Philippine Economic and

Political History
Pre Spanish
- Composed of settelments (Barangay – consist of more or less
100 families ruled by Datu (Chieft) chief executive, lawgiver,
chief judge and military head.
- Councils of the elders (maginoos) served as advisers.
- Monarchy type of government
- Divided into Social Classes
a. Nobility (Maharlika)
b. Freemen (Timawa)
c. Serfs (Aliping namamahay)
d. Slaves (Aliping sagigilid)
- Early laws (have both written and unwritten laws)

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 Pre Spanish
How a Datu Obtained his position
- Inheritance
- Strengths
- Wisdom
- Wealth

Government
- No official government
- Barangay – was a unit of government consisted of 30 to 100 families
- Datu/Raja/Hari/Sultan- Chieftains
As a chieftain had vast power:
- Chieft Executive
- Legislator
- Chief Judge
- Supreme Commander
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 Spanish Period

- Based on the Claimed made by Magellan’s History and conquest of Miguel

Lopez de Legaspi and for 330 years of Possession
- Spanish Colonial Government (Introduced the union of the State and the
Church)
a. Indirectly governed by the king of Spain through Mexico
b. 3 Times that the Philippines was given representation to the Spanish
Cortez (Legislative body of Spain)
c. Established a centralized and National government
- Gobernador – General (executive, legislative and judicial powers)
- Royal Audiencia – (Supreme Court) and creation of various courts
- Town (Pueblos) governadorcillo
- Ayuntamiento / cabildos (city councils)
- Cebu 1st Capital of the Philippines
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Spanish Period Economic Policies

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Spanish Period Economic Policies

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Economic Development in the
Philippines in the Early 20th Century

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Economic Development in the
Philippines in the Early 20th Century

In the mid-nineteenth century, a Filipino landowning elite

developed on the basis of the export of abaca (Manila hemp),
sugar, and other agricultural products. At the onset of the United
States power in the Philippines in 1898-99, this planter group was
cultivated as part of the United States military and political
pacification program. The democratic process imposed on the
Philippines during the American colonial period remained under the
control of this elite.
[Source: Library of Congress ]
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Economic Development in the
Philippines in the Early 20th Century

In the mid-nineteenth century, a Filipino landowning elite

developed on the basis of the export of abaca (Manila hemp),
sugar, and other agricultural products. At the onset of the United
States power in the Philippines in 1898-99, this planter group was
cultivated as part of the United States military and political
pacification program. The democratic process imposed on the
Philippines during the American colonial period remained under the
control of this elite.
[Source: Library of Congress ]
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Economic Development in the
Philippines in the Early 20th Century

Access to political power required an economic basis, and in turn

provided the means for enhancing economic power. The
landowning class was able to use its privileged position directly to
further its economic interests as well as to secure a flow of
resources to garner political support and ensure its position as the
political elite. Otherwise, the state played a minimal role in the
economy, so that no powerful bureaucratic group arose that could
pursue a development program independent of the wishes of the
landowning class. This situation remained basically unchanged in
the early 1990s.
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Economic Development in the
Philippines in the Early 20th Century

At the time of independence in 1946, and in the aftermath of a

destructive wartime occupation by Japan, Philippine reliance on the
United States was even more apparent. To gain access to
reconstruction assistance from the United States, the Philippines
agreed to maintain its prewar exchange rate with the United States
dollar and not to restrict imports from the United States. For a while
the aid inflow from the United States offset the negative balance of
trade, but by 1949, the economy had entered a crisis. The
Philippine government responded by instituting import and foreign-
exchange controls that lasted until the early 1960s.
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 Retrieved from:

• https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6g/entry-3916.html
• https://www.slideshare.net/sparklingpinktiara/philippines-during-american-period