President Rodrigo Duterte said he would order the removal in the history books and other official documents, which states that Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan "discovered the Philippines."

In a speech before the Jordanian businessmen on Thursday, Duterte recalled that when he was young, he used to accept the proposition that some Westerners, specifically Magellan, discovered the Philippines.

"To my chagrin, I now say that they came to disturb us, not to conquer us, because we were there since the history of mankind, since Adam and Eve," he said.

"And that is why there are the leftovers of the claims of territory, not fairly divided among the Muslims who were there in the first place, well ahead of Magellan in his trip which was sponsored by the King of Spain, King Philip. And that is why it’s called Philippines," Duterte said.

"Because Magellan who discovered the Philippines, so they say, in their history book, I hope it is now done in Europe but not in my… I will one day order the statement be stricken out of our books and our history documents," he stressed.

In his previous speeches, Duterte wondered why Magellan was more honored in the country than Lapu-Lapu who led the Battle of Mactan, which led to the defeat of the Spanish sailors under Magellan in April 1521.

Last year, Duterte issued an executive order creating the Order of Lapu-Lapu, a presidential award given to Filipinos who contributed significantly to the advocacy of the government. Celerina Monte/DMS