An authenticated copy of the Murillo Velarde 1734 Map was officially turned over to the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) on April 16, 2026.

“It is my privilege to stand before you today in Nueva Ecija, a province already present on the Velarde 1734 Map, almost a 300-year-old map,” Mr. Mel Velasco Velarde, Chairman of the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC), said during the turnover ceremony. “That matters because this map reminds us that places like Nueva Ecija were already part of a living geography of land, river, memory, and community long before the modern nation took its present form.”

“This is why I did not come here merely to donate a map. I came here to return a witness,” Mr. Velarde added. “Nueva Ecija is not peripheral to the story of the Philippines. It is central to it. This province has helped feed the nation and in doing so, it has carried a quiet but profound dignity… We must know how to honor places like this.”

The Murillo Velarde 1734 Map is widely regarded as the “Mother of all Philippine Maps” and is particularly notable for its role in the Philippines’ legal victory in the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the West Philippine Sea. In December 2025, the map was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Library of the Philippines.

The university-wide event was attended by students, faculty members, alumni, and university officials.

Dr. Ariel G. Mactal, Vice President for Administration, delivered the acceptance speech on behalf of CLSU. 

“We extend our sincere gratitude to Mr. Velarde for his remarkable generosity and patriotism,” Dr. Mactal said. “CLSU embraces its role as a steward of this cultural treasure. We commit to preserving its value and ensuring that it becomes an active instrument of learning… May this map inspire our students to appreciate the depth of our history, to take pride in our identity, and to remain mindful of the responsibility of safeguarding our nation’s heritage.”

The turnover of what is now regarded the “Soul of the Nation” is part of the Mapa Natin, Kwento Natin campaign. The initiative aims to popularize the enduring relevance of the map and foster a deeper sense of national identity and historical awareness among Filipinos.