MIDTERMS

BSRT 1A | 2021 – 2022

MADELYN APLAON, LPT

MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUSTINIAN
LA SOBERNIA MONACAL EN FILIPINAS O ANG
PAGHAHARI NG MGA PRAYLE SA PILIPINASNI • The founders and first apostles
MARCELO H. DEL PILAR of the Catholic faith in the
Philippines
BACKGROUND • April 27, 1565: arrived in Cebu led by Andres
- The Monastic Supremacy of the Spanish friars de Urdaneta
brought many political, religious and
economic conflicts and unresolved issues Orphanage and
Augustinian
during the late 1800's and violation of human industrial school at
Seminary and
Tambhon
rights was prevalent in the religious and College, Vigan
political aspect. San Agustin
Church
INTENDED AUDIENCE
• Spanish Government FRANCISCANS
• Friars • July 2, 1578: Ordo Fratrum
• Public Minorum (OFM) Franciscans
DATE & PLACE OF PUBLICATION arrived in Manila
• Franciscans were able to
• 1889
establish and/or administer
• Spain
207 towns/parishes
CONTRIBUTION TO PHILIPPINE HISTORY
- Discussed the situations that showed how the
friars indirectly controlled the government
during the Spanish colonization in the country Hospital of Naga
San Lazaro
- Denounced the friars for their wrong teachings San Juan de the Holy Hospital of
Hospital
Dios Hospital Waters in Los San Diego
and abusive acts which had resulted in a life of (1580)
(1580) Baños (1592) (1586)
poverty and misery of the Filipinos

HISTORICAL CONTEXT JESUITS

- One of the primary crusades was the • 1581: arrived in Philippines
Propaganda Movement from Mexico
- The friars in the Philippine government • 1591: mission stations were
controlled the status quo of the country established in Balayan,
Batangas, Taytay, and in Antipolo, Rizal
MARCELO H. DEL PILAR
• 1593: first Jesuit mission stations were
MARCELO HILARIO DEL PILAR Y GATMAITAN established in the Visayas in Tibauan, Panay.
- Born on August 30, 1850 in Kupang, • September 1595: College of Manila was
Bulakan, Bulacan opened
- Died on July 4, 1896 • August 25, 1601: College of San Jose opened
- Pen names: “Piping Dilat,” • 1605: made the Philippine Vice Province into
“Plaridel,” “Pupdoh,” “Dolores an independent Province.
Manapat” • 1768: Jesuits were banished from the
- A lawyer, propagandist Philippines
- Reform Movement in Spain, along with Jose
Rizal & Graciano Lopez Jaena
- Published La soberania monacal en Filipinas
Monastic Supremacy & La falocracia Filipina Manila
Escuela Municipal
Observatory,
THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS de Manila, Colegio de Manila
Padre Faura
Intramuros
Ermita

4 | MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

DOMINICANS o accepted the resignations of the
• The Order of Preachers/Order of regular priests in 1774
St. Dominic was confirmed an o assigned secular priests to take their
Order by Pope Honorius III in 1216. place
• 1587: 15 men arrived at the port • A royal decree was also issued on November
of Cavite 9, 1774
• 1593: Doctrina Christiana published with • The issue soon took on a racial slant.
different versions • Monsignor Pedro Pelaez
• 1594: Dominicans evangelized the fertile ecclesiastical governor of the
Cagayan Valley. Church, sided with the Filipinos.
• 1611: established University of Santo Tomas After his death due to an
• 1619: extended their missionary work in the earthquake, other priests took his
Babuyanes place in fighting for the
• 1783: permanently set-foot in Batanes secularization movement.
(ex. GOMBURZA)

CRUSADES AGAINST MONASTIC

SUPREMACY

Sto. GOVERNORS
University of Binondo Tumauini
Domingo
Santo Tomas, Church, Church, • They complain to the Spanish Monarch
Church,
Manila Manila Isabela
Intramuros THE KING
• The crown tries to investigate the friars
RECOLLECTS
INDIOS
• 1606: arrived in Cebu
• The lowest-ranked group in Spanish racial
• 1607: they took charge of
hierarchy
Bataan, Zambales and western
Pangasinan BISHOPS
• 1622: Pope Gregory XV declared the • Filipino priests were not allowed to ascend into
Recollects a congregation & Bishop Pedro de the higher positions of the Catholic Church
Arce of Cebu requested and they started to hierarchy
evangelize parts of Mindanao
• 1635: exchanged their small mission in Negros GOMBURZA
• 1679: Archbishop of Manila gave them • Execution: February 17, 1872 in Bagumbayan
Mindoro • Ordered by Gov. Rafael de Isquierdo
• 1687: took charge of Masbate
PROPAGANDIST

San Sebastian Church, • Propaganda Movement:

Quiapo - Led by Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo
H. del Pilar, and Dr. Jose Rizal
- Desired reforms:
o Equality of the Filipino & the
THE SECULARIZATION CONTROVERSY: THE
Spaniards before laws
DISCRIMINATION AMONG SPANISH & FILIPINO
o Restoration of the Philippine
PRIESTS
representation in the Spanish Cortes
THE SECULARIZATION CONTROVERSY
COMPOSITION OF PHILI PPINE RELIGIONS
• Regular priests belonged to
religious orders. As of 2019 there are:
• Secular priests did not belong • Roman Catholic 80.6%
to any religious order. • Protestant 8.2% includes
• Conflict began when the o Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches
bishops insisted on visiting the 2.7%,
parishes that were being run by regular priests. o National Council of Churches in the
• Archbishop Basilio Santa Justa Philippines 1.2%,

5 | MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

 o other Protestant 4.3% exercise and enjoyment of religious
• Christian 3.4% profession and worship, without
• Muslim 5.6% discrimination or preference, shall forever be
• Tribal religions 2% allowed.”
• other 1.9%
SEPARATION OF THE CHURCH AND
TRADITIONS GOVERNMENT
Roman Catholic traditions are still done in the The respective standpoints of the Church and the
country like: Government on contemporary issues:

Annulment and Gender and Reproductive

Divorce Sexuality Health Law

Fiestas Celebration of Reenactments

special days (ex: the Crucifixion of
(ex. Christmas) Jesus Christ)

CHURCH DURING THE SPANISH COLONIZATION

REDUCCION POLICIES
• essentially meant a forced relocation of small,
scattered settlements into one larger town.
• The policy also made it easier for a single
Spanish Catholic friar to 'train' Filipinos in the
basic principles of Christianity.
• to collect taxes from their Christianized
converts.
In the late Spanish period, in contrast, Spanish priests
angry many Filipinos for failing to:
a) Allow otherwise 'trained' Filipino priests to
ascend into the higher strata of the Catholic
Church hierarchy in the Philippines;
b) Return much of the land they had claimed as
'friar estates' to the Philippine landless farmers;
c) Recognizing nascent and emerging Filipino
demands for more autonomy and a greater
say in how the colony was to be managed.
FRIAR ACQUISITION OF LAND
1. Royal Bequest
Friars suggested that the King grant them
some estates in the native villages
2. Donations and Inheritances
Priests were prohibited from inheriting
property by order of the King
3. Buying of Land
Friars bought land from the natives using
the money obtained from church fees,
trade, and from profits gained from the
produce of lands
4. Foreclosure of Mortgages
Friars demanded that their advances be
regarded as loans payable at a fixed
rate of interest
5. Land-grabbing
Priests claimed lands and had them titled

DISCUSSIONS AND MAIN ARGUMENTS

State of the Church: THEN
• In the political aspect, the government and
the status quo of the country were controlled
by the Spanish friars
• The privilege to vote was only given to the
curate and even the security of the Filipinos
was put into danger.
State of the Church: NOW
• Article II, Section 6
• The separation of Church and State shall be
inviolable
• Philippine Organic Act of 1902 , during the
American period
• “No law shall be made respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof, and that the free
1. The Document’s Contributions to Philippine
History and its Historical Context
2. Main Aspects of the Monastic Supremacy
a. Religious
b. Political
c. Economic
3. The Monastic Supremacy Aspects: Then vs.
Now
MAIN ASPECTS OF THE MONASTIC SUPREMACY
1. Religious Aspect
• The municipal officials depended on the
Parish priest
• A secularization controversy occurred
• The regular priests resented to assign Filipino
secular priests

6 | MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

 Considered the Filipinos unfit for the
priesthood
Cited the Filipinos’ brown skin, lack
of education, and inadequate
experience
2. Political Aspect
• Priests were prohibited from inheriting
property by order of the King
• The basis of monastic wealth is the lack of
union between the people and the
government
• The Filipinos paid direct and indirect taxes:
Direct taxes: Personal Cedula
Indirect taxes: Markets, Vehicles, Horses(Kalesa),
Stamps
3. Economic Aspect
• The economic position of the Orders was
secured by their extensive landholdings
o Donated to them for the support of their
churches, schools, and other
establishments
o The largest landholders in the islands, with
their estates concentrated in the Central
Luzon
*Additional*
Educational Aspect
• The Friars owned different schools from the
primary to the tertiary level and took charge in
teaching, controlling, and maintaining the
rules and regulations imposed to the students
o Emphasized the teachings of the Catholic
religion
o The Christian Doctrines were taught
• The supposed Philippine education was
privileged only to Spanish students, where
there was prejudice against the Filipinos in the
schools.
MAIN ARGUMENTS
“Excerpt from Monastic Supremacy in the
Philippines” — primary source; book
• “The personal security of the citizens is equally
endangered by monastic power”.
• “Is the government sure of the sincerity of such
assistants? Is it sure that they will not debase
their commission?”
• “The danger to national integrity is the friars’
hobby of imposing their preponderance in the
Philippines. Does such a peril really exist? Is the
government sufficient to avert it? Is it thus that
the Spanish government would perish without
their support?”
7 | MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES
• “Diversity of languages among the rulers and
the ruled; and to preserve that diversity to
impede popular education, and to avoid at
any cost that the people and the government
come to understand each other, are the best
way of keeping them in perpetual
antagonism.”
• “Public education is one of the common
aspirations of both the government and the
Filipinos. The government as well as the people
dream of a common language in the islands.”
THE MONASTIC SUPREMA CY ASPECTS:
THEN VS. NOW
TAXATION DURING THE SPANISH PERIOD
TAXES IMPOSED BY THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Taxes during the Spanish period was compulsory. All
the Spanish Colonies in America and the Philippines
were required to pay taxes for two reasons.
1. As recognition of Spain's Sovereignty over the
Colonies.
2. To defray the expenses of pacification (The act
of forcibly suppressing hostility within the
colonies) and governance, thereafter.
• Tributo
• Sanctorum
• Donativo
• Caja de Comunidad
• Servicio Personal
- Several colonial laws on taxation were made by
the Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias
(Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies) for
the Spanish monarch.
- These laws were embodied in the compilation
of legislations related to the New World called
the Recopilacion de leyes de los reynos de las
Indias.
- It was a four-volume collection of laws relating
to the Indies, which was published in Madrid in
1861.
TRIBUTO
- Tributo was a general tax paid by the Filipinos to
Spain which amounted to eight reales. Those
who were required to pay the tributo the:
 a. 18 to 50 years old males
b. The Carpenters, bricklayers, blacksmiths,
tailors and shoemakers
c. Town workers such as those in road
construction, and those whose is public in
nature.
SANCTORUM
Sanctorum was a tax in the amount of 3 reales. These
were required for the cost of Christianization,
including the construction of the churches and the
purchase of materials for religious celebrations.
DONATIVO
Donativo was the tax in the amount of half real for
the military campaign of the government against
the muslims. In the later years, however, the amount
collected from donativo was almost exclusively used
for the Spanish fort in Zamboanga.
CAJA DE COMUNIDAD
Caja de comunidad was a tax collected in the
amount of 1 real for the incurred expenses of the
town in the construction of roads, repair of bridges,
or the improvement of public buildings.
SERVICIO PERSONAL
Polo y servicio is the system of forced labor which
evolved within the framework of the encomienda
system, introduced into the South American colonies
by the Conquistadores and Catholic priests who
accompanied them. It was present in almost all of
the Spanish colonial government around the world.
Polo y servicio is the forced labor for 40 days of men
ranging from 16 to 60 years of age who were
obligated to give personal services to community
projects. One could be exempted from polo by
paying the falla (corruption of the Spanish Falta,
meaning "absence"), a daily fine of one and a half
real.
REVOLT AGAINST TRIBUTE
There are several revolts that are against the
implementation of tax by the Spanish Authorities.
• Cagayan and Dingras Revolts
• (1589)
• Sumuroy's Revolt
• Maniago's Revolt
• Malong's Revolt
CAGAYAN AND DINGRAS REVOLTS (1589)
The Cagayan and Dingras Revolts Against the
Tribute occurred on Luzon in the present-day
provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte in 1589.
Ilocanos, Ibanags and other Filipinos revolted
against alleged abuses by the tax collectors,
8 | MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES
including the collection of high taxes. It began when
six tax collectors who had arrived from Vigan were
killed by the natives. Governor-General Santiago de
Vera sent Spanish and Filipino colonial troops to
pacify the rebels. The rebels were eventually
pardoned and the Philippine tax system reformed.
SUMUROY'S REVOLT
In the town of Palapag today in Northern Samar,
Agustin Sumuroy, a Waray, and some of his followers
rose in arms on June 1, 1649 over the polo y servicio
or forced labor system being undertaken in Samar.
This is known as the Sumuroy Revolt, named after
Agustin Sumuroy.
The government in Manila directed that all natives
subject to the polo are not to be sent to places
distant from their hometowns to do their forced
labor. However, under orders of the various town
alcaldes, or mayors, The Waray were being sent to
the shipyards of Cavite to do their polo y servicio,
which sparked the revolt. The local parish priest of
Palapag was murdered and the revolt eventually
spread to Mindanao, Bicol and the rest of the
Visayas, especially in places such as Cebu,
Masbate, Camiguin, Zamboanga, Albay,
Camarines and parts of northern Mindanao, such as
Surigao. A rebel government was successfully
established in the mountains of Samar.
The defeat, capture and execution of Sumuroy in
June 1650 delivered a big setback to the revolt. His
trusted co conspirator David Dula sustained the
quest for freedom with greater vigor but in one of a
fierce battles several years later, he was wounded,
captured and later executed in Palapag, Northern
Samar by the Spaniards together with his seven key
lieutenants.
MANIAGO'S REVOLT
The Maniago Revolt was an uprising in Pampanga
during the 1660s named after its leader, Francisco
Maniago. During that time, Pampanga drew most of
the attention from the Spanish religious orders
because of its relative wealth. They also bore the
burden of more tribute, forced labor, and rice
exploitation. They were made to work for eight
months under unfair conditions and were not paid
for their labor and for the rice purchased from them.
Their patience was put to the limit and they signified
their intention to revolt by setting their campsite on
fire. The fight soon began and because the
Spaniards were busy fighting against the Dutch, they
were badly depleted by the Kapampangans. The
Maniago revolt was the start of a much bigger and
even bloodier revolt in Pangasinan. This battle was
led by a man named Andres Malong who had
heeded the call of Maniago to revolt against the
Spaniards.

MALONG'S REVOLT
Andres Malong was the maestro de campo of
Binalatongan, now San Carlos City, Pangasinan in
the 1660s. He assisted many Spaniards in governing
different towns in Pangasinan, and as such, had
learned and was trained to use force and cruelty.
He hoped of being the King of the province,
however, set this plan aside when a war, led by
Francisco Maniago, broke out in Pampanga.
Malong started his campaign in a small barangay
called Malunguey, but failed. Having the same
condition as in Pampanga, he led the people in
Pangasinan to take up arms against the Spaniards.
It spread like wild fire in Pangasinan. Because of his
success, he proclaimed himself King of Pangasinan.

THE TAX REFORM OF 1884

One of the good reforms which Spain introduced in

the 19th century was the Tax Reform o 1884, as
provided by the Royal Decree on March 6, 1884, this
tax reform contained two important provisions.

1. Abolition of the hated Tribute and its

replacement of Cedula Tax and;

2. Reduction of the 40-day annual forced labor

(polo) to 15 days.

a. Cedula Personales

CEDULA PERSONALES
Cedulas were first issued based on the Royal Decree
on March 6, 1884. All men and women residents of
the island- Spaniards, foreigners, and natives- who
were over 18 years old were required to obtain a
cedula. The only exceptions were the Chinese, who
paid another poll tax, the remontados d infieles,that
were not subject to local administration, and the
natives and colonist of the archipelago of Jolo and
of the islands of Balabac and Palawan.

All in all, there were 16 different classes of cedulas.

Originally, there were 9 classes taxed, the rates of
Taxes ranged from 1.50 to 25 Pesos, and a tenth,
grantis, for priest, soldiers and privileged classes.

Cedula

9 | MONASTIC SUPREMACY IN THE PHILIPPINES