Magellan-Elcano Studies Center - Partido State University

We have very few information about the history of Partido, of Mount Isarog. To consider the fact that Partido State University is within Mount Isarog, we are being looked up by our stakeholders as the generators of information and knowledge, and being given the role as the institution that would lead and promote the revival and enhancement of culture of Partido, naoogma akong maray na igwa ning sarong Dr. Gerona na nag-iispearhead kang mga arog kaining advocacy, na bako sanang sa Bikol, bako sanang sa Naga, kundi sa Partido. Satuya digdi, importantehon ang arog kaining mga impormasyon. Tama ang sinabi kasubago ni sir na history traverses politics, economics, education, science and technology and even business. Kaya kung dai kita maadal kang satuyang istorya asin kang satuyang kultura, pan-o ta maiimprove ang satuyang society, ang satuyang ekonomiya? Dapat kung kita magibo ning mga pag-aadal, kaipo tang magpatalubo ning knowledge asin sciencia na bakong isolated--dapat koronektado sinda. Igdi sa mga piggigibo tang ini nakafocus kita sa satuyang mga separate na mga disciplines, alagad importantehon diyan ang oftentimes neglected na disiplina kang history asin culture. Asin to think na diiton ang interesado; kita kaya pighihiling ta na igwa ning glamor sa business, sa economics, sa engineering. Pero sa totoo, importantehon ang disiplinang ini na solo-solong pigpapanginutan asin pigsusustinir ni Dr. Gerona sa Bikol. Importantehon ang saiyang boses kaya ako nagtutubod asin nagsusuporta, na gusto kong ang laad na iyan paypayan ta pa tanganing dumakula asin dakol ang magkaurulakitan, umarab-adab asin magproduce ning dakol na information tanganing ang sciencia sa kultura kang satuyang identity mas lalong tumaba, dumakula, pakinabangan asin magtaros sa satuyang economic development, sa pagkagamiaw ta sa satuyang pinoonan bilang mga taga-Partido.

Sa totoo, saro sa mga problema sa underdevelopment, and it is now being recognized by the National Economic Development Authority, ang elemento kang kultura na kung sain dakula ang pig-aambag kang apreciacion asin hararom na pagkasabot kang satuyang pinaghalian, ang history. Ini gayod ang rason kung ano ta despite of so many development interventions being implemented, despite of so many government funds being channelled, masakiton tang maabot ang pig-aapod na development. Ini, gikan sa sakuyang mga pag-aadal, dai maipaliwanag kang sciencia [natural], dai maipaliwanag kang mga mathematical equations, ta very dynamic ang kultura; ang kultura yaon sa isip, yaon sa puso, asin yaon sa satong nakaagi. Kaipuhan ta ning mga tawo na adalan ini, asin ilaag ini sa tamang kapamugtakan na mahihiling, mababasa asin maa-apreciar kang kada saro satuya tanganing mabago ta ang satuyang presenteng sosyudad, bumalik kita sa mga maray na mga values, masabutan tang maray kung pano kita naging sarong komunidad. Ta kung ini mahiling ta, I am very sure mapapakarhay ta ang satuyang direksyon, mahihiling ta ang satuyang mga kaluyahan asin kakusogan, pasiring duman sa pighihiling tang pagpakusog kang satuyang komunidad, pasiring sa paghiling tang padumanan bilang sarong nasyon, bilang sarong syudadanong taga Partido.

Gusto tang iusol digdi ang kultura kang research, na dai sana nagtutubod sa mga sabi-sabi. Sana igwa man digdi sa grupo ta na magtalubo na grupo na nagkukugos kan adbokasiya asin inspirasyon ni Dr. Gerona.

-- Dr. Raul Bradecina, excerpts from his message after Dr. Gerona's lecture on The Beginning of Partido, 6 September 2018, Partido State University, Goa, Camarines Sur

More pictures from yesterday's launching of the coffee table book, La Ciudad de Nueva Caceres: The Illustrious Origins of the City of Naga (Gerona, 2025).

📷 courtesy: Naga City Culture and Arts FB page

Congratulations to the City Government of Naga and to Dr. Danilo M. Gerona (Director, Center for Partido Studies) for the launching of the coffee table book, "La Ciudad de Nueva Caceres: The Illustrious Origins of the City of Naga" (2025) earlier today at Royale Emelina, Naga City. Mabuhay! 🎉💯🎉

The month of September offers several scholarly opportunities for international engagements with some invitations to deliver lectures. The earliest is on September 3-5 in an international conference at the State University of Malang in Indonesia. The general theme of the conference is marginalized historiographies but I am requested to lecture on Magellan historiography. Thanks Professor Daya.

The Center for Partido Studies (CPS) in collaboration with the College of Education, the College of Integrated Arts and Humanities and the Social Studies Integrated Bureau of Learners wish to invite the ParSU community to a post-Valentine lecture entitled “Love, Sexuality, Marriage and the 16th Century Catholic Discursive Construction of the Filipino Family,” which will be delivered by Dr. Danny M. Gerona, the CPS Director.

This lecture explores the sporadic details on beliefs and practices of pre-Hispanic natives on love, s*x, marriage and the family as sifted from early missionary chronicles and reports of conquistadores. It will also revisit native and colonial notions of s*xual and gender orientations and familial obligations, and analyze the socio-cultural implications of these beliefs and practices vis-a-vis the contemporary Filipino society. Attendees will be given chance to ask questions after the lecture.

This lecture will be held tomorrow, 28 February, at 2:00PM at the CEd Review and Training Center. The registration will start at 1:30PM.

