DESCRIPTIONS OF DIFFERENT TOPICS

1. SITE OF FIRST MASS
The site of first mass in the Philippines has been
a long historical debate as to whether it took
place in Limasawa Island in Leyte, Mazaua (or
Masao, now Butuan City) in Agusan. The
significance of the first mass in the Philippines
lies in its role in the history of Philippine
Christianity, dating back to the year 1521. The
significance of the site of the first mass in the
Philippines lies in the historical and religious
importance attached to it. The book "Homonhon Island: The Correct Site of the First Mass in the
Philippines" by Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo presents arguments against these claims using a
sociological-theological approach. The National Historical Institute (NHI) settled the controversy
in favor of Limasawa, but a review of contemporary documents suggests a different site in the
vicinity of Barangay Triana. The site holds significance as it represents the beginning of
Christianity in the Philippines and is a subject of interest for historians, scholars, teachers, and
students.
EVIDENCE FOR MASAO, BUTUAN CLAIM
Masao or Mazaua in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. It is a popular destination near the Magellan
landing site monument in Barangay Masao, featuring a long brown sand shoreline. Masao in
Butuan is historically significant as it is identified as the location of the first Christian mass in
the Philippines. The first Catholic mass held in the Philippines took place in Masao, Butuan. This
event marks a crucial moment in Philippine history and the introduction of Christianity to the
region. Additionally, there is a comparison with Limasawa regarding the first Easter Mass in the
Philippines, highlighting the significance of Masao in Butuan and its place in the country's
history. The name Agusan came about upon the creation of the province in the year 1914.
Two historical logs have been the subject for debate as to where does the first mass really
occurred. Is it in Butuan or Masao?
Researchers studied two relevant logs from Francisco Albo, a pilot of one of Magellan’s ship,
Trinidad and the log of Antonio Figafetta ( Primo Viaggio Intorno al Mondo). Francisco albo
was one of the 18 survivors who had returned with Sebastian Elcano on the ship Vitoria after the

2. circumnavigation of Magellan. Antonio Pigafetta on the other hand was a Venetian scholar and
explorer. He also joined the Spanish expedition to the Spice Islands and the world's first
circumnavigation and is best known for being the chronicler of the voyage and his book. Both of
them were eyewitnesses of the events, particularly, of the first Mass.
After analyzing the primary sources from Pigafetta and Albo’s account, and some of the
secondary sources that the researchers used as related studies from the historians researched to
support our claims regarding the first Mass. The researcher led to the conclusion that Antonio
Pigafetta’s account is more firm than Albo because Pigafetta’s account is more complete and
supported by pieces of evidence including the date of the event and also the location. In Albo’s
account he didn’t mention the first Mass but only the planting of the cross upon a mountaintop
from which could be seen three islands to the west and southwest unlike Pigafetta mentions in
his account that the first Mass is held in Butuan on Easter Sunday, March 31. Pigafetta also seen
as a is a credible source because his work instantly became classic and prominent in the West
like William Shakespeare, Michel de Montaigne, and Giambattista Vico referred to the book in
their interpretation of the New World. The Chronicle of Pigafetta was one of the most cited
documents by historians who wished to study the pre-colonial Philippines.
The Butuanons and their supporters advocate that Magellan and his men landed in Mazaua for
the reason that it has the anchorage, rise fields, gold, antique “balanghai” and other artifacts that
they unearthed in scattered areas in Butuan City. In the so-called ‘Magellan’s Harbor’ in Butuan,
the real harbor for the cargo and passenger ships traveling to and departing from Butuan City is
actually in Nasipit, which is 25 kilometers west of Mazaua. Mazaua or Butuan City’s offshore is
too shallow for ship navigation! If Mazaua had the abundant rice fields, other food supplied, and
water at the time when Magellan and his troops landed and held the ‘First Mass’ or observed
Easter Sunday, how come Magellan and his fellow sailors sought for a bigger island? Mazaua
was and is attached to Mindanao, the second largest island in the entire Philippines. Since the
pro-Mazaua supporters strongly claimed that Magellan and his fellow sailors held the ‘First
Mass’ or observed Easter Sunday in their ‘island of plenty’ what happened to the abundant
foods, drinks, and other supplied in Mazaua and their next neighbor, the ‘Kingdom of Butuan’?
Why did the two rajahs of ‘Mazzaua’ and Butuan volunteer as pilots to Magellan to obtain
provisions in Cebu, which is much smaller than Mindanao? The pro-Butuan proponents claimed

