Monastic

Supremacy
In the Philippines
Monastic Supremacy
• Is the service to God and to King. The
church’s organization, personnel, and
role in society were all defined early
in the colonial era.
Monastic Supremacy
The 2 Sovereigns
• Temporal and Spiritual Sovereignty
• Nationalism and Religiosity
• Justification for colonization
• The role of the church and its clergy
Marcelo H. Del Pilar’s
La Soberenia en Filipinas
was published in
Barcelona, spain in 1889
and reprinted in Manila in
1898.
 Marcelo H. del Pilar
o  Better known by his pen name
Plaridel
o He became a critic of the monastic
rule in the country
o In the 1880s, he expanded his anti-
friar movement from Malolos to
Manila.
o Founded the short-lived Diariong
Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper) in
1882.
 Friars Acquisition of Lands
Means of land Acquisition
(fundamental cause for the corruption of the friars)
1. Royal Bequest (Royal grant for missionaries)
2. Donation and Inheritance
3. Buying of Land
4. Foreclosure of mortgages
5. Land-grabbing
Its Political Aspect
 Its Political
• Aspect
The municipal officials depends on the parish
priest.
• The signature of the parish priest is necessary to
the census of the residents in a municipality.
• The basis of monastic wealth is the lack of union
between the people and the government.
• The resentment of the people and the despotism of
the government.
Its Economic Aspect
Its Economic
Aspect
Economic Abuses of
Friars
Taxes
Exorbitant Rent
Forced Labor
Personal Services
Petty Cruelties
 Church Vs. State
• Knowledge of Friars outweighed that of
government officials.
• Friars had a more secure term in the
church; this in turn made the government
dependent on them