PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITY

The National Center for Teacher Education

MINDANAO
The Multicultural Education Hub
Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur

GED-SS 03
(READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY)
______________________________________
The Filipino Historian
(Controversial Issues in Philippine History)
By Pedro A. Gagelonia
Department of History, Far Eastern University

Prepared by: Alexander Robin M. Capito

TC-OBTEC 1-2
 CHAPTER 1
1. NUMBER OF ISLANDS AND ISLETS IN THE
PHILIPPINES:

How many islands and islets comprise the

Republic of the Philippines? As reflected in
the different books on Philippine
historiography the following “conflicting”
figures may be had:
a) “ more than 7, 000 islands and islets” ---
(Agoncillo and Alfonso, HISTORY OF THE FILIPINO
PEOPLE)
b) “7, 083 islands --- (Molina, THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH THE CENTURIES, Vol. I.)
c) “7, 100 islands and islets” --- (Alip, POLITICAL AND
CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES, Vol. I)
d) “7, 100 islands and islets” --- (In most of the
history books of Zaide)
e) “a broken archipelago of 7, 083 islands” ---
(Zaide, CATHOLICISM IN THE PHILIPPINES)
f) “comprising more than 7,000 islands” ---
(Google)
 CHAPTER 1
2. NAMED ISLANDS AND ISLETS IN THE
PHILIPPINES:
a) “of the more than 7, 000 islands and islets, about 4, 000 are still unnamed”
(hence, a total of 3,000 named islands) --- (Agoncillo and Alfonso, HISTORY OF
THE FILIPINO PEOPLE)
b) “2,773 of the different islands and islets have been named” --- (Alip, POLITICAL
AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES, Vol. I)
c) “2,773 islands are named” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE HISTORY FOR CATHOLIC HIGH
SCHOOLS and THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, 1963)
d) “2, 782 are named” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY,
Vol. I, 1957)
e) “more than 2000 islands and islets have been named” --- [Gagelonia, Pedro A.,
THE FILIPINO HISTORIAN (Controversial Issues in Philippine History)]
f) “More than 5,000 islands of the archipelago are yet to be named.” --- (Google,
Wikipedia)

Note: Figures presented by Zaide differ in his own books.

 CHAPTER 1
3. SIZE OF THE PHILIPPINES:
“The Philippines is located about 700 miles/1126.54 kilometers from the mainland
of Asia.” --- (Zafra, A SHORT STORY OF THE PHILIPPINES)
“The Philippines constitutes a portion of the large archipelago once known as the
East Indies. Our country is southeast of the Asiatic mainland.” --- (Molina, THE
PHILIPPINES THROUGH CENTURIES, Vol.)
“The Philippines lies about 700 miles/1126.54 kilometers to the
Southeast of the Asia Mainland.” --- (Alip, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
PHILIPPINES
“The Philippines is a sprawling archipelago fringing the
southeastern rim of the Asian continent.” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE
POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY, Vol. I)
 CHAPTER 1
4. LOCATION OF THE PHILIPPINE DEEP
The Philippine Trench (also Philippine Deep,
Mindanao Trench, and Mindanao Deep) is a
submarine trench to the east of the Philippines.
It has a length of approximately 1,320 km
(820 mi) and a width of about 30 km (19 mi)
from the centre of the Philippine island of Luzon
trending southeast to the northern Maluku
island of Halmahera in Indonesia. Its deepest
point, the Galathea Depth, has a depth of
10,540 metres (5,760 fathoms; 34,580 feet), the
third deepest in the world.
“The second lowest region of the earth, known as the Philippine
Deep is found east of Mindanao.” --- (Molina, THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH THE CENTURIES, Vol. I)
“The lowest place is the Philippine Deep, an ocean depth east of Mindanao; it is, in
fact, the lowest region in the world.” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE HISTORY FOR CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOLS)
“The lowest part on Earth is the Philippine Deep situated about 15 miles/24.1402
kilometers northeast of Mindanao. It is 34, 218 feet/10.429646 kilometers below sea
level.” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY)
“The second lowest place in the world is the Philippine Deep located 45
miles/72.4205 kilometers east of Northern Mindanao, It is 35, 400 feet/10.78992
kilometers.” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE HISTORY)
“The Philippine Deep which is located east of Mindanao has depth of 35, 440
feet/10.802112 kilometers. It is the second deepest sea in the world.” --- (Agoncillo,
PHILIPPINE HISTORY
“The Philippine Deep has a depth of 34,580
feet/10.539984 kilometers--- (Google)
 CHAPTER 1
6. LONGEST RIVER IN THE PHILIPPINES

