THE SWORD AND THE CROSS

IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES

_________________________

A Final Paper
Presented to
Prof. Antonio Hila, Ph.D.

In Partial Fulfillment
of the requirements for the Course
The Philippines (1521-1896)

_________________________

by

Melanie J. Magpantay, M. Hist.

for Ph.D. in History

12 May 2018
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 2

I. THE SPANISH COLONIZATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

A. MOTIVES / AIMS
It is generally assumed that the Spanish colonization of the Philippines was
economic and political in nature. There are sufficient evidences that suggest this as a
fact but there is a notable absence of the discussion on the religious aspect of the
Spanish conquest. This paper will highlight this often neglected motive and how it
served as the foundation of the colonization of the Philippine Islands.
Ferdinand Magellan claimed the land he and his crew landed on 16 March 1521
with no intention of colonizing it, rather with an intention to discover a route that will
prove that the circumnavigation of the world is possible. Thus, after Magellan came
the Loaysa (1525-1528), Saavedra (1526-1529), and Villalobos (1542-1546)
expeditions whose main aim is to reach the Moluccas, then dubbed as Spice Islands,
for the esteemed spices that the Spanish Empire wish to gain to have “a foothold in
the East”.1 The land that Magellan discovered and later renamed by Ruy Lopez de
Villalobos as “Las Felipinas” was a secondary aim to all of these journeys.
The Loaysa and Saavedra expeditions did not reach the Islas de San Lazaro, the
land that Magellan claimed for Spain. It will be Villalobos, and later, Miguel Lopez
de Legazpi, who reached the archipelago and colonized the country.
Such intentions for colonization stem from the shifting European balance of
power to validate a country’s prestige by expanding its overseas territories. By 1543,
the year Villalobos arrived in Mindanao, he claimed that “he had come to found a
colony and discover the return route to Mexico.”2
A colony that Villabos is set to establish is one borne out of Spanish imperialism.
Unlike the British, Portuguese, French and Dutch conquerors, the Spaniards ruled by
patronato real de las Indias. That is, the Holy See bestowed upon the Spanish
monarchy a special kind of patronage: the Crown can establish Churches in areas of
the New World to assure that these areas are evangelized. The papal bulls that
enabled the Spanish Crown to accomplish this aim are:

1
Nicolas P. Cushner, Spain in the Philippines: from conquest to revolution, Quezon City: Ateneo de
Manila, 1971, p. 21-39.
2
Op. Cit, p.34
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 3

 Inter Caetera of Pope Alexander VI issued on 4 May 1493 authorized the

Spanish kings and queens the right to send missionaries in lands that
Columbus discovered;
 Eximiae devotionis of Pope Alexander VI issued on 16 November 1501
authorized the Church to collect tithes and first-fruits of the Indies
provided that the Spanish government will support the establishment of
the Church using royal funds;
 Universalis Ecclesiae of Pope Julius II issued on 28 July 1508 granted
universal patronage over the churches already founded or still to be
founded in the Indies to the Castilian crown; and
 Exponi Nobis of Pope Adrian VI issued on 9 May 1522 regulated the
number of missionaries to the New World.3
Spanish jurists interpreted the patronato as an act of apostolic delegation where
the Spanish subjects are tasked to spread the Gospel in areas that the Empire
conquered. For the jurists, the Pope deemed the role of Spain to be vital in sustaining
the Church militant to preach and convert the heathen for the Cross.4
Phelan calls this imperialism as “theocratic”5 and the instructions of the Royal
Audiencia to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi on 1 September 1564 validate this claim:
“You shall enter the islands near them, like the Philippines, which are
not included in the agreement and are inside the demarcation of His
Majesty, and which are said to have spices also. In order to reach those
islands and obtain the principal goal His Majesty is after—to bring to
the inhabitants of those places our Holy Catholic Faith and to discover
the return route to this New Spain to the credit of the patrimony of the
Royal Crown of Castile, through trade and barter through other
legitimate ways, which with a clear conscience should be carried on to
bring back some spices and some wealth found in those places…6

3
Horacio de la Costa, SJ, “Patronato Real and Recurso De Fuerza,” Ateneo Law Journal 2, no. 3 (1952):
199. See also Pablo Fernández, OP, History of the Church in the Philippines 1521-1898 (Manila: National
Bookstore, 1979), 101-104.
4
de la Costa, Op. Cit.., p. 200
5
John Leddy Phelan, The Hispanization of the Philippines: Spanish aims and Filipino responses 1565-
1700 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1959), 6.
6
Filipiniana Book Guild Editorial Board, Colonization and Conquest of the Philippines by Spain: some
contemporary source documents, 1559-1577 (Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1965), 20.
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 4

