PALS

Describing the Economic Customs stated by Juan de Plasencia, will be enumerated

using PALS or the Punishments, Agriculture, Loans and Status.
Punishments - parusa
Slavery and death penalty are some punishments stated on the readings. With the
different situation given, like when a man of low birth insulted the daughter or wife of the chief,
he’ll be condemned to death, same goes for the witches while their children and accomplices
will become slaves of the chief, after recompense are made. Then, all other offenses were fines
in gold, and if were not paid accordingly, they will serve until payment are met, in which the
money will be paid to the person that they aggrieved.
When they serve, the punishment is done in this way: Half of the cultivated lands and all
that they produce belongs to the master. The master will provide food and clothing to the
children, and enslaving the culprit and his children, until he has enough money to pay the fine.
Also, there was a punishment to those slave-woman of another (which means when a
maharlica had children to other slave woman) who got pregnant, she was forced to give her
master half of the gold tael because of risk of death as well as the inability to labor during the
pregnancy.
Agriculture- agrikultura or produksyon
Agriculture occurs in the plane lands, that’s why one of the most prevalent was planting
of rice. In some barangays, Maharlicas pay a hundred gantas (approx. 3 liters) of rice to the
dato. This is because when they came there, a chief had already purchased the property with
gold, and it was split to those deserving, and now they pay him for farmland.
Loans- utang/paghiram ng pera
The punishment that was stated earlier was the same to the debtor concerning loans.
The debtor will be condemned to life of toil (physical labor). The borrowers will become slaves,
and after the death of the father the children will continue to pay.
If the culprit has a relative or friend who paid for him, he is obliged to render half of his
service until the payment is completed. If the creditor were not served in this way, the culprit will
pay double, and that was the way on how slaves were made.
Status- pinagkaiba ng kalagayan tatlong Caste pagdating sa economic customs
MAHARLICA (free born)
They are not paying tax but they must accompany the dato during wars.
They can’t move from one place to another without paying a certain amount of fine and
gold which depends on barangay to barangay as well as banquet to the entire barangay. In
which banquet is like a feast or a formal meal. Failure to do so, will cause war between the two
Barangays, the one that they left, and the one that they will enter.
COMMONERS
Inheritance: Commoners live in their houses, properties and gold, and their child are
meant to inherit it and enjoy the properties that their parents have. In which it is stated that the
children of a legitimate father and mother will inherit equally.
SLAVES
They can be sold. They also served their masters in their house and on their cultivated
lands.
(Cultivated lands can be referred as farm lands).