Research for articles, studies, or any resources of the first mass and the claims for Limasawa and

Butuan. Please write first your surname, then a brief description or overview of the contents of the
article or website you're citing, and below the hyperlink or the link directing to the actual site of
your resources.

EX.
Almerol
In this article we can discover the people who testified that the first mass was held in Butuan.
[LINK]

The first page is intended for the claims supporting Limasawa and the second is for Butuan.

LIMASAWA
Flores
— "They said Skelton also identified Limasawa as the current name of Mazaua."
— "According to the panel, Mr. Atega’s claim that Skelton should be used as the standard text in
determining the site of the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass."
(https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1325039/limasawa-not-butuan-affirmed-as-site-of-first-mass-in-
ph)
— Limasawa is the place truly described by PIGAFETTA. because of the qualities that Pigafetta's
account described. Like Good Harbor, fields are fertile(fruitful) and etc.
(https://prezi.com/_dvtcfzqygc6/seven-days-at-mazaua/)

Del Carmen
For Limasawa
R.A. 2733 or Limasawa act is an act approved on June 19, 1960 that states that the first mass was
held in Limasawa Island and declares it as a 'National Shrine' to commemorate the birth of
Christianity in the Philippines despite being vetoed (not signed) by President Carlos P. Garcia

https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1960/ra_2733_1960.html

LIMASAWA

Basinang
• The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has determined that
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish contingent held the first mass in
Limasawa, Southern Leyte.
(https://worldmissionmagazine.com/archives/december-2020/limasawa-site-first-mass-ph)
• A research claiming that the site of the first mass in the Philippines is in Limasawa, judging
by the evidence they found/provided.
(https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/adamson-university/readings-in-philippine-history/first-
mass-in-the-philippines/9598018)

BERAQUIT
"The panel unanimously agreed that the evidence and arguments presented by the pro-Butuan
advocates are not sufficient and convincing enough to warrant the repeal or reversal of the ruling
on the case by the NHI (National Historical Institute). Hence, the panel recommended that
Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte, be sustained as the site of the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass," the
commission said in a statement dated Aug. 18 and released Wednesday, Aug. 19.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/20/20/limasawa-not-butuan-govt-historians-affirm-site-of-
1521-easter-sunday-mass-in-ph

BUTUAN
Flores
— "one school of thought points to the little island south of Leyte which in the maps is called
Limasawa; the other school rejects that claim and points instead to the beach called Masao at the
mouth of the Agusan River in northern Mindanao, near what was then the village (now the city)
of Butuan."
— "Magellan landed at Butuan and there planted the cross in a solemn ceremony."
— "The shift in opinion from Butuan to Limasawa was due to a rediscovery and a more attentive
study of two primary sources on the subject: namely, Pigafetta 's account and Albo's log. Because
of these two primary sources, the opinion has changed."
(https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/budhi/article/view/582/579)
— "In questa Isola Mesana" (Pigafettae 281). This is where the hig switch occurs: the anchorage
from March 28-April 4, 1521 and all events of that week---an Easter mass, planting of a big cross,
cast cas, war games, etc.—are made to happen in Butuan instead of Mazzaua." (All according to
Magellan Scholars.)
(http://www.xeniaeditrice.it/mazaua.pdf)

For Butuan,
President Carlos P. Garcia did not sign the act because he wasn't sure if the 'Mazaua' they were
talking about was indeed "Limasawa". Aside from that, Butuan City Cultural and Historical
Foundation Inc. (BCHFI) contested the claim on the said act and continues to pursue that Butuan
City was the site of the first mass because of newly found proofs and evidences including the
accidental recovery of Balanghai boats near Masao River in 1976 which are said to have been used
by natives of Butuan for sea travel and trades even before the spaniards came. Therefore, the
passing of R.A. 2733 was just a mere claim and was not substantiated with scientific basis.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2006/04/02/329389/butuan-pursue-claim-it-was-site-first-
mass-rp-485-years-ago/amp/
Pigafetta is a Venetian Scholar so he, (most likely) wrote the original manuscript in Venetian
dialect which is lost but 4 manuscripts written by Pigafetta between 1522 to 1525 survived. 3 were
written in French while the other one, in Italian.

Transcription depends on the language and pronunciation of the transcriber.

Point is, there could have mistranslation because it is difficult to match names from more than 500
years ago because they may have changed and inquirers, respondents, transcribers, etc. may have
misinterpreted due to the different language they speak.

https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667606/#:~:text=Pigafetta%20kept%20a%20detailed%20journal,
Italian%20and%20three%20in%20French.

Leyble
• Dr. Potenciano Malvar, chair of the Butuan Calagan Historical Cultural Foundation, said Mazaua,
an island near Butuan, was replaced with the word Limasawa in the preface of the “First Voyage
Around the World” by James Alexander Robertson and Emma Helen Blair that was published in
December 1907. The authentic Pigafetta manuscript has no word Limasawa, Malvar said,
attributing the change to a third editor, Edward Gaylord Bourne.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1322266/resolving-debate-on-site-of-first-mass-in-ph

Limasawa

Galgo

l Pigafetta's Mazaua, the site of the first Christian Mass held on Philippine soil, is an island
lying off the southwestern tip of Leyte while Masao in Butuan is not an island but a barangay
of Butuan City located in a delta of the Agusan River along the coast of Northern Mindanao.
The position of Mazaua, as plotted by Pigafetta, matched that of Limasawa

https://firstcircumnavigator.tripod.com/limasawa.htm.

Butuan
https://www.scribd.com/presentation/465252158/Evidences-of-the-First-Mass-in-the-
Philippines-in-Masao-Butuan

https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/97855/butuan-holds-easter-sunday-mass-to-reinforce-
contentious-historical-
claim/#:~:text=Besides%2C%20Limasawa%20has%20a%20rocky,encounter%E2%80%9
4unlike%20in%20Butuan.%E2%80%9D

Zamora
Limasawa
-According to Antonio Pigafetta,the Italian chronicle of the Magellan expedition,the mass
was held on Easter Sunday,on an Island called “Mazaua”.After the mass,the party went up
hill and planted a wooden cross upon it's summit.
-June 19,1960-R.A.No.2733,it is the declaration of Magallanes,Limasawa as the National
Shrine of first Mass ever held in the country.

