COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN - BACOLOD

COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND ALLIEDPROFESSIONS

Bachelor of Science in Nursing
S.Y. 2022-2023

Name: Resha Andrea O. Belotendos Course and Year: BSN-1C Date: September 28,2022

GEC 102 Readings in the Philippine History

Journal # 1
Title: The Socio-Cultural Customs of the Tagalogs as described by Fray Juan de Plasencia

According to the account of Fray Juan de Plasencia, before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Filipino
population was well-adjusted to society, and the barangay was a crucial location for them to have a feeling
of belonging. The barangay, a community of 30 to 100 families, served as the administrative unit in which
chieftain could not move out of his own barangay and live in another without receiving permission from
the community and paying a fee of 1 to 3 gold taels and a banquet for everyone. Between the two barangays
lived, the offspring of a guy who wed a woman from a different barangay should be divided equally. If
one of them was injured by a man outside, the entire barangay was responsible for making apologies.
Thus, the barangay was in duty of making sure that its members behaved properly.

Back in the early times of pre-colonial era, caste system was established among the community
dominated by the Datus at the top, then the Nobles, the Commoners and lastly the Slaves. Wherein the
Datu acts as chief executives who always enforce the laws, maintain peace and order, and provide
protection to their people. They are also considered the captains during wars or battles in which people
obeyed them and were given the utmost respect. Next in line is the Maharlika that are tagged as the free-
born or freemen in which they are not responsible to pay for their taxes. One of the examples of Maharlika
people are the warriors in the war. The third in line is the commoners or Aliping Namamahay in which
they own properties, lands, and have their own profitable income. The last and most inferior from the four
is the slaves or Aliping Sanguiguilid in which they live with their masters or lords to serve them for a
lifetime unless being sold to others, are forgiven, bravery, and condonation.

Furthermore, the account of Juan de Plasencia mentioned that the Filipinos had their own laws and
judicial system before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Philippines. Laws are either customary
wherein orally handed down from generations and to written documents. When a law was to be made for
the entire confederation, The supreme datu would invite the subordinate datus to his residence and lay out
the justification for any law that needed to be adopted for the entire confederation. Typically, the other
datus would agree, the law would then be recorded and an umalokohan will announce it to the public. In
regards with injustices and agreement, the parties must take an oath before the trials starts and must
promise to follow the judge's rulings. The following are a few examples of the vows mentioned: "May
the sun's beams break me in two," "May I be dragged away by crocodiles," and "May I be torn apart by a
wild animal." One must endure trials in order to prove their innocence. Examples of such actions include
holding a candle without extinguishing it, plunging one's hand into hot water, remaining submerged for
an extended period of time, etc.
 COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN - BACOLOD
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND ALLIEDPROFESSIONS
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
S.Y. 2022-2023

Personal Reflection:

Customs of the Tagalogs written by the account of Fray Juan de Plasencia became a significant
historical primary source in which gave each one of us an original Filipino identity before the Spaniards
came. It debunks the initial thought of some Spaniards that Filipinos back then do not have systematic
organization in their society wherein fact, Filipinos already have their own government laws,
implementations and even social status system.

While reading the report, I came to the conclusion that there are still remnants of pre-colonial
Tagalog in us, some of which are rather noticeable. One of the most obvious things is the barangay, which
is the basic social unit that we still use today to designate a specific location. Second, is when people say
their oaths or promise such as saying “may I be ripped by a wild animal” just to prove they are right, is
kind of similar to the phrase we commonly hear in the movies such as “promise talaga (sabay sign of the
cross and raises right hand).” Some other oaths from the pre-colonial period always uses gruesome death
from wild animals or gruesome penalties such as dipping one’s hand into a boiling water and believing
spiritually in almost anything, made me think that they are doing these things because Christianity was
not yet introduced to them. However, this is the identity of the pre-colonial Filipinos in which we cannot
judge but rather embrace the true identity of our ancestors without a single filter from the Spanish
colonialism. Also, caste system wasn’t important as it is today. However, it is still evident which people
is which based on their social statuses. Datu does not feel like datu anymore since corruption is rampant
and widespread in the government, Maharlika are those some privileged people – still not paying their
taxes right, aliping namamahay were the commoners who strives hard again and again for their living,
and the aliping saguiguilid or what we call the human trafficking victims who are forced to work without
equally treating them right as a worker.

The writings of Juan de Plasencia helped our generation see how distinctive, exceptional, and rich
the Tagalog culture was before colonization. It creates a vivid picture of how Filipinos are back then and
helped us compare to what Filipinos are today. That no matter how our culture has altered as a result of
countless diversifications and foreign influences, there are still remnants that indicate our identity as
Filipinos. As a result, it is our role as a vanguard of our rich history, to look back, help grow our culture,
and make others aware as we made ourselves educated in order to bring the dignity and value of our
ancient culture that it richly deserves.

Parents E-signature:
 COLEGIO SAN AGUSTIN - BACOLOD
COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND ALLIEDPROFESSIONS
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
S.Y. 2022-2023

References of Fray Juan de Plasencia’s Account:

Norman, G. (n.d.). Religion in the Philippines. Asia Society. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from
https://asiasociety.org/education/religion-
philippines#:%7E:text=The%20pre%2DHispanic%20belief%20system,these%20other%20gods
%20and%20spirits.

Ligaya, P. (2012, June 30). Philippine Customs. Pinoy-Culture. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from
https://pinoy-culture.tumblr.com/post/26222543297/pre-hispanic-marriage-customs-when-any-
man

Coins and Notes - History of Philippine Money. (n.d.). BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS.
Retrieved September 1, 2022, from
https://www.bsp.gov.ph/Pages/CoinsAndNotes/HistoryOfPhilippineMoney/HistoryOfPhilippine
Money.aspx#:%7E:text=Long%20before%20the%20Spaniards%20came,of%20exchange%20%
E2%80%93%20the%20cowry%20shells.

Pangalangan, R. C. (2001). Overview of the Philippine Judicial System. The Philippine Judicial System,
1–5. https://doi.org/10.20561/00033135