Republic of the Philippines

CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE

F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty: Oscar H. Falcon

Schedule: MW 8:00-9:30 AM (BSCE 1A)
MW 9:00-11:00 AM (BSOA 1A)
MW 11:00-12:30 PM (BSPA 1A)
MW 2:00-3:30 PM (BSCE 1B)
TTh 8:00-9:30 AM (BSHM 1A)
TTh 9:30-11:00 AM (BSE 1A)
Lesson/Topic: Lesson 4: Customs of the Tagalogs
Objectives: At the end of the rating period, students should be able to:
1. Examine the context & perspective of the document;
2. Explain the relationship among the members of a barangay;
3. Discuss the religious & spiritual practices & beliefs of early Filipinos; and
4. Determine the significance of the document to Philippine History.
Discussion: Through Google Meet
Evaluation: Research Report, Quiz
References: a. BATIS, Sources in Philippine History, Jose Victor Torres, C&E Publishing Inc. 2018
b. https://digital.soas.ac.uk/content/LO/AA/00/59/03/00001/pdf.pdf
c. https://pvao.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Philippine-History.pdf

Historical Context
During the first century of Spanish rule, the colonial government had difficulty in running local
politics because of the limited number of Spaniards who wanted to live outside of Intramuros. This situation
forced Spanish officials to allow Filipinos to hold the position of gobernadorcillo. To ensure that the
gobernadorcillos would remain loyal to the Crown, the friars assigned in the parishes were instructed to
supervise and monitor the activities of the former. Hence, the friars ended up performing the administrative
duties that colonial officials should have been doing at the local level. They supervised the election of the
local executives, helped in the collection of taxes, were directly involve in educating the youth, and
performed other civic duties. Consequently, the friars became the most knowledgeable and influential figure
in the pueblo.

The friars who were assigned in mission territories were required periodically to inform their
superiors of what was happening in their perspective areas. They prepared reports on the number of
natives they converted, the people’s way of life, their socio-economic situation, and the problems they
encountered. Some of them submitted short letters while others who were keen observers and gifted
writers wrote long dispatches. On top of the regular reports they submitted, they also shared personal
observations and experiences. Plasencia’s Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (Customs of the
Tagalogs, 1589) is an example of this king of work. It contains numerous information that historians could
use in reconstructing the political and socio-cultural history of the Tagalog region. His work is a primary
source because he personally witnessed the events and his account contained his observations.

There were other friars and colonial officials who also wrote about the Filipinos which could further
enrich our knowledge of Philippine history during the early part of the Spanish period. For example, Miguel
de Loarca, an encomendero of Panay wrote his Relacion de las Islas Filipinas (1582) and described the
Filipinos way of life in the Western Visayas area. Lieutenant Governor Antonio de Morga wrote Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas which provides information about the state of the Philippines in the latter part of the 16 th
century. The other Spanish missionaries who continued the historiographical tradition were Fr. Pedro
Chirino S.J. (Relacion de las Islas Filipinas, 1604), Fr. Juan Delgado S.J. (Historia General, 1751), Fr.
Francisco Colin S.J. (Labor Evangelica, 1663), and Fr. Francisco Ignacio Alcina S.J. (Historia natural del
sitio, fertilidad y calidad de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas, 1668). Most of what we know about Philippine
history during the first century of the Spanish period were derived from the accounts of the Spanish friars.

About the Author

GEC 2 – Readings in Philippine History Page 1 of __
 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

College of Arts and Sciences

Fray Juan de Plasencia (Joan de Portocarrero, real name) was a member of the Franciscan Order
who came together with first batch of missionaries to the Philippines in 1578. He and a fellow
FranciscanFray Diego de Oropesa, were assigned to do mission works in the Southern Tagalog area.
Plasencia also helped in the foundation and organization of numerous towns in Quezon, Laguna, Rizal, and
Bulacan. His continuous interaction with the people he converted to Christianity enabled him to write a work
titled Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (Customs of the Tagalogs, 1589) where he vividly
described the political, social, economic, and cultural practices of the Filipinos before they were
Christianized.

Plasencia did not limit himself to the task of administering the sacraments and baptizing new
converts. He believed that the cathechism or explaining the basic tenets of Catholic faith is another very
important function of a missionary. His biggest challenge at that time was how to make the articles of faith
comprehensible to people who have never heard of Christ or the Catholic Church. He wrote the Doctrina
Christiana en Lengua Espanola y Tagala which later became the first printed book in the Philippines in
1593. He used it as reading material for those Filipinos who wished to deepen their faith in the newly-
accepted religion. Plasencia died in Liliw, Laguna in 1590

About the Book

The original document of Customs of the Tagalogs is currently kept in the Archivo General de Indias
(A.G.I.) in Seville, Spain. A duplicate copy of it is kept in the Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental (A.F.I.O.),
in Madrid, Spain. An English translation appeared in Volume VII of the Blair and Robertson’s The Philippine
Islands. Another English translation was published as part of the volume for colonial Philippines in the
second series of the Filipiniana Book Guild.

Relevance
Plasencia’s Cutoms of the Tagalogs is a very popular primary source as it vividly describes the way
of life of the Filipinos before Spanish and Christian influences. It also covers numerous topics that are
relevant in many disciplines. Political scientist, for instance, find it useful because it contains information
about social classes, political stratifications, and legal system of the Tagalog region. Many of what we know
about the duties and responsibilities of the datu, maharlika, and alipin came from Plasencia’s account.
Moreover, it tackles property rights, marriage rituals, burial practices, and the manner in which justice is
dispensed. Plasencia’s account also preserves and popularizes the unwritten customs, traditions, and
religious and superstitious beliefs of the Filipinos.

One can also say that our historical knowledge about the mananaggal, aswang, hukluban, and
gayuma, among others came from Plasencia’s works.

Priests and missionaries also read Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs and Doctrina Christiana
because they contain insights that can help and inspire them to become effective evangelizers. The
realization that one needs to master the local language and study the culture of the people to be a
successful missionary is one insight from Plasencia. They also learned from Plasencia that contain the
basic elements of faith. These readings will serve as guide and reference when the missionaries are no
longer around. All these insights from Plasencia are applicable not only to missionaries but to other
professions as well.

Plasencia’s historical writings also disprove the claim of some Spaniards that when they arrived in
the Philippines, Filipinos were still uncivilized and lacking in culture. It is clear in the excerpts quoted that at
the time Plasencia was assigned in the Tagalog region, Filipinos were already politically and economically
organized. They had a functioning government, tax system, set of laws, criminal justice system, indigenous
calendar, and long -standing customs and traditions. Moreover, they had a concept of a supreme being
(Bathala), practiced burial customs, and believed in life after death. Lastly, Plasencia mentioned that the
people he met were wearing garments and gold ornaments, and their houses were decorated with idols. All
of these lead to the conclusions that prior to the coming of the Spaniards, Filipinos were already civilized

GEC 2 – Readings in Philippine History Page 2 of __

 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLEGE
F. Pimentel Avenue, Brgy. 2, Daet, Camarines Norte – 4600, Philippines

College of Arts and Sciences

and maintained a lifestyle that was on a par with or even better than that of the people from other countries
in Southeast Asia.

GEC 2 – Readings in Philippine History Page 3 of __