Butuan
-Among the evidences used by the pro-Butuan group were numerous accounts written by
non-eyewitnesses decades after the 1521 Easter Sunday mass,as well as the 1872 monument
in Magallanes,Agusan del Norte.These claimed the first mass held in Butuan.
-The Butuan heritage society states that in 1521 in Butuan,Mazaua was deltaic Island at the
Mouth of the Agusan River.

"THE FIRST MASS WAS IN MASAO, BUTUAN by Precious Arevalo"

https://prezi.com/p/ngwo4nyosbsj/the-first-mass-was-in-masao-butuan/

Quilas ( note: the yellow highlight is for butuan while the blue one is for limasawa, and the
green one is my logical thinking idea)
Eight months into the official rites for the 500th anniversary of the first Mass in the country,

a set of evidence was presented to refute historical accounts that the contingent of world

voyager Ferdinand Magellan held the event in Limasawa, Southern Leyte.

Dr. Potenciano Malvar, chair of the Butuan Calagan Historical Cultural Foundation, will

assert that the first Mass was held at another site in Mindanao in the soon-to-be-published

book, “Site of the 1521 Easter Mass, Butuan Not Limasawa.”

“It is my desire that this manuscript shall initiate the National Historical Commission of the

Philippines to unlock and expose the concocted and fabricated published versions of the

existing, disputable site of where the Easter Mass continued to be celebrated,” he said in the

introduction to the 144-page draft.

Malvar, a 75-year-old doctor, spent five years of research in the country and abroad to help

resolve a dispute that a 1959 law, two panels in 1998 and 2009, and several appeals had failed

to settle.
“I conclude with complete confidence that it was Butuan,” he told the Inquirer in a recent

telephone interview.

According to him, those determining the actual site should first have in mind that the goal of

the voyage of the Magellan-led Armada de Moluccas was to reach the Spice Islands using the

westward route and trade.

Disguised’
On the order of Spain’s King Charles 1, Magellan, in a 1521 map, “disguised the island of

Spice by putting the latitudes at 9 ⅔ degree latitude and cartographed those islands of

Mindanao and Visayas by making South, North and East, West.”

The logs of six sailors of the three ships in the expedition also concealed the location of

Butuan Island. “Magellan intended them to have contrasting latitude,” Malvar said. “So the

9 ⅔ degree latitude and the purpose of the cartographs were to conceal.”

He said the Limasawa proponents “need to explain why if the 9 ⅔ latitude was that land they

wanted to go, why was there a need for Magellan to cartograph those islands that way?”

King Charles’ order on April 19, 1519, read in part: “I know for certain, according to the

much information which I have obtained from persons who have seen it by experience, that

there are spices in the islands of Maluco; and chiefly, you are going to seek them with this

said fleet and my will is that you should straightaway follow the voyage to the said islands in

the form and guise which I have said and commanded to you, the said Ferdinand

Magallanes.”

A copy of the order is kept in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain.

Secret
Concealment was practiced for centuries by Arab and Chinese traders, Malvar said. An

order, dated May 8, 1519, by the Casa Contratacion, also owned by the king, gave Magellan

instructions on how to treat and trade with the natives.

Malvar said these negotiations were not known to the chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, who was

taught by Magellan to keep secrets after warning that “unauthorized people caught with a

chart from his cabinet in the ship faced death.”

The site where Magellan erected a cross with crown was documented by Francisco Albo, who

kept an official logbook of the voyage.

It was “upon a mountain,” locating Butuan Island at 9 ⅓ degree North latitude. Later, King

Charles referred to this as the proof of his conquest of the Spice Islands.

No ‘Limasawa’
Malvar said Mazaua, an island near Butuan, was replaced with the word Limasawa in the

preface of the “First Voyage Around the World” by James Alexander Robertson and Emma

Helen Blair that was published in December 1907.

The authentic Pigafetta manuscript has no word Limasawa, Malvar said, attributing the

change to a third editor, Edward Gaylord Bourne.

“Limasawa at 9 degree 55’ latitude was very far north of the 9 ⅓ degree North latitude,” he

noted to eliminate Limasawa.

Congressional archives of Republic Act No. 2733, the 1959 law that declared Limasawa as

official site of the first Mass, showed “many irregularities,” Malvar said.

Of the 39 lawmakers, only 11 were present when the bill was approved.

Proponents, even Church leaders, were not invited to committee hearings. No ocular visits

were done. The law did not bear the signature of then President Carlos Garcia.
Malvar also found out that the Gancayco panel, in its 1998 report, deleted six sentences in

Pigafetta’s accounts because these would “debunk the Limasawa claim.” The panel was

created by the former National Historical Institute in 1996 to resolve issues in the country’s

history.

Deleted
According to Malvar, among the deleted portions was that the Easter Mass happened in the

domain of the first king, Raia Colambu, which was Butuan. Magellan’s setting up of tokens

—cross and crown—was deleted although this confirmed the conquest. The items were not

found though to this date.

The “bull’s eye” against Limasawa was the three actions that Pigafetta recounted but were

deleted in the Gancayco report: “The ships fired all their artillery at once when the body of

Christ was elevated, the signal having been [given] from the shore with muskets.”

These, Malvar said, could not be done all at the same time in Limasawa ( because Magellan’s

shrine and landing are 700 meters apart.

He said “Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas 1565-1615,” a chronicle of Miguel Lopez de

Legazpi’s expedition by Gaspar de San Agustin, extolled the exploits of Magellan in Butuan,

44 years after the explorer was killed in Mactan.

“[The natives and king] built him a house and during Easter, the First Mass celebrated [on]

these islands was held in Butuan and the First Cross was raised, which Ferdinand Magellan

himself placed on a hill not very far from the beach … ”

The same chronicle mentioned Butuan, describing it thus: “That on Masagua there was a

town located to the east with a port for the ships on the west side of the island.”

Disappeared
Malvar said the evidence that Mazaua Island existed was a 1683 map by Augustinian

Recolletos. The island disappeared in a 1902 map because earthquakes had fused it with the

mainland while siltation by floods filled it. The present day Mazaua is thought to be

Barangay Masao, one of the 85 villages of Butuan City.

Using a 1739 map, Malvar tracked Pigafetta’s distance of 35 leguas (legua is an obsolete unit

of length; 1 legua is equivalent to 3 miles, or 4.84 kilometers) from Mazaua to Gatigan to

Zzubu. The distance between Limasawa and Zzubu was less than 20 leguas, however.

