No More Hell Run By Filipinos 5: The SONA Fashion Show

For years the State of the Nation Address, or SONA, has been an event to see and which to be seen. A literal red carpet has been rolled out and the politicians who misgovern the nation have paraded down it in their Barongs while the ladies wear their fashionable Terno dresses or Filipiniana. In one notable instance Vice President Sara Duterte even cosplayed as an indigenous person. It's been no different this year. 

The trouble started with tarps advertising the SONA being hung during the flood. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1254916

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed dismay over the installation of tarpaulins for his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA), calling it “highly inappropriate” given the ongoing monsoon rains and flooding in various parts of the country.

“It was a surprise. I only found out early this morning when I got up. That's what they’re doing,” Marcos said Wednesday (Manila time) during a press conference with members of the Philippine media in Washington, D.C.

“It is highly inappropriate… It’s already flooded, why are you putting those up?”

The President said the order to install SONA materials did not come from him and has since been halted.

Marcos emphasized that the government’s priority should remain on assisting affected communities, particularly in flood-hit areas across Metro Manila and nearby provinces, assuring the public that the lapse has been addressed.

“That is an unfortunate misjudgment on their part. But we’ve corrected it, and I trust it will not happen anymore,” he said.

On Tuesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the President has ordered all SONA-related preparations suspended and directed all government agencies to focus on relief operations and assisting Filipinos amid the heavy downpour.

Marcos is set to deliver his fourth SONA on Monday before a joint session of the 20th Congress at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City. 

Why do tarps advertising the SONA, which are paid for by the taxpayers, need to be hung in the first place? They are hung every year, of course. The only difference this time is that the hanging of them during a major catastrophe is bad optics. But they have always been bad optics. The tarps are a way for the President to advertise himself and his policies. 

It is impossible to not compare the Philippines' SONA with the USA's SONA because both nations share a history. The Philippines learned how to be a republic under the tutelage of the United States. In the USA, while there is advertising for the SONA, it does not consist in hanging tarps all over Washington, DC at taxpayer expense. It consists in TV news stations alerting viewers they will be interrupting regular programming to show the SONA. The tarps being hung in the Philippines are a symptom of the larger illness of epal where politicians plaster their faces everywhere. Personality politics has always reigned supreme in the Philippines no matter how much lip service is given against it. 

How more personality politics can you get than transforming the SONA into a fashion show? 

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/621207/designer-michael-leyva-admits-having-a-hard-time-with-sona-2025s-simpler-theme

This year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) was a break from the extravagant red carpet — literally and figuratively — as government officials and special guests opted for understated ensembles. For Filipino designer Michael Leyva, the “quieter” theme challenged him to focus on the details, instead of its aesthetic value.

Known for his chic sense of style, Leyva has been one of the go-to designers for celebrities and lawmakers in the Sona. One of his notable clients is Heart Evangelista, who donned two understated ensembles for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s fourth Sona.

Aside from Evangelista, his clients this year included First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, ACT-CIS representative Jocelyn Tulfo, Mar Tulfo, and Deputy Social Secretary Dina Tantoco, to name a few.

The departure from the traditional glamorous garb was a “big change” from what the designer is used to, as it was “quieter and less flashy” than usual. “In a way, that made it more meaningful,” he told INQUIRER Entertainment, noting that being respectful of the theme is one of the points he took note of.

“It challenged me to focus more on the details and the story behind each design, not just how it looks on camera. I had to be more creative while keeping everything simple and respectful,” he continued.

With this in mind, Leyva admitted that it was “hard” to find the balance between honoring his client’s wishes and keeping his designs solemn.

“It was honestly hard, because I had to follow the rules but still make each dress feel special and different from one another. But I enjoyed the process,” he said. “I made sure to listen to what each client wanted, then found a way to mix that with my ideas and the theme. It’s fun and fulfilling when you get it right.”

This year witnessed the removal of the traditional red carpet in the north and south wing lobbies of the Batasang Pambansa. At the same time, lawmakers and guests opted for a simpler approach in their Filipinianas. While some went for intricate details on muted tones, others chose deeper hues as the added oomph.

This step-back from the traditional Sona fashion was done for an understandable reason. It was the House of Representatives’ way of showing solidarity with the victims of Typhoons Crising, Dante, and Emong that hit the nation.