3. that Magellan and his troops landed in Mazaua, Butuan City because Pigafetta wrote in his
logbook about the small gift items made of gold supposedly from Butuan which Rajah Kalambu
gave to Magellan. Well then, if gold was such a big deal in Butuan, Magellan and his sailors
could have sailed easily south to Surigao, Mindanao while they were still sailing off the eastern
coast of Panaon Island. They had seen Surigao which was and is in northeast Mindanao before
nighttime because Mindanao is the second biggest island in the entire Philippines. Surigao was
known to have gold at that time and up to the present day. Magellan and his men in three ships
did not search for spices only. They searched for anything or things of value to bring home and
hand them over to the King of Spain! Furthermore, the pro-Butuan supporters claimed that the
antique ‘balanghai’ that some of them found under the ground in Masao or Mazaua, Butuan is
one proof that Magellan was in Mazaua. Salazar (2015) refers to the writings of de Jesus wrote a
lengthy article entitled, ‘Mazaua: Magellan’s Lost Harbor’. The government of Butuan City,
Mindanao, commissioned him to do extensive research on the Mazaua landfall.issue.
He concluded that Magellan and his troops landed in Mazaua, Butuan City, Philippines. He
wrote: “Two events define the meaning of Mazaua for most Filipinos, the Easter mass and the
planting of a large cross atop the tallest hill. The Philippines is an isolated rock of Christianity in
a huge ocean lashed by the powerful waves of Islam, Buddhism, Hindu, and other beliefs. Og its
76 million people 83% are Catholics, 9% Protestants, Mazaua, therefore, is an icon to a deeply
religious people, an event of overarching importance. This aspect of a signal event n world
geography and Renaissance navigation has unfortunately served to distort the way the event is
viewed.” It may be an icon and a very important event to the professed ‘Christians’ and Holy
Bible illiterates, but to those who practice Biblical Christianity, the First Mass on Easter is
meaningless and worthless! Most Filipinos have all the time in the world to read the newspapers,
tabloids, the political, sports, and entertainment publications, and the comics but not few minutes
to read and study the Holy Bible. The so-called experts on Mazaua, Butuan denied or ignored the
‘unwritten history of the Portuguese’ colonization of Mindanao before Magellan and his
explorers sailed across the Pacific Ocean from South America. They ignored or pretended not to
know the fact that the Portuguese navigators, such as João de Barros, Gaspar Correia, Diogo do
Couto, Francisco de Castro, and Antonio Galvão had explored Mindanao from 1520 to 1565.
The Portuguese were ahead of Magellan’s expedition in the Philippines by at least one year.