Malvar twice doubted if Limasawa could supply spice, citing the large haul of the ship

Victoria when it returned to Spain. ( in the pigafuettaaccount the supply are not enough that

is why they seek advice from the king to where they could get more. So it means If limasa is

small and not capable to provide the, the it is in limasawa Also, the tadpole shape of

Limasawa contrasted Pigafetta’s cartograph of Mazaua Island.

The shape of limasawa tadpole like”butete”while in the pigafuetta cartograpthh it is wider

not slim.

Jesuit priest Rey Pedro Chirino’s “Relaciones de las Islas Filipinas” mentioned the

missionary activities of the Jesuits from 1581 and the Recolletos in 1622 in Butuan. Books by

five missionaries dated 1663, 1667, 1787 and 1818 chronicled the growth and forms of

Catholic faith in Butuan.

Then, too, the first bishop of Manila, Domingo de Salazar, issued an edict in 1581 declaring

“El Capella Butuan” the site where the Easter Mass was celebrated on March 31, 1521.

The edict was published in a special newspaper supplement published in 1926, a copy of

which is in the archives of the Archdiocese of Manila.

In Butuan, there was also a group called “Folks of Magallanes” that celebrated the Easter

Mass for 300 years until 2000 at the Carballo Monument. The date of the Mass was on April

8, 1521, following the Gregorian calendar.

(https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1322266/resolving-debate-on-site-of-first-mass-in-ph)

LIMASAWA BUTUAN

Ella: (studucu)Albos account Ella: (prezi) masao ,which is now Butuan

(Magellan cross) mountain now . the first mass.
top.(limasawa as island while Butuan
as masao (Butuan term) is just brgy..if · Explain the geographical location 1923
there is the cross you will not see the the ?????
three island west and south

Del carmen: Del carmen:

Republic Act 2733 also known as Based on research, the reason why former
Limasawa act, is a law approved on President Carlos P. Garcia vetoed or
June 19, 1960 which states Magallanes, rejected the Limasawa law was because he
Limasawa as the site of the first mass wasn't sure if the "Mazaua" in Pigafetta's
and is hereby declared a national shrine codex or manuscript is indeed
to provide preservation of historical "Limasawa". It was the American
monuments and to commemorate the Librarians Emma Blair and James
birth of Christianity in the Philippines. Robertson who claimed in 1909 in their
According to the Legislative branch, a own translation of Pigafetta's codex in
proposed law may be enacted without Volume 32 of "The Philippine Islands"
executive approval if 2/3rds of the that the Island of Mazaua is the present
senate and house representatives voted Island of Limasawa without giving any
and it will lapse into law after 30 days. explanation for the identification.

Bleh wala naman kaming sinabi na di Aside from that, Butuan City Cultural and
sila gumamit ng Balanghai. Ang Historical Foundation Inc. or BCCHFI
possible cause nyan ay nauna silang contested the said law led by Father
pumunta ng Butuan, humiram ng Joesilo Amalia, a trustee of BCFHI and
bangka tsaka naglayag papuntang curator of Butuan Diocese Museum with
Limasawa para magmisa!! proofs and evidences including the
discovery of the relics of a large wooden
boat believed to be the remains of
Balanghai boat by the Antique hunters on
July, 1976. The discovered remains were
subjected to radiocarbon dating - a test
that provides the objective age estimate for
carbon-based materials and C-14 in the
remains established that the relics are ages
between 300 A.D to 1250 A.D. (A.D. means
Anno Domini or in literal term, after the
birth of Jesus) This is an evidence
providing that the first mass happened in
Butuan because it was mentioned that the
King came to their ship in a Balanghai.
Balanghai boat is one of the eldest relics of
Butuan city and in contrast, Limasawa has
no significant archaeological Balanghai
tradition.

· Transcription of manuscript of
pigafuetta.(nagbago ang meaning , baka
na mistranslated) masao ??? na brgy sa
Butuan….
 Flores: Mazaua name of limasawa Flores: Pdf ateneo : Magellan land in
before. Butuan plant cross for solemn mass.

"According to the book "Mazaua: "According to Colin's accounts Magellan

Magellan's Lost Harbor by Vicente C. land in Butuan to plant the cross for solemn
de Jesus," Mazaua was the name of ceremony."
Limasawa before, while according to
Pigafetta's Testimony, he called the site ( meron na ito sa nilagay ko para sa part
of the first mass as Mazaua." niyo) check niyo nalang)- neil

— While in combes' account he mentioned

· Scholar ( mr. Atega: pin in 1521 about the 2 important thing that Pigafetta
event of easter Sunday also stated in his account which are: Planting
of the cross and formal claiming of the
· (prezi) limawasa Like Good Harbor, archipelago" —
fields are fertile(fruitful) and etc.
(same with this one ) nakaindicate nadin
..supported in pigafuetta description dun sa nilagay ko kindly check nalang din
of mazaua. ) - neil

· Translation of Albos and pigafetta same

"Based on the research of Mora, He way changes to its opinion… their account
concluded that the confusion with the falls in limawasa…
Butuan tradition “comes from an
incorrect reading of the chronicles and "All the translated accounts of Pigafetta and
the desire of some missionaries of 16th Albo are all opinion, but it all falls and
and 17th centuries to demand the claims that Limasawa "Mazaua" is the
conversion of the natives of Mindanao place where the first mass happened. It
thanks to the preaching of the Jesuits.” happened that "Mazaua" was the name of
Limasawa before, and according to
Pigafetta's account, he called the site of the
first mass "Mazaua"."
· Galdo:In the fleet of magellan from Galgo(Scribd): Mazaua can be found in
homonhon to mazaua – cebu .. didn’t Butuanon which pertains to “bright” or
anytime touched Butuan or any other “light”
part of Mindanao..
• There were no rice fields in masawa for
“Magellan's fleet took a route from the reason that it is too small and
Homonhon to Mazaua and from Mazaua rough to have rice fields which would
to Cebu that did not at any time touch take two days to harvest. And it has no
Butuan or any other part of Mindanao. gold mines, no kingdoms, no oral
The docking facilities at Limasawa did tradition documenting such an
not pose any problem for Magellan's encounter—unlike in Butuan.
fleet which anchored near or at some
safe distance from the island of the · Counter part for RA. Enacted June 19
eastern shore. (They dropped their 1960 no executive approval
anchor at cebu then later on they went on
the nieghboring island of mactan which “In fact, the National Historical Institute
is still far from butuan) repeated a much earlier Congressional
error. You see, in June 19, 1960, Republic
· Act 2733 lapsed into law, “without
Executive approval.” President Macapagal
did not sign it. That legislation declared
Limasawa a National Shrine because it
was there that “the First Mass in the
Philippines was held.”

