Michellee Marie B.

Chavez 2004-39460

BM 201

Upon reading the article stating that the Philippines was owned by the Tallano clan, I recalled from my Philippine history
classes that the concept of Philippines being a country happened only during the Spanish time, that in 1521, it was
discovered by a Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, who was serving the Spanish crown. He was then killed on a
rebellion by a Datu named Lapu Lapu in Mactan Island. The Philippines got its name after Prince Phillip of Spain, where
Spain ruled our country for about 356 years. I haven’t encountered anything before that the Philippines was once ruled
by a royal family prior to the Spanish times; it was never taught in school. Thus, the claim of the Tallanos that they own
the Philippines seems to be so surprising. If this is really true, then, why it wasn’t taught? Why is it only now that this
arises? Is there something behind this that shouldn’t be known by the Filipinos or is it simply a tale?

As I understand from what I read, the Tallanos are claiming that they own the Philippines by virtue of Original Certificate
of Title (OCT) No. T-01-4,which is the Title of the Philippine Archipelago. Reading the first part of the article makes me
wonder whether there is a truth with this claim, though it was stated in the last part of the title that it exists and was
found authentic. I do not have sufficient knowledge regarding legal issues, but I am not sure if the said authenticated
title is true or is there something that goes beyond being authenticated to disprove or to prove the claims of the
Tallanos. As far as I know, the title still needs verification to prove its authenticity and validity.

Effective possession of property or control of it is one of the indices of ownership. This claim of the Tallanos is spurious
and bordering lunacy. Why is this part been neglected from the textbooks that were used in school considering that it is
an important part of Philippine history that every Filipinos should know?Will there be any consequence if this part of
history is valid and who will be the ones affected? Assuming this claim is true, the ones who will be affected are us, our
nationality as Filipinos and our sovereignty as a nation. Can the Tallano royal family (which means any of its successor
which may be a British since Tallano was married to a British lady) just land grabbed the country in reference to the said
authenticated title? Are we only borrowing lands fromthem? With a mere insight, we shouldn’t be bothered; our
existing government can protect us in this part, and give due-process to the people. I think the title wouldn't be
enough for the claim because it would be suppressed or become void through our present Constitution, since in my own
opinion, the Constitution supersedes any law. If indeed worse comes to worst, and any successor of the royal family
takes over the country, the second question is, would they withstand the current power of the people they will
subordinate, and how will they govern? I know that in the article the family has a well respected leader in the character
of King Luisong, and that the country seemed to be very prosperous in his era. There was no saying of an uprising back
then in his terms. It is maybe because some of the resources are equally allotted to the people and alsobecause almost
all of his subordinates are family members/relatives. If Filipinos are well-known to have respect and submission to their
elders, maybe this is one example why there’s a zero revolt on the ruler. But if we are to imagine this great royal family
running this country today, there will be many fights for reform in all directions as you can see in the news since there
are people coming from different families with diversified principles/views. The idea of family-oriented ruling is
subordinated by nationalistic approach for the common good.This fight for reform or form of revolt will extend up in
terms of economic growth. Back then, it is pictured in the article that the Philippines is a wealthy country since those
who were in the ruling power or those who governed were wealthy together with the rest of their descendants. Given
the fact that the measurement of the Economic Growth is how much change happened to GDP with the expenditure
approach saying that there must be large personal and government spending, investments and export over import.
Meaning, if there’s the royal family having much of the wealth, government spending is just equal to personal spending
since wealth revolves in all their subordinates which are family members/relatives. In comparison with what’s
happening today, if this will be the case where there are no longer relational ties/bond among the government and the
people. There will only be few who will be benefited by the portion of spending. Neither personal nor government
spending would contribute to the economy. Hence revolt must be needed to bring back or seek balance in the economy.
FALSE: Filipino 'royal family'
ruled over pre-colonial
'Maharlika kingdom'
There are no records that show proof of a pre-colonial Filipino royal family that ruled over a kingdom
called Maharlika, which was made up of the Philippines, Brunei, South Borneo, Hawaii, the Spratly
Islands, and Sabah

Rappler.com
Published 11:30 AM, February 15, 2019
Updated 12:15 AM, February 16, 2019

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A screenshot of a Facebook post that claims the Marcoses were given gold bars by a 'Filipino royal family' whose last
name is Tallano.