4. Before Magellan’s explorers landed in March 1521, the Roman Catholic Portuguese sailors more
likely had conducted the ‘First Mass’ in Southern Philippines. Therefore, the pro-Butuan
proponents had the right to assume and claim the ‘First Mass’ in Mindanao, but not recorded in
history, before Portugal exchanged the entire Philippines for Brazil with Spain. In a Portuguese
map made around 1535 to 1538, Butuan’s name was Butan or Butuão. Spain did not even know
that Butuan existed! Thus, carrying the flag of Spain and being financed by the Spanish King
Charles V, Magellan and his fellow explorers did not sail south to Mazaua, Butuan in Mindanao.
The Portuguese navigators who sailed eastward from Portugal to Mindanao via Indonesia had
occupied the big Mindanao Island one year before Magellan and his troops landed in Limasawa
Island, Southern Leyte. The Natives of Mazaua, Butuan mistook the Portuguese explorers from
Portugal as that Magellan’s explorers from Spain The Portuguese had known where Magellan’s
fleet was bound before it even sailed; warships would surely be waiting to stop it from reaching
the Moluccas. Even if Magellan found the Moluccas, loaded his ships with precious spices and
then got away, most ports and trading stations on the route back to Spain would be Portuguese
outposts and closed to him.” Since some Portuguese captains and navigators and their crew had
explored and colonized Mindanao Island, they would have arrested Magellan and his men if they
landed in Mazaua, Butuan which was a Portuguese outpost and trading station in Mindanao. The
Portuguese authorities arrested and jailed the entire fifty-four crew members of Trinidad,
Magellan’s flagship, after the ship was repaired and loaded with spices on its eastward voyage
from the Spice Islands to plan Panama in Central America, where they could transship the spices
to another ship bound for Spain
EVIDENCE FOR LIMAWASA, SOUTHERN LEYTE
Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte. The most famous is Limasawa Island, an island town
in Southern Leyte, which the Philippine Government recognized as the actual site of the First
Mass. The powerful Roman Catholic Church also recognized Limasawa Island as the site where
Magellan and his crew landed and held the First Mass. Furthermore, the Embassy of Spain
recognized Limasawa as the site of Magellan’s landfall such that they also sent the Galleon The
Four Sites of the First Mass Limasawa Island, Southern Leyte Masao or Mazau in Butuan City,
Agusan del Norte Recognition from Philippine Government, Roman Catholic Church, Embassy
of Spain, and Embassy of Portugal in Metro Manila. Butuanons and their supporters support this
claim. The presence of “balanghai” and gold  Abundance of rice fields, other food supplies, and

5. water Mazaua as “Magellan’s Lost Harbor Homonhon Island Eastern Samar Mahaba Island,
Placer, Surigao del Norte Proponents are the people who live the Homonhon Island and Samar
Magellan and his men thank God for the safe trip from Guam and the vast Pacific Ocean Mazzava
Island could be mistakenly Mahaba Island VS V S VS V S General Education – Readings in
Philippine History Learning Module Surigao State College of Technology 97 Andalucia to visit
Maasin City for five days and Limasawa for about three hours. The Embassy of Portugal in Metro
Manila recognized Limasawa where Magellan and his troops observed the First Mass on Easter
or introduced Christianity to the island’s inhabitants. “The Treaty of Tordesillas on June 7, 1494,
virtually divided the unknown world between Spain and Portugal with the approval of the Holy
See. Did you know that Magellan, in a previous expedition, had [landed] in the Moluccas, just
south of Mindanao? In those days, Portugal had something that the Spanish didn’t have:
cartographic maps of the so-called Spice Islands. Therefore, since he was a Portuguese, it is safe
to assume that Magellan used Portuguese cartographic maps during his historic expedition that
brought him to Cebu on March 16, 1521.” “With the Treaty of Tordesillas, Prof. De Sousa said the
Philippine archipelago fell under the jurisdiction of Portugal… but Magellan made his claim for the
King of Spain who paid his expedition. Thus in 1750, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of
Madrid whereby the Portuguese exchanged the Philippines for the South Frontier of Brazil, which
gave Portugal control of Rio de la Plata. Again this is something we’ve never read in our history
books. History tells us that Spain sold the Philippines to the United States for a measly sum of
$20 million, but we never know about this exchange deal between Spain and Portugal for Brazil!”
“Talking about rewriting history, we all know about the claim made by some Butuanons that a
place called Mazaua was allegedly the site of the first Holy Mass instead of Limasawa Island of
Southern Leyte. Well, Prof. De Sousa has another insight on this, which I’m sure puts an end to
this endless debate and enrich our pre-Spanish history. It turned out that the ill-fated Magellan
expedition ended the Spanish exploration of these islands. But Portuguese navigators like João
de Barros, Gaspar Correia, Diogo do Couto, Francisco de Castro, and Antonio Galvão have been
exploring Mindanao from 1520 to 1565 until the Spaniards resumed its conquest of the Philippines
through another expedition led by Miguel López de Legazpi.