Philippine History: Spaces for

Conflict and Controversies

Making Sense of the Past:
Historical Interpretation
 “The attempt to discover, on the basis of
fragmentary evidence, the significant things
about the past.”
-Geoffrey Barraclough
 “the history we read, though based on facts, is
strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series of
accepted judgments.”
-Geoffrey Barraclough
THE CODE OF KALANTIAW

 A mythical legal code in the epic

history of Maragtas.
 It was a source of pride for the people
of Aklan.
 A historical marker was installed in
the town of Batan, Aklan in 1956.
 It was in 1968 that it was proved a
hoax.
 William Henry Scott, a doctoral
candidate at the University of Sto.
Tomas
 “SA AKING MGA KABATA”

 A poem purportedly written by Jose Rizal when he was eight years old.
 There exist no manuscript of the poem handwritten by Rizal.
 Published in 1906, in a book by Hermenegildo Cruz, who said he received the
poem from Gabriel Beato Francisco, who claimed to have received it in 1884
from Rizal’s close friend, Saturnino Raselis.
 The poem was written in Tagalog and referred to the word “kalayaan.”
 Rizal first encountered the word “kalayaan” through a Marcelo H. del Pilar’s
translation of Rizal’s essay “El Amor Petrio,” where it was spelled as “Kalayahan.”
 MULTIPERSPECTIVITY
A quality of historical writing attributed to a variety of lenses
that may be used to view the past.
Where Did the First Mass Take
Place in the Philippines?
Case Study 1
Where Did the First Mass Take Place in the
Philippines?
 Butuan has long been believed as the site of the first Mass for
three centuries.
 There are only two primary sources that historians refer to in
identifying the site of the first Mass.
1. Log kept by Francisco Albo, a pilot of Magellan’s ship,
Trinidad.
2. Account by Antonio Pigafetta, Primo viaggo intorno al
mondo (First Voyage Around the World). Pigafetta was a
member of the Magellan expedition and an eyewitness of
the events.
Where Did the First Mass Take Place in the
Philippines?
 In Albo’s account, the location of Mazava fits the location of the
island of Limasawa, he also did not mention the first Mass, but only
the planting of the cross upon a mountain-top.
 Both Albo and Pigafetta’s testimonies coincide and corroborate each
other.
 Jesuit priest Miguel A. Bernard in his work Butuan or Limasawa: The
Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence
(1981)
 After Magellan’s death, the survivors of his expedition went to
Mindanao, and seemingly went to Butuan.
What Happened in the Cavite
Mutiny?
Case Study 2
 What Happened in the Cavite Mutiny?
Spanish Accounts of the Differing Accounts of the
Cavite Mutiny Events of 1872
 Excerpts from Montero’s Account  Excerpts from Pardo de Tavera’s
of the Cavite Mutiny Account of the Cavite Mutiny
 Excerpts from the Official Report  Excerpts from Plauchut’s Account
of Governor Izquierdo on the of the Cavite Mutiny
Cavite Mutiny 1872
Did Rizal Retract?
Case Study 3
THE RETRACTION
 Did Rizal Retract?
The Balaguer Testimony
 Fr. Vicente Balaguer’s testimony:
 Rizal woke up several times,
confessed four times, attended a
Mass, received communion, and
prayed the rosary, all of which
seemed out of character.
The Testimony of Cuerpo
de Vigilancia
 This account corroborates the
existence of the retraction
document, giving it credence.
 Nowhere in the account was Fr.
Balaguer mentioned.
Where Did the Cry of Rebellion
Happen?
Case Study 4
 DIFFERENT DATES AND PLACES OF THE CRY
Place Date
Lt. Olegario Diaz Balintawak August 25, 1896
(a guardia civil)
Teodora Kalaw Kangkong, Balintawak Last week of August 1896
(Filipino historian)
Santiago Alvarez Bahay Toro, Quezon City August 24, 1896
(katipunero)
Pio Valenzuela Pugad Lawin August 23, 1896
(Katipunero)
Gregorio Zaide Balintawak August 26, 1896
(Historian)
Teodoro Agoncillo Pugad Lawin August 23, 1896
(Historian)
Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Tandang Sora’s barn in Gulod, August 24, 1896
Encarnacion, & Ramon Villegas Brgy. Banlat, Quezon City
(Historians)
END