Claim: A post on Facebook dated September 24, 2018 states that former president Ferdinand
Marcos was paid in gold by the "Tallano royal family of the Philippines" for being their lawyer.

The so-called royal family, whose last name is Tallano, is said to have ruled over a kingdom called
Maharlika that was made up of the Philippines, Brunei, South Borneo, Hawaii, the Spratly Islands,
and Sabah before Spain colonized our country.

They allegedly "owned" our country until the mid-18th century.

Our national hero Jose Rizal was supposedly a direct descendant of the Tallano family.

The Tallanos was said to have paid Marcos "192 thousand tons of gold" because they hired him to be
their lawyer before he became a politician.

Accompanying the post is a photo of Marcos and his wife, former first lady Imelda Marcos,
superimposed over a photo of gold bars. Another photo superimposed over the gold bars is of
President Rodrigo Duterte. Text on the photo reads: "Marcos gold will save the world!"

The post has more than 79,000 shares and more than 5,000 comments as of posting. It was emailed
to us to check through factcheck@rappler.com.

Rating: FALSE

The Facts: There is no historical proof that a royal family called Tallano ruled over a kingdom called
Maharlika during pre-colonial Philippines.

Rappler consulted historian and Assistant Professorial Lecturer of History at De La Salle University
Xiao Chua, and he presented 5 questions in response to the post:

1. Where is the title?

There are no land titles that prove that a Tallano family owns the entire Philippine archipelago.

According to Inquirer.net, Julian Tallano claimed that he was the heir Rajah Soliman and Lapu-Lapu
and a descendant of King Luisong Tagean.

In 2002, the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on 3 Pasay court
rulings that validated Tallano's claim. These rulings were by Pasay City Judge Ernesto Reyes on July
7, 1997, July 11, 2001, and October 8, 2001.

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A report about the TRO published by the Philippine Star in 2002 says that Office of the Solicitor
General filed a petition with the CA assailing the validity of the Pasay court's ruling and the 3 fake
titles that laid claim to the Philippines.

According to the Star, the petition explained that the "sheer area covered constitutes more than
conclusive evidence regarding the spurious character of said titles..."

2. Is there a mention of the name Tallano in any documents from the Spanish regime?
From the Blair and Robertson collection of documents? 3. Was there a historical
document from Spanish period citing Maharlika as a place name in the Philippines?

Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson edited a 55 volume book of primary source
Philippine history documents that covers 1493 to 1898.

The words "Tallano" and "Maharlika" are not mentioned in the Blair and Robertson
collection collection of documents in relation to the name of a place or kingdom.

There are also no records that show that one family in the Philippines ruled over the other datus'
kingdoms on the archipelago.

In historian William Henry Scott's Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino, published in 1992, he spoke
about the 4 societal classes that existed during the pre-colonial era. He said that the Spaniards
thought datus were kings – until they realized that they did not have power over other kingdoms or
other datus.
The Marcos-approved history book Tadhana: The History of the Filipino People also says that by the
time navigator Miguel Lopez de Legazpi set foot in the Philippines, the country's many groups were
not unified: "A pan-Filipino state however had yet to emerge, although in response to grave, strange,
if exciting forces indigenous sates of varying sizes had emerged."

4. If they were lawyered by Ferdinand Marcos and Jose W. Diokno, and if it was such a
big case, was there a mention of the Tallanos in any of their writings, speeches, or
credible biographies?

Historian and Ateneo de Manila University history professor Ambeth Ocampo, who has Marcos'
diaries, called the claim about the Tallano family "doubtful."

In biographies of Marcos on the Encyclopedia Britannica website, the Biography.com website, the

Department of National Defense website, and the Senate website, there is no mention of the Tallano
family.

5. If it was such a big Supreme Court case, was there a SCRA or any documents to be
found in the Supreme Court about an alleged decision?

A search for the name "Tallano" on the Supreme Court website, the LawPhil website, and the Chan
Robles Virtual Law Library do not provide any decisions from before 1949 that involved both Tallano
and Marcos. – Rappler.com

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