Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History Course Module: August 2020

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Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 1|P a ge
Table of Contents
Page
Lesson 1 An Introduction to Philippine Historiography: Sources and 2
Discourses
Lesson 2 History of the Philippine Islands 13
Lesson 3 The Manunggul Jar 20
Lesson 4 The Laguna Copperplate 24
Lesson 5 Duties of the Katipunan of the Sons of the People (KKK) 30
Lesson 6 Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence 32
Lesson 7 1899 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines (Malolos 34
Convention)
Lesson 8 Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the 46
Kingdom of Spain (Treaty of Paris)
Lesson 9 Jose Rizal’s Retraction Controversy 51
Lesson 10 Convention between the United States of America and Great 58
Britain Delimiting the Boundary between the Philippine
Archipelago and the State of North Borneo {1930}
Lesson 11 Minutes of the Proceedings on the National Territory of the 1971 61
Constitutional Convention
Lesson 12 The Role of Islam in the History of the Filipino People 68
Lesson 13 History of Terrorism in the Philippines 76
Lesson 14 Agreement on Peace between the Government of the Republic of 82
the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Lesson 15 Report of the Cholera Epidemic in the Philippines 85
Lesson 16 Mintal “The Little Tokyo of the Pre-war Philippines” 90
Lesson 1: Week 1-2

An Introduction to Philippine Historiography:
Sources and Discourses
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

• Define history
• Differentiate history from historiography
• Restate the sources of history
• Analyze how historians write a history
• Recall some Filipino historians and their contributions to historiography
Introduction
History deals with the study of past events. Individuals who write about history are called
historians. They seek to understand the present by examining what went before. They undertake
arduous historical research to come up with a meaningful and organized reconstruction of the past.
But whose past are we talking about? This is a basic question that a historian needs to answer
because this sets the purpose and framework of a historical account. Hence, a salient feature of
historical writing is the facility to give meaning and impart value to a particular group of people
about their past. The practice of historical writing is called historiography. Traditional method in
doing historical research focuses on gathering of documents from different libraries and archives
to form a pool of evidence needed in making a descriptive or analytical narrative. However,
modern historical writing does not only include examination of documents but also the use of
research methods from related areas study such as archaeology and geography.
Sources of History
Basic to historical research is utilization of sources. There are diverse sources of history
including documentary sources or documents, archaeological records, and oral and video accounts.
To date, most of our historical sources are documents. These refer to handwritten, printed, drawn,
designed, and other composed materials. These include books, newspapers, magazines, journals,
maps, architectural perspectives, paintings, advertisements, and photographs. Colonial records
such as government reports and legal documents form a significant part of our collection of
documents here and abroad, particularly in Spain and the United States. In the 20th century and up
to now, memoirs or personal accounts written by important historical personages constitute another
type of documents. Philippine presidents such as Emilio Aguinaldo, Manuel Quezon, and
Diosdado Macapagal wrote their memoirs to highlight their roles as nation-builders.
On the other hand, archaeological records refer to preserved remains of human beings, their
activities, and the environment where they lived. In the Philippines, the most significant excavated
human remains include the Callao Man’s toe bone (dated 67 000 BCE) and the Tabon Man’s

skullcap (22 000 BCE). Aside from human remains, other archaeological records are generally
categorized as fossils and artifacts. Fossils are remains of animals, plants, and other organisms
from the distant past, while artifacts are remnants of material culture developed by human beings.
These include clothing, farm implements, jewelry, pottery and stone tools.
Oral and video accounts form the third kind of historical source. These are audio-visual
documentation of people, events, and places. These are usually recorded in video and audio
cassettes, and compact discs. Aside from scholars, media people also use oral and video accounts
as part of their news and public affairs work.
Doctrina Christiana, the first published work

Primary and Secondary Sources
There are two general kinds of historical sources: primary and secondary. Primary
Sources refer to documents, physical objects, and oral/video accounts made by an individual or a
group present at the time and place being described. These materials provide facts from people
who actually witnessed the event. Secondary sources, on the other hand, are materials made by
people long after the events being described had taken place.
Most historical narratives today are so reliant on documentary sources due to the plethora
of written records and the lack of archaeological records and oral/video memoirs. Although having
several documents about an event allows for easier counterchecking of facts history researchers
are confronted with one basic challenge with regard primary sources- their ability to read and
understand texts in foreign languages.

Many of our untapped archival documents here and abroad are written in Spanish. A good
knowledge of Spanish is a huge advantage. But this skill is unusual among today’s historians who
prefer to read translations of Spanish texts such as the 55-volume. The Philippine Islands, 1493-
1898 (1903-1909) edited by Emma Blair and James Robertson, which is the most cited collection
of primary sources about the Philippines before the advent of the American colonial regime. The
collection includes translations of portions of 16th- century chronicles such as Antonio Pigafetta’s
Primo Viaggio intorno al mundo (1524), Miguel Loarca’s Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas (1582),
and Juan de Plasencia’s Relacion de las Islas Pilipinas (1592).
Filipino historians, such as the father-daughter tandem of Gregorio Zaide and Sonio Zaide,
have also compiled and translated colonial documents. They published the 10- volume
Documentary Sources of Philippine History (1994).
Aside from reading the Spanish originals documents or translated words, another daunting
task for Filipino historians is to discern the cultural context and historical value of primary sources
because most of these primary documents were written by colonialists and reflected Western
cultural frames. For examples, derogatory terms used to Label Filipinos such as “pagan,”
“uncivilized,” “wild,” and “savage” abound in these colonial documents. Uncovering myths and
misconceptions about Filipino cultural identity propagated by the Spanish and American
colonizers is extra challenging for contemporary Filipino scholars.
If the key function of primary source documents is to give facts, secondary source
documents, on the other hand, provide valuable interpretations of historical events. The works of
eminent historians such as Teodoro Agoncillo and Renato Constantino are good examples of
secondary sources. In his interpretation of the Philippine Revolution, Agoncillo divided the
revolution into two phases: the first phase covers the years from the start of the revolution in
August 1896 to the flight of Emilio Aguinaldo and company to Hong Kong as a result of the Pact
of Biak-na-Bato, while the second phase spans from Aguinaldo’s return to Manila from Hong
Kong until his surrender to the Americans in March 1901.
However, Constantino refuted Agoncillo’s leader-centric scheme of dividing the revolution
into two phases by stressing that Agoncillo’s viewpoint implied that the revolution came to a halt
when Aguinaldo left the country. Constantino disputed the soundness of Agoncillo’s two-phase
scheme by asserting that the war of independence continued even without Aguinaldo’s presence
in the country.
Aside from the issue on Philippine Revolution, there are other contending issues in
Philippine history such as the venue of the first Christian mass in the country and the question of
who deserves to be named national hero. By and large, interpretations serve as tools of discernment
for readers of historical sources, but they should be cautious of frames of analysis used for biased,
discriminatory, and self-serving ends.
Historical Criticism
Many documents have primary and secondary segments. For instance, examining a
newspaper as a historical source entails a discerning mind to identify its primary and secondary

components. A news item written by a witness of an event is considered as a primary source, while
a feature article is usually considered as a secondary material. Similarly, a book published a long
time ago does not necessarily render it as a primary source. It requires a meticulous reading of the
document to know its origin.
To ascertain the authenticity and reliability of primary sources to be used in crafting a
narrative, a historian needs to employ two levels of historical criticism, namely, external criticism
and internal criticism. External criticism answers concerns and questions pertinent to the
authenticity of a historical source by identifying that composed the historical material, locating
when and where the historical material was produced, and establishing the material’s evidential
value.
Internal criticism, on the other hand, deals with the credibility and reliability of the
content of a given historical source. This kind of criticism focuses on understanding the substance
and message that the historical materials wants to convey by examining how the author frame the
intent and meaning of a composed material.
Locating Primary Sources
There are substantial primary sources about the Philippines here and abroad. In the country,
government institutions such as the National Library and the National Archives are major
repositories of documentary sources.
The National Library has complete microfilm copies of the Philippine Revolutionary
Records (1896-1901), a compilation of captured documents of Emilio Aguinaldo’s revolutionary
government, and Historical Data Papers (1952-1953), a collection of “history and cultural life”
of all towns in the country spearheaded by public school teachers during President Elpidio
Quirino’s term. The Manuscript’s Section of the National Library’s Filipiniana Division contains
the presidential papers of different administrations from Manuel Quezon to Joseph Ejercito. Search
aids such as the “Checklist of Rare Filipiniana Serials (1811-1914),” “Filipiniana Serials in
Microfilm,” and several registers of Philippine presidential papers are provided for faster and
easier way to look for historical materials.
The National Archives, on the other hand, holds a substantial collection of catalogued and
uncatalogued Spanish documents about the Philippines composed from 1552 to 1900. These
consist of 432 document categories such as Administration Central de Rentas y Propiedades
(Central Administration of Rentals and Properties), Administration de Hacienda Publica
(Administration of Public Finance), Aduana de Manila (Customs Office of Manila), Almacenes
Generales (General Stores), Asuntos Criminales (Criminal matters), Ayuntamiento de Manila
(Town Council of Manila), Colera (Cholera), Padron General de Chinos (General register of
Chinese), and Presos (Prisoners). For local historians, valuable materials from the National
Archives include Cabezas de Barangay (Heads of Barangay), Ereccion de los Pueblos
(Establishment of Towns), Guia Oficial (Official Guide), and Memorias (Official Reports of
Provincial Governors), Aside from Spanish sources, the National Archives is also the repository
of 20th-century documents such as civil records, notarial documents, and Japanese wartime crime

records. There are also some sources written in Tagalog such as the documents pertinent to
Apolinario de la Cruz, the leader of the Coonfradia de San Jose in the 19th century.
Academic institutions such as the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Ateneo de
Manila University in Quezon City, University of Santos Tomas in Manila, Silliman University in
Dumaguete City, and University of San Carlos in Cebu City have also substantial library and
archival holdings. The Media Services Section of the UP Main Library has microfilm copies of
Philippine Radical Papers, a compilation of documents relevant to the Partido Komunista ng
Pilipinas (PKP) and its allied organizations as well a People’s Court Proceedings, a collection of
court proceedings against Filipino leaders who corporate with the Japanese during their short-lived
occupation. The Ateneo de Manila’s Rizal Library houses the American Historical Collection that
consists of vital documents relevant to the American experience such as the Reports of the
Philippine Commission (1901-1909), Annual Reports of the Governors-General of the Philippine
Islands (1916-1935), and records of the Philippine legislature from 1907 to 1934.
Privately owned museums and archives, such as the Ayala Museum in Makati and Lopez
Museum in Pasig City, have also considerable historical resources. Religious congregations such
as the Augustinians, Dominicans, Jesuits, and Recollects also have extensive archival holdings
that remain untapped.
Outside the Philippines, there are several documents about the country found in Spain and
the United States. The bulk of Spanish documents are found at the Archivo General de Indias in
Sevilla, Spain. Important American sources are available at the Manuscript Division of the United
States Library of Congress, Harvard University’s Houghton Library, United States National
Archives, and the University of Michigan’s Bentley Historical Library.
In this age of Internet, there are open access online archives on Filipino history and culture,
such as the extensive digital Filipiniana collection of the University of Michigan, which consists
of manuscripts and photographs of the early part of 20th century Philippines. Another rich online
source of primary documents is the University of Illinois at Chicago Field Museum. It houses the
extensive photographic collection of Dean Worcester, the secretary of Interior of the American
colonial government in the country from 1901 to 1913.
Colonial Historiography
Philippine historiography has changed significantly since the 20th century. For a long time,
Spanish colonizers presented our history in two parts: a period of darkness or backwardness before
they arrived and a consequent period of advancement or enlightenment when they came.
Spanish chroniclers wrote a lot about the Philippines but their historical accounts emphasized
the primacy of colonization to liberate Filipinos from their backward “barbaric” life ways In the
same manner, American colonial writers also shared the same worldview of their predecessors by
rationalizing their colonization of Filipinos as a way to teach the natives of the “civilized lifestyle”
which they said the Spaniards forgot to impart including personal hygiene and public
administration. Colonial narratives have portrayed Filipinos as a people bereft of an advanced
culture and a respectable history. This perception challenged Filipino intellectuals beginning in the
1800s to rectify such cultural bias or prejudice. In 1890, Jose Rizal came out with an annotation

of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the Philippine Islands), a book
originally published in 1609. He used de Morga’s book, a rare Spanish publication that positively
viewed precolonial Filipino culture, as a retort to the arrogant Spaniards. However, cultural bias
against Filipino culture continued even after Rizal’s death and the end of Spanish colonialism.
Jose Rizal Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
Learning from the fate of its colonial predecessor, the United States did not only use brute
force but also affected ingenious ways of pacification such as the use of education as a tool to
control their subjects and increase political and economic power of the elite few. These colonial
instruments were so ingrained among Filipinos that they perceived their colonial past in two ways:
initially maltreated by “wicked Spain” but later rescued by “benevolent America.” This kind of
historical consciousness has effectively erased from the memories of Filipino generations the
bloody Philippine-American War as exemplified by the Balangiga Massacre in Eastern Samar and
the Battle of Bud Bagsak in Sulu. Consequently, such perception breathes new life to the two-part
view of history: a period of darkness before the advent of the United States and an era of
enlightenment during the American colonial administration. This view has resonated with Filipino
scholars even after the Americans granted our independence in 1946.
Philippine Historiography after World War II
The stark reality of Filipino historians thinking like their colonial counterpart’s during the
postcolonial period troubled a small group of professors and cultural workers who were mostly
alumni of the University of the Philippines. This spurred the emergence of Filipino scholars who
challenged the narrow view of colonial narratives and developed historical writing from the
viewpoint of a nationalist agenda.
In the 1950s, Teodoro Agoncillo pioneered nationalist historiography in the country by
highlighting the role of the Filipino reformists and revolutionaries from 1872, the year that saw
the execution of the Gomburza priests, to the end of the Philippine Revolution as the focal point
of the country’s nation-building narrative. Two of his most celebrated books focus on the impact

of the Philippine Revolution: The Revolt of the Masses: The
story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan (1956) and Malolos:
The Crisis of the Republic (1960). His writings veered away
from emphasizing Spanish colonial period and regarded
events before 1872 as part of the country’s “lost history.”
This discourse of “lost history” was not accepted by
another known scholar, Renato Constantino, whose
published work entitled “The Miseducation of the Filipino”
became a staple reading for academics
and activists beginning in the
late1960s. Constantino advanced the
Teodoro Agoncillo idea of a “people’s history” – a
study of the past that sought to
analyze society by searching out people’s voices from colonial
historical materials that typically rendered Filipinos as decadent, inept
and vile. Following this mode of historical inquiry, he authored The
Philippines: A Past Revisited (1975), a college textbook that offered a
more critical reading of Philippine history compared to Agoncillo’s
Renato Constantino
History of the Filipino People (1973). Undoubtedly, these two
nationalist scholars inspired or challenged other historians to reevaluate the country’s national
history.
Three other Filipino historians set new directions in redefining Philippine historiography
in the last 30 years of the 20th century. The first of these scholars is Zeus Salazar who
conceptualized “Pantayong Pananaw” as an approach to understanding the past from our own
cultural frame and language. He emphasized the value of our Austronesian roots to defining
Filipino culture and encouraged other scholars to conduct outstanding historical researches in
Filipino such as the work of Jaime Veneracion’s Kasaysayan ng
Bulacan (1986).
Equally important is the

contribution of Reynaldo Ileto
who wrote about his “history
from below” treatise in his
ground-breaking work, Pasyon
and Revolution: Popular
Zeus Salazar Movements in the Philippines,
1840-1910 (1979). In this work,
Ileto endeavored to recognize the way of thinking of ordinary
folks by using alternative historical sources such as folk songs and
prayers. His other works spurred new interpretations of common Reynaldo Ileto
topics such as Jose Rizal, Philippine-American War, and
American colonization.

There is Samuel Tan, another prolific historian who is remembered for mainstreaming the
role and relevance of Filipino Muslims in the country’s national history. His definitive work, The
Filipino Muslim Armed Struggle, 1900-1972 (1978), sougth to examine the struggle of Filipino
Muslims in the context of 20th –century nation-building dynamics during the American colonial
regime and subsequent postcolonial Filipino administrations. In
his book, A History of the Philippines (1987), Tan tempted to
write a national history reflective of the historical experiences
not only of lowland Christianized Filipinos but also of the other
different cultural communities in the archipelago.
Since the latter part of the 20th century, there have been
considerable changes in the way historians compose our national
history. However, contemporary Philippine historiography still
continues to be characterized by the dominance of political
narratives, colonial histories, elite-centric perspective, and
patriarchal orientation as well as emphasis on lowland
Christianized Filipinos. Samuel Tan
Political Narratives
Most of our national histories today favor narratives that deal with the political aspects of
nation-building such as the legacies of political leaders and establishment of different government.
Questions such as the following are focal points in these narratives. Who was the first Spanish
governor-general vital in implementing the encomienda policy? Who was the governor-general
responsible for the massive employment of Filipinos in the American colonial bureaucracy? Who
served as the last president of the Philippine Commonwealth and the inaugural chief executive of
the Third Republic? Who was the Philippine president responsible for the declaration of martial
law? The challenge for present-day historians is to present a more holistic history that goes beyond
politics by means of integrating other aspects of nation-building such as its economic and cultural
aspects.
Colonial Histories in Historical Narratives
Another weakness of most national histories is the importance given to colonial histories.
This continues to breed Filipinos who are more familiar with stories about our colonial history
rather than stories of our precolonial past. Up to now, some social studies textbooks misrepresent
ancient Filipinos as savages or barbarians by portraying colonizers, especially the Spaniards and
American, as liberators of the Filipinos from cultural backwardness. The key to uncover such
cultural prejudices is to examine available historical sources and to write about our past by
understanding the myths and misconceptions that characterized the Filipino culture for centuries.
Elite-centric Perspective in Historical Narratives
Some historical narratives focus on the contributions of the elite in nation-building such as
what the Illustrados (educated Filipinos) fought for in the 19th century or how the local politicians
negotiated with their American counterparts to obtain an independence law during the first half of
Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 10 | P a g e

the 20th century. Though eminent historians such as Constantino and Ileto reiterated the importance
of a “people’s history” and “history from below,” respectively, so much has to be done in terms of
writing about the roles played by ordinary people in our history.
Patriarchal Orientation in Historical Narratives
Most of the country’s historical narratives highlight the heroism of men in different ways:
leading revolts and liberation wars against colonizers, championing the cause of independence,
and spearheading political and economic development. Women, on the other hand, are viewed by
several historians as merely support to men. Let us take for example the women leaders such as
Gabriela Silang, Tandang Sora, and Corazon Aquino. Silang assumed the leadership of the Ilocos
revolt after her husband was murdered in May 1763. Tandang Sora’s decision to offer her barn
and farm to revolutionaries in August 1896 was linked to her son’s involvement in the Katipunan.
Aquino rose to prominence as a martyr’s widow who led a movement to depose a dictatorship in
February 1986. These representations show women’s roles as consequences of their connection to
the men in their lives. With this bias in mind, it is imperative for contemporary historians to use
gender-sensitive approaches in understanding history to avoid typecasting women as dependent,
emotional, less important, passive, submissive, and weak.
Emphasis on Lowland Christianized Filipinos
National histories tend to show partially toward lowland Christianized Filipinos at the
expense of other cultural communities such as Muslim Filipinos and other indigenous peoples such
as the Manobos of Mindanao, Ibalois of Cordillera, and Mangyans of Mindoro. Celebrated figures
of our past are all lowlander Christians and predominantly Tagalogs including Jose Rizal, the
leading propagandist; Andres Bonifacio, the Katipunan founder; Emilio Aguinaldo, the
revolutionary leader who declared independence; and Manuel Quezon, the first president of the
Philippine Commonwealth. Non-Christians and highlanders remain unrecognized in historical
narratives. Muslim Filipinos, in particular, have been subjected to negative characterization by
lowland Christians in published works such as history books. This is caused by the culture of
mistrust that developed between Christians and Muslims during the colonial periods. Muslim
Filipinos are depicted as brutal, cruel, ferocious, and vicious as exemplified by their attacks of
Christian towns. This narrow-minded view has to be reevaluated in order to correct
misrepresentations of Muslim Filipinos in this age of political correctness and cultural sensitivity.
Because of the need to reassess our national histories, many local stories- narratives about
origins and development of a barangay, town, city, province, or an ethnolinguistic community –
have been written in the last three decades. The writing of these stories broadens the scope of our
national history reflective of the roles played by the country’s cultural communities in nation –
building.
Source: Gonzalez, M C, Madrigal, C., San Juan, DM, Ramos, DJ (2014). Chronicles in a changing
world: Witnesses to the history of the Filipino people. Santillan, NM (Chapter): Diwa Learning
Systems Inc: Innovation in Education, Makati.

Learning Activity: Essay
Requirements:
1. What is history? How is it different from historiography?
2. What are the sources of history? Enumerate them.
3. How do historians write history?
4. Who are some of the notable Filipino historians? What are their contributions to
Philippine historiography?

Lesson 2: Week 3
History of the Philippine Islands

An Excerpt from the Original Work of Antonio De Morga (Chapter 8)
……relation of the Filipinas Islands and of their natives, antiquity, customs, and government,
both during the period of their paganism and after their conquest by the Spaniards, and other
details.