Galdo:Description pigafuetta ;in mazaua that pertain happened in Butuan

ay nagmamatch sa limasawa….. (Pigafetta's Mazaua, the site of the first
Christian Mass held on Philippine soil, is an island lying off the
southwestern tip of Leyte while Masao in Butuan is not an island but a
barangay of Butuan City located in a delta of the Agusan River along the
coast of Northern Mindanao. The position of Mazaua, as plotted by
Pigafetta, matched that of Limasawa
· Almerol: Dr. Antonio Sanches de Mora( UP speaker) · Almerol

mora said : primary sources from 16 C ,,,,,, ??????

· Mora said the documents, primary sources and maps from the 16th
century confirm that the island of Mazaua was the site of an Easter
Sunday Mass on March 31, 1521 and that on a hill on this island a
cross was raised to be seen from afar.

· “The geographical description, the analysis of the directions, the

revision of the maps and the references to the island of Mazaua
between 1521 and 1565 must identify it with [modern-day] Limasawa,”
he said

· Up until 1921, it was believed that the event was held somewhere
near the mouth of the Agusan River in what is today the municipality
of Magallanes, Agusan del Norte. The shift to the Limasawa tradition
happened following the publication of a transcription of a logbook
from a pilot of the ship Victoria (one of the vessels in the Magellan
expedition), stating that the crew placed a cross on an island called
“Mazaua” whose location is closer to Cebu.
 Almerol : geographical description ,, charts and maps..
· Almerol : 1921 it was believe
that the event was held
· Direction revision of the maps between1521- somewhere near in agusan river
65 identified with modern daily limasawa.. …. Municipality of Magallanes
agusan del norte…which in
· Hill and planted the cross.. all connected in modern butuan … .
day of limasawa…
Discover transcript publication
· of a pilot from victoria ship from
Magellan expedition….
this claims by morha supported by historian Trinidad…he
made the correction about the accounts of morah about · Crew na place a cross in island
Butuan… … there should be no claims for butuan,,, this called mazaua closer to cebu…
just make a confusion comes incorrect reading of the
chronicles and the desire of some missionaries of 16 and
·
17 cents, to demand the conversion of native
Mindanao…
 Beraquit ( author ) pigafuetta accout : Beraquit: about the harvesting of rice
they reach mazaua march 28 1521 , for two days, the place where they went
mazaua 138.9 km from huomonhon,, was Mazaua, not in Limasawa but
according to the distance for Pigafuetta somewhere in Mindanao,
fit the position of limasawa now….
what can they harvest in Limasawa
when there was nothing there said
· Francisco albo account: they planted a Father Joeselio Amalla
cross mountain top and there you will
sight the islang west and southwest . Accounts said that on March 31, 1521, easter
Based on the expert it will fit for Sunday, friar Pedro Valderama celebrated
limasawa… Topographical details given mass together with Portuguese explorer
by albo and figafuetta it describe the Ferdinand Magellan and his men were the
presently limasawa… ruler of Mazaua Rajah Siagu and his brother
Rajah Calumbu, the ruler of Butuan, planted
a cross on the highest hill and helped in the
harvest for two days together with more than
a hundred of Rajah’s men.

“When they arrived on good Friday, they

were harvesting rice for two days, that
· According to Miguel A. Bernard: means to say, the place where they went was
figafuetta account … a crucial aspect of Mazaua, not Limasawa but somewhere in
Butuan was not been mentioned … the Mindanao. Because they harvest for two
river Butuan is a river rhyme settlement. days, what can you harvest in Limasawa
Situated in Agusan river…. when there is nothing there?” said Father
Joesito Amalla, Curator of Butuan Diocesan
liturgical Museum.

“More than hundred of people helped in

harvest, meaning it was a huge agricultural
area. I've been in Limasawa a lot of times,
they said that the rice harvested came from
the surrounding island, and they said they
harvested in the island itself so their claim is
wrong” Amalla added.
Zamora : book source of rex

Albos log books

According sa book nasinenend ni sir: it

must be noted that in Albo’s account , the
location of Mazava fits the location of the
island of limasawa , at the southern tip of
leyte, 9’54’N.

Also, albo does not mention the first mass

,but only the planting of the cross upon a
mountain top from which could be seen
three islands to the west and southwest,
which also fits the southern end of
limasawa.

(Primary source: pigafuetta and seven

days in mazaua. )

: 5. Sunday sunday march 31-

early morning of sunday. The lsat of
march and easter day. Magellan sent the
priest ashore with some men to prepare
for the mass. Later in the
morning magellan landed with some fifty
men and mass was celebrated , after
which a cross was venerated . magellan
and spaniards returned to the ship for the
noon-day meal, but in the afternoon they
returned ashore to plant hte cross on the
summit highest hill.. In attendance both
at the mass and at the planting of the
cross were the king of mazaua and
butuan.

Sunday march 31- on that same day

afternoon while on the summit of the
highest hill, magellan asked the two kings
 which ports he should go to in order to
obtain more abundant supplies of food
than were available in the island.htye
replies that there were three.ports to
choose from : ceylon(leyte), zubu(CEBU),
and calagan.. Of those three, zubu was
the port with the most trade.

Using the primary sources available,

jesuit priest miguel A. bernard in his
work butuan or limasawa: thesite of the
first mass in the philippines: a
reexamination of evidence (1981) lays
down the argument that in the pigafuetta
account, a crucial aspect of Butuan was
not mentioned- the river, butuan is a
riverine settlement, situated in the agusan
river. The beach of masao in the delta of
said river. It is vurious omission in the
account of the river, which makes part of
distinct characteristic of butuan’s
geography that seemed to be too
important to be missed.

