Insurgency: Army Intensifies Hunt

The Army is aiming to declare Iloilo province insurgency-free by the end of the first quarter of 2026. But that doesn't mean the way it sounds. 

https://mb.com.ph/2026/02/03/army-eyes-insurgency-free-status-for-iloilo

The 301st Infantry Brigade is aiming to free Iloilo province from the threat of insurgency.

Brig. Gen. Nhel Richard Patricio recently disclosed that the 301st IB has set a target of status reclassification by the first quarter of this year.

Iloilo is now qualified for Stable Internal Peace and Security (SIPS) – an area that no longer is a stronghold of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA).

There are still small encounters but Patricio said these are remnants of disbanded major NPA groups.

The SIPS classification must be endorsed by the Iloilo Provincial Peace and Order Council headed by Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr.

Patricio said the SIPS classification will spur growth and development threatened by the CPP-NPA.

Capiz is the remaining province threatened by the CPP-NPA In Panay Island.

The province of Antique was placed under SIPS status last year while Aklan attained this in the 2010s.

See, the NPA still remains and engages in small encounters with the AFP. However they are apparently so insignificant that the AFP will be making this declaration in order to "spur growth and development threatened by the CPP-NPA." Remember, insurgency-free does not mean insurgent-free. 

In January 2026 47 Reds and other terrorists were neutralized by government forces. Let's see how they break that number down. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1268334

Around 47 communist insurgents and local terrorist group members were neutralized by military units nationwide from Jan. 1 to 29, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Wednesday.

"Neutralized" is a military term that refers to the surrender, capture or killing of enemy troops.

This can be broken into 42 for the New People's Army (NPA) insurgents and supporters and five for local terrorist groups, the military added.

The 42 NPA members and supporters neutralized were broken down as follows: 35 surrendered, four arrested, and three killed in various military operations.

"A total of 51 firearms, and 18 anti-personnel mines were either seized or surrendered, and five encampments seized," the AFP said.

Meanwhile, for the local terrorist groups, a total of five members and supporters of these groups surrendered, while six firearms were seized in the same period.

Last year, the military said that its units have neutralized 2,018 NPA and its supporters from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.  

Of the 2,018 communist insurgents and followers neutralized, 1,798 have surrendered with 93 arrested, and 127 killed in various military operations nationwide.

"A total of 1,134 firearms and 531 anti-personnel mines were either seized or surrendered (during this period)," the AFP said.

It also added that a total of 149 NPA encampments were captured in the same period. 

While they break down the numbers between NPA and non NPA terrorists they make no difference between NPA and NPA supporters. That is bad. Notice the claim that 2,018 NPA members and supporters were neutralized last year. But how many were actual NPA fighters? The last official count was 780 left but we shall more than like see that number inflated to a few thousand being neutralized this year with no difference made between supporters and fighters. 

The AFP has said the NPA is leaderless but leaders continue to pop up. One was recently slain in a clash with the Army. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2176036/top-npa-leader-in-negros-slain-in-clashes-with-ph-army

The alleged highest-ranking leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros was among two rebels killed in encounters with government troops in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, the Philippine Army said on Sunday, Feb. 1.

Brig. Gen. Ted Dumosmog, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, identified the fatality as Reynaldo Erecre, alias “Amik,” the alleged secretary of the CPP-NPA’s Komiteng Rehiyon–Negros. 

Erecre was killed around 4 p.m. on Jan. 30, Friday, during an encounter with soldiers of the 94th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Bi-ao.

“That’s a major blow to the rebel movement,” Dumosmog said.

Erecre’s sister was set to claim his remains on Sunday afternoon, pending verification of her identity, he added.

Authorities were also coordinating with Roy Erecre, Reynaldo’s brother, for confirmation. 

Roy Erecre, a former National Democratic Front consultant, surrendered to Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado in November 2025, Dumosmog said.

Earlier on Jan. 30 at 2:50 a.m., another alleged NPA member, Regie Pacheco, alias “Dante,” was killed in a separate encounter in Barangay Bi-ao. He was identified as a finance and logistics officer and a member of the Regional Strike Force of the NPA’s Central Negros 2.

According to a 94th Infantry Battalion report, the encounter thwarted an alleged attempt by the armed group to sabotage government infrastructure projects in the area.

The group reportedly planned to burn heavy equipment being used for ongoing development work, but troops acted on timely information provided by residents.

In another incident, two more alleged NPA members were killed in an encounter with soldiers of the 47th Infantry Battalion in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, at 7:11 a.m. on Jan. 31. The fatalities remained unidentified as of Feb. 1, Dumosmog said.

The Army said the 47th IB launched focused military operations after receiving reports from residents of Barangays Sandayao and Binobohan about the presence of armed rebels. 

The operation resulted in an encounter, the deaths of the two suspects, and the recovery of an M-16 rifle, a .45-caliber pistol, a hand grenade, ammunition, and assorted subversive documents.

Maj. Gen. Michael Samson, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, urged remaining members of the communist armed movement to abandon the armed struggle and avail themselves of the government’s reintegration programs.

“Through these initiatives, you can avoid misfortune and death, reconcile with your families, and experience full healing within the community that has always cared for you,” Samson said.

Of course it's another major blow. These deaths are always touted to be such. Also note that the NPA presence in Negros Occidental is quite low but they still pose a major threat as they "planned to burn heavy equipment being used for ongoing development work." They were only thwarted due to good citizens reporting the matter. 

The death of this leader has emboldened the Army to sustain focused operations in the region.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1268211

The Philippine Army on Monday vowed to sustain focused operations after foiling the attempt of New People's Army (NPA) remnants to sow violence and neutralizing a rebel leader in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental last week.

Reynaldo "Amik" Erecre, secretary of Komiteng Rehiyon (KR)-Negros, died in a clash with troops of the 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB) in Sitio Apitong, Barangay Biao, in the afternoon of Jan. 30.

