The Philippines will begin on Tuesday (April 27) the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, along with other events related to the first circumnavigation of the world, with the quincentennial theme “Victory and Humanity.”
The National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), created through Executive Order No. 55 on May 8, 2018, is tasked to spearhead these celebrations, while the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines leads the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.
A series of quincentennial milestones will be commemorated between March 16 and October 28. Just like the Philippine Centennial Decade (1988-1998) when several milestones were commemorated and the State chose June 12, 1998 as the D-Day, the nation is commemorating at least 34 milestones this year, and the NQC has chosen April 27 as the D-Day for certain important events.
Major 500th-year milestones
The nation is celebrating two major milestones in particular: the Victory at Mactan, and the Philippine part in the first circumnavigation of the world.
Of all the milestones in 2021, the NQC believes the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan is the dearest to many Filipinos, regardless of religious belief and ethnicities.
“It embodies greatness and pride. The event at Mactan is seen as a symbol of triumph. The Victory at Mactan is not just a heritage of the Visayans, but of the entire Filipino people,” the NCQ explained.
As regards the other, the NQC said: “What we are commemorating with the world is the 500th anniversary of the achievement of humanity in circumnavigating the planet for the first time.”
Decolonizing our view of history
These two major milestones are a platform to “re-educate the Filipino people and the rest of the world that when our ancestors met the first circumnavigators, they were presentable and dignified,” the NQC said.
Rather than calling it the “discovery of the Philippines,” or the “arrival of Magellan,” the event should be referred to as the “Philippine part in the first circumnavigation of the world,” the Committee said.
“In 1522, this expedition completed the first circumnavigation of the world and empirically proved that the Earth was indeed round. The said achievement of the expedition advanced our understanding of our home planet vis-à-vis the development of science and technology.”
The NQC explained that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Executive Order No. 103 (s. 2020) not only brands the state-sponsored commemorations at the “2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines,” it also “espouses a Filipino-centric point of view of the first circumnavigation of the world…”
The EO is also said to underscore “the magnanimity, compassion, and humanity of our ancestors in helping the starving crew of the first circumnavigators—the Armada de Maluco, a.k.a., Magellan-Elcano expedition—that traversed the Pacific Ocean, and the courage and bravery of the warriors in Mactan that inspired the heroes and martyrs who founded the Filipino nation and the generations thereafter.”
The NQC also clarified that “while Lapulapu and our ancestors in 1521 were not Filipinos, we, the Filipinos, are their descendants. Although they existed long before the birth of the Filipino nation in 1898, our pre-colonial ancestors are worthy of remembrance.
“Thus, we celebrate their ideals, sacrifices, struggles. They are the source of our inspiration. By assimilating them into our national imagination, we are rescuing them from oblivion and colonial prejudices.”
The 500th-year theme ‘Victory and Humanity’
“‘Victory’ represents Lapulapu and his men’s triumph that reverberates down to our generation. This also represents how the gallantry and the spirit of freedom of our ancestors and forebears determined our destiny and history,” the NQC said.
“‘Humanity’ represents the compassion of our ancestors in saving the sick, starving, undernourished, and hopeless crew of the first circumnavigators of the planet in Homonhon, Guiuan, Eastern Samar. This trait of us as a people is recurrent in our history, and we want the world to know this further.”
The Committee added, “The quincentennial theme ‘Victory and Humanity’ becomes more meaningful as we fight together with our own battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The significance of the 500th-year commemoration
According to the NQC, the 500th-year commemorations aim to: “promote local and national tourism, reignite the nationalism of every Filipino, inculcate values for the common good, strengthen the social cohesiveness of the community, intensify social awareness, and foster Filipino creativity for our socio-economic growth.”
They emphasized nationalism as a key concept behind the celebration.
“We are now in a time when the ideal society of our heroes has been a reality. With respect to their memories, we must put a premium on the sense of nation. And a nationalistic commemoration of the quincentennials is the best thing our time and generation can offer at the pedestal of monuments dedicated to our heroes, martyrs, and great men and women.”
Events and activities
The NQC’s activities, projects, programs, and initiatives for this year shall celebrate the Filipino’s triumphant spirit, nobleness, and bravery, inspired by the examples of selflessness, courage, and greatness of Filipino ancestors since the time of Lapulapu and his gallant defenders of Mactan.
Here are the events on Tuesday (April 27) (embed link https://nqc.gov.ph/en/events/) for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan, along with other events related to the first circumnavigation of the world:
- Lighting of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway
- 500th Anniversary of the Victory at Mactan Commemorative Rites
- Quincentennial TV Special
- Military Honors to Lapulapu
- Quincentennial Evening Show and Inauguration of the Newly Restored Metropolitan
- Nationwide Simultaneous Flag Raising and Wreath Laying Rites on Public Plazas and Monuments
- Launching of the new Quincentennial Theme Song MTV “Bagani”
- Ground Breaking of the Lapulapu Memorial Shrine and Museum
- Nationwide Quincentennial Landmark (Blue) Lighting
- Quincentennial D-Day Evening Show (Televised)
- Drone Show (Part of the Evening Show)
- Fireworks Display (Part of the Evening Show)
- Overseas Replication: 500th Anniversary of the Victory at Mactan
- Lighting of the Solar-Powered Quincentennial Emblem
The 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines livestream can be watched on the PTV Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PTVph), and Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/PTVPhilippines) starting 8:00 a.m.
For more information, kindly visit the NQC website at https://nqc.gov.ph/en/resources/let-the-quincentennial-begin/
(NQC) NGS/AG-jlo
