The National Library of the Philippines has formally declared the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map as a National Cultural Treasure, cementing its unparalleled historical, artistic, and cultural significance to the Filipino nation.
Opening messages from NLP Director IV Gilbert Adriano and a keynote reflection from Former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio underscored the vital role archives play in defining national identity and protecting historical truth.
The program also featured heritage scholars, including Dr. Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua and Archivist Eruel Olvina, who presented the historical and cultural significance of the newly declared National Cultural Treasures.
Dubbed the “Mother of all Philippine Maps,” the Carta Hydrographica y Chronologica de las Islas Filipinas was created by Spanish Jesuit cartographer Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde together with Filipino artists Francisco Suárez and Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay.
It is considered the first scientific map of the Philippines and a primary source for understanding the archipelago’s geography, settlements, and maritime routes during the Spanish colonial era.
The map is adorned with 12 vignettes, or border panels, depicting daily life in the Philippines at the time, offering invaluable ethnographic and artistic insights.
In recent years, the map has gained significant stature as historical evidence asserting the Philippines’ maritime claims in the West Philippine Sea.
The same recognition was accorded to the Acta de la Proclamacion de Independencia del Pueblo Filipino, a document that records the proclamation of independence of the Filipino people from Spain.
Mel Velarde, chairman of NOW Corporation and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, presented the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map as the very soul of the nation—a soul that endured silencing, fragmentation, and exile and has now been formally restored to the Filipino people.
He traced the ancient roots of the Filipino soul to the seafaring Austronesians: to balangays, oral traditions, celestial navigation, and the shared values forged through maritime life.
He explained that within the map lies a constellation of “Ten Truths”—insights revealing the Filipino Soul’s wholeness, diversity, excellence, values, ecological abundance, resilience, and prophetic destiny.
Velarde also highlighted how the signatures of Filipino artisans, along with the imagery of a culturally diverse archipelago, assert dignity, agency, and early harmony.
He described the map as both scientific and spiritual, a product of collaboration across cultures, and a reminder of a land once defined by abundance rather than scarcity.