Earlier in the day, his comrade Regie "Dante" Pacheco was also killed in a gunfight in Sitio Hacienda Dama.

In a statement, Brig. Gen. Ted Dumosmog, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade based in Murcia, Negros Occidental, lauded the 94IB for the successful operation, noting the crucial role of community cooperation.

"We will continue focused operations strengthened by civilian support to preserve peace and progress for every Negrense," he added.

Military reports showed remnants of the NPA Central Negros 2 and Regional Strike Force had planned to burn the heavy equipment used for ongoing infrastructure projects in Barangay Biao.

"Timely information from residents enabled swift action to prevent sabotage of government projects," Dumosmog said.

Lt. Col. Ziegfred Tayaban, commanding officer of 94IB, said the death of Erecre creates a "leadership vacuum" for the NPA in Negros Island.

"Considering that he is the regional secretary of KR-Negros, the loss will affect the leadership. It will have an effect on their plans to commit atrocities," he added.

Maj. Gen. Michael Samson, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, reiterated his call for peace, healing and reconciliation.

“We call on the remnants of the communist-terrorist group to abandon their terroristic way of life and return to the fold of the law," he said.

Samson said those who will leave the armed struggle can avail of the government’s reintegration programs, such as the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program and the grant of amnesty.

It's very doubtful there is now a leadership vacuum.  Someone always steps up to fill the void. We have seen that time and time again. The NPA is a stubborn lot and will continue to operate as they have despite the triumphalism of the AFP.

The Army is intensifying its hunt versus fleeing rebels in a Samar clash. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1268329

The Philippine Army has intensified pursuit operations against remnants of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) in San Jorge, Samar, following a recent armed encounter.

The Army’s 8th Infantry Division (8ID) said on Wednesday that the pursuit operations aim to immediately locate the NPA rebels and deny them the opportunity to regroup or establish new positions.

Additional security measures have also been implemented to ensure the safety of nearby communities.

“Clearing operations and information gathering are being conducted in coordination with local authorities as part of efforts to sustain peace and security in the area,” the 8ID stated.

On Tuesday, troops of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Battalion (3IB) launched search operations against the rebels after an encounter in the upland village of Cagtoto-og in San Jorge town.

The patrolling 3IB troopers were responding to bursts of gunfire they heard in the village before the clash.

The soldiers immediately moved toward the area, resulting in an encounter with five NPA members. The rebel group later fled, leaving behind a firearm, several explosives, and subversive documents.

There were no casualties on the government side, the military said.

San Jorge town is located 138 km north of Tacloban and has some upland villages known as NPA hotspots due to frequent clashes and lair discoveries.

Samar remains on the of the last strongholds of the NPA as they are difficult to root out of the mountains. 

Filipinos In the Epstein Files Witnessed Global Elites Commit Sex Crimes

Filipinos are everywhere. They are even in the Epstein Files! But it's not the rich and powerful Filipinos such as the Marcoses or Villars and Tans whose names appear in the files. There are global Filipinos who attend the World Economic Forum in Davos but did any of them set foot on Little St. James? Instead it's the lowly drivers and housemaids whose names appear unredacted. One writer laments this as a grave injustice. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/188800/opinion-the-invisible-filipinos-in-the-epstein-files

If you were in the Epstein Files would you be proud? Or would you feel shamed?

I found some Filipino names in there, and my first question is why weren’t these names redacted along with the other victims who were sexually abused?

The three million page dump of the Epstein files are overwhelming – like trying to catch up on a Russian literature class  the week before finals. The scale alone ensures that only certain stories will be told.

And sure enough, the early focus has been predictable: celebrity names. Trump. Clinton. Musk. Billionaires. The powerful people who drive clicks and headlines.

Meanwhile, another group has been exposed without protection and without voice: the workers who made Jeffrey Epstein’s life function.

This is not a metaphor. It is literal.

The files contain names, résumés, contact information and employment histories of household staff, yacht crew and service workers recruited through agencies. I won’t mention them here because I don’t want to add to the offense. Many of these workers were Filipino – part of a global labor pipeline that has long supplied wealthy households with compliant, replaceable service labor.

Their information is not meaningfully redacted.

The girls who were abused must – and should – remain the priority. They were victims of sexual violence and trafficking. That hierarchy matters.

Another injustice

But recognizing that truth does not require ignoring another injustice unfolding in plain sight.

What happened to these workers is not just embarrassing exposure. It is unequal exposure – and that is the injustice.

The Epstein files bend over backward to protect the reputations of the powerful. Redactions obscure elite identities. Legal language shields decision-makers. Accountability diffuses upward until it disappears.

But workers – especially migrant workers – are left naked in the record.

Names searchable forever. Résumés frozen in time. Phone numbers traceable.

That is not transparency. That is downward accountability without power.

Silence

These workers were embedded in a criminal ecosystem they did not design, control or profit from. They did not have leverage. They did not have lawyers. They did not have the freedom to speak – because NDAs, immigration status, financial precarity, and the unspoken rules of elite service work all pointed in one direction: silence.

That silence was not freely chosen. It was coerced by structure.

For migrant service workers – especially Filipinos – employment is rarely just a job. It is tied to remittances, visas, family survival and obligation. Breaking an NDA doesn’t just risk a lawsuit. It risks deportation, blacklisting and economic collapse for families thousands of miles away.

Now, years later, these same workers are publicly identifiable in government-released files – without warning, consent or protection.

That is harm.

It exposes them to stigma: You worked for Epstein. It exposes them to suspicion: What did you see? What did you know? It exposes them to retaliation from future employers who don’t want “complications.”

And it does so without offering legal support, anonymity or a path to tell their own stories.

That is not accountability. That is scapegoating by omission.

There is also a racial and labor hierarchy the files reveal with bureaucratic indifference.

