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Flight chronicles of the backpacker Tutubi, with travelogues, pictures/photos/videos, travel guides, independent and honest reviews, affordable, recommended resorts and hotels (including inns, guesthouses, pension houses, lodges, hostels, condotels, bed and breakfast and other cheap accommodations), commuting guides, routes (sometimes street maps and GPS coordinates/waypoints) and driving directions to answer "how to get there" questions, information and tips on tourism, budget travel and living in Philippines, Exotic Asia and beyond!

Backpacking, independent travel, and flashpacking are cheaper than the "cheapest package tours" and promotional offers around but you can also use travel information for family vacations, even romantic honeymoon destinations.

More than the usual tourist spots and "places to see," this blog advocates heritage conservation, environmental protection, and history awareness for Filipinos, foreigners, and ex-pats wishing to explore Paradise Philippines and Exotic Asia!
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    The Neo-Classical Leyte Provincial Capitol

    The first destination of Tutubi's DIY tour of Tacloban took him to the Leyte Provincial Capitol, an almost immaculate white neo-classical building that once served as Capitol Building of the Commonwealth of the Philippines during the period dubbed as days of liberation of World War II that began with the historic Battle of Leyte Gulf and Leyte invasion.

    The capitol building sports a neo-classical architectural style typical of American-era government edifices.




    NHI Historical Marker reads:

    "Capitol Building of the Philippines, 1944-1945

    On the steps of this Capitol Building of Leyte was formally installed, 23 October 1944, Sergio Osmena as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines by Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the presence of cabinetmen, liberation forces and many other grateful people. Henceforth, until 27 February 1945, this edifice served as the Capitol Building of the Philippines."




    After the bloody and disastrous Battle of Manila, the seat of the national government moved to its home in Manila.

    Two bas reliefs can be found on both sides of the capitol: a depiction of the "first mass" on Limasawa Island and the landing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Red Beach, Palo, Leyte.

    Inside the capitol was an exhibit on the 64th anniversary of the Leyte landing celebration last month including photographs and memoirs other historic events in Leyte and Samar including the Balangiga massacre during the Philippine-American War.

    Notes:

    Then Vice President Sergio Osmena, whose face you see featured on the P50 bill, was installed president of the Commonwealth due to the death of President Manuel Quezon on August 1, 1944 in New York, after a long fight against tuberculosis (a highly-cureable disease these days). He was with President Quezon on Corregidor Island and left the island for the United States to establish the Philippine government in exile. After the war, he lost the presidential elections of 1946 to Manuel Roxas (the face on the P100 bill), the first president of the new independent Republic of the Philippines. He retired in Cebu, his home province, died in 1961 and buried at Manila North Cemetery.

    The site of the first mass in the Philippines and second anchorage of Ferdinand Magellan, after Homonhon, in 1521 is still disputed. It's historically recorded as Mazaua by Antonio Figafetta, Magellan's chronicler who was able to return to Spain after Magellan was killed in The Battle of Mactan against Lapu-lapu. The "official" stand of the NHI shot down arguments that Limasawa has no anchorage for large boats and disregarded the accounts of Gines de Mafra, the only person to have visited Mazaua twice, first with Magellan and the second time with the ill-fated expedition of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, who pointed Mazaua to an island not Limasawa, but somewhere in Butuan in northern Mindanao. More of this in future posts...

    Labels: , , ,


    posted by GingGoy @ 8:57 PM,

    6 Comments:

    At Nov 22, 2008, 9:35:00 AM, Blogger tin-tin said...

    i just know that the first mass was held there and the famous macarthur i shall return, but not about having the first capitol there

     
    At Nov 23, 2008, 2:00:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    wow what i nice blog, i'd love to travel philippines, i think you live in a very beautiful corner of the world!
    what about a link exchange between our travel blogs? just let me know, and have a nice day!

     
    At Nov 23, 2008, 5:55:00 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

    Thank you Tutubi, i've just added your blog, have a nice day!

     
    At Nov 23, 2008, 5:56:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

    ops sorry i left you a comment with the wrong ID :-) anyway, I'm Claudia, thank you for adding my blog, yours is just added in my blog list ;-)
    bye!

     
    At Nov 26, 2008, 9:48:00 PM, Blogger Kyels said...

    Love the architecture!

    ;)

     
    At Jun 9, 2009, 11:16:00 AM, Blogger Vicente Calibo de Jesus said...

    The Limasawa hoax

    The Limasawa first mass story started as an innocent error and has become a government-sponsored hoax.

    To know how this error became a hoax, go to http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/MagellansPortMazaua/message/612

     

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