PHILIPPINE

POLITICS AND
GOVERNANCE
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
• A system of governance in pre-
colonial period already existed
before Spaniards arrived in the
Philippines in 1521.

• The barangay was the Filipino’s

earliest form of government.

• It was an independent settlement

consisting of thirty to one hundred
families usually situated along a
river bank or at the mouth of a
river spilling out to the sea.
• Each barangay was ruled by a
datu or village chief who also
known as raha or rajah.

• The political development of

the archipelago was such that
there was no national or central
government yet.

• No datu was strong enough to

consolidate considerable power
and to unite the archipelago into
one nation.
• The primary duty of the datu
was to rule and govern his
subjects and to promote their
well-being; he was the chief
executive, legislator, and judge.

• The datu usually obtained his

position by inheritance.

• In matters of succession in the

vent of the datu’s death, the first
son usually succeeded him.
• In the absence of any male
heir, the eldest daughter could
become a chieftain.

• If a datu died without any

heir, the people of the
barangay choose a man to
become the new chieftain on
the basis of his wisdom,
wealth and physical strength.
Present also during the
pre colonial times was
the system of
stratification. The
stratification was based
on class, which include:

a.) nobility (makarlika)

b.) freeman (timawa)
c.) the serf (aliping
namamahay)
d.) the slaves (aliping
sagigilid)
 THE EVOLUTION
OF PHILIPPINE,
GOVERNMENT AND
GOVERNANCE
 Pre – Colonial Era Government

1. The Government
- No central government before the Spaniards came.
- Governance came from barangays scattered
throughout the islands.
- Barangay is derived from the Austronesian balangay
which is a boat used by the Austronesian immigrants in
sailing to the Philippines.
- The datu (chieftain) ruled each barangay.
- The datu wielded executive, legislative, and
judicial powers.
- The datu took on the role of supreme
commander during wartime.
- As a lawmaker, he was assisted by a council
of elders called the maginoos which advised
him in the administration of justice.
2. The Datu as Legislator

- Issued the laws as the chief legislative authority.

- Would consult the council of elders to enact a
law.
- Would order the barangay crier (umalokohan)
to announce to the people the approval of the
new law.
3. The Datu as Judge

- Court of justice was composed of the datu as the

judge, and the maginoos as the members of the
jury
- Ancient Filipinos used trial by ordeal to determine
who was lying and telling the truth
- Test consisted of several activities such as testing
the physical ability of a person
- The one who came out with lesser injuries
or was relatively unharmed was pronounced
the victor.
- The local chieftains therefore used religion
in governing their subjects.
THANK YOU!!!
MEMBERS:
Kaycee Orande
Glize Balindang
Airam James Zamora
Rubelyn Consorte
Christian Ocampo
Lhoredel Dollentas