When asked about the possibility of removing the red carpet for good, Leyva said he is not in favor of doing so, as it is supposed to be a platform for designers to showcase their work.

“The red carpet gives designers, artists, and even local weavers a chance to show their work. It’s not just about being seen — it’s about showing what we can do and inspiring others. It’s a celebration of Filipino talent,” he said.

“Sona gives designers a chance to be seen. It’s not just about fashion — it’s about culture, pride, and talent. It helps local artists and weavers get recognized, too. For years, it’s been a way for us to show what Filipino creativity looks like on a big stage,” he continued.

Since Sona is one of Leyva’s busiest times of the year, he takes the pressure as a driving force to keep moving forward in his work.

There’s definitely pressure because people expect a lot. But I try to stay focused and remember why I do this. I get inspired by stories, by our culture, and by the women I design for. That keeps me going,” he said. 

In this article fashion designer Michael Leyva says outright the SONA is about fashion. It's about having "a chance to be seen" and "it helps local artists and weavers get recognized." But that's not what the SONA is about. The SONA is when the President address both houses of Congress and the nation and gives an update on how things are going. He gives updates on the economy, on foreign policy, on crime, and on everything else relevant to the health of the nation. The SONA is meant to be a moment of accountability and national unity, where the President addresses the entire nation. When it becomes a stage for individual display, it undermines the collective spirit of governance and reinforces personality over principle. It is not a fashion show, yet that is what it has been for a number of years. 

It is very true that the SONA is a place to be seen and what the public sees is the riffraff who run the nation parading around like it's the Oscars. What the public sees is the contempt these elected officials have for the people who entrusted them with improving their lives and keeping them safe. What the public sees is the demons who run the hell that is the Philippines. 

The God Culture: Cosmas Indicopleustes Mapped The Garden of Eden in the Philippines

In his book Garden of Eden Revealed Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture introduces a new source for his historic revisionism of the Philippines. According to Tim 6th century monk and traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes located The Garden of Eden in the Philippines. This assertion is flat out wrong and in this article we shall take a look at all the errors Tim makes concerning this text. 

Garden of Eden Revealed, pg. 58

First of all Tim notes correctly the text of Cosmas' book Christian Topogrpahy is to be found in the Codex Sinaiticus graecus 1186. Where he goes wrong is claiming this codex is a Bible. 

The Bible once included an accurate map to the Garden of Eden in the Philippines! Cosmas' map on the earth once appeared in the Codex Sinaiticus Graecus 1186, Fol. 66v now at St. Katherine's Monastery, Sinai.

This is wrong. Codex Sinaiticus graecus 1186 is not a Bible. It only contains the text of Christian Topography.

Since several differences between the codices, in which the Christian Topography is extant, have been mentioned, a few words should be written about the nature of these manuscripts. The oldest of them is the Vaticanus graecus 699. It was written in uncial characters in the ninth century at Constantinople; it is currently kept at the Vatican library. It only contains books 1 to 10.

The other two extant codices are both from the eleventh century. The Sinaiticus graecus 1186 was written in Byzantine minuscules, probably in Cappadocia, and is now located in the library of St. Katherine’s monastery on the Sinai Peninsula. Of the three this codex is the best preserved  and contains books 1 to 12.

The Laurentianus Plut. IX. 28, also in minuscules, was probably written at Iviron monastery on Mount Athos and is now at the Laurentian library at Florence. Like the Sinaiticus, it contains books 1 to 12.

All three manuscripts provide us with a set of beautiful illustrations. Since these sets of drawings are very similar in all three codices, it is evident that they have been copied from a common source. In many instances the illustrations are alluded to in the text, so it is very probable that even the first edition was embellished with them—whether by Cosmas himself or by somebody at his request cannot be determined and is irrelevant.

https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/transcultural/article/view/6127/2962

The entire manuscript can be read at the Library of Congress' website. 

https://www.loc.gov/resource/amedmonastery.00271076642-ms/?st=gallery

On page 4 Tim claims this map was "once in the Vatican Bible." 

