Magellan to reconnect PH and Portugal after almost 500 years

Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier is looking forward to the signing of a formal sister city agreement between the birthplace of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magallanes and the place where he was killed in Cebu, Philippines. MATIKAS SANTOS/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — After almost 500 years since Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Philippines, the place where he was born Sabrosa municipality, Portugal and the place where he died Cebu, Philippines, are set to be reconnected as sister cities.

“We have to start all over again in reintroducing Portugal and Philippines, we have forgotten each other since the time Magellan came over in 1521,” Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier said in a roundtable discussion with reporters Thursday.

“Especially since a lot of people think that Magellan is a Spaniard when in fact he is Portuguese,” he said.

Ferdinand Magellan, also known as Fernao de Magalhaes in Portuguese or Fernando de Magallanes in Spanish, is the leader of the first sea expedition that circumnavigated the world.

Although he was born in Portugal, Magellan went to Spain because the Portuguese King refused to finance his proposed trip westward to get to the coveted “Spice Islands” in Moluccas, now part of the Indonesian Archipelago.

Magellan himself was not able to complete the full expedition that was financed by the Spanish King after he was killed on Mactan Island, Cebu in a battle against the force of Lapu-lapu, a native chieftain.

Lhuillier said that the city council of Cebu has given its approval to enter into a sister city agreement with Sabrosa last Feb. 28, 2014. Once both parties have agreed on a Protocol Agreement, the formal signing ceremony will be held to conclude the agreement.

Sister cities have the advantage of a direct link between them through which they can conduct exchange programs of any nature including academic exchange, cultural exchange, trade, etc.

“As a sister city you can exchange students, you can exchange anything you want with one another, that’s the advantage of a sister city,” Lhuillier said.

“It’s a direct contact between one city and another … they could help one another, they can come bring investors,” he said.

This agreement with Cebu city will be the first sister city agreement of Sabrosa municipality which has a population of around 8,000.

Among the projects Lhuillier said were in line was the naming of a street in Sabrosa as “Calle Cebu.”

He also said that he hoped a museum could be put up in Cebu in honor of Magellan.

A replica of the cross of Magellan in Mactan can also be given to Sabrosa as reminder of when Magellan first arrived in Cebu.

Cebu city also has sister city agreements with Barcelona, Spain, Busan, South Korea, Xiamen, China, Kaoshiung, Taiwan, Seattle, Washington, USA, and St. Petersburg, Russia, among others.

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