Invisible

Filipinos appear again and again as “the help” – butlers, house managers, yacht crew, domestic staff. This is not accidental. It reflects a global racialized labor system where Filipinos are trained, marketed and perceived as obedient, grateful and invisible.

When elites grow accustomed to Filipinos as servants inside private compounds, it bleeds into how Filipinos are seen everywhere else: not as colleagues, not as equals, but as support staff in someone else’s world.

In earlier centuries, these workers would have been enslaved. Today, they are paid – and we are told that makes the arrangement fair.

It doesn’t.

Payment does not erase exploitation when power is this unequal and exit is this constrained.

The injustice here is not that workers existed.

It’s that when the reckoning came, they were exposed while the powerful were shielded.

True accountability punches up.

This punched down.

If the Epstein files reveal how sexual abuse was enabled, they also reveal how elite crime is sustained – by armies of invisible workers whose vulnerability is treated as collateral damage.

Seeing that is not a distraction from justice.

It is part of it.

The fix

There is a fix – and it requires choosing sides. When the government releases massive investigative records, it must stop protecting power while exposing labor. Redaction rules should automatically shield domestic and service workers, especially migrant workers, unless there is clear evidence of criminal liability.

For Filipino labor in particular – often recruited through agencies, bound by NDAs and tethered to visas and remittances – there must be mandatory anonymization, advance notice before disclosure and access to independent legal counsel and trauma-informed support. Names, résumés and contact details should never be released by default. Transparency that punches down is not transparency – it’s exploitation by paperwork.

If accountability is real, it must not protect the powerful,  while exposing  Filipino migrant workers and other invisible laborers as collateral damage – so Congress, the DOJ and the media need to fix this now or admit that “transparency” is just another word for exploitation.

Until that’s done, the most honest reading of the Epstein files isn’t that justice is finally being done.

It’s that power is still deciding who gets protected – and who gets sacrificed.

Boo-hoo Filipinos are exploited by the rich and powerful to do menial labor. They are actually slaves. Paid, but slaves. Surely this writer is aware that the government encourages Filipinos to be overseas workers? 

Let’s drop the faux-naïveté about exploitation for a moment. Filipinos being used for menial labor by the global elite is not a revelation. The Philippine government openly encourages it. There is an entire bureaucracy devoted to exporting labor. The DFA proudly calls overseas Filipinos part of the country’s soft power. Since the 1970s, Filipinos have been deliberately deployed abroad as instruments of foreign policy.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217840

Diaspora, or the spreading of Filipinos across the globe along with the Filipino culture, is the country's “soft power”, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

In diplomacy, soft power is the ability of a nation to influence other nations through attraction and persuasion instead of force or intimidation.

"We send our people or they themselves go without government intervention or support. We deploy our workers, beginning 1973 in the oil crisis, caused by the conflict between Israel and their cousin, the Arabs but not just as workers," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during his speech at a multi-stakeholder symposium.

He said these Filipinos sent abroad are instruments of the country's foreign policy.

"Oftentimes, especially after Republic Act 8042, our diaspora drives our foreign policy," he added.

So spare us the sudden moral shock. If this is exploitation, the proper address is not an opinion column, it’s Malacañang.

Jeffery Epstein is dead. No one is working for him anymore. Any NDA that these people signed while working for him should be ignored as legally and morally irrelevant. Silence no longer protects anyone except the living elites who benefited from it. These people are perhaps eyewitnesses to crimes committed by the elites who run this world. And the author treats that like its shameful!

Now, years later, these same workers are publicly identifiable in government-released files – without warning, consent or protection.

That is harm.

It exposes them to stigma: You worked for Epstein. It exposes them to suspicion: What did you see? What did you know? It exposes them to retaliation from future employers who don’t want “complications.”

Those aren’t accusations. Those are investigative questions.

Those menial workers are material witnesses and their testimony needs to be heard. No doubt in the coming years researchers and investigators will be contacting these people to obtain the necessary details. Some of them could write books about their time being Epstein's driver or pool boy. 

But, as the author laments, these Filipino servants are invisible. It could be no investigator will come knocking on their door. In that case the solution would be for them to go public on their own. 

The God Culture: The Philippines In Fernando Pinto's Journal

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture is very certain Fernando Pinto shipwrecked in the Philippines, specifically the Batanes in Luzon. While this claim is incorrect, it is true that the Philippines is mentioned in Pinto’s travel account. Let’s examine every instance where the Philippines appears, to understand what Pinto is actually saying and what he is not. 

The Portuguese designation for the the inhabitants of Luzon was Luçones. This word shows up several times in Pinto's journal. Here is every single instance as translated by Rebecca Catz. In every circumstance the Luzons are described as hired mercenaries. Some of them are described as Moors which means they are Muslims. Before the Spanish colonization and subsequent Christianization of the Philippines Luzon had a significant Muslim population. 

Early the following day the king departed for Achin, which was located eighteen leagues from the town of Turbão, from where he started out with an army of fifteen thousand men, only eight thousand of whom were Battak nationals; the rest consisted of troops from Menangkabow, Luzon, Indragiri, Jambi, and Borneo that the princes of those nations had sent to his aid.

pg. 26

However, that same night, their spies captured five fishermen who confessed under torture that this was the same armada that the Achinese king had sent two months before to Tenasserim in his war with the Sornau, king of Siam, in which five thousand Luzons and Borneans, all hand-picked men, were said to be returning, under the command of a Turk by the name of Hamed Khan, nephew of the pasha of Cairo.

pg. 28

Convinced that this was the best course of action to follow, the king immediately gave his approval and set about preparing a fleet of 160 sails, comprised mainly of oar-propelled lancharas and galliots, as well as some Javanese calaluzes and fifteen multiple-decked vessels loaded with provisions and munitions; and he put seventeen thousand men aboard these ships, counting twelve thousand soldiers and the rest sappers and sailors; and among those twelve thousand fighting men he had a regiment of four thousand foreign mercenaries—Turks, Abyssinians, Malabaris, Gujeratis, and Luzons from Borneo. 

