Readings On Philippine History Handout

CHAPTER 1
Introduction
What is History?
History is the story of the past. Derived from the Greek word “historia”
which means knowledge acquired through inquiry or investigation. It is
the story of people, places and
events. It is the account of thepast
of a person or a group of people
through written documents and
historical evidences. History also
focused onwriting about wars,
revolutions, and other important
breakthroughs. It means that unless awritten document can prove a
certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a histori cal
fact.
On one hand, Crabtree (1993) had a simple definition of it as: “History

is a story about the past that is significant and true.” This simple
definition contains two words packed with meaning which must be
understood in order to understand history.
A. Significance
The first word is “significant.” No one could record everything that is

true about an event in the past: temperature, atmospheric pressure,
humidity, soil type, molecules bouncing around, hearts beating, lungs
inflating and deflating, and so forth—there is no end to what could be
listed. History is the process of simplifying. Of all that could be said
about an event, what is most important or most significant? The goal of
history is to tell a story about the past which captures the essence of
an event while omitting superfluous details.
Significance is determined by the historian. The historian sorts through

the evidence and presents only that which, given his particular world
view, is significant. What a historian finds significant is not entirely a
personal choice; it is largely shaped by his training and his colleagues.
In order for a historian to have his works published, he has to receive
the approval of his fellow historians. Therefore, the community of
historians has a large say in deciding what about the past is significant.
But historians are just as much a part of society as anyone else, and
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we are all greatly influenced by those around us. As a result, the
community of historians tends to share the same notion of significance
as is held by society as a whole. Therefore, historians tend to tell
stories which reflect the dominant values of the society in which they
live.
B. Truth
History is a story about the past that is significant and true. What does
it mean to say that a historical account is true? Most modern historians
would claim there is no absolute truth. This would imply there is no
basis for saying that one historical account is true and another one
false. Most historians use the word “true” to mean any perspective well
supported by facts.
The tricky thing is that every historian uses facts to build his case.
Rarely does an historian consciously distort the facts; and although
minor factual errors are common, they seldom undermine the overall
presentation. But even though most histories are built on facts, the
histories can be very different, even contradictory, because falsehoods
can be constructed solely with facts.
Why History Matters?
Historians are often asked: what is the use or relevance of studying

History and why on earth does it matter what happened long ago?
According to Penelope J. Corfield1 studying History is inescapable as it
studies the past and the legacies of the past in the present at the same
time it connects things through time and encourages its students to
take a long view of such connections.
Furthermore, Corfield reiterated that all people and peoples are living
histories like communities today speak languages that are inherited
from the past. They live in societies with complex cultures, traditions
and religions that have not been created on the spur of the moment.
People use technologies that they have not themselves invented. And
each individual is born with a personal variant of an inherited genetic
template, known as the genome, which has evolved during the entire
life-span of the human species.
So understanding the linkages between past and present is absolutely

basic for a good understanding of the condition of being human.
History matters for it is not just 'useful' but it is essential to human
survival.
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On the other hand, history also does matter for it has been said that he
who controls the past controls the future (Crabtree, 1993). Our view of
history shapes the way we view the present, and therefore it dictates
what answers we offer for existing problems.
The study of the past is essential for 'rooting' people in time. And why
should that matter? The answer is that people who feel themselves to
be rootless live rootless lives, often causing a lot of damage to
themselves and others in the process. Indeed, at the most extreme end
of the out-of-history spectrum, those individuals with the distressing
experience of complete memory loss cannot manage on their own at
all. In fact, all people have a full historical context. But some, generally
for reasons that are no fault of their own, grow up with a weak or
troubled sense of their own placing, whether within their families or
within the wider world. They lack a sense of roots. For others, by
contrast, the inherited legacy may even be too powerful and outright
oppressive.
In all cases, understanding History is integral to a good understanding

of the condition of being human. That allows people to build, and, as
may well be necessary, also to change, upon a secure foundation.
Neither of these options can be undertaken well without understanding
the context and starting points. All living people live in the here-and-
now but it took a long unfolding history to get everything to NOW. And
that history is located in time-space, which holds this cosmos together,
and which frames both the past and the present.
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Discrimination in the Validity of History
Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is a discrimination

against other social classes who were not recorded in paper. Others got
their historical documents burned or destroyed in the events of war or
colonization.
On the Used of Historiography
History is the history of history. It covers how historianshave studied

and developed history including its sources, techniques, and
theoretical approaches. It should not beconfused with History because
history is the study of the past, the events that happened in the past. It
focuses on how a certainhistorical text was written, who wrote it,
what was the context of its publication, what historical method was
employed, what sources were used.
There are two main schools of thought on historiography:

1. Positivism.
Is the school of thought that emerged between the 18th and
19th century. This thought requires empirical and observable
evidence before one can claim that a particular knowledge is
true. Historians wererequired to show written primary
documents in order to write a particular historical narrative.
2. Post-Colonialism.
Is the school of thought that emerged in the early 20th century
when formerly colonized nations grappled with the idea of
creating their identities and understanding their societies against
the shadows of their colonial past.
Two Things in Writing History:
a. Tell the history of their nation that will highlight their identity
free from that colonial discourse and knowledge
b. To criticize the methods, effects, and idea of colonialism
How can Historians find out about the past?
Facts cannot speak for themselves. It is the historian’s job not just to
seek historical evidences and facts but also to interpret them. It is their
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job to give meaning to these facts and organize them into timeline,
establish causes, and write history. It comprises certaintechniques
and rules that historians follow in order to properly utilize sources and
historical evidences in writing history.
Like detectives, historians gather information or evidence to put

together the story of the past. They gather evidence from different
sources e.g. archaeological digs, manuscripts or search the internet.
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What are Primary Sources?
A primary source is a document or record which contains first-hand

information or original data on a topic. Primary sources are often
created at the time of an event, but can also be recorded at a later
time (e.g. memoirs or interviews). They are from the time period
involved and have not been filtered through interpretation or
evaluation. They are usually the first formal appearance of results in
physical, print or electronic format. They present original thinking,
report a discovery, or share new information that provide insights into
how people view their world at a particular time.
Keep in mind that a primary source reflects only one point of view and
may contain a person’s bias (prejudice) toward an event. Thus, it is
important to evaluate primary sources for accuracy, authenticity, bias
and usefulness.
Examples:
1. Artworks
2. Court records
3. Diaries
4. Autobiographies
5. Drawings
6. Film footage
7. Government documents
8. Interviews
9. Newspaper clippings
10. Original manuscripts
11. Photographs
12. Poetry
13. Posters
14. Songs and sheet music
15. Speeches
16. Artifacts
17. Letters
Remember that primary sources are often reproduced in book format -

but that they are still considered to be a primary source.
Advantages of Using Primary Sources:
 Primary sources provide a window into the past—unfiltered

access to the record of artistic, social, scientific and political
thought and achievement during the specific period under study,
produced by people who lived during that period.
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 And these unique, often profoundly personal, documents and
objects can give a very real sense of what it was like to be alive
during a long-past era.
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Disadvantages of Using Primary Sources:
• Questions of creator bias, purpose, and point of view may

challenge students’ assumptions.
• Primary sources are often incomplete and have little context.
Students must use prior knowledge and work with multiple
primary sources to find patterns
• In analyzing primary sources, students move from concrete
observations and facts to questioning and making inferences
about the materials.
What are secondary sources?
• “Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources.

Generally, they are accounts written after the fact with the
benefit of hindsight.
• A secondary source is something and they served as
interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary
sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and
discussion of evidence. However, what some define as a
secondary source, others define as a tertiary source. Context is
everything.”
• Secondary sources are written "after the fact" - that is, at a later
date.
• Usually the author of a secondary source will have studied the
primary sources of an historical period or event and will then
interpret the "evidence" found in these sources.
• Think about it like this….If I tell you something, I am the primary
source. If you tell someone else what I told you, you are the
secondary source.
Examples:
1. Textbooks
2. Biographies
3. Histories
4. Newspaper report by someone who was not
present
5. Charts, graphs, or images created AFTER the time
period.
6. Magazines
7. Almanacs, encyclopedias, history books (textbooks), etc. are all
secondary sources because they were written “after” these
events occurred.
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8. Biographical or historical studies
9. Critical analyses
10. Dictionaries
11. Documentaries
12. Journal articles
13. Reviews
14. Second person account
15. Textbook
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Advantages of Using Secondary Sources
• Secondary sources can provide analysis, synthesis,
interpretation, or evaluation of the original information.
• Secondary sources are best for uncovering background or
historical information about a topic and broadening your
understanding of a topic by exposing you to others’ perspectives,
interpretations, and conclusions
• Allows the reader to get expert views of events and often bring
together multiple primary sources relevant to the subject matter
Secondary Source Disadvantages

 Their reliability and validity are open to question, and often they
do not provide exact information
 They do not represent first-hand knowledge of a subject or event
 There are countless books, journals, magazine articles and web
pages that attempt to interpret the past and finding good
secondary sources can be an issue
Source: http://www.lib.umd.edu/guides/primary-sources.html
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Activity 1
Name: ________________________________________ Course & Year:

__________________
I. Fill-in the blanks.

1. There are _________ types of sources. ___________ sources and
__________ sources.
2. A ___________ source is a account by people who were living
during the event or time period.
3. A ___________ source are accounts of events or time period
written with the use of primary sources normally by a ___________
or researcher.
4. Primary sources are very _____________ in order to learn about our
history.
5. They help us see the _____________ of people living during
different _____________ so we can learn how they felt, acted, and
viewed the world.
6. They help us _____________ how things were and why they are like
are like they are now!
7. Primary sources help us _____________ to the people of a certain
time period and feel _____________ for different situations they
went through.
8. They also help us understand how we got to where we are
____________ and make history _____________ to us!
II. For the following items write if they are a primary or secondary
source.
______________ 1. A Time magazine from 1960.

______________ 2. Webster’s Dictionary
______________ 3. A photograph from the Filipino-American War.
______________ 4. A journal entry written by a Filipino scientist.
______________ 5. A Wikipedia article.
______________ 6. A Philippine map in a textbook.
______________ 7. A map of the Philippines before the Second World War.
______________ 8. An interview with President Rodrigo Duterte.
______________ 9. A Philippine census record from 1900.
______________ 10. A history textbook.
______________ 11. A painting by Vincent Van Gough
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______________ 12. A political cartoon from the Vietnam War.
______________ 13. An ancient stone pot.
______________ 14. Spanish coins.
______________ 15. A biography of Abraham Lincoln
Source: http://middleofhistory.blogspot.com/
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Activity 2.
Identify or describe the object shown?
How old do you think it is?
What do you think it was used for?
What does this object tell you about life in the past?
Do you think the object comes directly from the past or is a

replica of the time?
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Source: http://middleofhistory.blogspot.com/
CHAPTER 2
Document Analysis of Selected Primary Sources in Philippine

History
Analyzing documents incorporates coding content into themes similar

to how focus group or interview transcripts are analyzed (Bowen,2009).
A rubric can also be used to grade or score document. There are three
primary types of documents (O’Leary, 2014):
• Public Records: The official, ongoing records of an organization’s

activities. Examples include student transcripts, mission statements,
annual reports, policy manuals, student handbooks, strategic plans,
and syllabi.
• Personal Documents: First-person accounts of an individual’s

actions, experiences, and beliefs. Examples include calendars, e-mails,
scrapbooks, blogs, Facebook posts, duty logs, incident reports,
reflections/journals, and newspapers.
• Physical Evidence: Physical objects found within the study setting

(often called artifacts). Examples include flyers, posters, agendas,
handbooks, and training materials.
Document Analysis Worksheets
Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources for
it teaches the students to think through primary source documents for
contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed
judgments. According to The U.S. National Archives and Records
Administration, there are four simple steps students can work with
primary sources with the use of document analysis worksheets. The
following are to be followed in conducting document analysis and the
steps are the same each time, for every type of primary source:
1. Meet the document.
2. Observe its parts.
3. Try to make sense of it.
4. Use it as historical evidence.
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Eight-step process offered by O’Leary (2014):
1. Gather relevant texts.

2. Develop an organization and management scheme.
3. Make copies of the originals for annotation.
4. Assess authenticity of documents.
5. Explore document’s agenda, biases.
6. Explore background information (e.g., tone, style, purpose).
7. Ask questions about document (e.g., Who produced it? Why?
When? Type of data?).
8. Explore content.
The following are sample worksheets on conducting document
analysis as suggested by U.S. National Archives.
Analyze a Cartoon
Meet the cartoon.
Quickly scan the cartoon. What do you notice first? What is the title or caption?
Observe its parts.

WORDS VISUALS
Are there labels, descriptions, thoughts, or dialogue? List the people, objects, and places in the cartoon.
List the actions or activities.
Try to make sense of it.
WORDS VISUALS
Which words or phrases are the most significant?Which of the visuals are symbols?
List adjectives that describe the emotions portrayed. What do they stand for?
Who drew this cartoon? When is it from?
What was happening at the time in history it was created?
What is the message? List evidence from the cartoon or your knowledge about the cartoonist that led you to
your conclusion.
Use it as historical evidence.

What did you find out from this cartoon that you might not learn anywhere else?
What other documents or historical evidence are you going to use to help you understand this event or topic?
Analyze a Written Document

Meet the document.
Type (check all that apply):
❑ Letter ❑ Speech ❑ Patent ❑ Telegram
❑ Chart ❑ Newspaper ❑ Advertisement ❑ Press Release
❑ Report ❑ Email ❑ Identification document ❑ Presidential document
❑ Court document❑ Memorandum ❑ Congressional document ❑ Other
Describe it as if you were explaining to someone who can’t see it.
Think about: Is it handwritten or typed? Is it all by the same person? Are there stamps or other marks? What else
do you see on it?
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Observe its parts.
Who wrote it? Who read/received it? When is it from? Where is it from?

Analyze an Artifact
Meet the Artifact.
Material (check all that apply):

❑ Bone ❑ Pottery ❑ Metal ❑ Wood ❑ Stone ❑ Leather ❑ Glass ❑ Paper ❑ Cardboard ❑
Fabric ❑ Plastic ❑ Other
Observe its parts.

Describe it as if you were explaining it to someone who can’t see it.
Think about: shape, color, texture, size, weight, age, condition, movable parts, or anything written on it.

Answer as best you can.
Where is it from?
When is it from?
Who used it? List reasons you think so.
What was it used for? List reasons you think so.
What does this tell you about the people who made and used it?
What does it tell you about technology at the time it was made?
What is a similar item from today?

What did you find out from this artifact that you might not learn anywhere else?
What other documents or historical evidence are you going to use to help you understand the event or time in
which this artifact was used?
Analyze a Video
Anticipate.
What is the title? What do you think you will see?
Meet the Video.

❑ Animation ❑ Propaganda ❑ Promotional ❑ Training film ❑ Combat film ❑ Newsreel
❑ News report ❑ Informational ❑ Documentary ❑ Entertainment ❑
Commercial ❑ Other
Elements (check all that apply):
❑ Music ❑ Live action ❑ Narration ❑ Special effects ❑
Background noise
❑ Color ❑ Black and White ❑ Animation ❑ Dramatizations
What is the mood or tone?
Observe its parts.

List the people, objects and activities you see.
PEOPLE PLACES ACTIVITIES
Write one sentence summarizing this video.

When is this video from?
What was happening at the time in history it was created?
Who made it? Who do you think is the intended audience?
How do you think the creator wanted the audience to respond? List evidence from the video or your knowledge
about who made it that led you to your conclusion.

What did you find out from this video that you might not learn anywhere else?
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Analyze a Map
Meet the Map.
What is the title? Is there a scale and compass?
What is in the legend?
❑ Political ❑ Topographic/Physical ❑ Aerial/Satellite ❑ Relief (Shaded or Raised)
❑ Exploration ❑ Survey ❑ Natural Resource ❑ Planning
❑ Land Use ❑ Transportation ❑ Military ❑ Population/Settlement
❑ Census ❑ Other
Observe its parts.

What place or places are shown?
What is labeled?
If there are symbols or colors, what do they stand for?
Who made it?
When is it from?

What was happening at the time in history this map was made?
Why was it created? List evidence from the map or your knowledge about the mapmaker that
led you to your conclusion.
Write one sentence summarizing this map.
How does it compare to a current map of the same place?

What did you find out from this map that you might not learn anywhere else?
Analyze a Photo
Meet the Photo.
Quickly scan the photo. What do you notice first?
Type of photo (check all that apply):
❑ Portrait ❑ Landscape ❑ Aerial/Satellite ❑ Action ❑
Architectural ❑ Event
❑ Family ❑ Panoramic ❑ Posed ❑ Candid ❑
Documentary ❑ Selfie ❑ Other
Is there a caption? ❑ yes ❑ no
Observe its parts.

List the people, objects and activities you see.
PEOPLE OBJECTS ACTIVITIES
Write one sentence summarizing this photo.

Answer as best you can. The caption, if available, may help.
Who took this photo?
Where is it from?
When is it from?
What was happening at the time in history this photo was taken?
Why was it taken? List evidence from the photo or your knowledge about the photographer that led you to your
conclusion.

What did you find out from this photo that you might not learn anywhere else?
What other documents, photos, or historical evidence are you going to use to help you understand this event or
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Analyze a Poster
Meet the Poster.
Quickly scan the poster. What do you notice first?
Observe its parts.

WORDS VISUALS
Does it have a message printed on it? List the people, objects, places, and activities in the poster.
Are there questions or instructions? What are the main colors used?
Does it say who created it? Are there any symbols?
Does the poster try to persuade mainly through words, visuals, or both equally?
Write one sentence summarizing this poster.

When is this from?
What was happening at the time in history this poster was created?
Who do you think is the intended audience?
Why was it created? List evidence from the poster that tells you this.

What did you find out from this poster that you might not learn anywhere else?
Analyze a Recording
Anticipate.
What is the title? What do you think you will hear?
Meet the Recording.

❑ Campaign Speech ❑ Policy Speech ❑ Speech to or in Congress ❑ Musical Performance
❑ Entertainment ❑ Press Conference ❑ Convention ❑ Court Arguments
❑ Testimony ❑ News Report ❑ Interview Discussion
❑ Radio ❑ Podcast ❑ Other
Elements (check all that apply):
❑ Live broadcast ❑ Narration ❑ Commentary ❑ Studio recording
❑ Conversation ❑ Music ❑ Sound effects ❑ Background sounds
What is the mood or tone?
Observe its parts.

List the people and topics you hear.
PEOPLE TOPICS
Write one sentence summarizing this sound recording.

When is this sound recording from? What was happening at the time in history it was created?
Who made it? Who do you think is the intended audience?
How do you think the creator wanted the audience to respond? List evidence from the sound recording or your
knowledge about who made it that led you to your conclusion.

What did you find out from this sound recording that you might not learn anywhere else?
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uc
Activity 3
Instruction: Make a documentary analysis of the given song below.
Tatsulok
By: Bamboo
Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo

Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo
Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan
At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw
Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi
Baka mapagkamalan ka't humandusay dyan sa tabi
Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno't dulo
Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito
Hindi pula't dilaw tunay na magkalaban

Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga't marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman
Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo
Iligtas ang hininga ng kay raming mga tao

At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo'y sementeryo
Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok
Tulad ng dukha, nailagay mo sa tuktok



Di matatapos itong gulo... kabog kabog
Di matatapos itong gulo...kabog kabog wag ka magpapatalo
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GROUP DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY DOCUMENTS
The followings eight (8) primary sources tell something about our
country’s past from the point of view of outsiders and insiders. As
historians, they make use of historical narratives based on the primary
documents available during that time. As a group activity, you weave
your own narrative of our past based on these eight primary sources
using the documentary analysis format. Use MS Powerpoint
presentation in designing your narrative. The grading of the group
presentation will be based on the rubric on page 65.
Primary Source 1:
The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan led the first voyage

around the world, beginning in 1519. Sailing southward along the coast
of South America, Magellan discovered the strait that today bears his
name and became the first European to enter the Pacific Ocean from
the east. Magellan died while exploring the Philippines, but his ships
continued west to complete the circumnavigation of the globe. The
following account of the difficult passage through the Strait of Magellan
was written by a member of the crew, Antonio Pigafetta.
Source:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_First_Voyage_Round_the_World/Pigaf
etta%27s_Account_of_Magellan%27s_Voyage#cite_note-1
Note: Only the part of the primary document that deals specifically
about the Philippines was taken for consideration in this narrative.
The First Voyage Round the World/Pigafetta's Account
of Magellan's Voyage
< The First Voyage Round the World >
ANTHONY PIGAPHETA, Patrician of Vicenza, and Knight of
Rhodes, to the very illustrious and very excellent
LORD PHILIP DE VILLIERS LISLEADEN, the famous
Grand Master of Rhodes, his most
respected Lord.[1]
Saturday, the 16th of March, 1521, we arrived at daybreak in sight of a high

