PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

Module 1 PHILIPPINE HISTORY AND FILIPINO

IDENTITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Competencies At the end of this module, the students shall be able to:
1. Explain how the Spanish colonization tactics
repressed the formulation of Filipino national
consciousness;
2. Describe the evolution of the term “Filipino”;
3. Discuss why the 1896 revolution is considered to
have brought on a unity of identity and national
consciousness among Filipinos;
4. Explain the process of “defilipinization” during
the American colonial period;
5. Have a better understanding on the terms
“national identity” , “national consciousness”,
and “nationalism”.
Discussion Why do we start a course on Philippine Administrative
System with a module on Philippine history? This is
largely because this course is organized around two
major themes:

1. The state and the bureaucracy or the Philippine

Administrative System exists only for, and because of,
the Filipino people; and

2. To serve our people well, public officials must make a

conscious and continuous effort to know, understand
and empathize with our people.

A good way of really knowing “a people” is to know and

appreciate their history. A nation's history represents
the shared experiences that make them unique and
distinct from other nations of the world. This is the
reason this course starts with readings on Philippine
history and nationalism. We must learn more about
what binds us and makes us one as a nation. This is
the appropriate context against which we can best
appreciate the new roles that we will later ask the
Philippine Administrative System to perform in our
society.

After you complete this module, you will have revisited

Philippine history and reflected on the effects of our
history on our collective consciousness as a society.

The discussions for this module revolve around one

theme: how our colonial experience and our continued
struggle for freedom during this period have shaped our
national consciousness as a people. The accounts that
you will be reading may offer new insights and
perspectives on Philippine nationhood and nationalism.
If you enjoyed reading Philippine history before, you
will find the insights offered in this module even more
stimulating. If you are one of those who found your
history classes boring, this module will pleasantly
surprise you with a provocative and stimulating piece
on Philippine history. This module will make you feel a
sense of national pride in the struggles and victory of
our people as they asserted our right to freedom and
sought to establish our sovereignty as a nation.

Spanish Colonial Experience

Spanish colonial rule, which lasted more than 300

years, left deep imprints on the Filipino mind.
Constantino traces this to the tactics of colonization
used by the Spaniards in the country. Two forms of
control were central to the Spanish colonial strategy-
physical and psychological control. The first type was
implemented through the "reduccion” where small,
scattered communities were forced to form larger
communities to facilitate physical control and
proselytization. One sees up to this day the enduring
structure of the town plaza, usually located at the
center, with the following buildings conveniently
located around it: the municipal hall, the church, and
the local parish school. This physical structure
facilitated psychological control as the friars could
easily attend to church activities even as they also
presided over functions at the municipal hall and
supervised religious education provided in the nearby
parish school. These they did even as they made sure
that anyone who would go against the commands of
God would be the object not only of physical
punishment but also of retribution from a supernatural
power. With God on his side, the priest could do no
wrong. Since Spanish colonization worked more
through religion than through force, the priests were
viewed as the key actor in the whole colonization
process. The role of the clergy was aptly captured in the
claim, " in every friar in the Philippines, the king had a
captain general and a whole army" (Constantino,1974:
6).

While religion bred resignation and passivity among the

parishioners, the haphazard attention to education
resulted in a legacy of ignorance that kept the cultural
awareness of the people at a low level and stymied the
development of "the recognition of the changing nature
of social forms and the awareness of the necessity for
basic and hence revolutionary change (Constantino,
1974: 71). Because they were kept ignorant, or else
were taught little, the people's consciousness of the
need for social change remained undeveloped.
Struggles Against Colonialism

But not for long, Spanish repression triggered

resistance from the people. These took several forms.
The first form of resistance was described as “nativism”
manifested in the people's expression of their
dissatisfaction with their material deprivation and
oppression by calling on their old gods to challenge the
God of the friars. They expected their former deities to
protect them from the God of the colonizers and
eventually free them from tribute and forced labor.
These isolated religious revolts were localized reactions
to specific experiences or repression.

The second form at resistance was linked to the growth

of the local clergy and their demand for equal status
within the Church. The unrest among the local clergy
reached its apex when three Filipino priests were falsely
accused of being involved in the Cavite mutiny and
executed.

The third form of resistance was an inconsistent

pattern of elite participation in the people's protest
against Spanish oppression. Constantino cited the case
of Maniago, Malong and Almazan as cases where the
local elites led local revolts. He pointed out, however,
that the local elites merely used the people to fulfill
their own personal ambitions.

The fourth source of resistance was the economic and

intellectual transformation ushered in by the opening of
the country to world trade and liberal ideas This
development enabled the educated elite to articulate
their protest against the social injustice that they saw
and their demand for equality.

The Development of the Concept of the Filipino

When the Philippines was opened to world trade in the

19th century, the resulting economic transformation
produced another group of economic elites - the
Chinese mestizos. Together with the British, middlemen
from mainland China brought local products from the
provinces for the British to trade outside the country,
and functioned as the conduits for the distribution of
British goods to the provinces. However, restrictions on
the Chinese kept them from taking full advantage of
these business opportunities. Thus, the Chinese
mestizas, who had Chinese fathers and native mothers,
eventually assumed the role played by these Chinese
merchants.