pg. 46

Leaving eight hundred of the best soldiers in the fleet behind, under the command of a Moor from Luzon by the name of Sapetu de Rajah, he departed with the remainder of his force for Achin, where it was said the tyrant king overwhelmed him with very high honors for the successful outcome of the campaign, conferring on him the title of king of Barros whereas previously he had only been governor and bendara of Barros (as mentioned earlier); and from that time on he was called sultan of Barros, which is the word for king among the Moors.

pg. 49

Seeing them that way he asked them how they happened to meet with their misfortune, and they began by telling him, their voices choked with emotion, that seventeen days before, they had left Ning-po, bound for Malacca, intending to go on to India from there if the monsoon prevailed; but when they had sailed as far as the island of Sumbor, they were attacked by a Gujerati thief named Khoja Hassim, in a fleet of three junks and four lanteias, with an armed force on these seven ships of five hundred men, including 150 Moors from Luzon, Borneo, Java, and Champa, all of them from parts east of Malaya; and that he finally overcame them after a battle that lasted from one to four o’clock in the afternoon and left eighty-two people dead, including eighteen Portuguese, to say nothing of an equal number taken captive and the cargo on the junk that they made off with, which belonged to them as well as some other investors and was worth well over 100,000 taels; and in addition, they related some other particulars that were so distressing, you could see pain and anguish welling up in the eyes of some of the men who were listening there.

pg. 107

Seeing all this, the enemies who were still on board the junks—and there must have been as many as 150 of them, all Moors from Luzon and Borneo, with a few Javanese to boot—began to show signs of weakening, as many of them were already jumping over the sides.

pg. 112

He had the junk anchored close to the island while he and all his men made ready to go ashore in three rowing vessels with a falcon, five culverins, and sixty wellarmed men, Javanese and Luzons, thirty of whom were carrying muskets and the rest lances and arrows, and a large quantity of fire pots and other firearms suitable for our purpose.

pg. 305

There were thirty-six thousand foreign mercenaries in this formation who came from forty-two different nations, including Portuguese, Greeks, Venetians, Turks, Janissaries, Jews, Armenians, Tartars, Moghuls, Abyssinians, Rajputs, Nobins, Khorasanis, Persians, Tuparás, Gizares, Tanocos of Arabia Felix, Malabaris, Javanese, Achinese, Mons, Siamese, Luzons from the isle of Borneo, Chacomás, Arakanese, Predins, Papuans, Celebes, Mindanaons, Peguans, Burmese, Chalões, Jaquesalões, Savadis, Tangus, Calaminhãs, Chaleus, Andamans, Bengalese, Gujeratis, Indragiris, Menangkabowans, and many, many more whose nationalities I never did learn.

pg. 317

On being informed of the arrival of the king of Sunda, who was both his vassal and his brother-in-law, he sent a reception party out to his ship, headed by the king of Panarukan, the admiral of the fleet, who departed with 160 oared calaluzes and lancharas carrying Luzons from the island of Borneo.

pg. 384

As soon as he got word of this, the Oyá P’itsanulok, captain-general of the city, came running to the scene in great haste, accompanied by his fifteen thousand men, most of them Luzons, Borneans, and Chams, with some Menangkabowans among them, and issued an order to throw open the gates through which the Burmese was trying to break in.

pg. 415

In the first English translation of Pinto's journal Luzon is Lufons.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nc01.ark:/13960/t0ns8c57t&view=1up&seq=37&skin=2021&size=150&q1=lufons

It is well-known that in 17th-century English the letter "s" was often written as "f." That means Lufons is Lusons. 

The original Portuguese also reflects this nomenclature using the word Lusoes.

I know Tim will say the original Portuguese is not Pinto's original text and is thus unreliable. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: The blogger misleadingly cites the 1614 printed edition of Fernão Mendes Pinto’s Peregrinação in Portuguese as if it were the author's unaltered original manuscript. This is categorically false. Pinto’s actual manuscript was never published during his lifetime and did not survive in its entirety. The 1614 edition, edited posthumously—most likely by Francisco de Andrade—has long been known among scholars to contain substantial editorial interventions, including altered chronology, confused geography, and potential narrative blending. Even respected translator and scholar Rebecca Catz warned that the printed text suffers from “glaring and daring” chronological inaccuracies, with Pinto’s latitudes, distances, and sequencing often shaped by retrospective memory or publisher alterations. Citing this flawed edition as if it represents Pinto’s precise and intended meaning, without accounting for its compromised editorial history, is not only academically irresponsible—it’s deceptive. The claim that this constitutes Pinto’s “original Portuguese” is disingenuous and collapses under even basic scholarly scrutiny.

https://thegodculturephilippines.com/testing-pinto-s-accuracy-a-further-geographic-reassessment-of-lequios-lucones-and-latitude-drift/

Curiously, while Schwab scoffs at the reliability of Pinto’s journal by labelling the 1614 Portuguese edition as unreliable due to editorial interference, he nevertheless leans on that same edition to argue for a shipwreck in Batanes. This edition serves as the basis for all English translations and modern Portuguese versions of the text. If the text is fundamentally compromised, then its authority for making geographical claims collapses. One cannot selectively discredit and embrace the same source depending on what suits one’s agenda. Yet that is exactly what Tim does by embracing Pinto's geographical observations while rejecting his precise coordinate of 29°N for the Lequios Islands. 

There are two other references to the Philippines in Pinto's journal that are rather oblique. Pinto mentions an "archipelago located in the easternmost corner of Asia, which is referred to as “the outer edge of the world” in the geographical works of the Chinese, Siamese, Gueos, and Ryukyu." Here is Catz's translation with the word Ryukyu alongside the first English translation with the word Lequios. 

