It will come as a big surprise for many that, in 1991, the 1734 Murillo Velarde map, now making front-page news, was offered with a starting bid of 10,000 German marks (P186,000) at an auction in Frankfurt! Alerted by friends in Europe, I immediately sought out a dozen alumni willing to contribute P50,000 each to place a bid for the map. Unfortunately Mt. Pinatubo had erupted at the time and its lahar kept flooding Central Luzon. So I incurred the ire of a historian who scolded me for initiating such a project. His tirade dwelt on the vanity of collectors and their apathy to the suffering of their fellow human beings during a national disaster.

Ma. Garcia, L. (2015, June 15). ‘Mother of Philippine maps’ settles sea dispute with China. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. C1, C2.