NAMES ARGUMENT TOPIC

INTRO OR MS. ASA

CHAIRMAN
 • Claims that it is in limasa or its name is
Limasawa 1ST Ms . ASA mzaua as limasawa.
AC/ 4MINS
MS. According sa book nasinenend ni sir: it must
(2 PER) (BERAQUIT) be noted that in Albo’s account , the location of
Mazava fits the location of the island of
limasawa , at the southern tip of leyte, 9’54’N.
Ms.
limasawa2 ND
BASinang ASA:
AC /4MINS
Ms. According to the Account of Albo’s log, he
(2 PER) GAdalangan claims that the island he refers to as Gada is the
Acquada of Pigafetta, namely the island of
Homonhon where they collected water and
wood supplies. They coasted on the vast island
of Seilani, which is part of Leyte. They reached
the little island of Mazava by turning southwest
and coasting south along the island's eastern
coast which was appropriate for the location of
Limasawa. And it should be noted that Albo
only refers to the cross planting on the
mountaintop from where the three islands could
be seen to the west and southwest; but he makes
no mention of the first Mass.

Additionally, it should be mentioned that

according to Pigafetta, he penned the word
"island" or "islands" with meaning. He meant it
to be an accurate representation of an island
when he described "Mazaua" or "Gatighan" and
sketched it, however it differed slightly from the
cartographic chart of Limasawa. According to
him, the island was reported to be at a latitude of
9 and 2/3 degrees north. It is located in the
southern part of Leyte, and its latitude matches
that of Limasawa Island, whose southern tip is
located at 9 degrees and 54 minutes north.

The "Mazaua" or "Gatighan" seen in Pigafetta's

drawing is actually Limasawa in Southern Leyte,
despite the fact that it does not exactly resemble
either the one in Butuan City or Southern Leyte,
nor does it have the same exact longitude and
latitude in respect to the Leyte and Bohol islands.
It is the very same Limasawa Island that Ruy
Lopez de Villalobos and his expedition witnessed
 when they traveled along Magellan's path from
Spain to the Philippines via the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans in 1542, or 21 years later.

• BERAQUIT :

The evidence that supports the claim of

Limasawa in accordance with the
account of Pigafetta and Fransisco Albo
who are eyewitnesses of the Magellan’s
voyage both stated that the first mass in
the Philippines took place on an island
called Mazava in Albo’s account and
Mazaua in Pigafetta’s account, they both
asserted that from Island of Homonhon
they went westward towards the island of
Leyte and turned to a southwest
direction to reach this island. Based on
this geographic location provided by
Albo and Pigafetta, the island of
Limasawa is the counterpart. Although
the evidence presented came from only
two accounts, those evidence are
considered as primary sources. The
corroboration of information and
statement on these two were present
while the Pro-Butuan claims are mostly
from secondhand account.

It was affirmed that in the same date, Magellan

with his troops planted a cross on the same
site. It is supported with a number of solid proofs
which include Albo’s logbook, evidence of
Pigafetta, and the evidence from Legazpi’s
expedition. In Albo’s account he did not mention
the first mass where it took place. However, he
mentioned that Magellan planted the cross upon
a mountain top from which could see the three
islands to the west and southwest. This best fit the
description of the geographical area of Limasawa
which is not applicable to Butuan since there was
no island found in those direction. These are very
strong proofs since this people have been part of
the expedition (Bernard 1983). Albo and Pigafetta
both took part in Magellan’s expedition. The
former was the Pilot in Magellan’s flagship
Trinidad, and the latter was a member of
expedition itself.

• Mountain top ( planting of cross

Also, albo does not mention the first mass ,but

only the planting of the cross upon a mountain
top from which could be seen three islands to
the west and southwest, which also fits the
southern end of limasawa.

• RA.2733( declaration of limawasa)

-This act also known as limasawa Law

-Approved: June 19, 1960.

-An Act to Declare the Site in Magallanes,

Limasawa Island in the Province of Leyte, Where
the First Mass in the Philippines was Held as a
National Shrine, to Provide for the Preservation
of Historical Monuments and Landmarks Thereat,
and for Other Purposes

“The National Historical Commission of the

Philippines (NHCP) sustained findings that the
Limasawa Island in Southern Leyte as the site
of the 1521 Easter Sunday Mass, the first
Catholic mass in the country.
The panel went to Tacloban City on 25 April
2019 to listen to the presentation of Dr. Rolando
Borrinaga, the representative of the pro-
Limasawa side and a historian from the central
Philippine region of Eastern Aside from presenting
evidence reasserting Limasawa as the site of
the 1521 Easter Sunday mass, Dr. Borrinaga
explained that the mass took place in the
western side of Limasawa and not in the
eastern side (now named Barangay
Magallanes) where a shrine commemorating
the event is located. The following day, the
panel went to Limasawa to conduct an ocular
survey of the places mentioned by Dr.
Borrinaga. They went to the shrine at Barangay
Magallanes and then proceeded to Barangay
Triana to visit the site proposed by Dr.
Borrinaga. The members also climbed Totoy-
Totoy Peak which according to Dr. Borrinaga
was the mountain where the cross was erected
after the mass. While on the mountaintop. The
members noted a view of three islands that
seems to be closely identified with the ones
Pigafetta mentioned is his chronicle.

• MR atega: pin the 1521 event easter

sunday
• Limasawa as good harbor: fields are
fertile (fruitful) etc. supported by the
pigafettas description of mazaua

BASINANG:

Based on the testimony of Francisco Albo,

who was one of the eighteenth survivors who
returned with Sebastian Elcano, he kept in
his diary or Log-book on the voyage out
while they were sailing Southward in the
Atlantic. According to him, the island that he
calls Gada seems to be the acquada of
Pigafetta, namely the island of Homonhon
where they took supplies of wood and water.
The large island of Seilani which they
coasted in the island of Leyte. Coasting
southward along the eastern coast of that
island, then turning southwest they came
upon a small island named Mazaua, that fits
the location of a small island of Limasawa.
The planting of cross upon the mountain top
from which could be seen the three islands to
the west and southwest, this also fits the
southern end of Limasawa. It does not fit the
the coast of Butuan from which no islands
could be seen to the southwest but only
towards the North.

Almerol :morah( geographical ,, the

analysis of direction .. identity as w/
modern day ) limasawa

The testimony as regards the route taken by

the expedition from the pacific ocean to
cebu (there can be seen the exact route of
them and didn;t arrived at mindanao part of
the philippines.

The survivors of the expedition went to

mindanao later, but after magellan death.