Again, this is not true. It seems he is referring to "Vaticanus graecus 699." However, like Codex Sinaiticus Graecus 1186 this book is not a Bible but a manuscript of Christian Topogprahy. A description of the text is as follows:

Rome: Vaticanus Graecus 699 (V). An uncial manuscript of the 9th century, written in Constantinople. It comprises 123 folios written in two columns, each of 32 lines except where miniatures appear. It contains only books 1-10, and as the index of books at the front is written in the same hand, and lists only 10, clearly it never had more. It omits the introductory prayer, first prologue, and start of the second prologue. Various leaves are missing. The manuscript is the best of them, but corrupt in point of copying accuracy. General production quality is top-class. Accents have been added by a subsequent corrector. The codex is illustrated 'magnificently'.

https://earlychristianwritings.com/fathers/cosmas_00_0_eintro.html

It appears Tim has conflated the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, which are Greek manuscripts of the Bible, with the two codices referred to above. They are not the same. This confusion is another instance of poor research and more evidence there is no God Culture team. Surely if there were a team someone would have checked Tim's work to see if these codices were actually Bibles. 

The second major error is Tim's assertion that Cosmas located the Garden of Eden in the Philippines. 

The modern church dismisses the topic largely because it wishes to remain inoffensive yet, the church used to know this and at one time, even created both Catholic and Protestant map in their paradigm to support the ancient view which remains accurate. That never changed just because some occult dunderheads got involved in dumbing down the facts. This included a 600 A.D. map that appeared with the Codex Sinaiticus Graecus (Greek) in 1186 charting the Garden of Eden in the Philippines. Oops! 2 Peter 3 exposes this thinking as "willing ignorance" in the Last Days and nothing defines that mindset more appropriately. 

Garden of Eden Revealed, pg. 8

The haughty attitude in this paragraph is hilarious. As Tim calls people willingly ignorant he is spouting a total lie that is easily rectified had he bothered to do any real research. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Cosmas' map never appeared in a copy of the Bible nor does he chart the Garden of Eden in the Philippines. In fact he is very clear that the Garden of Eden is not located on the earth but beyond the ocean on another earth.

Regarding the flood he says at one time men lived in a land beyond the ocean to the east and the flood carried the Ark to "our part of the earth."

We have said that the figure of the earth is lengthwise from east to west, and breadthwise from north to south, and that it is divided into two parts : this part which we, the men of the present day, inhabit, and which is all round encircled by the intermedial sea, called the ocean by the Pagans, and that part which encircles the ocean, and has its extremities bound together with those of the heaven, and which men at one time inhabited to eastward, before the flood in the days of Noah occurred, and in which also Paradise is situated. Men, strange to say, having crossed the ocean in the Ark at the time of the Deluge, reached our part of the earth and settled in Persian territory, where also the Ark rested on the mountains of Ararat, having saved alive Noah and his sons, together with their wives, so that there were four pairs, and all the brute animals, three pairs of clean, but of wild only one poor pair.

Christian Topography, pgs. 33-34

A note on this passage says:

Montfaucon, in a note upon this passage, says : “ The idea of Cosmas is that this earth which we inhabit is surrounded by the ocean, but that beyond the ocean there is another earth which on every side encompasses the ocean, and which had been formerly the seat of Paradise. It was this earth whose extremities were fastened together with the extremities of heaven.”

Cosmas says paradise does not "exist in this earth of ours." 

Yet if Paradise did exist in this earth of ours, many a man among those who are keen to know and enquire into all kinds of subjects, would think he could not be too quick in getting there 

Christian Topography, pg. 47

Discussing the Rivers of Eden Cosmas says they emanate from Paradise by cleaving a passage across the ocean and springing up "in this earth."

But, to pursue our argument, we again assume that the four rivers which divine scripture says emanate from Paradise cleave a passage through the ocean and spring up in this earth

Christian Topography, pg. 75

In a description of the table on which the candlestick sat inside the tabernacle Cosmas says:

The table itself is a type of the earth, and the loaves signify its fruits, and being twelve they are symbolic of the twelve months of the annual cycle. The four corners of the table signify the four tropics of the year, one occurring every three months ; the waved border with which it is wreathed all round signifies the entire sea, or the ocean, as it is called by the pagans ; and the crown which is round it indicates the earth that lies beyond the ocean where Paradise is.

Christian Topography, pg. 152

It cannot be any clearer that Cosmas thought the Garden of Eden was not on our earth and thus inaccessible. He absolutely did not chart it in the Philippines. 

