Sentro Rizal-Tokyo Receives Official Replica of Historic Murillo Velarde Map
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano received the official replica of Murillo Velarde Map from the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication, represented by Mr. Kristian Noel A. Pura, at Sentro Rizal-Tokyo on 16 April 2025.
22 April 2025 – Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano received on 16 April 2025 the official replica of the Murillo Velarde map of 1734 – considered as the mother of all Philippine maps – from the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC).
During the handover, held at the Sentro Rizal-Tokyo, Ambassador Garcia-Albano thanked AIJC for choosing the Tokyo Philippine Embassy as one of the first Philippine Foreign Service Posts to receive the official replica of said map. Ambassador Garcia-Albano extended her appreciation to Mr. Mel Velasco Velarde, philanthropist and Chairman of AIJC, who acquired the original Murillo Velarde map of 1734 through a Sotheby’s auction in London in 2014, and donated it to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines on 06 December 2024.
AIJC was represented by Mr. Kristian Noel A. Pura during the handover. Mr. Pura shared Mr. Velarde’s efforts to acquire the map for the Philippines and the Filipino people, and AIJC’s advocacy to preserve and promote the country’s rich history through the cartographic document.
“This document, which served as a landmark historical and legal evidence that established the Philippines’ entitlement to maritime areas reaffirmed in the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, will form part of the permanent collection of the Embassy’s Sentro Rizal, and will serve as a testament to the Philippines’ heritage and history,” said Ambassador Garcia-Albano in her remarks.
The Murillo Velarde map of 1734 or Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de la Yslas Filipinas Manila 1734 is considered to be the first scientific map of the Philippines, and includes features such as “Panacot,” later identified as Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, as well as the Spratly Islands, marked as “Los Bajos de Paragua.”
The handover of the official replica was facilitated through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