Upon arrival at Cebu, Legazpi reiterates this religious intent when he wrote to
King Philip II on 29 May 1565 requesting for aid. Addressing the king as “Sacred
Catholic Majesty”, Legazpi wrote,
“We beseech your majesty to provide us aid with the dispatch and
diligence fitting, in order that your majesty’s purpose to introduce the
Christian religion into these districts, and to reduce these people
neglected for so many years, and how are in dire need of receiving the
fruits of our holy Catholic faith, may be attained.”7

Legazpi will further state how the religious priests with him helped the crew
during their journey, particularly Fray Andres de Urdaneta who will be the one to
journey for the return route from the east to the west. Urdaneta will later successfully
traverse the Pacific Ocean and this newly discovered return route will be used for the
Manila-Acapulco trade.
Interestingly, there is a contrast of exploration aims in the two documents. The set
of instructions from the Royal Audiencia frequently mentions barter, trade, spices,
gold and “other things of value” and how to treat the natives well, setting the socio-
economic tone of the Legazpi exploration. Meanwhile, Legazpi’s appeal to the King
suggests of a royal intention to conquer in the name of religion and discover the
return route from the East, suggesting spiritual and political aims for the conquest.8
It was no surprise then that Legazpi synthesized these aims to colonize Las
Felipinas. Legazpi made Rajah Tupas a vassal to the King of Spain on May 1565
after brief military engagements that involved taking the rajah’s niece as hostage.
Complying with the request of the Audiencia on treating the natives well, Legazpi
made sure that the niece is not physically or sexually abused. He even clothed her “in
a very elegant dress”.9 In his early encounters with the residents of Cebu, Legazpi
always made it known that “they wanted peace and friendship and that they would
live with us (Spaniards -MJM) and be good friends.” 10
Whoever is the colonizer will take the politico-economic aim but the King will
always have the religious aim. For instance, the first batch of Augustinians were beset

7
Ibid., p. 79
8
Ibid., p. 35
9
Filipiniana Book Guild, Op. Cit., p. 72
10
Rafael Bernal, Prologue to Philippine History ( Manila: Solidaridad), 1967, p. 25
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 5

by difficulties in the initial years of evangelization that as early as 1569, Diego de

Herrera, the first Augustinian provincial superior of the Philippines, wanted to bring
the matter to the King on leaving the missionary post in the Philippines to other more
lucrative missionary ventures in Asia such as Java, Japan or China. The Augustinian
provincial in Mexico promptly sent Herrera back to the Philippines when they learned
of his plan.11 Apparently, the King’s plan was unclear for Herrera but it was always
clear for the Order.
Even before the religious orders were regularly sending missionaries in the
Philippines, the first conquistadores discovered that the Islands do not have silver
mines or spices.12 On 1588, responding to a letter requesting the relinquishing of the
Philippine Islands because of the financial burden it had for the Empire, Philip II as
cited by Ignacio Alcina, embodied his role and that of his heirs as Apostle of the Holy
See in spreading the Gospel to the New World without expecting anything in return:
“…that even for the conversion of a single soul which he found here, he would
surrender all the treasures of the Indies and if these were insufficient, he would
give away the revenues of Spain most willingly.”13

This royal support on the pontifical cause helped establish the Spanish
government in Manila, securing political and social alliances through baptism of the
natives. Through this sacrament, the Church unintentionally united natives of
different tribes and allegiances from small communities called barangay into one, big
community which recognizes each of the native as subjects of the Spanish King but
co-equal with one another as children of God.
It is with this spirit that Spain through the Viceroy of Nueva España executed its
colonial policies until the 1800s.

11
Cushner, Op. Cit., 75
12
Pedro Gabriel, “Outline of a Toynbeean Approach to Philippine History During the Spanish Regime”,
Philippiniana Sacra v. 16 no. 48 (1981) p. 357.
13
Cantius Kobak, OFM and Pablo Fernandez, OP, “Loyal Vassals of Provident Kings,” Philippiniana
Sacra 25, no. 13, (1980): 137.
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 6

B. COLONIAL POLICIES, BUREAUCRATIC CENTRALISM, AND IMPLEMENTATION

The patronato real is only the means by which Spain functions in behalf of the
Holy See when it comes to fulfilling its spiritual task of evangelization and its
temporal task of expanding the empire. In theory, this does not mean that the Church
can intervene in secular affairs and vice versa. The ideal set-up is the delimitation of
authority that can be summarized using the organizational chart in Figure 1.

