THE LEGAZPI-URDANETA MONUMENT

Catiggay, Domingo, Galang, Matel March 2019

DETAILS
Located at the corner of Burgos
and Bonifacio Drive, the statue
was erected in memory of
Spanish conquistador Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi and
Augustinian Fr. Andres de
Urdaneta.
The project for its
construction began in 1891 when
Governor-General Valeriano
Weyler signed a decree creating
a council to take charge of
collection subscriptions for
the monument. It was awarded to
Agustin Querol as sculptor and
Luis Maria Cabello as
architect. The monument was
finished in Spain and brought
to the Philippines.
The timing was unfortunate, however, for it was already the end
of Spanish rule. The statue was left in storage at the Customs
Building in San Nicolas It was erected during the American
period, survived World War II, and still stands today at its
original site.
The marble pedestal is four-sided and topped by figures of
Legazpi and Urdaneta. Their conquistador is dressed in armour
and carries the Spanish flag in his left hand while his extended
right hand clutches a rolled-up document symbolizing the
possession of the city. Urdaneta is dressed in his Augustinian
habit with a crucifix in his raised right hand and a Bible on
his left. On the side facing Bagumbayan Drive (now Burgos Drive)
is a compass, rope and laurel wreath with the words URDANETA,
MDLXVII (1568). The symbol represent Urdaneta’s role as the
navigator of the Legazpi expedition.
Facing Intramuros are the coat of arms of Spain with the motto
“NE PLUS ULTRA”; while facing the sea is the word LEGAZPI with
the date MDCLXXII (1572), a crown and helmet with oak and palm
leaves. The symbols represent Legazpi’s role as conquistador of
the Philippines Facing Roxas Boulevard is a draped figure of a
woman with a laurel wreath and a medallion with a cross at her
breast. Her right arm is raised, index finger pointing upward. A
slab before her bears the inscription XXIV JUNIO, MDLXXI (June
24, 1571), the date of the foundation of the City of Manila. The
entire monument is fenced off with an iron railing.

PURPOSE
Monuments are meant to commemorate something of historical
importance to a place and its people. I always pass through a
monument outside of Intramuros (known as the Anda Circle),
fronting the Manila Hotel along Roxas Boulevard, and I wonder
who these people are or what the monument is about. A quick
search yielded the information that it’s a monument of Spanish
conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and Fr. Andres de Urdaneta,
commemorating their landing in the Philippine Islands in 1565.
The bronze and granite monument depicts Legaspi holding a sword
and Urdaneta holding a cross. The monument also commemorates the
introduction of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines,
represented by the cross. I understand that there used to be an
inscription which reads: “he is the unparalleled cosmographer,
pioneer of the Christian and Spanish civilization in the
Philippines”, but it is now gone like the sword.

The monument also depicts Urdaneta stepping on a ship anchor,

reflecting the fact that the technical direction of the
expedition was the exclusive affair of Urdaneta. He is said to
have discovered the “tornaviaje” or return route to Spain.

SITUATION
Unfortunately, I think this monument is highly undervalued and
it doesn't get the recognition it really deserves. Many people
do not know that there is such a beautiful monument in our
country. This is the truth, unfortunately.
Some parts of the monument were obviously missing, especially
those are easily reachable by hand. The plaques have been
stolen, along with some of the minor embellishments. I was so
heartbroken that it could vandalize and disrespect something so
historic.
I also have an issue with the placement of the statues of Cory,
Ninoy and Cardinal Sin near the monument. I'm sorry, but I
really don't think these belong beside the Urdaneta monuments.
While I respect these people and their contributions to the
Filipino people with the utmost respect, I think their monuments
are out of place. The view of the Legazpi - Urdaneta Monument is
completely enveloped, making it more unnoticed, further
emphasizing the lack of attention it receives from locals.
Moreover, a few steps onward, one comes to see two monument
busts placed across each other. Interestingly, these figures
have no actual connection to Philippine history whatsoever, save
perhaps that their countries were once Spanish colonies like the
Philippines. One of the busts is that of Jose Marti, Cuba’s
national hero, who led the struggle of his country against
Spanish rule in 1895. In turn, Cuba’s revolution was
an inspiration for the revolution to break out in the
Philippines one year later.
On the opposite end is the bust of General Jose de San Martin,
the hero of Argentina, Chile, and Peru who led the liberation of
these countries from Spanish rule during the early 19th century.
As Filipinos, I believe it is our responsibility to look after
our historic heritage. For this monument, it's not too late and
I think the government should take action to preserve these
treasures. It may have survived the war, but it may not have
survived Filipino negligence in its current state. It is
unfortunate to know because this monument may not survive to be
seen and appreciated by the coming generations. We must not
deprive them of this, so we have to act now before it completely
disappears into oblivion.

SOLUTION
The Philippine government should also focus on preserving our
cultural heritage most especially to our historical monuments
that contributed to the shaping of our Philippine country.
According to Section 31 of Republic Act No. 10066, also known as
an act providing for the protection and conservation of the
national cultural heritage, strengthening the national
commission for culture and the arts (NCCA) and its affiliated
cultural agencies, and for other purposes, the cultural
agencies, in conformity with their respective charters and
mandates, shall define and delineate their respective areas of
responsibility with respect to cultural properly and assessment
of national cultural treasures and national historical
landmarks, sites or monuments. These areas shall be subject to
periodic re-assessment whenever necessary. The Cultural Center
of the Philippines shall be responsible for significant cultural
property pertaining to the performing arts; The National
Historical Institute shall be responsible for significant
movable and immovable cultural property that pertains to
Philippine history, heroes and the conservation of historical
artifacts.
The different government organization affiliated with the
historical monuments shall take full duty in preserving and
fostering our monuments. Knowing that most of the monuments are
not taken care, locals, as well as the government officials,
should reorganize and develop a systematic strategy in informing
people about the importance of our historical monuments and
should impose activities with regards to development and
preservation of the monument to the public.
Moreover, we think one possible solution to this problem is
creating a commission to further contextualize the city’s
memorials, which could mean adding explanatory plaques to an
existing statue or building additional monuments.
Another proposed solution has been to move monuments into
museums. In theory, such facilities could offer a
reinterpretation of these objects. However, museum space is at a
premium, making it hard to imagine just where hundreds of
objects would reside. Finding public funds to build a massive
structure for statues of little artistic merit would likely be
fruitless. A cheaper option would be to place the statues in
local historical societies. Yet it is hard to know how many
small organizations across the South would effectively
reinterpret the statues. Potentially, we could still end up with
neo-confederate mythology but just moved indoors. Others
advocate relocating monuments to National Parks, where rangers
can contextualize, or they call for the total removal of
Confederate symbols.
References:

T. (2010, July 12). MONUMENT OF MIGUEL LOPEZ DE LEGAZPI AND ANDRES URDANETA (INTRAMUROS).
Retrieved March 30, 2019, from http://visitpinas.com/monument-of-miguel-lopez-de-legazpi-and-
andres-urdaneta-intramuros/
Tewell, J. (2016, January 8). Legazpi-Urdaneta Monument. Retrieved March 30, 2019,
from https://www.flickr.com/photos/johntewell/8366033309