Unit 5: The Evolution of Philippine Politics

Lesson 5.1
The Government in Pre-Colonial Philippines

( photos of Balanghai)

Balangay or also known as Balanghai, is the first wooden boat excavated not just in the
Philippines but also in Southest Asia.

Learning Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
- Describe the precolonial barangay system of government.
- Explain the different function of a chieftain or datu.

Compare between the precolonial and modern-day barangay?

The Barangay were Filipino lived in kinship-based communities in precolonial.

- Mostly, small barangay were 10-30 houses with each, and larger communities has
hundred or more houses.
- The word barangay came from the Malay word balangay, a sailing vessels commonly
used for transportation and trading.

Sultanates called as the Sultans, who had power over vast ares of land.
-Aside from barangay, more complex politcal institutiond were also present in
precolonial.

Early Settlements
Most settlements in the precolonial Philippines could be found near coastal areas, along
rivers, and in well-watered plaines where agriculture was primary source of livelihood.

Members of the Barangay in the Precolonial

Maginoo - consisted of community leaders and their family members.
Maharlika - composed of freemen and some dependents who had eaarned their
freedom.
Alipin - the lowest level were either aliping namamahay who had their own houses or
aliping sagigilid who lived with their master.

Wars Between Barangays disagreements and conflicts were inevitable in precolonial

barangays.
Three main reasons:
1. When a man from one barangay was murdered for no reason in another barangay.
2. Kidnapping of wives of men belonging to another barangay.
3. Maltreatment of men from one barangay by men from another.

The Chieftan or Datu each barangay was ruled by a datu.

- Datu is derived from the Malay words dato and datuk, which are titles used for the
royalties.
- The Datu had extensive control over the social and economic life of the community.

Executive and Legislative Powers the Datu possessed extensive and legislative
powers. Laws were either customary or written.
- Customary laws were unwritten and orally pased on from one generation to another.
- Written laws were made by the datu from time and with the help of his council of elders
if necessary.
- The subjects would be notified of the new laws through a public announcer called the
umalohokan.
Judicial Power the datu also served as the judge.
- Trials were publicly hield and were efficiently conducted without delay.
- Common punishments were sanctioned by a small fine, by whpping, by exposure to
the ants, swimming for certain hours, cutting the fingers before hand, and some
instances, punshed by death.

Lesson 5.2
The Spanish Colonial Governmet in the Philippines and the Malolos
Government

Learning Objectives:
- Explain politics and governance in the Philippines during the Spanish colonization and
the First Philippine Republic.
- Analyze the contribution of the Spanish colonization and the First Republic in the
Evolution of Philippine politics and governance.

The Spanish Colonization of the Philippines

During the Age of Exploration (15th-18th century ) The Philippines was a crucial asset in
the competition for "God, gold, and Glory"

The Spanish Colonial Government

• Around four decades after the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan and his death durig
the Battle of Mactan in 1521, the Spanish empire formally claimed the
Philippines.

• Under the authority of the King of Spain they began with the founding of Cebu in
1565 ang Manila in 1571 and the other placement of numerous barangayas.

The Philippines was claimed as a colony of Spain and controlled under a centralized
coclonial government
Separates from the Church in terms of personnel influenced by ecclesiastical leaders
from the Catholic Church especially when it came to economic regulations like taxation.

Governer-General
The Philippines became ruled by the governer-general, acted as the king's
representative and the highest-ranking official in the country.

The Governer-General exercised the branches of politics:

• Executive
• Legislative
• Judicial
• Military Power

Council of the Indies (a.k.a Overseas Council or Ministry of Colonies)

Visitador - who observe the governer-general and report to the king
Residencia - a special courtuu tasked to investigate the governer-general's
performance.

Real Audiencia
composed of judges, prosecutors, wardens, servants, and other officials was also
established in the country to act as the supreme court and an advisory body to the
governer-general.

Local Government
• Provinces (provincias/ alcaldios) were ruled by alcalde-mayores. and
supervised the collection of taxes, and were allowed to participate in trade.

Alcalde-Mayores
managed day-to-day operations of the provincial government and supervised the
collection of taxes and were allowed to particpate in trade.
Corregidores were both civil and military leaders.

Provinces were subsequently divided into municipalities or pueblos ruled by

Gobernadorcillos assisted by several additional officials.

Principalias who were allowed to hold office as Gobernadorcillos

Pueblos were further divided into barangays ruled by Cabezas de Barangay.

- most of them were local Filipino and former datus who surrendered and agreed to
conspire with the Spanish government.

Colonial Life in the Philippines under Spain

The Spanish colonial forces implemented system of dividing-and-conquering the pre-
existing groups in the Philippines.

Reduccion System
• This system enabled the Spaniards to consolidate their power over the natives by
placing them settlement where the former could easily impose their authority.
• This system resulted in how the old towns and cities in the country were
geographically organized.
• encomiendas - abondoned lands that Spanish government splitted
• encomenderos - usually government and church officials.
• haciendas - encomiendas would later become into agricultural estates that
would fuel the rise of the first Filipino landed elites and oligarchs.

The Socioeconomic Inequality in the Spanish Colonization

Peninsulares
• pure-blooded Spanish born in Europe
• most privileged and richest

Insulares
• pure-blooded Spanish born in the Philippine islands.

Mestizos de Espanol
• inhabitants with mixed Spanish and Malay ancestries

Mestizos de Sangley
• mixed Chinese and Malay ancestries

Tornatras
• mixed European, Chinese, and Malay ancestries

Sangleys the pure Chinese and the Indios or the pure Malays
Negritos or the pure Aetas
Remondatos native Filipino who fled to the mountains to resist living in Spanish
government.

Philipine Nationalism and the 1896 Philippine Revolution

(pics of the gumburza, illustrados)

- 1620s the datus and babaylans had been recorded to revolts in resistance against
Christianity (Tamblot's revolt in 1621, Datu Bankaw's revolt in 1622)
- Frequent local revolts regarding forced labor and encomenderos. (Basi revolt by
Ilocanos in 1807)
- and the unfair practices of friars (Dagohoy's revolt in 1744)

(timeline of the philippine spanish colonial era)