriendly to and would not countenance any arrogance or authoritative behavior from
Spaniards coming from Spain. He once snubbed a Spanish governor who came to visit Marikina.

Father Gomez was an old man in his mid-’70, Chinese-Filipino, born in Cavite. He held the most senior
position of the three as Archbishop’s Vicar in Cavite. He was truly nationalistic and accepted the death
penalty calmly as though it were his penance for being pro-Filipinos.

The three priests were stripped of their albs, and with chained hands and feet were brought to their cells
after their sentence. They received numerous visits from folks coming from Cavite, Bulacan, and
elsewhere. Forty thousand Filipinos came to Luneta to witness and quietly condemn the execution, and
Gomburza became a rallying catchword for the down-trodden Filipinos seeking justice and freedom from
Spain.

In the dedication page of his second book, El Filibusterismo, published in 1891, Dr. Jose Rizal wrote, “I
dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat…”

It is well to remember that the seeds of nationalism that was sown in Cavite blossomed to the Philippine
Revolution and later to the Declaration of Independence by Emilio Aguinaldo which took place also in
Cavite. As for me, the 1872 Cavite Mutiny bolstered the stereotypical belief that Caviteños were the most
courageous of my fellow Filipinos.