island, three hundred leagues distant from the before-mentioned Thieves'
island. This isle is named Zamal. [123] The next day the captain-general wished
to land at another uninhabited island near the first, [124] to be in greater
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security and to take water, also to repose there a few days. He set up there
two tents on shore for the sick, and had a sow [125] killed for them.
Monday, the 18th of March, after dinner, we saw a boat come towards us with
nine men in it: upon which the captain-general ordered that no one should
move or speak without his permission.[126] When these people had come into
this island towards us, immediately the principal [127] one amongst them went
towards the captain-general with demonstrations of being very joyous at our
arrival. Five of the most showy[128] of them remained with us, the others who
remained with the boat went to call some men who were fishing, and
afterwards all of them came together.[129] The captain seeing that these
people were reasonable,[130] ordered food and drink to be given them, and he
gave them some red caps, looking glasses, combs, bells, ivory, and other
things. When these people saw the politeness of the captain, they presented
some fish, and a vessel of palm wine, which they call in their language Uraca;
[131]
figs more than a foot[132] long, and others smaller and of a better savour,
and two cochos.[133] At that time they had nothing to give him, and they made
signs to us with their hands that in four days they would bring us Umai, which
is rice, cocos, and many other victuals.
To explain the kind of fruits above-named it must be known that the one
which they call cochi, is the fruit which the palm trees bear. And as we have
bread, wine, oil, and vinegar, proceeding from different kinds, so these
people have those things proceeding from these palm trees only. It must be
said that wine proceeds from the said palm trees in the following manner.
They make a hole at the summit of the tree as far as its heart, which is
named palmito, from which a liquor comes out in drops down the tree, like
white must, which is sweet, but with somewhat of bitter. [134] They have canes
as thick as the leg, in which they draw off this liquor, and they fasten them to
the tree from the evening till next morning, and from the morning to the
evening, because this liquor comes little by little. This palm produces a fruit
named cocho, which is as large as the head, or thereabouts: its first husk is
green, and two fingers in thickness, in it they find certain threads, with which
they make the cords for fastening their boats. Under this husk there is
another very hard, and thicker than that of a walnut. They burn this second
rind, and make with it a powder which is useful to them. Under this rind there
is a white marrow of a finger's thickness, which they eat fresh with meat and
fish, as we do bread, and it has the taste of an almond, and if anyone dried
it[135] he might make bread of it. From the middle of this marrow there comes
out a clear sweet water, and very cordial, which, when it has rested a little,
and settled, congeals and becomes like an apple. [136] When they wish to make
oil they take this fruit, the coco, and let it get rotten, and they corrupt this
marrow in the water, then they boil it, and it becomes oil in the manner [137] of
butter. When they want to make vinegar, they let the water in the cocoa-nut
get bad, and they put it in the sun, when it turns to vinegar like white wine.
From this fruit milk also can be made, as we experienced, for we scraped this
marrow and then put it with its water, and passed it through a cloth, and thus
it was milk like that of goats. This kind of palm tree is like the date-palm,
[138]
but not so rugged. Two of these trees can maintain a family of ten
persons: but they do not draw wine as above-mentioned always from one
tree, but draw from one for eight days, and from the other as long. For if they
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did not, otherwise the trees would dry up. In this manner they last a hundred
years.[139]
These people became very familiar and friendly with us, and explained many
things to us in their language, and told us the names of some islands which
we saw with our eyes before us. *The island where they dwelt is called
Zuluam, and it is not large.*[140] As they were sufficiently agreeable and
conversible we had great pleasure with them. The captain seeing that they
were of this good condition, to do them greater honour conducted them to
the ship, and showed them all his goods, that is to say, cloves, cinnamon,
pepper, ginger, nutmeg, mace,[141]gold and all that was in the ship. He also
had some shots fired with his artillery, at which they were so much afraid that
they wished to jump from the ship into the sea. They made signs that the
things which the captain had shown them grew there where we were going.
When they wished to leave us they took leave of the captain and of us with
very good manners and gracefulness, promising us to come back to see us.
The island we were at was named Humunu; nevertheless because we found
there two springs of very fresh water we named it the Watering Place of good
signs,[142] and because we found here the first signs of gold. There is much
white coral to be found here, and large trees which bear fruit smaller than an
almond, and which are like pines. There were also many palm trees both good
and bad. In this place there were many circumjacent islands, on which
account we named them the archipelago of St. Lazarus, because we stayed
there on the day and feast of St. Lazarus. This region and archipelago is in
ten degrees north latitude, and a hundred and sixty-one degrees longitude
from the line of demarcation.
Friday, the 22nd of March, the above-mentioned people, who had promised
us to return, came about midday, with two boats laden with the said fruit
cochi, sweet oranges, a vessel of palm wine, and a cock, to give us to
understand that they had poultry in their country, so that we bought all that
they brought. The lord of these people was old, and had his face painted, and
had gold rings suspended to his ears, which they name Schione, [143] and the
others had many bracelets and rings of gold on their arms, with a wrapper of
linen round their head. We remained at this place eight days: the captain
went there every day to see his sick men, whom he had placed on this island
to refresh them: and he gave them himself every day the water of this said
fruit the cocho, which comforted them much. Near this isle is another where
there are a kind of people who wear holes[144] in their ears so large that they
can pass their arms through them; these people are Caphre, that is to say,
Gentiles, and they go naked, except that round their middles they wear cloth
made of the bark of trees. But there are some of the more remarkable of
them who wear cotton stuff, and at the end of it there is some work of silk
done with a needle. These people are tawny, [145] fat, and painted, and they
anoint themselves with the oil of coco nuts and sesame, [146] to preserve them
from the sun and the wind. Their hair is very black and long, reaching to the
waist, and they carry small daggers and knives, ornamented with gold, and
many other things, such as darts, [147] harpoons, and nets to fish, like.........,
[148]
and their boats are like ours.
The Monday of Passion week, the 25th of March, and feast of our Lady, in the
afternoon, and being ready to depart from this place, I went to the side of our
24
ship to fish, and putting my feet on a spar to go down to the store room,
[149]
my feet slipped, because it had rained, and I fell into the sea without any
one seeing me, and being near drowning by luck I found at my left hand the
sheet of the large sail which was in the sea, I caught hold of it and began to
cry out till they came to help and pick me up with the boat. I was assisted not
by my merits, but by the mercy and grace of the fountain of pity. That same
day we took the course between west and southwest, [150] and passed amidst
four small islands, that is to say, Cenalo, Huinanghar, Ibusson, and Abarien.
Thursday, the 28th of March, having seen the night before fire upon an island,
at the morning we came to anchor at this island; where we saw a small boat
which they call Boloto, with eight men inside, which approached the ship of
the captain-general. Then a slave of the captain's, who was from Sumatra,
otherwise named Traprobana, spoke from afar to these people, who
understood his talk,[151] and came near to the side of the ship, but they
withdrew immediately, and would not enter the ship from fear of us. So the
captain seeing that they would not trust to us showed them a red cap, and
other things, which he had tied and placed on a little plank, [152] and the
people in the boat took them immediately and joyously, and then returned to
advise their king. Two hours afterwards, or thereabouts, we saw come two
long boats, which they call Ballanghai, full of men. In the largest of them was
their king sitting under an awning of mats; when they were near the ship of
the captain-general, the said slave spoke to the king, who understood him
well, because in these countries the kings know more languages than the
common people. Then the king ordered some of his people to go to the
captain's ship, whilst he would not move from his boat, which was near
enough to us. This was done, and when his people returned to the boat, he
went away at once. The captain gave good entertainment to the men who
came to his ship, and gave them all sorts of things, on which account the king
wished to give the captain a rather large bar of solid gold, and a chest [153] full
of ginger. However, the captain thanked him very much but would not accept
the present. After that, when it was late, we went with the ships near to the
houses and abode of the king.
The next day which was Good Friday, the captain sent on shore the before-
mentioned slave, who was our interpreter, to the king to beg him to give him
for money some provisions for his ships, sending him word that he had
not come to his country as an enemy, but as a friend. The king on hearing
this came with seven or eight men in a boat, and entered the ship, and
embraced the captain, and gave him three china dishes covered with leaves
full of rice, and two dorades, which are rather large fish, and of the sort
above-mentioned, and he gave him several other things. The captain gave
this king a robe of red and yellow cloth, made in the Turkish fashion, and a
very fine red cap, and to his people he gave to some of them knives, and to
others mirrors. After that refreshments were served up to them. The captain
told the king, through the said interpreter, that he wished to be with
him, cassi[154] cassi, that is to say, brothers. To which the king answered that
he desired to be the same towards him. After that the captain showed him
cloths of different colours, linen, coral, and much other merchandise, and all
the artillery, of which he had some pieces fired before him, at which the king
was much astonished; after that the captain had one of his soldiers armed
25
with white armour, and placed him in the midst of three comrades, who
struck him with swords and daggers. The king thought this very strange, and
the captain told him, through the interpreter, that a man thus in white armour
was worth a hundred of his men; he answered that it was true; he was further
informed that there were in each ship two hundred like that man. After that
the captain showed him a great number of swords, cuirasses, and helmets,
and made two of the men play with their swords before the king; he then
showed him the sea chart and the ship compass, and informed him how he
had found the strait to come there, and of the time which he had spent in
coming; also of the time he had been without seeing any land, at which the
king was astonished. At the end the captain asked [155] if he would be pleased
that two of his people should go with him to the places where they lived, to
see some of the things of his country. This the king granted, and I went with
another.
When I had landed, the king raised his hands to the sky, and turned to us
two, and we did the same as he did; after that he took me by the hand, and
one of his principal people took my companion, and led us under a place
covered with canes, where there was a ballanghai, that is to say, a boat,
eighty feet long or thereabouts, resembling a fusta. We sat with the king
upon its poop, always conversing with him by signs, and his people stood up
around us, with their swords, spears, and bucklers. Then the king ordered to
be brought a dish of pig's flesh and wine. [156] Their fashion of drinking is in this
wise, they first raise their hands to heaven, then take the drinking vessel in
their right hand, and extend the left hand closed towards the people. This the
king did, and presented to me his fist, so that I thought that he wanted to
strike me; I did the same thing towards him; so with this ceremony, and other
signs of friendship, we banqueted, and afterwards supped with him.
I ate flesh on Good Friday, not being able to do otherwise, and before the
hour of supper, I gave several things to the king, which I had brought. There I
wrote down several things as they name them in their language, and when
the king and the others saw me write, and I told them their manner of
speech, they were all astonished. When the hour for supper had come, they
brought two large china dishes, of which one was full of rice, and the other of
pig's flesh, with its broth [157] and sauce. We supped with the same signs and
ceremonies, and then went to the king's palace, which was made and built
like a hay grange, covered with fig and palm leaves. It was built on great
timbers high above the ground, and it was necessary to go up steps and
ladders to it. Then the king made us sit on a cane mat, with our legs doubled
as was the custom; after half an hour there was brought a dish of fish roast in
pieces, and ginger fresh gathered that moment, and some wine. The eldest
son of the king, who was the prince, came where we were, and the king told
him to sit down near us, which he did; then two dishes were brought, one of
fish, with its sauce, and the other of rice, and this was done for us to eat with
the prince. My companion enjoyed the food and drink so much that he got
drunk. They use for candles or torches the gum of a tree which is named
Animé, wrapped up in leaves of palms or fig trees. The king made a sign that
he wished to go to rest, and left with us the prince, with whom we slept on a
cane mat, with some cushions and pillows of leaves. Next morning the king
came and took me by the hand, and so we went to the place where we had
26
supped, to breakfast, but the boat came to fetch us. The king, before we went
away, was very gay, and kissed our hands, and we kissed his. There came
with us a brother of his, the king of another island, [158] accompanied by three
men. The captain-general detained him to dine with us, and we gave him
several things.
In the island belonging to the king who came to the ship there are mines of
gold, which they find in pieces as big as a walnut or an egg, by seeking in the
ground. All the vessels which he makes use of are made of it, and also some
parts of his house, which was well fitted up according to the custom of the
country, and he was the handsomest man that we saw among these nations.
He had very black hair coming down to his shoulders, with a silk cloth on his
head, and two large gold rings hanging from his ears, he had a cloth of cotton
worked with silk, which covered him from the waist to the knees, at his side
he wore a dagger, with a long handle which was all of gold, its sheath was of
carved wood.[159] Besides he carried upon him scents of storax and benzoin.
He was tawny and painted all over. The island of this king is named Zuluan
and Calagan, and when these two kings wish to visit one another they come
to hunt in this island where we were. [160] Of these kings the painted king is
called Raia Calambu, and the other Raia Siani. [161]
On Sunday, the last day of March, and feast of Easter, the captain sent the
chaplain ashore early to say mass, and the interpreter went with him to tell
the king that they were not coming on shore to dine with him, but only to
hear the mass. The king hearing that sent two dead pigs. When it was time
for saying mass the captain went ashore with fifty men, not with their arms,
but only with their swords, and dressed as well as each one was able to dress,
and before the boats reached the shore our ships fired six cannon shots as a
sign of peace. At our landing the two kings were there, and received our
captain in a friendly manner, and placed him between them, and then we
went to the place prepared for saying mass, which was not far from the
shore. Before the mass began the captain threw a quantity of musk rose
water on those two kings, and when the offertory of the mass came, the two
kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they offered nothing, and at the
elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and adored our
Lord with joined hands. The ships fired all their artillery at the elevation of the
body of our Lord. After mass had been said each one did the duty of
a Christian, receiving our Lord. After that the captain had some sword-play by
his people, which gave great pleasure to the kings. Then he had a cross
brought, with the nails and crown, to which the kings made reverence, and
the captain had them told that these things which he showed them were the
sign of the emperor his lord and master, from whom he had charge and
commandment to place it in all places where he might go or pass by. He told
them that he wished to place it in their country for their profit, because if
there came afterwards any ships from Spain to those islands, on seeing this
cross, they would know that we had been there, and therefore they would not
cause them any displeasure to their persons nor their goods; and if they took
any of their people, on showing them this sign, they would at once let them
go. Besides this, the captain told them that it was necessary that this cross
should be placed on the summit of the highest mountain in their country, so
that seeing it every day they might adore it, and that if they did thus, neither
27
thunder, lightning, nor the tempest could do them hurt. The kings thanked
the captain, and said they would do it willingly. Then he asked whether they
were Moors or Gentiles, and in what they believed. They answered that they
did not perform any other adoration, but only joined their hands, looking up
to heaven, and that they called their God, Aba. Hearing this, the captain was
very joyful, on seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the sky and said
that he wished it were possible for him to be able to show the affection which
he felt towards him. The interpreter asked him for what reason there was so
little to eat in that place, to which the king replied that he did not reside in
that place except when he came to hunt and to see his brother, but that he
lived in another island where he had all his family. Then the captain asked
him if he had any enemies who made war upon him, and that if he had any
he would go and defeat them with his men and ships, to put them under his
obedience. The king thanked him, and answered that there were two islands
the inhabitants of which were his enemies; however, that for the present it
was not the time to attack them. The captain therefore said to him that if God
permitted him to return another time to this country, he would bring so many
men that he would put them by force under his obedience. Then he bade the
interpreter tell them that he was going away to dine, and after that he would
return to place the cross on the summit of the mountain. The two kings said
they were content, and on that they embraced the captain, and he separated
from them.
After dinner we all returned in our dress coats [162], and we went together with
the two kings to the middle of the highest mountain we could find, and there
the cross was planted. After that the two kings and the captain rested
themselves; and, while conversing, I asked where was the best port for
obtaining victuals. They replied that there were three, that is to say, Ceylon,
Zzubu,[163] and Calaghan, but that Zzubu was the largest and of the most
traffic. Then the kings offered to give him pilots to go to those ports, for
which he thanked them, and deliberated to go there, for his ill-
fortune[164] would have it so. After the cross had been planted on that
mountain, each one said the Paternoster and Ave Maria, and adored it, and
the kings did the like. Then we went down below to where their boats were.
There the kings had brought some of the fruit called cocos and other things
to make a collation and to refresh us. The captain, being desirous to depart
the next day in the morning, asked the king for the pilots to conduct us to the
above-mentioned ports, promising him to treat them like themselves, and
that he would leave one of his own men as a hostage. The first king said that
he would go himself and conduct him to this port, and be his pilots but that
he should wait two days, until he had had his rice gathered in and done other
things which he had to do, begging him to lend him some of his men so as to
get done sooner. This the captain agreed to.
These kind of people are gentle, and go naked, and are painted. They wear a
piece of cloth made from a tree, like a linen cloth, round their body to cover
their natural parts: they are great drinkers. The women are dressed in tree
cloth from their waists downwards; their hair is black, and reaches down to
the ground; they wear certain gold rings in their ears. These people chew
most of their time a fruit which they call areca, which is something of the
shape of a pear; they cut it in four quarters, and after they have chewed it for
28
a long time they spit it out, from which afterwards they have their mouths
very red. They find themselves the better from the use of this fruit because it
refreshes them much, for this country is very hot, so that they could not live
without it. In this island there is a great quantity of dogs, cats, pigs, fowls,
and goats, rice, ginger, cocos, figs, oranges, lemons, millet, wax, and gold
mines. This island is in nine degrees and two-thirds north latitude, and one
hundred and sixty-two longitude [165] from the line of demarcation: it is twenty-
five leagues distant from the other island where we found the two fountains
of fresh water. This island is named Mazzava.
We remained seven days in this place; then we took the tack of Maestral,
passing through the midst of five isles, that is to say, Ceylon, Bohol,
Canighan, Baibai, and Satighan. [166] In this island of Satighan is a kind of
bird [167] called Barbastigly, which are as large as eagles. Of these we killed
only one, because it was late. We ate it, and it had the taste of a fowl. There
are also in this island doves, tortoises, parrots, and certain black birds as
large as a fowl, with a long tail. They lay eggs as large as those of a goose.
These they put a good arm's length[168] under the sand in the sun, where they
are hatched by the great heat which the heated sand gives out; and when
these birds are hatched they push up [169] the sand and come out. These eggs
are good to eat. From this island of Mazzabua [170] to that of Satighan there are
twenty leagues, and on leaving Satighan we went by the west; but the King of
Mazzabua could not follow us; therefore we waited for him near three islands,
that is to say. Polo, Ticobon, and Pozzon. When the king arrived he was much
astonished at our navigation, the captain-general bade him come on board
his ship with some of his principal people, at which they were much pleased.
Thus we went to Zzubu, which is fifteen leagues off from Satighan.
Sunday, the 7th of April, about midday, we entered the port of Zzubu, having
passed by many villages. There [171] we saw many houses which were built on
trees. On approaching the principal town the captain-general commanded all
his ships to hang out their flags. Then we lowered the sails in the fashion in
which they are struck when going to fight, and he had all the artillery fired, at
which the people of this place were greatly frightened. The captain sent a
young man whom he had brought up, [172] with the interpreter to the king of
this island Zzubu. These having come to the town, found a great number of
people and their king with them, all alarmed by the artillery which had been
fired. But the interpreter reassured them, saying that it was the fashion and
custom to fire artillery when they arrived at ports, to show signs of peace and
friendship; and also, to do more honour to the king of the country, they had
fired all the artillery. The king and all his people were reassured. He then bade
one of his principal men ask what we were seeking. The interpreter answered
him that his master was captain of the greatest king in the world, and that he
was going by the command of the said sovereign to discover the Molucca
islands. However, on account of what he had heard where he had passed,
and especially from the King of Mazzava, of his courtesy and good fame, he
had wished to pass by his country to visit him, and also to obtain some
refreshment of victuals for his merchandise. The king answered him that he
was welcome, but that the custom was that all ships which arrived at his
country or port paid tribute, and it was only four days since that a ship called
the Junk of Ciama,[173] laden with gold and slaves, had paid him his tribute,
29
and, to verify what he said, he showed them a merchant of the said Ciama,
who had remained there to trade with the gold and slaves. The interpreter
said to him that this captain, on account of being captain of so great a king as
his was, would not pay tribute to any sovereign in the world; and that if he
wished for peace he would have peace, and if he wished for war he would
have war. Then the merchant above-mentioned replied to the king in his own
language, "Look well, oh king, [174] what you will do, for these people are of
those who have conquered Calicut, Malacca, and all greater India; if you
entertain them well and treat them well you will find yourself the better for it,
and if ill, it will be so much the worse for you, as they have done at Calicut
and Malacca." The interpreter, who understood all this discourse, said to
them that the king, his master, was a good deal more powerful in ships and
by land than the King of Portugal, and declared to him that he was the King of
Spain and Emperor of all Christendom, wherefore, if he would not be his
friend and treat his subjects well, he would another time send against him so
many men as to destroy him. Then the king answered that he would speak to
his council, and give an answer the next day. Afterwards the king ordered a
collation to be brought of several viands, all of meat, in porcelain dishes, with
a great many vessels of wine. When the repast was over, our people
returned, and related all to the captain; and the King of Mazzabua, who was
on board the captain's ship, and who was the first king after him of Zzubu,
and the lord of several isles, wished to go on shore to relate to the king the
politeness and courtesy of our captain.
Monday morning our clerk went with the interpreter to the town of Zzubu,
and the king, accompanied by the principal men of his kingdom, came to the
open space, where we made our people sit down near him, and he asked
whether there was more than one captain in all those ships, and whether he
wished that the king should pay tribute to the emperor, his master, to which
our people answered, no, but that the captain only wished to trade with the
things which he had brought with the people of his country, and not with
others. Then the king said that he was content, and as a greater sign of
affection he sent him a little of his blood from his right arm, and wished he
should do the like. Our people answered that he would do it. Besides that, he
said that all the captains who came to his country had been accustomed to
make a present to him, and he to them, and therefore they should ask their
captain if he would observe the custom. Our people answered that he would;
but as the king wished to keep up the custom, let him begin and make a
present, and then the captain would do his duty.
Tuesday morning following the King of Mazzava, with the Moor, came to the
ship, and saluted the captain on behalf of the King of Zzubu, and said that the
king was preparing a quantity of provisions, as much as he could, to make a
present of to him, and that after dinner he would send two of his nephews,
with others of his principal people, to make peace with him. Then the captain
had one of his men armed with his own armour, and told him that all of us
would fight armed in that manner, at which the Moorish merchant was rather
astonished; but the captain told him not to be afraid, and that our arms were
soft to our friends and rough to our enemies; and that as a cloth wipes away
the sweat from a man, so our arms destroy the enemies of our faith. The
30
captain said this to the Moor, because he was more intelligent than the
others, and for him to relate it all to the King of Zzubu.
After dinner, the nephew of this king, who was a prince, [175] with the King of
Mazzava, the Moor, the governor, and the chief of police, [176]and eight of the
principal men, came to the ship to make peace with us. The captain-general
was sitting in a chair of red velvet, and near him were the principal men of
the ships sitting in leather chairs, and the others on the ground on mats.
Then the captain bade the interpreter ask the above-mentioned persons if it
was their custom to speak in secret or in public, and whether the prince who
was come with them had power to conclude peace. They answered yes, that
they would speak in public, and that they had the power to conclude peace.
The captain spoke at length on the subject of peace, and prayed God to
confirm it in heaven. These people replied that they had never heard such
words as these which the captain had spoken to them, and they took great
pleasure in hearing them. The captain, seeing then that those people listened
willingly to what was said to them, and that they gave good answers, began
to say a great many more good things to induce them to become Christians.
After many other subjects, the captain asked them who would succeed the
king in their country after his death. They answered that the king had no son,
but several daughters, and that this prince was his nephew, and had for a
wife the king's eldest daughter, and for the sake of that they called him
prince. They also said that when the father and mother were old they took no
further account of them, but their children commanded them. Upon which the
captain told them how God had made heaven and earth and all other things
in the world, and that He had commanded that everyone should render
honour and obedience to his father and mother, and that whoever did
otherwise was condemned to eternal fire. He then pointed out to them many
other things concerning our faith. The people heard these things willingly,
and besought the captain to leave them two men to teach and show them
the Christian faith, and they would entertain them well with great honour. To
this the captain answered that for the moment he could not leave them any
of his people, but that if they wished to be Christians that his priest would
baptise them, and that another time he would bring priests and preachers to
teach them the faith. They then answered that they wished first to speak to
their king, and then would become Christians. Each of us wept for the joy
which we felt at the goodwill of these people, and the captain told them not
to become Christians from fear of us, or to please us, but that if they wished
to become Christian they must do it willingly, and for the love of God, for
even though they should not become Christian, no displeasure would be done
them, but those who became Christian would be more loved and better
treated than the others. Then they all cried out with one voice, that they did
not wish to become Christians from fear, nor from complaisance, but of their
free will. The captain then said that if they became Christians he would leave
them the arms which the Christians use, and that his king had commanded
him so to do. At last they said they did not know what more to answer to so
many good and beautiful words which he spoke to them, but that they placed
themselves in his hands, and that he should do with them as with his own
servants. Then the captain, with tears in his eyes, embraced them, and,
taking the hand of the prince and that of the king, said to him that by the
faith he had in God, and to his master the emperor, and by the habit of St.
31
James which he wore, he promised them to cause them to have perpetual
peace with the King of Spain, at which the prince and the others promised
him the same. After peace had been concluded, the captain had refreshments
served to them. The prince and the King of Mazzava, who was with him,
presented to the captain on behalf of his king large baskets full of rice, pigs,
goats, and fowls, and desired the captain to be told he should pardon them
that their present was not as fine as was fitting for him. The captain gave to
the prince some very fine cloth and a red cap, and a quantity of glass and a
cup of gilt glass. Glasses are much prized in this country. To the other people
belonging to the Prince he gave various things. Then he sent by me and
another person to the King of Zzubu a robe of yellow and violet silk in the
fashion of a Turkish jubbeh, a red cap, very fine, and certain pieces of glass,
and had all of them put in a silver dish, and two gilt glasses.
When we came to the town we found the King of Zzubu at his palace, sitting
on the ground on a mat made of palm, with many people about him. He was
quite naked, except that he had a cloth round his middle, and a loose
wrapper round his head, worked with silk by the needle. He had a very heavy
chain round his neck, and two gold rings hung in his ears with precious
stones. He was a small and fat man, and his face was painted with fire in
different ways. He was eating on the ground on another palm mat, and was
then eating tortoise eggs in two china dishes, and he had four vessels full of
palm wine, which he drank with a cane pipe. [177]We made our obeisance, and
presented to him what the captain had sent him, and told him through the
interpreter that it was not as a return for his present which he had sent to the
captain, but for the affection which he bore him. That done, his people told
him all the good words and explanations of peace and religion which he had
spoken to them. The king wished to detain us to supper, but we made our
excuses and took leave of him. The prince, nephew of the king, conducted us
to his house, and showed us four girls who played on four instruments, which
were strange and very soft, and their manner of playing is rather musical.
Afterwards he made us dance with them. These girls were naked except from
the waist to the knees, where they wore a wrap made of the palm tree cloth,
which covered their middles, and some were quite naked. There we made a
repast, and then returned to the ships.
Wednesday morning, because the night before one of our men had died, the
interpreter and I, by order of the captain, went to ask the king for a place
where we might bury the deceased. We found the king accompanied by a
good many people, and, after paying him due honour, we told him of the
death of our man, and that the captain prayed him that he might be put into
the ground. He replied that if he and his people were ready to obey our
master, still more reason was there for his land and country being subject to
him. After that we said we wished to consecrate the grave in our fashion and
place a cross on it. The sovereign said that he was content, and that he would
worship that cross as we did. The deceased was buried in the middle of the
open space of the town, as decently as possible, and performing the above-
mentioned ceremonies to set them a good example, and in the evening we
buried another. This done, we brought a good quantity of merchandise into
the town of this king, and placed it in a house, and he took it under his
charge and promised that no one would do harm or injury to the king. Four of
32
our men were chosen to despatch and sell this merchandise. These people
live with justice, and good weight and measure, loving peace, and are people
who love ease and pleasure.[178] They have wooden scales, after the fashion of
those of north of the Loire,[179] for weighing their merchandise. Their houses
are made of wood and beams and canes, founded on piles, and are very high,
and must be entered by means of ladders; their rooms are like ours, and
underneath they keep their cattle, such as pigs, goats, and fowls. The young
people sound bag-pipes,[180] made like ours, and call them Subin.[181]
In this island of the king's there is a kind of animal carrying a shell called
carniolle, fine to look at, which cause the whale to die. For the whale swallows
them alive; then, when they are inside its body, they come out of their shell
and go and eat the whale's heart: and the people of this country find this
animal alive inside the whale. These animals, the carniolles, have the teeth
and skin black, and their shell is white. Their flesh is good to eat, and they
call them Laghan.[182]
The following Friday we showed them a shop full of our merchandise, which
was of various strange sorts, at which they were surprised. For metal, iron,
and other big goods they gave us gold, and for the other small and sundry
goods they gave us rice, pigs, goats, and other provisions. They gave us ten
weights of gold for fourteen pounds of iron: each weight is a ducat and a half.
The captain-general would not allow a large quantity of gold to be taken, so
that the sailors should not sell what belonged to them too cheap from thirst
for gold, and lest by that means he might be constrained to do likewise with
his merchandise, for he wished to sell it better.
Saturday following a scaffolding was made in the open space, fitted with
tapestry and palm branches, because the king had promised our captain to
become Christian on Sunday. He told him not to be afraid when our artillery
fired on that day, for it was the custom to load it on those feasts without
firing stones or other balls.
Sunday morning, the fourteenth day of April, we went on shore, forty men, of
whom two were armed, who marched before us, following the standard of our
king emperor. When we landed the ships discharged all their artillery, and
from fear of it the people ran away in all directions. The captain and the king
embraced one another, and then joyously we went near the scaffolding,
where the captain and the king sat on two chairs, one covered with red, the
other with violet velvet. The principal men sat on cushions, and the others on
mats, after the fashion of the country. Then the captain began to speak to the
king through the interpreter to incite him to the faith of Jesus Christ, and told
him that if he wished to be a good Christian, as he had said the day before,
that he must burn all the idols of his country, and, instead of them, place a
cross, and that everyone should worship it every day on their knees, and
their hands joined to heaven: and he showed him how he ought every day to
make the sign of the cross. To that the king and all his people answered that
they would obey the commands of the captain and do all that he told them.
The captain took the king by the hand, and they walked about on the
scaffolding, and when he was baptised he said that he would name
him [183] Don Charles, as the emperor his sovereign was named; and he
named the prince Don Fernand, after the brother of the emperor, and the
33
King of Mazzava Jehan: to the Moor he gave the name of Christopher, and to
the others each a name of his fancy. Thus, before mass, there were fifty men
baptised. After mass had been heard the captain invited the king and his
other principal men to dine with him, but he would not. He accompanied the
captain, however, to the beach, and on his arrival there the ships fired all
their artillery. Then, embracing one another, they took leave.
After dinner our chaplain and some of us went on shore to baptise the queen.
She came with forty ladies, and we conducted them on to the scaffolding;
then made her sit down on a cushion, and her women around her, until the
priest was ready. During that time they showed her an image of our Lady, of
wood, holding her little child, which was very well made, and a cross. When
she saw it, she had a greater desire to be a Christian, and, asking for
baptism, she was baptised and named Jehanne, like the mother of the
emperor. The wife of the prince, daughter of this queen, had the name of
Catherine, the Queen of Mazzava Isabella, and the others each their name.
That day we baptised eight hundred persons of men, women, and children.
The Queen was young and handsome, covered with a black and white sheet;
she had the mouth and nails very red, and wore on her head a large hat
made of leaves of palm, with a crown over it made of the same leaves, like
that of the Pope. After that she begged us to give her the little wooden boy to
put in the place of the idols.[184] This we did, and she went away. In the
evening the king and queen, with several of their people, came to the sea
beach, where the captain had some of the large artillery fired, in which
they took great pleasure.[185] The captain and the king called one another
brother.
At last, in eight days, all the inhabitants of this island were baptised, and
some belonging to the neighbouring islands. In one of these we burned a
village because the inhabitants would not obey either the king or us. There
we planted a cross because the people were Gentiles: if they had been Moors,
we should have erected a column, as a sign of their hardness of heart,
because the Moors are more difficult to convert than the Gentiles. The
captain-general went ashore every day to hear mass, to which there came
many of the new Christians, to whom he explained various points of our
religion. One day the queen came with all her state. She was preceded by
three damsels, who carried in their hands three of her hats: she was dressed
in black and white, with a large silk veil with gold stripes, which covered her
head and shoulders. Very many women followed her, with their heads
covered with a small veil, and a hat above that: the rest of their bodies and
feet were naked, except a small wrapper of palm cloth which covered their
natural parts. Their hair fell flowing over their shoulders. The queen, after
making a bow to the altar, sat upon a cushion of embroidered silk, and the
captain sprinkled over her and over some of her ladies rose water and musk,
a perfume which pleases the ladies of this country very much. The captain on
that occasion approved of the gift which I had made to the queen of the
image of the Infant Jesus, and recommended her to put it in the place of her
idols, because it was a remembrancer of the Son of God. She promised to do
all this, and to keep it with much care.
In order that the king might be more respected and obeyed, the captain-
general got him to come one day at the hour of mass with his silk robe, and
34
summoned his two brothers, one named Bondara, who was the father of
the prince, and the other named Cadaro, and some of his chief men, whose
names were Simiut, Sibuaia, Sisacai,[186] Magalibe, and others whom it is
unnecessary to name separately; and he made them all swear to be obedient
to their king, whose hand they all of them kissed. He then asked the king to
swear that he would always be obedient and faithful to the King of Spain, and
he took the oath. Then the captain drew a sword before the image of the
Virgin Mary, and said to the king that when such an oath had been taken by
anyone, he should rather die than be wanting to his oath. After that he
himself promised to be always faithful to him, swearing by the image of our
Lady, by the life of the emperor his sovereign, and by the habit which he
wore. He then made a present to the king of a velvet chair, and told him that
wherever he went he should always have it carried before him by some of his
attendants, and showed him the way in which it should be carried. The king
told the captain that he would do all this on account of the affection which he
bore him, of which he wished to give him a token, preparing for that purpose
some jewels to present to him; these were two rather large gold rings for the
ears, two others for the arms, and two for the ancles, all of them adorned
with precious stones. The finest ornaments of the kings of these countries
consist in these rings, for otherwise they go naked and barefooted, with only
a piece of cloth from the waist to the knees.
The captain-general, who had informed the king and all those who had been
baptised of the obligation they were under of burning their idols, which they
had promised to do, seeing that they retained them and made them offerings
of meat, reproved them severely for it. They thought to excuse themselves
sufficiently by saying that they did not do that now on their own account, but
for a sick person, for the idols to restore him his health. This sick man was a
brother of the prince, and was reputed to be the most valiant and wise man
in the island, and his illness was so severe that for four days he had not
spoken. Having heard this, the captain, seized with zeal for religion, said that
if they had a true faith in Jesus Christ, they should burn all the idols, and the
sick man should be baptised, and he would be immediately cured, of which
he was so certain that he consented to lose his head if the miracle did not
take place. The king promised that all this should be done, because he truly
believed in Jesus Christ. Then we arranged, with all the pomp that was
possible, a procession from the place to the house of the sick man. We went
there, and indeed found him unable to speak or to move. We baptised him,
with two of his wives and ten girls. The captain then asked him how he felt,
and he at once spoke, and said that by the grace of Our Lord he was well
enough. This great miracle was done under our eyes. The captain, on hearing
him speak, gave great thanks to God. He gave him a refreshing drink to take,
and afterwards sent to his house a mattress, two sheets, a covering of yellow
wool, and a cushion, and he continued to send him, until he was quite well,
refreshing drinks of almonds, rosewater, rosoglio, and some sweet preserves.
On the fifth day the convalescent rose from his bed, and as soon as he could
walk, he had burned, in the presence of the king and of all the people, an idol
which some old women had concealed in his house. He also caused to be
destroyed several temples constructed on the sea shore, in which people
were accustomed to eat the meat offered to the idols. The inhabitants
35
applauded this, and, shouting "Castile, Castile," helped to throw them down,
and declared that if God gave them life they would burn all the idols they
could find, even if they were in the king's own house.
These idols are made of wood, they are concave or hollowed out behind, they
have the arms and legs spread out, and the feet turned upwards; they have a
large face, with four very large teeth like those of a wild boar, and they are all
painted.
Since I have spoken of the idols, it may please your illustrious Highness to
have an account of the ceremony with which, in this island, they bless the
pig. They begin by sounding some great drums (tamburi), they then bring
three large dishes, two are filled with cakes of rice and cooked millet rolled up
in leaves, and roast fish, in the third are Cambay clothes, and two strips of
palm cloth. A cloth of Cambay is spread out on the ground: then two old
women come, each of whom has in her hand a reed trumpet. They step upon
the cloth and make an obeisance to the Sun: they then clothe themselves
with the above mentioned cloths. The first of these puts on her head a
handkerchief which she ties on her forehead so as to make two horns, and
taking another handkerchief in her hand, dances and sounds her trumpet,
and invokes the Sun. The second old woman takes one of the strips of palm
cloth, and dances, and also sounds her trumpet; thus they dance and sound
their trumpets for a short space of time, saying several things to the sun. The
first old woman then drops the handkerchief she has in her hand, and takes
the other strip of cloth, and both together sounding their trumpets, dance for
a long time round the pig which is bound on the ground. The first one always
speaks in a low tone to the sun, and the second answers her. The second old
woman then presents a cup of wine to the first, who, whilst they both
continue their address to the sun, brings the cup four or five times near her
mouth as though going to drink, and meanwhile sprinkles the wine on the
heart of the pig. She then gives up the cup, and receives a lance which she
brandishes, whilst still dancing and reciting, and four or five times directs the
lance at the pig's heart, at last with a sudden and well aimed blow she
pierces it through and through. She withdraws the lance from the wound,
which is then closed and dressed with herbs. During the ceremony a torch is
always burning, and the old woman who pierced the pig takes and puts it out
with her mouth, the other old woman dips the end of her trumpet in the pig’s
blood, and with it marks with blood the forehead of her husband, and of her
companion, and then of the rest of the people. But they did not come and do
this to us. That done the old women took off their robes, and ate what was in
the two dishes, inviting only women to join them. After that they get the hair
off the pig with fire. Only old women are able to consecrate the boar in this
manner, and this animal is never eaten unless it is killed in this manner.
(Here follows an account of a custom, for a description of which see De
Morga’s Philippine Islands, p. 304.)
When our people went on shore by day or by night, they always met with
some one who invited them to eat and drink. They only half cook their
victuals, and salt them very much, which makes them drink a great deal; and
they drink much with reeds, sucking the wine from the vessels. Their repasts
always last from five to six hours.
36
When one of their chiefs dies they always use the following funeral
ceremonies, of which I was witness. The most respected women of the
country came to the house of the deceased, in the midst of which lay the
corpse in a chest; round which were stretched cords after the manner of an
enclosure, and many branches of trees were tied to these cords: a strip of
cotton was fastened to each of these branches like a pennant. Under these
the women I have mentioned sat down covered with white cotton cloth. Each
of them had a damsel who fanned her with a palm fan. The other women sat
sadly round the room. Meanwhile a woman cut off by degrees the hair of the
dead man with a knife: another who had been his principal wife, lay extended
on him, with her mouth hands and feet on the mouth hands and feet of the
dead man. When the first woman cut off the hair, she wept, and when she
stopped cutting, she sung. Round the room there were many vases of
porcelain, with embers in them, on which, from time to time, they threw
myrrh, storax, and benzoin, which gave out a good and strong smell in the
room. These ceremonies last for five or six days, during which the corpse is
kept in the house, and I believe that they anoint it with oil of camphor to
preserve it. They afterwards put it in a chest, closed with wooden bolts, and
place it in an enclosed place covered with logs of wood. The islanders told us
that every evening towards midnight, there used to come to the city, a black
bird of the size of a crow, which perching on the houses whistled, and caused
all the dogs to howl, and these double cries lasted four or five hours. They
would never tell us the cause of that phenomenon, of which we also were
witnesses.
Friday, the 26th of April, Zula, who was one of the principal men or chiefs of
the island of Matan, sent to the captain a son of his with two goats to make a
present of them, and to say that if he did not do all that he had promised, the
cause of that was another chief named Silapulapu, who would not in any way
obey the King of Spain, and had prevented him from doing so: but that if the
captain would send him the following night one boat full of men to give him
assistance, he would fight and subdue his rival. On the receipt of this
message, the captain decided to go himself with three boats. We entreated
him much not to go to this enterprise in person, but he as a good shepherd
would not abandon his flock.
We set out from Zubu at midnight, we were sixty men armed with corslets
and helmets; there were with us the Christian king, the prince, and some of
the chief men, and many others divided among twenty or thirty balangai. We
arrived at Matan three hours before daylight. The captain before attacking
wished to attempt gentle means, and sent on shore the Moorish merchant to
tell those islanders who were of the party of Cilapulapu, that if they would
recognise the Christian king as their sovereign, and obey the King of Spain,
and pay us the tribute which had been asked, the captain would become their
friend, otherwise we should prove how our lances wounded. The islanders
were not terrified, they replied that if we had lances, so also had they,
although only of reeds, and wood hardened with fire. They asked however
that we should not attack them by night, but wait for daylight, because they
were expecting reinforcements, and would be in greater number. This they
said with cunning, to excite us to attack them by night, supposing that we
37
were ready; but they wished this because they had dug ditches between their
houses and the beach, and they hoped that we should fall into them.
We however waited for daylight; we then leaped into the water up to our
thighs, for on account of the shallow water and the rocks the boats could not
come close to the beach, and we had to cross two good crossbow shots
through the water before reaching it. We were forty-nine in number, the other
eleven remained in charge of the boats. When we reached land we found the
islanders fifteen hundred in number, drawn up in three squadrons; they came
down upon us with terrible shouts, two squadrons attacking us on the flanks,
and the third in front. The captain then divided his men in two bands. Our
musketeers and crossbow-men fired for half an hour from a distance, but did
nothing, since the bullets and arrows, though they passed through their
shields made of thin wood, and perhaps wounded their arms, yet did not stop
them. The captain shouted not to fire, but he was not listened to. The
islanders seeing that the shots of our guns did them little or no harm would
not retire, but shouted more loudly, and springing from one side to the other
to avoid our shots, they at the same time drew nearer to us, throwing arrows,
javelins, spears hardened in fire, stones, and even mud, so that we could
hardly defend ourselves. Some of them cast lances pointed with iron at the
captain-general.
He then, in order to disperse this multitude and to terrify them, sent some of
our men to set fire to their houses, but this rendered them more ferocious.
Some of them ran to the fire, which consumed twenty or thirty houses, and
there killed two of our men. The rest came down upon us with greater fury;
they perceived that our bodies were defended, but that the legs were
exposed, and they aimed at them principally. The captain had his right leg
pierced by a poisoned arrow, on which account he gave orders to retreat by
degrees; but almost all our men took to precipitate flight, so that there
remained hardly six or eight of us with him. We were oppressed by the lances
and stones which the enemy hurled at us, and we could make no more
resistance. The bombards which we had in the boats were of no assistance to
us, for the shoal water kept them too far from the beach. We went thither,
retreating little by little, and still fighting, and we had already got to the
distance of a crossbow shot from the shore, having the water up to our knees,
the islanders following and picking up again the spears which they had
already cast, and they threw the same spear five or six times; as they knew
the captain they aimed specially at him, and twice they knocked the helmet
off his head. He, with a few of us, like a good knight, remained at his post
without choosing to retreat further. Thus we fought for more than an hour,
until an Indian succeeded in thrusting a cane lance into the captain's face. He
then, being irritated, pierced the Indian's breast with his lance, and left it in
his body, and trying to draw his sword he was unable to draw it more than
half way, on account of a javelin wound which he had received in the right
arm. The enemies seeing this all rushed against him, and one of them with a
great sword, like a great scimetar[187] gave him a great blow on the left leg,
which brought the captain down on his face, then the Indians threw
themselves upon him, and ran him through with lances and scimetars, and all
the other arms which they had, so that they deprived of life our mirror, light,
comfort, and true guide. Whilst the Indians were thus overpowering him,
38
several times he turned round towards us to see if we were all in safety, as
though his obstinate fight had no other object than to give an opportunity for
the retreat of his men. We who fought to extremity, and who were covered
with wounds, seeing that he was dead, proceeded to the boats which were on
the point of going away. This fatal battle was fought on the 27th of April of
1521, on a Saturday; a day which the captain had chosen himself, because
he had a special devotion to it. There perished with him eight of our men, and
four of the Indians, who had become Christians; we had also many wounded,
amongst whom I must reckon myself. The enemy lost only fifteen men.
He died; but I hope that your illustrious highness will not allow his memory to
be lost, so much the more since I see revived in you the virtue of so great a
captain, since one of his principal virtues was constance in the most adverse
fortune. In the midst of the sea he was able to endure hunger better than we.
Most versed in nautical charts, he knew better than any other the true art of
navigation, of which it is a certain proof that he knew by his genius, and his
intrepidity, without any one having given him the example, how to attempt
the circuit of the globe, which he had almost completed. [188]
The Christian king could indeed have given us aid, and would have done so;
but our captain far from forseeing that which happened, when he landed with
his men, had charged him not to come out of his balangai, wishing that he
should stay there to see how we fought. When he knew how the captain had
died he wept bitterly for him.
In the afternoon the king himself with our consent, sent to tell the inhabitants
of Matan, that if they would give up to us the body of our captain, and of our
other companions who were killed in this battle, we would give them as much
merchandise as they might wish for; but they answered that on no account
would they ever give up that man, but they wished to preserve him as a
monument of their triumph. When the death of the captain was known, those
who were in the city to trade, had all the merchandise at once transported to
the ships. We then elected in the place of the captain, Duarte Barbosa, a
Portuguese, and a relation of the captain's, and Juan Serrano a Spaniard.
Our interpreter, who was a slave of the captain-general, and was named
Henry, having been slightly wounded in the battle, would not go ashore any
more for the things which we required, but remained all day idle, and
wrapped up in his mat (Schiavina). Duarte Barbosa, the commander of the
flag ship, found fault with him, and told him that though his master was dead,
he had not become free on that account, but that when we returned to Spain
he would return him to Doña Beatrice, the widow of the captain-general; at
the same time he threatened to have him flogged, if he did not go on shore
quickly, and do what was wanted for the service of the ships. The slave rose
up, and did as though he did not care much for these affronts and threats;
and having gone on shore, he informed the Christian king that we were
thinking of going away soon, but that if he would follow his advice, he might
become master of all our goods and of the ships themselves. The King of
Zubu listened favourably to him, and they arranged to betray us. After that
the slave returned on board, and showed more intelligence and attention
than he had done before.
39
Wednesday morning, the 1st of May, the Christian king sent to tell the two
commanders that the jewels prepared as presents for the King of Spain were
ready, and he invited them to come that same day to dine with him, with
some of his most honoured companions, and he would give them over to
them. The commanders went with twenty-four others, and amongst them was
our astrologer named San Martin of Seville. I could not go because I was
swelled with a wound from a poisoned arrow in the forehead. Juan Carvalho,
with the chief of police, who also were invited, turned back, and said that
they had suspected some bad business, because they had seen the man who
had recovered from illness by a miracle, leading away the priest to his own
house. They had hardly spoken these words when we heard great
lamentations and cries. We quickly got up the anchors and, coming closer to
the beach, we fired several shots with the cannon at the houses. There then
appeared on the beach Juan Serrano, in his shirt, wounded and bound, who
entreated us, as loudly as he could, not to fire any more, or else he would be
massacred. We asked him what had become of his companions and the
interpreter, and he said that all had been slain except the interpreter. He then
entreated us to ransom him with some merchandise; but Juan Carvalho,
although he was his gossip, joined with some others, refused to do it, and
they would not allow any boat to go ashore, so that they might remain
masters of the ships. Serrano continued his entreaties and lamentations,
saying, that if we departed and abandoned him there, he would soon be
killed; and after that he saw his lamentations were useless, he added that be
prayed God to ask for an account of his life at the day of Judgment from Juan
Carvalho, his gossip.[189] Notwithstanding, we sailed immediately; and I never
heard any more news of him.
In this island of Zubu there are dogs and cats, and other animals, whose flesh
is eaten; there is also rice, millet, panicum, and maize; there are also figs,
oranges, lemons, sugar-canes, cocos, gourds, ginger, honey, and other such
things; they also make palm-wine of many qualities. Gold is abundant. The
island is large, and has a good port with two entrances: one to the west, and
the other to the east-north-east. It is in ten degrees north latitude and 154
east longitude from the line of demarcation.
In this island there are several towns, each of which has its principal men or
chiefs. Here are the names of the towns and their chiefs:—
Cingapola: its chiefs are Cilaton, Ciguibucan, Cimaninga, Cimaticat, Cicanbul.
[190]
Mandani: its chief is Aponoaan.