But on the other hand, when I consider that God always watched over me and brought me safely through all those hazards and hardships, then I find that there is not as much reason to complain about my past misfortune as there is reason to give thanks to the Lord for my present blessings, for he saw fit to preserve my life, so that I could write this awkward, unpolished tale, which I leave as a legacy for my children—because it is intended only for them. I want them to know all about the twenty-one years of difficulty and danger I lived through, in the course of which I was captured thirteen times and sold into slavery seventeen times, in various parts of India, Ethiopia, Arabia Felix, China, Tartary, Macassar, Sumatra, and many other provinces of the archipelago located in the easternmost corner of Asia, which is referred to as “the outer edge of the world” in the geographical works of the Chinese, Siamese, Gueos, and Ryukyu, about which I expect to have a lot more to say later on, and in much greater detail.

pg. 1

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nc01.ark:/13960/t0ns8c57t&view=1up&seq=19&skin=2021&size=150&q1=edge

That same day they immediately set about the business of selecting a new pangueyrão who is, as I have said several times before, the imperial dignitary above all the pates and kings in that great archipelago which the Chinese, Tartar, Japanese, and Ryukyu writers refer to as Rate na quem dau, meaning “the outer edge of the world,” as one can see from looking at a map, provided the degrees of latitude are drawn accurately.

pg. 393

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nc01.ark:/13960/t0ns8c57t&view=1up&seq=275&skin=2021&size=125

According to Catz "outer edge of the world" is a reference to the Malay Archipelago which encompasses the Philippines amongst other nations. 

“outer edge of the world”: The author is here referring to the Malay Archipelago, the largest of island groups in the world, comprising the islands of the East Indies, including Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Moluccas, Timor, New Guinea, Borneo, Celebes, and the Philippines. 

pg. 525

Tim can dismiss Catz's explanation  as much as he likes, but that does not resolve the underlying problem. If “Lequios” refers to the Philippines, specifically Batanes or Luzon, then what is the archipelago located “in the easternmost corner of Asia,” described by the Lequios as "the outer edge of the world?" How can it be both the Lequios and the Luzons if the Lequios reference it as a different place? If the Lequios are the same as the Luções (Lusoes), then why does Pinto clearly distinguish between them in his journal? Why are some Luzons described as Moors (Muslims) while no Lequios are described as Moors? The only reasonable conclusion is that the Lequios and Luzons, who inhabited the island of Luzon in what is now the Philippines, are not the same people group. The burden of proof is on Tim to demonstrate otherwise, and so far, he has failed to do so.

Tim has accused me of ignoring the context of Pinto's entire journal.

This blogger cannot simultaneously reject Pinto’s entire journal while using it to support an alternative claim. He wants it both ways, a typical double standard from a serial hypocrite.

https://thegodculturephilippines.com/testing-pinto-s-accuracy-a-further-geographic-reassessment-of-lequios-lucones-and-latitude-drift/

That is simply not the case as from the beginning I have examined the entire narrative of Pinto's shipwreck. I have not "hyper focused" on the lone coordinate of 29°N as the only evidence of where Pinto landed. The narrative does not lead one to believe that he landed in the Philippines. This article, showing how Pinto differentiates between the Lequios, the Luzons, and the "archipelago located in the easternmost corner of Asia," is a continuation of what I have been doing from the beginning. Though I do admit that Pinto's lone coordinate of 29°N is strong enough on its own to dismiss Tim's revisionist history. 

It is Tim who does not take Pinto seriously except when it suits him. That means Tim says Pinto is unreliable when it comes to locating the Lequios Islands at 29°N yet reliable about other geographic claims. Tim is doing what he has accused me of doing. 

Instead of examining the context of Pinto's entire journal, Tim seems to be content with focusing on the shipwreck narrative by mining it for whatever "evidence" he can find to fit the Philippines while rejecting evidence such as Japanese titles, nautoquim and broquem, which contradict him. So, when Pinto says there are five islands to the west of Lequios with various resources, Tim responds by writing nonsense like the following.

🧾 Pinto’s Resource Checklist vs the Real Map

Resource

Silver Mines

Philippines (West of Batanes):  ✅ Yes – Cordillera range, Benguet Province, San Marcelino, Zambales, and Batangas Province, Luzon; Cebu and Marinduque Island, Visayas; Zamboanga del Sur, Mindanao. 

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa):  ❌ None

Pearls

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Sulu, Mindoro Strait, Palawan. [LARGEST ON EARTH!!! Mapped as Thilis, the Ancient Isle of Pearl.]

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ⚠️ Minor; not a known pearl-producing hub

Amber / Resins

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Copal, Almaciga NATIVE to Zambales, Mindoro, Palawan, Zamboanga and Davao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ No known trade resins or amber

Incense woods

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – "Poor Man's Frankincense", Manila Elemi from Pili Tree in Cordillera Region, Batangas, Masbate, Visayas and a booming industry in Bicol boasts the world's largest elemi industry reported by some. 

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ No eaglewood or aromatic wood production

Silk / Fiber

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Piña in Aklan, Visayas; abaca in Mindoro, Luzon; Negros Oriental, Iloilo and Aklan, Visayas; all the provinces of Mindanao; and Akleng Parang (silk tree) all over Mindanao, Laguna, and Mindoro all endemic since ancient times. 

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ No native silk production

Rosewood

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Narra [National Tree], Kamagong in Mindoro, Luzon; Palawan, Visayas; and multiple places on Mindanao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ None

Brazilwood (Dye trees)

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Sibucao and other dye woods especially in Negros, Visayas.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ None

Eaglewood

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Eaglewood [agarwood] in Palawan, Zamboanga and other parts of Mindanao.

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ Not native

Pitch / Asphalt

Philippines (West of Batanes): ✅ Yes – Leyte Rock Asphalt native and ancient, pitch sources in Samar & Palawan (all West of Batanes).

Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa): ❌ None 

https://thegodculturephilippines.com/pinto-s-resource-test-the-five-great-islands-were-never-ryukyu/

None of the Islands Tim lists are West of Batanes. They are all SOUTH. The entire Philippine archipelago is SOUTH of Batanes. 

Apparently that is NEWS to Tim! Confusing South with West is a shameful embarrassment. It's high past time for Tim to stop conducting silly resource tests or 15 point tests or any other kind of so-called tests to prove the Lequios Islands are the Philippines and deal with the words of Pinto's journal which unambiguously differentiates between the Lequios and the Luzons. 

The God Culture: Understanding Pinto's Coordinates

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture has finally responded to my articles about Fernando Pinto.  If you recall Fernando Pinto was shipwrecked in the Lequios Islands. He places those islands at "nine and twenty degrees" which means 29 degrees. Tim, instead of citing Pinto, decided to cite J.G. Cheock who says Pinto charted the Lequios Islands at 9N20 which would place them in the Philippines. Let's take a look at Tim's counterarguments.

https://thegodculture.org/understanding-pinto-s-coordinates-nine-and-twenty-degrees/

In The Search for King Solomon’s Treasure, Timothy and Anna Schwab cite the work of J.G. Cheock only once, in a single sentence, and they do so with full transparency—providing both source and original quotation in their accompanying Sourcebook, a level of disclosure far exceeding typical academic practice. Nowhere in the book do they claim to quote Pinto directly in that instance, and the source is provided. However, upon verification, Pinto’s primary source confirmed the accuracy of Cheock’s summary. The authors faithfully represented the secondary source and, after reading the primary, did so with full contextual understanding and integrity. Yes, they read the source – secondary and primary. 

Recently, a blogger falsely accused them of “lying” despite their accurate citation and representation. Such a charge not only misrepresents the facts but reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of both scholarly standards and the historical texts themselves. Moreover, the blogger has made public his intent to defame Timothy Jay Schwab, an action which has been reported for investigation.

This rebuttal is not written in response to the defamatory blogger’s accusations directly—for those hold no academic merit. Rather, it serves to aid honest scholars who may also struggle with interpreting older texts or 16th-century navigation references. Many of these misunderstandings stem from enduring colonial biases embedded in historiography, geography, and textual interpretation. We are living in a time when these inherited frameworks are being challenged and unraveled. Their dominance is not eternal—truth is rising to replace them.

In the introduction Tim says he has read both the primary and secondary sources, that is Cheock and Pinto, and they both say the same thing. He also says he is not writing in response to me but to correct scholars. As if scholars need correction from magazine publisher and non-expert Timothy Jay Schwab! 

The blogger claims this is 29°, and at face value in modern English that seems plausible. Indeed, there are scholars who pretend to read this without actually reading the full context ,in which that interpretation is impossible. However, when carefully read in 16th-century English, the phrase:

“scituated in nine and twenty degrees”

…could also be read to mean "between 9 and 20 degrees"—not 29°. This is evident in period navigational and geographic language. This is why when The God Culture reviewed this secondary source with an accurate reading of the primary source, it was validated honestly and accurately. As we wanted to shout out with a plug to a local Filipino author, we maintained the secondary source, because it remained accurate. Here's why the blogger's reading is flawed:

• "Nine and twenty degrees" is not the same as "twenty-nine degrees" (which would have to pass the test of the full context he does not bother with. Also, even if it is 29 degrees definitively, this is no issue. In that time, a giant island of the Philippines was illustrated on Portuguese maps and their extended paradigm between 7 and 30 degrees (list below). That giant island is Luzon and nothing else, and that still fits this context in every way. By the same sentence from Pinto, dimensions qualify such a large island, where Ryukyu or even Taiwan are far too small. See maps below).

• Scituated in nine and twenty suggests a range, much like “between” or “from...to”.

✅ Correct Historical Reading:

The Lequios are described as situated between 9° and 20° latitude (9N20 of Cheock's accurate reflection)—matching the central Philippines, especially Luzon to Visayas—not Ryukyu, which lies mostly above 24°, also fitting nothing in the rest of the passage the blogger failed to read as do many academics, in Colonial bias. This is further vetted by the rest of the data Pinto mentioned that the blogger ignores. 

In adding the understanding of Magellan and Columbus, we firmly know this is the accurate way to read this. In his notes, Magellan identified the Lequios Islands as the Philippines equated to Ophir and Tarshish, as did Pigafetta's Journal. Columbus created at least 2 maps with his brother in their own admission and these both identify the region of the Philippines as this ancient land of renown. 

This is the most important counterargument Tim has. 9 and 20 does not mean 29. It means somewhere between 9 and 20 degrees latitude. How more ad hoc can he be? It has been common in English to write numbers such as 23 as three and twenty. Here's a list of numbers from Shakespeare.

https://www.shakespeareswords.com/Public/LanguageCompanion/ThemesAndTopics.aspx?TopicId=26

Here is what Pinto wrote:

this Island of Lequios, scituated in nine and twenty degrees, is two hundred leagues in circuit, threescore in length, and thirty in bredth.

Pinto, pg. 188

Pinto does not locate the Lequios Islands BETWEEN 9 and 20 degrees but IN 9 AND 20 degrees. 9 and 20 is 29. To say otherwise is to re-write 16th and 17th century English. 

Now, let's map this out. 

https://i.sstatic.net/BqQTO.jpg

According to Tim  Pinto is saying he was somewhere between the Central Visayas and the middle of the ocean just above Luzon. How likely is it for a seasoned mariner such as Pinto to not know his location? How likely is it for such a man to be off by 11 degrees which is hundreds of miles if not more?

The issue is not did Tim accurately represent the secondary source. He did. J.G. Cheock writes that Pinto landed at 9N20.