• Quote the observations of the writer about the inhabitants of the Philippine islands when
the Spaniards arrived
• Describe the culture of the inhabitants of the Philippine islands before the colonization
• Criticize the way the Filipinos were described by the writer.
“In various parts of this island of Luzon are found a number of natives black in color. Both
men and women have wooly hair, and their stature is not very great, though they are strong and
robust. These people are barbarians, and have but little capacity. They possess no fixed house or
settlements, but wander in bands and hordes through the mountains and rough country, changing
from one site to another according to the season. They support themselves in certain clearings, and
by planting rice, which they are very skillful and certain. [217] They live also on honey from the
mountains, and roots produced by the ground. They are barbarous people, in whom one cannot
place confidence. They are much given killing and to attacking the settlements of the other natives,
in which they commit many depredations; and there is nothing that can be done to stop them, or to
subdue or pacify them, although this is always attempted by fair or foul means, as opportunity and
necessity demand.’’
The apparel and clothing of these natives of Luzon before the entrance of the Spaniards
into the country were generally, for the men, certain short collarless garments of cangan, sewed
together in the front, and with short sleeves, and reaching slightly below the waist, some were blue
and others black, while the chiefs had some red ones, called chinanas. [218] They also whore a
strip of colored cloth wrapped about the waist, and passed between the legs, so that it covered the
privy parts, reaching half-way down the thigh; these are called banaques. [219] they go with legs
bare, feet unshod, and the head uncovered, wrapping a narrow cloth, called protong [220] just
below it, with which they bind the forehead and temples. About their necks they wear gold
necklaces, wrought like spun wax, [221] and with links in our fashion, some larger than others. On
theie arms they wear armlets of wrought gold, which they call calombigas, and which are very
large and made in different patterns. Some wear strings of precious stones- cornelians and agates;
and other blue and white stones, which they esteem highly. [222] They wear around the legs some

strings of these stones, and certain cords, covered with black pitch in many foldings, as garters.
[223]”
These principles, and lordship were inherited in the male line and by succession of father
and son and their descendants. If these were lacking, then their brothers and collateral relatives
succeeded. Their duty was to rule and govern their subjects and followers, and to assist them in
their interests and necessities. What the chiefs received from their followers was to be held by
them in great veneration and respect; and they were served in their wars and voyages, and in their
tilling, sowing, fishing, and the building of their houses. To these duties the natives attended very
promptly, whenever summoned by their chief. They also paid the chiefs tribute (which they called
buiz), in varying quantities, in the crops that they gathered. The descendants of such chiefs, and
their relatives, even though they did not inherit the lordship, were held in the same respect and
consideration. Such were all regarded as nobles, and as persons exempt from the services rendered
by others, or the plebeians, who were called timaguas. [224] The same right of nobility and
Chieftainship was preserved from the women, just as for the men. When any of these chiefs
was more courageous than others in war and upon other occasions, such a one enjoyed more
followers and men; and the others were under his leadership, even if they were chiefs. These latter
retained to themselves the lordship and particular government of their own following, which is
called barangani among them. They had datos and special leaders [mandadores] who attended to
the interests of the barangay.
The superiority of these chiefs over those of their barangani was so great that they held the
latter as subjects; they treated these well or ill, and disposed of their persons, their children, and
their possessions; at will, without any resistance, or rendering account to anyone. For every slight
annoyance and for slight occasions, they were wont to kill and wound them, and to enslave them.
It bating in the river, or who have raised their eyes to look at them less respectfully and for other
similar causes. [312]
When some natives had suits or disputes with others over matters of property and interest,
or over personal injuries and wrongs received, they appointed old men of the same district, to try
them, the parties being present. If they had to present proofs, they brought their witnesses there,
and the case was immediately judged according to what was found, according to the usages of
their ancestors on like occasions; and that sentence was observed and executed without any further
objection or delay, [313]
The natives’ laws throughout the islands were made in the same manner, and they followed
the traditions and customs of their ancestors, without anything being written. Some provinces had
different customs than others in some respects. However, they agreed in most, and in all the islands
generally the same usages were followed. [314]
There are three conditions of persons among the natives of these islands, and into which
their government is divided: the chiefs, of whom we have already treated; the timaguas, who are
equivalent to plebians; and slaves, those of both chiefs and timaguas.

The slaves were of several classes. Some were for all kinds of work and slavery, like those
which we ourselves hold. Such are called sagigilid; [315] they served inside the house, as did
likewise the children born of them. There are others who live by their own houses with their
families, outside the house of their lord; and come, at the season, to aid him in his sowings and
harvests, among his rowers when he embarks, in the construction of his house when it is being
built, and to serve in his house when there are guests of distinction. These are bound to come to
their lord’s house whenever he summons them, and to serve in these offices without any pay or
stipend. These slaves are called namamahay, [316] and their children and descendants are slaves
of the same class. From these slaves- sagigilid and namamahayan- are issue, some of whom are
whole slaves, some of whom are half slaves, and still others one-fourth slaves. It happens thus; if
either the father or the mother was free, and they had only child, he was half free and half slave. If
they had more than one child, they were divided as follows: the first follows the condition of the
father, free or slave; the second that of the mother. If there were an odd number of children, the
last was half free and half slave. Those who descended from these, if children of a free mother or
father, were only one-fourth slaves, because of being children of a free father or mother and of a
half-slave. These half slaves or one-fourth slaves, whether sagigilid or namamahay, served their
masters during every other moon; and in this respect so is such condition slavery.
In the same way, it may happen in division between heirs that a slave will fall to several,
and serves each one for the time that is due him. When the slave is not wholly slave, but half or
fourth, he has the right, because of that part that is free, to control his master to emancipate him
for a just price. This price is appraised and regulated for persons according to the quality of their
slavery, whether it be saguiguilid or namamahay, half slave or quarter slave. But if he is wholly
slave, the master cannot be compelled to ransom or emancipate him for any price.
The usual price of a saguiguilid slave among the natives is, at most, generally ten taes of
good gold, or eighty pesos, if he is namamahay. Half of that sum. The others are in the same
proportion, taking into consideration the person and his age.
No fixed beginning can be assigned as the origin of these kinds of slavery among these
natives, because all the slaves are natives of the islands, and not strangers. It is thought that they
were made in their wars and quarrels. The most certain knowledge is that the most powerful made
the others slaves, and seized them for slight cause or occasion, and many times for loans and
usurious contracts which were current among them. The interest, capital, and debt, increased so
much with delay that the barrowers became slaves. Consequently, all these slaveries have violent
and unjust beginnings; and most if the suits among the natives are over these, and they occupy the
judges in the exterior court with them, and their confessors in that of conscience. [317]
These slaves comprise the greatest wealth and capital of the natives of these islands, for
they are very useful to them and necessary for the cultivation of their property. They are sold,
traded, and exchanged among them, just as any bother mercantile article, from one village to
another, from one province to another, and likewise from one island to another. Therefore, and to
avoid so many suits as would occur if these slaveries were examined, and their origin and scurce
ascertained, they are preserved and held as they were formerly.

This marriage of these natives, commonly and generally were, and are: Chiefs with women
chiefs; timaguas with those of that rank; and slaves with those of their own class. But sometimes
these classes intermarry with one another. They considered one woman, whom they married, as
the legitimate wife and the mistress of the house; and she was styled ynasaba. [318] Those whom
they kept besides hey they considered as family. The children of the first were regarded as
legitimate and whole heirs of their parents; the children of the others were not so regarded, and left
something by assignment, but they did not inherit.
The dowry was furnished by the man, being given by his parents. The wife furnished
nothing for the marriage, until she had inherited it from her parents. The solemnity of the marriage
consisted in nothing more than the agreement between the parents and relatives of the contracting
parties, the payment of the dowry agreed upon to the father of the bride, [319] and the assembling
at the wife’s parents’ house of all the relatives to eat and drink until they would fall down. At night
the man took the woman to his house and into his power, and there she remained. These marriages
were annulled and dissolved for slight cause, which acted as mediators in the affairs. At such a
time the man took the dowry (which they call vigadicaya), [320] unless it happened that they
separated through the husband’s fault;
For when it was not returned to him, and the wife’s parents kept it. The property that they
had acquired together was divided in to halves, and each one disposed of his own. If one made any
profits in which the other did not have a share or participate, he acquired it for himself alone.
The Indians were adopted one by another, in presence of the relatives. The adopted person
gave and delivered all his actual possession to the one who adopted him. Thereupon he remained
in his house and care, and had a right to inherit with the other children. [321]
Adulteries were not punished corporally. If the adulterer paid the aggrieved party the
amount adjudged by the old men and agreed upon by them, then the injury was pardoned, and the
husband was appeased and retained his honor. He would still live with his wife and there would
be no further talk about the matter.
In inheritance all the legitimate children inherited equally from their parents whatever
property they had acquired. If there were any movable or landed property which they had received
from their parents, such went to the nearest relative and the collateral side of that stock, if there
were no legitimate children by an ynasaba. This was the case either with or without a will. In the
act of drawing a will, there was no further ceremony than to have written it or to have stated it
orally before acquaintances.
If any chief was lord of a barangay, then in that case, the eldest son of an ynasaba succeeded
him. If he died, the second son succeeded. If there were no sons, then the daughters succeeded in
the same order. If there were no legitimate successors, the succession went to the nearest relative
belonging to lineage and relationship of the chief who had been the last possessor of it.
If any native had slave women concubines of any of them, and such slave woman had
children, those children were free, as was the slave. But if she had no children, she remained a
slave. [322]

These children by a slave woman, and those borne by a married woman, were regarded as
illegitimate, and did not succeed to the inheritance with the other children, neither were the parents
obliged to leave them anything. Even if they were the sons of chiefs, they did not succeed to the
nobility or chieftainship of the parents, nor to their privileges, but they remained and were
reckoned as plebeians and in the number and rank of the other timaguas.
The contract and negotiations of these natives were generally illegal, each one paying
attention to how he might better his own business and interest.
Loans which interest were very common and much practiced, and the interest incurred was
excessive. The debt doubled and increased all the time while payment was delayed, until it stripped
the debtor of all his possessions, and he and his children, when all their property was gone, became
slaves. [323]
Their customary method of trading was by bartering one thing for another, such as food,
cloth, cattle, fowls, lands, houses, fields, slaves, fishing-grounds, and palm-trees (both nipa and
wild). At Sometimes a price intervened, which was paid in gold, as agreed upon, or in metal bells
brought from China. These bells they regard as precious jewels, resemble large pans and are very
sonorous. [324] They play upon these at their feasts, and carry them to the war in their boat instead
of drums and others instruments. There are often delays and terms for certain payments, and
bondsmen who intervene and bind themselves, but always with very usurious and excessive profits
and interests.
Crimes were punished by request of the aggrieved parties. Especially were thefts punished
with greater severity, the robbers being enslaved or sometimes put to death. [325] The same was
true of insulting words, especially when spoken to chiefs. They had among themselves many
expressions and words which they regarded as the highest insult, when said to men and women.
These were pardoned less willingly and with greater difficulty that was personal violence, such as
wounding and assaulting. [326]
Concubinage, rape, and incest, were not regarded at all, unless committed by a timagua on
the person of a woman chief. It was a quite ordinary practice for a married man to have lived a
long time in concubinage with the sister of his wife. Even before having communication which his
wife he could have had access for a long time to his mother-in-law, especially if the bride were
very young until she were of sufficient age. This was done in sight of all the relatives.
Single men are called bagontaos, [327] and girls of marriageable age, dalagas. Both classes
are people of little restraint, and from early childhood they have communication with one another,
and mingle with facility and little secrecy, and without this being regarded among the natives as a
cause for anger. Neither do the parents, brothers, or relatives, show any anger, especially if there
is any material interest in it, and but little is sufficient with each and all.
As long as these natives lived in their paganism, it was not known that they had fallen into
the abominate sin against nature. But after the Spaniards had entered their country, through
communication with them—and still more, through that with the Sangleys, who have come from

China, and are much given to that vice—it has been communicated to them somewhat, both to
men and to women. In this matter it has been necessary to take action.
The native of the islands of Pintados, especially the women, are very vicious and sensual.
Their perverseness has discovered lascivious methods of communication between men and
women; and there is one to which they are accustomed from their youth. The men skillfully make
a hole in their virile member near its head, and insert therein a serpent’s head, either of metal or
ivory, and fasten it with a peg of the same material passed through the hole, so that it cannot
become unfastened. With this device, they have communication with their wives, and are unable
to withdraw until a long time after copulation. They are very fond of this and receive much pleasure
from it, so that, although devices are called sagras, and there are very few of them, because since
they have become Christians, strenuous efforts are being made to do away with these, and not
consent to their use; and consequently the practice has been checked in great part. [328]
Herbalist and witches are common among these natives, but are not punished or prohibited
among them, so long as they do not cause any special harm, But seldom could that be ascertained
or known.
There were also when whose business was to ravish and take away virginity from young
girls. These girls were taken to such men, and the latter were paid for ravishing them, for the
natives considered it a hindrance and acquaintance if the girls were virgins when they married.
In matters of religion, the natives proceeded more barbarously and with greater blindness
than in all the rest. For besides being pagans, without any knowledge of the true God, they neither
strove to discover Him by way of reason, nor had any fixed belief. The devil usually deceived
them with a thousand errors and blindness. He appeared to them in various horrible and frightful
forms, and as fierce animals, so that they feared Him and trembled before Him. They generally
worshiped him, and made images of him in the said forms. These they kept in caves and private
houses, where they offered them perfumes them perfumes and odors, and food and fruit, calling
them anitos. [329]
Others worshiped the sun and the moon, and made feasts and drunken revels at the
conjunction of those bodies. Some worshipped a yellow-colored bird that dwells in their woods,
called batala. They generally worship and adore the crocodiles when they see them, by kneeling
down and clasping their hanads, because of the harm that they receive from those reptiles; they
believe that by so doing the crocodile will become appeased and leave them. Their oaths,
execrations, and promises are all as above mentioned, namely, “May buhayan eat thee, if thou dost
not speak truth, or fulfil what thou hast promised,’’ and similar things.
There were no temples throughout those islands, nor houses generally used for the worship
of idols; but each person possessed and made his house own anitos, [330] without any fixed rite
or ceremony. They had no priests or religious to attend to religious affairs, except certain old men
and women called catalonas. These were experienced witches and sorcerers, who kept the other
people deceived. The latter communicated to these sorcerers their desires and needs, and the
catalonas told them innumerable extravagancies and lies. The catalonas uttered prayers and
performed other ceremonies to the idols for the sick; and they believed in omens and superstitions,

with witch the devil inspired them, whereby they declared whether the patient would recover or
die. Such were their cures and methods, and they used various kinds of divinations for all things.
All this was with so little aid, apparatus, or foundation—which God permitted, so that the
preaching of the holy gospel should find those of that region better prepared for it, and so that
those natives would confess the truth more easily, and it, and would be less difficult to withdraw
them from their darkness, and the errors in which the devil kept them for so many years. They
never sacrificed human beings as is done in other kingdoms. They believed that there was a future
life where those who had been brave and performed valiant feats would be rewarded; while those
who had done evil would be punished. But they did not know how or where this would be. [331]
Source:
De Morga, Antonio. History of the Philippine islands: From their discovery by Magellan in 1521
to the beginning of the XVII Century; with description of Japan, China and adjacent countries.
Translated by Blair and Robertson. Ohio: The Arthur and Clark Company. 1907.
Learning Activity: Reaction Paper
Requirements:
1. Based on your critical analysis of the above description of Antonio de Morga about the
early inhabitants of the then called Philippine islands, draw some points which you do
not agree about the Filipino people before the Spanish colonization. Provide evidence of
your argument.
2. Do you think some of the observed characteristics of culture and practices of the early
Filipinos still exist now a days? Give examples, if there is. Justify if there is none.

Lesson 3: Week 4
The Manunggul Jar

Learning Objectives

• Identify the parts of the Manunggul jar
• Interpret the significance and symbolisms of the design of the jar
• Relate the design of the jar with the cultural practices of the early civilization
• Illustrate the significance of the discovery of the jar to the history of the Philippines
The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic burial site in
Manunggul cave of Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point at Palawan dating from 890–710 B.C. The two
prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey of the soul to the afterlife.
The Manunggul Jar is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest Philippine pre-colonial
artworks ever produced and is a considered a masterpiece. It is denoted a national treasure and it
is designated as item 64-MO-74 by the National Museum of the Philippines. It is now housed at
the Museum of the Filipino People and is one of the most popular exhibits there. It is made from
clay with some sand soil.
The cultural treasure found in the early 1960’s in
Manunggul Cave, Lipuun Point, Palawan is a secondary burial
jar. The upper portion of the jar, as well as the cover is incised
with curvilinear scroll designs and painted with natural iron or
hematite. On top of the jar cover or lid is a boat with two human
figures representing two souls on a voyage to the afterlife. The
boatman is seated behind a figure whose hands are crossed on
the chest. The position of the hands is a traditional Filipino
practice observed when arranging the corpse.
The burial jar which is unrivaled in Southeast Asia and

considered as the work of a master potter, signifies the belief
of early Filipinos in life after death. It is dated to the late
Neolithic Period, about 890-710 B.C.
Discovery of the Jar

The Manunggul Jar was found by Dr. Robert B.
Fox and Miguel Antonio in 1962. It was found alongside the discovery of the remains of Tabon
Man. It was recovered by Dr. Fox in Chamber A of Manunggul Cave in Southwestern
Palawan. Manunggul Cave is one of the Tabon Caves in Lipuun Point. In the expansion, the Tabon

Caves is known to be a site of jar burials with artefacts dating a range from 4250-2000
BP. Chamber A dates as a Late Neolithic burial site (890-710 BC). Seventy-eight jars and
earthenwares, including the Manunggul Jar, was discovered on the subsurface and surface of
Chamber A. Each artifact varied in design and form but was evidently types of funerary pottery.
First Excavation and Response to Discovery

As mentioned earlier, the first ever excavation that gave way to the discovery of this burial
jar is on the year 1964 by Dr. Robert Fox. During that time, he and his team were excavating the
Tabon Cave Complex, specifically in the Lipuun Point. In Fox’s excavation, it is yet the most
unusual in all angles. The inside of the jar contains human bones which are covered in red paint.
Like the Egyptian burial practice, the jar was also found to be equipped with numerous bracelets.
“... is perhaps unrivaled in Southeast Asia, the work of an artist and a master potter.” — These
words were said by Robert Fox when asked as to how he would describe the jar’s origin, based
from its appearance.
Design of the Jar

The fine lines and complex design of the Manunggul Jar reflect the artistry of the early
Filipinos.
The Manunggul Jar shows that the Filipinos' maritime culture is paramount that it reflected
its ancestors' religious beliefs. Many epics around the Philippines would tell how souls go to the
next life, aboard boats, pass through the rivers and seas. This belief is connected with
the Austronesian belief of the anito. The fine lines and intricate designs of the Manunggul Jar
reflect the artistry of early Filipinos. These designs are proof of the Filipinos' common heritage
from the Austronesian-speaking ancestors despite the diversity of the cultures of the Filipinos.
The upper part of the Manunggul jar, as well as the cover, is carved with curvilinear scroll designs
which are painted with hematite. The depiction of sea-waves on the lid places this Manunggul jar
in the Sa Huỳnh culture pottery tradition. These are people that migrated in an East to West
migration from the Borneo-Palawan area to Southern Vietnam. Early Filipinos believed that a man
is composed of a body, a life force called ginhawa, and a kaluluwa.
This explains why the design of the cover of the Manunggul Jar features three faces - the soul, the
boatman, and the boat itself. The faces of the figures and on the prow of the boat have eyes and
mouth rendered in the same style as other artifacts of Southeast Asia of that period. The two human
figures in a boat represent a voyage to the afterlife. The boatman is holding a steering paddle while
the one on his front shows hands crossed on his chest. The steersman's oar is missing its paddle,
as is the mast in the center of the boat, against which the steersman would have braced his feet.
The manner in which the hands of the front figure are folded across the chest is a widespread

practice in the Philippines when arranging the corpse. The cover of Manunggul Jar provides a clear
example of a cultural link between the archeological past and the ethnographic present. It also
signifies the belief of ancient Filipinos in life after death.
The Manunggul Jar tells us of our connections with our Southeast Asian neighbors. The
design is a proof of our common heritage from our Austronesian-speaking ancestors despite the
diversity of the cultures of the Philippine peoples.5 Traces of their culture and beliefs can still be
seen in different parts of the country and from different Philippine ethno-linguistic groups,
reminding us that there can be a basis for the so-called “imagined community” called the Filipino
nation.
The Manunggul Jar tells us of how important the waters were to our ancestors. Before the
internet, the telephone, the telegram, and the plane, the seas and the rivers were their conduit of
trade, information and communication.6 In the Philippine archipelago, that, according to Peter
Bellwood, the Southeast Asians first developed a sophisticated maritime culture which made
possible the spread of the Austronesian-speaking peoples to the Pacific Islands as far Madagascar
in Africa and Easter Island near South America.Our ships—the balanghay, the paraw, the caracoa,
and the like—were considered marvelous technological advances by our neighbors that they
respected us and made us partners in trade, these neighbors including the imperial Chinese.
The Manunggul Jar shows that our maritime culture is so paramount to us that it reflected
our ancestor’s religious beliefs. Many epics around the Philippines would tell us of how souls go
to the next life aboard boats, passing through the rivers and seas. The belief is very much connected
with the Austronesia belief in the anito. Our ancestors believed that man is composed of the body,
the life force called the ginhawa, and the kaluluwa. The kaluluwa, after death, can return to earth
to exist in nature to guide their descendants. This explains why the design of the cover of the
Manunggul Jar features three faces, those of the soul, of the boat driver, and of the boat itself. For
them, even things from nature have souls, have lives of their own. That’s why our ancestors
respected nature more than those who thought that it can be used for the ends of man.
Source: https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/Manunggul.htm
Learning Activity: Map Analysis
Requirements:
1. Given the map below, extracted from Google Earth, the Tabon Caves in the Lipuun Point of
Palawan where the Manunggul Jar was discovered are facing the South China Sea and the
Spratly Islands. Below the Palawan peninsula is the island of Borneo. Do you find any
relationship between the symbolism of the design of the jar and the surrounding environment?
What do you think is the source of inspiration in such design given its environment?
2. Using your own analysis of the map, formulate your own theory of the possible role of the
Palawan peninsula in the history of civilization in the early Philippines.