One other point in Philippine topography about which our noted

historians have failed to be in agreement is the “longest river” in
our country.
 Cagayan River
• The Cagayan River, also known as the Rio
Grande de Cagayan, is the longest, largest and
widest river in the coutry. It is located in the
Cagayan Valley region in the northeastern part
of Luzon island and traverses the provinces of
Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Isabela and Cagayan.
Small streams originating from Balete Pass,
Cordillera, Caraballo and Sierra Madre
Mountains meet other streams and rivers and
flow to the Cagayan River.
 Rio Grande de Mindanao
• The Rio Grande de Mindanao, also known as the
Mindanao River, is the second largest river
system in the Philippines, after the Cagayan River
of Luzon. It is the largest river on the southern
island of Mindanao with a drainage area of
23,169 km2 (8,946 sq mi) draining majority of the
central and eastern portion of the island. It is also
the second longest river in the country with a
length of approximately 373 km (232 mi). It is an
important transportation artery on the island,
used mainly in transporting agricultural products
and, formerly, timber.
 Rio Grande de Mindanao
• Its headwaters are in the mountains of
Impasugong, Bukidnon, south of Gingoog City in
Misamis Oriental, where it is called the Pulangi
River. Joining the Kabacan River, it becomes the
Mindanao River. Flowing out of the mountains, it
forms the center of a broad, fertile plain in the
south-central portion of the island. Before its
mouth in the Moro Gulf, it splits into two parallel
sections, the Cotabato and Tamontaka, separated
by a 180 m (600 ft) hill.
“Cagayan River is the longest in the whole country.” --- (Alip, POLITICAL
AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES, Vol. I)
“Rio Grande de Mindanao is the longest river in the Philippines.” ---
(Molina, THE PHILIPPINES THROUGH THE CENTURIES, Vol. I)
“Rio Grande de Mindanao” --- (Benitez, HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES)
“Our longest river is the Cagayan River in Luzon.” --- (Zaide, PHILIPPINE
HISTORY FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS)
“The longest river is the Rio Grande de Mindanao.” --- (Zaide,
PHILIPPINE HISTORY FOR HIGH SCHOOLS)
“approximately 483 km” --- ( Fr. Miguel Bernard, S.J., FIVE LETTERS
DESCRIBING THE EXPLORATION OF THE PULANGI OR RIO GRANDE DE
MINDANAO, Philippine Historical Review, Vol. I. No. 2, 1966)
“Cagayan River – 505 km Rio Grande de Cagayan or simply Cagayan
River, with a total length of 505 kilometers, is the longest and widest
river in the Philippines.” “Mindanao River or Rio Grande de Mindanao is
the country’s second largest river system. It is also the second longest
Philippine river with a length of 373 km.” --- (Google)
 CHAPTER 1
7. STRAITS:

(A strait is a naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that

connects two larger bodies of water.)
Historians likewise differ in their records of the number of straits
found in in the Philippines.
“Eight landlock straits in the Philippines.” -
-- (Molina, THE PHILIPPINES THROUGH THE
CENTURIES, Vol. I)
“Twenty landlock straits.” --- (Agoncillo,
PHILIPPINE HISTORY)
“Eight landlock straits.” --- (Zaide, HISTORY
OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE)
“Twenty-two straits” --- (Google)
 CHAPTER 1
8. COASTLINE:
COASTLINE (A coastline or a seashore is the area where land meets the sea
or ocean, or a line that forms the boundary between the land and the
ocean or a lake.)
The coastline of the Philippines also provides an interesting subject of
disagreement among Filipino Historiographers.
“The irregular coastline of the Philippines stretches by 10,
850 statute miles/17,461.382 statute kilometers. It is thrice
longer than the coastline of the United States of America.”
“10, 850 statute miles/ 17,461.382 statute kilometers . . .
thrice longer than the United States coastline.” --- (Zaide, in
all his history books)
“Our coastline is 11, 440 statute miles/ 18, 410.895 statute
kilometers.” --- (Molina, THE PHILIPPINES THROUGH THE
CENTURIES, Vol. I)
“The total length of our coastline is nearly 11, 000 miles/17,
702.784 kilometers.” --- (Alip, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
PHILIPPINES)
“11, 440 statute miles/18, 410.895 statute kilometers.” ---
(Benitez, HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES)
“36, 289 kilometers”--- (Google)
 CHAPTER 1
9. MOUNTAINS:
Everyone is inclined to accept Mount Apo
as the highest peak in the Philippines but
our historians do not agree among
themselves relative to the actual height of
this mountain.
The highest mountain in the Philippines is Mt. Apo,
towering over Southern Mindanao, covering the
provinces of Davao del Sur and North Cotabato.
“Mount Apo is 9, 600 feet/2.92608
kilometres high.” --- ( Agoncillo, PHILIPPINE
HISTORY)
“9, 699 (9698.9993438)
feet/2.95625499999024 kilometres high”
--- ( Alip, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
PHILIPPINES)
“9, 690 feet/2.953512 kilometres high” ---
(Zaide, in all history books)
“2.954 kilometres high” --- (Google)
 Mount Pulog/Mount Pulag