Also the argument of omission by the pro

limasawa ( the name is limasawa , in the
process of writing the “LI” was omitted and
the place is mazaua.( limasawa)

Palilio : discussion is direction from

humonhon and mentioned island. Going
to cebu ……that says that daanan yung
limasawa …. that ‘s why it is limasawa.

In Pigafetta's account, the testimony in

number 9 as regards the route taken by the
expedition after leaving Homonhon was
"toward the west southwest, between 4
islands namely: Cenalo/Leyte,
Hiunanghan/Hinunangan,
Ibusson/Hibusong and Albarien. Thus, they
left Homonhon sailing westward toward
Leyte,, then followed the Leyte coast
outward, passing between the island of
Hibuson on the portside and Hinunangan
Bay on their starboard and then continued
southward, and then turning westward to
"Mazua." and on number 11, on Thursday,
April 4 they left Mazaua, Bound for Cebu.
Their route took them past five islands:
Ceylon/Leyte, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai and
Gatighan.
 Beraquit : ( pigafuetta account … the
distance from homonhon.. Fix the
position of limasawa

• Topographical details of albos

account and figafuetta describe
the present limasa
• Regarding about the transcription
of mazaua as limasawa … maayos at
clear) del carmen : translation of blaire
and robertson)

• DR malvar : goal is for the spices

Butuan ST NC/ Quilas • To conceal the island (six logs conceal
4MINS butuan)
Almerol • secret/disguised the spice island
(2 PER) • No limasawa in authn
Zamora

Butuan 2 NC/
ND
Galgo
(QUILAS)
4MINS

(2 PER) Dr. Potenciano Malvar, chair of the Butuan

Calagan Historical Cultural Foundation,

According to him, those determining the

actual site should first have in mind that the

goal of the voyage of the Magellan-led

Armada de Moluccas was to reach the Spice

Islands using the westward route and trade.

Disguised’
On the order of Spain’s King Charles 1,

Magellan, in a 1521 map, “disguised the

island of Spice by putting the latitudes at 9

⅔ degree latitude and carto graphed those

islands of Mindanao and Visayas by making

South, North and East, West.”

The logs of six sailors of the three ships in

the expedition also concealed the location of

Butuan Island. “Magellan intended them to

have contrasting latitude,” Malvar said. “So,

the 9 ⅔ degree latitude and the purpose of

the cartographs were to conceal. “

Concealment was practiced for centuries by

Arab and Chinese traders,

Malvar said. An order, dated May 8, 1519, by

the Casa Contratacion, also owned by the

king, gave Magellan instructions on how to

treat and trade with the natives.

these negotiations were not known to the

chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, who was taught

by Magellan to keep secrets after warning

that “unauthorized people caught with a

chart from his cabinet in the ship faced

death.”

No ‘Limasawa’

Malvar said Mazaua, an island near Butuan,

was replaced with the word Limasawa in the

preface of the “First Voyage Around the

World” by James Alexander Robertson and

Emma Helen Blair that was published in

December 1907.

The authentic Pigafetta manuscript has no

word Limasawa, Malvar said, attributing the

change to a third editor, Edward Gaylord

Bourne.

“Limasawa at 9 degree 55’ latitude was very

far north of the 9 ⅓ degree North latitude,”

he noted to eliminate Limasawa.

Malvar said the evidence that Mazaua Island

existed was a 1683 map by Augustinian

 Recolletos. The island disappeared in a 1902

map because earthquakes had fused it with

the mainland while siltation by floods filled

it. The present day Mazaua is thought to be

Barangay Masao, one of the 85 villages of

Butuan City.

ALMEROL

In addition to the claims of Dr. Potenciano

Malvar, he twice doubted if Limasawa could
supply spice, citing the large haul of the ship
Victoria when it returned to Spain. Also, he
described the tadpole shape of Limasawa
contrasted Pigafetta’s cartograph of Mazaua
Island

• Agusan river

Meanwhile, according to the study of Dr. Antonio

Sanchez de Mora, an expert on Spanish medieval
history and head of the reference service at the
Archivo General de Indias in Seville, Spain. In
1921, it was believed that the first mass was held
somewhere near the mouth of the Agusan River in
what is today the municipality of Magallanes,
Agusan del Norte. The shift to the Limasawa
tradition happened following the publication of a
transcription of a logbook from a pilot of the ship
Victoria (one of the vessels in the Magellan
expedition), stating that the crew placed a cross on
an island called “Mazaua” whose location is closer
to Cebu.
 • Balanghai Claim

Moreover, there is also a claim regarding the

use of Balanghai. Butuan City Cultural and
Historical Foundation Inc. or BCCHFI
contested the law confirming the setting of the
first mass led by Father Joesilo Amalia, a
trustee of BCFHI and curator of Butuan
Diocese Museum with proofs and evidences
including the discovery of the relics of a large
wooden boat believed to be the remains of
Balanghai boat by the Antique hunters on July,
1976. The discovered remains were subjected to
radiocarbon dating - a test that provides the
objective age estimate for carbon-based
materials and C-14 in the remains established
that the relics are ages between 300 A.D to 1250
A.D. (A.D. means Anno Domini or in literal
term, after the birth of Jesus) This is evidence
providing that the first mass happened in
Butuan because it was mentioned that the King
came heirship in Balanghai. Balanghai boat is
one of the oldest relics of Butuan city that they
used to transport native worshippers and in
contrast, Limasawa has no significant
archaeological Balanghai tradition.

(Neil tots )

• PALILLO Island masao in butuan :

according combes name after magellan
…(zamora)

The claims of father francisco colins and fr.

francisco combes account : the site of the 1st
masss was in the butuan, agusan del norte ( 17th
to 19th century) belief by many…….particularly
masao which known now as magallanes
now……it is valuable as it represented the 1st
mass celebration to have taken place in butuan
on easter sunday of 1521 with the solemn
planting of the cross and the formal taking or
possesion of the isalng in the name of the crown
of castle( the crown of spanish monarchy)

Combes account magellan team landed at the

butuan and planted the cross in a solemn
ceremony….there is no mention of mass but
stated the two important event that is matched
the account of figafuetta which arethe planting
of the cross and formal claiming of archipelago .

According to DR.. MAlvar

.The site where Magellan erected a cross

with crown was documented by Francisco
Albo, who kept an official logbook of the
voyage.

