ICYMI: Historic Murillo Velarde Map presentation to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“President’s Hall, Malacañan Palace December 6, 2024.

The historic Murillo Velarde 1734 Map was officially presented by Mr. Mel Velasco Velarde, Chairman of the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) and the NOW Group of Companies to the Republic of the Philippines, through President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last December 6, 2024.

“In 2014, it found its way back home through Mr. Mel Velarde, who is here with us today and who deserves a very large round of applause for what he has done,” said President Marcos in his speech.

The president added that Mr. Velarde reclaimed the historic map “not as a private collector but as a steward for the nation.”

“Through his generosity, this invaluable piece of history was not locked away in obscurity but it was restored to its rightful owners: to us, the Filipino people,” he said.

Former Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio also joined the ceremony titled “The Sacred Rite: A Covenant of Repatriation and Custody of the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map.”

The Murillo Velarde 1734 map is considered as the country’s first scientific map, also known as the “Mother of all Philippine Maps.” Produced by Spanish Jesuit priest Pedro Murillo Velarde with two Filipinos, Francisco Suarez and Nicolas dela Cruz Bagay, the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map is currently on display at the Permanent Gallery of the National Library of the Philippines.

“What began as a map of the Philippines during the Spanish era became a formidable piece of evidence in our assertion of our rightful entitlements in the complex legal arena of the 21st century. It reminds us that history, when meticulously preserved, wields immense power to inform and to uphold the truth,” he said. #

SOURCE: MURILLOVELARDEMAP