Instability of colonial administration General Fernando Primo de Rivera (1880-83) and

(1897-98) – enriched himself by accepting bribes from

The chaotic Reign of King Ferdinand VII (1808-1833)
gambling casinos in Manila which he operated.
marked the beginning of political mayhem in Spain.

General Valeriano Weyler (1888-91) - was a cruel and

From 1834-1862, Spain had adopted four constitutions,
corrupt governor general. He arrived in Manila a poor
elected 28 parliaments, and installed not less than 529
man and returned to Spain a millionaire by receiving
ministers with portfolios; followed in subsequent years by
huge bribes from wealthy Chinese who evaded the anti –
party strifes, revolutions, and other political upheavals.
Chinese law.

The political instability in Spain affected Philippine Affairs

Filipinos called him “tyrant” because of his persecution of
because it brought about recurrent periodic shifts in
the family of Rizal in Calamba.
colonial policies and periodic rigodon of colonial officials.

General Camilo de Polavieja (1896-97) - was an able

Spain’s political instability resulted to the loss of many of
militarist but a heartless governor general, responsible
her colonies in America.
for Rizal’s execution.

Spain changed its policies in the Philippines and made

And as early as 1810, some Spaniard, barbers, and
periodic replacements of Spanish officials. These
lackeys, were appointed provincial governors and
frequent changes of the administration in the Philippines
soldiers and district magistrates.
hampered down the economic and political conditions of

the country. The Social System

Philippine economy and politics grew from bad to worse Feudalism was the social structure in the Philippines

at that time. during the Spanish colonial period.

Corrupt Spanish Officialdom The structure of the Philippine society was pyramidal.

And this is consists of three layers: 

Corrupt Officialdom was another evil of the Spanish

Colonial System. Topmost layer- Spanish officials, the PENINSULARES

 Many colonial officials became rich by illegal Middle Layer- few favored Filipinos, the MESTIZOS

means or by marrying the heiresses of rich and CREOLLOS (those Spaniards born in America)

Filipino families.
Lowest Layer- INDIOS (the lowest kind)

 Mostly ignorant and profligate, they conducted

Encomienda System
themselves with arrogance because of their

alien white skin and tall noses. -this is a system where Spanish monarch granted lands

to certain individuals who had rendered great services to

 General Rafael de Izquierdo (1871-73) - was a
Spain. And this individual could take care a certain
ruthless governor general, aroused the anger of
territory in the conquered lands.
the Filipinos by executing Fathers Mariano

Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora. -came from the word “encomendar” which means to

(GOMBURZA) Martyrs of 1872. commend or entrust to one’s care.

Admiral Jose Malcampo (1874-77) - was a good Moro -the person in-charge was called “encomendero”.

fighter, but was an inept and weak administrator.

Rights of encomendero vested by Spanish Crown:
 the right to collect tributes.
 the right to use the personal services of the
inhabitants.
 required to protect the people and to give them
some education.
-greed and cruelty mainly filled up the encomienda
system.
-proof given by Antonio de Morga:
“They employ the Indians in building houses and large
vessels, grinding rice, cutting woods, and carrying it all
to their houses and to Manila and then pay them little or
nothing at all for their labor.”
TRIBUTE
• Filipinos before paid tribute as a symbol of
servitude to Spain.
• it consisted of eight(8) reales <one peso>,
payable in kind or money.
• in 1851, the tribute was increased to twelve
reales. But in 1884, the cedula replaced the
reales.
The Filipinos hated the tribute for two reasons:
• It reminded them of their bondage to
Spain, and
• it spawned Spanish abuses.
Philippine Representation of Spanish Cortes
 Motive of Spain -gain the support of her
overseas colonies
1810-1813
Philippine experience her first period of
representation in the Cortes
Ventura delos Reyes
 Took active part in framing of the Constitution
of 1812
 Abolition of the Galleon trade
(1820- 23) and (1834- 37)
Less fruitful because the Philippines delegate
were not as energetic and devoted in
parliamentary work as Delos Reyes
1837
 it was abolished in 1837 and the Philippine
conditions worsened because there was no
means b which the Filipino people could expose
the anomalies perpetrated by the colonial
officials
Garciano Lopez Jaena
One of the patriots who pleaded the restoration
of the Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes but
plea only ended in deaf ears
Human Rights Denied to Filipinos
People of Spain enjoyed
 Freedom of Speech
 Freedom of the Press
 Freedom of Assembly

