The Code of Rajah Kalantiaw was a supposed legal code in the epic history Maragtas that is said

to have been written in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of Negros in the Philippines. It
is now generally accepted by historians that the documents supporting the existence and history of
the code, according to some sources, “appear to be deliberate fabrications with no historical validity"
written in 1913 by a scholar named Jose Marco as a part of a historical fiction titled Las antiguas
[1][2]
leyendas de la Isla de Negros (English: The Ancient Legends of the Island of Negros).
[3]
In 1990, Philippine historian Teodoro Agoncillo described the code as "a disputed document."
[4]
Despite doubts on its authenticity, some history textbooks continue to present it as historical fact.
In 2005, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines officially recognized Kalantiaw and the
[5]
Code of Kalantiaw to be a 20th-century fraudulent work by José Marco with no historical basis.

Laws of the Kalantiaw Code[edit]

In his book, Struggle for Freedom (2008), Cecilio Duka provides a full reproduction of the code for
[16]
the reader's "critical examination... to decide on its veracity and accuracy".
Article I
Ye shall not kill, neither shall ye steal nor shall ye hurt the aged, lest ye incur the danger of death. All
those who this order shall infringe shall be tied to a stone and drowned in a river or in boiling water.
Article II
Ye shall punctually meet your debt with your headman. He who fulfils not, for the first time shall be
lashed a hundredfold, and If the obligation is great, his hand shall be dipped threefold in boiling
water. On conviction, he shall be flogged to death.
Article III
Obey ye: no one shall have wives that are too young, nor shall they be more than what he can take
care of, nor spend much luxury. He who fulfils not, obeys not, shall be condemned to swim three
hours and, for the second time, shall be scourged with spines to death.
Article IV
Observe and obey ye: Let not the peace of the graves be disturbed; due respect must be accorded
them on passing by caves and trees where they are. He who observes not shall die by bites of ants
or shall be flogged with spines till death.
Article V
Obey ye: Exchange in food must be carried out faithfully. He who complies not shall be lashed for an
hour. He who repeats the act shall, for a day be exposed to the ants.
Article VI
Ye shall revere respectable places, trees of known value, and other sites. He shall pay a month's
work, in gold or money, whoever fails to do this; and if twice committed, he shall be declared a slave.
Article VII
They shall die who kill trees of venerable aspect; who at night shoot with arrows the aged men and
the women; he who enters the house of the headman without permission; he who kills a fish or shark
or striped crocodile.
Article VIII
They shall be slaves for a given time who steal away the women of the headmen; he who possesses
dogs that bite the headmen; he who burns another man's sown field.
Article IX
They shall be slaves for a given time, who sing in their night errands, kill manual birds, tear
documents belonging to the headmen; who are evil-minded liars; who play with the dead.
Article X
It shall be the obligation of every mother to show her daughter secretly the things that are lascivious,
and prepare them for womanhood; men shall not be cruel to their wives, nor should they punish
them when they catch them in the act of adultery. He who disobeys shall be torn to pieces and
thrown to the caymans.
Article XI
They shall be burned, who by force or cunning have mocked at and eluded punishment, or who have
killed two young boys, or shall try to steal the women of the old men (agurangs).
Article XII
They shall be drowned, all slaves who assault their superiors or their lords and masters; all those
who abuse their luxury; those who kill their anitos by breaking them or throwing them away.
Article XIII
They shall be exposed to the ants for half a day, who kill a black cat during the new moon or steal
things belonging to the headmen.
Article XIV
They shall be slaves for life, who having beautiful daughters shall deny them to the sons of the
headman, or shall hide them in bad faith.
Article XV
Concerning their beliefs and superstitions: they shall be scourged, who eat bad meat of respected
insects or herbs that are supposed to be good; who hurt or kill the young manual bird and the white
monkey.
Article XVI
Their fingers shall be cut off, who break wooden or clay idols in their olangangs and places of
oblation; he who breaks Tagalan's daggers for hog killing, or breaks drinking vases.
Article XVII
They shall be killed, who profane places where sacred objects of their diwatas or headmen are
buried. He who gives way to the call of nature at such places shall be burned.
Article XVIII
Those who do not cause these rules to be observed, if they are headmen, shall be stoned and
crushed to death, and if they are old men, shall be placed in rivers to be eaten by sharks and
crocodiles.