See you there! 🙂

The Postulator General of the Vatican has recently released a list of ten persons from all over the world being considered for pursuing possible canonization to the sainthood. The fourth in the list is the only one from the Philippines, an Augustinian missionary who died in the shores of a village in what is now Batalay in Catanduanes. He was Fray Diego de Herrera, believed to have been among those who survived the shipwreck in April 1576 but was subsequently martyred by the natives.
The Augustinian Order in the Philippines, in coordination with the Diocese of Virac and with the approval of the Postulator General of the Vatican, has constituted, for this purpose, a historical committee composed of three historians; Dr. Chas Navarro of the Ateneo de Manila University ( Ph.D. Universidad de Salamanca), Fr. Dedert Duarte, Chancellor of the Diocese of Capiz (PhD Cand., University of Munster), and myself, from the Partido State University (as designated head).

Our committee works in coordination with Fray Nonoy Arig of the Augustinian Order in San Agustin Church in Intramuros. As the first stage in the process, our committee has been engaged until now in extensive research on 16th century bibliographic and archival sources to establish relevant historical details surrounding his martyrdom.
With the mandate from the Vatican Postulator General “to leave no stone unturned,” the committee, with support from the Augustinian Order, as it proceeds to the remaining months of the research, is determined to undertake farther exhaustive research to other archival repositories including those in the Vatican, Spain and Mexico. For this, we hope to establish links with historians from these places who could provide us “leads” to these sources.

Congratulations Sir Danny! We are so proud of you!

We congratulate our Center Director, Dr. Danilo M. Gerona, for his recent laurel awarded by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) for his notable contribution to the review panel -- the Mojares panel, named after the panel chair -- organized by the Philippine government in 2019 to resolve the issue of the location of the first Easter Sunday Mass.

The Mojares panel was composed of Dr. Resil Mojares (the panel chair), Dr. Danilo Gerona, Fr. Antonio de Castro, SJ, Dr. Francis Navarro, Dr. Carlos Madrid, and Dr. Jose Victor Torres. Their decision to uphold Limasawa as the site of the first Easter Sunday Mass was affirmed by the NHCP in 2020 and by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 2021.

The awarding ceremony was held last 31 August 2023 at the Manila Metropolitan Theater. Congratulations, Sir Danny! The ParSU community is proud of you. 👏👏👏

**********************************

In Retrospect: List of the Government-Commissioned Panels Formed to Investigate the First Easter Mass Controversy and Their Decisions

1. LIVE-IN WORKSHOP ON THE SITE OF THE FIRST MASS IN THE PHILIPPINES (1980)
Chairman: Samuel K. Tan
Members:
Vicente L. Calo
Epifanio M. Dagza, Sr.
Regino Dodds Giagonia
Isagani R. Medina
Alfredo T. Tiamson
Rosalinda N. Caneda
Marcelino A. Foronda, Jr.
Ma. Minerva A. Gonzales
Demy P. Sonza

Panel decision: The workshop panel’s decision was to uphold “the Limasawa view on the site of the First Mass in the Philippines.”

2. THE GANCAYCO PANEL (1998)
Chairman: Emilio A. Gancayco
Members:
Bartolome C. Fernandez Jr.
Ma. Luisa T. Camagay

Panel decision: The panel resolution issued on March 20, 1998 concluded that “the first-ever Christian Mass on Philippine soil on March 31, 1521 was celebrated in the island
of Limasawa, South of Leyte.”

3. THE LEGARDA PANEL (2009)
Chairman:
Benito Legarda, Jr.
Members:
Fr. Jose Cruz, SJ
Pedro Picornell

Panel decision: The panel concluded that the site of the First Mass in the Philippines was on Limasawa Island. The panel also added a postscript with the assertion of Butuan’s historical and archaeological importance in Philippine history.

4. THE MOJARES PANEL (2019)
Chairman: Resil B. Mojares
Members:
Danilo M. Gerona
Francis M. Navarro
Carlos Madrid Alvarez-Piñer
Fr. Antonio Francisco B. De Castro, SJ
Secretary General: Jose Victor Z. Torres

Panel decision:

a. On the First Easter Sunday Mass Controversy
The panel has concluded that, based on the evidence presented and the research it has conducted in aid of the evaluation, the evidence and arguments presented by the pro-Butuan proponents, while commendably serious and substantial, are not sufficiently conclusive as to demand a repeal or reversal fo the current government ruling on the case of the First Easter Sunday Mass. The panel therefore recommends that Limasawa Island, Leyte, be sustained as the site of the First Easter Sunday Mass of 1521.

b. On Butuan
The panel, however, recognizes the deep historical significance of the greater Butuan area as a precolonial trading center and base in the Christianization of Mindanao, a significance that transcends the question of whether or not it is the site of the “first mass.” The panel therefore recommends that the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) initiate and support the promotion of Butuan as a one of the country’s premier historic sites.

c. On Limasawa
The panel endorses the changes proposed by historian Dr. Rolando Borrinaga to wit: That Barangay Triana instead of Barangay Magallanes (both in Limasawa) be recognized – after proper consultation with the local stakeholders or government units – as the site of the First Easter Sunday Mass, and that Saub Point in Triana be likewise recognized as the site of the cross planted by Magellan and his men.

Source:
Mojares, R. (2020). The final report of the Mojares panel on the Butuan-Limasawa controversy on the location of the 1521 first Easter Sunday mass in the Philippines. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?id=1287Hgn99grWCdH2MaL2defFx6Ssq7QUH&export=download

NHCP Board Resolution No. 2, s. 2020 (adopting the recommendations of the Mojares Panel):
https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?id=1kNQiHP0VhQUVyOr9018TGQepyM2lf9zh&export=download