Lalan: its chief is Teten.
Lalutan: its chief is Japau.
Lubucin: its chief is Cilumai.
All these countries were in obedience to us, and paid a kind of tribute.
Near to Zubu there is, as we said, the island of Matan, the most considerable
town of which is called Matan, and its chiefs are Zula and Cilapulapu. The
village, which we burned on the occasion of the fatal battle, is named Bulaia.
40
In this island, before we lost our captain-general, we had news of Maluco.
41
PRIMARY SOURCE 2:
CUSTOMS OF THE TAGALOGS
BY: JUAN DE PLASENCIA, O.S.F.
Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13701/13701-h/13701-
h.htm#d0e1500
This 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.
These chiefs ruled over but few people; sometimes as many as a hundred
houses, sometimes even less than thirty. This tribal gathering is called in
Tagalo a barangay. It was inferred that the reason for giving themselves this
name arose from the fact (as they are classed, by their language, among the
Malay nations) that when they came to this land, the head of the barangay,
which is a boat, thus called—as is discussed at length in the first chapter of
the first ten chapters—became a dato. And so, even at the present day, it is
ascertained that this barangay in its origin was a family of parents and
children, relations and slaves. There were many of these barangays in each
town, or, at least, on account of wars, they did not settle far from one
another. They were not, however, subject to one another, except in friendship
and relationship. The chiefs, in their various wars, helped one another with
their respective barangays.
In addition to the chiefs, who corresponded to our knights, there were three
castes: nobles, commoners, and slaves. The nobles were the free-born whom
they call maharlica. They did not pay tax or tribute to the dato, but must
accompany him in war, at their own expense. The chief offered them
beforehand a feast, and afterward they divided the spoils. Moreover, when
the dato went upon the water those whom he summoned rowed for him. If he
built a house, they helped him, and had to be fed for it. The same was true
when the whole barangay went to clear up his lands for tillage. The lands
which they inhabited were divided among the whole barangay, especially the
irrigated portion, and thus each one knew his own. No one belonging to
another barangay would cultivate them unless after purchase or inheritance.
The lands on the tingues, or mountain-ridges, are not divided, but owned in
common by the barangay. Consequently, at the time of the rice harvest, any
individual of any particular barangay, although he may have come from some
other village, if he commences to clear any land may sow it, and no one can
compel him to abandon it. There are some villages (as, for example, Pila de la
Laguna) in which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid annually to the dato a
hundred gantas of rice. The reason of this was that, at the time of their
settlement there, another chief occupied the lands, which the new chief, upon
his arrival, bought with his own gold; and therefore the members of his
42
barangay paid him for the arable land, and he divided it, among those whom
he saw fit to reward. But now, since the advent of the Spaniards, it is not so
divided.
The chiefs in some villages had also fisheries, with established limits, and
sections of the rivers for markets. At these no one could fish, or trade in the
markets, without paying for the privilege, unless he belonged to the chief's
barangay or village.
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. They accompanied him whenever he
went beyond the island, and rowed for him. They live in their own houses,
and are lords of their property and gold. Their children inherit it, and enjoy
their property and lands. The children, then, enjoy the rank of their fathers,
and they cannot be made slaves (sa guiguilir) nor can either parents or
children be sold. If they should fall by inheritance into the hands of a son of
their master who was going to dwell in another village, they could not be
taken from their own village and carried with him; but they would remain in
their native village, doing service there and cultivating the sowed lands.
The slaves are called aliping sa guiguilir. They serve their master in his house
and on his cultivated lands, and may be sold. The master grants them, should
he see fit, and providing that he has profited through their industry, a portion
of their harvests, so that they may work faithfully. For these reasons, servants
who are born in the house of their master are rarely, if ever, sold. That is the
lot of captives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest fields.
Those to whom a debt was owed transferred the debt to another, thereby
themselves making a profit, and reducing the wretched debtors to a slavery
which was not their natural lot. If any person among those who were made
slaves (sa guiguilir)—through war, by the trade of goldsmith, or otherwise—
happened to possess any gold beyond the sum that he had to give his
master, he ransomed himself, becoming thus a namamahay, or what we call
a commoner. The price of this ransom was never less than five taels, and
from that upwards; and if he gave ten or more taels, as they might agree, he
became wholly free. An amusing ceremony accompanied this custom. After
having divided all the trinkets which the slave possessed, if he maintained a
house of his own, they divided even the pots and jars, and if an odd one of
these remained, they broke it; and if a piece of cloth were left, they parted it
in the middle.
The difference between the aliping namamahay and the aliping sa guiguilir,
should be noted; for, by a confusion of the two terms, many have been
classed as slaves who really are not. The Indians seeing that the alcaldes-
mayor do not understand this, have adopted the custom of taking away the
children of the aliping namamahay, making use of them as they would of
the aliping sa guiguilir, as servants in their households, which is illegal, and if
the aliping namamahay should appeal to justice, it is proved that he is
an aliping as well as his father and mother before him and no reservation is
43
made as to whether he is aliping namamahay or atiping sa guiguilir. He is at
once considered an alipin, without further declaration. In this way he
becomes a sa guiguilir, and is even sold. Consequently, the alcaldes-mayor
should be instructed to ascertain, when anyone asks for his alipin, to which
class he belongs, and to have the answer put in the document that they give
him.
In these three classes, those who are maharlicas on both the father's and
mother's side continue to be so forever; and if it happens that they should
become slaves, it is through marriage, as I shall soon explain. If these
maharlicas had children among their slaves, the children and their mothers
became free; if one of them had children by the slave-woman of another, she
was compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of a gold tael,
because of her risk of death, and for her inability to labor during the
pregnancy. In such a case half of the child was free—namely, the half
belonging to the father, who supplied the child with food. If he did not do this,
he showed that he did not recognize him as his child, in which case the latter
was wholly a slave. If a free woman had children by a slave, they were all
free, provided he were not her husband.
If two persons married, of whom one was a maharlica and the other a slave,
whether namamahay or sa guiguilir, the children were divided: the first,
whether male or female, belonged to the father, as did the third and fifth; the
second, the fourth, and the sixth fell to the mother, and so on. In this manner,
if the father were free, all those who belonged to him were free; if he were a
slave, all those who belonged to him were slaves; and the same applied to
the mother. If there should not be more than one child he was half free and
half slave. The only question here concerned the division, whether the child
were male or female. Those who became slaves fell under the category of
servitude which was their parent's, either namamahay or sa guiguilir. If there
were an odd number of children, the odd one was half free and half slave. I
have not been able to ascertain with any certainty when or at what age the
division of children was made, for each one suited himself in this respect. Of
these two kinds of slaves the sa guiguilir could be sold, but not the
namamahay and their children, nor could they be transferred. However, they
could be transferred from the barangay by inheritance, provided they
remained in the same village.
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. This fine was larger or smaller according to the
inclination of the different villages, running from one to three taels and a
banquet to the entire barangay. Failure to pay the fine might result in a war
between the barangay which the person left and the one which he entered.
This applied equally to men and women, except that when one married a
woman of another village, the children were afterwards divided equally
between the two barangays. This arrangement kept them obedient to the
dato, or chief, which is no longer the case—because, if the dato is energetic
and commands what the religious fathers enjoin him, they soon leave him
and go to other villages and other datos, who endure and protect them and
44
do not order them about. This is the kind of dato that they now prefer, not
him who has the spirit to command. There is a great need of reform in this,
for the chiefs are spiritless and faint-hearted.
Investigations made and sentences passed by the dato must take place in the
presence of those of his barangay. If any of the litigants felt himself
aggrieved, an arbiter was unanimously named from another village or
barangay, whether he were a dato or not; since they had for this purpose
some persons, known as fair and just men, who were said to give true
judgment according to their customs. If the controversy lay between two
chiefs, when they wished to avoid war, they also convoked judges to act as
arbiters; they did the same if the disputants belonged to two different
barangays. In this ceremony they always had to drink, the plaintiff inviting
the others.
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.
They condemned no one to slavery, unless he merited the death-penalty. As

for the witches, they killed them, and their children and accomplices became
slaves of the chief, after he had made some recompense to the injured
person. All other offenses were punished by fines in gold, which, if not paid
with promptness, exposed the culprit to serve, until the payment should be
made, the person aggrieved, to whom the money was to be paid. This was
done in the following way: Half the cultivated lands and all their produce
belonged to the master. The master provided the culprit with food and
clothing, thus enslaving the culprit and his children until such time as he
might amass enough money to pay the fine. If the father should by chance
pay his debt, the master then claimed that he had fed and clothed his
children, and should be paid therefor. In this way he kept possession of the
children if the payment could not be met. This last was usually the case, and
they remained slaves. If the culprit had some relative or friend who paid for
him, he was obliged to render the latter half his service until he was paid—
not, however, service within the house as aliping sa guiguilir, but living
independently, as aliping namamahay. If the creditor were not served in this
wise, the culprit had to pay the double of what was lent him. In this way
slaves were made by debt: either sa guiguilir, if they served the master to
whom the judgment applied; or aliping namamahay, if they served the
person who lent them wherewith to pay.
In what concerns loans, there was formerly, and is today, an excess of usury,
which is a great hindrance to baptism as well as to confession; for it turns out
in the same way as I have showed in the case of the one under judgment,
who gives half of his cultivated lands and profits until he pays the debt. The
debtor is condemned to a life of toil; and thus borrowers become slaves, and
after the death of the father the children pay the debt. Not doing so, double
the amount must be paid. This system should and can be reformed.
45
As for inheritances, the legitimate children of a father and mother inherited
equally, except in the case where the father and mother showed a slight
partiality by such gifts as two or three gold taels, or perhaps a jewel.
When the parents gave a dowry to any son, and, when, in order to marry him
to a chief's daughter, the dowry was greater than the sum given the other
sons, the excess was not counted in the whole property to be divided. But
any other thing that should have been given to any son, though it might be
for some necessity, was taken into consideration at the time of the partition
of the property, unless the parents should declare that such a bestowal was
made outside of the inheritance. If one had had children by two or more
legitimate wives, each child received the inheritance and dowry of his
mother, with its increase, and that share of his father's estate which fell to
him out of the whole. If a man had a child by one of his slaves, as well as
legitimate children, the former had no share in the inheritance; but the
legitimate children were bound to free the mother, and to give him something
—a tael or a slave, if the father were a chief; or if, finally, anything else were
given it was by the unanimous consent of all. If besides his legitimate
children, he had also some son by a free unmarried woman, to whom a dowry
was given but who was not considered as a real wife, all these were classed
as natural children, although the child by the unmarried woman should have
been begotten after his marriage. Such children did not inherit equally with
the legitimate children, but only the third part. For example, if there were two
children, the legitimate one had two parts, and the one of the inaasava one
part. When there were no children by a legitimate wife, but only children by
an unmarried woman, or inaasava, the latter inherited all. If he had a child by
a slave woman, that child received his share as above stated. If there were no
legitimate or natural child, or a child by an inaasava, whether there was a son
of a slave woman or not, the inheritance went only to the father or
grandparents, brothers, or nearest relatives of the deceased, who gave to the
slave-child as above stated.
In the case of a child by a free married woman, born while she was married, if
the husband punished the adulterer this was considered a dowry; and the
child entered with the others into partition in the inheritance. His share
equaled the part left by the father, nothing more. If there were no other sons
than he, the children and the nearest relatives inherited equally with him. But
if the adulterer were not punished by the husband of the woman who had the
child, the latter was not considered as his child, nor did he inherit anything. It
should be noticed that the offender was not considered dishonored by the
punishment inflicted, nor did the husband leave the woman. By the
punishment of the father the child was fittingly made legitimate.
Adopted children, of whom there are many among them, inherit the double of
what was paid for their adoption. For example, if one gold tael was given that
he might be adopted when the first father died, the child was given [in
inheritance] two taels. But if this child should die first, his children do not
inherit from the second father, for the arrangement stops at that point.
46
This is the danger to which his money is exposed, as well as his being
protected as a child. On this account this manner of adoption common among
them is considered lawful.
Dowries are given by the men to the women's parents. If the latter are living,
they enjoy the use of it. At their death, provided the dowry has not been
consumed, it is divided like the rest of the estate, equally among the children,
except in case the father should care to bestow something additional upon
the daughter. If the wife, at the time of her marriage, has neither father,
mother, nor grandparents, she enjoys her dowry—which, in such a case,
belongs to no other relative or child. It should be noticed that unmarried
women can own no property, in land or dowry, for the result of all their labors
accrues to their parents.
In the case of a divorce before the birth of children, if the wife left the
husband for the purpose of marrying another, all her dowry and an equal
additional amount fell to the husband; but if she left him, and did not marry
another, the dowry was returned. When the husband left his wife, he lost the
half of the dowry, and the other half was returned to him. If he possessed
children at the time of his divorce, the whole dowry and the fine went to the
children, and was held for them by their grandparents or other responsible
relatives.
I have also seen another practice in two villages. In one case, upon the death
of the wife who in a year's time had borne no children, the parents
returned one-half the dowry to the husband whose wife had died. In the other
case, upon the death of the husband, one-half the dowry was returned to the
relatives of the husband. I have ascertained that this is not a general
practice; for upon inquiry I learned that when this is done it is done through
piety, and that all do not do it.
In the matter of marriage dowries which fathers bestow upon their sons when
they are about to be married, and half of which is given immediately, even
when they are only children, there is a great deal more complexity. There is a
fine stipulated in the contract, that he who violates it shall pay a certain sum
which varies according to the practice of the village and the affluence of the
individual. The fine was heaviest if, upon the death of the parents, the son or
daughter should be unwilling to marry because it had been arranged by his or
her parents. In this case the dowry which the parents had received was
returned and nothing more. But if the parents were living, they paid the fine,
because it was assumed that it had been their design to separate the
children.
The above is what I have been able to ascertain clearly concerning customs
observed among these natives in all this Laguna and the tingues, and among
the entire Tagalo race. The old men say that a dato who did anything contrary
to this would not be esteemed; and, in relating tyrannies which they had
committed, some condemned them and adjudged them wicked.
47
Others, perchance, may offer a more extended narrative, but leaving aside
irrelevant matters concerning government and justice among them, a
summary of the whole truth is contained in the above. I am sending the
account in this clear and concise form because I had received no orders to
pursue the work further. Whatever may be decided upon, it is certainly
important that it should be given to the alcal-des-mayor, accompanied by an
explanation; for the absurdities which are to be found in their opinions are
indeed pitiable.
May our Lord bestow upon your Lordship His grace and spirit, so that in every
step good fortune may be yours; and upon every occasion may your Lordship
deign to consider me your humble servant, to be which would be the greatest
satisfaction and favor that I could receive. Nagcarlán, October 21, 1589.
RELATION OF THE WORSHIP OF THE TAGALOGS, THEIR GODS, AND THEIR BURIALS AND
SUPERSTITIONS
In all the villages, or in other parts of the Filipinas Islands, there are no
temples consecrated to the performing of sacrifices, the adoration of their
idols, or the general practice of idolatry. It is true that they have the
name simbahan, which means a temple or place of adoration; but this is
because, formerly, when they wished to celebrate a festival, which they
called pandot, or “worship,” they celebrated it in the large house of a chief.
There they constructed, for the purpose of sheltering the assembled people,
a temporary shed on each side of the house, with a roof, called sibi, to
protect the people from the wet when it rained. They so constructed the
house that it might contain many people—dividing it, after the fashion of
ships, into three compartments. On the posts of the house they set small
lamps, called sorihile; in the center of the house they placed one large lamp,
adorned with leaves of the white palm, wrought into many designs. They also
brought together many drums, large and small, which they beat successively
while the feast lasted, which was usually four days. During this time the
whole barangay, or family, united and joined in the worship which they
call nagaanitos. The house, for the above-mentioned period of time, was
called a temple.
Among their many idols there was one called. Badhala, whom they especially
worshiped. The title seems to signify “all powerful,” or “maker of all things.”
They also worshiped the sun, which, on account of its beauty, is almost
universally respected and honored by heathens. They worshiped, too, the
moon, especially when it was new, at which time they held great rejoicings,
adoring it and bidding it welcome. Some of them also adored the stars,
although they did not know them by their names, as the Spaniards and other
nations know the planets—with the one exception of the morning star, which
they called Tala. They knew, too, the “seven little goats” [the Pleiades]—as
we call them—and, consequently, the change of seasons, which they call
Mapolon; and Balatic, which is our Greater Bear. They possessed many idols
called lic-ha, which were images with different shapes; and at times they
worshiped any little trifle, in which they adored, as did the Romans, some
particular dead man who was brave in war and endowed with special
48
faculties, to whom they commended themselves for protection in their
tribulations. They had another idol called Dian masalanta, who was the
patron of lovers and of generation. The idols called Lacapati and Idianale
were the patrons of the cultivated lands and of husbandry. They paid
reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya, or crocodiles, from fear of
being harmed by them. They were even in the habit of offering these animals
a portion of what they carried in their boats, by throwing it into the water, or
placing it upon the bank.
They were, moreover, very liable to find auguries in things they witnessed.
For example, if they left their house and met on the way a serpent or rat, or a
bird called Tigmamanuguin which was singing in the tree, or if they chanced
upon anyone who sneezed, they returned at once to their house, considering
the incident as an augury that some evil might befall them if they should
continue their journey—especially when the above-mentioned bird sang. This
song had two different forms: in the one case it was considered as an evil
omen; in the other, as a good omen, and then they continued their journey.
They also practiced divination, to see whether weapons, such as a dagger or
knife, were to be useful and lucky for their possessor whenever occasion
should offer.
These natives had no established division of years, months, and days; these
are determined by the cultivation of the soil, counted by moons, and the
different effect produced upon the trees when yielding flowers, fruits, and
leaves: all this helps them in making up the year. The winter and summer are
distinguished as sun-time and water-time—the latter term designating winter
in those regions, where there is no cold, snow, or ice.
It seems, however, that now since they have become Christians, the seasons
are not quite the same, for at Christmas it gets somewhat cooler. The years,
since the advent of the Spaniards, have been determined by the latter, and
the seasons have been given their proper names, and they have been divided
into weeks.
Their manner of offering sacrifice was to proclaim a feast, and offer to the
devil what they had to eat. This was done in front of the idol, which they
anoint with fragrant perfumes, such as musk and civet, or gum of the storax-
tree and other odoriferous woods, and praise it in poetic songs sung by the
officiating priest, male or female, who is called catolonan. The participants
made responses to the song, beseeching the idol to favor them with those
things of which they were in need, and generally, by offering repeated
healths, they all became intoxicated. In some of their idolatries they were
accustomed to place a good piece of cloth, doubled, over the idol, and over
the cloth a chain or large, gold ring, thus worshiping the devil without having
sight of him. The devil was sometimes liable to enter into the body of the
catolonan, and, assuming her shape and appearance, filled her with so great
arrogance—he being the cause of it—that she seemed to shoot flames from
her eyes; her hair stood on end, a fearful sight to those beholding, and she
uttered words of arrogance and superiority. In some districts, especially in the
mountains, when in those idolatries the devil incarnated himself and took on
49
the form of his minister, the latter had to be tied to a tree by his companions,
to prevent the devil in his infernal fury from destroying him. This, however,
happened but rarely. The objects of sacrifice were goats, fowls, and swine,
which were flayed, decapitated, and laid before the idol. They performed
another ceremony by cooking a jar of rice until the water was evaporated,
after which they broke the jar, and the rice was left as an intact mass which
was set before the idol; and all about it, at intervals, were placed a few buyos
—which is a small fruit3 wrapped in a leaf with some lime, a food generally
eaten in these regions—as well as fried food and fruits. All the above-
mentioned articles were eaten by the guests at the feast; the heads [of the
animals], after being “offered,” as they expressed it, were cooked and eaten
also.
The reasons for offering this sacrifice and adoration were, in addition to
whatever personal matters there might be, the recovery of a sick person, the
prosperous voyage of those embarking on the sea, a good harvest in the
sowed lands, a propitious result in wars, a successful delivery in childbirth,
and a happy outcome in married life. If this took place among people of rank,
the festivities lasted thirty days.
In the case of young girls who first had their monthly courses, their eyes were
blindfolded four days and four nights; and, in the meantime, the friends and
relatives were all invited to partake of food and drink. At the end of this
period, the catolonan took the young girl to the water, bathed her and
washed her head, and removed the bandage from her eyes. The old men said
that they did this in order that the girls might bear children, and have fortune
in finding husbands to their taste, who would not leave them widows in their
youth.
The distinctions made among the priests of the devil were as follows: The
first, called catolonan, as above stated, was either a man or a woman. This
office was an honorable one among the natives, and was held ordinarily by
people of rank, this rule being general in all the islands.
The second they called mangagauay, or witches, who deceived by pretending