It was “upon a mountain,” locating Butuan

Island at 9 ⅓ degree North latitude. Later,

King Charles referred to this as the proof of

his conquest of the Spice Islands.

• Mazaua butaun language “bright and

light “ (Galgo)

“Mazuaa" means light, bright, shining. You will

find the word in the Butuanon- It can also be
found in the tausug-english dictionary of the
summer institute of linguistics”

•In relation to Magellan's visit, the meaning lies in

these words of Antonio Pigafetta

“because during the night we had seen a fire on

an island ahead…”
 Jesuit priest Rey Pedro Chirino’s “Relaciones de

las Islas Filipinas” mentioned the missionary

activities of the Jesuits from 1581 and the

Recolletos in 1622 in Butuan. Books by five

missionaries dated 1663, 1667, 1787 and 1818

chronicled the growth and forms of Catholic faith

in Butuan.

Then, too, the first bishop of Manila, Domingo de

Salazar, issued an edict in 1581 declaring “El

Capella Butuan” the site where the Easter Mass

was celebrated on March 31, 1521.

The edict was published in a special newspaper

supplement published in 1926, a copy of which is

in the archives of the Archdiocese of Manila.

In Butuan, there was also a group called

“Folks of Magallanes” that celebrated the
Easter Mass for 300 years until 2000 at the
Carballo Monument

limasawa 1
ST
MS. PALILIO :
AR / 2 MINS PALILIO • according in Geography of Mazaua the
(1P) Island shaped like TADPOLE
• According Albo and Pigafetta's accounts the
first mass didn’t happen in the Butuan
because they arrived in Butuan after the
Magellan’s Death.
In the 19th century, there were a lot of new
translated versions of Pigafetta and Albo's
testimony, and after that, people looked again at
it. According to the new translated version, the
mass was happened in the island of Leyte called
Limasawa, and it was all supported by the
evidence of Albo's log book, evidence of
Pigafetta, a summary of evidence of Albo and
Pigafetta, and lastly, the confirmatory evidence
from the Legazpi expedition."

First, The Legazpi Expedition point that,

Mazaua was an island near in Leyte and Panaon
or Panae while Butuan was on the island of
Mindanao. The two were entirely different
places and in no wise identical.

Secondly, based on Albo and Pigafetta's

accounts they are common in the itinerary of
Magellan's Expedition showing that they did not
go to the Butuan or any other point on the
Mindanao Coast, and the survivors of the
expedition went to Mindanao later, after
Magellan's death. So, it proves that there is no
mass happened in Mindanao or Butuan because
Magellan's team was able to conduct the first
mass prior to Magellan's death, and Magellan's
survivors of the expedition were able to visit
Mindanao only after the death of Magellan.

Lastly, the geography of “Mazaua” through

visiting the Limawasa it will convince the
traveller that here indeed is the place
circumstantially described by Pigafetta that the
island is shaped like a TADPOLE. Running
north to south. When we look in the Philippine
map or Limasawa. It clearly shows that the
NORTHERN PORTION is almost all hills, with
slopes dropping steeply to the sea, leaving only a
narrow coastal strip. But the southern portion
of the island is a most all level land with a few
hills, it has a good harbor and the fields of the
island are fertile. It easy to understand why an
expedition should wish to stay a week anchored
off this fertile island where the natives were
friendly and there was enough food, water and
wood. Here the mass could have been conducted
with solemnity and on one of the hills, the cross
could have been planted which everyone could
see from the plain.

Take a look:
Butuan 2 NR /
ND
MS . Leyble No rice field in limasawa..
2 MINS (1P)
Besides, Limasawa has a rocky shoreline
which cannot be a natural harbor as
mentioned in the journals. And it is too small
and rough to have rice fields which would
take two days to harvest. And it has no gold
mines, no kingdoms, no oral tradition
documenting such an encounter—unlike in
Butuan. ( galdo)

Accounts said that on March 31, 1521, easter

Sunday, friar Pedro Valderama celebrated
mass together with Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan and his men were the
ruler of Mazaua Rajah Siagu and his brother
the ruler of Butuan, Rajah Calumbu, planted a
cross on the highest hill and helped in the
harvest for two days together with more than a
hundred of the Rajah’s men.

According to Father Joesilo Amalla, Curator

of Butuan liturgical Museum, when they
arrived on good Friday, they were harvesting
rice for two days, that means to say, the place
where they went was Mazaua, not Limasawa
but somewhere in Mindanao. Because they
harvest for two days, what can you harvest in
Limasawa when there is nothing there?
Limasawa has a rocky shoreline which cannot
be a natural harbor. And it is too small and
rough to have rice fields which would take two
days to harvest. And it has no gold mines, no
kingdoms, no oral tradition documenting such
an encounter—unlike in Butuan.

Amalla further said that Limasawa has been

inaccessible and hardly inhabited that it
became a parish only in 1994. But the first
Christian settlement in Mindanao was in
Butuan in 1596. The National Historical
Institute, however, upholds the Limasawa
claim.
 Thank you, Chairwoman
Limasawa 2nd

AR / 2 MINS First, about the Agusan river

(1P) Flores controversy…..

Using the primary sources available, Miguel

A. Bernard in his work butuan or limasawa:
the site of the first mass in the philippines: a
re-examination of evidence (1981) lays down
the argument that in the Pigafetta account,
a crucial aspect of Butuan was not
mentioned- the river, butuan is a riverine
settlement, situated in the agusan river. The
beach of masao in the delta of said river. It
is vurious omission in the account of the
river, which makes part of distinct
characteristic of butuan’s geography that
seemed to be too important to be missed.

Regarding in the account of colins and

combes:the two priests worked as
missionaries and wrote their accounts on
2nd hand information. To add colins
account is insufficient which means : all the
details about the first mass is not completely
narrated… Compare to the account of
Pigafetta. There are lot of details that colins
account missed.

Second, In the book of albos account, why

was the river not mentioned

"In Albo's log book, which was the pilot of

the voyage. Mazaua lies at a latitude of 9 and
2/3 degrees north, and it fits the location of
the small island of Limasawa, south of Leyte.
In addition, we can prove it because,
according to the logbook, we can see three
islands to the west and southwest. Butuan is
a landlocked area, meaning there are no
bodies of water to be seen. Therefore, the
 claim of Butuan is not congruent with a
logbook of where the first mass happened."

