The historical document's provided text was split into two sections.

The first chapter discussed the

country's earliest known legal systems and described the social interactions and political structure of the
Tagalog people. It discussed the barangay as the smallest unit of the society, which is administered by a
datu or the chief and the people being split into three distinct social classes: the Maginoo, the
Maharlika, and the Alipin. It went into detail on how these social classes came into being as well as the
various property ownership rights, privileges in marriage, and inheritance rights that each one of them
carried.

It featured commentary on the type of leaders the datus were and the kind of leadership the populace
desired as well as a description of the legal system at the period. Plasencia saw that this type of
government needed to be changed in order to better manage the systems inside each community. The
second part, on the other hand, focused on the people's pre-colonial religion and beliefs, particularly
their mode of worship. It demonstrated that the earliest Filipinos practiced paganism, honoring Bathala
with the sun, moon, stars, animals, and other gods and goddesses who served varied purposes for them,
as well as idolatry by carving graven figures to whom they bestow offerings.

They also have different funeral customs, but the idea of heaven and hell is the same in all of them.
Along with various ghosts and phantoms they thought to be real and existing, several priest types were
also introduced and debated.

Written in Spanish somewhere in 1589, Juan de Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalog gave us with primary
descriptions of how the Filipinos lived previous to Spanish occupation from which we may comprehend
their early traditions, rituals, and beliefs for greater appreciation. Although English translations of this
literature have become secondary sources, the basic purpose of this work is to explain the nature of the
original Filipinos before they were seen by outsiders.

It confirmed that the Philippines had long held certain beliefs, followed a particular system of social
relationships and leadership, and maintained some level of organization and harmony inside their own
communities.

After reading the essay, I realized that the Philippines goes through a lot of reformation to get the type
of society we have today. I came to realize how cultural fusion preserved the distinctiveness of Filipino
culture and gave rise to the current Filipino identity that we strive for.