Map generated from Google Earth
Palawan Peninsula
Manunggul, Tabon Caves
Lipuun Point,
Quezon, Palawan

Lesson 4: Week 5
The Laguna Copperplate

Learning Objectives
• Restate the English translation of the inscription in the copperplate
• Explain the relevance of the discovery of the copperplate to Philippine historiography
• Justify the existence of advanced Philippine civilization prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards

Learning Activity: Critical Discourse
Requirement:
1. What do you think is the use of the discovered copperplate in Laguna in writing the
history of the Philippines?
2. The copperplate was accidentally discovered by a man who was dredging sand in
Lumbang River in Laguna. Dredging is part of a quarrying activity for the purpose of
accumulating sand and gravel for construction purposes. With the emergence of many
quarrying activities now a days, do you think there is still a possibility of discovering
more artifacts with the same value as the Laguna copperplate? What do you think is the
role of the National Historical Commission in making sure that areas with possible
historical value are protected and regulated?
3. Presidential Decree No. 1586 declares that any area which has historical significance or
has unique historic, archaeological, and scientific interests are considered
environmentally critical. Hence, the place where the copperplate was discovered should
be now considered environmentally critical area. You are hereby tasked to produce any
evidence like news clips, online article, or photo or any document to prove that the area
where the copperplate was discovered is already protected by the government. If there is
none, you are going to formulate recommendation to any concerned government agency
or local government unit.

Lesson 5: Week 6
Duties of the Katipunan of the Sons of the People

(KKK)
Learning Objectives
• Recite the decalogue of the Katipunan
• Examine the practicality of the decalogue during the time of revolution
• Compare the decalogue with the vision and mission of the Philippine National Police and
Philippine Army
• Construct a personalized decalogue for the present-day heroes

Although unpublished during Bonifacio’s lifetime, this Decalogue is today well known, printed in
schoolbooks and inscribed on monuments. The format in which Bonifacio sets out the duties of KKK
members obviously derives from the Old Testament, and in content the injunctions echo the “Programa
Masonica” and “Codigo Masonico” of the Gran Oriente Espanol. The “Codigo” for instance, similarly
opens with the direction to exalt the Creator, and similarly extols charity and love for one’s fellows. It, too,
enjoins lodge members to be calm, to be guided by reason, and to support one another, “even at the cost of
one’s life.” It, too, says members who break their obligations will be duly punished.
The crucial difference between the, masonic credo and Bonifacio’s Decalogue is one of ultimate
purpose. The mission of masonry, according to the Gran Oriente’s “Programa”, is exclusively humanitarian:
it strives to “foster charity and philanthropy among free men of good standing” and to establish a “fraternity
among mankind.” The mission of the Katipunan, the Decalogue makes clear, is to liberate the country from
enslavement.
Duties of the Sons of the People
1. Believe with a fervent heart in the creator.
2. Reflect always that a sincere faith in him involves love of one’s native land, because this
shows true love for one’s fellows.
3. Engrave on the heart the conviction that to die for the liberation of the country from
enslavement is the highest honor and fortune.
4. In any endeavor, the realization of good aspirations depends on calmness, perseverance,
reason and hope.
5. Guard the instructions and plan of the K K K as you would guard your own honor.
6. Anyone who falls into danger whist carrying out their duties should be supported by all, and
rescued even at the cost of life and riches.
7. Let each of us strive in the performance our duty to set a good example for others to follow.
8. Share whatever you can with whoever is needy.
9. Diligence in earning a livelihood is a true expression of love and affection for self, spouse,
children, brothers or compatriots.
10. Believe absolutely that scoundrels and traitors will be punished and good deeds will be
rewarded. Believe, likewise, that the aims of the K K K are blessed by creator, for the will of
the people is also His will.
Learning Activity: Personalized Decalogue Construction

Requirement:
Create your own decalogue dedicated to all frontliners during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Note that frontliners are considered modern-day heroes.

Lesson 6: Week 7
Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence

Written and Read by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista on June 12, 1898 at Cavite del Viejo (Kawit)
• Examine the contents of the act of declaration

Source: “Declaration of Philippine Independence.” In The Laws of the First Philippine Republic (The
Laws of Malolos), edited by Sulpicio Guevara, 203-206. Manila: National Historical Commission, 1972.
Learning Activity: Evaluative Essay
Requirements:
1. What does the document want to convey?
2. How did the revolutionaries regard Aguinaldo based on the document?
3. According to the document, what do the symbols in the Philippine flag represent?
4. How did the Filipinos regard the United States according to the document?
5. What is the importance of this document in the history of our country?

Lesson 7: Week 8
1899 CONSTITUTION OF THE

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
(MALOLOS CONVENTION)
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:
• Examine the contents of the Malolos Constitution

• Appraise the prevailing conditions when the first constitution was made
• Sort significant provisions that still remain in the present constitution of the Philippines
The President of the Council,

Apolinario Mabini.
PREAMBLE
We, the Representatives of the Filipino people, lawfully convened, in order to establish justice, provide for
common defense, promote the general welfare, and insure the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of the
Sovereign Legislator of the Universe for the attainment of these ends, have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the
following:
POLITICAL CONSTITUTION
TITLE I
THE REPUBLIC
Article 1. The political association of all Filipinos constitutes a nation, whose state shall be known as the
Philippine Republic
Article 2. The Philippine Republic is free and independent
Article 3. Sovereignty resides exclusively in the people.
TITLE II
THE GOVERNMENT
Article 4. The Government of the Republic is popular, representative, alternative, and responsible, and shall
exercise three distinct powers: namely, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Any two or more of these

three powers shall never be united in one person or cooperation, nor the legislative power vested in one single
individual.
TITLE III
RELIGION
Article 5. The State recognizes the freedom and equality of all religions, as well as the separation of the Church
and the State.
TITLE IV
THE FILIPINOS AND THEIR NATIONAL
AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
Article 6. The following are Filipinos:
1. All persons born in the Philippine territory. A vessel of Philippine registry is considered, for this
purpose, as part of Philippine territory.
2. Children of a Filipino father or mother, although born outside of the Philippines.
3. Foreigners who have obtained certification of naturalization.
4. Those who, without such certificate, have acquired a domicile in any town within Philippine territory.
It is understood that domicile is acquired by uninterrupted residence for two years in any locality within
Philippine territory, with an open abode and known occupation, and contributing to all the taxes imposed by the
Nation.
The condition of being a Filipino is lost in accordance with law.
Article 7. No Filipino or foreigner shall be detained nor imprisoned except for the commission of a crime and
in accordance with law.
Article 8. All persons detained shall be discharged or delivered to the judicial authority within 24 hours
following the act of detention. All detentions shall be without legal effect, unless the arrested person is duly
prosecuted within 72 hours after delivery to a competent court. The accused shall be duly notified of such
proceeding within the same period.
Article 9. No Filipino shall be imprisoned except by virtue of an order by a competent court. The order of
imprisonment shall be ratified or confirmed within 72 hours following the said order, after the accused has been
heard.
Article 10. No one shall enter the dwelling house of any Filipino or a foreigner residing in the Philippines
without his consent except in urgent cases of fire, inundation, earthquake or similar dangers, or by reason of
unlawful aggression from within, or in order to assist a person therein who cries for help. Outside of these cases,
the entry into the dwelling house of any Filipino or foreign resident in the Philippines or the search of his papers
and effects can only be decreed by a competent court and executed only in the daytime. The search of papers
and effects shall be made always in the presence of the person searched or of a member of his family and, in
their absence, of two witnesses resident of the same place. However, when a criminal caught in fraganti should
take refuge in his dwelling house, the authorities in pursuit may enter into it, only for the purpose of making an
arrest. If a criminal should take refuge in the dwelling house of a foreigner, the consent of a latter must first be
obtained.

Article 11. No Filipino shall be compelled to change his residence or domicile except by virtue of a final
judgment.
Article 12. In no case may correspondence confided to the post office be detained or opened by government
authorities, nor any telegraphic or telephonic message detained. However, by virtue of a competent court,
correspondence may be detained and opened in the presence of the sender.
Article 13. All orders of imprisonment, of search of a dwelling house, or detention of written correspondence,
telegraph or telephone, must be justified. When an order lacks this requisite, or when the grounds on which the
act was founded is proven in court to be unlawful or manifestly insufficient, the person to be detained or whose
imprisonment has not been ratified within the period prescribed in Art. 9, or whose correspondence has been
detained, shall have the right to recover damages.
Article 14. No Filipino shall be prosecuted or sentenced, except by a judge or court of proper jurisdiction and
according to the procedure prescribed by law.
Article 15. Except in the cases provided by the Constitution, all persons detained or imprisoned not in
accordance with legal formalities shall be released upon his own petition or upon petition of another person. The
law shall determine the manner of proceeding summarily in this instance, as well as the personal and pecuniary
penalties which shall be imposed upon the person who ordered, executed or to be executed the illegal detention
or imprisonment.
Article 16. No one shall be temporarily or permanently deprived of rights or dstured in his enjoyment thereof,
except by virtue of judicial sentence. The officials who, under any pretext whatsoever, should violate this
provision, shall be personally liable for the damages caused.
Article 17. No one shall be deprived of his property by expropriation except on grounds of public necessity and
benefit, previously declared and justified by proper authorities, and indemnifying the owner thereof prior to
expropriation.
Article 18. No one shall be obliged to pay any public tax which had not been approved by the National Assembly
or by local popular governments legally so authorized, and which is not in the manner prescribed by the law.
Article 19. No Filipino who is in full enjoyment of his civil or political rights, shall be impeded in the free
exercise of said rights.
Article 20. Neither shall any Filipino be deprived:
1. Of the right to freely express his ideas or opinions, orally or in writing, through the use of the press or
other similar means.
2. Of the right of association for purposes of human life and which are not contrary to public morals; and
lastly
3. Of the right to send petitions to the authorities, individually or collectively.
The right of petition shall not be exercised through any kind of armed force.
Article 21. The exercise of the rights provided for in the preceding article shall be subject to general provisions
regulating the same.
Article 22. Crimes committed on the occasion of the exercise of rights provided for in this title, shall be punished
by the courts in accordance with the laws.

Article 23. Any Filipino may establish and maintain institutions of learning, in accordance with the laws
authorizing them. Public education shall be free and obligatory in all schools of the nation.
Article 24. Foreigners may freely reside in Philippine territory, subject to legal dispositions regulating the
matter; may engage in any occupation or profession for the exercise of which no special license is required by
law to be issued by the national authorities.
Article 25. No Filipino who is in full enjoyment of his political and civil rights shall be impeded in his right to
travel freely abroad or in his right to transfer his residence or possessions to another country, except as to his
obligations to contribute to military service or the maintenance of public taxes.
Article 26. No foreigner who has not been naturalized may exercise in the Philippines any office which carries
with it any authority or jurisdictional powers.
Article 27. All Filipinos are obliged to defend his country with arms when called upon by law, and to contribute
to the expenses of the State in proportion to his means.
Article 28. The enumeration of the rights provided for in this title does not imply the denial of other rights not
mentioned.
Article 29. The prior authorization to prosecute a public official in the ordinary courts is not necessary, whatever
may be the crime committed.
A superior order shall not exempt a public official from liability in the cases which constitute apparent and clear
violations of constitutional precepts. In others, the agents of the law shall only be exempted if they did not
exercise the authority.
Article 30. The guarantees provided for in Articles 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 20 shall
not be suspended, partially or wholly, in any part of the Republic, except temporarily and by authority of law,
when the security of the State in extraordinary circumstances so demands.
When promulgated in any territory where the suspension applies, there shall be a special law which shall govern
during the period of the suspension, according to the circumstances prevailing.
The law of suspension as well as the special law to govern shall be approved by the National Assembly, and in
case the latter is in recess, the Government shall have the power to decree the same jointly with the Permanent
Commission, without prejudice to convoking the Assembly without the least delay and report to it what had been
done.
However, any suspension made shall not affect more rights than those mentioned in the first paragraph of this
Article nor authorize the Government to banish or deport from the Philippines any Filipino.
Article 31. In the Republic of the Philippines, no one shall be judged by a special law nor by special tribunals.
No person or corporation may enjoy privileges or emoluments which are not in compensation for public service
rendered and authorized by law. War and marine laws shall apply only for crimes and delicts which have intimate
relation to military or naval discipline.
Article 32. No Filipino shall establish laws on primogeniture, nor institutions restrictive of property rights, nor
accept honors, decorations, or honorific titles or nobility from foreign nations without the consent of the
Government. Neither shall the Government establish in the Republic institutions mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, nor confer honors, decorations, or honorific titles of nobility to any Filipino.

The Nation, however, may reward by special law approved by the Assembly, conspicuous services rendered by
citizens of the country.
TITLE V
THE LEGISLATIVE POWER
Article 33. Legislative power shall be exercised by an Assembly of Representatives of the Nation.
This Assembly shall be organized in the form and manner determined by law.
Article 34. The Members of the Assembly shall represent the who nation and not exclusively the electors who
elected them.
Article 35. No representative shall receive from his electors any imperative mandate whatsoever.
Article 36. The Assembly shall meet every year. The President of the Republic has the right to convoke it,
suspend and close its sessions, and dissolve the same, within the periods prescribed by law enacted by the
Assembly or by the Permanent Commission.
Article 37. The Assembly shall be open at least three months each year, without including in this period the time
spent in its organization.
The President of the Republic shall convoke the Assembly, not later than the 15th day of April.
Article 38. In extraordinary cases, he may convoke the Assembly outside of the period fixed by law, as
determined by the Permanent Commission, and prolong its law-making, provided the extended period does not
exceed one month and provided further that such extensions do not take place more than twice during the same
legislative term.
Article 39. The National Assembly, jointly with the special Representatives, shall organize committees for the
organization of the Assembly and for the election of the new President of the Republic, which shall be formed
at least one month before the expiration of the term of office of the Representatives.
In case of death or resignation of the President of the Republic, the Assembly shall meet in session by its own
right or by initiative of the President or of the Permanent Commission.
Article 40. In the meantime, that the new President has not been chosen, his functions shall be exercised by the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court whose office shall be taken over by one of the Justices of the Court, in
accordance with law.
Article 41. Any session of the Assembly held outside the period of ordinary legislature shall be unlawful and
void. The case provided in Article 30 and in which the Assembly has constituted itself into a Tribunal of Justice
shall be excepted, but in the latter case no other functions shall be exercised except that pertaining to judicial
functions.
Article 42. The sessions of the Assembly shall be public. However, sessions may be held in secret upon petition
of a certain number of its members fixed by the Rules, deciding afterwards by an absolute majority of votes of
the members present if the discussion on the same subject has to continue in public.
Article 43. The President of the Republic shall communicate with the Assembly by means of messages, which
shall be read by a Department Secretary.

The Department Secretaries shall have the right to be heard in the Assembly, upon their request, and they may
be represented in the discussion of certain bills by Commissioners appointed by decrees of the President of the
Republic.
Article 44. The Assembly may constitute itself into a Tribunal of Justice to hear and determine crimes committed
against the security of the State by the President of the Republic and members of the Council of Government,
by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and by the Solicitor General of the Nation, by means of a decree
promulgating it, or by the Permanent Commission, or by the President of the Republic upon petition of the
Solicitor General or Council of Government.
The law shall determine the mode and manner of the accusation, instruction, and disposition of the proceedings.
Article 45. No member of the Assembly shall be prosecuted nor held accountable for the opinions expressed by
him, nor by the vote taken by him in the discharge of his office.
Article 46. No member of the Assembly shall be prosecuted criminally without authority of the Assembly or of
the Permanent Commission to which an immediate report of the facts shall be made, for its proper action.
The imprisonment, detention, or apprehension of a member of the Assembly shall not be carried out without the
prior authority of the same or by the Permanent Commission. The moment the Assembly is notified of the order
of imprisonment, it shall incur liability if, within two days following the notification, it does not authorize the
imprisonment or give sufficient reason upon which the refusal is based.
Article 47. The National Assembly shall have the following additional powers:
1. To approve Rules for its internal government.

2. To examine the legality of the elections and the legal qualifications of the elected members.
3. To elect its President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretaries.
Until the Assembly has been dissolved, the President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretaries shall continue to
exercise their office for the period of four legislative terms; and
4. To accept the resignations of its members and grant privileges in accordance with the Rules.
Article 48. No bill shall become law without having been voted on by the Assembly. To approve a bill, the
presence in the Assembly of at least one-fourth of the total number of the members whose elections have been
duly approved and taken the oath of office shall be necessary.
Article 49. No bill shall be approved by the Assembly until after it has been voted upon as a whole and
subsequently article by article.
Article 50. The Assembly shall have the right of censure, and each of the members the right of interpellation.
Article 51. The initiative in the presentation of bills belongs to the President of the Republic and to the Assembly.
Article 52. Any member of the Assembly who accepts from the Government any pension, employment, or office
with salary, is understood to have renounced his membership. From this shall be excepted the employment as
Secretary of the Government of the Republic and other offices provided for by special laws.
Article 53. The office of Representatives shall be for a term of four years, and shall be compensated by a sum
fixed by law, according to the circumstances.

Those who absent themselves during the entire period of the legislative sessions shall not be entitled to any
compensation; but they may be allowed to recover the right to compensation should they attend subsequently.
TITLE VI
THE PERMANENT COMMISSION
Article 54. The Assembly, before adjournment, shall elect seven of its members to form the Permanent
Commission during the period of adjournment, which shall designate at its first session, the President and the
Secretary.
Article 55. The Permanent Commission, during the adjournment of the Assembly, shall have the following
attributes:
1. Declare if there is sufficient cause to proceed against the President of the Republic, the Representatives,
Department secretaries, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Solicitor-General in the cases
provided by this Constitution.
2. Convoke the Assembly to a special session in the cases where the latter should constitute itself into a
Tribunal of Justice.
3. To act upon pending matters which require proper action.
4. Convoke the Assembly in special sessions when the exigencies of the situation so demand.
5. Supplement the powers of the Assembly in accordance with the Constitution, excepting the act of voting
and approving laws.
The Permanent Commission shall meet in session whenever convoked by the presiding officer, in accordance
with this Constitution.
TITLE VII
THE EXECUTIVE POWER
Article 56. The Executive Power shall be vested in the President of the Republic, who shall exercise it through
his Department Secretaries.
Article 57. The administration of the particular interests of towns, provinces, and of the State shall correspond,
respectively, to the Popular Assembles, the Provincial Assemblies, and to the Administration in power, in
accordance with the laws, and observing the most liberal policy of decentralization and administrative autonomy.
TITLE VIII
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 58. The President of the Republic shall be elected by absolute majority of votes by the Assembly and by
the special Representatives, convened in chamber assembles. His term of office shall be four years, and may be
reelected.
Article 59. The President of the Republic shall have the right to initiate the introduction of bills equally with the
members of the Assembly, and promulgate the laws when duly voted and approved by the latter, and shall see
to it that the same are duly executed.
Article 60. The power to execute the laws shall extend to all cases conducive to the preservation of internal
public order and to the external security of the State.

Article 61. The President shall promulgate the laws duly approved by him within 20 days following their
transmittal to him by the Assembly.
Article 62. If within this period, the President should fail to promulgate them, he shall return them to the
Assembly with his reasons for the return, in which case the Assembly may reconsider same, and it shall be
presumed by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present in a quorum. If repassed in
the manner indicated, the Government shall promulgate same within ten days, with a manifestation of its non-
conformity. The obligation is imposed upon the Government if it allows twenty days to elapse without returning
the bill to the Assembly.
Article 63. When the promulgation of a law has been declared urgent by express will of an absolute majority of
votes of the Assembly, the President of the Republic may require the Assembly to re-approve same which cannot
be refused, and if the same bill is repassed, the President shall promulgate it within the legal period, without
prejudice to his making of record his non-conformity with the bill.
Article 64. The promulgation of laws shall be made by publishing them in the official gazette of the Republic,
and shall have the force of law thirty days following such publication.
Article 65. The President of the Republic shall have at his disposal the army and the navy, and may declare war
and make and ratify treaties with the prior consent of the Assembly.
Article 66. Treaties of peace shall not take effect until voted upon by the Assembly.
Article 67. The President of the Republic, in addition to his duty to execute the laws, shall:
1. Supervise civil and military employees in accordance with the laws.

2. Appoint the Secretaries of the Government.
3. Direct the diplomatic and commercial relations with foreign powers.
4. See to it that justice is duly and promptly administered throughout the Philippines.
5. Grant pardon to convicted criminals in accordance with the laws, except any special provision relating
to the Secretaries of the Government.
6. Preside over all national functions and receive ambassadors and accredited representatives of foreign
powers.
Article 68. The President of the Republic may be authorized by special law:
1. To alienate, transfer or exchange any portion of Philippine territory.

2. To incorporate any other territory to the Philippine territory.
3. To admit the stationing of foreign troops in Philippine territory.
4. To ratify of alliance, defensive as well as offensive, special treaties of commerce, those which stipulate
to grant subsidies to a foreign power, and those which may compel Filipinos to render personal service.
Secret treaties in no case may prevail over the provisions of open treaties or treaties made publicly.
5. To grant general amnesties and pardons.

6. To coin money.
Article 69. To the President belongs the power to issue regulations for the compliance and application of the
laws in accordance with the requisites prescribed in said laws.