to heal the sick. These priests even induced maladies by their charms, which
in proportion to the strength and efficacy of the witchcraft, are capable of
causing death. In this way, if they wished to kill at once they did so; or they
could prolong life for a year by binding to the waist a live serpent, which was
believed to be the devil, or at least his substance. This office was general
throughout the land. The third they called manyisalat, which is the same as
magagauay. These priests had the power of applying such remedies to lovers
that they would abandon and despise their own wives, and in fact could
prevent them from having intercourse with the latter. If the woman,
constrained by these means, were abandoned, it would bring sickness upon
her; and on account of the desertion she would discharge blood and matter.
This office was also general throughout the land.
The fourth was called mancocolam, whose duty it was to emit fire from
himself at night, once or oftener each month. This fire could not be
50
extinguished; nor could it be thus emitted except as the priest wallowed in
the ordure and filth which falls from the houses; and he who lived in the
house where the priest was wallowing in order to emit this fire from himself,
fell ill and died. This office was general.
The fifth was called hocloban, which is another kind of witch, of greater
efficacy than the mangagauay. Without the use of medicine, and by simply
saluting or raising the hand, they killed whom they chose. But if they desired
to heal those whom they had made ill by their charms, they did so by using
other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy the house of some Indian
hostile to them, they were able to do so without instruments. This was in
Catanduanes, an island off the upper part of Luzon.
The sixth was called silagan, whose office it was, if they saw anyone clothed
in white, to tear out his liver and eat it, thus causing his death. This, like the
preceding, was in the island of Catanduanes. Let no one, moreover, consider
this a fable; because, in Calavan, they tore out in this way through the anus
all the intestines of a Spanish notary, who was buried in Calilaya by father
Fray Juan de Mérida.
The seventh was called magtatangal, and his purpose was to show himself at
night to many persons, without his head or entrails. In such wise the devil
walked about and carried, or pretended to carry, his head to different places;
and, in the morning, returned it to his body—remaining, as before, alive. This
seems to me to be a fable, although the natives affirm that they have seen it,
because the devil probably caused them so to believe. This occurred in
Catanduanes.The eighth they called osuang, which is equivalent to
“sorcerer;” they say that they have seen him fly, and that he murdered men
and ate their flesh. This was among the Visayas Islands; among the Tagalos
these did not exist.
The ninth was another class of witches called mangagayoma. They made
charms for lovers out of herbs, stones, and wood, which would infuse the
heart with love. Thus did they deceive the people, although sometimes,
through the intervention of the devil, they gained their ends.
The tenth was known as sonat, which is equivalent to “preacher.” It was his
office to help one to die, at which time he predicted the salvation or
condemnation of the soul. It was not lawful for the functions of this office to
be fulfilled by others than people of high standing, on account of the esteem
in which it was held. This office was general throughout the islands.
The eleventh, pangatahojan, was a soothsayer, and predicted the future. This
office was general in all the islands.
The twelfth, bayoguin, signified a “cotquean,” a man whose nature inclined

toward that of a woman.
51
Their manner of burying the dead was as follows: The deceased was buried
beside his house; and, if he were a chief, he was placed beneath a little house
or porch which they constructed for this purpose. Before interring him, they
mourned him for four days; and afterward laid him on a boat which served as
a coffin or bier, placing him beneath the porch, where guard was kept over
him by a slave. In place of rowers, various animals were placed within the
boat, each one being assigned a place at the oar by twos—male and female
of each species being together—as for example two goats, two deer, or two
fowls. It was the slave's care to see that they were fed. If the deceased had
been a warrior, a living slave was tied beneath his body until in this wretched
way he died. In course of time, all suffered decay; and for many days the
relatives of the dead man bewailed him, singing dirges, and praises of his
good qualities, until finally they wearied of it. This grief was also
accompanied by eating and drinking. This was a custom of the Tagalos.
The Aetas,4 or Negrillos [Negritos] inhabitants of this island, had also a form
of burial, but different. They dug a deep, perpendicular hole, and placed the
deceased within it, leaving him upright with head or crown unburied, on top
of which they put half a cocoa-nut which was to serve him as a shield. Then
they went in pursuit of some Indian, whom they killed in retribution for the
Negrillo who had died. To this end they conspired together, hanging a certain
token on their necks until some one of them procured the death of the
innocent one.
These infidels said that they knew that there was another life of rest which
they called maca, just as if we should say “paradise,” or, in other words,
“village of rest.” They say that those who go to this place are the just, and
the valiant, and those who lived without doing harm, or who possessed other
moral virtues. They said also that in the other life and mortality, there was a
place of punishment, grief, and affliction, called casanaan, which was “a
place of anguish;” they also maintained that no one would go to heaven,
where there dwelt only Bathala, “the maker of all things,” who governed from
above. There were also other pagans who confessed more clearly to a hell,
which they called, as I have said, casanaan; they said that all the wicked
went to that place, and there dwelt the demons, whom they called sitan.
All the various kinds of infernal ministers were, therefore, as has been
stated: catolonan; sonat (who was a sort of bishop who ordained priestesses
and received their reverence, for they knelt before him as before one who
could pardon sins, and expected salvation through him); mangagauay,
manyisalat, mancocolam, hocloban, silagan, magtatangal, osuan,
mangagayoma, pangatahoan.5
There were also ghosts, which they called vibit; and phantoms, which they
called Tigbalaang. They had another deception—namely, that if any woman
died in childbirth, she and the child suffered punishment; and that, at night,
she could be heard lamenting. This was called patianac. May the honor and
glory be God our Lord's, that among all the Tagalos not a trace of this is left;
and that those who are now marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to
the preaching of the holy gospel, which has banished it.
52
1
With this document cf., throughout, the “Relation” by Miguel de Loarca, in VOL. V of this
series.
2
Juan de Plasencia, who entered the Franciscan order in early youth, came to the Philippine
Islands as one of the first missionaries of that order, in 1577. He was distinguished, in his
labors among the natives, for gathering the converts into reductions (villages in which they
dwelt apart from the heathen, and under the special care of the missionaries), for establishing
numerous primary schools, for his linguistic abilities—being one of the first to form a grammar
and vocabulary of the Tagal language—and for the ethnological researches embodied in the
memoir which is presented in our text. He died at Lilio, in the province of La Laguna, in 1590.
See account of his life in Santa Inés's Crónica, i, pp. 512–522; and of his writings, Id., ii, pp.
590, 591.
3
The betel-nut; see VOL. IV, p. 222.
4
The Aetas, or Negritos, were the primitive inhabitants of the Philippine Islands; but their origin
is not certainly known. It is perhaps most probable that they came from Papua or New Guinea.
For various opinions on this point, see Zúñiga's Estadismo(Retana's ed.), i, pp. 422–429;
Delgado's Historia general, part i, lib. iii, cap. i; and Report of U.S. Philippine Commission,
1900, iii, pp. 333–335. Invasions of the islands by Indonesian tribes, of superior strength and
culture, drove the Negritos into the forest and mountain regions of the islands where they
dwelt; they still remain there, in a state of barbarism, but in gradually decreasing numbers.
See the Report above cited (pp. 347–351), for habitat and physical characteristics of this race.
5
For much curious and interesting information regarding these superstitions, beliefs in
demons, etc., see Blumentritt's ”Diccionario mitológico,” in Retana's Archivo, ii, pp. 345–454.
53
Primary Source 3:
Kartilya ng Katipunan
Emilio Jacinto
KATIPUNAN
NANG MANGA
A. N. B.
SA MAY NASANG MAKISANIB

SA KATIPUNANG ITO
Sa pagkakailangan, na ang lahat na nagiibig pumasuk sa katipunang

ito, ay magkaroon ng lubos na pananalig at kaisipan sa mga layong tinutungo
at mga kaaralang pinaiiral, minarapat na ipakilala sa kanila ang mga bagay
na ito, at ng bukas makalawa’y huag silang magsisi at tuparing maluag sa
kalooban ang kanilang mga tutungkulin.
Ang kabagayang pinaguusig ng katipunang ito ay lubos na dakila at
mahalaga; papagisahin ang loob at kaisipan ng lahat ng tagalog (*) sa
pamagitan ng isang mahigpit na panunumpa, upang sa pagkakaisang ito’y
magkalakas na iwasak ang masinsing tabing na nakabubulag sa kaisipan at
matuklasan ang tunay na landas ng Katuiran at Kaliwanagan.
(*) Sa salitang tagalog katutura’y ang lahat nang tumubo sa
Sangkapuluang ito; sa makatuid, bisaya man, iloko man, kapangpangan man,
etc., ay tagalog din.
Dito’y isa sa mga kaunaunahang utos, ang tunay na pagibig sa bayang
tinubuan at lubos na pagdadamayan ng isa’t isa.
Maralita, mayaman, mangmang, marunong, lahat dito’y
magkakapantay at tunay na magkakapatid.
Kapagkarakang mapasok dito ang sino man, tataligdan pilit ang
buhalhal na kaugalian, at paiilalim sa kapangyarihan ng mga banal na utos
ng katipunan.
Ang gawang lahat, na laban sa kamahalan at kalinisan, dito’y
kinasusuklaman; kaya’t sa bagay na ito ipinaiilalim sa masigasig na
pakikibalita ang kabuhayan ng sino mang nagiibig makisanib sa katipunang
ito.
Kung ang hangad ng papasuk dito’y ang tumalastas lamang o mga
kalihiman nito, o ang ikagiginhawa ng sariling katawan, o ang kilalanin ang
mga naririto’t ng maipagbili sa isang dakot na salapi, huag magpatuloy,
sapagkat dito’y bantain lamang ay talastas na ng makapal na nakikiramdam
sa kaniya, at karakarakang nilalapatan ng mabisang gamut, na laan sa mga
sukaban.
54
Dito’y gawa ang hinahanap at gawa ang tinitignan; kaya’t hindi dapat
pumasuk ang di makagagawa, kahit magaling magsalita.
Ipinauunawa din, na ang mga katungkulang ginaganap ng lahat ng
napaaanak sa katipunang ito ay lubhang mabibigat lalung lalu na, kung
gugunitain na di mangyayaring maiiwasan at walang kusang pagkukulang na
di aabutin ng kakilakilabot na kaparusahan.
Kung ang hangad ng papasuk dito, ang siya’y abuluyan o ang
ginhawa’t malayaw na katahimikan ng katawan, huag magpatuloy, sapagkat
mabigat na mga katungkulan ang matatagpuan, gaya ng pagtatangkilik sa
mga naaapi at madaluhong na paguusig sa lahat ng kasamaan; sa bagay na
ito ay aabutin ang maligalig na pamumuhay.
Di kaila sa kangino paman ang mga nagbalang kapahamakan sa mga
tagalog na nakaiisip nitong mga banal na kabagayan (at hindi man), at mga
pahirap na ibinibigay na naghaharing kalupitan, kalikuan at kasamaan.
Talastas din naman ng lahat ang pagkakailangan ng salapi, na sa
ngayo’y isa sa mga unang lakas na maaasahang magbibigay buhay sa lahat;
sa bagay na ito, kinakailangan ang lubos na pagtupad sa mga pagbabayaran;
piso sa pagpasuk at sa buan buan ay sikapat. Ang salaping ito’y
ipinagbibigay alam ng nagiingat sa tuing kapanahunan, bukod pa sa
mapagsisiyasat ng sinoman kailan ma’t ibigin. Di makikilos ang salaping ito,
kundi pagkayarian ng karamihan.
Ang lahat ng ipinagsaysay at dapat gunitain at mahinahong
pagbulaybulayin, sapagkat di magaganap at di matitiis ng walang tunay na
pagibig sa tinubuang lupa, at tunay na adhikang ipagtangkilik ang
Kagalingan.
At ng lalung mapagtimbang ng sariling isip at kabaitan, basahin ang
sumusunod na
Mga Aral nang Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.
1. Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa isang malaki at banal na

kadahilanan ay kahoy na walang lilim, kundi damong makamandag
2. Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat sa pagpipita sa sarili, at hindi
sa talagang nasang gumawa ng kagalingan, ay di kabaitan.
3. Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang pagkakawang gawa, ang pagibig sa
kapua at ang isukat ang bawat kilos, gawa’t pangungusap sa
talagang Katuiran.
4. Maitim man at maputi ang kulay ng balat, lahat ng tao’y
magkakapantay; mangyayaring ang isa’y higtan sa dunong, sa
yaman, sa ganda…; ngunit di mahihigtan sa pagkatao.
5. Ang may mataas na kalooban inuuna ang puri sa pagpipita sa sarili;
ang may hamak na kalooban inuuna ang pagpipita sa sarili sa puri.
6. Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.
55
7. Huag mong sasayangin ang panahun; ang yamang nawala’y
magyayaring magbalik; nguni’t panahong nagdaan na’y di na muli
pang magdadaan. Value of time
8. Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi, at kabakahin ang umaapi.
9. Ang taong matalino’y ang may pagiingat sa bawat sasabihin, at
matutong ipaglihim ang dapat ipaglihim.
10.Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki ay siyang patnugot ng
asawa’t mga anak; kung ang umaakay ay tungo sa sama, ang
patutunguhan ng iaakay ay kasamaan din.
11.Ang babai ay huag mong tignang isang bagay na libangan lamang,
kundi isang katuang at karamay sa mga kahirapan nitong
kabuhayan; gamitan mo ng buong pagpipitagan ang kaniyang
kahinaan, at alalahanin ang inang pinagbuhata’t nagiwi sa iyong
kasangulan.
12.Ang di mo ibig na gawin sa asawa mo, anak at kapatid, ay huag
mong gagawin sa asawa, anak, at kapatid ng iba.
13.Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa pagkahari, wala sa tangus ng ilong
at puti ng mukha, wala sa pagkaparing kahalili ng Dios wala sa
mataas na kalagayan sa balat ng lupa; wagas at tunay na mahal na
tao, kahit laking gubat at walang nababatid kundi ang sariling wika,
yaong may magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, may dangal
at puri; yaong di napaaapi’t di nakikiapi; yaong marunong
magdamdam at marunong lumingap sa bayang tinubuan.
14.Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito at maningning na sumikat ang araw
ng mahal na Kalayaan dito sa kaabaabang Sangkalupuan, at
sabugan ng matamis niyang liwanag ang nangagkaisang
magkalahi’t magkakapatid ng ligaya ng walang katapusan, ang mga
ginugol na buhay, pagud, at mga tiniis na kahirapa’y labis nang
natumbasan. Kung lahat ng ito’y mataruk na ng nagiibig pumasuk
at inaakala niyang matutupad ang mga tutungkulin, maitatala ang
kaniyang ninanasa sa kasunod nito.
SA HKAN. NG ________________________________
Ako’y si______________________________________
taong tubo sa bayan ng __________________________
hukuman ng ______________________ang katandaan ko
ng___________taon, ang hanap-buhay______________
ang kalagayan________________________________
at nananahan sa______________________________
daan ng____________________________________
Sa aking pagkabatid ng boong kagalingan ng mga nililayon at

ng mga aral, na inilalathala ng KATIPUNAN ng mga A.N.B. ninais ng
loob ko ang makisanib dito. Sa bagay na ito’y aking ipinamamanhik
ng boong pitagan, na marapating tangapin at mapakibilang na isa sa
mga anak ng katipunan: at tuloy nangangakong tutupad at paiilalim
sa mga aral at Kautusang sinusunod dito.
56
______________________ika ____________ng buan ng ________________
____________________ng taong 189__.
Nakabayad na ng
ukol sa pagpasuk
Ang Taga-ingat na yaman
English translation
ASSOCIATION
OF THE
SONS OF THE PEOPLE
To those who want to join this association.
In order that all who want to enter this Association may have a full
understanding and knowledge of its guiding principles and main teachings, it
is necessary to make these things known to them so that they will not,
tomorrow or the next day, repent, and so that they may perform their duties
wholeheartedly.
This Association pursues a most worthy and momentous object: to
unite the hearts and minds of all the Tagalogs (*) by means of an inviolable
oath, in order that this union may be strong enough to tear aside the thick
veil that obscures thought, and to find the true path of Reason and
Enlightenment.
(*The word Tagalog means all those born in this Archipelago; even a person
who is a Visayan, Ilocano, or Kapampangan, etc. is therefore a Tagalog too.)
One of the foremost rules here is true love of the native land and
genuine compassion for one another.
Poor, rich, ignorant, wise – here, all are equal and true brethren.
As soon as anybody enters here, he shall perforce renounce disorderly

habits and shall submit to the authority of the sacred commands of the
Katipunan.
All acts contrary to noble and clean living are repugnant here, and
hence the life of anyone who wants to affiliate with this Association will be
submitted to a searching investigation.
If the applicant merely wishes to know the secrets of the Association,
or to seek personal gratification, or to know who is here in order to sell them
for a handful of silver, he cannot proceed, for here the many who are
watching him will already know his intentions, and will immediately have
recourse to an effective remedy, such as befits traitors.
Here, only actions are demanded and esteemed; hence anybody who is
not willing to act should not enter, no matter how good a speaker he might
be.
57
It is also announced that the duties to be performed by the members
of this association are exceedingly hard, especially if one remembers that
there can be no dereliction or wilful evasion of duty without the exaction of a
terrible punishment.
If an applicant merely desires financial support relief or wants to lead a
life of bodily comfort and ease, he had better not proceed, for he will
encounter weighty tasks, like the protection of the oppressed and the
relentless fight against all that is evil. In this way, his fate will be a vexatious
life.
Nobody is unaware of the misfortune that threatens the Filipinos who
contemplate these things that are sacred (and even those that are not) and
the sufferings they are made to endure by the reign of cruelty, injustice and
evil.
Everybody also knows the need for money, which today is one of the
main things upon which we depend to bring sustenance to all. In this regard,
the punctual payment of dues is required: one peso upon entry and then
twelve and a half centimos each month. The custodian of the funds will
periodically render an account to the members, and each member has a right
to examine the accounts, should he so wish. The funds cannot be expended
without the consent of the majority.
All this must be thought over and deliberated upon calmly, as it cannot
be accomplished or endured by anyone who has no love for his native land
and no genuine desire to promote Progress.
And for the upliftment of your mind and virtue, read the following
TEACHINGS OF THE
KATIPUNAN OF THE SONS OF THE PEOPLE
1. A life that is not dedicated to a great and sacred cause is like a tree
without a shade, or a poisonous weed.
2. A good deed lacks virtue if it springs from a desire for personal
profit and not from a sincere desire to do good.
3. True charity resides in acts of compassion, in love for one’s fellow
men, and in making true Reason the measure of every move, deed
and word.
4. Be their skin dark or pale, all men are equal. One can be superior
to another in knowledge, wealth and beauty... but not in being.
5. A person with a noble character values honor above self-interest,
while a person with an ignoble character values self-interest above
honor.
6. An honorable man’s word is his bond.
7. Don’t waste time; lost wealth may be recovered, but time lost is lost
forever.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor.
9. An intelligent man is he who takes care in everything he says and
keeps quiet about what must be kept secret.
10.Along the thorny path of life, the man leads the way and his wife
and children follow. If the leader goes the way of perdition, then so
do those who are led.
58
11.Do not regard a woman as a mere plaything, but as a helpmate and
partner in the hardships of this existence. Have due regard to her
weakness, and remember the mother who brought you into this
world and nurtured you in your infancy.
12.What you would not want done to your wife, daughter and sister, do
not do to the wife, daughter and sister of another.
13.A man’s worth does not come from him being a king, or in the
height of his nose and the whiteness of his face, or in him being a
priest, a REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD, or in his exalted position on the
face of this earth. Pure and truly noble is he who, though born in the
forest and able to speak only his own tongue, behaves decently, is
true to his word, has dignity and honor, who is not an oppressor and
does not abet oppressors, who knows how to cherish and look after
the land of his birth.
14.When these doctrines have spread and the brilliant sun of beloved
liberty shines on these poor Islands, and sheds its sweet light upon
a united race, a people in everlasting happiness, then the lives lost,
the struggle and the suffering will have been more than
recompensed.
--------------------------
If the applicant understands all this, and believes he will be able to

fulfil these duties, he should put his request in writing, as follows:
TO THE PROVINCIAL DIRECTORATE OF

_____________________________________________
I, _____________________________________________
NATIVE OF THE TOWN OF ______________________________
PROVINCE OF _________________________MY AGE
IS___________YEARS, OCCUPATION_____________________
MARITAL STATUS____________________________AND RESIDENT
AT ____________________STREET OF ________________________
Having fully understood the principles and teachings proclaimed by the

Katipunan of the Sons of the People, I wish with heart and soul to become a
member. Respectfully, therefore, I beg to be deemed worthy of admission
and to be counted as one of the sons of the association, and I pledge to
comply with its teachings and submit to its Orders.
[Sgd.]
the ____________of the month of _________________

____________________of the year 189__.
Entrance fee has been paid.
59
THE TREASURER
60
PRIMARY SOURCE 4:
Philippine Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is the document in which Filipino
revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo (later to become the
Philippines' first Republican President) proclaimed the sovereignty and
independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain after
the latter was defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-
American War. The declaration, however, was not recognized by the United
States or Spain, as the Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the
United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, in consideration for an indemnity for
Spanish expenses and assets lost.
— Excerpted from Philippine Declaration of Independence on Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia.
Prepared and written by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista in Spanish and
translated into English by Sulpicio Guevara.
ACT OF PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE

(Acta de la proclamación de la independencia del pueblo Filipino)
In the town of Cavite-Viejo, Province of Cavite, this 12th day of June 1898:
BEFORE ME, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, War Counsellor and Special

