From West PH Sea to PH identity: The multi-faceted Murillo Velarde 1734 map

The Murillo Velarde 1734 map and other cultural treasures will be available for public viewing, free of charge, at the National Library of the Philippines starting next month. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — After playing a role in the country’s historic arbitral win over China, businessman Mel Velasco Velarde believes the Murillo Velarde 1734 map carries a new meaning in this day and age.

Dubbed as the “Mother of all Philippine Maps,” the Murillo Velarde map served as a key part of the country’s winning presentation at the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) at The Hague in 2016.

The map boosted the country’s claims against China, showing “Panacot” shoal now known as Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal. It also featured the Spratly Islands, once called “Los Bajos de Paragua.”

“We had a problem with China which still lingers at this moment. Its role was more than the legal significance or legal aspect. It’s really our moral argument against our neighbor which uses historical evidence as their argument. Every time they talk about the nine dash line, we have to tell them we have the Velarde map as early as 1734,” Velarde told ABS-CBN News on Wednesday.

“This map, as early as 1734 under Philip V, an official Spanish government document showing that the contested islands including the low tide rocks are owned by the Philippines and which was confirmed by the Treaty of Paris, Treaty of Washington and all the other maps which are all called the siblings of the mother of all Philippine maps even under the American government,” he added.

The historic map is also known as the first scientific map of the Philippines. It was named after Spanish Jesuit Friar Pedro Murillo Velarde, who prepared the map with Filipinos Francisco Suarez and Nicolas dela Cruz Bagay.

Beyond the crucial contribution of the map in the country’s maritime row with China, Velarde said it reflects the lives of Filipinos before the 18th century.

The map defined in detail Philippine territory during 1734, depicting the country’s boundaries, mountains, bodies of water and more.

Velarde, who also sits as Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication chairman, noted that the map showed Filipinos farming and a sense of community.

“Beyond or even before late 18th century we had an idea of a nationhood that as you can see in the map the Filipinos had a clear understanding of what is right and wrong Filipinos or the native or the Indios were self-reliant,” he said.

“Pedro Murillo Velarde, Nicolas Bagay and Francisco Suarez with all their indio teams collaborated to show here that we were self-sustaining, we were self-reliant, we have a community we knew what were morally permissible and impermissible. Murillo Velarde made sure that it is not just a map that shows the islands and rocks it’s also a reflection of the lives of the Filipinos, early Filipinos here,” Velarde added.

The entrepreneur shared that retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio encouraged him to bid for the map.

In 2016, Velarde brought home the map years after acquiring it at an auction in London. A year later, he donated the map to the government, with the hopes of having it displayed at a museum.

Velarde said the map, which he bought for around P12 million, turned priceless due to its relevance to Philippine history.

“I think if you look at the map, you will see and realize that on this land, generations come and go. They lived here, they cried here, they celebrated here, they suffered here, they became victors here. And their moments were golden moments, and now is our golden moment as well. So let’s take advantage of it and own it. We must own our own country,” he shared.