Taking a look at Tim's citation of Cosmas on page 4 in context we see this is the case. 

He then afterwards directed him to construct the Tabernacle according to the pattern which he had seen in the mountain — being a pattern, so to say, of the whole world. He therefore made the Tabernacle, designing that as far as possible it should be a copy of the figure of the world, and thus he gave it a length of thirty cubits and a breadth often. Then, by interposing inside a veil in the middle of the Tabernacle, he divided it into two compartments, of which the first was called the Holy Place, and the second behind the veil the Holy of Holies. Now the outer was a pattern of this visible world which, according to the divine Apostle, extends from the earth to the firmament, and in which at its northern side was a table, on which were twelve loaves, the table thus presenting a symbol of the earth which supplies all manner of fruits, twelve namely, one as it were for each month of the year. The table was all round wreathed with a waved moulding symbolic of the sea which is called the ocean, and all round this again was a border of a palm’s breadth emblematic of the earth beyond the ocean, where lies Paradise away in the East, and where also the extremities of the first heaven, which is like a vaulted chamber, are everywhere supported on the extremities of the earth. Then at the south side he placed the candlestick which shines upon the earth from the south to the north. In this candlestick, symbolic of the week of seven days, he set seven lamps, and these lamps are symbolic of all the luminaries. And the second Tabernacle which is behind the veil and called the Holy of Holies, as well as the Ark of Testimony, and the Mercy-seat, and above it the Cherubim of glory shadowing the Mercy-seat, are, according to the Apostle, a type of the things in heaven from the firmament to the upper heaven, just as the space from the veil to the wall of the inner Taber- nacle constitutes the inner place. 

Christian Topography, pgs. 110-111

What Tim does is cite Josephus, Lactantius, and Cosmas as writing Paradise is in the East and group them all together. But they don't each mean the same thing. This is merely quote mining with no care for the context of what each author meant. By East, Cosmas does not mean the Philippines or anywhere else on the earth. He means a place beyond the ocean on another earth.  

On page 59 Tim writes the following:

In mapping this location of the Garden of Eden in the East, Cosmas also brings this all together in his original map. This land East of Taprobane, which is typically Sumatra in that age, not Sri Lanka, is called "Selediba" or "Swarnadwipa" by the Indians. That is the name of the Indian isles of gold their history always identifies as existing in the Far East, not India. On several later maps, the Philippines is identified as "Sebadibae" and "Sabadibae" which derives from these words as well as Sheba in origin. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea demonstrates Indians went to the Far East Southeast of China to islands in the South China Sea under the rising sun or "Subsolanus" also labeled on many maps as the Philippines. In this case, he goes beyond the Indian Ocean and places a marker that one steers left in direction from that exit which sailing East would be to the North of the Indian Ocean. He, then, references what can only be the South China Sea to the left or West of this land of Paradise. The directions  cross to the islands there East of Taprobane (Sumatra), and East of Indochina. Cosmas is quoting the Book of First Enoch in this mindset as well and Enoch supplies directions to the Garden of Eden in the Philippines exiting the Indian Ocean and heading just Northeast of there. This mirrors Enoch in both. 

This also identifies how far North these islands are once entering the South China Sea from the Indian Ocean. They are in "the middle of the Earth" in that area clearly referencing the Tropic of Cancer as a rope connecting Persia, and Roman Empire territories. Ile drew a map and that is not China which has no sea to the West, nor India he passed long before, nor other portions of the Indies which are not Northeast of the exit from the Indian Ocean. This is the Philippines period. Tzinista is similar to the ancient name of China in some languages as "Sina" or "China," but China is not Southeast of China. Though written in Greek he does not say this is a Greek word as he does with others. It is far more likely the Old Persian word, "spənista, " for 'beneficent, holy, sacred'. That is the Garden of Eden that Cosmas illustrates on his original map. 

Everything about those two paragraphs is wrong. Let's look at the map again. 

Cosmas does not locate The Garden of Eden on our earth but beyond the ocean on another earth. The Garden of Eden is the long rectangle to the right of the map separate from everywhere else. He is also not quoting the mindset of First Enoch. That is Tim reading into the text what is not there. Enoch locates the Garden of Eden on the earth. Cosmas does not.