The Spanish authorities who cherished these human
rights or constitutional liberties in Spain denied them to
the Filipinos in Asia.
No Equality Before the Law
Spanish missionaries in 16th Century taught that all men,
irrespective of color and race are children of God and as
such they are brothers, equal before God.
To the imperialist way of thinking, brown Filipinos and
white Spaniards may be equal to God, but not before
the law and certainly not in practice.
Spanish colonial authorities arrogantly treated the
brown-skinned Filipinos as inferior beings, not their
Christian brothers to be protected but rather as their
majesty’s subjects to be exploited.
Leyes de Indian (Laws of the Indies)
 Promulgated by the Christian monarch’s of
Spain
 To protect the rights of natives in Spain’s
overseas colonies to promote their welfare
 But it wasn’t implemented by the officials
 Filipinos were abused, brutalized, persecuted
and slander by their Spanish maters.
The Spanish Penal Code
 Enforced in the Philippines
 Imposed heavier native Filipinos or Mestizos
 Lighter penalties on white-complexioned
Spaniards.
Racial Discrimination
During Rizal’s time a white skin, high nose and Castilian
lineage were a badge of vaunted superiority.
• Filipinos were regarded as INFERIOR BEINGS.
Racial prejudice is rampant in the Philippines
especially in the offices, military, social
gatherings and in schools.
• Man’s merit was BASED on the COLOR OF
THE SKIN, HAIR, the Shape Of The Nose and
of the HEAD. Fr. Jose Burgos lamented the
racial discrimination due by the Spaniards to the
Filipinos.
Maladministration of Justice
• Corruption characterized the courts in the
Philippines during the time of Rizal. In fact, from
the view point of the Filipino victims, these
courts were rather rightly called “COURTS OF
INJUSTICE.” Justice was costly, PARTIAL and
SLOW.
• The poor almost had no access to the court but
the rich had. Wealth, prestige and color of skin
were the predominant factors of winning a case
in the court. The saying, “Justice delayed is
justice denied” was true. Among the victims
were Rizal and his family and the GomBurza.
Frailocracy
-is a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines.
-“a government by friars.”
Friars (Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans)
 They were the ones who controlled the
religious and educational life of the Philippines.
 Later in the 19th Century, they came to acquire
tremendous political power, influence, and
riches.
 Aside from their priestly duties, a friar:
 was a supervisor of local elections,
 the inspector of schools and taxes,
 the arbiter of morals,
 the censor of books and comedias (stage
plays),
 the superintendent of public works, and
 the guardian of peace and order.
 He could even send a patriotic Filipino to jail or
denounce him as a filibustero (traitor) to be
exiled in a distant place or to be executed as an
enemy of God and Spain.

Manila
 was dependent on the interior part of the land,
that is, on the peasants.
Church
 acted as the only link between the small foreign
community in Manila and the mass of the
peasants in the countryside.
Governor General
 depended on the friars in reaching the
peasants.
Rome
• made the Governor General the vice-patron of
the Church and granted him ecclesiastical
authority, but the Governor General had no
command over the friars.
Forced Labor
 Known as the Polo.
 was instituted in 1580
 was the compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish
Colonial Authorities on adult Filipino males ( except
chieftains and their sons ) in the construction of
churches, schools, hospitals; building and repair of
roads and bridge; the building of ships in the
shipyards and other public works.
Males 16 – 60 years old
They were obliged to render forced labor for 40 days a
year.
Polista
The name given to those who performed the forced
labor.
Polo System
only gave each polista ¼ real with some rice per day
and the worst thing was that the polistas were seldom
paid.
Harvesting and Planting Seasons
The polistas were not supposed to render services such
as public works of non military nature. But this was
violated. Instead, the authorities required the polistas
to work in mines and to cut trees for building ships
needed for war.
Royal Decree of July 12, 1883
 Implemented by the New Regulations,
promulgated by the Council of State of February
3, 1885 increased the minimum age of the
Polistas from 16 – 18 and reduced the days of
labor from 40 – 15.
 Also provided that not only native Filipinos but
also all male Spanish Residents from 18 – 60
must render forced labor, but this was never
implemented in the Philippines for obvious
reasons.
Falla
A sum of money paid to the government to be
exempted from the polo but the money was just being
pocketed by the alcaldes.
Bandala
Governor General Hurtado de Corcuera
Introduced Bandala in the first half of the 17th Century.
Bandala
• Another exploitative economic device was the
annual quota assigned to each province.
• In every province, everyone had to make a
compulsory sale of his products to the
government.
Divide and Rule
The Spanish Military Force was just small in the country.
So, it had to be backed up by the natives.
Military
Used the services of the natives for their purposes by
employing the divide-and-rule strategy.
The Spaniards recruited the natives in the region to
support them but the Military merely used them to put
down the revolts in another region.
Haciendas Owned by the Friars
Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders
were the richest landlords.
 They owned the best haciendas (agricultural
lands) in the Philippines.
 The rural folks (including Rizal’s family) who
have been living in the haciendas and
cultivating them generation after generation
became tenants.
 Naturally, they resented the loss of their lands
which belonged to their ancestors since pre-
Spanish times;
 Legally, however, the friars were recognized as
legal owners of said lands because they
obtained royal titles of ownership from the
Spanish crown.
 One of these bloody agrarian revolts was the
agrarian upheaval in 1745-1746.
 In 1768, Governor Anda strongly recommended
to the Madrid government the sale of the friar
estates.
Unfortunately, his wise recommendation was ignored.
THE GUARDIA CIVIL
 the last hated symbol of Spanish tyranny.
 it was created by the Royal Decree of February
12, 1852 as amended by the Royal Decree of
March 24, 1888.
 its purpose is to maintain internal peace and
order in the Philippines.
 it was patterned after the famous and well-
disciplined Guardia Civil in Spain.
 most of the members of the Guardia Civil were
untrained and ignorant. Thus, they turned out
to be agents of abuses.
 they maltreated innocent people, looting their
carabaos, chickens, and valuable belongings,
and raping helpless women.