Article 70. The President of the Philippines, with the prior approval by majority vote of the Representatives,
may dissolve the Assembly before the expiration of its legislation term. In this case, new elections shall be called
within three months.
Article 71. The President of the Republic may be held liable only for cases of high treason.
Article 72. The salary of the President of the Republic shall be fixed by special law which may not be changed
except after the presidential term has expired.
TITLE IX
THE SECRETARIES OF GOVERNMENT
Article 73. The Council of Government is composed of one President and seven secretaries, each of whom shall
have under his charge the portfolios of Foreign Relations, Interior, Finance, War and Marine, Public Education,
Communications and Public Works, and Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce.
Article 74. All the acts done by the President of the Republic in the discharge of his duties shall be signed by
the corresponding Secretary. No public official shall give official recognition to any act unless this requisite is
complied with.
Article 75. The Secretaries of Government are jointly responsible to the Assembly for the general administration
of the Government, and individually for their respective personal acts.
Article 76. In order to exempt them from responsibility, when held guilty by the Assembly, a petition to this
effect approved by absolute majority of the Representatives is necessary.
TITLE X
THE JUDICIAL POWER
Article 77. To the Court corresponds exclusively the power to apply the laws, in the name of the Nation, in all
civil and criminal trials. The same codes of laws shall be applied throughout the Republic, without prejudice to
certain variations according to circumstances as determined by law. In all trials, civil, criminal, and
administrative, all citizens shall be governed by one code of laws and procedure.
Article 78. The courts of justice shall not apply general local regulations, except when they conform to the laws.
Article 79. The exercise of judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in other courts established
by law. Their composition, organization, and other attributes shall be determined by the laws creating them.
Article 80. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Solicitor-General shall be chosen by the National
Assembly in concurrence with the President of the Republic and the Secretaries of the Government, and shall be
absolutely independent of the Legislative and Executive Powers.
Article 81. Any citizen may file suit against any member exercising the Judicial Power for any crime committed
by them in the discharge of their office.
TITLE XI
PROVINCIAL AND POPULAR ASSEMBLIES
Article 82. The organization and attributes of provincial and popular assemblies shall be governed by their
respective laws. These laws shall conform to the following principles:

1. The government and management of the particular interests of the province or town shall be discharged
by their respective corporations, the principle of direct and popular elections being the basis underlying
each of them.
2. Publicity of their sessions, within the limits provided by law.
3. Publication of all appropriations, accounts, and agreements affecting same.
4. Government interference and, in the absence thereof, by the National Assembly, to prevent provinces
and municipalities exceeding their powers and attributes to the prejudice of the interest of individuals
and of the Nation at large.
5. Power of taxation shall be exercised to the end that provincial and municipal taxation do not come into
conflict with the power of taxation of the State.
TITLE XII
ADMINISTRATION OF THE STATE
Article 83. The Government shall submit every year to the Assembly a budget of expenditures and income,
indicating the changes made from those of the preceding year, accompanying the same with a balance sheet as
of the end of the year, in accordance with law. This budget shall be submitted to the Assembly within ten days
following the commencement of its session.
Article 85. The Government, in order to dispose of the property and effects of the State, and to borrow money
secured by mortgage or credit of the Nation, must be authorized by special law.
Article 86. Public debts contracted by the Government of the Republic, in accordance with the provisions of this
Constitution, shall be under the special guarantee of the Nation.
No debt shall be contracted unless the means of paying the same are voted upon.
Article 87. All laws relating to income, public expenses, or public credits shall be considered as part of the
appropriation and shall be published as such.
Article 88. The Assembly shall determine every year, upon the recommendation of the President of the Republic,
the military forces by land and sea.
TITLE XIII
AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION
Article 89. The Assembly, on its own initiative or that of the President of the Republic, may propose
amendments to the Constitution, indicating what Article or Articles are to be amended.
Article 90. This proposal having been made, the President of the Republic shall dissolve the Assembly, and shall
convoke a Constituent Assembly which shall meet within three months. In the decree convoking the Constituent
Assembly, the resolution mentioned in the preceding Article shall be inserted.
TITLE XIV
CONSTITUTIONAL OBSERVANCE,
OATH, AND LANGUAGE
Article 91. The President of the Republic, the Government, the Assembly, and all Filipino citizens shall
faithfully observe the provisions of the Constitution; and the Legislative Power, upon approval of the

Appropriations Act, shall examine if the Constitution has been strictly complied with and whether violations, if
any, have been duly corrected and those responsible for the violations held liable.
Article 92. The President of the Republic and all other officials of the Nation shall not enter into the discharge
of their office without having taken the prescribed oath. The oath of the President of the Republic shall be taken
before the National Assembly. The other officials of the Nation shall take their oath before the authorities
determined by law.
Article 93. The use of languages spoken in the Philippines shall be optional. Their use cannot be regulated except
by virtue of law, and solely for acts of public authority and in the courts. For these acts the Spanish language
may be used in the meantime.
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
Article 94. Meanwhile and without prejudice to the provisions of Article 48 and to the acts of the commissions
designated by the Assembly to translate and submit to the same the organic laws in the development and
application of the rights granted to Filipino citizens and for the government of public powers therein mentioned,
the laws of the Republic shall be considered those found existing in these islands before the emancipation of the
same.
The provisions of the Civil Code relating to marriage and civil registry, suspended by the Governor General of
these islands; the Instructions of April 26, 1888 to carry into effect Articles 77, 78, 79, and 82 of said Code; the
law on civil registry of June 17, 1870 which refers to Article 332 of the same, and the Regulation of December
13 following for the enforcement of this law, without prejudice to the Chiefs of towns continuing to be in charge
of inscriptions in the civil registry and intervening in the celebration of marriage between Catholics, shall also
be deemed in force and effect.
Article 95. In the meantime that the laws referred to in the preceding Article have not been approved or enforced,
the Spanish laws which said article allows to be enforced provisionally may be amended by special law.
Article 96. Once the laws approved by the Assembly have been promulgated in accordance with Article 94, the
Article 94, the Government of the Republic shall have the power to issue decrees and regulations necessary for
the immediate organization of the various organs of the State.
Article 97. The present President of the Revolutionary Government shall assume later the title of President of
the Republic and shall discharge the duties of this office until the Assembly when convoked proceeds to the
election of one who shall definitely exercise the duties of the office.
Article 98. The present Congress, composed of members by suffrage or by decree, shall last for four years, or
for the duration of the present legislative term commencing on the 15th of April of next year.
Article 99. Notwithstanding the general rule established in part 2 of Article 4, in the meantime that the country
is fighting for its independence, the Government is empowered to resolve during the closure of the Congress all
questions and difficulties not provided for in the laws, which give rise to unforeseen events, of which the
Permanent Commission shall be duly apprised as well as the Assembly when it meets in accordance with this
Constitution.
Article 100. The execution of Article 5, Title III shall be suspended until the constituent Assembly meets in
session. In the meantime, municipalities which require spiritual ministry of a Filipino priest may provide for his
necessary maintenance.

Article 101. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 62 and 63, bills returned by the President of the Republic
to the Congress may not be repassed except in the legislature of the following year, this suspension being under
the responsibility of the President and his Council of Government. When these conditions have been fulfilled,
the promulgation of said laws shall be obligatory within ten days, without prejudice to the President making of
record his non-conformity. If the reapproval is made in subsequent legislative terms, it shall be deemed law
approved for the first time.
Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1899-malolos-constitution/
Learning Activity: Textual Analysis / Essay

Requirements:
1. How does the Malolos Constitution define sovereignty?
2. How did the Malolos Constitution regard independence?
3. What is a republic? Do you think it is the most appropriate form of government for the
Philippines? Explain your answer.
4. How should a republic exercise its power based on the Malolos Constitution?
5. Why do you think doe the Malolos Constitution put so much emphasis on the protection
and promulgation of the rights of citizens?

Lesson 8: Week 9
Treaty of Peace between the United States of America

and the Kingdom of Spain (Treaty of Paris)
Signed in Paris, 10 December 1898
By the President of the United States of America
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the provisions of the Treaty of Paris
• Explain the role of the United States of America on the liberation of the Philippines from
the Spanish colonization
A Proclamation
Whereas, a Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and Her Majesty the
Queen Regent of Spain, in the name of her August Son, Don Alfonso XIII, was concluded and
signed by their respective plenipotentiaries at Paris on the tenth day of December, 1898, the
original of which Convention being in the English and Spanish languages, is word for word as
follows:
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN REGENT
OF SPAIN, IN THE NAME OF HER AUGUST SON DON ALFONSO XIII, desiring to end the
state of war now existing between the two countries, have for that purpose appointed as
Plenipotentiaries:
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
WILLIAM R. DAY, CUSHMAN K. DAVIS, WILLIAM P. FRYE, GEORGE GRAY, and
WHITELAW REID, citizens of the United States;
AND HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN REGENT OF SPAIN,
DON EUGENIO MONTERO RIOS, President of the Senate
DON BUENAVENTURA De ABARZUZA, Senator of the Kingdom and ex-Minister of the
Crown,
DON JOSE DE GARNICA, Deputy to the Cortes and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court;

DON WENCESLAO RAMIREZ DE VILLA-URRUTIA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary at Brussels, and
DON RAFAEL CERERO, General of Divisions;
Who, having assembled in Paris, and having exchange their full powers, which were found to be
in due and proper form, have, after discussion of the matters before them, agreed upon the
following articles:
ARTICLE I
Spain relinquishes all claims of sovereignty over and title in Cuba. And as the island is,
upon its evacuation by Spain, to be occupied by the United States, the United States will, so long
such occupation shall last, assume and discharge the obligations that may under international law
result from the fact of its occupation, for the protection of life and property.
ARTICLE II
Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under
Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones.
ARTICLE III
Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands, and
comprehending the islands lying within the following line:
A line running from west to east along or near the twentieth parallel of north latitude, and
through the middle of the navigable channel of Bachi, from the one hundred and eighteenth (118th)
to the one hundred and twenty seventh (127th) degrees meridian of longitude east of Greenwich,
thence along the one hundred and twenty seventh (127th) degree meridian of longitude east of
Greenwich to the parallel of four degree and forty five minutes north latitude, thence along the
parallel of four degrees and forty five minutes north latitude to its intersection with the meridian
of longitude one hundred and nineteen degrees and thirty five minutes east of Greenwich.
The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) within
three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty.
ARTICLE IV
The United States will, for the term of ten years from the date of the exchange of the
ratifications of the present treaty, admit Spanish ships and merchandise to the sports of the
Philippine Islands on the same terms as ships and merchandise of the United States.
ARTICLE V
The United States will, upon the signature of the present treaty, send back to Spain, at its
own cost, the Spanish soldiers taken as prisoners of war on the capture of Manila by the American
forces. The arms of the soldiers in question shall be restored to them.

The time within which the evacuation of the Philippine Islands and Guam shall be
completed shall be fixed by the two Governments. Stands of colors, uncaptured war vessels, small
arms, guns of all calibers, with their carriages and accessories, powder, ammunition, livestock, and
materials and supplies of all kinds, belonging to the land and naval forces of Spain in the
Philippines and Guam, remain the property of Spain.
ARTICLE VI
Spain will, upon the signature of the present treaty, release all prisoners of war, and all
persons detained or imprisoned for political offences, in connection with the insurrections in Cuba
and the Philippines and the war with the United States.
The Government of the United States will at its own cost return to Spain and the
Government of Spain will at its own cost return to the United States, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the
Philippines, according to the situation of their respective homes, prisoners released or caused to
be released by them, respectively, under this article.
ARTICLE VII
The United States and Spain mutually relinquish all claims for indemnity, national and
individual, of every kind, of either Government, or of its citizens or subjects, against the other
Government. The United States will adjudicate and settle the claims of its citizens against Spain
relinquished in this article.
ARTICLE VIII
And it is hereby declared that the relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, to which
the preceding paragraph refers, cannot in any respect impair the property or rights which by law
belong to the peaceful possession of property of all kinds, of provinces, municipalities, public or
private establishments, ecclesiastical or civic bodies, or any other associations having legal
capacity to acquire and possess property in the aforesaid territories renounced or ceded, or of
private individuals, of whatsoever nationality such individuals may be.
The aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, includes all documents
exclusively referring to the sovereignty relinquished or ceded that may exist in the achieves of the
Peninsula. Where any document in such achieves only in part relates to said sovereignty, a copy
of such part will be furnished whenever it shall be requested. Like rules shall be reciprocally
observed in favor of Spain in respect of documents in the achieves of the islands above referred
to.
In the aforesaid relinquishment or cession, as the case may be, are also included such rights
as the Crown of Spain and its authorities possess in respect of the official achieves and records,
executives as well as judicial, in the island above referred to, which relate to said islands or the
rights and property of their inhabitants.
ARTICLE IX

In case they remain in the territory they may preserve their allegiance to the Crown of Spain
by making, before a court of record, within a year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of
this treaty, a declaration of their decision to preserve such allegiance; in default of which
declaration they shall be held to have renounced it and to have adopted the nationality of the
territory in which they may reside.
The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded
to the United States shall be determined by the Congress.
ARTICLE X
The inhabitants of the territories over which Spain relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty
shall be secured in the free exercise of their religion.
ARTICLE XI
The Spaniards residing in the territories over which Spain by this treaty cedes or
relinquishes her sovereignty shall be subject in matters civil as well as criminal to the jurisdiction
of the courts of the country wherein they reside, pursuant to the ordinary laws governing the same;
and they shall have the right to appear before such courts, and to pursue the same course as citizens
of the country to which the courts belong.
ARTICLE XII
Judicial proceedings pending at the time of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty in
the territories over which Spain relinquishes or cedes her sovereignty shall be determined
according to the following rules:
1. Judgements rendered either in civil suits between private individuals, or in criminal
matters, before the date mentioned, and with respect to which there is no recourse or
rights of review under the Spanish law, shall be deemed to be final, and shall be
executed in due form by competent authority in the territory within which such
judgements should be carried out.
2. Civil suits between private individuals which may on the date mentioned be
undetermined shall be prosecuted to judgement before the court in which they may then
be pending or in the court that may be substituted there for.
3. Criminal actions pending on the date mentioned before the Supreme Court of Spain
against citizens of the territory which by this treaty ceases to be Spanish shall continue
under its jurisdiction until final judgement; but, such judgement having been rendered
the execution thereof shall be committed to the competent authority of the place in
which the case arose.
ARTICLE XIII
The rights of property secured by copyrights and patents acquired by Spaniards in the
Island of Cuba, and in Porto Rico, in Philippines and other ceded territories, at the time of the
exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, shall continue to be respected. Spanish scientific,
literary and artistic works, not subversive of public order in the territories in question, shall

continue to be admitted free of duty into such territories, for the period of ten years, to be reckoned
from the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty.
ARTICLE XIV
Spain shall have the power to establish consular officers in the sports and places of the
territories, the sovereignty over which has been either relinquished or ceded by the present treaty.
ARTICLE XV
The government of each country will, for the term of ten years, accord to the merchant
vessels of the other country the same treatment in respect of all port charges, including entrance
and clearance dues, light dues, and tonnage duties, as it accords to its own merchant vessels, not
engaged in the coast wide trade.
This article may at any time be terminated on six months’ notice given by their Government
to the other.
ARTICLE XVI
It is understood that any obligations assumed in this treaty by the United States with respect
to Cuba are limited to the time of its occupancy thereof; but it will upon the termination of such
occupancy, advice any Government established in the island to assume the same obligations.
ARTICLE XVII
The president treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain; and the
ratifications shall be exchanged at Washington within six months from the date hereof or earlier if
possible.
Now, therefore, be it known that I, William McKinley, President of United States of
America, have caused the said Convention to be made public, to the end that the same and every
article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States and
the citizens thereof.
Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1898/12/10/treaty-of-peace-between-the-united-states-of-
america-and-the-kingdom-of-spain-treaty-of-paris-signed-in-paris-december-10-1898/
Learning Activity: Reaction Paper

Requirement:
Of the seventeen (17) articles of the Treaty of Paris, select one (1) article which you think
is favorable to the people of the Philippines. Select another one (1) article which you think is
unfavorable to the people of the Philippines. Explain each of them.

Lesson 9: Week 10
Jose Rizal’s Retraction Controversy

The Cuerpo de Vigilancia Version
Learning Objectives
• Investigate the possibility of Rizal to retract his statements against the church and the
Spanish government
• Assess the authenticity of the said claims or documents
• Explain the consequences of Rizal’s retraction claim to Philippine historiogrpahy
Retraction—the act of taking back an offer or statement, or admitting that the previous statement
was false (dictionary.cambridge.org)

The report of Moreno (NAP Manuscript A-6, Doc. 1) presents another eyewitness account
of what transpired in Rizal’s prison cell before he was executed. It contains several details that
could be used for and against the claim that Rizal returned to the Catholic fold and renounced
Masonry. The account may be considered more objective than earlier ones because Moreno was
neither a member of the Catholic hierarchy nor a known Mason. He was in Fort Santiago not to
serve a particular interest group but simply to perform a function connected with his work.
Moreover, the fact that his report was written a day after the event lessened the possibility that it
was edited to please a particular group. Since the report is not very long, a translation of it will be
presented first before analyzing it:
Most Illustrious Sir, the agent of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia stationed in Fort Santiago to
report on the events during the [illegible] day in prison of the accused Jose Rizal, informs
me on this date of the following:
At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his counsel,
Señor Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest [Jose] Vilaclara. At the urgings of the
former and moments after entering, he was served a light breakfast. At approximately 9,
the Adjutant of the Garrison, Señor [Eloy] Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything. He
replied that at the moment he only wanted a prayer book which was brought to him shortly
by Father [Estanislao] March.
Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit fathers,
March and Vilaclara, regarding religious matters, it seems. It appears that these two

presented him with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he refused to sign. They
argued about the matter until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken.
Afterwards he asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself.
At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him what he had
written. Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señor [Juan] del Fresno and the
Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure, were informed. They entered death row and together
with Rizal signed the document that the accused had written. It seems this was the
retraction.
From 3 to 5:30 in the afternoon, Rizal read his prayer book several times, prayed kneeling
before the altar and in the company of Fathers Vilaclara and March, read the Acts of
Faith, Hope and Charity repeatedly as well as the Prayers for the Departing Soul.
At 6 in the afternoon the following persons arrived and entered the chapel; Teodora
Alonzo, mother of Rizal, and his sisters, Lucia, Maria, Olimpia, Josefa, Trinidad and
Dolores. Embracing them, the accused bade them farewell with great strength of character
and without shedding a tear. The mother of Rizal left the chapel weeping and carrying two
bundles of several utensils belonging to her son who had used them while in prison.
A little after 8 in the evening, at the urgings of Señor Andrade, the accused was served a
plate of tinola, his last meal on earth. The Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure and Fathers
March and Vilaclara visited him at 9 in the evening. He rested until 4 in the morning and
again resumed praying before the altar.
At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison accompanied by his
sister Pilar, both dressed in mourning. Only the former entered the chapel, followed by a
military chaplain whose name I cannot ascertain. Donning his formal clothes and aided
by a soldier of the artillery, the nuptials of Rizal and the woman who had been his lover
were performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis). After embracing him she left,
flooded with tears.
Rizal heard mass and confessed to Father March. Afterwards he heard another mass
where he received communion. At 7:30, a European artilleryman handcuffed him and he
left for the place of execution accompanied by various Jesuits, his counsel and the Assistant
of the Plaza. Father March gave him a holy picture of the Virgin that Rizal kissed
repeatedly.
When the accused left, I noticed he was very pale but I am very certain that all the time he
was imprisoned he demonstrated great strength of character and composure.
God grant Your Excellency.

Manila 30 December 1896.
Chief Inspector Federico Moreno (Harper 1997)

Moreno’s report contains details that are not consistent with Fr. Balaguer’s
affidavit. The most serious and obvious discrepancy is that Moreno never mentioned
Fr. Balaguer in his report. All throughout the history of the retraction controversy, Fr.
Balaguer consistently claimed that he was present in Rizal’s prison cell and actively
involved in convincing him to retract. All other pro-retraction advocates who came after
Fr. Balaguer took his account as historical fact and argued their case using him as their
primary source. The Masons attacked Fr. Balaguer’s narrative, but they never
questioned his claim that he was a witness to this event. However, in Moreno’s account
only two Jesuits are identified: Fr. Jose Villaclara and Fr. Estanislao March.
In his affidavit, Fr. Balaguer declared that he talked to Rizal three times on
December 29, 1896. The first time was in the morning, from 10 to 12:30. It was during
this meeting that he presented the retraction template to Rizal but the latter did not sign.
Moreno confirmed this meeting, including the presentation of the draft retraction. But
he reported that Rizal was talking not to Fr. Balaguer but to Frs. March and Vilaclara.
Moreno also confirmed that Frs. March and Vilaclara returned to Rizal around 3 o’clock
in the afternoon. Fr. Balaguer claimed in his affidavit that he was one of Rizal’s
afternoon visitors. Fr. Balaguer continued that the third time he talked to Rizal was
around 10 in the evening. He had another lengthy and passionate discussion with him
for more than an hour. It was on this occasion that Rizal finally signed his retraction
letter. Moreno confirmed that Rizal had visitors after dinner, but the persons he
identified were Señor Andrade, Señor Maure, and Frs. March and Vilaclara. Again, Fr.
Balaguer was not mentioned, and the time of the meeting was 9 o’clock and not shortly
before midnight. Neither did Moreno’s report mention that they discussed issues
concerning faith and the retraction. The narrative is short and ends with Rizal going to
bed.
Moreno’s report is a big blow to the credibility of Fr. Balaguer. The fact that
Moreno never mentioned him in his report casts a cloud of doubt on the veracity and
accuracy of the affidavit that he executed. If we are to believe Moreno, Fr. Balaguer did
not have personal knowledge of what happened to Rizal the day before he died. If his
affidavit contains accurate historical details, he might have gotten them from those who
were with Rizal on December 29, 1896. If Fr. Balaguer was the chief negotiator who
convinced Rizal to recant, and if he talked to Rizal three times that day, Moreno would
surely have inquired who he was. There is a remote possibility that Moreno did not
know Fr. Balaguer because he was a priest and not an ordinary visitor. Since Moreno
was able to identify the names of Rizal’s relatives and the other visitors who talked to
him, there is no reason why Moreno would not mention Fr. Balaguer in his report if
indeed he talked to Rizal three times.