Tim might reply that Cosmas may have gotten it wrong but he was right about Paradise being in the East and it was a gradual progression of learning about these locales that culminated in the voyage of Magellan. But that is wrong because Cosmas' cosmology is intimately tied to his explanation of the Bible, specifically the make-up of the tabernacle and its accoutrements. Paradise is beyond the ocean and not on our earth. To interpret the text otherwise is to misunderstand, misinterpret, and not take seriously what Cosmas has written. 

Did did Tim even read this book? It appears he did a word search for Paradise and used whatever he found despite the context. 

Christian Topography is not at all a standard work of geography attempting to describe the world and locate places. Aside from Book 11, which is wholly geographical describing Ceylon and it's relationship to China and India, it is a polemical and mystical text designed to refute people, especially Pagans, who taught the earth is a sphere, the heavens move, there are antipodes, and the sun is distant from and larger than the earth. The purpose of the work is to demonstrate a thoroughly Christian description figure of the whole world. 

I have written the second book, which proceeds to explain from divine scripture the nature of the Christian theories to describe the figure of the whole world, and to notice that some of the ancient Pagans have been of the same opinion. 

Christian Topography, pg. 4

The rest of the book is a defense of the second book from various objections.

Cosmas describes a world that is flat, rectangular, and surrounded by an ocean. On the other side of that ocean is another earth wherein lies Paradise. He absolutely does not chart the Garden of Eden being in the Philippines. Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God culture is not taking Cosmas seriously but is misinterpreting the text to fit his own theories. 

The God Culture: Horsing Around

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture continues to trot along in his vain attempts to prove the Lequios Islands are the Philippines. Specifically he claims Northern Luzon and the Batanes Islands are the Lequios Islands and thus the place where Fernando Pinto shipwrecked. During his time on Lequios Island Pinto mentioned that horsemen were among the inhabitants. So, where are the horses on Batanes Island and Northern Luzon? Tim claims to have the answer. They were covered-up and forgotten because  of  racism. 

🐎 The Forgotten Horses of the Philippines 

Most people assume the horse arrived in the Philippines riding alongside the Spanish conquistadors. After all, kabayo — the Tagalog word for horse — sounds a lot like caballo, the Spanish term. Maybe. Such banter and wordplay is not academic forgetting prior history and other local names of horses 

But what if that assumption is dead wrong? 

What if horses had been in the Philippines long before Legazpi’s ships ever touched shore and before Pinto's famous shipwreck on the Isles of Lequios, Philippines? 

That’s exactly what David B. Mackie, an American agricultural officer in the early 1900s, uncovered — and the evidence he compiled isn’t just interesting... it’s paradigm-shifting. This century-old reference is ignored by many from the Jesuit paradigm such as Dr. Austin Craig who clearly came to manipulate the history of the Philippines. It is time to recognize this Colonial bias for what it is... racism.  

🧭 A Four-Part Horse History 

In a forgotten gem published in The Journal of Heredity in 1916, Mackie outlines four major eras in the history of horses in the Philippines:

1. Pre-horse era — Horses were unknown. 

1. Malay Muslim introduction — Horses came via Sumatra and Malaysia, especially to the Sulu archipelago. 

1. Spanish period — Horses arrived not from Spain, but from China and Japan. 

1. American breeding era — Western breeds introduced for improvement. 

But the most important — and suppressed — is the second era: the Muslim-led arrival of horses long before Spain.

This is Tim's introduction and already he is off to a bad start. First of all he writes:

After all, kabayo — the Tagalog word for horse — sounds a lot like caballo, the Spanish term. Maybe. Such banter and wordplay is not academic forgetting prior history and other local names of horses

Banter and wordplay between similar words is not academic? But that is Tim's exact etymological methodology when attempting to derive Hebrew words from Tagalog. Tim brushes off the connection between those words but the fact is Tagalog has many Spanish loanwords which is only natural seeing as the Spanish occupied  the Philippines for 400 years. 

Borrowed from Spanish caballo, from Latin caballus.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kabayo

Tim's source for the claims in this article is David B. Mackie who writes about the introduction of horses into Mindanao, specifically Sulu. That is not Northern Luzon and the Batanes. Where are the horses in Northern Luzon and Batanes which pre-date the arrival of the Spanish? That's what Tim needs to focus on and prove. 

