Philippine Firsts

First Filipino Priest

In 1590, Martin Lakandula was ordained as an Augustinian priest, becoming the first native Filipino to serve as a friar. In 1906, Jorge Barlin became the first Filipino bishop under the Roman Catholic Church. The first Archbishop was Viviano Gorordo while the First Filipino cardinal wa Rufino Cardinal Santos.
First Filipino

The first man who used Filipino as a title of citizenship was Luis Rodriguez Varela, a Spaniard who was born in Manila. He preferred to be called “El Conde Pilipino” in 1795.

First Philippine Map

The first Philippine map was drawn in 1734 by Nicolas dela Cruz and Francisco Suarez under the instruction of Jesuit historian Pedro Murillo Velarde. The original map was 27 inches and 42 inches long.

First Drugstore

Botica Boie is considered the first drugstore in the country, having been established by Dr. Lorenzo Negrao in 1830.

First Ice Cream Parlor

In December 1899, Clarke’s Ice Cream Parlor became the first ice cream parlor in the Philippines when it opened its store at Plaza Moraga in Binondo, Manila. Metcalf Clarke owned it.

First Inventor

In 1853, the Spanish colonial government awarded a gold medal to Candido Lopez Diaz, a Filipino who invented a machine for Manila hemp or abaka.

First Automobile

In 1900, La Estrella del Norte shipped from France to the Philippines a “George Richard”, the first ever automobile to have landed on the native soil. Its owner was one Dr. Miciano, a rich doctor. The first shipment of automobiles for sale in the country was in 1907, with Bachrach Motors, an affiliate of American firm Ford Motor Co. as the importer.

First Movie Theater

Salon de Pertierra, the country’s first movie theater, was built in Escolta, Manila in 1897. A short French film was first shown in the theater.

First Olympian

David Nepomuceno, a Filipino serving in the US Navy was the first Filipino Olympian. A sprinter, Nepomuceno was the country’s sole representative to the 1924 Olympics, which was held in Paris.

First Comic Strip

“Kenkoy” is considered as the first comic strip in the Philippines. Cartoonist Tony Velasquez first published the comic strip in 1929.

Image Source: Komiklopedia

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