In his journal he had the audacity to give details on Lequois, putting it in the latitude of 9N20 on a meridian similar to that of Japan. Given these directions, Lequois would be at the very heart of the Philippines. The story of his shipwreck on Lequios was deemed so outrageous that it was omitted from his book when it was first published.

Phoenicians in the Lands of Gold, pg. 11

However she is citing Rebecca Catz who does not write 9N20 but 29.

page 1,291 of epub

“This Ryukyu island is situated at twenty-nine degrees latitude.”

Excerpt From: Fernão Mendes Pinto. “The Travels of Mendes Pinto.” Apple Books. 

That's right. Along with everyone else in the world Rebecca Catz identifies the Lequios Islands with the Ryukyu Islands which are off the coast of Japan going towards China. In fact Ryukyu is Japanese for Liuqiu which is the Chinese name of the Lequios Islands.

Indeed, the name "Ryukyu" is simply the Japanese form of Liúqiú. Early modern Chinese sources also specifically called Okinawa (the largest of the Ryukyus) as "Greater Liuqiu" and Taiwan Island as the "Lesser Liuqiu".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liuqiu_(medieval)

According to Tim Rebecca Catz, the Japanese, and the Chinese are in dire need of his correction. 

Tim writes the following to justify Cheock's lie. 

J.G. Cheock, in Phoenicians in the Land of Gold, interprets Pinto’s location as 9°20′N, based on both Pinto’s own navigational narrative and corroborating sources from Barbosa, Pigafetta, and others. Cheock does not invent a number—she interprets the location based on:

• Portuguese route sequences

• Relative geographic references

• Common Southeast Asian coordinates (Philippine zone)

This is a scholarly interpretation consistent with:

• Barbosa describing the Lequios as gold traders (Ryukyu was not)

• Castanheda (1883) placing the Lequios southeast of China

• Pinto’s directional travel north from Malacca (Malaysia) toward the islands, placing him toward the central Philippines, not Okinawa.

So the God Culture quoting Cheock at 9°20′ was accurate to its source,  aligned with historical context, and accurate to Pinto's Primary Source, even the one used by the blogger, he can't seem to read. It was already read and affirmed upon publishing. The local author was preferred by our authors because she uncovered that truth, and deserved credit, which we continue to acknowledge. It is the only quote from Cheock used and we appreciate her work on this.

Two things to note here. First Tim says Cheock INTERPRETED Pinto's location as 9N20. That is not true. She is citing Rebecca Catz. Catz does not write 9N20 but 29 because that is what Pinto wrote. Rebecca Catz is not editing the older English translation but has written a brand new translation from the Portuguese. It is the original Portuguese text which says 29. 

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0005237771&seq=264&q1=lequia

Esta ilha léquia jaz situada em vinte & nove graos

Vinte & nove graos means 29 degrees. There is no room for interpreting this as a place between 20 and 9 degrees. Here is a modern Portuguese version:

Essa ilha léquia jaz situada em vinte e nove graus

https://fundar.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/peregrinacao-vol-ii.pdf pg. 53

Cheock straight up lied. Catz's plain English does not need interpretation. 29 is not 9N20.

Second of all Tim says he cited Cheock instead of Pinto because she is a Filipina! That is madness and once more showcases his poor methods. That is NOT good research in any sense of the word. He should have cited Pinto instead. Using primary sources is very important. But Tim doesn't give a flip. He will only use sources that prop up his claims. Pinto's journal smashes Tim's claims to bits.

Tim goes on to write that 9N20, which is gibberish and not an actual map location, is justified by the rest of Pinto's journal.

This is further vetted by the rest of the data Pinto mentioned that the blogger ignores. 

What Tim means is the size of the island. But it seems he hasn't read the rest of the book! Let me post it again:

First of all the story follows the healing of the King of Bungo's son. The King of Bungo was a Japanese Feudal Lord who had converted to Catholicism. Pinto then sails to a port in China.

I besought the King of Bungo to give me leave to go back, which he readily granted me, and with much acknowledgement of the curing of his Son he willed a Funce to be made ready for me, furnished with all things necessary, wherein commanded a man of quality, that was attended by twenty of the Kings ser∣vants, with whom I departed one Saturday morning from the City of Fucheo, and the Friday following about Sun-set I arrived at Tanixumaa, where I found my two Comrades, who received me with much joy. Here we continued fifteen days longer, till such time as the Junck was quite ready, and then we set Sail for Liampoo, which is a Sea-port of the Kingdom of China, whereof I have spoken at large heretofore, and where at that time the Portugals tra∣ded. Having continued our voyage with a prosperous wind, it pleased God that we arrived safe at our desired Port, where it is not to be believed how much we were welcome by the Inhabitants of the place.

Pinto, pg. 179

Liampoo is also known as Ningbo and is translated as Ning-po by Rebecca Catz. Pinto leaves Ningbo, China, and is promptly overcome by a storm and shipwrecked. He was absolutely not going north through the Malay Archipelago as Cheock and Timothy Jay Schwab claim. He was headed east out of the Chinese port with the intent of going south.

Thus by the means of this unreasonable desire of gain nine Juncks, which were then in the Port, were in fifteen days ready to set Sail, though to say the truth they were all in such disorder, and so unprovided, that some amongst them had no other Pilots then the Masters themselves, who had but little understanding in Navigation. In this bad order they departed all in company together one Sunday morning, not withstanding that they had the wind, the season, the sea, and all things else contrary, not suffer∣ing themselves to be guided by reason, or the consideration of the dangers which they are subject unto that commit themselves to this Element; For they were so obstinate and so blinded as they would not represent any inconvenience to themselves, and I my self was so infortunate, that I went along with them in one of their Vessels. In this manner they sailed all that same day as it were groping between the Islands and the firm Land, but about midnight there arose in the dark so mighty a Storm, accompanied with such horrible rain, that suffering themselves to be carried at the mercy of the wind, they ran upon the Sands of Gotom, whereof the nine Juncks two only, as it were by miracle, were saved, so that the other seven were lost out of which not so much as one man escaped. This loss was thought to amount unto above three hundred thousand Crowns in commodities, besides the greater, which was of six hundred persons that left their lives there, whereof there were an hundred and forty Portugals, all rich men, and of quality. As for the other two Juncks in one of the which by good hap I was, joyning in comfort together, they followed the course they had begun, until such time as they arrived at the Island of the Lequios;

Pinto, pg. 179-180

He describes the land and says the people rode on horseback. Where is there any account of Filipinos being horsemen?

