‘In my mind as I write this I have images of PRRD as our modern-day Lapu-Lapu rushing, bolo in hand, on a jetski to the disputed areas in the WPS!’
IT was two weeks back, I think, when two public servants tripped over themselves while hailing the heroism that marked the so-called “Battle of Mactan.”
The first to fall flat on his face was a young Caviteño politician , whose social media post hailed the heroism of Ferdinand Magellan in defending the country against foreign invaders.
Later on deleted, the post was quickly blamed on an intern who, said the young politician, posted it without proper approval. Makes you wonder how many other posts were actually posted by interns.
That miscue was totally unacceptable. Even the blaming on the intern was totally unacceptable and, in my book, at least turned something bad into something worse.
The second to fall flat on his face was a senator known to be very close to the President who was guest speaker in Mactan during the actual rites to mark the killing by Lapu-Lapu of Ferdinand Magellan. The senator who I will not disclose is Bong Go, who claimed in his speech that Lapu-Lapu was actually a Tausug sent from Mindanao precisely to check the incursions by foreigners. The remake received so much flak the succeeding days that the senator had to apologize for the grievous error amounting, some claimed, to historical revisionism. Cebuanos interviewed by news crews in response to the flak reacted by saying they never heard of Lapu-Lapu being a Tausug; one took offense that Lapu-Lapu’s Cebuano identity was being denied while another said all he knew was that they were Moslems but not that they were Tausug.
Actually, the good senator — who I think should defer to Mayora Sara for 2022 — may not have been really wrong about Lapu-Lapu. Here’s why I dare say so.
First, it is a fact that before Magellan came (and after him, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi) the inhabitants of the islands later to be called the Philippines were practicing either native religions or Islam. I can imagine that major trading posts like Manila, Cebu and, of course, parts of Mindanao had Moslem traders dealing side by side with maybe Indians and Chinese. So, yes, Cebu being one of them, there’s a high chance Moslem traders were present in 1521.
Which means it may be possible that someone like Lapu-Lapu had roots in Mindanao. I am not sure if any of our history books have identified him as a believer of any faith, but yes it could have been possible that he was a Tausug or at the very least of Tausug heritage.
Does this rob Cebuanos of a hero? Technically no, because there was no Cebu at that time, just as there was no Philippines yet. Or, can’t a Tausug also be a Cebuano at the same time? Win-win, yes?
Was Lapu-Lapu sent to Mactan from Mindanao to intercept the invaders? This I doubt because in 1521 you didn’t have Flight Tracker or some nautical version which would allow a Tausug king to notice the imminent arrival of a foreign fleet. Neither did you have high speed boats like what the Abu Sayyaf use to outrun our Navy boats — so they could not have loaded them boats in Southern Mindanao to speed their way towards Mactan in March 1521. Chances are, Lapu-Lapu was a long time resident of the island when Magellan and his men arrived; and offended by what he saw, he took action against the visa-free foreigners.
(In my mind as I write this I have images of PRRD as our modern-day Lapu-Lapu rushing, bolo in hand, on a jetski to the disputed areas in the WPS!)
So let me say what I rarely say — SenSAP Bong Go may not have been wrong when he referred to Lapu-Lapu as a Tausug. Given the paucity of what we know about the Mactan warrior, and given what we know about the spread of Islam among our islands during the period predating the arrival of the Spaniards, Lapu-Lapu may have been a Tausug!
Congratulations to the speechwriter who hopefully will research this even more!