Mount Pulag is the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines . It is Luzon’s

highest peak at 2,922 meters above sea level. The borders between the
provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya meet at the mountain's
peak.
 “Mount Pulog is the second highest peak in
the island. It is 8, 481 (8, 481.0006562) feet/
2.585009 kilometres high.” --- (Agoncillo,
PHILIPPINE HISTORY)
“Mt. Pulog is 9, 606 (9606.0006562)
feet/2.927909 (2.92790900000976) kilometres
high.’’--- ( Alip, A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
PHILIPPINES)
“ Mount Dulang-dulang is 2.938 kilometres
high” “Mount Pulog is 2.922 kilometres.” ---
(Google)
Mount Dulang-dulang, dubbed by Filipino mountaineers as "D2",
is one of the high elevation peaks in the Kitanglad Mountain
Range, located in the north central portion of the province of
Bukidnon in the island of Mindanao.
 CHAPTER 1
10. MAJOR ISLANDS IN THE PHILIPPINES
For this particular point of controversy, five
writers’ data shall be tabulated for easier
comprehension, namely: Alip’s (Political
and Cultural History of the Philippines, Vol.
I), De la Costa’s (Jesuits in the Philippines),
Zaide’s (Philippine History and The
Republic of the Philippines), Zafra’s (A
Short History of the Philippines), and this
writer’s, (The Filipinos of yesteryears, Star
Book Store, 1967, 562p.).
 CHAPTER 2

SHRI-VISAYAN AND MADJAPAHIT EMPIRES, THEIR

“ALLEGED” SUZERAINTY OVER PRE-HISPANIC PHILIPPINES:
 Prof. H. Otley Beyer, in attempting to reconstruct more rigidly the ancient past,
advances the belief that the Philippines was once an integral part of the Shri-
Visayan Empire, and subsequently of the Madjapahit Empire.
 According to Zaide (Philippine Political and Cultural History, Vol. I), “the two
main centers of the Shri-Visayan influence in the Philippines were Sulu and the
Visayas.” With reference to the Madjapahit Empire, Zaide cites the Manila Bay
district, Sulu Archipelago and Lanao district as places where “its power was
strongly felt.”
 Alip, (Political and Cultural History of the Philippines, Vol. I) says that the “Shri-
Vishayan Empire during its height of power included the whole Philippines and
that the Madjapahit Empire’s influence was in Mindanao, Luzon and Sulu
Archipelago.
 Lourdes Rausa-Gomez, in a critical study of the Madjapahit Empires published
in 1967 Philippine Studies, says that “there is no evidence at all substantiates
the claim of some Filipino historians that imperial domains reached the Sulu
and Visayas portions in the Philippines.”’ Gomez debunks Beyer’s hypothesis
which was “partly based” on his etymology of the Philippine term Visaya,
according to Gomez, is to this day debatable. She cites Juan R. Francisco’s
theory that the term Visaya is of Sanskrit origin which means “sphere,
dominion, territory, country, and kingdom.”
 In an article written by Alberto Santamaria, entitled Visayas “El
Victorioso”, which appeared in the Unitas in 1960, it is indicated that
the term Visaya means El Victorioso or simply Victorioso referring to
the successful subjugation of the Visayas by Sri-Vijaya.

 The two areas namely, Manila and Sulu, which were said to have been
places where the Madjapahit power had been felt strongly are
believed to be areas in Java or the Lesser Sundas. This is evidenced by
the absence of such words in the spelling list of the Radja Pasey or the
Nagarakartagama/ Nagarakertagama.

 Srivijaya was a dominant thalassocratic city-state based on the island

of Sumatra, Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia.

 The Majapahit Empire was a vast archipelagic empire based on the

island of Java from 1293 to around 1500.