Note 1 — Letters from Felipe III to Silva

The see of Cebú was made vacant by the death of Bishop Agurto (September 14, 1608), and that of Nueva Cáceres (in 1607) by the death of its second bishop, Baltasar Corarrubias, O.S.A. The reference in our text is to the appointment of new bishops for these sees—for Cebú, Pedro Matías, O.S.F.; and for Nueva Cáceres, Pedro de Arce, O.S.A. But, as Matías did not understand the Visayan language, these appointments were finally exchanged; Matías was transferred to Nueva Cáceres, which he administered for two years and until his death, and Arce to Cebú.