This year the Philippines is commemorating it’s 120 years as a country, but is it only 120 years? How did we got here? In the 16th century a race among the colonizers, Spain, Portugal, England and others to find that Eldorado a place where King Solomon in the Bible sourced out gold to build the 1st temple in Jerusalem. The Bible identified it as Ophir, a 3 year sea voyage return and back to Jerusalem, where gold abounds.
How much gold is in the Philippines? The richness of Philippine mineral wealth is clearly seen when compared with that of other countries . To be realistic however, the size of each country should be taken into account , for Philippines is relatively small ( about 1/3 the area of Ontario) omitting it’s territorial sea. In A study for producing countries undertaken by Asian Development Bank the annual production for producing countries as divided by their respective areas to obtain “output per square kilometers which is a useful measure of mineral richness and “prospectability”. The Philippines is outstanding in this respect.
Gold of our Ancestors
If you are in Manila find time to visit the Ayala Museum where an intricate design of gold that was discovered in Surigao in the 1980’s. The Philippines has been producing gold since time immemorial.
( These items were made by an advance culture and civilization)
Gold Based Currency
Piloncitos is the earliest form of precious metal based currency of the Philippines. It is made of pure gold with a weight ranging between .5 grams to more or less than 3 grams.
The earliest written account of Piloncitos was made by our national hero, Jose Rizal himself. According to Rizal, he found the gold nugget while tilling the soil of Dapitan. He himself coined the word piloncitos, which basically describe the coin’s unusual shape. They are round and stamped with what looks like the pre-Spanish baybayin character “ma,” leading historians to guess that it could be short for “Ma-I.
What fascinates historians and numismatists alike is why piloncito can only be found in the Philippines and unlike its counterpart gold massa that are vastly present in the Southeast Asian region.
Philippine Mining History
Chinese traders as far back as the 3rd century AD referred to Luzon as the “Isle Of Gold”. Placer continuos to provide a significant portion of the national output of gold, but most reported production presently is from vein deposits, and as byproduct from disseminated copper mining. Copper was mined in antiquity, and was exploited from rich veins in the last century. In the mid 1950’s very large bodies of low grade disseminated copper were opened, and they supply virtually all of the nation’s production. These are smelted and refined in the Philippines. Chromite mining started in the mid-1930’s. Deposits include the world’s largest known occurrence of refractory chromite. Widespread metallurgical and chemical chrome deposits are mined, mostly by small-scale miners. Nickel occurs as surface laterite, similar to that in New Caledonia and Indonesia.
I personally operated a Placer and a Lode mines in Agusan. In my Placer operation in Bilay, near Butuan City, we are not only obtaining gold but platinum as well. The miners few years back were just throwing it because it mixes with the gold when we panned it, they called it stainless steel, not knowing that it is more expensive than gold. Only in the Philippines platinum can be sourced out by placer method.
Spain and its interest on Gold
It has been said that the Spaniards gave as the cross and they got our gold. In fact they were perflexed of the abundance of gold when they arrived in the Philippines.
Pieces of gold, the size of walnuts and eggs are found by sifting the earth in the island of that king who came to our ships. All the dishes of that king are of gold and also some portion of his house as we were told by that king himself…He had a covering of silk on his head, and wore two large golden earrings fastened in his ears…At his side hung a dagger, the haft of which was somewhat long and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved wood. He had three spots of gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as if bound with gold. — Pigafetta on Raja Siaui of Butuan during Magellan’s voyage.
For brass, iron and other weighty articles, they gave us gold in exchange…For 14 pounds of iron we received 10 pieces of gold, of the value of a ducat and a half. The Captain General forbade too great an anxiety for receiving gold, without which order every sailor would have parted with all he had to obtain this metal, which would have ruined our commerce forever. — Pigafetta on gold trade in Cebu
Original name of the Philippines
Josephus Account
Chryse and Aurea
Chryse the “Golden One” is the name given by ancient Greek writers to an island rich in gold to the east of India. Pomponius Mela, Marinos of Tyre and the Periplus of the Frythraean Sea mention Chryse in the 1st century CE. Josephus calls it in Latin “ Aurea “ and equates the islands with biblical Ophir from where the ships of Tyre and Solomon brought back gold and Algum wood, or Almaciga, (Agathis Philippinenses) as known in the Philippines. The ships of Tarshish were also bringing special kind of apes which is still existing in the Philippines, called Tarshiers in Bohol.
Of all places attributed to where Biblical Ophir is – only the Philippines meets the historical location and abundance of gold and algum wood.