Now as soon as it was day we perceived by the sight of the Island of fire, and of the Mountain of Taydacano, that the Land where we were was the great Lequio....

...until at last we were espyed by a boy that was keeping of cattel, who as soon as he had dis∣covered us, ran to the next Village, which was some quarter of a league off, for to give notice of it to the inhabitants there; who presently thereupon with the sound of Drums and Cornets assembled all their Neighbours round about them, so that within three or four hours they were a Company of about two hundred men, whereof there were fourteen on horsback.

pg. 180

In her translation of this text Rebecca Catz has this note for Island of fire:

“Fire Island: Cortesão says that Fire Island appears for the first time on Lopo Homem’s map of 1554 and that it corresponds to Nakano-shima or Suwanose-shima, two islands with active volcanoes. The former is described in Webster’s Geographical Dictionary (1966) as a volcanic island 3,215 feet high, Tokara Island, in north Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Suwanose-Shima is not listed. See Cortesão, Suma Oriental, 128–29 n. 2.” 

Fernão Mendes Pinto. “The Travels of Mendes Pinto," Translated by Rebecca Catz, pg. 2,323 epub

Pinto and his companions are tied up and taken to the town of Pungor. They are next taken to a town called Gundexilau and left to rot in a dungeon full of water and leeches. The next day they are brought back to Pungor and given a trial before a judge. They are accused of being pirates but they insist they are merchants. They are not believed and are left to rot in prison for two months.The king then sends a spy pretending to be a merchant to visit Pinto and his men to ask them how they ended up in Lequios. They repeat the same story and the spy reports back to the king. However a Chinese pirate arrives and testifies against Pinto and his men that they are indeed pirates who pose as merchants in order to conquer a country. The king believes the pirate and sentences Pinto and his men to death. 

By providence the man set to deliver this decree and make sure it was carried out lodged with his sister who was a widow. Staying with her was the wife and children of one of the prisoners. When she heard the decree she fainted and then scratched her face so hard that it bled. News of this got around to the women who wrote a letter to the Queen demanding that as an act of charity the foreigners be released. Through a further series of events including a prophetic dream Pinto and his men are released. Following that story is a description of Lequios for the express purpose of inspiring the Portuguese to conquer the island. 

In this manner we departed from Pungor the capital City of the Island of Lequios, of which I will here make a brief relation, to the end that if it shall one day please God to inspire the Portugal Nation, principally for the exaltation and increase of the Catholick faith, and next for the great benefit that may redound thereof, to undertake the Conquest of this Island, they may know where first to begin, as also the commodities of it, and the easiness of this Conquest. We must understand then that this Island of Lequios, scituated in nine and twenty degrees, is two hundred leagues in circuit, threescore in length, and thirty in bredth.

Pinto, pg. 188

https://thegodculturephilippines.blogspot.com/2022/04/the-god-culture-lequios-and-lucoes-are.html

No part of Pinto's story describes the Philippines. Is there a city in Luzon called Pungor? No. Was there ever a King of Pungor living anywhere in the Philippines? No. Also Pinto's route during which he was shipwrecked was eastward from China with the intent of going south. That means Tim's claim that Pinto was traveling north from Malacca when he was shipwrecked in the Lequios Islands is incorrect. 

Pinto’s directional travel north from Malacca (Malaysia) toward the islands, placing him toward the central Philippines, not Okinawa.

Since Tim claims he is familiar with Pinto's journal he should know this. Is Tim lying? Not if he didn't actually read that section of Pinto's journal. But he has said to even suggest he has not read his sources is to not speak truthfully so that only leaves one solution. 

Let's not forget Tome Pires differentiated between the Lequios and the Lucoes who live in Luzon. They are not the same people group. Are we really to believe Pinto mixed them up? How about the Spanish? Did they forget Luzon and the Lequios Islands are the same? 

Sixth: It is necessary, on the arrival of the said five hundred soldiers, at the said islands, to effect immediately the purpose for which they were brought—namely, to subjugate, settle, and explore both the said island of Luzon, and those regions nearest China: the Japans, the Lequios, and the island of Escauchu; this is a very important matter. It is necessary that your Majesty should send us workmen, masters to build ships and galleys, locksmiths, and blacksmiths to the number of fifty. For all of these workmen your Majesty, if he so please, could take the negro slaves whom your Majesty has on the fortifications of Habana, considering that the fortifications are finished now, and the men are no longer needed there.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044077731628&seq=304&q1=lequios 

Farther north than the aforesaid islands are others, the nearest to Luzon being called Xipon [S: Japan]. 

A little to the east between these islands and China are the islands of Lequios. They are said to be rich; but we have been unable to learn much about them, for I have not seen any one who has been there. For this reason I conclude that they must be small, and that the people are not much given to commerce.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044077731628&seq=206&q1=lequios

Tim expects us to believe everyone long ago was stupid and only he has figured out the true location of the Lequios Islands hundreds of years later. 

To say "situated in 9 and 20" means a range of latitudes rather than 29 degrees is quite a stretch and does not fit the data. It is transparently ad hoc nonsense. Thankfully at least we can peer a little more into the perverse and darkened mind of Timothy Jay Schwab to see how he is looking at his sources.