HOLY SEE

RESPECTIVE SUPERIORS OF
RELIGIOUS ORDERS
SPAIN

PHILIPPINES
GOV. CAPT. GEN ARCHBISHOP
Vice Royal Patron OF MANILA

ARCH- BISHOPRIC OF BISHOPRIC OF BISHOPRIC-

BISHOPRIC OF NUEVA NUEVA CEBU
MANILA SEGOVIA CACERES Cebu
Tondo Ilocos Camarines Samar
Cavite Pangasinan Provs. Leyte
Laguna Cagayan Albay Caraga
Batangas Tayabas Misamis
Mindoro Isla de Negros
Bulacan Iloilo
Pampanga Capiz
Bataan Antique
Zambales Calamianes

Seculars Regulars PARISHES

Not AUGUSTINIANS FRANCISCANS JESUITS DOMINICANS RECOLLECTS

belonging 1564 1577 1581 Manila, Manila,
to Manila, Visayan Manila, Mindanao- Laguna, Bulacan,
Religious Is., Ilocos, Camarines, Cebu, Leyte, Cagayan, elsewhere
Orders Pangasinan, Laguna Ibabao Pangasinan
Pampanga Samar, Bohol

LEGEND: Figure 1. Ecclesiastical Organization, from the handouts of Dr. Florentino

Line of Secular Authority Hornedo, Seminar on 16th Century Philippines.
Line of Ecclesiastical Authority Legend interpretation is mine- MJM
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 7

Figure 1 shows that the secular and ecclesiastical authorities tend to overlap since
they function and govern in one territory only. Parishes are also governed by the
Governor-Captain General but their authority is to implement the commands of the
Crown. He attends to minor religious matters which the King or the Royal Council of
the Indies cannot attend to such as
 presentation of a candidate for a vacant position in the Church;
 collection of “ecclesiastical tithes and the fruits of vacant churches”;
 allowing missionaries to go to Japan or to China from Manila;
 payment of expenses for missionaries travelling to the Philippines based
on the economic stability of the religious orders;
 distribution of ₱400 and 400 fanegas of rice for the support of four
ministers” who are on call twenty four hours a day, seven days a week;
 purchasing of “sacred vestments, a chalice and paten, and a church
bell…mass wine, flour for hosts, oil for the sanctuary lamp”
 alms for medicines, cloth for the religious habit, etc.; and
 twelve scholarship slots in Letrán and Santo Tomas.14
The religious superiors represent the will of the Holy See in spiritual matters for
the regulares or the priests who are members of a religious congregation. Seculares
are the diocesan priests who are directly under the Archbishop of Manila. The
Archbishop has full jurisdiction of these two kinds of priests who in turn are assigned
to their respective dioceses. As Archbishop, he has
 “full spiritual authority over…” the army and navy;
 to be consulted in granting return of religious individuals;
 full authority to grand and impede public processions even if the
Governor-Captain General intervenes;
 can appoint clergymen who can receive prebends (i.e., prebendaries -
MJM) should the Governor-Captain General fails to do so;
 the ecclesiastical authority to a suffragan diocese if it is sede vacante.15

14
Pablo Fernandez, OP, History of the church in the Philippines, 1521-1898 (Manila: National Bookstore,
1965), 103-107.
15
Ibid., p. 34
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 8

In short, both officials govern the dioceses and parishes but their patronato is of
different origins. To avoid overlapping of duties and function, the Spanish
government centralized the bureaucracy, ruling the Philippines from Mexico. As the
Manila’s coat of arms shows in Figure 2, the figure of the sea lion holding a sword is
the heraldic symbol for a Spanish ultramar, a “dominion beyond the seas”.16

Figure 2. Coat of Arms of the City of Manila, 1596.

Photo from the Noticias civiles y eclesiásticas de Indias y otros documentos,
Biblioteca Nacional de Espana.

Interestingly, the figure of the ultramar is also in the coat of arms of the Diocese
of Manila on 1585, as it appears in the commemorative plaque of the Archbishops of

16
Nicolas Zafra, The colonization of the Philippines and the beginnings of the Spanish city of Manila
(Manila: National Historical Commission, 1974), 39.
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 9

Manila at the entrance of the Manila Cathedral. Figure 3 shows a very similar coat of
arms, without the regalia of the royal seal but with a sea lion holding a cross.

Figure 3. Coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Manila, 1585.

Photo taken 26 March 2018.

Though the Governor Captain-General and the Archbishop share the same
territory, the task of ruling the colony was primarily in the hands of the Viceroy of
Nueva España acting with the Consejo de Indias or the Council of the Indies. The
Council enacted “laws, orders, rescripts, ordinances, etc. which it deemed convenient
and necessary for the good government and welfare of the colonies.” 17 The
compilation of the Council’s work is best known as the “Recopilacion de Leyes de los
Reynos de las Indias.”18 In modern day context, this is the Spanish civil code for
overseas territories. The Council also sits as a modern day equivalent of the Supreme
Court. All members of this Council are appointed by the King and so, the Councilors
actions are done in the name of the King.19
To execute these laws, the Viceroy or the Audiencia of Nueva España appoints a
Governor Captain-General when there is a delay on the royal appointment. Nueva

17
Zafra, Op. Cit., 40.
18
Zafra cites a 1681 edition of this publication but the A.V. del Rosario Heritage Library that houses the
rare old books collection of the UST Library has an digested version of the Recopilacion published on 1677.
19
Encyclopædia Britannica, Academic ed., s.v., “Council of the Indies,” accessed May 5, 2017,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Council-of-the-Indies
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 10

España is the middle man between the Philippines and Spain since the former is the
farthest among all of the Spanish colonies. Until before the end of the galleon trade
and Nueva España liberated itself from Spain, it was the seat of royal power for the
Philippines, the place for final judicial appeal, and the benefactor of the royal situado,
the annual subsidy for colonies who cannot support themselves financially.20
The Governor and Captain General is the head of the central government of the
Philippines, serving under the Viceroy of Nueva España. He possesses the executive,
legislative, and judicial powers, all bestowed upon him through royal decrees from
the Viceroy of Nueva España. Advising the Philippine Governor and Captain General
on vital colonial matters is the Real Audiencia, who also functions as the “supreme
court in the Philippines.”21
For ease of administration, the colony was divided into “districts called alcadias
and corregimientos.” Leaders of both political units are appointees of the Governor-
General: alcades mayors for alcadias and for the politico-military corregimientos,
corregidores.22
In the local level, the first “cities” were governed by a cabildo or ayuntamiento
and a body of councilors called regidores.23 Provinces retained the political unit
called barangay, which are headed by cabezas, usually coming from the principalia
of the community. Groups of barangay are called pueblos which in turn, are led by
gobernadorcillos.
The complicated political structure cannot be implemented without the
resettlement of the natives from their separated communities to a new place where the
Spanish government perceives it can govern and convert them easily. To this, the
colonial government implemented the Royal Ordinance of 5 July 1573 that specifies
the way new towns should be established from the location of the church, the plaza,

20
David P. Barrows, “The Governor-General of the Philippines Under Spain and the United States,” The
American Historical Review 21, no. 2 (1916): 288-311. doi:10.2307/1835051.
21
Zafra, Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Zafra, Op. Cit., 41.
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 11

the hospitals, the sizes of the streets (in cold and in hot places), the sea port, shops
and merchant houses, and the lots for future homes.24
Obeying this royal decree required the natives to be moved from their original
homes to a new location, the soon-to-be pueblo. Natives did not welcome the idea at
first for it separated them from their source of income and it also changed the political
structure. Relocating to the pueblo meant the natives will be baptized Catholics.
Therefore, the traditional headman cannot be leaders unless they agree to move to the
new location, surrender their indigenous religion, and be professed Catholics.25
Robert Reed calls this process as reddución. Upon establishing mission centers in
the different parts of the archipelago, the Spaniards, “a little more than a decade after
Legazpi landed at Cebu…launched” the program “through which they fostered the
growth of designated colonial settlements where missionaries, aided in larger centers
by civil officials, could supervise the multifaceted processes of change.”26 This
program is needed to hasten Christianization, education, and cultural transformation.
Natives have to be gathered in one area for “religious instruction and socio-political
control”.27
These new settlements were the first mission stations of the missionaries from
different religious orders. The mission settlements became either ciudades de
españoles or cabecera. Cabeceras later on became poblaciones that house the
residential area, the convent, the town hall, and the town plaza which are built near
the church. Filipino historians call this planning as bajo la campana even if not all
towns followed this lay-out as directed in the Royal Ordinance of 1573. Some towns
choose to build visita chapels or places of worship outside of the town center so the
parish priest may cater even to those who refused to follow the reddución.28 This is an
indication that the Spanish government tried to compromise on the need to implement

24
Zelia Nuttall, “Royal Ordinances Concerning the Laying out of New Towns.” The Hispanic American
Historical Review 4, no. 4 (1921): 743-753. doi:10.2307/2505686.
25
Florentino Hornedo, On the Trail of Dominican Engineers, Artists, and Saints in the Cagayan Valley and
Batanes (Manila: UST Publishing House, 2002), 21.
26
Robert R. Reed, Colonial Manila: the context of hispanic urbanism and process of morphogenesis
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978), 15.
27
Raquel B. Florendo, Las Casas bajo de las campanas : a socio cultural approach to the study of interior
spaces of principles principalia dwellings in Vigan, Ilocos Sur (1800-1900) (Manila: UST Publishing House, 2012),
3
28
Phelan, 47.
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 12

the royal order and the need to apply the royal order in the context of the native’s
situation. For regardless of the location of native settlements, the priest/friar assigned
in his mission station tried his best to bring civilization to them.
The priest/friar tried to do this, even if literature says otherwise.

II. THE FRIARS’ LEGACY

The friars brought Roman Catholicism in the Philippines during the age of
Exploration and with their evangelization, changed the socio-political landscape of the
Philippines in the 16th century. This sweeping transformation is the often overlooked in
Philippine historiography because of the prevailing belief of la leyenda negra. However
some Filipino historians may deny it, the friars and the religion they brought are one of the
foundations of the Philippines we know today.
Roman Catholicism engages religious orders to go in far flung places to spread the
Word of God. In the 16th century, Asia was the target market of missionary orders. When
Spain officially gained the Philippines as a colony on 1565, the missionaries looked upon it
as a foothold to the East, a means to go to China, where massive number of souls may be
enticed to be baptized in the name of Christ.
The Order of Friars Preachers (est. 1216) looked at the Philippines in such a manner
that as early as 1543,29 they had plans to travel to the country. It took the arrival of the
appointed first Bishop of Manila, Fray Domingo de Salazar, OP, to strengthen this resolve
so that Dominican missions may be established in the Philippines.
With the help of Fray Juan Crisostomo, OP, who was then staying in Santiago, Spain,
Bishop Salazar was able to secure the Dominican Master General, pontifical, and royal
permissions to send twenty four volunteers for the Philippine mission whose main aim is to
establish a Dominican province in the country, Of these, fifteen friars were Manila bound
and three friars from the original group were sent to Macau. The Dominicans’ arrival in
Cavite on 21 July 1587, the feast of St. Mary Magdalene—declared on that day as the
special patroness of the Philippines30—signaled the beginning of a long, beautiful
relationship that the Philippines will have to another Mary of Catholicism to whom the

29
Hornedo, 1.
30
Ibid., p. 2-13
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 13

Dominicans were especially devoted. They expressed this devotion on what may be
considered as the first chapter of the Order on August 1587, naming the newly established
Dominican province in the East as, Provincia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario.31
The Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is believed to be the Virgin Mary who gave the
beads of the Rosary to St. Dominic de Guzman.32 The first batch of Dominican Order
missionaries stationed in the Philippines was particularly devoted to this image of the
Virgin that their first four missionary posts will bear this name: in Manila as La Naval de
Manila, in Pangasinan as the Our Lady of Manaoag, in the Cagayan Valley as Nuestra
Señora del Piat, and in Bataan as Nuestra Señora del Santo Rosario de Orani.
In each missionary post, the Dominicans either established a church for the existing
community upon their arrival or they gathered the natives to be a community and built a
church. Regardless of the process that the community and eventually, the town was
founded, the Order was able to maintain 88 towns by 1896.33
NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF OP
MISSION
SOULS UNDER TOWNS UNDER OP PRIESTS
STATION
OP CARE JURISDICTION ASSIGNED
BATAAN 46,487 7 10
PANGASINAN 293,111 29 35
TARLAC 56,537 5 7
CAGAYAN 106,942 27 34
ISABELA 56,248 15 16
BATANES ISLANDS 8,860 5 --
CAVITE AND
132,104 -- 8
LAGUNA
TOTAL 700,289 88 110
Figure 4. Number of Towns Under Dominican Care as of 1896

Among the Dominican mission stations, it will be in Manila where the Order will
leave an indelible mark with seven of the brethren serving as bishops of the newly
established Diocese of Manila (1579): Fray Domingo de Salazar (1579-1594), Fray Miguel
de Benavidez (1602-1605), Fray Juan Lopez (1672-1674), Fray Felipe Pardo (1680-1689),
Fray Juan de Zulaibar (1804-1824), Fray Pedro Payo (1876-1889), and Fray Bernardino
Nozaleda de Villa (1889-1902).