Delegate designated to proclaim and solemnize this Declaration of
Independence by the Dictatorial Government of the Philippines, pursuant to,
and by virtue of, a Decree issued by the Egregious Dictator Don Emilio
Aguinaldo y Famy,
The undersigned assemblage of military chiefs and others of the army
who could not attend, as well as the representatives of the various towns,
Taking into account the fact that the people of this country are already
tired of bearing the ominous yoke of Spanish domination,
Because of arbitrary arrests and abuses of the Civil Guards who cause
deaths in connivance with and even under the express orders of their
superior officers who at times would order the shooting of those placed under
arrest under the pretext that they attempted to escape in violation of known
Rules and Regulations, which abuses were left unpunished, and because of
unjust deportations of illustrious Filipinos, especially those decreed by
61
General Blanco at the instigation of the Archbishop and the friars interested
in keeping them in ignorance for egoistic and selfish ends, which deportations
were carried out through processes more execrable than those of the
Inquisition which every civilized nation repudiates as a trial without hearing,
Had resolved to start a revolution in August 1896 in order to regain the
independence and sovereignty of which the people had been deprived by
Spain through Governor Miguel López de Legazpi who, continuing the course
followed by his predecessor Ferdinand Magellan who landed on the shores of
Cebu and occupied said Island by means of a Pact of Friendship with Chief
Tupas, although he was killed in battle that took place in said shores to which
battle he was provoked by Chief Kalipulako of Mactan who suspected his evil
designs, landed on the Island of Bohol by entering also into a Blood Compact
with its Chief Sikatuna, with the purpose of later taking by force the Island of
Cebu, and because his successor Tupas did not allow him to occupy it, he
went to Manila, the capital, winning likewise the friendship of its Chiefs
Soliman and Lakandula, later taking possession of the city and the whole
Archipelago in the name of Spain by virtue of an order of King Philip II, and
with these historical precedents and because in international law the
prescription established by law to legalize the vicious acquisition of private
property is not recognized, the legitimacy of such revolution can not be put in
doubt which was calmed but not completely stifled by the pacification
proposed by Don Pedro A. Paterno with Don Emilio Aguinaldo as President of
the Republic established in Biak-na-Bato and accepted by Governor-General
Don Fernando Primo de Rivera under terms, both written and oral, among
them being a general amnesty for all deported and convicted persons; that
by reason of the non-fulfillment of some of the terms, after the destruction of
the Spanish Squadron by the North American Navy, and bombardment of the
plaza of Cavite, Don Emilio Aguinaldo returned in order to initiate a new
revolution and no sooner had he given the order to rise on the 31st of last
month when several towns anticipating the revolution, rose in revolt on the
28th, such that a Spanish contingent of 178 men, between Imus and Cavite-
Viejo, under the command of a major of the Marine Infantry capitulated, the
revolutionary movement spreading like wild fire to other towns of Cavite and
the other provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, and
Morong, some of them with seaports and such was the success of the victory
of our arms, truly marvelous and without equal in the history of colonial
revolutions that in the first mentioned province only the Detachments in Naic
and Indang remained to surrender; in the second, all Detachments had been
wiped out; in the third, the resistance of the Spanish forces was localized in
the town of San Fernando where the greater part of them are concentrated,
the remainder in Macabebe, Sexmoan, and Guagua; in the fourth, in the town
of Lipa; in the fifth, in the capital and in Calumpit; and in the last two
remaining provinces, only in their respective capitals, and the city of Manila
will soon be besieged by our forces as well as the provinces of Nueva Ecija,
Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Zambales, and some others in the Visayas
where the revolution at the time of the pacification and others even before,
so that the independence of our country and the revindication of our
sovereignty is assured.
And having as witness to the rectitude of our intentions the Supreme
Judge of the Universe, and under the protection of the Powerful and
62
Humanitarian Nation, the United States of America, we do hereby proclaim
and declare solemnly in the name and by authority of the people of these
Philippine Islands,
That they are and have the right to be free and independent; that they
have ceased to have any allegiance to the Crown of Spain; that all political
ties between them are and should be completely severed and annulled; and
that, like other free and independent States, they enjoy the full power to
make War and Peace, conclude commercial treaties, enter into alliances,
regulate commerce, and do all other acts and things which an Independent
State has a right to do,
And imbued with firm confidence in Divine Providence, we hereby
mutually bind ourselves to support this Declaration with our lives, our
fortunes, and with our most sacred possession, our Honor.
We recognize, approve, and ratify, with all the orders emanating from
the same, the Dictatorship established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo whom we
revere as the Supreme Head of this Nation, which today begins to have a life
of its own, in the conviction that he has been the instrument chosen by God,
in spite of his humble origin, to effectuate the redemption of this unfortunate
country as foretold by Dr. Don José Rizal in his magnificent verses which he
composed in his prison cell prior to his execution, liberating it from the Yoke
of Spanish domination,
And in punishment for the impunity with which the Government
sanctioned the commission of abuses by its officials, and for the unjust
execution of Rizal and others who were sacrificed in order to please the
insatiable friars in their hydropical thirst for vengeance against and
extermination of all those who oppose their Machiavellian ends, trampling
upon the Penal Code of these Islands, and of those suspected persons
arrested by the Chiefs of Detachments at the instigation of the friars, without
any form nor semblance of trial and without any spiritual aid of our sacred
Religion; and likewise, and for the same ends, eminent Filipino priests, Doctor
Don Jose Burgos, Don Mariano Gomez, and Don Jacinto Zamora were hanged
whose innocent blood was shed due to the intrigues of these so-called
Religious corporations which made the authorities to believe that the military
uprising at the fort of San Felipe in Cavite on the night of January 21, 1872
was instigated by those Filipino martyrs, thereby impeding the execution of
the decree-sentence issued by the Council of State in the appeal in the
administrative case interposed by the secular clergy against the Royal Orders
that directed that the parishes under them within the jurisdiction of this
Bishopric be turned over to the Recollects in exchange for those controlled by
them in Mindanao which were to be transferred to the Jesuits, thus revoking
them completely and ordering the return of those parishes, all of which
proceedings are on file with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to which they are
sent last month of last year for the issuance of the proper Royal Degree
which, in turn, caused the growth of the tree of liberty in this our dear land
that grew more and more through the iniquitous measures of oppression,
until the last drop from our chalice of suffering having been drained, the first
spark of revolution broke out in Caloocan, spread out to Santamesa and
continued its course to the adjoining regions of the province where the
unequalled heroism of its inhabitants fought a onesided battle against
superior forces of General Blanco and General Polavieja for a period of three
63
months, without proper arms nor ammunitions, except bolos, pointed
bamboos, and arrows.
Moreover, we confer upon our famous Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo
all the powers necessary to enable him to discharge the duties of
Government, including the prerogatives of granting pardon and amnesty,
And, lastly, it was resolved unanimously that this Nation, already free
and independent as of this day, must use the same flag which up to now is
being used, whose design and colors are found described in the attached
drawing, the white triangle signifying the distinctive emblem of the famous
Society of the "Katipunan" which by means of its blood compact inspired the
masses to rise in revolution; the three stars, signifying the three principal
Islands of this Archipelago-Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay where this
revolutionary movement started; the sun representing the gigantic steps
made by the sons of the country along the path of Progress and Civilization;
the eight rays, signifying the eight provinces-Manila, Cavite, Bulacan,
Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas - which declared
themselves in a state of war as soon as the first revolt was initiated; and the
colors of Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the United States
of North America, as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this
Great Nation for its disinterested protection which it lent us and continues
lending us.
And holding up this flag of ours, I present it to the gentlemen here
assembled:
The Philippine Declaration of Independence

Don Segundo Don Fernando Don Ciriaco
Arellano Canon Bausa
Don Tiburcio Faustino Don Manuel
del Rosario Don Anastacio Santos
Don Sergio Pinzun Don Mariano
Matias Don Timoteo Toribio
Don Agapito Bernabe Don Gabriel
Zialcita Don Flaviano Reyes
Don Flaviano Rodríguez Don Hugo Lim
Alonzo Don Gavino Don Emiliano
Don Mariano Masancay Lim
Legazpi Don Narciso Don Fausto
Don José Mayuga Tinorio
Turiano Don Gregorio Don Rosendo
Santiago y Villa Simón
Acosta Don Luis Pérez Don Leon
Don Aurelio Tagle Tanjanque
Tolentino Don Canuto Don Gregorio
Don Felix Celestino Bonifacio
Ferrer Don Marcos Don Manuel
Don Felipe Jocson Salafranca
Buencamino Don Martin de Don Simon
los Reyes Villareal
64
Don Calixto Don Ramon Don Carlos Tria
Lara Delfino Tirona
Don Don Honorio Don Sulpicio P.
Buenaventura Tiongco Antony
Toribio Don Francisco Don Epitacio
Don Zacarias del Rosario Asunción
Fajardo Don Epifanio Don Catalino
Don Florencio Saguil Ramon
Manalo Don Ladislao Don Juan
Don Ramon Afable José Bordador
Gana Don Sixto
Don Marcelino Roldan Don José del
Gómez Don Luis de Rosario
Don Valentin Lara Don Proceso
Polintan Don Marcelo Pulido
Don Felix Basa Don José María
Polintan Don José del Rosario
Don Evaristo Medina Don Ramón
Dimalanta Don Epifanio Magcamco
Don Gregorio Crisia Don Antonio
Álvarez Don Pastor Calingo
Don Sabas de López de León Don Pedro
Guzmán Don Mariano Mendiola
Don Esteban de los Santos Don Estanislao
Francisco Don Santiago Calingo
Don Guido García Don
Yaptinchay Don Claudio Numeriano
Don Mariano Tria Tirona Castillo
Rianzares Don Estanislao Don Federico
Bautista Tria Tirona Tomacruz
Don Francisco Don Daniel Tria Don Teodoro
Arambulo Tirona Yatco
Don Antonio Don Andrés Don Ladislao
Gonzales Tria Tirona Diwa,
Don Juan
Arevalo
Who solemnly swear to recognize and defend it unto the last drop of
their blood.:
In witness thereof, I certify that this Act of Declaration of Independence

was signed by me and by all those here assembled including the only
stranger who attended those proceedings, a citizen of the U.S.A., Mr. L. M.
Johnson, a Colonel of Artillery.
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista

War Counselor and Special Delegate-Designate
65
The actual copy of The Declaration of Philippine Independence in Spanish
66
Primary Source 5:
HENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO: MGA GUNITA NG

HIMAGSIKAN
PAGHIRANG SA SUPREMO BILANG HARI
DAKILANG PARANGAL SA PAGDATING NG SUPREMO
"Nang matapos ang masayang pagpapaalaman, ang Supremo at mga
kasamahan, ay sumama na sa Pamunuan ng Magdiwang. Gayon na lamang
ang karingalan at kasayahang naghari sa pagsalubong na
ginawa ng mga bayang kanilang pinagdaanan. Sa hanay na
may siyam na kilometro ang haba, mula sa Noveleta,
hanggang sa San Francisco Malabon, ang lahat halos ng mga
bahay ay may mga palamuting balantok na kawayang
kinaskas at pinalamutihan ng sari-saring watawat, tanda ng
maringal na pagsalubong at maligayang bati sa dakilang
panauhin.
Isang kilometro pa lamang ang agwat bago dumating sa
kabayanan ng San Francisco de Malabon, ang Supremo
Andres Bonifacio, sinalubong agad ng isang banda ng
musika at nang nasa pintuan na ng simbahan at nirupiki ng
gayon na lamang ang kampana.
Ang malalaking aranya at dambana sa loob ng simbahan ay pawang may
sindi ng ilaw. At ang kurang Tagalog na si Padre Manuel Trias, saka ang
"Pallo," ay naghihintay naman sa mga panauhin sa pintuan ng simbahan, at
pagkatapos ay kumanta ng Te Deum, hanggang sa dambana na kaakbay ang
mga panauhin. Pagkatapos ng ganyang parangal sila'y itinuloy sa bahay ni
Binibining Estefania Potente.
Kinabukasan naman, ang Gabinete ng Pamahalaang Magdiwang, ang
gumanap ng kanilang malaon nang inihandang pagpaparangal sa
pamamagitan ng isang kapasiyahan na pagkalooban ang dakilang panauhin,
Supremo Andres Bonifacio, ng pinakamataas na tungkulin sa taguring
HARING BAYAN. Sa ganito'y lubusan nang mabubuo ang pamunuan ng
nasabing Sanggunian na dati-rati'y wala ng tungkuling ito at pansamantala
lamang nanunungkulan sa pagka Vi Rey, si Heneral Mariano Alvarez.
Ang buong Pamunuan ng kanilang Sanggunian, ay magagarang kasuotan
kung nangagpupulong. Simula sa HARING BAYAN, hanggang sa kahuli-
hulihang Ministro at Capitan General, ay may mga bandang pulang ginintuan
nakasakbat sa kani-kanilang balikat. Kung minsan sa kanilang paglalakad, ay
nakasuot pa rin ang nasabing banda upang makilala ang kanilang katayuan
marahil.
Lubhang masaya sila parati, palibhasa'y ang labing-dalawang bayan na
kanilang nasasakupan ay di naliligalig sa anumang laban. Sila'y naliliskub
67
halos ay nanga sa likuran ng mga bayang maliligalig tuwina ng Pamahalaang
Magdalo.
Nang matapos ang ilang araw na parangal sa Supremo at mga kasama,
dinalaw nilang lahat ang labing-dalawang bayang nasasakupan nila bilang
paghahanda sa gagawing pagpipisan ng dalawang Sangguniang Magdiwang
at Magdalo. Nangagtalumpati sila at anangaral ng pagka-makabayan at iba
pang makagising-damdaming pangungusap ukol sa kalayaan. Sabihin pa, ang
galak ng mga taong bayan, kaya't gayon na lamang karingal ang pagtanggap
sa kanila at para bang isang HARING BAYAN nga ang dumating. Ang mga
daan ay pawang binalantukan, may banda ng musika at panay ang hiyawan
ng "Viva Tagalog," magkabi-kabila. Ang mga kampana'y halos mabasag sa
pagrurupiki sa mga simbahan niyang pinatutunguhan, may mga dapit pa ng
cereales at awit ng Te Deum.
Sa kabilang dako naman, sa gitna ng gayong di magkamayaw na kasayahan
at paghdiriwang, ang walong bayang nasa Pamahalaan ng Magdalo. ay laging
nagigimbal araw at gabi ng paghanap sa kalaban sa mga hanay ng Zapote,
Almanza, San Nicolas, Bakood, Arumahan, Pintong Bato, at Molino sa bayan
ng Bakoof, at kasakit-sakit sabihin na sa masamang pagkakataon, ang mga
kalaban ay nakalusot tuloy nang di napapansin sa kabilang ilog ng Zapote,
dahil sa puyat at pagod ng ating mga kawal.
Gayon man ang matatapang nating sandatahan sa ilalim ng mando ni
Heneral Mariano Noriel at Heneral Pio del Pilar, ay agad-agad dinaluhong ang
mga kalaban, kaya't putukan at tagaang katakut-takot ang naghari
pagkatapos. Sa wakas, muli na namang nagtagumpay ang ating mga kawal,
at ang Ilog Zapote ay muling namula sa dugo ng mga kalaban. Ganyan nang
ganyan ang nangyayari parati sa buong hanay ng aming labanan."
HALALAN SA KAPULUNGAN NG TEJEROS

PAGPIPISAN NG SANGGUNIANG MAGDIWANG AT MAGDALO
"Hindi ko pa nasasagot ang kanilang
pakay sa akin, agad-agad ay isinalaysay
sa akin ang mga sumusunod na
pangyayari sa halalan:
a pagkatapos mabuksan ang
kapulungang pambansa ng
Manghihimagsik na pinangunguluhan ng
Haring Bayan, Andres Bonifacio ay
isinunod agad ang paghirang at paghalal ukol sa Kataas-taasang Puno na
mangungulo sa ganitong pag-iisa.
Dalawa lamang kandidato ang napaharap, at ito'y ang Supremo Andres
Bonifacio at si Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo. Pagkatapos ng halalan ay lumabas
68
noon din at ipinasiya ng Kapulungan sa pamamagitan ng Supremo Andres
Bonifacio, na si Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo, ang siyang pinagkaisahan at
pinagbotohang maging Kataas-taasang Puno o taga-Pangulo ng
Manghihimagsik.
Nagtaka sila diumano kung paano nangyari, na ang Supremo Andres
Bonifacio na siyang nagpahanda ng nasabing pag-iisa at siya pang pangulo
sa nasabing pulong, ay kung bakit ako ang inihalal ng karamihan laban sa
Supremo Andres Bonifacio.
Isinunod ang tungkuling Vice-Presidente. Ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio, ay
muling ikinandidato, subalit tinalo siya ng kanya ring Ministro de Gracia y
Justicia, na si Heneral Mariano Trias, at noon din ay ginawa ang
proklamasyon.
Isinunod ang tungkuling Kapitan Heneral, ay nagtunggali naman ang dating
Kapitan Santiago Alvarez, anak ni Virey Mariano Alvarez, at si Heneral
Artemio Ricarte, isang Ilocano. Bagama't tumutol si Heneral A. Ricarte sa
pagkakahalal sa kanya, dahil diumano sa kawalan niya ng kaya sa gayong
tungkulin, ay iniurong din niya pagkatapos nang hindi tanggapin ng mesa.
Isinunod dito ang proklamasyon sa kanya.
Sa paka-Secretario de Guerra, ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio ay muli na
namang ikinandidato, at ang nakatunggali niya ay si Heneral Emiliano Riego
de Dios, na kanya ring Ministro de Fomento sa Sangguniang Magdiwang.
Natalo na naman ang Supremo, at ito ang ikatlong pagkagapi niya sa halalan.
Sa pagka-Secretario de Interior, ay muli na namang ipinasok na kandidato
ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio at ang kanyang kalaban ay ang dalawa niyang
Ministro sa Magdiwang na sina Ginoong Severino de las Alas at Ginoong
Diego Mojica. Sa halalang ito'y nagtagumpay ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio,
at kagaya ng kaugalian ay ipinasiya na siya ang nahalal at dahil dito ay binati
sa kanyang tagumpay.
Subali't pagkatapos na pagkatapos na maipasiya ng Asamblea ang kanyang
tagumpay ay biglang tumindig at sumalungat sa pagkahalal sa kanya si
Heneral Daniel Tirona, at sinabing; "Hindi nababagay sa Supremo Andres
Bonifacio, ang tungkuling nasabi, pagka't hindi siya abogado, at ang bagay
rito'y ang Abogado Jose del Rosario, na taga Tanza."
Dito nagmula ang gulo ng Kapulungan, subalit wala namang sinumang
pumangalawa kay Heneral Tirona, kaya't wala ring kabuluhan ang nasabing
pagtutol. Gayon man, sa sama yata ng loob ng Supremo kay Heneral Daniel
Tirona, ay agad-agad siyang tumindig at sinabi ang ganito: "Hindi baga bago
tayo nagpulong ay pinagkaisahan natin na sinuman ang lumabas o mahalal
sa Kapulungang ito, ay ating susundin at igagalang ng lahat?"
"Opo" - ang hiyawan ng madla.
69
"Kung gayon" - patuloy niya, "Bakit nang ako ang napahalal ay may
tumututol?
"Wala pong pumangalawa sa tutol."
At sa di mapigil na sama ng loob ng Supremo, ay agad binunot ang kanyang
rebolber at anyong papuputukan si Heneral Daniel Tirona, sa gitna ng di
magkamayaw na gulong naghari. Salamat na lamang at napigil ni G. Jacinto
Lumbreras at ni Heneral Artemio Ricarte, ang masamang tangka ng Supremo.
Si Heneral Tirona naman ay maliksing nakapagtago at nagsuut-suot sa
kakapalan ng mga Asemblesista kaya hindi natuloy ang pagtudla sa kanya.
Palibhasa'y hindi yata mapigilan ng Supremo ang sama ng loob, bakit
maikatlo pang natalo sa halalan, bagama't napayapa ang gusot at tahimik na
ang lahat, pagdaka'y tumindig siya at sinabi sa kapulungan ang ganito:
"Ako sa aking pagka-Pangulo nitong Kapulungang Pambansa ng mga
Manghihimagsik, ay pinawawalan ko ng kabuluhan ang halalang dito'y
naganap." Saka pagdaka'y umalis at nilisan ang kapulungan at umuwi sa
Malabon.
Sa ganyang pangyayari, ay naligalig sandali ang kapulungan, ngunit biglang
tumahimik nang ang delegado ng lalawigang Batangas, na si Koronel
Santiago Rillo, na kumakatawan sa may 2,000 manghihimagsik, ay nagtindig
at isinigaw sa Supremo na huwag siyang umalis, pagka't proklamado na siya
sa pagka-Secretario de Interior, bukod sa ang mungkahi ni Heneral D. Tirona,
laban sa kanya ay wala sa orden, pagka't walang sinumang pumangalawa, at
dahil dito'y walang anumang bisa. Gayon man ay di nangyaring napigilan ang
Supremo at patuloy nang umalis nang walang paalam.
Dahil sa kaguluhang nangyari, at sapagka't hindi napigilan ang Supremo, sa
kaniyang pasiya na lisanin ang kapulungan, si Santiago Rillo, delegado ng
Batangas, ay tumayo at nagtanong sa madla kung sang-ayon silang
ipagpatuloy ang kapulungan, at kung pahihintulutan nilang siya na ang
mangulo. Sa ganitong katanungan ay parang iisang taong sumagot ang lahat
ng "Opo."
Sa ganyang kapasiyahan, ay ipinagpatuloy ang Kapulungan at wala namang
iba pang pinag-usapan maliban sa kilalanin o pagtibayin ang tanang mga
naihalal na saka humirang ng isang "Comission" upang ipabatid kay Heneral
Emilio Aguinaldo, ang pagka-hirang sa kanya ng Kapulungan ng
Manghihimagsik na maging Kataas-taasang Puno ng Himagsikan, tuloy
kaunin siya sa madaling panahon upang makapanumpa sa tungkuling
iniaatang sa kanya ng bayang nanghihimagsik.
Pagkatapos nito, ay pinigil munang pansamantala ang pulong, samantalang
hinihintay nang buong kasabikan ang pagdating ng nahalal na puno ng
himagsikan, si Heneral Aguinaldo."
70
Primary Document 6:
Document 608
Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood

(Document 608)
(Approved by the Commission on Independence on
November 17, 1926)
More than a quarter of a century has elapsed since the Philippines
came under the American flag – an emblem of freedom, not of subjugation; a
symbol of altruism, not of selfishness or greed. American sovereignty was
implanted in our country with the avowed purpose of training us in the art of
self-government and granting us independence. Our good, not her gain, was
to be America’s aim. Our country was committed to her in trust to be
conserved and developed for the benefit of our people. Believing in the
sincerity of America’s purpose, the Filipinos applied themselves with patient
diligence to the task of meeting the conditions exacted of them, anxiously
awaiting the day when America would honor her promise.
The first twenty years of civil government were marked by mutual
understanding and loyal cooperation between American and Filipinos. At the
end of that period, when it seemed that the goal had finally been reached,
after the President of the United States had advised the Congress that the
time had come for America to fulfill their sacred pledge, Major-General
Leonard Wood was sent to the Philippines as Governor-General. Congnizant of
the part taken by General Wood in the liberation of Cuba, the Filipino people
expected that under his administration the spirit of cooperation would be
maintained and that the work of political emancipation would be complete.
Contrary, however, to our expectations, his conduct of the government has
been characterized by a train of usurpations and arbitrary acts, resulting in
the curtailment of our autonomy, the destruction of our constitutional
system, and the reversal of America’s Philippine policy.
This line of conduct recently culminated in the issuance of Executive
Order No. 37, by which he has attempted to nullify laws creating the Board of
Control and assumed the functions of that body. The gravity of this last step
is the more evident when we recall the series of usurpations theretofore
committed by him.
He has refused his assent to laws which were the most wholesome &
necessary heads of department.
He has set at naught both the legal authority and responsibility for the
Philippine heads of departments.
71
He has substituted his constitutional advisers for a group of military
attaches without legal standing in the government and not responsible to the
people.
He has reversed the policy of Filipinizing the service of the government
by appointing Americans even when Filipinos of proven capacity were
available.
He has obstructed the carrying out of national economic policies duty
adopted by the Legislature, merely because they are in conflict with his
personal views.
He has rendered merely perfunctory the power of the Legislature to
pass the annual appropriation law by reviving items in the law of the
preceding year, after vetoing the corresponding items of the current
appropriation act, in the flagrant violation for Organic Law.
He has made appointments to positions and authorized the payment of
salaries therefor after having vetoed the appropriations of such salaries.
He has used certain public funds to grant additional compensation to
public officials in clear violation law.
He has arrogated unto himself the right of exercising the powers
granted by law to the Emergency Board after abolishing said board on the
ground that its powers involved an unlawful delegation of legislative
authority.
He has unduly interfered in the administration of justice.
He has refused to obtain the advice of the Senate in making
appointments where such advice is required by the Organic Act.
He has refused to submit the Senate appointment for vacancies
occurring during the recess of the Legislature in contravention of the Organic
Act.
He has continued in office nominees whose appointments had been
rejected by the Senate.
He has usurped legislative powers by imposing conditions on
legislative measures approved by him.
He has, in the administration of affairs in Mindanao, brought about a
condition which has given rise to discord and dissension between certain
groups of Christian and Mohammedan Filipinos.
He has by his policies created strained relations between resident
Americans and Filipinos.
72
He has endeavored, on the pretext of getting the government out of
business, to dispose of all the companies capitalized by the government
worth many millions of the people's money to powerful America interests.
He has sanctioned the campaign of insidious propaganda in the United
States against Filipino people and their aspirations.
He has attempted to close the Philippine National Bank so necessary to
the economic development of the country.
He has adopted the practice of intervening in, and controlling directly,
to its minute details, the affairs of the Philippine Government both insular and
local, in violation of self-government.
He has insistently sought the amendment of our laws approved by the
Congress of the United Stated, which amendment would open up the
resources of our country to exploitation by predatory interests.
Not content with these and other arbitrary acts, the Governor-General
has recently promulgated Executive Order No. 37, declaring that the laws
creating and defining the powers of the Board of Control which is authorized
to vote the stocks owned by the government in certain private corporations,
are absolute nullities. In the same order the Governor-General also
announced his purpose to exercise solely and by himself the powers and
duties developingupon said board. This executive order is purported to be
based on an opinion rendered by the Judge Advocate General of the United
States Army and the confirmatory opinion of the Acting Advocate General on
November 7. Despite this fact, he has found it convenient to withhold the
publication of his order until November 10, a few hours after the Legislature
had adjourned, thus depriving the Legislature of the opportunity to consider
the matter.
The laws creating and defining the powers of the Board of Control have
been in force and acted upon by the present Governor-General and other
officers of the government for a number of years, and they have neither been
repealed by the Legislature, annulled by Congress, nor declaed
unconstitutional by the courts. To hold that the Governor-General by a mere
executive order can set them aside, is to subvert the whole system of
constitutional government and destroy the theory of separation of powers
which the Gvernor-General has always been so intent in upholding.
In the face of this critical situation, we, the constitutional
representatives of the Filipino people, met to deliberate upon the present
difficulties existing in the Government of the Philippine Islands and to
determine how best to preserve the supremacy and majesty of the laws and
to safeguard the right and liberties of our people, having faith in the sense of
justice of the people of the United States and inspired by her patriotic
example in the early days of her history, do hereby, in our behalf and in the
73
name of the Filipino people, solemnly and publicly make known our most
vigorous protest against the arbitrary acts and usurpations of the present
Governor-Generalof the Philippine Islands, particularly against Executive
Order No. 37.
The consciousness of our sacred and inescapable duty to our country
and our sense of loyalty to the people of the United States constrain us to
denounce the foregoing acts of the present Governor-General as arbitray,
oppressive and undemocratic. We appeal to the judgement and conscience of
the American People in justification of our stand and for the vindication of our
rigts.
********
Source:
Zaide, Gregorio F. (1990), Documentary Sources of Philippine History.
Volume II, Navotas, National Bookstore Inc.
74
Primary Document 7:
According to Thomas Knieper (2019) political cartoon is a
drawing (often including caricature) made for the purpose of conveying
editorial commentary on politics, politicians, and current events. Such
cartoons play a role in the political discourse of a society that provides
for freedom of speech and of the press. Philippine political cartoons
gained full expression during the American era. Filipino artists recorded
national attitudes toward the coming of the Americans as well as the
changing mores and times. While the 377 cartoons compiled in this
book speak for themselves, historian Alfred McCoy’s extensive
research in Philippine and American archives provides a
comprehensive background not only to the cartoons but to the
turbulent period as well.
Alfred McCoy, Political Caricatures of the American

