1.

Historical Context

It was during the first century of the Spanish rule when the colonial government underwent
a dilemma on handling local politics. As such, they resorted to allowing Filipinos to partake
in the management of their respective areas. Gobernadorcillos, as you may call them, are
municipal authorities who carried out in a town the combined responsibilities of leadership,
economic, and judicial administration. To see to it that their loyalty to the crown remains
untarnished, friars who were assigned to local parishes were instructed to supervise and
monitor their activities. These friars eventually became the most knowledgeable and
influential figures in their respective towns as they took on the role of management and
other civic duties. They were also tasked to prepare and submit activity reports to their
superiors. Some presented short letters while some gifted others sent in lengthy and
detailed observations. An example of the latter was Juan de Plasencia's Relacion de las
Costumbres de Los Tagalogs (or the Customs of the Tagalogs). His work became a primary
and essential source of historical information that enabled historians to piece together the
picture of what it was like during the Spanish Colonial Period.

2. About the Author

Joan de Puerto Carrero, del convento de Villanueva de la Serena, better known as Friar Juan
de Plasencia, was one of seven children who was born among the prominent family of the
Portocarreros in Plasencia in the region of Extremadura, Spain in the early 16th century. In
his early years, he spent a life of spirituality, having possibly entered the Franciscan
Conventuals in Italy and later on, the Observant Franciscans of Santiago. Along with other
Franciscan missionaries, he was believed to have come to the Philippines in 1578 after a
stopover in Mexico. There, he preached and converted Tagalog souls into the Catholic fold.
He also wrote a number of books designed primarily to promote the understanding of both
the Spanish language among the natives, and the local languages among the missionaries, to
facilitate the task of spreading Christianity. He is the author of what is believed to be the
first book printed in the Philippines, the Doctrina Cristiana, as well as the Relacion de las
Costumbres de Los Tagalogs. It is also believed that he led a lifestyle devoid of any luxury
and in constant contact with the people he was trying to convert to Christianity. In the year
1590, he passed away in Liliw, Laguna.

3. About the Text

- Plasencia’s Customs of the Tagalogs contained detailed information of what the Tagalog
culture was like during the Spanish colonization period. It was part of a collection of longer
monographs written by other chroniclers of the Spanish expeditions to the Philippines
during the early 16th and 17th centuries. It included Plasencia’s keen observations on the
Tagalog natives’ way of life which eventually became an important basis for the
reconstruction of the political and socio-cultural history of the Tagalog region.

4. Excerpts
 - “These people always had chiefs, called by them datos, who governed them and were
captains in their wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced. The subject who committed
any offense against them, or spoke but a word to their wives and children, was severely
punished.”
- “The commoners are called aliping namamahay. They are married, and serve their master,
whether he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated lands, as was agreed upon in the
beginning.”
- “The slaves are called aliping sa guiguilir. They serve their master in his house and on his
cultivated lands, and may be sold.”
- “The maharlicas could not, after marriage, move from one village to another, or from one
barangay to another, without paying a certain fine in gold, as arranged among them.”
- “They had laws by which they condemned to death a man of low birth who insulted the
daughter or wife of a chief; likewise, witches and others of the same class.”

5. Relevance

- Plasencia's Customs of the Tagalogs can somewhat be related to the modern Philippine age
as our current political policies and socio-cultural beliefs are that of the same essence as
what the friar had described in his writings. It sheds light on the fact that our ancestors
already had a rich and diverse sense of culture even before the Spaniards came to colonize
our country. Therefore, it is relevant not only for those in the academe but also for every
Filipino as well because it is part of our country's historical background.