Moreno’s report may have damaged the credibility of Fr. Balanguer, but it did
not refute the claim that Rizal retracted. It mentions that when Fr. March returned at 3
o’clock in the afternoon, Rizal handed him a document. Then it says that Rizal, together
with Juan del Fresno and Señor Maure, signed the document. In the retraction document
that Fr. Gracia found in 1935, one sees that the three persons Moreno identified were
signatories of the document. Moreno did not provide details on the contents of the
document, probably because he was witnessing the event from a distance. But that did
not prevent him from presupposing that the document was Rizal’s retraction letter. He
simply wrote, “It seems this was the retraction [parece que el escrito era la
retractación].”
The latter part of Moreno’s report confirmed a few other controversial events
that occurred before Rizal was executed. Moreno reported that right after Rizal signed
the alleged retraction letter, he read the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity as well as the
Prayers for the Departing Soul. While kneeling in front of the altar, he also read his
prayer book in the company of Frs. Vilaclara and March. Moreno also reported that in
the early morning of the following day, Rizal and Josephine Bracken got married. The
ceremony was done in articulo mortis (at the point of death), and there were no
sponsors or witnesses present. Moreover, Moreno did not mention that the couple
signed a marriage contract. This should explain why this document remains
unaccounted for until today, and therefore people should stop looking for it. All these
details in Moreno’s report are indirect forms of proof that Rizal retracted. Archbishop
Nozaleda and Fr. Pio Pi’s instructions were clear that Rizal should not be given the
sacraments unless he retracted his anti-Catholic beliefs. The fact that the marriage took
place is a confirmation that Rizal re-embraced his Catholic faith. Lastly, Moreno also
reported that minutes before Rizal was brought to Luneta, he heard Mass, confessed to
Fr. March, received Holy Communion, and kissed the image of the Blessed Mother. All
these acts suggest, and may be considered evidence supporting the claim, that Rizal
died a Catholic.
There is another thing Rizal did that is recorded in many history books and also
confirmed by Moreno. He handed his family members his personal belongings when
they visited him the day before he died. Unfortunately, Moreno did not specify the
person to whom Rizal gave his personal belongings. Specifically, he did not mention to
whom he gave the stove (others say lamp) where Rizal put his Mi Ultimo Adios. A
number of biographies state that Rizal gave it to his sister Trinidad with the message
“there is something inside” (Craig 1913, 240; Guerrero 1971, 480). Moreno simply
wrote that his weeping mother left the chapel carrying “two bundles of several utensils
belonging to her son.” One can easily assume that the stove was one of the utensils that
Teodora Alonzo brought home.

Aside from Federico Moreno’s report, there are other documents in the collection
that can enrich further the narrative of Rizal’s final 24 hours. For instance, the collection
has several newspaper clippings of what happened to him before and after his death.
One is the account of La Voz Española, dated December 26, 1896, which reports the
meeting of the Consejo de Guerra on the trial of Jose Rizal (NAP Manuscript A-1, Doc.
25). El Diario de Manila has a similar account of this topic and event (NAP Manuscript
A-1, Doc. 26). On the day of his execution, the newspaper La Voz Española reported
what happened in Luneta, and it also printed the text of the retraction letter that Rizal
allegedly signed (NAP Manuscript A-1, Doc. 27). The Cuerpo collection also has a
photograph of Rizal and the members of the execution squad (NAP Manuscript A-1 [9],
Doc. 307). Finally, the collection has a three-page letter written by Juan Ferrer to a
person he simply calls “Apolinario,” dated two weeks after Rizal died. The writer states
that Rizal was very brave during his execution. He also asks Apolinario to inform his
friends in Imus that they will not stop fighting the Spaniards until Manila is
independent. The author claims that he was tasked to monitor Manila and buy clothes
and arms. Moreover, he offers his help to Apolinario in case he organizes meetings in
Vigan. He ends his letter warning Apolinario not to tell his parents about his
involvement in the revolution and that he accepts that he will be arrested one day (NAP
A-12, Doc. 9).
Source: Escalante, R. (2019). Did Jose Rizal die a catholic? Revisiting Rizal’s last 24 hours using
spy reports. Southeast Asian Studies Vol. 3, No. 3. DOI: 10.20495/seas.8.3_369
Learning Activity: Argumentative Discourse

Requirement:
1. In your opinion, do you think that Rizal would retract his statements?
2. Hypothetically, supposed that Dr. Jose Rizal did retract his statements against the Catholic
church and the Spanish government, and you were given the chance to talk to Jose Rizal,
what would you say to him about his retraction?
3. How do you think the history of the Philippines be written if it were true that Rizal retracted
and that he was not executed as a result? Could there had been a revolution?

Lesson 10: Week 11
Convention between the United States of America and

Great Britain Delimiting the Boundary between the
Philippine Archipelago and the State
of North Borneo {1930}
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Learning Objectives
• Analyze the provisions of this convention
• Discuss the matters of delineation between the Philippines and North Borneo
A PROCLAMATION
Whereas a convention between the United States of America and his Majesty the King of
Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, delimiting
definitely the boundary between the Philippine Archipelago (the territory acquired by the United
States of America by virtue of the treaties of December 10, 1898, and November 7, 1900, with her
Majesty the Queen Regent of Spain) and the State of North Borneo which is under British
protection, was concluded and signed by their respective Plenipotentiaries at Washington on the
second day of January, one thousand nine hundred and thirty, the original of which convention is
word as follows:
The President of the United States of America and His Majesty the King of Great Britain,
Ireland and the British, Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India,
December 10, 1898, and November 7, 1900 with Her Majesty Queen Regent of Spain) and
the State of North Borneo which is under British Protection, Have resolve to conclude a
Convention for that purpose and have appointed as their plenipotentiaries:
The President of the United States of America, Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State of the
United States; and His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions
beyond the Seas, Emperor of India,
For Great Britain and Northern Ireland: The Right Honorable Sir Esme Howard, G.C.B.,
G.C.M.G., C.V.O., His Majesty’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Washington;
Who, having communicated to each other their respective full powers found a good and
due form have agreed upon and concluded the following Articles:

ARTICLE I
It is hereby agreed and declared that the line separating the islands belonging to the
Philippine Archipelago on the one hand and the islands belonging to the State of North Borneo
which is under British protection on the other hand shall be and is hereby established as follows:
Hence, due north along the meridian of longitude one hundred nineteen degrees east of
Greenwich to its with the parallel of four degrees forty-two minutes north latitude; thence in a
straight line approximately true passing between Little Bakkungaan Island and Great Bakkungaan
Island to the intersection of the parallel of six degrees seventeen minutes north latitude and the
meridian of longitude one hundred seventeen degrees fifty-eight minutes east of Greenwich; the
latter point being on the boundary defined by the Treaty between the United States of America and
Spain signed at Paris, December 10, 1898.
ARTICLE II
The line described above has been indicated on Charts Nos. 4707 and 4720, published by
the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, corrected to July 24, 1929, portions of both charts
so marked being attached to this treaty and made a part thereof. It is agreed that if more accurate
surveying and mapping of North Borneo. The Philippine Islands and intervening islands shall in
the future show that the line described above does not pass between Little Bakkungaan and Great
Bakkungaan Islands, substantially as indicated on Chart No. 4720.
Mangsee Great Reef as indicated on Chart No. 4720, the boundary shall be understood to
be defined in that areas as a straight line drawn from the intersection of the parallel of north latitude
and the meridian of longitude of east Greenwich, passing through Mangsee Channel as indicated
on attached Chart No. 4720 to a point on the parallel of north latitude.
ARTICLE III
All island to the north and east of the said line and all islands and rocks traversed by the
said line, should there be any such, shall belong to the Philippine Archipelago and all islands to
the south and west of the said line shall belong to the State of North Borneo.
ARTICLE IV
North Borneo on the other hand in consequence of the establishment of the line fixed by
the preceding articles of the present Convention. In the event of either High Contracting Party
ceding, selling, leasing, or transferring any of the islands in question to a third party provision shall
be made for the continued application to such island of the aforementioned Article 19 of the Treaty
between the United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan limiting naval
armament, signed at Washington on February 6, 1922, provided that Treaty is still in force at the
time of such cession, sale, lease or transfer.
ARTICLE V
The present Convention shall be ratified by the President of the United States of America,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by His Britannic Majesty, and shall
come into force on the exchange of the acts of ratification which shall take place at Washington as
soon as possible.

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same and have affixed
there to their respective seals. Done in duplicate at Washington the second day of January in the
year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty.
Now, THEREFORE, be it known that I, Herbert Hoover, President of the United States of
America, have caused the said convention to be made public, to the end that the same and every
article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States of
America and citizens thereof.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the
United States of America to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington this fifteenth day of December in the year of our Lord one
thousand nine hundred and thirty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America
the one hundred and fifty-seventh.
HERBERT HOOVER
By the President:
ZENRY L. STIMSON.
Secretary of State
National Territory
{Document No. 19:3}
Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1932/12/15/convention-between-the-united-states-of-
america-and-great-britain-delimiting-the-boundary-between-the-philippine-archipelago-and-the-state-of-
north-borneo-1930/
Learning Activity: Discourse

Requirement:
China has been very aggressive in its claim of most parts of the South China Sea or the West
Philippine Sea. How would you use this Convention between the United States of America and
Great Britain Delimiting the Boundary between the Philippine Archipelago and the State of
North Borneo {1930} as a counter evidence of the Philippines in defending its territory and
sovereignty?

Lesson 11: Week 12
Minutes of the Proceedings on the National Territory

of the 1971 Constitutional Convention
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• Examine the contents of the minutes of the proceedings on the national territory of the 1971
constitutional convention
• Define national territory
• Justify claims of the Philippines in its territorial jurisdiction
Minutes of the Session

Friday, February 11, 1972
1. At 8 a.m. President Diosdado Macapagal called the session to order.

2. Delegate Fernando Bautista led the singing of the National Anthem.
3. Delegate Benjamin R. Abubakar delivered the invocation.
SUSPENSION OF SESSION
4. The session was suspended at 8:05 a.m.
RESUMPTION OF SESSION
5. The session was resumed at 9:30 a.m.
DECLARATION OF QUOROM
6. Two hundred ninety-eight (298) Delegates were recorded present. The following were recorded
absent.
Delegate Damian Aldaba Delegate Jaime C. Opinion

Delegate Sonia S. Aldeguer Delegate Melchor G. Padua Jr.
Delegate Jose D. Calderon Delegate Rolando C. Piit
Delegate Mary Rose J. Ezpeleta Delegate Gil G. Puyat Jr.
Delegate Carlos Ledesma Delegate Juanito R. Remulla
Delegate Juan A. Lucas Luna Delegate Luis D. Santos
Delegate Jose P. Marcelo Delegate Jose A. Yulo Jr.
Delegate Jacinto Montilla
Upon certification of the secretary, the Chair declared the existence of a quorum.
7. Floor Leader Carlos J. Valdes moved to defer consideration of item on the agenda (continuation of
consideration of committee Report No. 1 of the committee on Preamble and National Identity).
There being no objection, the motion was approved.

8. Floor Leader Valdes recommended that Committee Reports Nos. 1 and 2 of the Committee of the
National Territory be considered, and asked that delegate Eduardo Quintero, Committee Chairman,
be recognized.
8.1 Upon recognition by the chair, Delegate Quintero stated that his committee was sponsoring the
inclusion of the following article on national territory in the new constitution:
ARTICLE 1
The National Territory
SECTION 1. The National Territory of the Philippines shall be the archipelago of the name,
the historic home of the Filipino people from its beginnings, whose boundaries are set forth in
article III of the Treaty of Paris concluded between the United States and Spain on the tenth day of
December, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, together with all the islands embraced in the treaty
concluded at Washington between the United States and Spain on the seventh day of November,
nineteen hundred, and in the convention concluded between the United States and Great Britain on
the second day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty, and all other territories over which the
Government of the Philippines has been exercising jurisdiction or over which it has a right.
SECTION 2. All the waters around, between and connecting the various islands of the
Philippines archipelago, irrespective of their widths or dimensions, are considered necessary
appurtenances of the Land territory, forming part of the inland or internal waters of the Philippines.
SECTION 3. All the waters beyond the outermost islands of archipelago within the
boundaries set forth in the treaties and convention mentioned in section one hereof comprises the
territorial sea of the Philippines.
SECTION 4. The sovereignty of the Philippines extends, beyond its land territory and its
internal waters, to a belt adjacent to its coast, described as the territorial sea. Said sovereignty also
extends over the air space above its land areas, its internal waters and territorial sea as to its land
areas, its seabed and subsoil.
SECTION 5. The National Assembly shall define the control that the Philippines will
exercise in the contiguous zone and in the superjacent waters of the continental shelf.
He suggested that the panel of sponsors first be allowed to present the stand of the committee before
interpellations were entertained.
9. The session was suspended at 9:50 a.m.
RESUMPTI OF SESSION
10. The session was resumed at 9:53 a.m.
11. Delegate Quintero proceeded to define the following terms: archipelago, high seas, territorial sea
and inland waters.
12. Delegate Custodio A. Villalva pointed out the erroneous technical description of Philippines
territory in article III of the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898 which was adopted in article I of
the present constitution. He stated that the treaty fixed the northern boundary along the 20 th north
latitude, thus excluding Batanes. Citing historical facts, he said that Batanes has been a part of the

Philippines since the Spanish and American regimes. He then recommended the approval of section
1 of the committee report.
12.1 Delegate E. Voltaire Garcia II suggested the deletion of the article, arguing that international laws
should govern delimitation of the national territory.
ADJOURNMENT OF SESSION
13. Upon motion floor Leader Valdes, the session was adjourned until 9 a.m. the following day.
It was 10:58 a.m.
I hereby certify to the correctness of the foregoing.
(Sgd.) JOSE V. ABUEVA

Secretary
FLOOR LEADERS:
HON. ESTANISLAO A. FERNANDEZ

HON. FIDEL P. PURISIMA
HON. CARLOS J. VALDES
Minutes of the session

February 17, 1972
****
8. Floor Leader Garcia (J.) announced the next item on the agenda (consideration of the revised draft article
on national territory), and asked that delegate Eduardo Quintero, Chairman of the Committee on National
Territory, be recognized.
8.1 Upon recognition by the Chair, Delegate Quintero presented the revised draft article and read the names
of authors of various amendments incorporated therein. He then moved for its approval, reading as follows:
ARTICLE 1
The National Territory
THE NATIONAL TERRITORY CONSISTS OF THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO, WHICH IS THE

ANCESTRAL HOME OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, AND WHICH IS COMPOSED OF ALL THE
ISLANDS AND WATERS EMBRACED THEREIN, AND ALL OTHER TERRITORIES BELONGING
TO THE PHILIPPINES BY HISTORIC RIGHT OR LEGAL TITLE INCLUDING THE TERRITORIAL
SEA, THE AIR SPACE, THE SUBSOIL, THE SEA-BED, THE CONTINENTAL SHELF AND OTHER
SUBMARINE AREAS OVER WHICH THE PHILIPPINES HAS SOVEREIGNTY OR JURISDICTION.
THE WATERS AROUND, BETWEEN AND CONNECTING THE ISLANDS OF THE
ARCHIPELAGO, IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR BREADTH AND DIMENSIONS, FORM PART OF THE
INTERNAL WATERS OF THE PHILIPPINES.
8.2 Interpolating, Delegate Felixberto M. Serrano suggested that CONSISTS in Line 1 called for an
enumeration, and that WATERS AROUND in Line 11 was ambiguous. Delegate Quintero explained that
the points brought up could be taken care of by the Committee on style.

8.3 Delegate Emmannuel T. Santos explained that the continental shelf, continental slope, and continental
rise would constitute the continental margin implied in the term OTHER SUBMARINE AREAS in Line 9.
8.4 Delegate Pedro G. Exmundo inquired if HISTORIC RIGHT in Line 6 referred to all the territories ceded
by Spain to the United State under the Treaty of Paris. Delegate Quintero replied on the affirmative.
8.5 Delegate Anacleto D. Badoy Jr. observed that the word BELONGING would not provide for future
territorial acquisitions, and suggested the phrase ALL WATERS WITHIN THE TERRITORIAL
BOUNDARIES instead of ‘’waters around’’ in Line 11. Delegate Quintero replied that the Committee on
style could consider the matter.
8.6 Noting the absence of an explanatory note to the revised draft, Delegate Antonio R. Tupaz moved that
the records of the Committee proceedings during revision of the draft be included in the journal. The Chair
suggested that the motion be made at the proper time. Delegate Tupaz (A.) obliged.
8.7 Delegate Pedro O. Valdez asked if the words SUBSOIL and SEA-BED included mineral and marine
resources. Speaking in behalf of the Committee, Delegate Justino P. Hermoso replied in the affirmative.
8.8 Delegate Midpantao L. Adil observed that the Sulu archipelago should be properly defined in the article.
8.9 Delegate Manuel A. Concordia inquired if the revised draft implied the acquisition of territory through
purchase. Delegate Quintero replied in the affirmative.
8.10 Delegate Roseller T. lim proposed that the term PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO be legally defined in
the article. Delegate Quintero explained that the Committee had decided to avoid any mention of treaties
between powers which colonized the Philippines.
8.11 Delegate Rebeck Espiritu suggested that national territory be defined simply in terms of land, interval
waters, and territorial sea to avoid redundancy. Delegate Hermoso explained that the definition was
comprehensive in order to emphasize the multi-dimensional nature of the territory.
8.12 Delegate Victor de la Serna inquired if BELONGING TO THE PHILIPPINES BY HISTORIC RIGHT
OR LEGAL TITLE in lines 5 and 6, implied that the country was already asserting its sovereignty over
disputed territories. Delegate Quintero replied in the negative.
9. Delegate Samuel C. Occeña moved for the previous question. Submitted to a vote, the motion was
approved, 119 to 4.
10. Delegate Rogelio E. panotes inquired if the draft was still open to perfecting amendments. The Chair
was replied in the negative.
10.1 Citing Section 7, Rule V, Part III of the Rules, Delegate Panotes pointed out that amendments were in
order after the main debate. The Chair ruled that a motion for the previous question could be made at any
time, and that once approved, such motion would end debate.
11. Delegate Rodolfo A. Ortiz requested that his remarks on the draft be inserted in the journal of the
Convention. The request was granted.
12. Delegate Badoy moved for reconsideration of the vote on the motion for the previous question.
Submitted to a vote, the motion was lost, 49 to 80.

13. Delegate Padua (C.) requested that his interpretation of the territorial sea be inserted in the Journal. The
request was granted.
13.1. Rising on a point of order, Delegate Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said that the body should be informed of
the nature of documents being made part of the Journal. Whereupon, the Chair asked Delegate Padua (C.)
to withdraw his request temporarily. Delegate Padua (C.) obliged.
13.2. Delegate Quintero commented that the Padua (C.) interpretation differed from that of the Committee.
14. Delegate Ernesto R. Rondon pointed out that voting on the draft before amendments were
discussed on the floor would be irregular. The Chair replied that the Committee had already
considered amendments and that a motion for the previous question had been approved.
14.1. Delegate Rondon appealed from the ruling of the Chair. Submitted to a vote, the appeal was
lost.
15. Delegate Panotes inquired what would happen to the draft if it were rejected by the body. The
Chair replied that the matter could be taken up at the proper time.
16. Upon direction by the Chair, the Secretary read the draft of Article I for voting. It was approved,
177 to 14.
17. The session was suspended at 5:29 p.m.
18. The session was resumed at 5:44 p.m.
19. Delegate Tupaz (A.) moved that the minutes of the Committee deliberations on the draft be
inserted in the Journal. There being no objection, the motion was approved.
20. Delegate Padua (C.) reiterated his request that his discussion on the territorial sea be inserted
in the Journal. It was granted.
21. Delegate Raul S. Roco, Chairman of the Committee on Declaration of principles and
Ideologies, asked that his statements in reply to newspaper criticism of the draft article on the
declaration of principles be inserted in the Journal. The request was granted.
22. Delegate Lim (R.) moved to suspend the Rules, and asked that he be allowed to explain his
motion.
25. Delegate Lim (R.) explained that Rules on the presentation of motions for the previous question
needed amendment so that such motions could not be used to cut debates short. He pointed out

that the presentation of amendments on the floor was vital and should not be disregard merely to
expedite proceedings.
25.1. Delegate Natalio B. Bacalso suggested that motions for the previous question be presented
only after all amendments were disposed of.
25.2. The Chair declared that the observations of Delegates Lim (R.) and Bacalso would be referred
to the Committee on Legal Affairs for proper action.
26. Delegate Augusto T. Kalaw suggested that nominal voting should be held on the second
reading of constitutional proposals since it was more crucial that the vote on third reading.
26.1. The Chair stated that the Rules made nominal voting mandatory on third reading, but
discretionary on second reading.
26.2. Delegate Kalaw requested that his observations on nominal voting he referred to the
Committee on Legal Affairs. The request was granted.
27. Delegate Jose Y. Feria moved for reconsideration of the approval of the draft article on national
territory.
28. The session was suspended at 6:29 p.m.
30. Delegate Feria withdraw his motion.
31. Delegate Ramon A. Diaz, Chairman of the Steering Council, presented the draft article on civil
service, as prepared by the Committee on Civil Service and consolidated by the Council, and asked
that Delegate Numeriano . Tanopo Jr., Chairman of the Committee on Civil Service, be recognize
for sponsor the draft.
31.1. Delegate Tanopo submitted for consideration and approval the draft article on civil service.
He stated that Delegate Alfredo J. Lagamon would be the first sponsor.
31.2. Deploring the state of the civil servi, Delegate Lagamon stressed the need to upgrade it
through the proposals recommended by the Committee. He emphasized that the civil sevice must
meet the demands of the time.
ADJOURNMENT OF SESSION
32. Upon motion of Floor Leader Garcia (J.) the session was adjourned until 8 a.m. the following
day.
It was 7 p.m.