Era (Editorial cartoons)
THE PHILIPPINE ASSEMBLY PASSED
a law authorizing all legislators, active or
retired, to bear firearm. The Manila press
was outraged, but the legislators ignored
the opposition and promulgated the law
over the screams of protest.
It its mocking editorial of February
192, the Free Press commented: “Now,
our legislators and officials able to strut
around with a gun or two guns strapped
about their manly waists, they will have
to be respected. Now there will be no
question as to who is running this show,
no affront to their personal dignity, no danger of being treated just like
ordinary people…
“It matters not that of late the director of Constabulary has been
urging greater and greater restrictions of the license to carry arms… All that
matters… is that the official have a chance to show that he is somebody and
must be respected.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AS DEMOBILIZED AMERICAN SOLDIERS filled the insular civil service

and American coporations won the major development projects, Filipino
nationalists saw themselves becoming economic aliens in their own land.
Once the opening of the Philippine Assembly in 1907 guaranteed them a
political voice, Filipino nationalists became increasingly concerned with
economic issues.
75
Two of the most visible American corporations during the first decade
of U.U. rule were Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Company and the Manila Electric
Road and Railway and ight Company (Meralco). A leading U.S. civil
engineering firm established in the 1880s, AG & P had won lucrative
contracts in constructionof an entire new port for Manila, the U.S. navy
coaling station at Sangley Point and a marine railway of the Philippine Coast
Guard. The Manila port contract, already completed by 1908, was avast projet
requiring dredging of a deep water harbor to 10 meters, laying 3.5
kilometers of breakwaters, filling 106 hectares of foreshore, and building two
covered steel piers 197 meters long and 21 meters wide. At a cost of $4.5
million the port project was equivalent to one-third of thotal insular
government revenues of $12 million for 1905. 5 Since all revenues came from
Filipino taxpayers, nationalists were outraged at seeing Filipinos barred from
any significant participation in the development of their own cuntry’s
infrastructure.
Shown here as E.R.R. & L. Co.,
Meralco was Manila’s major public utility
and the largest American investment in the
Philippines. In 1902 the Philippine
Commission awarded a contract for
Manila’s electrical generation and light rail
transport to Charles M. Swift, a prominent
investor with interests in Detroit’s public
utilities. After a major construction
program, awarded to American
contractors, Manila’s electrical street
tramway opened in April 1905, and its grid
was largely complete by 1907.
Nationalists were correctly concerned about allowing such a basic
public service remain in American hands. Meralco’s contract guaranteed it a
50 year monopoly with the right to fix it own power and transport rates for 25
years. The company charged the highest rail fares in Asia and forced most of
the city’s working class to walk to work. In its 1905 report the Philippine
Commission admitted that Meralco’s five centavo fares meant that “the
greater part of those who live in the overcrowded districts are unable to
patronize the cars.”6
Under the circumstances, the cartoon’s image of Meralco (E.R.R. & L.
Co.) dragging Juan de la Cruz along bythe neck as he vomits pesos from his
emaciated frame is no overstatement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
76
BUILT ON A SWAMP and ringed
with streams and ponds, Manila is a
natural breeding ground for malarial
mosquitos. During the 19th century,
Spanish public health procdures were
grossly inadequate to the imperatives
of Manila’s site, and the Americans
found the city a cesspool of ill health
when they occupied it in 1898.
With their experience in
tropical health gained in the
Carribean, Americans made major
advances in epidemic disease control
during the first decade of their rule.
Through an arbitrary application of
publich health regulations, the Board
of Health brought tropical disease-malaria, small pox, cholera and plague –
under control. During the cholera epidemic of 1902-04, for example, 4,386
people died in Manila, a mild toll compared to previous outbreaks in the 19 th
century. Subsequent outbreaks in 1905-06 were contained and by 1911 the
diseases had been eradicated.
During the same period, construction of sewers and sanitary
waterworks combined with an activist public health program made the
conquest of malaria in Manila a colonial success story. The Board of Health
distributed millions of doses of quinine and eliminated mosquito breeding
grounds by filling up the standing water holes, such as the moats around
intramuros, or spraying them with petroleum. Houses near swampy sites
were relocated and the low ground filled.
By 1920, however, the Board of Health was resting on its laurels and
the quality of mosquito control was slipping dangerously. Under Governor-
General B. Harrison’s “Filipinization” program, the Board of Health had been
turned over to Filipinos civil servants who did not administer the public health
programs with the same efficiency or arbitrary authority. With bitter irony, the
Philippine Free Press editorial commented:
“What ho! Manila, thePearl of the Orient, the best governed city in the
Far East… the new found Garde of Eden… What’s happened to this city
anyway? Aforetime a mosquito was almost a rare as the dodo… But now
there are mosquitos everywhere. Their name is legion. Vampires they are,
turning our former delectable and ambrosial nights into hells of torment and
nightmares of unrest. What’s going to be done about it? How loing is our
municipal board going to emulate Rip Van Winkle…?”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHEN FILIPINOS BEGAN WINNING
civil service appointments afte1913
,they found them selves facing serious
discrimination in both wages and
positions. After his appointment in 1913
, the liberal Governor-General Francis B.
Harrison reversed the pro-american
77
hiring policies of the Taft era ( 1900-12 ) and began the “Filipinazation” of the
civil service.
Since the Bureau of Education was the colony’slargets public employer,
most Filipinos were hired as school teachers. Although their qualifications
were now equal or better than those of the old American teachers , the
Filipinos confronted an institutional racism which give them lower wages,
larger classroom and fewer privileges.
Recalling his initial appointment as a teacher in 1910, senator Camillo
Oasis could not conceal his bitterness even half a century later : “after
month and a half I received… my first monthly checkof ninety pesos (₱90.00).
I thought that was low pay; ₱ 1,080.00 a year , after graduating from
Columbia University and qualifying in a high civil service examination . it was
not very pleasant to receive only ₱ 1,080.00 when americans who were only
Normal Graduates …. Were paid ₱ 4,000 a year…. I did not complain about
the discrimination. I contented myself with the thought that I was serving my
people…’’
There were other forms of discrimination as well, with their seniority,
americans tended to teach in elite secondary school in cities , while Filipinos
were assigned to crowded primary schools in remote villages . In 1916, for
example americans comprised only nine percent of all primary teachers but
76 percent of secondary teachers . all American taechers has a free summer
holiday at the Baguio Teachers Camp where, in the worda of Dean C.
Worcester , they “forget their troubles… in healthful athletic sports , listen to
inspiring …. Discourses, and above all else benefit by open-air life in a
temperate region” Filipino teachers were left to sweat it out in the lowlands..
American worker/ Filipino worker (below) refers not to a ten-fold
defference in filipino and American manual wages within the colony , but to a
more fundamental inequality – the difference in wages and working
conditions between the two centuries . while a stevedore on the San
Francisco docks earned $5.00 a day. (₱10.00) for easy mechanized labor, the
Filipino earned only ₱1.00 for hauling sacks by hand under manila’s tropical
sand.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS CARTOON DEPICTS THE

FIRST of manila’s periodic police
scandals. In 1917, a mysterios
informant named Pedro Chua wrote the
Philippines Free Press alleging that
senior police were accepting bribes
from chinese gambling houses in
Binondo and Quiapo districts.
Demonstrating the power of manila’s
leading weekly newspapers, publication
of Chua’s lettersparked allegations that
led eventually to “ the suicide of the police chief” aftera series os sensational
charges and counter-charges, the Free Press finally withdraw its initial
allegations.
78
Despite the Free Press retreat, Vicente Sotto’s Independent insisted,in
this editorial cartoon , that Chua’s charges were accurate . such allegations of
policyeare corruption in gambling law enforcement were a constant theme in
cartoons throughout the americanperiod. Several times a year, cartoon’s
showed Manila police protecting gambling club’s patronized by Filipino
politicians, taking bribes from chineses clubs or failing to break up the city’a
criminal gangs.
The cartoonist , Fernando Amorsolo , gives the illustration his usual
racist edge. While the Filipino policemanis shown with normal features , the
chinese are caricatured as amaciated, leering creatures more rodent than
human. Although amorsolowas more extreme than most, cartoonist aften
showed chinese corruptors or opium smuggles in a similarly racist manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHEN MANILA EMERGED AS the
national center for university education
during the 1920’s the annual March ritual
of the city- wise student returning home to
his village was palyed out in barrios across
the archipelago, although graduation and a
tertiary degree allowed a villager to leave
the barrio for a city civil service post, while
still a student he had to return to the
village for summer holidays. Having
survived the shocked of transition from
country to city , he could now return home, urbane and nartly dressed, to
reap the reward of admiration and envy.
The Free Press description of this annual ritual in 1929 capture
something of its flavor ; “ These are the days of the returning student – the
days when he comes into his own. Behold him as he struts along Main Street
of his little town called barrio, the cynosure of all eyes, the observed of all
observers , a king on his own right, a sort of colligiate Caesar. The arbiter
elegantiarum, also, he is. Does he not come from the great city, with all the
latest there is in dress and fashion?his clothes are studied , his shoes are
studied, his hat and how he wears it, everything about him becomes the
object of emulation and envy. Even his manner of walking,of carrying himself,
are studied and aped.
“It is any wonder that , under the encense of such flattery, he feels
himself a superior being , a conquering hero? Nor let us blame him. For after
all the student , like the rest of us, is human, and all of us expand in an
atmosphere of homage and hero-worship. Nor do student days and these
joyful homecomings last for ever. All too soon comes the stern battle of life
with its trials and sorrows and tribulations .so, carpe diem, and be joyful while
we may.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
79
IN 1926 THE FUTURE OF Mindanao
become one of the key issues in Philippine-
american relations. After 20 years of ect U.S
Military and civil rule , the department of
Mindanao and sulu had been placed under
direct Filipino administration through the
Department of Interior. When the inevitable
conflicts of adjustments ensued between
muslims and Christians, americans
imperialists exploited the tensions advocate
partition of the Philippines and a permanent
American protectore for Mindanao. The
cartoon caption summarized the nationalist view- How the Imperialists
Provoking and Pitting Us Against Each Other. Muslims leaders
complained bitterly to the wood-forbes legislative mission of 1921 about
Christian filipino officials. That same year 57 prominent Muslim leaders
mentioned for annexation by the United States.
In January 1926, as the crisis was coming to a boil,the President’s
nephew, Nicholas Roosevelt, visited Minanao and was met by delegations of
Muslim datus beseeching him intercede for the return of the American rule.
He recalled his adversation in Cotabato with an aging Datu Piang, who stoutly
opposed independence:
“[He] told me to tell the American people that if we turned the
Philippines over to theManila politicians the Moros would drive every Filipino
in Mindanao into the sea.”
Responding to the Muslim demands , imperialst forces in the U.S
Congress introduced the Bacon Bill in May 1926 granting independence to
Luzon and the Visayas but retaining Mindanao under American colonial rule,
Moreover, these Congressmen read into the record a 1924 Muslim petition
which asked that “ in the event that the United States grants independence
to the Philippine islands without provision for our retention and resolve to
declare ourselves an independent constitutional sultanate known to the world
as the Moro nations.”
Nationalist like The Independent’s Vicente Sotto were outraged at this
attempt at imperialist subterfuge . although the cartoon and its view were in
part correct, it ignored the very real problem of Christian-Muslim conflict.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THESE CARTOON PUBLISHED in 1928 show Juan de la Cruz as a beast

of burden bearing a crushing load of taxes and jobholders. As freh graduates
had poured foth rom Manila’s universities, politicians had increased te civil
service list and patronage rolls to absorb them, creating a new social class.
80
The Free Press cartoon echoes the recent remarks of Bikol Senator
Jose O. Vera.
“What a load poor Juan is carrying ! is it any wonder that is legs are
wobbling and that he feels he will simply collapse if many more job holders
clamber aboard and get a free ride through life along the road of prosperity at
his expense….
Primary Source 8:
Speech
of
Her Excellency Corazon C. Aquino
President of the Philippines
During the Joint Session of the United States
Congress
81
[Delivered at Washington, D.C., on September 18, 1986]
Mr. Speaker, Senator Thurmond, Distinguished members of
Congress.
Three years ago, I left America in grief to bury my
husband, Ninoy Aquino. I thought I had left it also to lay
to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom. Today, I
have returned as the president of a free people.
In burying Ninoy, a whole nation honored him. By that
brave and selfless act of giving honor, a nation in
shame recovered its own. A country that had lost faith
in its future found it in a faithless and brazen act of
murder. So in giving, we receive, in losing we find, and out of defeat, we
snatched our victory.
For the nation, Ninoy became the pleasing sacrifice that answered their
prayers for freedom. For myself and our children, Ninoy was a loving husband
and father. His loss, three times in our lives, was always a deep and painful
one.
Fourteen years ago this month was the first time we lost him. A president-
turned-dictator, and traitor to his oath, suspended the Constitution and shut
down the Congress that was much like this one before which I am honored to
speak. He detained my husband along with thousands of others – senators,
publishers and anyone who had spoken up for the democracy as its end drew
near. But for Ninoy, a long and cruel ordeal was reserved. The dictator
already knew that Ninoy was not a body merely to be imprisoned but a spirit
he must break. For even as the dictatorship demolished one by one the
institutions of democracy – the press, the Congress, the independence of the
judiciary, the protection of the Bill of Rights – Ninoy kept their spirit alive in
himself.
The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked
him up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They
stripped him naked and held the threat of sudden midnight execution over his
head. Ninoy held up manfully–all of it. I barely did as well. For 43 days, the
authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was the first
time my children and I felt we had lost him.
When that didn’t work, they put him on trial for subversion, murder and a
host of other crimes before a military commission. Ninoy challenged its
authority and went on a fast. If he survived it, then, he felt, God intended him
for another fate. We had lost him again. For nothing would hold him back
from his determination to see his fast through to the end. He stopped only
when it dawned on him that the government would keep his body alive after
the fast had destroyed his brain. And so, with barely any life in his body, he
82
called off the fast on the fortieth day. God meant him for other things, he felt.
He did not know that an early death would still be his fate, that only the
timing was wrong.
At any time during his long ordeal, Ninoy could have made a separate peace
with the dictatorship, as so many of his countrymen had done. But the spirit
of democracy that inheres in our race and animates this chamber could not
be allowed to die. He held out, in the loneliness of his cell and the frustration
of exile, the democratic alternative to the insatiable greed and mindless
cruelty of the right and the purging holocaust of the left.
And then, we lost him, irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The
news came to us in Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our
lives together. But his death was my country’s resurrection in the courage
and faith by which alone they could be free again. The dictator had called him
a nobody. Two million people threw aside their passivity and escorted him to
his grave. And so began the revolution that has brought me to democracy’s
most famous home, the Congress of the United States.
The task had fallen on my shoulders to continue offering the democratic

alternative to our people.
Archibald Macleish had said that democracy must be defended by arms when
it is attacked by arms and by truth when it is attacked by lies. He failed to say
how it shall be won.
I held fast to Ninoy’s conviction that it must be by the ways of democracy. I
held out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship called, even if I
knew it would be rigged. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition that I
ran the grave risk of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were
clearly going to be fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers but for the
people in whose intelligence I had implicit faith. By the exercise of
democracy, even in a dictatorship, they would be prepared for democracy
when it came. And then, also, it was the only way I knew by which we could
measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship.
The people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government
thuggery and fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear
majority of the votes, even if they ended up, thanks to a corrupt Commission
on Elections, with barely a third of the seats in parliament. Now, I knew our
power.
Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship called for its doom in a
snap election. The people obliged. With over a million signatures, they
drafted me to challenge the dictatorship. And I obliged them. The rest is the
history that dramatically unfolded on your television screen and across the
front pages of your newspapers.
83
You saw a nation, armed with courage and integrity, stand fast by democracy
against threats and corruption. You saw women poll watchers break out in
tears as armed goons crashed the polling places to steal the ballots but, just
the same, they tied themselves to the ballot boxes. You saw a people so
committed to the ways of democracy that they were prepared to give their
lives for its pale imitation. At the end of the day, before another wave of fraud
could distort the results, I announced the people’s victory.
The distinguished co-chairman of the United States observer team in his
report to your President described that victory:
“I was witness to an extraordinary manifestation of democracy on the part of
the Filipino people. The ultimate result was the election of Mrs. Corazon C.
Aquino as President and Mr. Salvador Laurel as Vice-President of the
Philippines.”
Many of you here today played a part in changing the policy of your country
towards us. We, Filipinos, thank each of you for what you did: for, balancing
America’s strategic interest against human concerns, illuminates the
American vision of the world.
When a subservient parliament announced my opponent’s victory, the people
turned out in the streets and proclaimed me President. And true to their word,
when a handful of military leaders declared themselves against the
dictatorship, the people rallied to their protection. Surely, the people take
care of their own. It is on that faith and the obligation it entails, that I
assumed the presidency.
As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That is my contract with my
people and my commitment to God. He had willed that the blood drawn with
the lash shall not, in my country, be paid by blood drawn by the sword but by
the tearful joy of reconciliation.
We have swept away absolute power by a limited revolution that respected
the life and freedom of every Filipino. Now, we are restoring full constitutional
government. Again, as we restored democracy by the ways of democracy, so
are we completing the constitutional structures of our new democracy under
a constitution that already gives full respect to the Bill of Rights. A jealously
independent Constitutional Commission is completing its draft which will be
submitted later this year to a popular referendum. When it is approved, there
will be congressional elections. So within about a year from a peaceful but
national upheaval that overturned a dictatorship, we shall have returned to
full constitutional government. Given the polarization and breakdown we
inherited, this is no small achievement.
My predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency
that numbered less than 500. Unhampered by respect for human rights, he
went at it hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that insurgency had grown
84
to more than 16,000. I think there is a lesson here to be learned about trying
to stifle a thing with the means by which it grows.
I don’t think anybody, in or outside our country, concerned for a democratic
and open Philippines, doubts what must be done. Through political initiatives
and local reintegration programs, we must seek to bring the insurgents down
from the hills and, by economic progress and justice, show them that for
which the best intentioned among them fight.
As President, I will not betray the cause of peace by which I came to power.
Yet equally, and again no friend of Filipino democracy will challenge this, I will
not stand by and allow an insurgent leadership to spurn our offer of peace
and kill our young soldiers, and threaten our new freedom.
Yet, I must explore the path of peace to the utmost for at its end, whatever
disappointment I meet there, is the moral basis for laying down the olive
branch of peace and taking up the sword of war. Still, should it come to that, I
will not waver from the course laid down by your great liberator: “With malice
towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the rights as God gives us
to see the rights, let us finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s
wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow
and for his orphans, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and
lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Like Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like
Lincoln, I don’t relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity
and freedom of my country.
Finally, may I turn to that other slavery: our $26 billion foreign debt. I have
said that we shall honor it. Yet must the means by which we shall be able to
do so be kept from us? Many conditions imposed on the previous government
that stole this debt continue to be imposed on us who never benefited from
it. And no assistance or liberality commensurate with the calamity that was
visited on us has been extended. Yet ours must have been the cheapest
revolution ever. With little help from others, we Filipinos fulfilled the first and
most difficult conditions of the debt negotiation the full restoration of
democracy and responsible government. Elsewhere, and in other times of
more stringent world economic conditions, Marshall plans and their like were
felt to be necessary companions of returning democracy.
When I met with President Reagan yesterday, we began an important
dialogue about cooperation and the strengthening of the friendship between
our two countries. That meeting was both a confirmation and a new
beginning and should lead to positive results in all areas of common concern.
Today, we face the aspirations of a people who had known so much poverty
and massive unemployment for the past 14 years and yet offered their lives
for the abstraction of democracy. Wherever I went in the campaign, slum area
or impoverished village, they came to me with one cry: democracy! Not food,
85
although they clearly needed it, but democracy. Not work, although they
surely wanted it, but democracy. Not money, for they gave what little they
had to my campaign. They didn’t expect me to work a miracle that would
instantly put food into their mouths, clothes on their back, education in their
children, and work that will put dignity in their lives. But I feel the pressing
obligation to respond quickly as the leader of a people so deserving of all
these things.
We face a communist insurgency that feeds on economic deterioration, even
as we carry a great share of the free world defenses in the Pacific. These are
only two of the many burdens my people carry even as they try to build a
worthy and enduring house for their new democracy, that may serve as well
as a redoubt for freedom in Asia. Yet, no sooner is one stone laid than two are
taken away. Half our export earnings, $2 billion out of $4 billion, which was all
we could earn in the restrictive markets of the world, went to pay just the
interest on a debt whose benefit the Filipino people never received.
Still, we fought for honor, and, if only for honor, we shall pay. And yet, should
we have to wring the payments from the sweat of our men’s faces and sink
all the wealth piled up by the bondsman’s two hundred fifty years of
unrequited toil?
Yet to all Americans, as the leader of a proud and free people, I address this
question: has there been a greater test of national commitment to the ideals
you hold dear than that my people have gone through? You have spent many
lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant
to receive it. And here you have a people who won it by themselves and need
only the help to preserve it.
Three years ago, I said thank you, America, for the haven from oppression,
and the home you gave Ninoy, myself and our children, and for the three
happiest years of our lives together. Today, I say, join us, America, as we build
a new home for democracy, another haven for the oppressed, so it may stand
as a shining testament of our two nation’s commitment to freedom.
86
Activity 4
Grading Rubric for PowerPoint Group Presentation

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 Points
Effectiveness Report includes all Report includes Report is missing Report is lacking
material needed to most material more than two key several key
gain a comfortable needed to gain a elements. elements and has
understanding of the comfortable inaccuracies.
topic. understanding of
the material but is
lacking one or two
key elements.
Sequencing of Information is Most information is Some information is There is no clear
Information organized in a clear, organized in a logically plan for the
logical way. It is easy clear, logical way. sequenced. An organization of
to anticipate the type One slide or item of occasional slide or information.
of material that might information seems item of information
be on the next slide. out of place. seems out of place.
Originality Presentation shows Presentation shows Presentation shows Presentation is a

considerable some originality an attempt at rehash of other
originality and and inventiveness. originality and people's ideas
inventiveness. The The content and inventiveness on 1- and/or graphics
content and ideas are ideas are presented 2 slides. and shows very
presented in a unique in an interesting little attempt at
and interesting way. way. original thought.
Spelling and Presentation has no Presentation has 1- Presentation has 1- Presentation has
Grammar misspellings or 2 misspellings, but 2 grammatical more than 2
grammatical errors. no grammatical errors but no grammatical
errors. misspellings. and/or spelling
errors.
Use of All graphics are A few graphics are All graphics are Several graphics
Graphics attractive (size and not attractive but attractive but a few are unattractive
colors) and support all support the do not seem to AND detract from
the theme/content of theme/content of support the the content of the
the presentation. the presentation. theme/content of presentation.
the presentation.
Organization PowerPoint contains a PowerPoint contains PowerPoint contains PowerPoint

minimum of 10 slides. a minimum of 10 fewer than 10 contains fewer
All parts of the task slides. All parts of slides, or some than 10 slides
are completed fully the task are slides designed do and is missing
and support the completed partially not support the several parts of
theme/content of the and support the theme/content of the task. Slides
presentation. theme/content of the presentation. designed do not
the presentation. support the
theme/content of
the presentation.
87
CHAPTER 3
Controversies and Conflicting Analysis

for Selected Primary Resources
These recent times, the teaching of Philippine History have come

to light of its numerous controversies and fallacies. Often in our
collective recollection, it is remembered that sometimes the skilful use
of historical issues can redirect the flow of history itself. The power to
effect a redirection of events and undoing of history can obscure or
correct an event that did actually transpired.
Philippines have many historical events that have very
significance milestone in its history and have caused waves throughout
time. Such ripples had directly influenced the decisive events of the
Philippine history toward the end of the century. Nevertheless, there
are different sides to the story, a battle of perspectives supported by
the different primary sources are now being emphasized.
It is important for us as Filipinos to recognize the multiplicity of
historical interpretation that can be read from a historical document.
Employing critical documentary analysis in interpreting historical
documents and gaining ability to argue for or against a particular
historical issue would be a great advantage for us as readers of
Philippine History.
Historical Interpretations and Multiperspectivity
History is said to be a deeply controversial subject (Shaw, 2005).

According to Shaw, historians’ disagreements are many and varied in
terms of interpreting the past, but the following represent some of
them:
1. Questions of the selection and relevance of evidence
2. The method and the techniques of history
3. Ideology and political predisposition
4. The purpose for which history is studied in the first place
5. More recently, arguments about the validity of historical
method.
Historical interpretations are assumptions and conclusions about

the past and are usually formed by historians: academics and
researchers who study and write history. Most historical interpretations
are explanations: they tell us how and why things occurred, providing
reasons, arguments and evidence. Like historical perspectives,
however, there are often several interpretations of the same topic –
and they may differ significantly.
88
On the other hand, history is open to all who take an interest in
it, regardless of their experience or credentials. Because of intellectual
freedom everyone is free to consider the past and form their own
conclusions leading to a popular form of history which is often
simplified and distorted to the point of corruption (Llewellyn and
Thompson, 2018).
Acoording to Arthur Marwick history is defined in three ways;
first, as “the entire human past as it actually happened”, second, as
“man’s attempt to describe and interprete the past” and third, as “a
systematic study of the past” (Cited from Adeoti and Adeyeri, 2007).
However, history as a field of discipline embraces not only past events
but also their consequences for not all events of the past capture the
interest of the historian, rather important historical events with
consequences are usually preferred.
Deoti and Adeyeri (2007) consider history as fragmentary by
nature for it focuses on aspects or parts of an event, but not the whole
event. The authors added that “no matter the efforts of an historian, it
is impossible for him to capture everything about his choice of study.
Availability of evidence, its reliability and consistency, available time
and the objectives of the study shape his selection and utilization of
sources and evidence”.
Two Sample Philippine Historical Issues
SA AKING MGA KABATA
“Sa Aking Mga Kabata” traditionally believed to be Jose Rizal’s first poem. The most quoted line from this poem of
Rizal is, “Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika/masahol pa sa hayop at malansang isda.” Its English
translation is “He who loves not his own language/is worse than a beast and a stinking fish.”
Did Rizal write this poem at 8 years old? Did Rizal write this poem at all?
According to an article published online by Ambeth Ocampo, no original manuscript, in Rizal’s own hand, exists for
“Sa Aking Mga Kabata”. The article continued: “Rizal had 35 years to publish or assert authorship. He did not. The
poem was published posthumously, a decade after his execution, as an appendix to “Kun sino ang kumatha ng
‘Florante: Kasaysayan ng Buhay ni Francisco Baltazar’ at pag-uulat nang kanyang karununga’t kadakilaan” (Manila:
Libreria Manila-Filatelico, 1906.) by the poet Herminigildo Cruz.
Tracing the provenance of the poem to its source, Cruz claims to have received the poem from his friend, the poet
Gabriel Beato Francisco, who got it from a certain Saturnino Raselis of Lukban, a bosom friend of Rizal and teacher
in Majayjay, Laguna, in 1884. Raselis is alleged to have received a copy of this poem from Rizal himself, a token of
their close friendship. Unfortunately, Raselis’ name does not appear in Rizal’s voluminous correspondence, diaries
or writings.
The poem could not have been written in 1869 when Rizal was eight based on the use of the letter “k,” which was
a reform in Tagalog orthography proposed by the mature Rizal. In Rizal’s childhood they spelled words with a “c”
rather than “k.” Further, the word “kalayaan” (freedom) is used twice. First, in the third line of the first stanza,
there is mention of sanlang kalayaan (pawned freedom). Was Rizal aware of the colonial condition at this young
age? Kalayaan appears the second time in the last line of the second stanza.
These two references ring a bell because kalayaan as we know it today was not widely used in the 19th century. As
89
a matter of fact, Rizal encountered the word first in the summer of 1882 when he was 21 years old! In a letter to
his brother, Paciano, dated Oct. 12, 1886, Rizal related difficulties encountered with Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell that he
was translating from the original German into Tagalog.
CODE OF KALANTIAW
The Code of Kalantiaw was a legendary legal code in the epic story Maragtas. It is said to have been written in 1433
by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of Negros in the Philippines. It was actually written in 1913 by Jose E.
Marco as a part of his historical fiction Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla de Negros (Spanish, "The Ancient Legends of
the Island of Negros"), which he attributed to a priest named Jose Maria Pavon.
In 1917, the historian Josué Soncuya wrote about the Code of Kalantiaw in his book Historia Prehispana de Filipinas
("Prehispanic History of the Philippines") where he moved the location of the Code's origin from Negros to the
Panay province of Aklan because he suspected that it may be related to the Ati-atihan festival. Other authors
throughout the 20th century gave credence to the story and the code.
In 1965, then University of Santo Tomas doctoral candidate William Henry Scott began an examination of
prehispanic sources for the study of Philippine history. Scott eventually demonstrated that the code was a forgery
committed by Marco. Scott later published his findings debunking the code in his book Prehispanic Source
Materials for the Study of Philippine History. Filipino historians later removed the code from future literature
regarding Philippine history.
Source: http://philurbanlegends.blogspot.com/2012/07/code-of-kalantiaw-code-of-kalantiaw.html
On one hand, multiperspectivity in history is a term more often

used than defined (Stradling, 2003). According to K. Peter Fritzsche, it
is a process, “a strategy of understanding”, in which we take into
account another’s perspective (or others’ perspectives) in addition to
our own. That process entails understanding that we too have a
perspective which has been filtered through our own cultural context,
reflects our own standpoint and interpretation of what has happened
and why, our own view of what is and is not relevant, and may also
reflect other prejudices and biases.
Multiperspectivity approach aimed at presenting among young
Filipinos with an understanding of history and events by looking at
them from several angles and perspectives. This will provide them the
opportunity to discuss the historical events that took place in our
country and they had the opportunity to understand the complexity of
historical events and their interpretations.
The interpretations and multiperspectivity of following Philippine
historical controversies provided us the chance to appreciate the
richness of our history. Using the evidence available and the
historiography being applied allow the readers form his or her own
interpretations, though these may be shaped by emotion and bias.
Case Study 1: Where was the first Mass in the Philippines held?
The introduction of Christianity on Philippine shores is generally

linked to the celebration of the first Holy Mass, and Butuan City and
Limasawa, Southern Leyte, both claim to be the venue of this historical
religious rite.
90
The National Historical Institute (NHI)
has already reached a conclusion after a
two-year study and it reaffirmed the popular
belief propelled by Republic Act 2733 that
the first Holy Mass was celebrated in
Limasawa Island on March 31, 1521 citing
memoirs of Antonio Pigafetta, who
chronicled the expedition of Ferdinand
Magellan, as “the only credible primary
source that yields the best evidence of the celebration of the first
Christian Mass on Philippine soil.” This issue, however, remains
debatable despite the pronouncement from the NHI as some like Rolly
Narciso, is among those feverishly pushing for the official recognition
of Masau in Butuan City as the true site.
The Evidences for Limasawa: Antonio Pigaffeta’s Account and

