Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier looks forward to a sister city agreement betwe en Sabrosa, Portugal and Cebu City where the historic Magellan’s Cross marks the discovery of the Philippine Islands.
Manila — 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 the Philippines. We have forgotten each other since the time Magellan came over in 1521, especially since a lot of people think that Magellan was a Spaniard when in fact he was Portuguese,” Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier said in a roundtable discussion on Thursday.
Ferdinand Magellan, also known as Fernao de Magalhaes in Portuguese or Fernando de Magallanes in Spanish, was 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 reach 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 forces of Lapu-lapu, a native chieftain.
Lhuillier said the Cebu City Council of Cebu gave its approval to enter into a sister city agreement with Sabrosa last Feb. 28.
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.
Philippine Ambassador to Portugal Philippe Lhuillier
“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 help bring in investors,” he said.
sister city deal
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 Cebu City 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.
Cebu City Councilor James Cuenco, sponsor of the sister-city resolution, said he looks forward to cultural, economic and educational exchanges once the relationship is made formal.
“Given that Sabrosa is the more advanced city, there would be more benefits to Cebu City with this,” said Cuenco, who heads the council’s tourism committee and local and international relations.
The council authorized Mayor Michael Rama to enter into the agreement.
In a letter to Rama, Sabrosa Mayor Jose Manuel de Carvalho Marques said Sabrosa wants Cebu to be part of its worldwide network of cities that were part of Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition.
Cuenco said the city protocol office will arrange details of the signing of the agreement. He said it would be another historical event if the signing will be held in Cebu.