Based on the discovery made by Ferdinand Magellan Consummated by its conquest by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1521 and long

g possession for almost 4 centuries but it was terminated in 1898 because of Treaty of Paris. Treaty of Paris - the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the US

 1565 to 1821
Philippines was indirectly governed by the King of Spain

through Mexico but when Mexico obtained her independence from Spain, the Philippines was ruled directly from Spain. Council of Indies, the council responsible for the administration of the Philippines but it was abolished in 1837 and the legislation for the Philippines was temporarily performed by the Council of Ministers

 From 1863 the Ministry of Ultramar (colonies) exercised the

general powers of supervision over Philippine affairs. The Philippines was given representation in the Spanish Cortes, the legislative body of spain three times during the Spanish period of 1810 to 1813, 1820 to1823 and 1836 to 1837. The also introduced a basic principle to the Philippines which was the union of the church and the state.

 The government was centralized in structure and

national in scope. Barangays were consolidated into towns (pueblos) each headed by a gobernadorcillo (little governor) or capitan and the towns into provinces each headed by a governor who represented the governor general in the province. Each cities had an ayuntamiento or cabildo ( city council).
Cebu- first city to be established in 1565. Manila- second city to be established in 1571.

 He was the:
a.) Governor-General- he had executive, administrative,

legislative and judicial powers. b.) Captain-General- he was Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces in the Philippines. c.) Vice-royal-patron- he exercised certain religious powers.
He enjoyed more powers than the King of Spain. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi- the first Spanish Governor-General in the Philippines (1565-1571) Gen. Diego de los Rios- the last Governor-General (1898)

 Royal Audiencia- the Supreme Court of the Philippines

during the Spanish times and was established in 1583. It performed functions of executive and legislative nature. The two Territorial Audiencias established below the Royal Audiencia are one in Cebu and in Vigan which exercised appellate jurisdiction over criminal cases coming from the surrounding territory. The Justice of the peace courts which were established in different towns in 1885 are at the bottom of the judicial system. There were special courts and naval courts Treasury and commercial courts were also created but were later abolished.

 Spain ruled the Philippines from 1551-1898.

The government which Spain established in the Philippines

was defective. The Spanish rule was generally mild and humane when viewed in the broader light of global colonization. The Filipino people were not brutalized. Spaniards and Filipinos intermarried and mingled socially and slavery and tribal wars were not suppressed. Brought about the unification of the Filipino people. Spain uplifted the Filipino from the depth of primitive culture and paganism and gave them the blessings of Christianity and European civilization.

 Secret society that precipitated our glorious revolution on

Aug. 26, 1896. Was organized by Andres Bonifacio First clear break from Spanish rule with the ultimate goal to establish a free and sovereign Philippines. It was replaced by another government whose officials headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as President. Revolutionary government was the first government to unify all rebel forces It is also the first Filipino government whose officials were freely elected by representatives of the people.

 November 1, 1897, Biak-na-Bato republic was

established by Gen. Aguinaldo in Biak-na-Bato.

Declared that the aim of revolution was the

separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their formation into independent state

 Most important achievement of the Dictatorial

Government were the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898 and the reorganization of local government.

 Aim of the new government were to struggle for the

independence of the Philippines, until all nations including Spain will expressly recognize it and to prepare the county for the establishment of a real Republic

 Also called the Malolos Constitution

The Malolos Congress ratified on September 29,

1898 the proclamation of Philippine Independence made by Gen. Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. This constitution was the first democratic constitution ever promulgate in the whole of Asia. It established a free and independent Philippine Republic

 United States annexed the Philippines In April 1901, Gen. Aguinaldo was captured.

Philippine Revolution of 1896 was the first war of

independence fought by Asians against foreign domination and it gave birth to the first constitutional democracy in Asia and the West Pacific.

 The Japanese Attack

At dawn of Monday, December 8, 1941 at 2:30A.M. (Manila

Time), the Japanese had bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
A few hours later, Japanese fighter planes appeared in

Philippines skies. They bombed Davao City, Tuguegarao, Baguio, Iba, Tarlac, and Clark Field.

The Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1942 an established a Philippine executive Commission (PEC) under the Japanese Military Administration. The PEC had very little legislative powers as the Japanese controlled the government. In June 1943, a Preparatory Commission for Philippine Independence (PCPI) was created to draft a constitution for the country.

 Under the 1943 Constitution, the President was

given strong powers making the legislature subordinate to the executive. The President had the power to appoint provincial governors and city mayors. This was in contrast to the binding nature of the Acts passed by the National Assembly under Commonwealth government.

 The Japanese forced Filipino leaders to form a new

government.
Jorge B. Vargas became chairman of the Philippine

Executive Commission.
On January 23, 1942, the members of the Executive

Commission sent a letter to the Japanese military.

 Aim was to bring about the rapid reconstruction of the

Philippines and the rehabilitation of the Filipino people. Benigno Aquino was appointed director-general of the said organization.