🕌 The Malay Muslims Brought Horses First 

According to Mackie’s research, horses were already present in Mindanao and Sulu before Magellan’s arrival. The Sulu and Maguindanao peoples didn’t just have horses — they had their own indigenous words for them: 

• Kuda (Sulu)

• Kura (Maguindanao) 

These are not borrowed from the Spanish caballo. In contrast, upland tribes unfamiliar with horses before colonization use kabayo — a clear Spanish loanword. 

That linguistic distinction alone is a red flag to any real researcher: horses didn’t come from Spain — they came earlier. 

🐘 Royal Gifts, Trade Routes, and a Pre-Spanish Powerhouse 

Mackie traces horse arrival to the Malayan Islamic expansion of the 14th century. The arrival of figures like Makdum, Rajah Baginda, and Abu Bakr — princes and scholars from Sumatra — brought with them not only religion and law, but animals for war, trade, and prestige. 

These weren't isolated events. The Sulu Sultanate was in contact with:

• Sumatra

• Brunei

• Java

• China

• Japan 

And they weren’t just trading spices and silk. 

They were trading horses.  

Spanish records confirm this: 

In 1578, Don Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa warned Governor Sande that: 

“These Moros are most dangerous people, being familiar with all manner of firearms and with horses.”

(Mackie, 1916, p. 375) 

So yes — before Spanish colonization, the south had horses. Likely for centuries. Records suggest they came through Sumatra and let us not forget at the time of Magellan, the King of Zebu was originally from Sumatra. Ignoring the Muslim record only citing the newer account is not academic.

It's hilarious how Tim declares a thing is not academic when his whole project is unacademic pseudo-history. What we learn in this section is the Moros had horses before the Spanish arrived and even had their own names for horses. Tim says that is proof that kabayo is not derived from cabello. 

There are several things wrong here. First of all, Tagalog is not the same language as Tausug which is the language spoken in Sulu. Second of all, and most importantly, the Spanish NEVER subdued Mindanao completely. 

In the Philippines: 

• Spain conquers portions of Mindanao and Jolo and imposes protectorate status over the Moros of Sulu.
• Spain failed to completely subjugate Moros.
• While Spain conquered portions of Mindanao, the Sulu Sultanate of Sulu submitted to protectorate status through Spain's extensive use of military resources.
• Moro resistance against Spanish colonial authorities continue until the 1898 US capture of the Philippines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish–Moro_conflict

There was not the same level of interaction between the Spanish and Mindanao as there was with the Visayas and Luzon. 

So, the Southern Philippines had horses. Great. What about the north? What about Tim's alleged location of the Lequios Islands, Batanes and Northern Luzon?

🐉 China and Japan: Not Spain 

When horses finally appeared in northern Luzon, it wasn’t Spanish stallions that disembarked. 

It was Chinese and Japanese horses. 

Mackie records that: 

• In 1583, King Philip II ordered large shipments of horses from China.

• In 1587, thirty Chinese ships arrived in Manila — with horses.

• The Nambu horse from Japan was introduced into Cagayan and Ilocos Norte. 

Even the Spanish historian Antonio de Morga wrote in 1604: 

“There were no horses, mares or asses in the islands until the Spaniards had them brought from China and Japan.”

(Mackie, p. 378) 

Morga was wrong on this. Perhaps he did not spend any time in North Luzon, which is Lequios, where he should have been seeking horses according to Pinto. Anyone quoting Morga as fact on this, is not offering an honest record.  

That alone shatters the colonial myth. 

🐎 The Native Breeds: More Than Just Ponies 

Through fieldwork across every province, Mackie identified five distinct native horse types, including: 

• The Sulu pony — stocky and ancient, descended from Sumatra.

• The Chinese horse — thickset, powerful, short-legged.

• The Nambu type — long-bodied, large-hooved, found in northern Luzon.

• A breed with Arab-like features — refined and muscular, likely through Indian or Persian trade.

• A widespread rural “scrub” type — undersized due to poor breeding and neglect. 

These were real, viable animals — not myth. Some areas like Catanduaneshad over 3,000 horses in the early 1900s alone, with over 55% showing dun or buckskin coloring, a trait tied to ancient Eurasian breeds. 