I hereby certify to the correctness of the foregoing.
(Sgd.) JOSE V. ABUEVA

Secretary
FLOOR LEADERS:
HON. EDMUNDO B. CEA
HON. JESUS GARCIA
HON. ANTONIO D. OLMEDO
Source: 1971 Constitutional Convention Records: Records of the Session, Vol. VI, February
1972
Learning Activity:
Requirement:
1. How did the 1972 constitutional convention finally define national territory?
2. Can we use this document to argue the claim of rights of the Philippines over the
islands being claimed by China? Why or why not?

Lesson 12—Week 13
The Role of Islam in the History of the Filipino People

Cesar Adib Majul
• Recall the historical background of Moslem people in the Philippines
• Describe the development of Islam in the southern part of the Philippines
• Characterize a unique historiography of Islam in the Philippines
• Contrast Moslem historiography from the usual church-oriented writing of history
Facts demonstrate that Islamic influences from Borneo and Sulu were beginning to shed
root in Luzon during the first half of the sixteenth century. Not long after, Islam was being
strengthened in Mindanao from Sulu as well as from the Moluccas.
The spread of Islam in the Malaysian Archipelago is indeed a legitimate field of inquiry;
but such a complex phenomenon must not be looked at as a mere spread of a few theological
principles or religious beliefs and rituals made possible by a handful of enthusiastic missionaries.
The spread of Islam had represented an interplay of political, economic, psychological and social
causes and factors together with their ideological concomitants. Furthermore, the attractive
characteristics of Islam as such, as well as its ability to satisfy new needs brought about by rapid
economic changes due to the nature of the international trade at that time, must also be considered.
The First stage. The first stage represents the conception of Malaysia as a constellation of
sultanates and principalities exemplifying different stages in Islamization. It covers the period from
the end of the 13th century to the end of the 15th century.
This stage portrays sultans, port- kings, minor chieftains, etc., participating in various
degrees and intensities in the international trade from the Red Sea to the China Sea, a trade that
was under the control of Moslem traders, principally Arabs, Indians and Persians. Many of the
Malaysian ports served as sources of articles of trade and as clearing houses. A more direct
participation of Sulu in this international trade can be traced to the arrival of Arab traders around
the end of the ninth century or the beginning of the tenth century, not long after they were ousted
from the China trade in 878 during the T’ang dynasty. After a prohibitive policy of the Chinese
against Arab and other Moslem traders, Kalah in the Malay Archipelago became for some time
the last port of call for them. However, due to the persistent demand for Chinese products in Arab
lands either for domestic use or re exportation to other lands in the Mediterranean, the Arab traders
made efforts to get a Chinese product. It was then that they learned or discovered a new route
starting from Borneo then passing through Sulu, Palawan, Luzon, up to Formosa and the South of
Japan where Chinese products were available. Even after the middle of the tenth century during

the Sung Dynasty, when the Moslem traders were allowed once more to frequent the ports of South
China and the old route through the coast of Indochina began to be utilized again, the new route
was still used since the traders became acquainted either with new products or better sources of
old products. However, it is clear that the use of this new or second route does not necessarily
imply the Islamization of either Borneo or Sulu.
It only suggests that the presence of Moslem traders in Sulu and, therefore, its more direct
participation in the international trade. Sulu had started to become a clearing house for products
which its intrepid sailors brought from the more outlying islands.
The following are important phases of the first stage:
a. The coming to Sulu of Arab traders, who performed missionary activities during the end
of 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. At this time there is evidence of trading
colony in Sulu consisting at least of transient Moslem traders. This is the phase of the coming of
the Makhdumin (Arabic Singular: makdum). The first seeds of Islam were sowed by them
b. Increasing participation of Chinese traders in the Sulu trade. Traditional accounts claim
that Chinese Moslem traders had accompanied or competed with Arab traders. Eventually,
competition and other factors made the Chinese displace Arab traders in the second route.
c. The coming of Sumatran Islamic influences and political institutions during the end of the
fourteenth century. This phase is represented in the Sulu tarsilas by the coming of Rajah Baguinda
Ali with ministers and soldiers who arrived in Sulu and established a principality.
d. Sulu’s official contacts with the Celestial throne 1417-1424. At least three “tributes” were
sent.
e. The establishment of the sultanate in Sulu around the middle of the fifteenth century
under the Sherif Abu Bakr, an Arab who had travelled extensively in Malaysia. The establishment
of the sultanate assumes that a great number of the coastal inhabitants of Sulu had become
Moslems and therefore responsive to such as Islamic institution. It also shows their acquaintance
with some Islamic jurisprudential elements especially those which asserted the right of an Arab.
More specially a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, to rule non-Arab Moslems. The Sheriff
Abu Bakr initiated attempts to convert the inhabitants of the interior of Sulu (Buranuns) and is
believed to have been successful. The coastal peoples and those of the interior of Sulu became
slowly integrated into a political community under a central authority.
f. The coming of Islam to the Cotabato basin and its consequent spread to the Lanao area
during the end of fifteenth century. This is signified in the Mindanao tarsilas by the coming of the
Sherif Mohammed Kabungsuwan,an Arab- Malay from Malaya, as well as a couple of Arab
predecessors claimed to have been also sheriffs and of which one returned to Sumatra.
g. The increase of Islamic influences in Sulu and Mindanao through greater maritime
contacts with Malacca, Java and Borneo, and the occasional visits of Moslem traders and
missionaries from Arab and Indian lands.
The second stage. The second stage represents the coming of Western European
Imperialism and Colonialization during the 16th and 17th centuries to Malaysia. This stage
represents the destruction of the Arab and /or Moslem monopoly of the international trade in
Southeast Asia as a consequence of the coming of the Portuguese and the defeat of Arab fleets in

Socotra (1507), Diu (1513), etc. The Portuguese and Spaniards came in the sixteenth century not
only to extend the possessions of their sovereigns but to spread Catholicism.
In the same manner that they had the consciousness of coming from Christian lands and h
ad a religious mission, the Moslems and Malaysia had a consciousness of their Islamic faith and o
f the integrity of dar-ul-Islam. It would be a fallacy to maintain that on account of the different st
ages of Islamization in the various parts of Malaysia there was no such conception. Actually, by t
his time Islam was well rooted in Acheh, Malacca, parts of Java, Brunei and Sulu. From a very i
mportant point of view, Islam constituted the only ideology that resisted and combatted Western I
mperialism and Colonialism, and Christianity. Early Portuguese and Spanish authors had looked
at their arrival in Malaysia as the continuance of the Crusader’s war between Christians and Mosl
ems. It will be recalled that the fall of Malacca in1511 was less than two decades after the fall of t
he Moorish kingdom in Granada. The Turkish menace to Europe had also increased after their co
nquest of Constantinople, while the coming of the Portuguese to Malaysia had followed their war
s in North Africa against the Moslems.
The important phases of the second stage can be summarized as follows:
a. The coming of the Portuguese and their disruption of the Moslem international trade
control. The fall of Malacca to them in 1511, with the consequence that the center of power of
Malaysian Moslems shifted from Malacca to Acheh on northern Sumatra. Dutch commercial
interests in Java and other parts of the East Indies in the 1590’s.
b. The coming of Christian Religious and economic threat brought about a deliberate
attempts at Islamic missionary activities on the uncommitted parts of Malaysia who were either
Hindu, pagan, etc. This time the missionary activities were initiated by Malaysian themselves,
principally Javanese, accompanied occasionally by Arab zealots. Many port kings became
Moslems: Ambon 1515, Banjarmasin 1520, Mataram 1525, Bantam 1527, Sambas, Bima, and
Macassar in 1600, etc.
c. The rise of Brunei as a commercial power, its dynastic alliances with Sulu, and its
greater participation in the trade of the Philippine Archipelago. By the second half of the sixteenth
century, Manila was already ruled by members of the Bornean aristocracy. This signified the
beginning of the Islamization of the area around Manila Bay. Beginnings of Bornean missionary
activities in Batangas and other part of the Philippines during the last quarter of the sixteenth
century.
d. By the last quarter of the sixteenth century, there began a greater consolidation of the
possessions of the Sulu sultan from the northeastern part of Borneo to parts of Zamboanga,
including the islands of Taguima (Basilan) and Tawi-Tawi.
e. At the same time the consolidation of the “sultanates” of Maguindanao and Buayan is
begun. Dynastic relations between them as well as with the Moluccas, principally Ternate. Coming
of Moslem missionaries and functionaries from Ternate to Mindanao.
f. Fall of Manila as a Moslem principally in 1571.Spanish attacks on Brunei in 1578 and
1581 and first attack on Sulu in 1578.Treaty between the Sulu Sultan and Spaniards on June 14,
1578.
g. Conflicts between Spaniards and Magindanaos in 1579, 1596, etc. Spanish attempts to
colonize Mindanao. At this point a study of Bertram Schrieke’s theory that the spread of Islam in
Malaysia was accelerated by the coming of Western powers is imperative.

h. Spanish expeditions to the Moluccas: 1982, 1585, 1593 and 1603. The expeditions can
be interpreted not only as attempts to check Dutch ambitions in the area or to extend Spanish
territories but also as attempts to isolate Moslems in the Philippine Archipelago and cut off sources
of human and material aid to them from the Moluccas. Conversely, the temporary neutralization
of the Magindanaos was sought to facilitate the conquest of the Moluccas.
The third stage. The third stage represents the gradual fragmentation of the Malaysian
dar-ul-Islam under the spheres of different colonial powers. It is a stage of great resistance and
counterattacks against the West which were mainly unsuccessful. The rise of Acheh as a great
Moslem power failed to dislodge the Portuguese in Malacca. Javanese resistance against the Dutch
commercial ambitions had weakened. Brunei’s eclipse as a commercial power had begun. Brunei’s
missionary activities in Batangas, etc. had ceased. The fall of Luzon and the Visayas to the
Spaniards and the destruction of Moslem pockets of resistance in Mindoro and other island islands
signifies that the northeast expansion of Islam to the furthest end of the Malaysian Archipelago
had been checked. Islam’s furthest limit would then be in its outposts in Sulu and in Mindanao.
The following phases are important:
a. The contest for the control of Luzon and the Visayas between the Spaniards and the
Moslems. This refers to at least two events: The first represents the 1589 attempts at alliance
between the Brunei,Sulu and Magindanao sultanates with the disgruntled aristocracy of Manila
and Tondo ( now under Spanish rule) to dislodge Spaniards from the Philippine Archipelago.
Desperate attempts to get Japanese help did not materialize. Significance of the Magat Salamat
Conspiracy. The second event refers to the so-called piratical raids initiated by the Magindanaos
with Sulu and ternate help from 1599 to 1603. Blood compact between Magindanaos under Buisan
and Leyte datus against Spain. Failure of the ultimate aim of such large-scale raids.
b. The decline of the “sultanate” of Buayan around 1619 in favor of the Magindanao sultanate
under the redoubtable Sultan Dipatuan Kuderat whose powers extended up to the Maranao regions.
Cagayan de Oro become tributary to him in 1622 and Selangani in 1626. Kuderat’s assumption of
the title of Sultan. After his death in 1671 the decline of the Magindanao sultanate began and
slowly broke up into various minor sultanates. Spanish presence in Mindanao frustrated the natural
course of events for the gradual integration of various minor Moslem principalities under one
centralized authority.
c. Spanish conquest of the Moluccas in 1606 cut off aid to the Moslems of the Philippines
from the farther south. Further isolation of Moslems in the Philippines. Sulu and Magindanao
sought for Dutch alliance in 1614.Increase of Moslem raids in 1616, 1625, etc.
d. The system of divide and rule of the Western colonial powers. Sultanates and
principalities made to fight each other. In the Philippines, Christianized natives made to fight
Moslems as well as to extend Spanish possessions. Spaniards persistently tried to foster
dissensions between Buayan and Magindanao. Nevertheless, dynastic or commercial rivalries
between Western powers at home and abroad brought to Malaysia. This explains Dutch aid to
Sulu, Magindanao, and Ternate Moslems in their resistance against Spanish rule. The eventual
frustration of Dutch ambitions in the Philippines also implied further dependence of Moslem in
the Philippines on their own resources. Establishment of Spanish fort in Zamboanga in
1635.Continued raids on Spanish held territories by Moslem alliances.

e. The expeditions of Governor General Corcuera to Mindanao in 1637 and Sulu in 1638.
Lanao expedition of 1639.The temporary character of Spanish victories. Fall of Jolo on January 4,
1638.Transfer of Sultan’s capital to Tawi-Tawi in 1639.The long rule of Sultan Muwallil Wasit I
(Rajah Bongsu) from around 1614 to 1648. His alliances with Macassar in 1638. Alliances with
the Dutch in 1644. Treaty between Spain and Sulu on April 14, 1646. The evacuation of
Zamboanga in 1662. The Sulu and Magindanao sultans as independent as before.
f. The inability of Sulu to expand or extract tribute from up North led it to look further
westward in the Island of Borneo for its tributary expansion. On account of intervention in Brunei’s
dynastic wars, the Sulu Sultan’s territories in Borneo extended further West to the Kimanis river
in North Borneo around 1690.By the end of the seventeenth century during the reign of Sahab-ud-
Din, the power of the Sulu sultan extended from parts of Zamboanga to the Kimanis river in the
northern part of the Islands of Borneo.
The fourth stage. The fourth stage refers to the attempts of the Sulus to regain part of their
former glory during the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. Around 1700 there were
dynastic quarrels between Sulu and Maguindanao and the Sulus tried to exercise some domination
over the Cotabato and Zamboanga regions. During this state there were strong attempts on the part
of the Moslem sultanates to recapture their ancient commercial glory. The English tried to have a
foothold in Sulu territory to exercise greater hold on their China trade A few salient events are
listed below:
a. A modest resumption of Sulu trade with China initiated during the reign of the Sultan
Sahabud- Din around 1700. Badar-Din its missions to China in 1726 and 1727.
b. Attempts to Badar-ud-Din I for peaceful commercial relations with Manila. Treaty of
December 19, 1726.
c. The so- called piratical raids during this time and earlier can be interpreted as a source of
income to make up for the loss of participation in the international trade and the former trade with
China. The raids were also meant to weaken Spanish resources which were used to subject the
Moslems. Of importance too was that they were also intended to intimidate Christian natives used
by Spaniards to conquer the Moslems. Moslem attack on Palawan, the Calamianes, etc., under
Datu Sabdula (Nasar-ud-Din) in the 1730’s. The significance of these attacks is that they partially
satisfied the expectations of the Sulus for strong leadership during a time when there was a dynastic
rivalry for the sultanate.
d. The difference of character and rule of the two brothers A’zim-ud-Din I (1735-1748) and
Muiz-ud-Din (1748-1763). The former believed that he could keep his throne and help Sulu with
friendly relations with Spain and by the granting of concessions to Spaniards. Accepting the fact
of the meager resources of the Sulu and their relative isolation from other Moslem principalities
now under the domination of other Western powers A’zim-ud-Din I believed that Sulu’s progress
could be the result of the strengthening of the institution of the sultanate and other Islamic
institutions together with commercial and political relations with Spain and other lands. His
attempts at commercial relations with China. His “tribute” to China in 1743, Muiz-ud-Din (Datu
Bantilan), on the other hand, believed that such independence could be maintained by the closer
relations with English who could be considered as sources of material aid against persistent
Spanish aims at domination. He even toyed with the idea of contacting the Ottoman sultan at
Istanbul for possible aid to help maintain Sulu’s independence. Bantilan’s conception of dar-ul-
Islam though relatively of place at that time reflects his Islamic consciousness. In 1754, he almost

asked for Chinese protection. Muiz-ud-Din reign witnessed an increaser of Moro depredations on
the Bicol Regions, Mindoro, the Manila areas etc.
e. Relative peaceful relations between Sulu and Spain from the reign of Sultan Muhammad
Israel (1774-1778) to Sultan Sharef-ud-Din (1791-1808). Modest commercial prosperity for Sulu.
The decline of the sultanates. The decline already manifested earlier becomes more
manifestly rapid by the middle of the nineteenth century onwards. Badar-ud-Din’s earlier failure
to capture Zamboanga in 1719 not long after its refortification by the Spaniards revealed Sulu’s
weakness. Badar-ud-Din’s alliance with the Maguindanao and negotiations to patch divisive
elements between Sulu’s and Maguindanaos around 1720 to make another try at Zamboanga was
not very effective. Greater pressures from Spaniards to assert their sovereignty in Sulu. Sulu was
then being pushed into the vortex of conflicting and rival ambitions of Western powers which
spelled doom to its independent existence as a small principality that had ceased to have place in
a rapidly changing world condition. A few of the significant events are as follows:
a. The commercial ambitions of the English exemplified in the cession of Balambagan
and the first cession of the North Borneo territories of the Sulu Sultan to them in the 1760’s.
Destruction of Balambangan in 1775 by the Sulu’s under the leadership of the royal datu Teteng.
French commercial ambitions shown by their desire to purchase the Island of Basilan from Sultan
Pulalun (1842-1862) in 1844 and 1845.
b. Spanish use of steam war vessels in 1848 enabled them to gradually gain mastery of
the Sulu Sea. The destruction of the power of the Balangingi Samals and forcible deportation of
survivors in 1848 by the Spaniards.
c. Spanish expedition to Davao in 1848. Oyanguren versus the Sulu Datu Bago
d. The visit of James Brooke, the British consul general at Borneo and governor of
Labuan, to Sulu in 1849. The inking of the political and commercial pact between Great Britain
and Sulu (although never confirmed) revealed the attempts of Sulu to play one European power
against another. Fear of rival Western powers in Sulu alarmed the Spaniards who now desire more
than ever to subjugate Sulu.
e. Spanish fear and reaction to the ambitions of British and French as well as the
persistence of piratical raids culminated in the Spanish expeditions against Sulu and the capture of
Julu in 1851 under the leadership of Governor General Urbiztondo.Treaty with the Sulus on April
30, 1851. Sulu’s interpreted the treaty as one of the friendly relations while Spaniards considered
it Sulu’s acceptance of Spanish sovereignty.
f. The Spanish expeditions of 1876 and capture of Jolo. Establishment of a permanent
outpost in Jolo. The January 1878 cession of Sulu’s North Borneo possession to a British company
by the Sulu Sultan. Treaty of July 26, 1878 with the Spaniards. Extension of Spanish power to the
other Islands. Spanish intervention in Sulu affairs even in dynastic quarrel, etc. Rule of Jamal-ul-
A’zam (1862-1881).
g. The rise of the juramentados . Significance of such an event is that organized resistance
under the Sultan had failed. Responsibility for the integrity of dar-ul-Islam had become an
individual one.
h. Change of official Spanish policy: the transformation of the Moslems in the Philippine
Archipelago into loyal Spanish subjects rather that converting them into Catholicism.
i. The 1885 Protocol; between Great Britain, Spain and Germany agreed that Sulu
belonged to the Spanish sphere of sovereignty.

j. The 1891 Weyler Campaign in Cotabato. The 1895 Blanco’s campaign in Lanao. The
juramentado institution among the Magindanaos.
The Philippine Revolution and the American Occupation.
a. The leaders of the revolution considered the Moslems of the South as Filipinos bound
with them by racial ties, ancient historical relations, and geographical propinquity. The manifesto
of the Hong Kong Junta in 1893 declared that the Filipinos were made to fight in the Moros in
Mindanao and Sulu who “in reality are brothers, like us fighting or their independence.”
Aguinaldo’s message to the Congress on January 1, 1899 proposed that the Government be
empowered to “negotiate with the Moros of Jolo and Mindanao for purposes of establishing
national solidarity upon the basis of a real federation with absolute respect for their beliefs and
traditions.”
b. The Bates Treaty with the Sulu Sultan in 1899.
c. The defeat of sporadic rising against American Occupation and the futility of the battles
of Bud Bajo (1906) and Bud Bagsak (1913).
d. Sultan Jamal-ul-Kiram’s formal abdication of political power in 1915 (Carpenters
agreement). Moslem representation in the Philippine Government.
e. The role of the Moro resistance against the Japanese Occupation.
f. The independence of the Philippine on July 4.1946. All Filipino Moslems with rights of
Citizenship. Their responsibility in building the National community and the responsibility of
others towards them. The increased secularization of Philippine society.
Anyone with some acquaintance with the history of events in Sulu and Mindanao will easily
noticed the incomplete character of the above outline. Actually, there has been no intention
comprehensiveness. It is hoped that most of the most important events were included. However,
to one desiring to avoid a purely chronological narration, these events can only be significant in
terms on the social and political institutions of the Moslem of the South as well as the economic
structure of their society. It is indispensable to possess a good background of classical Islamic
beliefs, practices, and institutions over and above a knowledge of those indigenous or Pre-Islamic
elements shared by the Moslems of the Philippines with the other Malaysian peoples. With such a
background it is possible to appreciate the results of the impact of Islam on such indigenous
elements. For example, the juramentado upsurge in the 1880’s cannot be fully understood except
with the knowledge of the Sultan’s failure to prevent a non-Moslem power from controlling a land
asserted to have been part of dar-ul-Islam . That the responsibility for the defense of such a territory
had shifted from a duly constituted authority to that of an individual is only significant if elements
of Islamic jurisprudence are considered. Likewise, the General lack of Sulu adherence to treaties
entered between their Sultan and Spanish Authorities can be better understood in terms of the
relations between the Sultan and the datus or traditional chiefs. This in turn requires knowledge of
Sulu traditions regarding the coming of the Sherif-ul-Hashim, reputed to have established himself
as first sultan of Sulu, his commitments with the datus, the principles of dynastic succession, the
division of territorial authority, etc.
Moreover, the dynastic relations between the different sultans in Mindanao and their claims
to rule and exact tribute are to some extent based on appeals to Islamic law and traditions. For the
first two stages in the outline there must be further recourse to the additional local tarsilas other

than those already published. One must also be continually alert to tarsilas that are slowly coming
to light from Borneo and Indonesian Islands from the south of Mindanao. However, it is imperative
to develop a technique to evaluate such tarsilas in order to render them of historical value. A
comparative study of the local tarsilas is essential, and a great deal of some of them can be checked
against Spanish, English and Dutch sources. The value of some tarsilas, especially those that
present an enumeration of the sultans of Sulu, is that they do not only reveal the most salient
characteristics of the personality of the sultans but also what the Sulus considered the most
important historical event of their reign. Negatively speaking, the differences among tarsilas,
relative to certain omissions, reveal dynastic rivalries and even certain Sulu models for dynastic
successions. But further research into the primary sources in the Spanish, British and Dutch
Archives is indispensable. However, without the virtue of tolerance and the ability to emancipate
oneself from unexamined premises, historical empathy for the struggles of Moslems in the South,
and uncompromising desire to understand, nothing can be accomplished.
The history of the Moslems in the Philippine South and the lives of their sultans are not
devoid of an epic character. That a great deal of cruelty, tears and suffering have followed the
wake of their depredations and persistent struggle against aims to conquer them is not to be denied;
but these are merely responses to similar inflictions upon them. In all life-and-death struggles, no
contestant has a monopoly of virtue or vise. Yet the foe had observed the invariant bravery,
stoicism in defeat, and in general, magnanimity in the moment of Moslem victory. What had not
been easily conceded to them is that such behavior could have stemmed from their basic Islamic
belief, that there is universal prescription for behavior and that man ought to try to approximate it.
Indeed, in the further search for national identity one of our largest minorities in the Philippines
can contribute a great deal.
Source: https://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-04-02-1966/majul-islam-history-filipino-people.pdf
Learning Activity: Video analysis

Watch the video in the Youtube by clicking or copying the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKckHIXKZKc or you may scan the QR code below using your
android or IOS phone to get access to the video immediately.
Requirement: What is your reaction on the statement below?

