LANDSCAPE
By GEMMA CRUZ ARANETA
Gemma Cruz Araneta
He was a real person; Lapu Lapu did exist. He was not a Filipino simply because there were none at that time, the Philippines did not exist, the archipelago of more than 7,000 island had not been consolidated into a political entity when Ferdinand Magellan, that Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain, cast anchor somewhere in Sugbu. Antonio Pigafetta, the Venetian scholar who accompanied Magellan and kept a journal about the ill-fated voyage, did mention Lapu Lapu by name. There were notes about him, Humabon, Lapu Lapu’s rival,and other chieftains involved in a battle for hegemony. Other 16th century chroniclers like Maximillanus Transylvanus interviewed survivors and wrote about Magellan and the Basque Juan Sebastian Elcano as the circumnavigators of the world.
Pigafetta lamented the death of their “ guiding light” at the hands of savages. Intrepid Magellan was acclaimed a hero upon the return voyage of the “ Victoria” because he perished in the line of duty. He was, in effect, enforcing the provisions of the Patronato Real by Christianizing heathen natives and turning them into subjects of the Spanish monarch. While he was glorified all over Europe, Lapu Lapu was denigrated as a savage even in the Capitania-General de Filipinas. As expected, the Spanish colonial government erected a memorial to Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu; there was also an obelisk in Manila, by the banks of the Pasig River.
As late as 1917, there were plans to build a first monument to Lapu Lapu in Opon town (now Lapu Lapu City); a fund drive approved by the American governor-general was formally launched on 17 July, but it took 16 long years for the statue of the “King of Mactan” to materialize. Why did such a harmless project take so long to finish? According to historian and National Artist Dr. Resil Mojares, there was rabid opposition from “Hispanistas” and “Católicos cerrados” who considered Lapu Lapu a murderer who delayed the Christianization of this pagan land for at least 44 years, thus prolonging “prehistoric barbarism.” Moreover, conservative Catholics were alarmed by the arrival of Protestant sects whose ministers were aggressively proselytizing, determined to harvest low-lying Catholic fruits. At the same time, a non-sectarian public school system set up by the Americans colonial government was taking root. Bishop Gorordo of the prominent deeply Catholic Cuenco family vigorously headed the opposition to Lapu Lapu. Magellan’s nemesis was branded an American-made hero, resuscitated to denigrate Spain and conceal the atrocities of the American invasion of the Philippines.
Be that as it may, admirers of Lapu Lapu began an earnest search for artefacts identified with their hero; they excavated selected areas and found an enormous pestle (alho), a shield (taming), and pipe (kuwako) that were supposed to have belonged to the ancient chief. These were proudly exhibited at the Cebu Carnival, loaned to the Manila Carnival, and donated to the National Museum. Lamentably, the priceless relics were burnt during the Battle for Manila in 1945.
At the Opon town plaza, Lapu Lapu was shown as an archer, his powerful arms drawing a bow with the arrow pointing menacingly at the municipal hall. Curiously enough, three mayors died in succession after the monument was inaugurated in 1933, and superstitious towns people believed it was because of Lapu Lapu’s arrow. Soon, the archer was replaced by a Lapu Lapu brandishing shield and pestle. In 1941, a historical committee installed a marker that glorified Magellan’s death and highlighted his circumnavigating the globe. Imagine, ignoring Lapu Lapu in Punta Engaño where the Battle of Mactan took place!
However, winds of change blew in 1961 when Republic Act 3134 elevated Opon town to Lapu Lapu city; the occasion called for a second marker, which described Lapu Lapu as “the first Filipino to have repelled European aggression.” Dr. Mojares pointed out that even if Lapu Lapu has been “nationalized” primary data about him remains meagre and what we know comes from folklore and oral narratives. In 1979, a 27-foot monument of Lapu Lapu was erected completely overshadowing Magellan’s shrine at Punta Engaño. From that year on, the place has become a tourist destination because of the re-enactment of the Battle of Mactan.
Lapu Lapu is a revered figure in our pantheon of heroes, whether he was young or old when Magellan was killed or whether it was he who dealt the fatal blow or somebody else is of no consequence. What matters now is that Lapu Lapu rose to the occasion, defended his people and their territory with poisoned spears and crude bladed weapons against the most powerful empire in the world at that time.