In researching this fully, one will find a narrative where horses were claimed in a Chinese shipwreck which turned out to be donkeys. That is then formed in propaganda that it means there were no horses in the Philippines. This kind of insane propaganda persists in academia and it is time to smash through the Colonial ceiling and correct this once and for all. It may well be valid they were donkeys but that account is not the position of ancient horses in the Philippines.  

This is the same for the word which derives from Spain which is not the only word for horse used locally, yet, that singular point is posited by many to claim they were not here. The statement is meaningless and born in ignorance. Grow up Colonial propagandists. 

In this section Tim admits that King Philip II imported horses from China and Japan. He writes that as if it's a revelation. Why would the Spanish ship horses all the way from Spain? They would likely not survive the arduous trip. importing horses from Japan and China would be much more practical.

Tim then cites Antonio Morga who writes:

“There were no horses, mares or asses in the islands until the Spaniards had them brought from China and Japan.”

According to Tim, Morga is wrong.

Morga was wrong on this. Perhaps he did not spend any time in North Luzon, which is Lequios, where he should have been seeking horses according to Pinto. Anyone quoting Morga as fact on this, is not offering an honest record.  

"Anyone quoting Morga as fact on this, is not offering an honest record?" But the citation comes from Mackie and Tim is relying upon him for this entire article! Is Mackie not honest? Then why uses him as a source? As for Morga, Tim has quoted him many times yet now all of a sudden he is a liar. 

But riddle me this: If Northern Luzon had native horses why did the Spanish need to import them from China and Japan? 

That is the end of Tim's analysis and so far he has not proven there was a native horse culture in Northern Luzon and Batanes. Here is what Pinto wrote concerning horsemen on Lequios Island:

While we were all locked in this painful trance, six horsemen rode up to us, and at the sight of us there on our knees, naked and unarmed, with two dead women in our midst, they took such pity on us that four of them promptly headed back to the people following them on foot and kept them in check where they were, without permitting anyone to do us any harm. Then they returned, bringing with them six of the men on foot who appeared to be ministers of justice, or at least, the kind of justice that we thought God had in store for us at the time.

At the command of the men on horseback, these six tied us all up in groups of three. Showing signs of compassion, they told us not to be afraid because the king of the Ryukyus was a God-fearing man, well inclined by nature to the poor, to whom he was always very charitable, and they gave us their word, swearing by their faith, that he would do us no harm. These words of consolation, however pious they appeared to be on the surface, did not satisfy us in the least, for by then we had lost all hope of life so that even if we had been told this by someone we trusted completely, we still would have found it hard to believe, much less a group of cruel, tyrannical heathens who had neither religion nor any knowledge of God.

Pinto's Travels, pg. 288-289

It was past three in the afternoon when a courier on horseback came riding into town in great haste and delivered a letter to the xivalem, who was their local military commander. As soon as he read it, he immediately ordered two drums to be beaten by way of summoning the townspeople, who responded to the call by assembling in a large temple of their worship. There, framed in a window, he addressed them, informing them of the orders he had received from the broquem, governor of the kingdom, to the effect that they were to take us to the city of Pongor, seven leagues from there.

The majority of the people protested, voicing their objections to this order six or seven times, and a heated argument ensued, as a result of which nothing was agreed on that day except to send the courier back to the broquem with an explanation of what was happening. Consequently, they were forced to keep us confined there until eight o'clock the following day when two peretandas—who are like magistrates—arrived, accompanied by a crowd of people from the city, including twenty men on horseback. After taking us into custody with detailed documents drawn up by notaries public, they departed immediately. Late in the afternoon of the same day we reached a town called Gundexilau, where they put us into an underground dungeon, in which we spent the night, suffering unbearable hardship, in a pool of water swarming with leeches that left us all quite bloody.

pg. 290

From these passages in Pinto's journal it's pretty clear that the horsemen were part of the military. So, where is the Filipino calvary in Northern Luzon and Batanes? That is what Tim has to prove and he has failed to do so. 

This article exhibits every bad trait of The God Culture. There are half-truths, there is unwarranted extrapolation, and there is the disdain for real history and name calling for those who do not tow Tim's line. It is illogical to say Sulu had horses therefore there was a unified horse culture throughout the Philippine archipelago including Batanes and Northern Luzon. Tim is making assumptions rather than offering hard proof.  This is not just bad history, it's bad horse-story! To that I say, Grow up Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture.