The Filipino

Social Contract
Domenden, Adam Albert A.

Filipino Democracy: How did it all

began?

There are different

philosophies
that
political authority.

Western
justifies

In the contemporary Filipino

philosophy, there is no existing
comprehensive
political
ideology that is in par with the
Western paradigm.

Filipino Democracy: How did it all

began?

To elucidate the nature of the

existing
Philippine
political
authority, it is crucial to use a
Western political theory as the
parameter that will expose the
Filipino political thought behind
the
establishment
of
the
Philippine independent state.

Filipino Democracy: How did it all

began?

In this study, the researcher

utilized
Jean-Jacques
Rousseaus
Social
Contract
Theory in elucidating the
Filipino Political Thought which
progressed in the creation of
the Filipino state.

Filipino Democracy: How did it all

began?

Elements
Contract

of

the

Rousseauian

Social

The State of Nature (absence of social

justice)
Self-preservation (amour de soi and
amour propre)
General Will

Filipino Democracy: How did it all

began?
Trend in the Filipino quest for independence

Absence of social justice during Spanish rule

The Enlightenment and the awakening of the
Filipino people (a sense of nationalism)
Independence as the will of the Filipino people

Social Contract

The Rousseauian state of nature was like of

Hobbes. Brutal and harsh. Life is uncertain and
everyman is an individual that serves his own
interest.

Social Contract

Amour de soi physical selfpreservation

Amour propre preservation
of ones social standing

Social Contract

General Will the will of the people as a

whole.

Filipino Quest for Independence

Social Justice was just a concept, an

ideology, a word that is not known to the
Filipino people as the Spanish colonial
government, with the hand of the
Catholic Church, brainwashed the Indios.
Frailocracy was strong in the Philippines
during the Spanish rule. No person is
capable of questioning the acts of the
Catholic Church in the Philippines even
the
Spanish
government
officials
themselves.

Filipino Quest for Independence

Abuses were made not only by the Peninsulares

and Insulares, but also by Filipino elites against
their fellow Filipino.
There were forced labors, inhumane working
conditions, land-grabbing, killing sprees, and
other form of injustices that made the Filipino
people suffer more than what it can take.
Pain and suffering became a national
experience.

Filipino Quest for Independence

The Filipino people is very communal

according to father Mercado, and it
can be seen in Bonifacacios apology
for his bloody revolution.
Filipinos had this sakop mentality
which explains why Sikatuna and
some datus welcomed Legazpi and
performed Sanduguan with him.

Filipino Quest for Independence

The philosophy of Sakop also explains the Filipino love

of family and why Filipinos tend to sacrifice their lives
just to achieve independence and social justice.

Filipino Quest for Independence

The iconic Filipino revolutionaries we now

regard as Heroes agitated their movement for
autonomy by scrutinizing the Filipino national
experience of pain and suffering.

Filipino Quest for Independence

The national experience of

pain and suffering created
the sense of nationalism
within the Filipinos.
The Filipino people desired
change
by
having
independence
and
a
government where authority
emanates from the people.

Filipino Quest for Independence

Autonomy, in form of Democracy, became the

will of the Filipino people.

Filipino Quest for Independence

Filipinos
fought
for
independence
and
democracy until they finally established one.

Conclusion: The Filipino Social Contract

The Filipino social contract is mainly Rousseauian

in nature. However, instead of simply wanting to
be civilized, the Filipino social contract has this
trait of sakop mentality which
fueled the
Filipino desire for a civil state and social justice.
Filipinos did not desired justice and civility for
their own selves, but for their loved ones, for the
community which they perceived as their own
family.

END