Francisco Albo’s Logbook
Based on Antonio Pigafetta account, the first Catholic Mass in the
Philippines was held on March 31, 1521, Easter Sunday and it was said
by Father Pedro de Valderrama along the shores of what was referred
to as "Mazaua". Today, this site is widely believed by many to be
Limasawa at the tip of Southern Leyte.
The following were the selected narrative accounts of Pigaffeta:
Saturday, the 16th of March, 1521, we arrived at daybreak in sight of a high island, three
hundred leagues distant from the before-mentioned Thieves' island. This isle is named
Zamal. The next day the captain-general wished to land at another uninhabited island
near the first, to be in greater security and to take water, also to repose there a few days.
He set up there two tents on shore for the sick, and had a sow killed for them.
Monday, the 18th of March, after dinner, we saw a boat come towards us with nine men
in it: upon which the captain-general ordered that no one should move or speak without
his permission. When these people had come into this island towards us, immediately the
principal one amongst them went towards the captain-general with demonstrations of
being very joyous at our arrival.
These people became very familiar and friendly with us, and explained many things to us
in their language, and told us the names of some islands which we saw with our eyes
before us. *The island where they dwelt is called Zuluam, and it is not large. As they were
sufficiently agreeable and conversible we had great pleasure with them. The captain
seeing that they were of this good condition, to do them greater honour conducted them
to the ship, and showed them all his goods, that is to say, cloves, cinnamon, pepper,
ginger, nutmeg, mace, gold and all that was in the ship. He also had some shots fired
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with his artillery, at which they were so much afraid that they wished to jump from the ship
into the sea. They made signs that the things which the captain had shown them grew
there where we were going. When they wished to leave us they took leave of the captain
and of us with very good manners and gracefulness, promising us to come back to see
us. The island we were at was named Humunu; nevertheless because we found there
two springs of very fresh water we named it the Watering Place of good signs, and
because we found here the first signs of gold. There is much white coral to be found here,
and large trees which bear fruit smaller than an almond, and which are like pines. There
were also many palm trees both good and bad. In this place there were many
circumjacent islands, on which account we named them the archipelago of St. Lazarus,
because we stayed there on the day and feast of St. Lazarus. This region and
archipelago is in ten degrees north latitude, and a hundred and sixty-one degrees
longitude from the line of demarcation.
On Sunday, the last day of March, and feast of Easter, the captain sent the chaplain
ashore early to say mass, and the interpreter went with him to tell the king that they were
not coming on shore to dine with him, but only to hear the mass. The king hearing that
sent two dead pigs. When it was time for saying mass the captain went ashore with fifty
men, not with their arms, but only with their swords, and dressed as well as each one
was able to dress, and before the boats reached the shore our ships fired six cannon
shots as a sign of peace. At our landing the two kings were there, and received our
captain in a friendly manner, and placed him between them, and then we went to the
place prepared for saying mass, which was not far from the shore. Before the mass
began the captain threw a quantity of musk rose water on those two kings, and when the
offertory of the mass came, the two kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they offered
nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and
adored our Lord with joined hands. The ships fired all their artillery at the elevation of the
body of our Lord. After mass had been said each one did the duty of a Christian,
receiving our Lord. After that the captain had some sword-play by his people, which gave
great pleasure to the kings. Then he had a cross brought, with the nails and crown, to
which the kings made reverence, and the captain had them told that these things which
he showed them were the sign of the emperor his lord and master, from whom he had
charge and commandment to place it in all places where he might go or pass by. He told
them that he wished to place it in their country for their profit, because if there came
afterwards any ships from Spain to those islands, on seeing this cross, they would know
that we had been there, and therefore they would not cause them any displeasure to their
persons nor their goods; and if they took any of their people, on showing them this sign,
they would at once let them go. Besides this, the captain told them that it was necessary
that this cross should be placed on the summit of the highest mountain in their country, so
that seeing it every day they might adore it, and that if they did thus, neither thunder,
lightning, nor the tempest could do them hurt. The kings thanked the captain, and said
they would do it willingly. Then he asked whether they were Moors or Gentiles, and in
what they believed. They answered that they did not perform any other adoration, but
only joined their hands, looking up to heaven, and that they called their God, Aba.
Hearing this, the captain was very joyful, on seeing that, the first king raised his hands to
the sky and said that he wished it were possible for him to be able to show the affection
which he felt towards him. The interpreter asked him for what reason there was so little to
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eat in that place, to which the king replied that he did not reside in that place except when
he came to hunt and to see his brother, but that he lived in another island where he had
all his family. Then the captain asked him if he had any enemies who made war upon
him, and that if he had any he would go and defeat them with his men and ships, to put
them under his obedience. The king thanked him, and answered that there were two
islands the inhabitants of which were his enemies; however, that for the present it was
not the time to attack them. The captain therefore said to him that if God permitted him to
return another time to this country, he would bring so many men that he would put them
by force under his obedience. Then he bade the interpreter tell them that he was going
away to dine, and after that he would return to place the cross on the summit of the
mountain. The two kings said they were content, and on that they embraced the captain,
and he separated from them.
This island is in nine degrees and two-thirds north latitude, and one hundred and sixty-
two longitude from the line of demarcation: it is twenty-five leagues distant from the other
island where we found the two fountains of fresh water. This island is named Mazzava .
The narrative account of Pigaffeta is further supported by Francisco

Albo’s log book. Francisco Albo is the pilot who brought the Victoria
home—under the command of Sebastian de Elcano. He signed on in
the first instance as master's mate of the Trinidad, Magellan's own
ship, which did not return.
On the 16th (March) we saw land, and went towards it to the N.W., and we saw that the
land trended north, and that there were many shoals near it, and we took another tack to
the south, and we fell in with another small island, and there we anchored: and this was
the same day, and this island is called Suluano, and the first one is named Yunuguan;
and here we saw some canoes, and we went to them, and they fled; and this island is in
9⅔°N. latitude and in 189° longitude from the meridian. To these first islands, from the
archipelago of St. Lazarus....
Ytem. From the Strait of All Saints and Cape Fermoso to these two islands, there will be
106° 30' longitude, which strait is with these islands in a straight course W.N.W. and
E.S.E., which brings you straight to them. From here we went on our course.
Leaving these islands, we sailed W., and fell in with the island of Gada, which is
uninhabited, and there we provided ourselves with water and wood. This island is very
free from shoals.
From here we departed and sailed W., and fell in with a large island called Seilani, which
is inhabited, and contains gold; we coasted it, and went to W.S.W., to a small inhabited
island called Mazaba. The people are very good, and there we placed a cross upon a
mountain; and from thence they showed us three islands in the W.S.W. direction, and
they say there is much gold there, and they showed us how they gather it, and they found
small pieces like beans and like lentils; and this island is in 9 ⅓° N. latitude.
We departed from Mazaba and went N., making for the island of Seilani, and afterwards
coasted the said island to the N.W. as far as 10°, and there we saw three islets; and we
went to the W., a matter of 10 leagues, and then we fell in with two islets, and at night we
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stopped; and on the morrow we went S.W, and ¼S., a matter of 12 leagues, as far as
lO⅓°, and there we entered a channel between two islands, one called Matan, and the
other Subo; and Subo, with the isle of Mazaba and Suluan, are E.W. ¼ N.W.S.E.; and
between Subo and Seilani we saw a very high land to the north, which is called Baibai,
and they say that there is in it much gold and provisions, and much extent of land, that
the end of it is not known.
From Mazaba and Seilani and Subo, by the course which we came, towards the south
part, take care; for there are many shoals, and they are very bad; for this a canoe would
not stop which met us in this course.
From the mouth of the channel of Subo and Matan we went west in mid-channel, and met
with the town of Subu, at which we anchored, and made peace, and there they gave us
rice and millet and flesh; and we remained there many days; and the king and the queen,
with many people, became Christians of their free will.
The Evidences for Masao, Butuan:

Some Filipino historians have long contested the idea that Limasawa
was the site of the first Catholic mass in the country. Historian Sonia
Zaide identified Masao (also Mazaua) in Butuan as the location of the
first Christian mass. The basis of Zaide's claim is the diary of Antonio
Pigafetta, chronicler of Magellan's voyage.
The following were presented by the noted historian Dr. Sonia M. Zaide
presented the evidence for Masao rather than Limasawa [an island in
Southern Leyte] as the site of the first recorded mass in the Philippines.
1. First, in all primary sources including the diary of Antonio
Pigafetta, the chronicler of Magellan's voyage, the name of the
place was Mazaua. Limasawa has four syllables and beigns with
another letter.
2. Second, according to primary records, the expedition traveled 20
to 25 leagues from Homonhon, the first landing point. If they had
been to Limasawa Island, the distance is only 14.6 leagues or
one-half of that lenght.
3. Third, the distance to Cebu from Mazaua according to Pigafetta
was 35 leagues [140 miles]. The distance from Limasawa to Cebu
is only 80 miles.
4. Fourth, it was mentiones that the king came to their ship in a
balanghai. Butuan is now the site of at least nine excavated
balanghai relics; by contrast, Limasawa has no significant
archeological relics or balanghai tradition.
5. Fifth, the Western explorers got excited at the abundance of gold
in Mazaua, for that was the main currence at that time. Both
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archeological relics and the gold mines today attested to the
abundance of gold in the Agusan Valley.
Source: https://web.facebook.com/PearlOfTheOrient.ph/photos/first-mass-held-in-masao-not-
limasawaon-easter-sunday-march-31-1521-a-mass-offic/1325072200914509/?_rdc=1&_rdr
Case Study 2: The Two Faces of the 1872 Cavite Mutiny

Two major events happened in 1872, first was
the 1872 Cavite Mutiny and the other was the
martyrdom of the three martyr priests in the persons
of Fathers Mariano Gomes, Jose Burgos and Jacinto
Zamora (GOMBURZA). However, not all of us knew
that there were different accounts in reference to the
said event. All Filipinos must know the different sides
of the story—since this event led to another tragic
yet meaningful part of our history—the execution of GOMBURZA which
in effect a major factor in the awakening of nationalism among the
Filipinos. (Chris Antonette Piedad-Pugay, 2012)
Spanish Perspective of the Cavite Mutiny

The Spanish perspective focused on
the two accounts of Jose Montero y
Vidal and the official report written by
then Governor General Rafael
Izquierdo. The two complimented and
corroborated with one other. Jose
Montero y Vidal, a Spanish historian
who documented this event and his
work centered on how the event was
an attempt in overthrowing the
Spanish Government in the Philippines. The official report written by
then Governor General Rafael Izquierdo implicated the native clergy,
who were then, active in the movement towards secularization of
parishes.
Here is the primary source excerpts from Montero’s Account of
the Cavity Mutiny, Jose Montero Y Vidal, and “Spanish Version of the
Cavity Mutiny of 1872,” in Gregoria Zaide and Sonia Zaide,
Documentary Sources of Philippine History.
The abolition of privileges enjoyed by the laborers of the Cavite arsenal of exemption
from the tribute was, according to some, the cause of the insurrection. There were,
however, other causes.
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propaganda carried on by an unbridled press against monarchical principles, attentatory
[sic] of the most sacred respects towards the dethroned majesty; the democratic and
republican books and pamphlets; the speeches and preachings of the apostles of these
new ideas in Spain; the outbursts of the American publicists and the criminal policy of the
senseless Governor whom the Revolutionary government sent to govern the Philippines,
and who put into practice these ideas were the determining circumstances which' gave
rise, among certain Filipinos, to the idea of attaining their independence. It was towards
this goal thlt they started to work, with the powerful assistance of a certain section of the
native clergy, who out of spite toward friars, made common cause with the enemies of the
mother country.
At various times but especially in the beginning of year 1872, the authorities received
anonymous communications with the information that a great uprising would break out
against the Spaniards, the minute the fleet at Cavite left for the South, and that all would
be assassinated, including the friars. But nobody gave importance to these notices. The
conspiracy had been going on since the days of La Torre with utmost secrecy. At times,.
the principal leaders met either in the house of Filipino Spaniard, D. Joaquin Pardo de
Tavera, or in that of the native priest, Jacinto Zamora, and these meetings were usually
attended by the curate of Bacoor, the soul of the movement, whose energetic character
and immense wealth enabled him to exercise a strong influence.
Another primary source excerpts from the official report of

Governor Izquierdo on the Cavity Mutiny of 1872, Source: Rafael
Izquierdo, “Official Report on the Cavity Mutiny,” in Gregoria Zaide and
Sonia Zaide, Documentary Source of the Philippine History.
...It seems definite that the insurrection was motivated and prepared by the native clergy,
by the mestizos and native lawyers, and by those known here as abogadillos... The
instigators, to carry out their criminal project, protested against the injustice of the
government in not paying the provinces for their tobacco crop, and against the usury that
some practice in documents that the Finance department gives crop owners who have to
sell them at a loss. They encouraged the rebellion by protesting what they called the
injustice of having obliged the workers in the Cavite arsenal to pay tribute starting
January 1 and to render personal service, from which they were formerly exempted... Up
to now it has not been clearly determined if they planned to establish a monarchy or a
republic, because the Indios have no word in their language to describe this different form
of government, whose head in Filipino would be called hari, but it turns out that they
would place at the head of the government a priest... that the head selected would be D.
Jose Burgos, or D. Jacirrto Zamora...Such is... the plan of the rebels, those who guided
them, and the means they counted upon for its realization.
It - is apparent that the accounts underscore the reason for the "revolution": the abolition
of privileges enjoyed by the workers of the Cavite arsenal such as exemption from
payment of tribute and being employed in polos y servicios, or force labor. They also
identified other reasons- which seemingly made the issue a lot more serious, which
included the presence of the native clergy, who, out of spite against the Spanish friars,
"conspired and supported" ther. Izquierdo, in an obviously biased report, highlighted that
attempt to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines to install a new "hari" in
the persons of Fathers Burgos and Zamora. According to him, native clergy attracted
supporters by giving them charismatic assurance that their fight would not fail because
they had God's support, aside from promises of lofty rewards such as employment,
wealth, and ranks in the army.
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In the Spaniard's accounts, the event of 1872 was premeditated, and was part of a big
conspiracy among the educated leaders, mestizos, lawyers, and residents of Manila and
Cavite. They allegedly plan to liquidate high-ranking Spanish officers, then kill the friars.
The signal they identified among these conspirators of Manila and Cavite was the rockets
fired from Infra muros.
The accounts detail that on 20 January 1872, the district of Sampaloc celebrated the
feast of the Virgin of Loreto, and came with it were some fireworks display. The Caviterios
allegedly mistook this as the signal to commence with the attack. The 200-men
contingent led by Sergeant La madrid attacked Spanish officers at sight and seized the
arsenal. Izquierdo, upon learning of the attack, ordered the reinforcement of the Spanish
forces in Cavite to quell the revolt. The "revolution" was easily crushed, when the
Maniletios who were expected to aid the Cavitexios did not arrive. Leaders of the plot
were killed in the resulting skirmish, while Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were
tried by a court-martial and sentenced to be executed. Others who were implicated such
as Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Jose and Pio Basa, and other Filipino
lawyers were suspended from the practice of law, arrested, and sentenced to life
imprisonment at the Marianas Island. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments of artillery
and ordered the creation of an artillery force composed exclusively by Peninsulares. On
17/ebruary 1872, the GOMBURZA were executed to serve as a threat to Filipinos never
to attempt to fight the ISpaniards again.
Source: AMA Online Education
Filipino and French Accounts of the events of 1872
Dr. Trinidad Hermenigildo Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino scholar and

researcher, wrote the Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite.
In his point of view, the incident was a mere mutiny by the native
Filipino soldiers and laborers of the Cavite arsenal who turned out to be
dissatisfied with the abolition of their privileges. Indirectly, Tavera
blamed Gov. Izquierdo’s cold-blooded policies such as the abolition of
privileges of the workers and native army members of the arsenal and
the prohibition of the founding of school of arts and trades for the
Filipinos, which the general believed as a cover-up for the organization
of a political club. Tavera believed that the Spanish friars and Izquierdo
used the Cavite Mutiny as a powerful lever by magnifying it as a full-
blown conspiracy involving not only the native army but also included
residents of Cavite and Manila, and more importantly the native clergy
to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines.
This uprising among the soldiers in Cavite was used as a powerful level by the Spanish
residents and by the friars... the Central Government in Madrid had announced its
intention to deprive the friars in these islands of powers of intervention in matters of civil
government and of the direction and management of the university... it was due to these
facts and promises that the Filipinos had great hopes of an improvement in the affairs of
their country, while the friars, on the other hand, feared that their power in the colony
would soon be complete a thing of the past.
Image Source: AMA Online Education
...Up to that time there had been no intention of secession from Spain, and the only
aspiration of the people was to secure the material and education advancement of the
country...
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According to this account, the incident was merely a mutiny by Filipino soldiers and
laborers of the Cavite arsenal to the dissatisfaction arising from the draconian policies of
Izquierdo, such as the abolition of privileges and the prohibition of the founding of the
school of arts and trades for Filipinos, which the General saw as a smokescreen to
creating a political club.
Tavera is of the opinion that the Spanish friars and Izquierdo used the Cavite Mutiny as a
way to address other issues by blowing out of proportion the isolated mutiny attempt.
During this time, the Central Government in Madrid was planning to deprive the friars of
all the powers of intervention in matters of civil government and direction and
management of educational institutions. The friars needed something to justify their
continuing dominance in the country, and the mutiny provided such opportunity.
However, the Central Spanish Government introduced an educational - decree fusing

sectarian schools run by the friars into a school called the Philippine Institute. The decree
aimed to improve the standard of education in the Philippines by requiring teaching
positions in these schools tote filled by competitive examinations, an improvement
welcomed by most Filipinos.
Another version, this time by French writer Edmind Plauchut,

supplemented Tavera’s account and analyzed the motivations of the
1872 Cavity Mutiny. Assortments from Plauchut’s Account of the Cavite
Mutiny, source: Edmund Plauchut, “The Cavity Mutiny of 1872 and the
Martyr of GOM-BUR-ZA,”
General La Torre... created a junta composed of high officials... including some friars and
six Spanish officials.... At the same time there was created by the government in Madrid a
committee to investigate the same problems submitted to the Manila committee. When
the two finished work, it was found that they came to the same conclusions. Here is the
summary of the reforms they considered necessary to introduce:
1. Changes in tariff rates at customs, and the methods of collection.

2. Removal of surcharges on foreign importations.
3. Reduction of export fees.
4. Permission for foreigners to reside in the Philippines, buy real estate, enjoy
freedom of worship, and operate commercial transports flying the Spanish flag.
5. Establishment of an advisory council to inform the Minister of Overseas Affairs in
Madrid on the necessary reforms to be implemented.
6. Changes in primary and secondary education.
7. Establishment of an Institute of Civi Administration in the Philippines, rendering
unnecessary the sending home of short-term civil officials every time there is a
change of ministry.
8. Study of direct-tax system.
9. Abolition of the tobacco monopoly.
...The arrival in Manila of General Izquierdon. put a sudden end to all dreams of
reforms... the prosecutions instituted by the new Governor General were probably
expected as a result of the bitter disputes between the Filipino clerics and the friars.
Such a policy must really end in a strong desire on the part of the other to repress
cruelly.
In regard to schools, it was previously decreed that there should be in Manila a

Society of Arts and Trades to be opened in March, of 1871... to repress the growth of
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liberal teachings, General Izquierdo suspended the opening of the school... the day
previous to the scheduled inauguration...
The Filipinos had a duty to render service on public roads construction and pay taxes
every year. But those who were employed at the maestranza of the artillery, in the
engineering shops and arsenal of Cavite, were exempted from this obligation from
time immemorial... Without preliminaries of any kind, a decree by the Governor
withdrew from such old employees their retirement privileges and declassified them
into the ranks of those who worked on public roads.
The friars used the incident as a part of a larger conspiracy to cement their
dominance, which had started to show cracks because of the discontent of the
Filipinos. They showcased the mutiny as part of a greater conspiracy in the
Philippines by Filipinos to overthrow the Spanish Government. Unintentionally, and
more so, prophetically, the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 resulted in the martyrdom of
GOMBURZA, and paved the way to the revolution culminating in 1898.
Case Study 3: Is Rizal’s Retraction Real or Not Real?

Since Rizal’s retraction letter was discovered by Father Manuel Garcia,
C.M. in 1935, its content has become a favorite subject of dispute
among academicians and Catholics. The letter, dated December 29,
1896, was said to have been signed by the National Hero himself. It
stated:
I declare myself a catholic and in this Religion in which I was born and
educated I wish to live and die.
I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and

conduct has been contrary to my character as son of the Catholic Church.
I believe and I confess whatever she teaches and I submit to whatever she
demands. I abominate Masonry, as the enemy which is of the Church, and
as a Society prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate may, as the
Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this spontaneous
manifestation of mine in order to repair the scandal which my acts may
have caused and so that God and people may pardon me.
Manila 29 of December of 1896
Jose Rizal
There have been claims that the document, as compared to the

original file which was discovered by Fr. Manuel Garcia, an
archdiocesan archivist in 1935, was a forgery. Regardless of these
claims, there are several people who believe that the retraction
documents are authentic. These people include eleven
eyewitnesses who were present when Rizal wrote his retraction,
signed a Catholic prayer book, recited Catholic prayers, and the
multitude who saw him kiss the crucifix before his
execution. Fr. Marciano Guzman, a great grandnephew of Rizal,
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cites that Rizal's 4 confessions were certified by 5 eyewitnesses,
10 qualified witnesses, 7 newspapers, and 12 historians and
writers including Aglipayan bishops, Masons and anti-clericals.
The controversy whether the National Hero actually wrote a retraction
document only lies in the judgment of its reader, as no amount of proof
can probably make the two opposing groups—the Masonic Rizalists
(who firmly believe that Rizal did not withdraw) and the Catholic
Rizalists (who were convinced Rizal retracted)—agree with each other.
There are four repetions of the text of this retraction:
1. The First was published in La Voz Española and Diario de

Manila on the Day of execution, 30 December 1896.
2. Second Text Appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the magazine
La Juventud
3. Few months after execution 14 February 1897 from
anonymous wrtiter but later on revealed to be Fr. Vicente
Balaguer.
4. Original text was only found in the archdiocesan archives
on 18 may 1935. After almost four decades of
disappearance.
Major Arguments for Retraction

Dr. Eugene A. Hessel in his lecture given at Siliman University,
summarizes the major points of argument for the Retraction of Rizal as
follows:
1. The Retraction Document discovered in 1935 is considered the
chief witness to the reality of the retraction.
2. The testimony of the press at the time of the event, of “eye-
witnesses,” and other “qualified witnesses,” i.e. those closely
associated with the events such as the head of the Jesuit order,
the archbishop, etc
3. “Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity” reportedly recited and signed
by Dr. Rizal as attested by “witnesses” and a signed Prayer Book
which was amongst the documents discovered by Father Garcia
along with the Retraction.If true, Rizal would not only
acceptthe general Roman Catholic teachings but would agree
to a number of beliefs which he had previously
disclaimed.According to the testimony of Father Balaguer,
following the signing of the Retraction a prayer book was
offered to Rizal. “He took the prayer book, read slowly those
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acts, accepted them, and took the pen and sad‘Credo’ (I
believe) he signed the acts with his name in the book itself.”
4. Acts of Piety performed by Rizal during his last hours as testified
to by “witnesses.”
5. His “Roman Catholic Marriage” to Josephine Bracken as attested
to by “witnesses.” There could be no marriage without a
retraction.
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Cases Against the Retraction
1. The Retraction Document is said to be a forgery. There are four
points against the document itself.
 First of all there is the matter of the handwriting. To date,
the only scientific study criticizing the authenticity of the
document was made by Dr. Ricardo R. Pascual of the
University of the Philippines shortly after the document
was found.
Having some of Rizal’s writings dating from the last half

of December 1896 as his “standard”, he notes a number
of variations with the handwriting of the document, he
further concluded that it was a “one-man document”
because of the similarities in several respects between
the body of the Retraction and the writing of all three
signers: Rizal and the two witnesses.
 The only scholarly answer and criticism to

Pascual is that given by Dr. José I. Del Rosario.
Rosario’s main criticism may be said to be that
Pascual does notinclude enough of Rizal’s
writings by way of comparison and concluded
that the hand-writing is genuine.
 A second argument directed against the authenticity of

the document itself is based on the principles of textual
criticism. Several critics have noted differences between
the text of the document found in 1935 and other
versions of the Retraction including the one issued by
Father Balaguer.
To date, from the morning of December 30, 1896 there

have been, discounting numerous minor variations, two
distinctforms of the text with significant differences with
regards to the use of certain phrases within the
document.
 The usual explanation of these differences is
that either Father Balaguer or Father Pi made
errors in preparing a copy of the original and
thesehave been transmitted from this earliest
copy to others. Some have wondered if the
Retraction Document was fabricated from the
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“wrong” version of a retraction statement
issued by the religious authorities.
 A third argument applies to the Retraction itselfis that its
content is in part strangely worded, e.g. in the Catholic
Religion “I wish to live and die,” yet there was little time
to live, and also Rizal’s claim that his retraction was
“spontaneous.
 Finally, there is the “confession” of “the forger.” Antonio
K. Abad tells how on August 13, 1901 at a party at his
ancestral home in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija a certain
Roman Roque told how he was employed by the Friars
earlier that same year to make several copies of a
retraction document.
2. The second main line of argument against the Retraction is the

claim that other acts and facts do not fit well with the story of
the Retraction. Those most often referred to by writers as follows:
 The document of Retraction was not made public until

1935. Even members of the family did not see it. It was
said to be “lost.”
 No effort was made to save Rizal from the death penalty
after his signing of the Retraction.
 The usual rebuttal is that Rizal’s death was due
to political factors and with this the religious
authorities could not interfere.
 Rizal’s burial was kept secret; he was buried outside the
inner wall of the Paco cemetery; and the record of his
burial was not placed on the page for entries of Dec.
30th.
 There is no marriage certificate or public record of the
marriage of Rizal with Josephine Bracken.
 Rizal’s behavior as a whole during his last days at Fort
Santiago and during the last 24 hours in particular does not point
to a conversion.
3. The third chief line of argument against the Retraction is that it is
out of character.
103
 Senator Rafael Palma, a former President of the
University of the Philippines and a prominent Mason,
also argued that if Rizal retracted, it would have
been a very drastic change of character in Rizal
which is very hard to believe knowing howmature
and strong in his beliefs Rizal was. He called the
retraction story a "pious fraud.”
Source: https://edoc.site/rizal-retraction-controversydocx-pdf-free.html
Case Study 4: Where did the Cry of Rebellion Happen?