And Based on the description of albo : if you

are in the top of tiny hill of island in east west
and south west part we can view the three
island (ISLAND) (which are, Bohol in the
west, Mambajao in southwest and the other
one is Siquijor) as I have said earlier that
there are no body of water in Butuan. So how
come that the first mass occurred in Butuan?

LASTLY, according to the Pigafetta and

Seven days in Mazaua, it claims that on
Sunday, March 31 on that same day
afternoon while on the summit of the highest
hill, magellan asked the two kings
which ports he should go in order to obtain
more abundant supplies of food than were
available in the island because the goods and
foods from the island of Mazaua is not
already enough that is why Magellan ask the
two kings where they can get more and they
replied that there were three ports to choose
from such as Ceylon(Leyte), Zubu(CEBU),
and calagan, of those three, Zubu or Cebu
was the port with the most trade. In addition,
they leave not fully loaded in the island
because limasawa can't load the victoria.
—------------ THAT WOULD BE ALL —----------
----

Butuan 2 NR /
ND
MS.DEL DEL CARMEN ( there is inconsistency on
2 MINS (1P) CARMEN process of transcription changes the term for
mazaua as limasawa)
Pigafetta wrote his journal about their voyage
between 1522 to 1525. However, the original
account was lost, leaving Pigafetta to reproduce it in
4 manuscripts - 3 in french, 1 in Italian since
Pigafetta is an Venetian-Italian scholar.

For your information, Transcription depends on the

language and pronunciation of the transcriber.
My point is, what the locals said locals and
translators said about what would have been written
in Pigafetta or Albo's account depends on the
language they speak.

Due to the different translations from different

perspectives, the original versions of the primary
sources may have already missed it's true content
and context. It may already have been
misinterpreted and since matching names from
more than 500 years ago is difficult, names and
interpretation of the directions, details, and places
would have changed and the inquirers, respondents,
and translators may have misunderstood each
other.

• RA. 2733
The “bull’s eye” against Limasawa was the three

actions that Pigafetta recounted but were deleted

in the Gancayco report: “The ships fired all their

artillery at once when the body of Christ was

elevated, the signal having been [given] from the

shore with muskets.”

These, Malvar said, could not be done all at the

same time in Limasawa ( because Magellan’s

shrine and landing are 700 meters apart.

He said “Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas 1565-

1615,” a chronicle of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s

expedition by Gaspar de San Agustin, extolled the

exploits of Magellan in Butuan, 44 years after the

explorer was killed in Mactan.

“[The natives and king] built him a house and

during Easter, the First Mass celebrated [on] these

islands was held in Butuan and the First Cross was

raised, which Ferdinand Magellan himself placed

on a hill not very far from the beach … ”

According to Dr. Potenciano Malvar, chair of the

Butuan Calagan Historical Cultural Foundation,

the congressional archives of Republic Act No.

2733, declared Limasawa as the official site of the

first Mass, showed many irregularities. Of the 39

lawmakers, only 11 were present when the bill

was approved.

Proponents, even Church leaders, were not

invited to committee hearings and no ocular visits

were done. The law did not even bear the

signature of then President Carlos Garcia so how

come that passing a law could be substantial

evidence when it is not approved by the

executives?

Based on our research, the reason why former

President Carlos P. Garcia vetoed or rejected the

Limasawa law was because he wasn't sure if the

"Mazaua" in Pigafetta's codex or manuscript is

indeed "Limasawa". It was the American

Librarians Emma Blair and James Robertson

who claimed in 1909 in their own translation of

Pigafetta's codex that the Island of Mazaua is the

present Island of Limasawa without giving any

explanation for the identification.

Malvar also found out that the Gancayco panel

created by the former National Institute in 1996

to resolve issues in the country's history, deleted

six sentences in Pigafetta’s accounts in its 1998

report because these would “debunk the

Limasawa claim.”

Among the deleted portions was that the Easter

Mass happened in the domain of the first king,

Raia Colambu, which was Butuan. Magellan’s

setting up of tokens —cross and crown—was

deleted although this confirmed the conquest. The

items were not found up to this date.

SUMMARY Ms.basinang To sum it up, Pro-limasawa Strongly believed
OF the new translated versions of Pigafetta and
LIMASAWA Gadalanga Albo's testimony, and after that, people looked
again at it. According to the new translated
(1P) version, the mass was happened in the island of
Leyte called Limasawa, and it was all
supported by the evidence of Albo's log book,
evidence of Pigafetta, a summary of evidence
of Albo and Pigafetta, and lastly, the
confirmatory evidence from the Legazpi
expedition as well as the geography of
“Mazaua” through visiting the Limawasa it
will convince the traveller that here indeed is
the place circumstantially described by
Pigafetta that the island is shaped like a
TADPOLE. Running north to south. When we
look in the Philippine map or Limasawa. It
clearly shows that the NORTHERN
PORTION is almost all hills, with slopes
dropping steeply to the sea, leaving only a
narrow coastal strip.

In adddition, In Albo's log book, which was

the pilot of the voyage. Mazaua lies at a
latitude of 9 and 2/3 degrees north, and it
fits the location of the small island of
Limasawa, south of Leyte. according to the
logbook, we can see three islands to the
west and southwest. Butuan is a landlocked
area, meaning there are no bodies of water
to be seen. Therefore, the claim of Butuan
is not congruent with a logbook of where
the first mass happened.Summing up the
claims of Limasawa, they claimed that the
island was reported to be at a latitude of 9 and
2/3 degrees north. It is located in the southern
part of Leyte, and its latitude matches that of
Limasawa Island, whose southern tip is located
at 9 degrees and 54 minutes north.

They also claimed that Limasawa in

accordance with the account of Pigafetta and
Fransisco Albo who are eyewitnesses of the
Magellan’s voyage both stated that the first
 mass in the Philippines took place on an island
called Mazava in Albo’s account and Mazaua
in Pigafetta’s account, they both asserted that
from Island of Homonhon they went westward
towards the island of Leyte and turned to a
southwest direction to reach this island.

They also mentioned the planting of the cross

upon a mountain top from which could be seen
three islands to the west and southwest, which
also fits the southern end of limasawa and the
RA. 2733 or law of limasawa.

SUMMARY Zamora
OF BUTUAN
Leyble
(1P)