Abstract: On Easter Sunday, 31 March 1521, the first recorded Christian mass (henceforth to be referred to as the First Mass) in the Philippines was celebrated on an island called Mazaua¹ by members of the Magellan Expedition (1519-1522). In three years’ time, the 500th anniversary of the First Mass will be celebrated on Easter Sunday, 4 April 2021, but the exact location of Mazaua is still being hotly contested. Is Mazaua the island of Limasawa in Southern Leyte, or is it Masao, in Butuan City?

This controversy was actually the subject of an investigation by the Gancayco Commission which was convened by the National Historical Institute (NHI) in 1996 in response to the petition of Butuan historians who firmly believe that Masao, Butuan City was the site of the First Mass. The Gancayco Commission was composed of retired Supreme Court Justice Emilio A. Gancayco, Atty. Bartolome C. Fernandez, Jr., and Dr. Ma. Luisa T. Camagay, as members. The ex-officio members were from the NHI: Chair and Executive Director Dr. Samuel K. Tan, Asst. Director Emelita V. Almosara, and Prof. Augusto V. de Viana. The Limasawa advocates (henceforth, the pro-Limasawans) and the Masao advocates (henceforth, the pro-Masaos) argued their case before the commission and submitted additional documents and arguments. In 1998, after almost two years of deliberation, the NHI issued its decision that favored Limasawa. However, the pro-Masaos rejected the conclusion of the NHI and continued to challenge it until today.