According to John Leddy Phelan, “were it not for the Spanish colonization of the
Philippines for 333 years, the country, would have been a Muslim State like its Southeast Asian
neighbors.”

Lesson 13: Week 14
History of Terrorism in the Philippines

(An International Fact-Finding Mission Report)
Learning Objectives

• Describe the emergence of insurgency and terrorism in the Philippines
• Associate terrorism with cultural and religious aspects
• Explore the various initiatives of the Philippine government to counter terrorism and
address insurgency
General context
Located in South East Asia, the Republic of the Philippines comprises 7,107 islands which
are commonly divided in three groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The capital city, Manila, is
located in Luzon.
The Philippines is the 12th most populated country in the world with 96 million
inhabitants. It is also the 4th largest Catholic nation with about 80% of Christians, whereas
Muslims form a minority throughout the country (approximately 5%). The rest of the population
is made up mostly of smaller Christian denominations as well as indigenous people, part of
which are animists.
Before its independence in 1946, the country was successively dominated by Spain (16 th
to 19th century) and by the United States of America (1898-1946).
Before Spanish colonization, part of the inhabitants were animists while part were Muslims
as a result of trade with the Arabs. Spanish colonization imposed Christianity upon the country,
and the Muslims were called Moros.6 Today, Bangsamoro (“the Moro People”) are mainly settled
in the Southern islands of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan. They were never
colonized neither by Spain, nor by the USA – which introduced a system of government that was
criticized for leading to the “minorization and marginalization” of the Moros and indigenous
people in Mindanao.7 The ancestral domain of Moros and indigenous people was declared as
public land; this is an issue still bearing consequences today, the indigenous people’s claims for
ancestral domains being still not recognized.
When independence was declared on July 4, 1946 and the Republic of the Philippines was
established, it comprised Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Moros reiterated their objections but
Mindanao was nevertheless incorporated under the Republic. From the independence onwards,
Muslims and indigenous people have been complaining that they are marginalized politically and
economically, except for a few rich families.
The Philippines counts natural resources comprising oil, timber, nickel, cobalt, silver,
gold… In addition, its soil is rich and fertile. But land tenure has been – and still is – a controversial

issue across history. About half of the population is rural and agriculture is the primary and often
only source of income for rural poor people, whereas important land is owned by powerful
landlords. An agrarian reform is ongoing and should end in 2008, but concrete implementation is
extremely protracted because of landowners’ resistance and this generates frequent tensions.
The communists (CPP, NPA and NDFP)
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was re-established8 in 1968 by Jose Maria
Sison, a professor at the University of the Philippines. CPP adopted a strategy based on the struggle
for national democracy through a two-stage revolution: a protracted people’s war to be followed
by a Socialist Revolution. One year later, the New People’s Army (NPA) was organized as the
guerilla-military wing of the Party, to wage a peasant-worker revolutionary war in the countryside
against landlords and foreign companies. CPP heads the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP), which is the political-diplomatic arm of CPP-NPA. It is estimated that the
guerrilla army of CPP now consists of about 10,000 persons.
CPP-NPA has been labelled as a terrorist organization by the US Government and by the
European Unionvv(EU) Council. The Philippine government has not made a formal decision
classifying CPP-NPA as a terrorist group but it openly considers it as such.
CPP-NPA-NDFP sees itself as a broad political, revolutionary and liberation movement
and claims that it does not attack civilian targets and that it adheres to international law. NPA
nevertheless claimed responsibility for the assassination of two congressmen in May 2001 whom
it considered as “legitimate targets.”
Former CPP chair Rodolfo SALAS acknowledged that in the 1980s, internal purge of
persons suspected to be government and army infiltrators within CPP resulted in torture and
execution of about 1,800 cadres and civilians.14 This fact is still used by the government and by
the army to attribute the responsibility of current extrajudicial killings to CPP.
Peace efforts to end the armed conflict between the Government of the Republic of the
Philippines and NDFP have been going on for 21 years but stalled in 2004. On June 16, 2006 the
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared an all-out war against NPA. However, on September
5, 2007, she signed
– conditional to the respect of certain criteria – an Amnesty Proclamation, to become effective
only after Congress has approved it.
Peace talks stalled with one substantive agreement as an achievement though, the
Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Laws
(CARHRIHL). To oversee the implementation of this agreement by both sides, the parties have
jointly appointed a Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC).Although it has not convened since 2004
and it has not agreed upon a common procedure, it has continued to register complaints about
human rights violations.
Dangerous amalgam between the CPP-NPA and legal “leftist” organizations
A recent statement made by President Arroyo during a visit she paid to the Local Peace
and Security Assembly (LPSA) of the Bicol region on December 13, 2007, shows that the
executive branch of the Government does not always distinguish between the groups promoting

an ideology in a peaceful way and groups using arms and violence to promote the same ideology.
Indeed, President Arroyo thanked LPSA for “supporting her vision to eradicate communism in the
country by the year 2010”; President Arroyo spoke about communism as such and not only about
the communist insurgency.
During a meeting of the FIDH mission with the AFP Vice-Chief of Staff and a dozen of
high-ranking officers at the AFP General Headquarters on August 16, 2007, AFP denied any
implication in extrajudicial killings. The senior military prosecutor present at the meeting told the
FIDH mission that groups such as NPA, MILF and Abu Sayyaf are clearly “enemies of the State”
and that AFP is acting in the framework of the law.
The senior military prosecutor added that there are legal groups supporting NPA and MILF
and that not all members of those legal groups are considered as “enemies of the State.” However,
according to this high-ranking officer, some prominent members of those groups have been
identified, on the basis of documents allegedly recovered by AFP, as giving the order to kill
civilians. Unfortunately, AFP did not provide the FIDH mission with a written list of names and
did not inform it about the resulting judicial proceedings. Moreover, the same senior military
prosecutor told the FIDH mission that the AFP soldiers and officers can tell and recommend to
people, especially in zones where NPA is active, to avoid joining legal groups.
“Leftist” organizations are labelled as “enemies of the State”: legal and peaceful
organizations like peasant or fishermen associations, mass organizations or political parties like
Bayan and Anak Pawis are often amalgamated with CPP-NPA, which is an armed group.
In February 2006, President Arroyo declared a week-long state of Emergency in response
to alleged conspiracies involving members of the opposition (including “leftists” but also rightists
and members of the military). At least hundreds of “leftists” – whether belonging to legal and
peaceful organizations or to armed ones – were arrested. Charges seemed largely groundless and
politically motivated.
In 2005, a slide presentation entitled “Know the Enemy” was reportedly made available to
the public. Among others, it listed “legal front organizations” (like party list groups, religious
organizations, women organizations, student associations) allegedly allied with CPP-NPA and
hence considered as “enemies of the State.” Despite official denial by AFP, it is reported by many
different stakeholders that AFP further broadcasted on TV a similar propaganda film in 2006, after
the issuance of the February state of emergency. The film intended to discourage people to belong
to a list of legal left organizations, accusing the latter of being too close to CPP-NPA. In parallel,
three books entitled “The Trinity of War” were also issued by AFP, which also contained a list of
organizations labeled as allied of CPP-NPA, including peaceful and legal political parties. Finally,
“Orders of Battle” have reportedly been established, identifying sectoral groups (people belonging
to a particular category such as farmers, youth, women, workers, etc.) alleged to be fronts of the
communist underground. The Order of Battle is a list of enemies ranked according to their
importance. According to KMP (Philippine peasant organization), the documents do not use the
term “kill” but say “neutralize.” General Palparan has reportedly been the leading military figure
promoting such guidelines. When asked about his previous statements accusing organizations such
as Bayan, Karapatan or Gabriela as front organizations of CPP-NPA, General Palparan neither
confirmed nor denied having made such statements.

The legal left-wing political party Anak Pawis also has reportedly been labeled as “front
organization.” As Crispin “Ka Bel” B. Beltran, member of the House of Representatives elected
on the Anak Pawis party-list, says: “Election law foresees that any political party advocating for
or engaged in the use of arms should be dismissed. Hence, as long as no evidence is found of such
acts, all political parties – including so-called ‘leftist’ ones – should not suffer from any ‘labeling.’
Would it not be the case, pressure would be put on electors so as to encourage them to support
other parties.”
This practice of “labeling” is extremely worrying, especially since the majority of victims
of human rights violations belong to so-called “leftist” organizations. Even if they might share the
same ideology, a clear distinction should be drawn between peaceful legal parties and
organizations on the one hand and the armed groups on the other hand.
The Muslim secessionists: MNLF and MILF
There are two main Muslim armed groups in the Philippines, which were initially forming
one single movement: The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) which appeared later. Both advocate for the independence of the Southern
island of Mindanao, but MILF agenda is more rooted in Islam.
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
MNLF was organized in the late ‘60s - early ‘70s by Nur Misuari, a former professor at the
University of the Philippines. The goal of MNLF was to establish an independent Moro nation
through an armed struggle. The armed group is mainly based in Mindanao. It is also a political
organization in the Philippines, accredited by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
On September 2, 1996 the Jakarta Accord, brokered by OIC between MNLF and GRP was
signed. This gave predominantly Muslim areas in Mindanao a degree of self-rule with the
establishment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Nur Misuari became
the regional governor and many of the MNLF armed units were integrated into AFP. The MNLF
leader was nevertheless later arrested in 2001 and is still under house arrest today. He is very
popular in the Philippines but his attempt to collaborate with GRP was seen as a mistake by some
– including MILF.
According to him, MNLF reportedly still counts more than 20,000 supporters. To
summarize the relations between civilians and MNLF and referring to support received from
peasants, he says “You don’t cut hands which feed you!” A tri-partite meeting was set for July
2007 between MNLF, GRP and OIC in order to revise the 1996 Jakarta peace accord. It was
however delayed.
Nur Misuari said to the FIDH mission that MNLF never attacked but only defended itself
and he insisted on brotherhood with his “friends indigenous and Christians. MNLF is not listed as
a terrorist organization.

Interview of Mr. Nur Misuari who is under house of arrest, in the presence of a spiritual leader of MNLF and under the surveillance of a guard.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
MILF broke away from MNLF in 1977, in order to put more emphasis on the Islamic roots
of the movement. It views poverty, the land issue and economic underdevelopment in Mindanao
as a result of the colonization of the BangsaMoro people by the Philippine government.
MILF was established by Ustaz Salamat Hashim, who became its chairman. Before his
death in July 2003, he issued a statement denouncing terrorism and reiterated MILF commitment
to achieve peace through a political settlement. MILF also claims to be committed to make use of
anti-personnel landmines strictly for defensive purposes and in a discriminate manner.
MILF is nevertheless carrying what it sees as a war for self-determination. Its
spokesperson told the FIDH mission that MILF never initiated violence but responded when it
was attacked by soldiers violating its territory, admitting that this might have caused “collateral
damages.” He added that terrorism was not an issue but that it was a theme exploited by the
government.28 Like MNLF, MILF also acknowledges that “lost commands” and “lawless
elements” taking refuge in their territories but disowned by their leadership, might be responsible
for acts of violence.
MILF has not been listed as a “terrorist organization” by the US and the Philippine
government29 but it continues to be a target in the anti-terrorism campaign of the latter for having
links with Al Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). MILF recognizes having been approached by the
latter, but denies any collaboration with it. MILF is said to have about 12,000 to 12,500 members.30
It is mainly based in Mindanao and – like the MNLF – reportedly receives popular support.
GRP-MILF peace negotiations31 started in January 1997 and went back and forth until now.
Attacks allegedly perpetrated by MILF against civilians, supposed links with JI and hostile attitude
of the government towards MILF notably explain that the process has been slowed down. The
incident of Filipino marines who were beheaded on the island of Basilan in July 2007 revived the
tensions between MILF and GRP.32 MILF disagrees with the GRP accusation of beheading but
recognizes the killing of the marines, considered as “legitimate” targets. Exactions committed by
AFP (including torture) are also criticized by MILF as an obstacle to the negotiations.

Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah and Rajah Solaiman Movement
The three aforementioned groups appeared more recently in the Philippines and reportedly
have links with Al Qaeda, according mainly to the information provided by the USA authorities.
Depending on the interlo-cutor from the civil society, FIDH was told that they are a “US product”
or even do not exist. The majority of the people met by the mission agree on the fact that they only
consist of a few criminals led more by profit than by any ideology. Human Rights Watch however
listed a series of attacks perpetrated by those groups.
Like MNLF and MILF, they are mainly located in the Southern island of Mindanao.
However, both MNLF and MILF claim to distance themselves from partnership with these
extremist armed groups; individual Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) or MILF members may however join
militant alliances with Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). ASG and JI are working increasingly with Rajah
Solaiman Movement (RSM), militant converts to Islam based in Manila and northern Luzon, who
are a vehicle for more experienced terrorist groups to move into the country’s urban heartland.
Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah are considered by the USA as terrorist organizations, as well
as by AFP which also listed RSM as a terrorist organization.
Sources:
E. San Juan Jr., “Terrorism and Revolution: The Struggle for National Democracy and Socialism
in the Philippines.”
See http://clogic.eserver.org/2005/sanjuan.html
By Secretary of State Colin Powell on August 9, 2002 under Executive Order 13224. On August
9, 2004, the US Secretary of State re-designated them, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
EU Council decision of 21 December 2005 Implementing Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No.
2580/2001 on specific res-trictive measures directed against certain persons and entities
with a view to combating terrorism and repealing Decision 2005/848/EC, Official Journal
of the European Union, 23.12.2005, L 340/64.
Cornish, M., “Communist Party of the Philippines pursues a violent course against its left
opponents,” Freedom Socialist, Vol. 26, No. 4, August-September 2005.
See e.g. Armed Forces of the Philippines press release, “CPP/NPA Covers Up its
Activities,” September 4, 2006: http://www.afp.mil.ph/0/news/cncov.php
Learning Activity: News Analysis

Requirement:
Download any news clip or article online which reported terror attacks by the separatists,
communist rebels, ISIS-inspired groups, and other insurgents in the Philippines. Answer the
following:
1. What is the motive or intention of the terror attack?
2. Do you think the attack will satisfy their cause/motive?
3. How do you think should the government respond to such attack?

Lesson 14: Week 15
Agreement on Peace between the Government of the

Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front
• Express appreciation of the initiative of the Philippine government to achieve peace

• Derive lessons from the experience of both government and MILF
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
herein referred to as the “Parties” to this Agreement;
Determined to establish a peaceful environment and a normal condition of life in the

Bangsamoro homeland;
Reaffirming the General Cessation of Hostilities dated 18 July 1997 and the General
Framework of the Agreement of intent signed between the Parties on 27 August 1998, and
committing to reach a negotiated political settlement of the Bangsamoro problem, and enduring
peace and stability in Mindanao;
Recalling the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 and the Jakarta Accord of 1996 between the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF), and the OIC Resolution No. 56/9-P (IS) on 12 November 2000 of the Ninth Session of
the Islamic Summit Conference in Doha, State of Qatar, urging the GRP and the MILF “ to
promptly put an end to armed hostilities and to pursue peace talks towards finding a peaceful
resolution to the existing problem in Mindanao;”
Noting that the basic elements/principles for the resumption of peace talks between the
MILF and the GRP panels have been facilitated by the Government of Malaysia, as set forth in the
Agreement on the General Framework for the Resumption of Peace Talks between the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed on
March 24, 2001 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia; Further recalling Article VI of the said Agreement on
General Framework for the Resumption of the Peace Talks between the GRP and the MILF signed
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in which Parties agreed to undertake relief and rehabilitation measures
for evacuees, and joint development projects in the conflict affected areas; and Recognizing that
peace negotiations between the GRP and the MILF is for the advancement of the general interest
of the Bangsamoro people and other indigenous people; and, recognizing further the need for a
comprehensive, just and lasting political settlement of the conflict in Mindanao, the Parties
welcome the resumption of the peace talks and, consequently, Have agreed as follows:

A. SECURITY ASPECT
In accordance with the incremental characteristic of the peace process and agreement on
the General Framework for the Resumption of the Peace Talks, the Parties, as represented by their
respective Peace Panels, consider that normalization in conflict affected areas can be achieved if
certain principles and guidelines of conduct and action are adhered to by the Parties. That among
these are:
1. All past agreements of the Parties shall be implemented in accordance with the Agreement on
the General Framework for the Resumption of the Peace Talks signed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
on 24 March 2001 for the progressive resolution of the Bangsamoro problem with honor, justice,
and integrity for all sectors of society.
2. The negotiation and peaceful resolution of the conflict must involve consultations with the
Bangsamoro people free of any imposition in order to provide chances of success and open new
formulas that permanently respond to the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for freedom.
3. The Parties agree to invite representatives of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to
observe and monitor the implementation of all GRP-MILF Agreements. The Parties further agree
to strengthen the GRP-MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities dated
18 July 1997. Upon signing this Agreement, a Monitoring Team shall be constituted with
representatives from the OIC.
B. REHABILITATION ASPECT
1. The observance of international humanitarian law and respect for internationally recognized
human rights instruments and the protection of evacuees and displaced persons in the conduct of
their relations reinforce the Bangsamoro people’s fundamental right to determine their own future
and political status.
2. The MILF shall determine, lead and manage rehabilitation and

development projects in conflict affected areas, except when public funds are involved, in which
case Government procedures and rules will be observed.
3. The Parties shall safely return evacuees to their place of origin; provide all the necessary
financial/material and technical assistance to start a new life, as well as allow them to be awarded
reparations for their properties lost or destroyed by reason of the conflict.
4. In order to pave the way for relief and rehabilitation of evacuees and implementation of
development projects in the areas affected by conflict, the Parties agree to implement the GRP-
MILF Agreement on the General Cessation of Hostilities dated July 18, 1997.
C. ANCESTRAL DOMAIN ASPECT
On the aspect of ancestral domain, the Parties, in order to address the humanitarian and
economic needs of the Bangsamoro people and preserve their social and cultural heritage and

inherent rights over their ancestral domain, agree that the same be discussed further by the Parties
in their next meeting.
D. ACTIVATION OF COMMITTEES
Immediately upon signing of this Agreement, the Parties hereby agree to activate working
committees for the purpose of discharging their mandates, particularly the implementation of all
agreements between the Parties.
E. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Parties acknowledge the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in pursuing

an all-out peace policy in Mindanao. The Parties express their collective appreciation and gratitude
to the Great Leader of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Colonel Muammar
Gaddafi, and to the Chairman of the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations,
Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, for hosting the Formal Opening of the Resumption of the GRP-MILF Peace
Talks in Tripoli, Libya; to His Excellency Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, Prime Minister of
Malaysia and His Excellency Abdurrahman Wahid, President of the Republic of Indonesia, for
their full and continuing support.
Done on this 22nd day of June 2001 corresponding to 30 Rabi’ ul Aw’al 1422 in the
presence of the representatives of the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable
Associations, the Government of Malaysia and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
For the GRP:

JESUS G. DUREZA
Chairman, GRP Peace Panel
For the MILF:

AL HAJ MURAD EBRAHIM Chairman, MILF Peace Panel Witnessed by:
SAIF AL ISLAM GADDAFI
Chairman of the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations
Source: https://asean-aipr.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ebook-191120-Lessons-Learned-GRP-
MNLF-FPA-1993-1996-1.pdf
Learning Activity: Reflection Paper

Requirement:
What important lessons have learned from this agreement for peace? What is the current
status of this agreement? Can we achieve lasting peace in Mindanao?