31
Rolando V. Dela Rosa. Beginnings of Filipino Dominicans (Manila: UST Publishing House), 62
32
This story does not have any historical evidence and thus, remains just a story.
33
Adapted from: Pablo Fernandez, O.P., “Dominican Apostolate in the Philippines,” Boletin Eclesiastico
de Filipinas 39, no. 435 (1965): 153, 156. This listing does not include the Manila area.
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 14

For purposes of discussion and with scant materials available, this author will briefly
explain only two Dominican friars who helped build what is known today as the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Manila.
Bishop Domingo de Salazar (1512-1594) is the first bishop of the Diocese of Manila.
He is often referred as the “Las Casas of the Philippines”, advocating for rights of the
natives in the Philippine Islands by organizing the 1582 Synod of Manila. The said synod is
the first time that the religious and some political entities assigned in the Philippines were
assembled to discuss matters of governance and to put an end to the onset of the abuses of
the Spanish colonial officials to the natives. In its four year session, Bishop Salazar along
with other religious decided on the following matters:
a. That the preaching of the Gospel will not be forced among the natives as the
authority of colonization stems not from pontifical or royal authority but that
of “right given by Christ to preach the Gospel”; 34
b. That Spanish authorities who fail to execute the law for the good of the people
will be punished and removed35;
c. That the act of correcting Spanish authorities shall be carried out by the priest
confessor in accordance with a system of restitution according to the gravity
of his act and his status in society;36
d. That governors will be responsible in policing the lower ranked Spanish
officials who were noted to be the perpetrator of most abuses. This obligation
is because the governor is the “Father and Protector” of the Filipinos.
Preachers must also see to it that this obligation is carried out by reminding
officials using the pulpit when necessary;37
e. That the governors cannot forcibly conscript Filipinos into working as “the
Indios are just as free in their land as the Spaniards are in theirs. This liberty
of theirs has not been taken away either by the king or by the Gospel.”
Spaniards may also be conscripted into labor.38

34
John N. Schumacher. Growth and decline: Essays on Philippine Church History (Quezon City: Ateneo
de Manila University Press, 2009), 5.
35
Schumacher, Op. Cit., 7.
36
Ibid., 8
37
Ibid., 9
38
Ibid., 10-11.
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 15

f. The specifics of the duties of the encomenderos and the right of the
government to refuse giving tribute if he fails these duties;39
g. The principles of restitution for the benefit of the abused natives, caja de
restituciones; 40 and
h. The authority of the Church to refuse the administration of sacraments to
those who do not deliver justice, regardless of their social standing.41
In a sense, Bishop Salazar’s synodal decrees became a guide for confessors in
administering justice and upholding the early concept of human rights of their time.
As the first bishop of the suffragan diocese to Mexico, Salazar established the first
Cathedral in the walled city of Manila, consecrating it to the “Most Pure and Immaculate
Conception of Our Lady by virtue of the Bull of Pope Gregory XIII”.42 Together with then
Fray Benavidez, Bishop Salazar helped in converting the Chinese in the nearby Parian and
established the Saint Gabriel’s Hospital (1587-1774) to help the sick Chinese.43 For the
poor natives of Manila, the Bishop used his personal money to finance the establishment of
San Lazaro Hospital on 1577, entrusting this to the Franciscan Fathers. Bishop Salazar
also established the first school for girls on 1591, Colegio de Santa Potenciana with the
assistance of Governor General Gomez Perez de las Mariñas. 44 Though the main target of
this school is the immigrant families from Spain, it was the first of its kind in the 16th
century Philippines.
In the political arena by virtue of a Royal Decree, King Philip II entrusted to Bishop
Salazar the Royal Audiencia on May 1584.45
Ecclesiastically speaking, Salazar was the one responsible for Manila to be elevated
into the status of an Archdiocese, creating the dioceses of Cebu, Nueva Caceres, and Nueva
Segovia on 1595. This he did by personally appearing before the King to bring up his
cause. Salazar would have been the Archbishop had he not died on 1594.46

39
Ibid., 13-14
40
Ibid., 16
41
Ibid., 15.
42
Rev. Fr. Ruperto C. Santos, Anales Ecclesiasticos De Philipinas 1574-1682: Philippine Church History
: A Summary Translation (Manila: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, 1994), 35.
43
Fernández, OP, History of the Church in the Philippines 1521-1898, 70.
44
Santos, Op. Cit., 37
45
Ibid.
46
Santos, Op. Cit., 39
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 16

Archbishop Miguel de Benavidez (1552-1605) is the third bishop of Manila. He was

appointed on 1601 after the King saw his performance as the first Bishop of Nueva
Segovia. He is best known for donating ₱2,000.00 to the Dominican Order for the
establishment of Colegio de Sto. Tomas Aquino, which exists at present as the University
of Santo Tomas.
As a priest, Fray Benavidez’ facility for the languages enabled him to speak Chinese
and persuade the Sangleyes to convert to Catholicism and receive the sacraments of
Baptism and penance.47 His stay in the Parian made his Chinese so proficient that he was
able to translate the Doctrina Christiana in Chinese, the first Dominican to do so. This work
was entitled, Doctrina Christiana en Legua y Letra China.48
As Bishop of Nueva Segovia, Benavidez’ most pioneering work is his efforts to
communicate to the natives the referendum on the voluntary acceptance of native
allegiance to the Spanish crown. The result of his efforts was the Philippine “Referendum”
of 1599.49
Bishops Salazar and Benavidez helped lay the ecclesiastical foundations of the
Church in the Philippines. It is through their efforts that Dominican friars of the proceeding
century also took part in building a Church that transcends its role in merely proclaiming
the Gospel.
In agriculture, Fray Miguel Vazquez, OP, gave the Igorots the potatoes to plant so
there is no need to buy these from Manila. Meanwhile, Fray Francisco A. Carrozal and
Fray Juan F. Villaverde labored to develop the agriculture industry of the Cagayan Valley
missions. 50
The Dominican missionaries tried to introduce the manufacture of cloths in Bataan
with great success in the middle of the nineteenth century. This was the opposite of their
efforts in Pangasinan, led by Fray Balbino Ezpeleta, whose bigger loom posed a big
challenge to the weavers accustomed to “rough, crude looms”.51 Still in Pangasinan, Fray
Victor Herrero’s discovery of the marble quarries in the town of Aguilar helped build the

47
Ibid., 49.
48
Fidel Villaroel, OP. Miguel de Benavides, OP 1550-1605, Friar, Bishop and University Founder.
(Manila: UST Publishing House, 2005), 23.
49
Ibid., 43.
50
Fernandez, History of the Church in the Philippines 1521-1898, 226, 228
51
Fernandez, Op. Cit., 231
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 17

government house, the parish rectory, and the courtyard of the parish church.52 The
fathers also introduced coffee (1874, 1892) and cacao in Nueva Vizcaya.53
In terms of transportation, the 47 kilometer road by Father Juan Villaverde, OP, of the
Nueva Vizcaya towns Aritao to San Nicolas made it possible for easy transportation of
goods and services in an otherwise mountainous and forested area.54 Likewise, the roads
linking today’s Nueva Ecija to Cagayan, opened on 1739, greatly shortened the trip from
Central Luzon to Northern Luzon that was only accessible via a fifteen day voyage by sea
during that time.55
The Dominicans also functioned as de facto ambassadors to foreign leaders and
territories. Father Juan Cobo was sent to Nagoya to defer a Japanese attack by Hideyoshi
on 1592.56 When hunting for the assassins of Governor Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, two
Dominicans were among the delegates: Fathers Luis Gandullo and Juan de Castro. The
failure of this first batch to catch the suspect resulted to an aborted expedition to
Cambodia when Father Juan Maldonado, OP, engaged in a skirmish with the King of
Siam.57 Meanwhile, on 1618, Governor Alonso Fajardo sent Father Bartolome Martinez,
OP, to China to warn the Chinese on temporarily stopping the sending of Chinese fleets
to Philippine ports.58 The most famous Dominican ambassadorship was the one carried
by Father Victorio Ricci on 1662, when he prevented the Chinese invasion of Luzon by
Koxinga.59
The Dominican Order was at the forefront of defending Manila, especially during the
last years of the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648). When Dutch naval forces docked in
Philippine waters on 1646, the Spanish government had only two ancient galleons for
military response. Four Dominican chaplains suggested that the soldiers and sailors pray
the Holy Rosary “with real devotion and made the vow to join and go on procession to
the Church of Santo Domingo if the Lord should give them the victory”. After five
encounters, the Spanish forces emerged victorious. The ecclesiastical chapter, sitting en

52
Fernandez, Op. Cit., 231
53
Fernandez, Op. Cit., 225.
54
Fernandez, Op. Cit., 235
55
Ibid., 239
56
Ibid., 181
57
Ibid., 182
58
Ibid., 183
59
Ibid., 185
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 18

banc, declared that it is the obligation of the city of Manila to perpetually celebrate the
eight day feast of the Holy Rosary with a mass and a sermon. This is the origin of the
grand procession of the Virgen de La Naval which is still celebrated by Dominicans and
devotees in Quezon City.60
In carrying out the intent of the Spanish government to strengthen the Manila’s
defense during the War for America (1779-1783), the Rector of the University of Santo
Tomas, Father Domingo Collantes, “raised four companies of fifty soldiers each from
among the students”, a total of two hundred men whose uniforms and rations were
subsidized by the University for months. The University also allotted a sizeable portion
of rice and livestock from the Dominican haciendas for the government’s use. It is for
this voluntary help that UST earned its first of its three titles, “Royal University” on
1785.61
By continuous evangelization through words and actions, the Metropolitan See of
Manila working with the Bishoprics of Cebu, Nueva Caceres, Nueva Segovia, and Jaro,
were able to convert around 6,559,998 souls in the Philippines.62 Figure 5 shows the
breakdown of souls per diocese on 1898.
DIOCESE OF DIOCESE OF
ARCHDIOCESE DIOCESE OF DIOCESE OF
OF MANILA
NUEVA NUEVA TOTAL
CEBU JARO
CACERES SEGOVIA
Parishes 219 166 107 110 144 746
Mission-Parishes 24 15 17 26 23 105
Active Missions 16 32 -- 35 33 116
Number of pastors 259 213 124 171 124 891
Number of Seculares
198 125 148 131 73 675
in parishes
Number of Souls 1,811,445 1,748,872 691,298 997,629 1,310,754 6,559,998
Figure 5. Ecclesiastical statistics, 1898

To gain a contemporary perspective on the extent of the success of the Spanish

evangelization, the previous numbers were compared to the 1983 statistics compiled by
Fr. Pedro S. De Achútegui as shown in Figure 6.63

60
Ibid., 216
61
Ibid., 214.
62
Fernandez, History of the Church in the Philippines, pp. 45-46, citing Tamayo, Serapio, OP, “Idea
general de la disciplina eclesiastica en Filipinas durante la dominacion,” 1906, p.67-68
63
Pedro S. De Achútegui, SJ, “The Catholic Church in the Philippines: A Statistical Overview”, 1984,
Philippine Studies 32 (1984), 82.
THE SWORD AND THE CROSS IN SPANISH PHILIPPINES, M.J. MAGPANTAY 19

1898 1983
PASTORS & SECULAR PRIESTS 1,642 2,978
REGULAR PRIESTS 809 1,976
TOTAL NUMBER OF PRIESTS 2,451 4,954
967
TOTAL NUMBER OF PARISHES (Parishes, Mission-Parishes, 2,127
Active Missions)
5 1,479,829
POPULATION 6,558,998 (Catholics-43,129,303 or
83.8%)
Figure 6. Comparing the 1898 church statistics to 1983 church statistics

In almost a century, the Catholic Church in the Philippines has doubled its priests
(both secular and regular) and its parishes. With the growth of population in 85 years, the
Church has continually baptized Filipinos into the Catholic faith. The Achútegui statistics
also show that on 1983, almost 84% of the Filipinos were baptized.
Today, the Catholic Church may not hold its control over peoples as it once did
during the 16th century. Nevertheless, three of the national holidays and three national
special non-working holidays for 2018 is Catholic in nature. 64 In Manila, January 9 is
considered a non-working holiday to give way for the feast of the Traslación. In selected
parts of the country that pay homage to the image of the Niño Jesus, their world stops
annually on the third Sunday of January. This is not to mention the town fiestas where the
patron saint of Philippine towns that takes the spotlight during the traditional procession
after pompous celebration of the townspeople on their feast days.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines that began in Manila with a Dominican bishop
as its first prelate has withstood the tests of American occupation, Japanese invasion, and
Protestant incursion. In an age of individualism and soluble marriages, the Philippines
with 84% of population as Catholics remain to be one of the two countries in the world
that prohibits divorce.65 Such is the product of three centuries of Spanish colonization: in
three years’ time, the Church will celebrate the five hundred years of Catholic
evangelization in the Philippines. The omnipresence of the Church in the lives of the
Filipinos continues, thanks to the conquistadores who brought the cross and the sword on
that fateful day of March 1521.

64
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Christmas are national holidays while All Saints’ Day, All Souls’
Day, and Christmas Eve are special non-working holidays. This does not count the newly announced national
holiday of December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
65
The other one is the Vatican.
THE PHILIPPINES 1521-1896, SAT, 11:00 AM-2:00PM 20

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