The opening of the country to world trade also meant

that Filipinos were also exposed to the liberal ideas in
other parts of the world. Families who could afford to
do so started to send their children to Manila and other
educational centers abroad. The economic
transformation, the growing dissatisfaction with
Spanish rule, and the liberal ideas coming through
education somehow led to the clamor for greater
attention to the sources of discontent of certain
subgroups within the population, and the rise of a
Filipino consciousness.

Constantine presents an interesting analogy between

the evolution of the word “Filipino" and the concept of
nationhood. Originally, the term "Españoles-Filipinos”
was used only to refer to Spaniards born in the
Philippines. These origjnal “Filipinos” were also known
as creoles or insulares as distinguished from Spaniards
born in Spain who were called peninsulares, while the
natives were referred to as indios. A distinction was
made between Spaniards born in Spain and those born
in the Philippines, as this made possible the
preferential treatment for the peninsulares. The creoles
resented this, as they believed they should have equal,
if not more, rights to official positions. This grievance
led the insulares to team up with the ilustrados, who
were acceptable to the former because of their wealth,
education and acquisition of Hispanic culture. On the
part of the Filipino clergy, the native priests who were
discriminated against by Spanish friars also made
common cause with the creole clergymen. Ultimately, it
was the ilustrados who used the term "Filipino" to refer
to all inhabitants of the island, regardless of racial,
economic, and educational status.

The 1896 Revolution: Identity and Consciousness

United

How did Constantino define national identity and

national consciousness?

Constantino makes a distinction between national

identity and national consciousness. He observes that
while the Filipino may have a sense of national identity,
they are not bound by a national consciousness, if by
national consciousness is meant a sense of oneness
which comes from a community of aspiration, response
and action.

Constantino also defines consciousness as the manner

by which a society in its development explains the
world and views itself. It is also the changing nature of
social forms and the awareness of the necessity for
basic and revolutionary change. "While national
identity may not always connote a level of politization,
national consciousness is always accompanied by
politization, which defines goals and leads to action.
Counter-consciousness is a reaction against the
prevailing consciousness and becomes consciousness
when it triumphs. Constantino contends that in the
Philippines, counter-consciousness became
consciousness, and identity and consciousness were
united, for a brief period during the 1896 revolution.

The convergence of all the grievances and the

discontent of all sectors of the population led to the
national revolution which demanded that the
Philippines be rid of Spanish colonialism. Constantino
saw the Filipino masses and the elite being politicized
by their interactions with each other and the actions
and decisions of the mases negating the reformist
aspirations of the elites. Despite the legacy of ignorance
that affected both the masses and the elite, their past
struggles and their growing awareness of their national
identity transformed their limited consciousness into a
revolutionary consciousness.

This means that both the masses and the elites saw in
their new consciousness the need to eradicate Spanish
rule through a struggle that would involve the whole
nation. Thus, identity and consciousness were united
as
the Filipino people became one. During this brief
moment in our history, the Fillpino masses and the
elite shared a common goal and stood as one nation in
their struggle to be free from Spanish colonial
repression.

The Philippine Revolution of 1896 marked the birth of

the Filipino nation. However, this unity of national
consciousness and identity was short-lived.

The American Colonial Period: The Process of

Defilipinization

When the Americans came, they were confronted by a

people transformed into a nation forged in revolution.
Constantino aptly described post-1896 Filipinos as
"united and animated by a strong sense of purpose,
their aspirations for freedom had been crystallized,
their military success against the Spanish colonizer
had given them confidence (Constantino, 1974:32)

This counter-consciousness, which prompted the

Filipinos to protect their independence fiercely, was
recognized by the Americans as the biggest obstacle to
their establishment of another colonial rule in the
Philippines. Thus, the American colonizers moved to
separate identity and consciousness. The American
colonial strategy involved recreating the Filipino mind
to make it colonial and submissive to American control.
This meant, "Americanizing" the Filipino consciousness
While the Spaniards used religion, the Americans relied
on the educational process. This was done through
three aspects of an educational policy:

 the institution of a nationwide public school system

 the use of English as a medium of instruction and,
 the distortion of the history of the early American
occupation with the glorification of the American
way of life, its heroes, and institutions.

Education, which the Spaniard withheld from the

Filipinos, was to be the means through which the
Americans would remold the Filipino consciousness.
The public school system became the convenient
venue. The use of English allowed the easy use of the
American public school curriculum and soon, the
Filipinos were earning not only a new language but also
a new culture.

Their control of the educational system also enabled

the Americans to distort or suppress information on the
Filipino resistance to American rule and what the
Americans did to crush the resistance. The promise of
democracy and eventual independence was used to
portray the Americans as friends who would prepare
the country for self-government. The de-Filipinization
process continued to supplant the national
consciousness and create in the Filipino a willing
student who was eager to absorb what the new teacher
offered to advance the cause of democracy.

