Filipinos were enjoined to unite and overcome the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the same way that our ancestor-warriors came together during the historic Battle of Mactan 500 years ago.
On the 500th anniversary of the victory at Mactan Tuesday, April 27, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) Chairperson Rene Escalante couldn't help but draw comparisons between the country’s ongoing fight against COVID-19 and the battle waged by the Visayan Datu Lapulapu against the Spanish colonizers.
“Gaya ng nangyari limang daang taon na ang nakalipas, maganda po sana na tayo ay magkaisa muli, gaya ng nangyari dito sa Lapu-Lapu City (Like what happened 500 years ago, it would be great if we unite again like what happened here in Lapu-Lapu City),” Escalante said.
“Sa ating pakikibaka laban sa pandemya, tayo po sana ay magkaisa muli, magtulungan, suportahan ang gobyerno para kagaya ng nangyari dito, maging matagumpay tayong lahat laban dito sa ating bagong laban (In this new battle against the pandemic, I hope that we unite, help each other, and support the government so that like what happened here, we can be victorious anew),” the NHCP chairperson added.
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Mactan victory, a historical marker for Ferdinand Magellan--the leader of the colonizers who fell in battle against Lapulapu's men--was unveiled Tuesday morning.
On Monday, April 26, the NHCP and the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) opened the Philippine Quincentennial Museum in the Museo Sugbo in Cebu City.
The museum highlights the Philippines' part in the first circumnavigation of the world 500 years ago--an achievement that is closely associated with Magellan.
It also features information about the Philippines' pre-colonial history, which the NHCP attaches great significant to.
“It will further debunk the idea that we were discovered by Magellan and that our pre- colonial ancestors were savages and barbaric,” the NHCP said.