Cebuano Scholar and National Artist Resil Mojares Dies at 83

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Resil Mojares, a man of letters who led a panel of scholars whose findings definitively settled the decadeslong dispute over the site of the first Holy Mass in the country, died on Saturday. “We are heartbroken to share the passing of our beloved father, Resil Buagas Mojares. He had just celebrated his 83rd birthday yesterday, and we are grateful to have spent his final day honoring and celebrating his life,” his daughter, Leigh Go Mojares, announced on social media. A historian, Mojares chaired the body convened by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) in 2018 to review varying accounts about the site of the “first Mass,” in the runup to the government-led commemoration of the 500th year of the “Victory at Mactan” in 2021, which forms part of the quincentennial of the first circumnavigation of the world by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew. Parallel to that occasion, the Catholic Church was also gearing for the celebration of the 500th year of Christianity in the country. For the effort, Mojares worked with Dr. Danilo Gerona, Dr. Francis Navarro, Dr. Carlos Madrid Alvarez-Piner, Dr. Jose Victor Torres, and Jesuit priest Antonio Francisco de Castro. In constituting what would later be known as the “Mojares panel,” the NHCP and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines agreed that the review pertains to the first Easter Sunday Mass in the country, referring to the event on March 31, 1521. From 2018 to 2019, Mojares led the panel in assessing the competing claims over the site of the Mass. It submitted a report recommending that the NHCP sustain Limasawa as the historical site. The NHCP later formalized the decision through a board resolution in 2020, ending the latest chapter in the long-running controversy over whether the historic rite took place in Limasawa or in Butuan. Mojares’ work on the issue added to a career devoted to documenting Philippine history, culture and identity, particularly through the lens of local and regional studies. On Saturday, the NHCP paid tribute to Mojares as “a true titan of local history.” The commission noted his pioneering work in Philippine local studies and also his service as founding director of the University of San Carlos Cebuano Studies Center in 1975. He also contributed to the Cebu Town History Project, where he wrote the history of Cebu province. In 2018, Mojares was conferred the Order of National Artist for Literature for his contributions to Philippine scholarly and literary development. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts described him as a leading figure in the promotion of regional literature and history, noting that his work spanned fiction, essays, journalism, biography, literature, history and cultural studies. Among his major works were “The War Against the Americans: Resistance and Collaboration in Cebu Province,” “House of Memory: Essays,” “The Man Who Would Be President: Serging Osmeña” and “Philippine Politics, and Brains of the Nation.” According to historian Patricio Abinales, Mojares had “an impressive body of work and an amazing contribution to Philippine Studies.” Between 1969 and 2017, he had 124 titles to his name, 107 sole authored and coauthored works, and four sole-edited and five coedited books. Six of his works won the National Book Award. “Peerless. Massive in quantity and of high quality,” award-winning writer Danton Remoto said on social media of Mojares’ work. Mojares earned a bachelor’s degree in English and master’s degree in literature from University of San Carlos in Cebu, and a doctorate in literature from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is survived by his children Kim Carmel, Mark Soren, Ressa Gail and Anna Leigh, along with five grandchildren. /cb