While there emerged a counter-consciousness during

the American period, this did not succeed as its
proponents failed to expose American colonialism as
the root cause of the oppression. Miseducation and
cultural Americanization was so deep that it was
difficult to develop a new counter-consciousness.
Moreover, there was the thinking that the successful
adaptation of American values was a positive
development and improvement for the nation and its
people.

Character of Contemporary Consciousness

The Americans succeeded in separating Filipino

identity from national consciousness and in creating a
contemporary consciousness that was supportive of its
designs and western values. This did not only make it
easier for America to rule as a colonial power, it also
systematically erased the national consciousness of
1896, which motivated the people to struggle for
independence and self-reliance. Constantino
characterizes the contemporary consciousness as
follows:
a. A people trained to accept American values and
concepts;
b. A vague loyalty to the motherland and concern over
the reactions of the colonial power;
c. A tendency to corruption in public and private
activities due to the lack of economic opportunities;
d. The institutionalization of a culture that is alien in
language, direction, and content; and
e. A consumerist attitude brought about by the colonial
nature of the economy.

Filipino Nationalism

Senator Jose W. Diokno delivered a speech in 1968

before an American audience. His speech asked his
American audience to understand these key messages,
even as it cites specific issues which were salient to
Philippine -American relations:

1. Is Philippine nationalism anti-American?

“Philippine nationalism is no more inherently anti-

American, than American nationalism is inherently
anti-Filipino.. Philippine nationalism is only pro-
Filipino as American nationalism is pro-American and
like your nationalism ours is inspired, not by any
Marxist dogma but by the consciousness that we are
one people, bound by common traditions, one land, one
blood and one dream".

2.What are the components of Philippine nationalism?

"Philippine nationalism is more than patriotism. It is

also the belief that, because the Philippines is our
country, it is we who must have the power to direct its
affairs, internal and external, for it is we who bear the
responsibility for its future. This belief combines with
faith and determination the faith that we can exercise
that power as well as, if not better than those who are
not Filipinos; and the determination to use that power
so that the blessings of our country will accrue to all
our people, and not primarily to only some, nor to those
who are not Filipinos.”

3.What is the result of the failure to understand

Philippine nationalism?

“This then was the result of the failure to understand

our nationalism: you would make us into your image;
we insist upon our own. Perhaps because of our desire
not to displease, we have not articulated our insistence
enough. Or perhaps our gratitude for what was done
for our benefit misled you. But in any case, the failure
to understand that we have our own identity, that we
approach problems in a manner you never would, has
produced much of the tension between us. Until this is
cleared up, more tension will arise.”
4.Who are the advocates of Philippine nationalism?

“For Philippine nationalism is today, as it has always

been, the movement of the forces of change: our youth
and our middle class. And it is becoming the articulate
creed of our tenant and small farmers. Already, the
point is being made with growing frequency that the
peonage that characterizes our rural economy stems
from the colonial system which concentrated our
resources in the hands of the few, and led to the
subsisting alliance between vested Filipino interests
and foreign interests, whose combined economic power
is so strong that they
effectively influence your government and mine into
maintaining the status quo.”

5. What is the real nature of American policy toward

the Philippines?

American policy toward the Philippines is being

explained in terms of the iniquitous landlord-tenant
relation we call kasama- an unequal partnership.
characterized by paternalism, usury and the dictation
of
landlord over tenant. In this analogy, of course, the
United States is the landlord and the Philippines, the
tenant; and it gains strength because it is not an
altogether invalid analogy.”

Finally, the point is being made that only by

emancipating our nation from this international system
of peonage, can our tenant farmers break away from
their domestic peonage. If this continues, and gains
ground, I do not care to foretell whether there will
remain any Philippine-American relation to speak
about.

6. What is the dream that all Philippine nationalists

share?

"It is the dream to be the first former colony in Asia to

achieve modernity, as it was the first to attain
independence. It is the dream to join the modern world
without sacrificing democracy to dictatorship, as others
are doing; nor at the expense of the poor who have
paid the price elsewhere but of those who reaped the
benefits of colonialism and therefore can afford the cost
of modernization. Philippine nationalism is determined
to achieve this dream. It knows it must restructure the
Philippine economy and Philippine society to do so. It
knows it will be difficult and painful. All it asks of your
people and your government is your understanding
and, if you deem it worthwhile, your help to make the
process faster, less painful, and it you do not deem it
 worthwhile, to leave us alone"

Enrichment 1. Please read the full script of the speech “Nation for
Activities our Children” by Senator Jose W. Diokno and make
a brief assessment about it.

2. Is there one significant event in our history that

makes you particularly proud of being a Filipino? If
yes, what would this be? Why does this event make
you proud of being Filipino?

Reference Alfiler, Ma. Concepcion P. (1999) Philippine

Administrative System
Constantino, Renato (1974) Identity and
Consciousness: The Philippine Experience