Lesson 15: Week 16
Report of the Cholera Epidemic in the Philippines

• Recognize the experience of epidemic in the history of the Philippines
• Create strategies to develop resilience from pandemics
• Visualize the scenario of the early Filipinos who struggled for survival from the infection
of the disease.
The 1899-1902 war of resistance and the 1902-1904 cholera epidemic belong to two
distinct series in Philippine historiography. The fight against the cholera of 1902-1904 has been
represented as a drama whose theme is American heroism and medico-sanitary skill. Cholera was
introduced into the Mariquina valley east of Manila by troops sent to guard against infection of the
Manila water supply. Cholera claimed its victims from all levels of society, including American
soldiers and residents, prominent Filipinos, Chinese, and Spaniards. Developments in nineteenth-
century medicine contributed to the convergence of colonial warfare and disease control.
In March 1902, it was the fourth year of the Philippine-American War. Many towns in Luzon,
hamletted by the Americans, suffered from famine. In Isabela, Emilio Aguinaldo would soon be
captured. In Batangas, Miguel Malvar felt forced to surrender soon, so that rice could be planted in
May. To top it all, cholera arrived. “For the inhabitants of the war-torn areas, it was ultimately a
choice between dying of hunger or dying of cholera,” wrote historian Reynaldo C. Ileto.
“In March 1902 a vessel from Hongkong arrived in Manila carrying cholera. Soon after, the
first cases of cholera surfaced. Cholera was impossible to contain because the Filipinos and even the
American troops themselves moved around carrying the bacteria. Cholera was not selective; it
claimed as victims people from different strata of society and ethnicity—elite, masses, Filipinos,
Americans, Spaniards and Chinese. But the lower classes were the hardest hit, especially in certain
districts in Manila, because of the ‘overcrowding, poor sanitation, and poor diet.’ By the time the
epidemic ended, about 109,461 died, 4,386 of which were in Manila…
“[T]he cholera epidemic gave way to what Ileto calls ‘germ warfare,’ another stage of the Philippine-
American War. During this time, military surgeons became the next wave of ‘pacifiers’ after the
cavalrymen and troops. Searches and surveillance were conducted among Filipino homes to ferret
out the sick and quarantine them. The Filipino response was concealment and evasion since they
refused to part with their sick family members.
“Within the cholera combat zone, colonial officials prohibited gatherings of people in places
considered conducive to the spread of cholera like churches and cockpits. Officials also resorted to
burning the houses of cholera victims and even gathering places like the town market. By cremating
cholera casualties, they elicited further resistance and hatred among Filipinos whose religious
practices demanded proper burial.

Official publication of the report of the cholera epidemic in the Philippines

Ileto notes that powerful drugs, strict quarantine, and cremation of the dead did not end
cholera. Rather, it was the combination of the heavy rains and the increasing immunity of the
populace that caused the epidemic to subside.
The Deadly 1902 Cholera Epidemic in the Philippines, with Special Interest on Its
Consequences in Batangas
The disease cholera is an infection of the small intestines that leads to diarrhea, vomiting
and muscle cramps. It is caused by a bacterium called vibrio cholera that can be transmitted by
unsanitary water or food. Persons infected with the disease may suffer severe dehydration and
electrolyte imbalance, which may, in turn, result into death. The mortality rate for the disease is
anything from 5% to 50%, depending on the availability of treatment.
Occasionally, cholera epidemics worldwide reach pandemic levels, i.e. spread over a large
region, multiple continents or even worldwide. The first pandemic to reach the Philippines was the
one of 1852-1860, during the Spanish era. There were passing references to this in the barrio
histories of Batangas called Historical Data, so we know that the pandemic affected the province
as well.
There is more available documentation on the sixth global pandemic which raged through
the Philippines, including Batangas, from 1902-1904; and it is to this that we now devote our
attention.
On 8 March 1902, American health officials in the Philippines received word that a strain
of Asiatic cholera had appeared in Guangzhou, China; and that five days later it was also reported
in Hong Kong. By 19 March, the chief quarantine officer issued an order “forbidding the
importation” of vegetables as well as a directive to health officials to “be on the lookout for persons
suffering from bowel trouble of a suspicious character.”
Despite these measures, the cholera somehow managed to slip through. The following day,
the Board of Health was informed by the San Juan de Dios Hospital that two patients were
exhibiting symptoms of Asiatic cholera. By 22 March, the presence of the disease was confirmed.
Despite efforts by American officials to contain the spread of the disease, before long it did so, in
communities along the Pasig River, including Manila.
Quarantine guards were stationed “on all roads, paths and streams leading out from
Manila” to prevent the disease from spreading to the provinces, but it did so, anyway. It was likely
brought along with them by people who slipped quarantine by riding bancas or crossed fields
instead of using roads to get out of Manila.
On 24 May, the first case of cholera infection in Batangas was confirmed in the town of
Bauan. Before long, the disease started to spread. By July, cases were confirmed in the towns of
Balayan, Batangas, Lipa, Taal, Lemery, Ibaan, San Juan de Bocboc, Tanauan and San Jose.
By 1 September, 3,093 people had been afflicted; and of this number, a total of 2,340 would
die for a staggering 75% mortality rate. These were just the cases that were officially reported and
recorded.
How the cholera spread so swiftly was likely due to a number of factors. First, there was a
“scarcity of doctors in the province6” which, in turn, made diagnosis and treatment not just of
cholera difficult. Sanitary conditions were also understandably poor by present-day standards, and
water for drinking and personal hygiene was fetched in many cases from open wells or rivers. In
fact, when the Americans first tried to control the disease in Manila by distributing distilled water,
many among the uneducated suspected that they were being poisoned.

When the first case of cholera was confirmed in Batangas, it had been just a month or so
since Batangueños were allowed to return to their homes from the concentration camps, where
they were forced to live by the United States Army since December of the previous year. The
forced concentration was a tactical move to prevent the civilian population from supporting the
guerrilla efforts of General Miguel Malvar’s forces.
After studying burial records in the towns of Lipa and Batangas, the historian Glenn A.
May conjectured that “the zones (i.e. concentration camps) were unhealthy places to live (in) and
that the number of deaths was extraordinarily high during the months of concentration.”
In other words, the general state of health among Batangueños after their release from the
concentration camps would have been poor, particularly in the face of a raging pandemic. This
state of poor health would have continued even after the end of concentration because farms upon
which families depended for subsistence had been neglected while people were in the camps. There
would have been food shortages.
While the disease raged, the Board of Health decreed that no funeral services over the dead
would be allowed in the churches of Batangas as a precaution against its spread. As a
workaround, church services were held without the bodies of the deceased, which were often sent
straight to the cemetery for burial.
In time, measures undertaken by the Board of Health would result in a decline of the
disease’s spread. Among others, these included an educational campaign about how to avoid
becoming infected by the disease; the distribution of free distilled water; a ban on the sale of food
items deemed likely to carry the disease; and the quarantine of infected localities.
Overall, however, by the time the Board of Health declared that the disease had disappeared
from Luzon in 1904, in Batangas the final number of reported cases was 3,433 with 2,718 deaths.
The mortality rate was a staggering 79%. There would be more outbreaks of the disease in the
country in the coming years, but certainly not of the same scale as the pandemic that raged from
1902-1904.
Source:
Report of the cholera epidemic in the Philippines. Medical Record 1866-1922; New York Vol 63
Issue 9 ( Feb 28, 1903): 345.
https://search.proquest.com/openview/2efc2a69c0749409c1aba9c8013b7dbe/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=40146
Ileto, R. (2017). Cholera and the origins of the American sanitary order in the Philippines. Imperial
medicine and indigenous societies. Manchester University Press
https://opinion.inquirer.net/128605/cholera-killed-100000-in-1902-04#ixzz6Tx1daWw5
Batangas: History, Culture and Folklore: Report of the Cholera Epidemic in the Philippines

Learning Activity: Comparative Analysis
Requirement:
Given the current situation, using the table below, compare the scenarios of both cholera epidemic
in 1902 and the COVID-19 in the Philippines in terms of:
a) The number of persons infected (as of the real time for COVID-19)
b) Speed of spread of infection
c) Effect to the economy
d) Effect to the social activities of the people
e) Strategies of the government to address the situation
Indicators 1902 Cholera Epidemic COVID-19 Pandemic

The number of persons infected
(as of the real time)
Speed of spread of infection
Effect to the economy
Effect to the social activities of

the people
Strategies of the government to

address the situation

Leeson 16: Week 17-18
Mintal
“The Little Tokyo of the Pre-war Philippines”
Learning Objectives

• Recognize the significant role of Brgy. Mintal in the local history of Mindanao before
World War II
• Appraise the historical value of heritage sites in Mintal
• Recommend programs and projects for the preservation of heritage sites in Mintal and
other significant areas in Tugbok area
Few people know that Davao City and Japan share a rich historical bond. More than a
century ago, there was a thriving community of around 30,000 Japanese in Barangay Mintal, then
the city’s economic center. What remains of the community a century later are a few Japanese
mementos, cemetery and monuments that serve as window to the past. It’s an urban legend that
during the Commonwealth era, the Japanese community that settled in Davao was among the most
progressive in the early days of Davao and left behind a long-lasting legacy that influences us to
this day.In fact, it can be said that they set up the broad strokes for much of the development and
economic blueprint of modern Davao, probably the only city in the country where the Japanese
imprint is so strong and so beneficial. Davao, during the days of the Commonwealth era, was found
to be a suitable place to cultivate abaca. Land was fertile, weather benevolent, and unlike Bicol, it
was safely located away from the typhoon belt.
One of the early Japanese settlers was wealthy entrepreneur Ohta Kyozaburo, who arrived
in the city in 1903, set up his Ohta Development Company head office in Talomo, and later moved
to Mintal where his abaca business had not only flourished but had also driven the city’s economy.
Ohta Kyosaburo, a Japanese businessman, decided to start an abaca plantation there. Kennon Road
to Baguio was just completed. The Japanese work force was out of work but still in Manila waiting
for repatriation. Instead of their returning to Japan where work was uncertain, Ohta convinced
them to move to rural Davao and begin abaca cultivation there.
From oral accounts, the area where the Japanese settled to plant abaca was part of tribal
land owned by the local tribe, the Bagobos, led by Datu Intal, thus the name “Mintal.” Ohta
Kyozaburo was dubbed the “Father of Davao Development.” His success in abaca farming and
processing drew other Japanese to Mintal, then the most advanced of all villages with a well
thought of map similar to an “urban plan” initiated by the Japanese. Japanese built, among others,
a school, cemetery, irrigation facility, ice plant, hospital, and hydropower plants with a combined
power of 3,470 kilowatts enough to power the whole of old Davao City. The hospital built by the
Japanese was said to be the biggest and the most modern at that time in Mindanao.

Photo on the left shows the decrepit stairs of the hospital (right) built by the Japanese in Mintal, Davao City in the
early 1900s. Photo by ANTONIO L. COLINA IV
The Japanese were forced to flee the city immediately after the World War II broke out in
the 1940’s for fear they might bear brunt of the people for the hostilities that the imperial army
had brought. During the recovery period, however, most of the Japanese houses, monuments, and
buildings were destroyed, parts removed to build new houses or looted for gold. The Shinto shrines
were also all over Mintal but remnants of these buildings could no longer be found.
Ohta Kyozaburo Monument
The Ohta Kyozaburo Monument is still standing within the Mintal Elementary School. However, the nearby triangular
structure was destroyed by treasure hunters looking for gold, the war loots of the Japanese imperial army The obelisk
is known to pupils as “pencil”. MindaNews photo by ANTONIO L. COLINA IV

Ohta Kyozaburo Monument is an important historical structure
erected in 1926 in Bago Oshiro in Calinan District, Davao City in
honor of Ohta Kyozaburo, a Japanese entrepreneur, who, shortly
after the turn of the 20th century, migrated to Davao City and
cultivated vast lands around the shores of Davao Gulf into Abacá
and coconut plantations, and who is considered by local historians
as the "Father of Davao Development."
Born in Hyogo, Japan in February 1876, Ohta

Kyozaburo established the Ohta Development Company, the first
Japanese Abacá plantation company in the Philippines in May 3,
1907. He also established several other companies such as Mintal
Plantation Company, Riverside Plantation Company, Talomo
River Plantation Company, Guianga Plantation Company, and
was instrumental in Davao's economic growth and prosperity. He
died in Kyoto, Japan in October 31, 1917 at age 41.
The first wave of Japanese plantation workers set foot in 1903 (three years after the
American forces landed in 1900) and, immediately thereafter, built their own schools, hospitals
and road networks, published their own newspapers, erected an embassy, and a Shinto Shrine.
During this time, private farm ownership and large-scale business interests such as copra, timber,
fishing, and import-export trading by the Japanese had flourished in Davao region. Transportation
and communication facilities had also much improved, and over time, the locals learned from the
Japanese the modern techniques of cultivation. Hence, agriculture became the main lifeblood of
Davao which paved the way for the province’s economic growth and prosperity.
Left photo: Abaca Plantation In Davao, and right photo: the obelisk in honor of Ohta Kyozaburo

The Guianga Municipal District, centered around Mintal in Davao, known as "Little
Tokyo," became the center of trade and settlement for Japanese expatriates working for the Ohta
Development Corporation and the Furukawa Plantation Company. By the 1930’s, Davao was
completely under the control of the Japanese and their economic clout made them politically
influential as their population grew to 17, 900 by 1939. During this period, the then undivided
province of Davao became the world's biggest producer of Abaca with the entire
industry practically under Japanese control. Despite laws restricting foreign ownership of land, the
Japanese managed to become the largest plantation owners in Davao. They were able to achieve
this by using dummies to buy land from local landowners and marrying local women, particularly
with datu lineage.
As Japan was becoming a world power, having defeated Russia in 1904, and annexed
Korea in 1910 and Manchuria in 1931, doubts as to the real intentions of the Japanese haunted the
entire country. In the 1934 Constitutional Convention, Davao delegate, Pantaleon Pelayo Sr.,
strongly denounced total control of Davao by the Japanese and their unlimited acquisition of
land. Due to the increasing influence of the Japanese in the trade and economy of the region, on
March 16, 1936, Davao Congressman Romualdo C. Quimpo filed House Bill no. 609 calling for
the creation of Davao as a chartered city. The bill sought to break the control of the Japanese and
was subsequently passed and signed into law by President Manuel L. Quezon as Commonwealth
Act No. 51, formally creating the City of Davao from the Town of Davao (Mayo) and the Guianga
District. The Act stipulated for the appointment of its local officials by the President of the
Philippines, instead of being elected, thus entrenching Japanese power in Davao. It also made
Davao City the provincial capital of the then undivided Davao Province, thus, making it the largest
city in the world with a territory of 2,244 square kilometers or 244,400 hectares.
However, World War II erupted and, on December 8, 1941, the Japanese planes bombed
the city, and eventually occupied Davao in 1942. By 1945, the American troops and the Philippine
Commonwealth forces had liberated Davao City from Japanese occupation. And whatever
progress the local and Japanese migrants made in this "Little Tokyo" in Guianga Municipal District
in Mintal was destroyed during the war. The only remnants include the Obelisk built in 1926 with
the inscription:

Map of Pre-War Mintal

The Obelisk and the Japanese Pyramid
Beside the Obelisk is the base of the Japanese pyramidal structure honoring the memories
of the directors of Ohta’s plantation company. The area used to be part of a ten-thousand-hectare
Abaca plantation which included an advanced irrigation canal system.
Today, the irrigation canal is being utilized by the National Power Corporation. The
Obelisk, the Japanese Pyramid, and the irrigation canal are located on the grounds of the Mintal
Public Elementary School which was the former site of one of the biggest Japanese Primary
Schools built in Davao in 1924, and which was once used as the Japanese Headquarter during
WWII..
Other markers and obelisks of Japanese nationals who died as residents of Davao during
the war can still be seen in and around Mintal, Toril, and Calinan. In the month of August, Japanese
tourists would usually come to these places to visit and honor their dead - an important Japanese
tradition. They particularly visit Mintal which is the site of the Ohta Corporation, once the biggest
prewar Abacá production company that had ruled the industry for over four decades. Local
government officials led by "Little Tokyo": of Prewar Philippines, and the deputy mayor, are busy
at this time preparing for the coming of their Japanese guests.
On May 11, 2009, a Peace Pole was planted right beside the marker by the World Peace
Prayer Society.

The Marker erected in 2003 and the Peace Pole
Funerary stele with Japanese characters in Mintal cemetery
Bagobos and Japanese coexisted peacefully. Intermarriage resulted in, among other things,
increased plantation area. Eventually, the Bagobo population out-migrated and today there are
hardly any that remain in the Mintal area. During the Commonwealth era, a major part of Mintal
was planted to abaca. In 1937, at the height of its agricultural and civic activity, more Japanese

workers brought in from the Okinawa region of Japan. It is said that there were as many as 11,000
Japanese living and working there aside from their Filipino employees.
To care for such a large community, facilities were introduced to service the population.
The schools, hospital, commercial and infrastructure facilities—to mention a few—set up in
Mintal and managed by Japanese or Japan-trained Filipinos. Managed with the usual Japanese
efficiency, the facilities became known to be among the best in Mindanao at that time.
The infrastructure left by the Japanese in Mintal was technologically so well built that they formed
the basis of the infrastructure network of modern Davao. It can be said that they set the tone for
the development of contemporary Davao.
One example is the water catchment system set up to service the hydroelectric power plant
of old Mintal has survived to be incorporated into the city power system until its recent
decommissioning. As expected, World War II was the end of the Japanese presence in Mintal.
Those who did not flee into the surrounding hills joined the Imperial army. To be able to continue
living in Davao, others took on new identities and changed their living patterns. Physically, very
little Japanese heritage remains in Mintal. And what little remains is badly in need of repair and
conservation. Some older people in the barrio remember vague Japanese links, but these links have
become clouded memories. No traces of Japanese culture, language or even food remain.
Reflection:
It is mostly forgotten these days, or vaguely mentioned during some conversations with
Davaoeños. The story of Mintal, the Japanese presence, and their contribution to contemporary
life and culture is totally disregarded—a pity since this is such a crucial part of Davao history.
Mintal is an example of forgotten heritage. Mintal is commonly known as “Little Tokyo” but there
is little to remind one of Tokyo. In fact, the town looks like any other typical town along any
Philippine highway: tired, dusty and sleepy.
Nothing but a few decaying Japanese monuments—graveyard steele inscribed with
Japanese characters in the cemetery, a concrete pyramid (badly broken down) next to a chipped
obelisk memorial to Ohta Kyosaburo located in what is now the public-school football field. Only
the ruined bottom of the front steps of the former hospital remains, hidden away in the back of the
public market that has taken over the original hospital site.
The heritage possibilities for a barrio like Mintal are endless. But first, the residents have
to rediscover and relive their Japanese heritage, the very thing that gives them the cultural
significance that sets them apart from their neighbors.
Once the cultural significance is rediscovered, pride of place sets in, It is the touchstone to
community redevelopment, for additional income generating projects, for locals to “own” their
barrio and look out for its future.
Think of Vigan. Once the locals rediscovered the uniqueness of their city, doors and
possibilities opened up: houses were restored and re-used for different purposes, plazas and streets
were improved, new businesses blossomed, and tourists started coming in droves.
Davao is a city of migrants, of people who have settled there from all over the Philippines. Among
its earliest and most influential migrant groups were the Japanese, who deserve more thanks and
recognition for their legacy than what they receive today.
There are many Mintals in the Philippines, many towns or districts whose uniqueness has
been covered by the dust of time. These places are just waiting for you to lead in its rediscovery.
Who knows what treasures are waiting to be found?

Source: http://davaocitybybattad.blogspot.com/2012/06/ohta-kyozaburo-monument.html
Colina, A. (2017). From ‘Little Tokyo’ to Tokyo, Japan: historical bond, shared journey.
Mindanews.
Villalon, A. (2017). Little Tokyo in Davao. Philippine Daily Inquirer February 13,
2017. https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/254364/little-tokyo-davao/#ixzz6Ts00KzEB
Learning Activity: Document Analysis
Download the document in the like below:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343381635_Proposed-Eco-Cultural-Historical-
Tourism-Site
or you may scan this QR Code in your android or IOS Phone to access the document
directly.
The document is a research output which was converted into a proposed eco-historical-tourism
site in Mintal and neighboring areas. The document is still a plan. It has not been presented yet to
any concerned agency.
Requirements:
1. What is your impression about the document?
2. Does it provide enough information for the development of the heritage site? Explain.
3. What government agencies should be tapped to undertake the proposed project?
4. What can you suggest to the proponents of the proposed project so that it can be given
attention by the concerned government agency?

Module Writer
Faculty Information:
Name: EnP. Moises C. Torrentira, Jr., PhD

Email: moises.torrentira@usep.edu.ph
Contact Number: 0998-559-8189
Qualifications: AB Philosophy, Ateneo de Davao University

BS in Public Administration, Southway Colleges of Technology
Short Course in Readings in Phil. History, UP Diliman
Master in Public Administration, Ateneo de Davao University
Master in Business Administration, Ateneo de Davao University
Master in Environmental Planning, University of Mindanao
PhD in Development Administration, University of Southeastern Philippines
Licensed Environmental Planner, Licensed Professional Teacher
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Lesson 1: Week 1-2

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 2|P a ge

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 3|P a ge

Doctrina Christiana, the first published work

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 4|P a ge

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 5|P a ge

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 6|P a ge

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 7|P a ge

Jose Rizal Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 8|P a ge

Equally important is the

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 9|P a ge

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 10 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 11 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 12 | P a g e

History of the Philippine Islands

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 13 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 14 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 15 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 16 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 17 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 18 | P a g e

Learning Activity: Reaction Paper

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 19 | P a g e

The Manunggul Jar

By the end of this lesson, the student will be able to:

The burial jar which is unrivaled in Southeast Asia and

Discovery of the Jar

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 20 | P a g e

First Excavation and Response to Discovery

Design of the Jar

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 21 | P a g e

Learning Activity: Map Analysis

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 22 | P a g e

Manunggul, Tabon Caves

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 23 | P a g e

The Laguna Copperplate

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 24 | P a g e

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 29 | P a g e

Duties of the Katipunan of the Sons of the People

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 30 | P a g e

Learning Activity: Personalized Decalogue Construction

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 31 | P a g e

Act of Declaration of Philippine Independence

• Examine the contents of the act of declaration

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 32 | P a g e

Learning Activity: Evaluative Essay

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 33 | P a g e

1899 CONSTITUTION OF THE

By the end of the lesson, the student will be able to:

• Examine the contents of the Malolos Constitution

The President of the Council,

Article 2. The Philippine Republic is free and independent

Article 3. Sovereignty resides exclusively in the people.

Torrentira, Readings in Philippine History 34 | P a g e

Article 6. The following are Filipinos: