Discuss the general condition of the Philippines during Spanish period.

Philippines during the Spanish period have been one of the talks of the class kind of thing until
today’s generation. Being a Filipino it hurts our Filipino pride to have let such thing happened to
our Filipino ancestor in our very own land. Moving forward, we can still see such small action
happening to our fellow Filipino and learning about the Spanish Period – this may or might give
the next generation an insight of the sacrifice and this will give them an inspiration to be a
better people of our country. Besides the fact that Philippines is suffering from a deplorable
living situation, with the colonization of Spanish, universities were established early on. Only
the Philippines improved in terms of civilization, prosperity, and population in 1820. Many
schools were built. They taught them English reading, writing, and speaking. The population
grew rapidly, and agricultural was expanded. The Philippines was eventually formed as an
independent country by the Americans.

If you had been appointed as representative of the king of Spain at the time with full
authority to improve the organization and administration of the government of the Philippine
colony. What would you have recommended?

If I were to be appointed to be representative of the king of Spain at that time, I would still do
the same as what the governor-general would do. Implementing total control of the Philippines,
forcing Spain’s governance to the people and secure the future of Spain in the Philippines. I
may sound too harsh and selfless but that’s what I was tasked to by the King of Spain if I were
to rule it. Having control to other countries is what they’re goal, even the Americans – Spain
just overtook the Americans a couple of years ahead. Although I have a couple of small
recommendation, the Spaniard colonizer came to the Philippines so aggressive like the minute
they step on the soil they showed dominance to the Pilipino people. I would have suggested
having a peaceful and less aggressive approach, a more long-term plan to achieve not only for
the Spain’s goal but also for the Philippines future. Maybe up until now, we are still under
Spain’s guidance, a life-long partnership.

Apart from that, I would also advocate federalism based on my existing knowledge of the
government structure. As you can see, not all areas and cities in the Philippines are developing
their economies because of the existing political structure. The power is shared between the
national and local governments in federalism. Similarly, only a Spanish delegate could control
the Philippines during the Spanish era, however in federalism, locals can develop their own laws
to support religion, tribu, and the economy. Only during the Spanish era did the Philippines'
capital city expand in size, which was unjust to the surrounding regions. In federalism, the local
budget receives 80% of the funds, while the national budget receives 10%. So that the locals
can concentrate on their progress rather than worrying about saying nice things to the national
government to secure enough funding for their projects.
References

Cornell Law School. “Federalism”. Last modified September 15, 2021.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/federalism.

Bartleby. “Advantages of Spanish Colonization In The Philippines” Last modified September 18,
2021. https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Advantages-Of-Spanish-Colonization-In-The-
Philippines-FJEENMB26#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20positive%20effects,write%2C%20and%
20speak%20in%20English.

Jr., Romulo E.M. Miral, “Federalism: Prospects for the Philippines,” Last modified September
2017, https://www.think-asia.org/handle/11540/7483