Spanish Account
Ophir
In a book found in Spain entitled Collecion General de Documentos Relativos a las Islas Filipinas, the author has described how to locate Ophir. According to the section “Document No. 98″, dated 1519-1522, Ophir can be found by travelling from the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, to India, to Burma, to Sumatra, to Moluccas, to Borneo, to Sulu, to China, then finally Ophir. Ophir was said to be ” in front of China towards the sea, of many islands where the Moluccans, Chinese, and Lequios met to trade…” Jes Tirol asserts that this group of islands could not be Japan because the Moluccans did not get there, nor Taiwan, since it is not composed of “many islands.” Only the present-day Philippines, he says, could fit the description. Spanish records also mention the presence of Lequious (big, bearded white men, probably descendants of the Phoenicians, whose ships were always laden with gold and silver) in the Islands to gather gold and silver. Other evidence has also been pointed out suggesting that the Philippines was the biblical Ophir.
The spaniards believed that they have arrived in the land of Ophir. Spanish conquistadores were overwhelmed of the abundance of gold.
It was Roy Lopez Villalobos named the Philippines Las Islas Pilipinas in honor of King Philipp 2 of Spain not knowing that the hand of God was always in the destiny of this blessed country.
Hebrew Account
Pilipinas
Pilipinas in Hebrew is derived from two words, Pili – Majestic , Pina – God Raises, Cornerstone. Villalobos named it after King Philip but God used it to reveal its mark on this country. There is always a special bond between Israel and the Philippines. In 1939 when the whole world closes its doors for the Jewish fleeing Europe for fear of the Nazi, President Quezon welcomed more than a thousand to settle in Manila. In 1948 only the Philippines among Asian countries voted for the establishment of a Jewish State, Israel in Palestine. When Yolanda hit the Philippines in 2009, the first foreign respondent to aid the Philippines are the Israelis. There is a special bond that binds these two countries.
Hebrew roots in the Philippines
In Genesis 10, the division of the nations, Heber the father of the Hebrew race has two sons Peleg and Joktan, they were somewhere in Iran at that time, this is after the flood. Peleg went west and fathered Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while Joktan went east along with his children Ophir, Seba and Habillah and others. Their language is Hebrew.
Some Elements of Hebrew Names in the Philippines
The Philippines was named after King Philip II of Spain and they tried to changed the names to Spanish. However a number of mountains and places still bear their original Hebrew names Such as:
a. Mount Pulag, a variant name of Peleg in Gen. 10, when nations were divided, in tagalog, it means “Glare or Dazzling Light”.
b. At the foot of Mt. Pulag is a cave Kabayan, in hebrew Chabaya meaning “Yah Has Hidden” or God has hidden. Hidden what? There are fire mummies in this cave that are preserved similar to those in ancient Egypt.
c. Mt. Sagada in Hebrew: Saga, Laud, Praise and exalt and Yada, to Know – “To Know Praise”.
d. Mt. Arayat, in Hebrew : Ara, Earth and Yaat , Cover – Arayaat, “Earth Covered”.
e. Mt. Pinatubo – Hebrew : Pina, God Raises, Tubo, His Goodness – “God Raises His Goodness”.
f. Mt. Kabuyao – Hebrew : Kabu, Great House, Yah, Creator God – “Great House of Creator God”
g. Mayon Volcano – Hebrew: May’on or Maayan – “Spring of Water”.
h. Taal Lake and Volcano – Hebrew: Ta-haal – “Called out for a Specific Purpose”.
i. Mt. Cabalian – Hebrew: Chaba, Hidden, Lian, Greatly – ” Greatly Hidden”, Filipinos still calls this, the Hidden Mountain.
j. Mt. Banahaw – Hebrew: Banah, Built, Yah, Creator God – “Built by Creator God”.
k. Mt. Matutum – Hebrew: Matu, Shake, Tum, Perfections or Jewels. One of the epithets of the objects in the high priest’s breastplate as an emblem of complete truth, Thummim. ” Shaking Jewel of Complete Truth”.
Common among these mountains is its reference to a higher being or God. There are lots of Filipino words that still bears their Hebrew meaning. Perhaps I could continue this thesis in the next issue.
Compared to other countries, there are no ruins because the Philippines is a paradise and a garden.
Pilipinas – a “Majestic Cornerstone” .
Addie Bantug, is a civil engineer and a management consultant, he teaches Bible Studies among Filipino evangelicals in Canada. He planted three Filipino Christian Churches in Canada. Currently he heads a construction company in northern Ontario.
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