The raging controversies on Philippie
history continued with another equally
intense debate on the 19th century
journalists used phrase “el grito de
rebelion” or “the Cry of Rebellion” which
describe the momentous events
sweeping the Spanish colonies; in Mexico
it was the “Cry of Dolores” (16
September 1810), Brazil the “City of
Ypiraga” (7 September 1822), and in
Cuba the “Cry of Matanza” (24 February 1895). In August 1896,
northeast of Manila, Filipinos similarly declared their rebellion against
the Spanish colonial government. There were scores of such Cries
which is expressed as the shouting of nationalistic slogans in mass
assemblies. The first historically accepted for nearly a century is the
Cry of Balintawak has been the subject of controversy. Some writers
refer to it as Cry of Montalban on April 1895, in the Pamitinan Caves
where a group of Katipunan members wrote on the cave walls, “Viva la
indepencia Filipina!” long before the Katipunan decided to launch a
nationwide revolution. While, Teodoro Agoncillo, the historian chose to
emphasize Bonifacio’s tearing of the cedula (tax receipt) before a
crowd of Katipuneros who then broke out in cheers in Pugad Lawin thus
it was called the “The Cry in Pugad Lawin”.
On 3 September 1911, a monument to the Heroes of 1896 was erected
in what is now the intersection of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and
Andres Bonifacio Drive –North Doversion Road. From that time on until
1962, the Cry of Balintawak was officially celebrated every 26 August.
It is not clear why the 1911 monument was erected there. It could not
have been to mark the site of Apolonio Samson’s house in barrio
104
Kangkong; Katipuneros marked that site on Kaingin Road, between
Balintawak and San Francisco del Monte Avenue.
Guillermo Masangkay Account
The source from the works of Guillermo Masangkay, “Cry of
Balintawak” in Gregoria Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources
of Philippine History, Volume 8 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990),
307-309.
On August 26th, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the house of Apolonio Samson,
then cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan. Among those who attended, I remember, were
Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas Remigio, Briccio Pantas, Teodoro
Plata, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco Carreon. They were all leaders of
the Katipunan and composed the board of directors of the organization. Delegates from
Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite, and Morong were also present.
At about nine o'clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andres
Bonifacio presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary. The purpose was to discuss
when the uprising was to take place. Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pantas, and Pio Valenzuela
were all opposed to starting the revolution too early... Andres Bonifacio, sensing that he
would lose in the discussion then, left the session hall and talked to the people, who were
waiting outside foc-the result of the meeting of the leaders. He told the people that the
leaders were arguing against starting the revolution early, and appealed to them in a fiery
speech in which he said: "You remember the fate of our countrymen who were shot in
Bagumbayan. Should we return now to the towns, the Spaniards will only shoot us. Our
organization has been discovered and we are all marked men. If we don't start the
uprising, the Spaniards will get us anyway. What then, do you say?"
"Revolt!" the people shouted as one.
Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them
that the sign of slavery of the Filipinos were (sic) the cedula tax charged each citizen. "If it
is true that you are ready to revolt... I want to see you destroy your cedulas. It will be a
sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards."
Pio Valenzuela’s Account

The source from the works of Pio Valenzuela, “Cry of Balintawak” in
Gregoria Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine
History, Volume 8 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 301-302.
The first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro
Plata, Aguedo del Rosario, and myself was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on
August 19, and I, on August 20, 1896. The first place where some 500 members of the
Katipunan met on August 22, 1896, was the house and yard of Apolonio Samson at
Kangkong. Aside from the persons mentioned above, among those who were there were
Briccio Pantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio Samson, and others.
Here, views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated or adopted. It was at
Pugad Lawin, the house, store-house, and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchora Aquino,
105
where over 1,000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable debate
and discussion on August 23, 1896. The discussion was on whether or not the revolution
against the Spanish government should be started on August 29, 1896... After the
tumultuous meeting,,many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted
"Long live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!"
Source: MILAGROS C. GUERRERO, EMMANUEL N. ENCARNACION, RAMON N. VILLEGAS,

http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/balintawak-the-cry-for-a-nationwide-revolution/
106
CHAPTER 4
Philippine History: Its Political, Economic, and Socio-Cultural

Issues
The Philippines is continually undergoing major political, economic, and

socio-cultural development. Started more than 30 years ago, many of
these changes are reactions to the excesses of Martial Law under the
regime of Marcos. The positive effects of these reforms can easily be
seen in terms of the country's economic and political stability which
has increased investor confidence in the Philippines. This chapter
reviews the past issues that inspired these on-going reforms by
providing an important historical overview of the underpinnings of
Philippine development in terms of its political, economic, and socio-
cultural substructures.
 A Constitution is the fundamental organic law of a State which

contains the principles on which the government is founded
and regulates the division and exercise of sovereign powers.
 A body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the
powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised.
 “that written instrument by which the powers of government
are established, limited, defined and distributed.”
The Supremacy of the Constitution
The Constitution is the most basic and most paramount law to which all
other laws must conform and to which all persons including the higher
officials of the land must defer. No act shall be valid however noble its
intentions if it is in conflict with the Constitution. The Constitution must
reign supreme.
Importance, Nature and Purpose of Constitution
107
1. The people exercise d control of their government primarily
through the Constitution which protects from unjust exercise of
governmental power and through periodic elections by means of
which they choose the officers to represent them.
2. A constitution is the supreme or fundamental law creating the
government having been enacted by the people themselves.
3. The purpose of the constitution is to draw framework or general
outline of the system of the government and to specific the
respective powers and functions of the various branches of
government comprising this framework.
Basic Principles Underlying Our Constitution

 Recognition of the Almighty God
 Sovereignity of the people
 Supremacy of civilian authority over the military
 Separation of Church and State
 Guarantee of human rights
 Government through suffrage
 Separation of powers
 Independence of the judiciary
 Rule of the majority
 Government of laws and not of men
Constiutution Distinguished Form Statute
1. A constitution is a law given directly by the people while a

statute is enacted by the people’s representative
2. A constitution is the fundamental law of the state on which all
other laws or statute are based
.
Historical Evolution of Philippine Constitution
The Philippines has had a total of six constitutions since the

Proclamation of Independence on June 12, 1898. Each of the
constitution has certain special narrative to talk to.
1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
The Katipunan's revolution led to the Tejeros

Convention where, at San Francisco de
Malabón, Cavite, on March 22, 1897, the first
presidential and vice presidential elections in
Philippine history were held
108
—although only Katipuneros (viz., members of the Katipunan) were
able to take part, and not the general populace. A later meeting of the
revolutionary government established there, held on November 1,
1897 at Biak-na-Bato in the town of San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacán,
established the Republic of Biak-na-Bato. The republic had a
constitution drafted by Isabelo Artacho and Félix Ferrer and based on
the first Cuban Constitution. It is known as the "Constitución
Provisional de la República de Filipinas", and was originally written in
and promulgated in the Spanish and Tagalog languages.
The Memorial at Biak-na-Bato National

Park
109
1899 the Malolos Constitution
In 1899, the Malolos Constitution,

the first Philippine Constitution—
the first republican constitution in
Asia—was drafted and adopted
by the First Philippine Republic,
which lasted from 1899 to 1901.
It declared that sovereignty
resides exclusively in the people,
stated basic civil rights, The iconic photograph of 1899 Malolos Congress: digitally
colored, based on written accounts and the restoration of the
separated the church and state, Barasoian Church for the 1998 Centennial. President Aguinaldo
and called for the creation of an sits at the center, as a gentleman reads a document to his left
Assembly of Representatives to act as the legislative body. It also
called for a parliamentary republic as the form of government. The
president was elected for a term of four years by a majority of the
Assembly. It was titled "Constitución política", and was written in
Spanish following the declaration of independence from Spain,
proclaimed on January 20, 1899, and was enacted and ratified by
the Malolos Congress, a Congress held in Malolos, Bulacan.
The Preamble reads:

"Nosotros los Representantes del Pueblo Filipino, convocados legítimamente
para establecer la justicia, proveer a la defensa común, promover el bien
general y asegurar los beneficios de la libertad, implorando el auxilio del
Soberano Legislador del Universo para alcanzar estos fines, hemos votado,
decretado y sancionado la siguiente"
(We, the Representatives of the Filipino people, lawfully convened in order to
establish justice, provide for common defence, promote the general welfare,
and insure the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator
of the Universe for the attainment of these ends, have voted, decreed, and
sanctioned the following)
Philippine Organic Acts
During the American Occupation the Philippines was governed by the

laws of the United States of America. Organic Acts were passed by the
United States Congress for the administration of the Government of the
Philippine Islands. The Philippines was a United States Territory from
December 10, 1898 to March 24, 1934 and thus under the jurisdiction
of the Federal Government of the United States. Two acts of the United
States Congress passed during this period can be considered Philippine
constitutions in that those acts defined the fundamental political
principles and established the structure, procedures, powers and duties
of the Philippine government.
110
The first was the Philippine Organic of 1902, sometimes known as
the "Philippine Bill of 1902", was enacted by the United States
Congress. It provided for the creation of a popularly elected Philippine
Assembly, and specified that legislative power would be vested in a
bicameral legislature composed of the Philippine Commission (upper
house) and the Philippine Assembly (lower house). The Act of 1902
provided for a Philippine Assembly composed of Filipino citizens. Its key
provisions included a bill of rights for the Filipinos and the appointment
of two non-voting Filipino Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to
represent the Philippines in the United States House of
Representatives.
The second was the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 or Jones

Act, which included the first pledge of Philippine independence. These
laws served as constitutions of the Philippines from 1902 to 1935. It
modified the structure of the Philippine government by removing the
Philippine Commission as the legislative upper house and replacing it
with a Senate elected by Filipino voters, creating the Philippines' first
fully elected national legislature. This act also explicitly stated that it
was and had always been the purpose of the people of the United
States to end their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to
recognise Philippine independence as soon as a stable government can
be established therein.
In 1934, the United States Congress passed the Philippine

Independence Act and known also as Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934,
which set the parameters for the creation of a formal constitution for
the Philippines. The Act mandated the Philippine Legislature to call for
an election of delegates to a Constitutional Convention to draft a
Constitution for the Philippines. The 1934 Constitutional Convention
finished its work on February 8, 1935. The Constitution was submitted
to the President of the United States for certification on March 25,
1935. It was in accordance with the Philippine Independence Act of
1934.
The 1935 Constitution
The 1935 Constitution was ratified by the Filipino people through a

national plebiscite, on May 14, 1935 and came into full force and effect
on November 15, 1935 with the inauguration of the Commonwealth of
the Philippines. Among its provisions was that it would remain the
constitution of the Republic of the Philippines once independence was
granted on July 4, 1946. Manuel L. Quezon was the first duly elected
president of the 1935 Constitution.
111
In 1940, the 1935 Constitution was amended by the National Assembly
of the Philippines. The legislature was changed from a unicameral
assembly to a bicameral congress. The amendment also changed the
term limit of the President of the Philippines from six years with no
reelection to four years with a possibility of being reelected for a
second term.
The Preamble of 1935 Constitution reads:

"The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to
establish a government that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop
the patrimony of the nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to
themselves and their posterity the blessings of independence under a regime
of justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain and promulgate this
Constitution."
The 1943 Constitution was drafted by a

committee appointed by the Philippine
Executive Commission, the body established
by the Japanese to administer the Philippines
in lieu of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines which had established
a government-in-exile. In mid-1942 Japanese
Premier Hideki Tōjō had promised the Filipinos
"the honor of independence" which meant that José P. Laurel, President of the Second
Philippine Republic, addresses the
the commission would be supplanted by a National Assembly at what is now the Old
formal republic. Legislative Building to approve the 1943
The Preparatory Committee for Philippine Independence tasked

with drafting a new constitution was composed in large part, of
members of the prewar National Assembly and of individuals with
experience as delegates to the convention that had drafted the 1935
Constitution. Their draft for the republic to be established under the
Japanese Occupation, however, would be limited in duration, provide
for indirect, instead of direct, legislative elections, and an even
stronger executive branch. Upon approval of the draft by the
Committee, the new charter was ratified in 1943 by an assembly of
appointed, provincial representatives of the Kalibapi, the organization
established by the Japanese to supplant all previous political parties.
Upon ratification by the Kalibapi assembly, the Second Republic was
formally proclaimed (1943–1945). José P. Laurel was appointed as
President by the National Assembly and inaugurated into office in
October 1943. Laurel was highly regarded by the Japanese for having
openly criticised the US for the way they ran the Philippines, and
because he had a degree from Tokyo International University.
The Preamble reads:
112
"The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence and desiring to lead a free
national existence, do hereby proclaim their independence, and in order to establish a
government that shall promote the general welfare, conserve and develop the
patrimony of the Nation, and contribute to the creation of a world order based on
peace, liberty, and moral justice, do ordain this Constitution."
The 1943 Constitution provided strong executive powers. The

Legislature consisted of a unicameral National Assembly and only
those considered to be anti-US could stand for election, although in
practice most legislators were appointed rather than elected.
Upon the liberation of the Philippines in 1945, the 1935 Constitution

came back into effect. The Constitution remained unaltered until 1947
when the Philippine Congress called for its amendment through
Commonwealth Act No. 733. On March 11, 1947 the Parity amendment
gave United States citizens equal rights with Filipino citizens to develop
natural resources in the country and operate public utilities. The
Constitution, thereafter, remained the same until the declaration of
martial law on September 23, 1972.
Before President Marcos declared Martial

Law, a Constitutional Convention was
already in the process of deliberating on
amending or revising the 1935 Constitution.
They finished their work and submitted it to
President Marcos on December 1, 1972.
President Marcos submitted it for ratification
in early January of 1973. Foreseeing that a
direct ratification of the constitution was
bound to fail, Marcos issued Presidential
Decree No. 86, s. 1972, creating citizens
assemblies to ratify the newly drafted constitution by means of a Viva
Voce vote in place of secret ballots. Marcos announced that it had been
ratified and in full force and effect on January 17, 1973. Although the
1973 Constitution had been “ratified” in this manner, opposition
against it continued. Chief Justice Roberto V. Concepcion in his
dissenting opinion in the case of Javellana vs. Executive Secretary,
exposed the fraud that happened during the citizen’s assembly
ratification of the 1973 Constitution on January, 10 – 15, 1973.
However, the final decision of this case was that the ratification of the
1973 Constitution was valid and was in force.
113
The 1973 Constitution, promulgated after Marcos' declaration of
martial law, was supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style
government. Legislative power was vested in a unicameral National
Assembly whose members were elected for six-year terms. The
President was ideally elected as the symbolic and
purely ceremonial head of state chosen from amongst the Members of
the National Assembly for a six-year term and could be re-elected to an
unlimited number of terms. Upon election, the President ceased to be a
Member of the National Assembly. During his term, the President was
not allowed to be a member of a political party or hold any other office.
Executive power was meant to be exercised by the Prime Minister who
was also elected from amongst the sitting Assemblymen. The Prime
Minister was to be the head of government and Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces. This constitution was subsequently amended four
times (arguably five, depending on how one considers Proclamation №
3 of 1986, see below).
From 16–17 October 1976, a majority of barangay voters (also called
"Citizen Assemblies") approved that martial law should be continued
and ratified the amendments to the Constitution proposed by President
Marcos. The 1976 amendments were:
 an Interim Batasang Pambansa (IBP) substituting for the Interim

National Assembly;
 the President would also become the Prime Minister and he
would continue to exercise legislative powers until such time as
martial law was lifted.
The Sixth Amendment authorized the President to legislate on his own
on an "emergency" basis:
Whenever in the judgement of the President there exists a grave
emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the Interim
Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable
to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment
requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency,
issue the necessary decrees, orders or letters of instructions, which
shall form part of the law of the land.
The 1973 Constitution was further amended in 1980 and 1981. In the
1980 amendment, the retirement age of the members of the judiciary
was extended to 70 years. In the 1981 amendments, the false
parliamentary system was formally modified into a French-style semi-
presidential system:
 executive power was restored to the President;

 direct election of the President was restored;
114
 an Executive Committee composed of the Prime Minister and not
more than 14 members was created to "assist the President in
the exercise of his powers and functions and in the performance
of his duties as he may prescribe;" and the Prime Minister was a
mere head of the Cabinet.
Further, the amendments instituted electoral reforms and provided

that a natural born citizen of the Philippines who has lost his citizenship
may be a transferee of private land for use by him as his residence.
The last amendments in 1984 abolished the Executive Committee and
restored the position of Vice-President (which did not exist in the
original, unamended 1973 Constitution).
While the 1973 Constitution ideally provided for a true parliamentary

system, in practise, Marcos had made use of subterfuge and
manipulation in order to keep executive powers for himself, rather
than devolving these to the Assembly and the cabinet headed by the
Prime Minister. The end result was that the final form of the 1973
Constitution – after all amendments and subtle manipulations – was
merely the abolition of the Senate and a series of cosmetic rewordings.
The old American-derived terminology was replaced by names more
associated with parliamentary government: for example, the House of
Representatives became known as the "Batasang Pambansâ" (National
Assembly), Departments became "Ministries", and their cabinet
secretaries became known as "cabinet ministers", with the President's
assistant – the Executive Secretary – now being styled the "Prime
Minister". Marcos' purported parliamentary system in practise
functioned as an authoritarian presidential system, with all real power
concentrated in the hands of the President but with the premise that
such was now constitutional.
The 1986 Freedom Constitution
When democracy was

restored in 1986, President
Corazon C. Aquino issued
Proclamation No. 3,
suspending certain
provisions of the 1973
Constitution and
promulgating in its stead a
transitory constitution. A
month later, President
115
Aquino issued Proclamation No. 9, s. 1986, which created a
Constitutional Commission tasked with writing a new charter to replace
the 1973 Constitution. The commission finished its work at 12:28 a.m.
of October 16, 1986. National Plebiscite was held on February 2, 1987,
ratifying the new constitution. On February 11, 1987, by virtue of
Proclamation No. 58, President Aquino announced the official
canvassing of results and the ratification of the draft constitution. The
1987 Constitution finally came into full force and effect that same day
with the President, other civilian officials, and members of the Armed
Forces swearing allegiance to the new charter.
The preamble introduces the constitution and the source of

sovereignty, the people. It follows the pattern in past constitutions,
including an appeal to God. The preamble reads:
We,the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order
to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall
embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good,conserve and
develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the
blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime
of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate
this Constitution.
National Terrritory as Defined in the 1987 Freedom Constitution
Territory is a fixed area or surface of the earth where the inhabitants of

a state live and where they maintain a government of their own. There
are three components of territory: a) the land mass otherwise known
as the terrestrial domain, b) the internal and external waters, which
make up the maritime and fluvial domain; and c) the air space above
the land and waters, which is called the aerial domain.
The scope of the Philippine territory is found in Article I of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution. It provides:
"The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters
embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the
seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other ubmarine areas. The waters around, between,
and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form
part of the internal waters of the Philippines."
Archipelago is defined as a sea or part of a sea studded with islands, often synonymous
with island groups, or as a large group of islands in an extensive body of water, such as
sea. (De Leon, 1991)
116
In various conferences of the United Nations on the Law of the
Sea, the Philippines and other archipelago states proposed that
an archipelagic state composed of groups of islands forming a
state is a single unit, with the islands and the waters within the
baselines as internal waters.By this concept (archipelagic
doctrine), an archipelago shall be regarded as a single unit, so
that the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of
the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions,
form part of the internal waters of the state, subject to its
exclusive sovereignty.
The archipelagic principle however is subject to the

following limitations:
a) respect for the right of the ship and other states to
pass through the territorial as well as archipelagic waters
b) respect to right of innocent passage
c) respect for passage through archipelagic sea lanes subject to the promulgation
by local authorities of pertinent rules and regulations.
For purposes of analysis, Philippine national territory includes the following:

a) the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein;
b) all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction
consisting of territorial, fluvial and aerial domains;
c) the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, and insular shelves and other
submarine areas; and
d) the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago,
regardless of their breadth and dimensions.
Other Territories Claimed by the Philippines
The Philippines has claimed many territories throughout its history.

These territories include the Spratly Islands, Sabah, Scarborough Shoal,
Palmias (Miangas), Orchid Island, the Sangir Islands, the Marianas
Islands, and the Caroline Islands. The first three here will be given
more emphasis because of its present relevance and value:
1. Spratly Islands
The Philippines claims fifty-two landforms in the Spratly Island group.

Of these fifty-two landforms, only five islands, two cays, and three
reefs are under Philippine occupation: the Flat Island (Patag), the
Loaita Island (Kota), the Nanshan Island (Lawak), the Thitu Island
(Pagasa), the West York Island (Likas), the Lankiam Cay (Panata), the
Northeast Cay (Parola), the Irving Reef (Balagtas), the Commodore
117
Reef (Rizal), and the Second Thomas (Ayungin) Reef. Some of the other
landforms claimed but not occupied by the Philippines as of now are
either occupied by Vietnam, China, Taiwan or Malaysia. Landforms in
the Spratly Islands group that have not been claimed by the Philippines
are typically those that are closer to Vietnam. The farthest landform
the Philippines claims is Ladd Reef, which is currently occupied by
Vietnam.
The Philippines established a municipality in the province of Palawan

named Kalayaan after all the landforms found on Pag-asa island,
2. North Borneo (Sabah Territory)
Between 1658 and 1700, the Sultanate of Sulu acquired the eastern
part of the territory of Northern Borneo (now Sabah) after helping the
Bruneian forces settle a civil war. The Sulu Archipelago then came
under the control of the Spanish while the area of Northern Borneo was
administered by the British after the sultans of Brunei and Sulu agreed
to cede their control. The western and eastern parts of Northern
Borneo became known as North Borneo.
In its process of decolonization beginning in 1946, Great Britain

included Sabah in the newly formed Federation of Malaysia. The
Philippines, which had already achieved its independence from the
United States, protested the formation of Malaysia and filed claims for
the whole territory of Northern Borneo under the administration of
President Diosdado Macapagal. However, during a meeting to plan
Maphilindo, the Philippine government stated that it had no objection
to the formation of Malaysia, but claimed that the Sultan of Sulu
wanted payment from the British government. The first Malaysian
Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, said he would return to Kuala
Lumpur to protest the Philippines' claim.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos later revived the claim and

trained a number of Moro fighters to reclaim the territory in a secret
mission named Operation Merdeka. However, when the recruits gained
knowledge of their true mission, most of them demanded to be
returned home, as they did not want to kill their fellow Muslims in
Sabah. Their request was denied; Marcos did not send back his soldiers
but instead executed most of the fighters in an event known as the
Jabidah massacre. This caused a southern Philippines insurgency to
emerge, and the claim continued to be escalated by other claimants
from the defunct Sultanate of Sulu. These claimants each attempted to
give themselves legitimacy by self-proclaiming as the new Sultan of
Sulu with support from politicians in the Philippine central government
wishing to incorporate Sabah into the Philippines. Most new claimants
118
and Philippine politicians today use the promised Malaysian lease
payment as their main excuse to take over the territory and also use it
as a reason before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
3. Scarborough Shoal
The Scarborough Shoal, more correctly described as a group of islands,

atolls, and reefs rather than a shoal, is located in the South China Sea.
The nearest landmass is Palauig town, Zambales province, Luzon
Island, at 221 kilometres (137 mi). It is about 198 kilometres (123 mi)
west of Subic Bay.
Both the Philippines and the People's Republic of China claim it. In April
2012, the Philippines accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally and
asked them to leave.
The Philippines is asserting jurisdiction over the shoal based on the

juridical criteria established by public international law on the lawful
methods for the acquisition of sovereignty. Among the criteria
(effective occupation, cession, prescription, conquest, and accretion),
the Philippines said that the country "exercised both effective
occupation and effective jurisdiction over Bajo de Masinloc since its
independence". Thus, it claims to have erected flags on some islands
and a lighthouse which is reported to the International Maritime
Organization. It also asserts that Philippine and US Naval Forces have
used it as an impact range and that its Department of Environment
and Natural Resources has conducted scientific, topographic and
marine studies on the shoal, while Filipino fishermen regularly use it as
a fishing ground and have always considered it their own. Likewise,
multiple engagements and arrests of Chinese fishermen were already
made at the shoal by the Philippine Navy for using illegal fishing
methods and catching of endangered sea species.
The legal basis of the Philippine's assertion is based on the

international law on acquisition of sovereignty. Thus, the Philippine
government explains that its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claim on
the waters around Scarborough Shoal is different from the sovereignty
exercised by the Philippines on the shoal itself.
The Chinese basis for the claim is that the shoal would have been first
discovered by Chinese in the 13th century and historically used by
Chinese fishermen.
Declaration of State Principles & Policies
119
The Article 2 of the 1987 Freedom Constitution of the Philippines
contains 28 sections divided into two parts. The first part enumerates
the principles of the State while the second part
stipulates the State policies. The Declaration of the
State Principles and Policies is considered the political
creed of the nation. It lays down the fundamental
principles and policies the government in their policy-
determining functions. These rests with the executive
and legislative departments, and the electorate cannot demand their
enforcement through the courts. The remedy is political. But indirectly,
some of these principles may guide the courts in determining the
validity of statutes or executive acts in justiciable cases.
Article 2 State Principles:
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty

resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy,

adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law
of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom,
cooperation, and amity with all nations.
Section 3. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The
Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State.
Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the
national territory.
Section 4. The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the
people. The Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in
the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided
by law, to render personal, military or civil service.
Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty,
and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the
enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.
Section 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.
Article 2 State Policies:
Section 7. The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations
with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty,
territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination.
Section 8. The Philippines, consistent with the national interest, adopts and
pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory.
Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order that will
ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people
from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote
full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for
all.
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Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national
development.
Section 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights.
Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect
and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall
equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from
conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of
the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall
receive the support of the Government.
Section 13. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building
and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and
social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism,
and encourage their involvement in public and civic affairs.
Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building, and
shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the
people and instill health consciousness among them.
Section 16. The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a
balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of
nature.
Section 17. The State shall give priority to education, science and technology,
arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social
progress, and promote total human liberation and development.
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall
protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
Section 19. The State shall develop a self-reliant and independent national
economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private sector,
encourages private enterprise, and provides incentives to needed
investments.
Section 21. The State shall promote comprehensive rural development and
agrarian reform.
Section 22. The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous
cultural communities within the framework of national unity and development.
Section 23. The State shall encourage non-governmental, community-based,

or sectoral organizations that promote the welfare of the nation.
Section 24. The State recognizes the vital role of communication and
information in nation-building.
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Section 25. The State shall ensure the autonomy of local governments.
Section 26. The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public
service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.
Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public
service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.
Section 28. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State

adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions
involving public interest.
Bill of Rights
Bill of rights may be defined as a declaration and enumeration of a

person's rights and privileges which the Constitution is designed to
protect against violations by
the government, or by an
individual or groups of
individuals. Bill of Rights of
Article III of the 1987
Freedom Constitution of the
Philippines enumerates the
fundamental rights of the
Filipino people. The Bill of
Rights sets the limits to the
government's power which proves to be not absolute. Among the
rights of the people are freedoms of speech, assembly, religion, and
the press. An important feature here is the suspension of the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus which have three available grounds such
as invasion, insurrection and rebellion.
The Article III: BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due

process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the
laws.
Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,

papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever
nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or
warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined
personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the
complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing
the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Section 3. (1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be

inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order
requires otherwise, as prescribed by law.
(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be
inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.
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Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of
expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble
and petition the government for redress of grievances.
Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of
religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall
forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil
or political rights.
Section 6. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits
prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court.
Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national
security, public safety, or public health, as may be provided by law.
Section 7. The right of the people to information on matters of public concern

shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents and papers
pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government
research data used as basis for policy development, shall be afforded the
citizen, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
Section 8. The right of the people, including those employed in the public and
private sectors, to form unions, associations, or societies for purposes not
contrary to law shall not be abridged.
Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation.
Section 10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.
Section 11. Free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate
legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.
Section 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an
offense shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to
have competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the
person cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one.
These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of
counsel.
(2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which
vitiate the free will shall be used against him. Secret detention places,
solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.
(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17
hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.
(4) The law shall provide for penal and civil sanctions for violations of this
section as well as compensation to the rehabilitation of victims of torture or
similar practices, and their families.
Section 13. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by
reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction,
be bailable by sufficient sureties, or be released on recognizance as may be
provided by law. The right to bail shall not be impaired even when the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended. Excessive bail shall not be
required.
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Section 14. (1) No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense
without due process of law.
(2) In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until
the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and
counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against
him, to have a speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face
to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of
witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf. However, after
arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused:
Provided, that he has been duly notified and his failure to appear is
unjustifiable.
Section 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended
except in cases of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.
Section 16. All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their
cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.
Section 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
Section 18. (1) No person shall be detained solely by reason of his political
beliefs and aspirations. (2) No involuntary servitude in any form shall exist
except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted.
Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or
inhuman punishment inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless,
for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes, the Congress hereafter
provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to
reclusion perpetua.
(2) The employment of physical, psychological, or degrading punishment
against any prisoner or detainee or the use of substandard or inadequate
penal facilities under subhuman conditions shall be dealt with by law.
Section 20. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll

tax.
Section 21. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the
same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or
acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the
same act.
Section 22. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.
124
Branches of Government
Government as an element of the state

is the agency or aggregate of institutions
that formulates, expresses and realizes
the will of the state. In a comprehensive
note, the government embraces all the
political institutions existing in the state,
from the highest governmental agency to the lowest administrative
bodies. The Philippine Government for example, encompasses all its
agencies, from the Office of the President down to its smallest political
agency - the barangays.
The Republic of the Philippines is a constitutional democracy, with the

President as head of state. The president and vice president are
elected by the people for six-year terms. The national government has
three coequal branches that exercise a system of checks and balances:
executive, legislative, and judicial.
Executive Branch:
Embracing the concept of separation of powers, the constitution
provides for a president, who is simultaneously head of government
and chief of state, a separately elected vice president, a bicameral
legislature, and an independent judiciary. The constitution includes
legislative and judicial limits on the power of the president. The
president cannot abolish Congress, and Congress can override a
presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote. Moreover, the
president needs Congressional support in order to implement policies
and programs. The Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of
presidential decrees.
The president is elected to a single six-year term by direct universal

suffrage; the vice president may be elected to a maximum of two
consecutive six-year terms. The vice president may be appointed to
the cabinet without legislative confirmation. The current president is
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PDP-Laban Party), who took office in June 30 2016
and the vice president Lenny Robredo who belong to Liberal Party (LP).
The executive functions of the government are carried out through the
Cabinet of Secretaries. The cabinet, which in 2019 consisted of heads
of 22 departments and offices, is appointed by the president with the
consent of the Commission of Appointments.
Legislative Branch
The bicameral Congress of the Philippines consists of the Senate
(upper chamber) and House of Representatives (lower chamber).
Members of the 24-seat Senate are elected at large to six-year terms
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and are limited to no more than two consecutive terms. The current
president of the Senate is Vicente Sotto III. The House is limited by the
constitution to no more than 250 members. In 2019 there were 238
members, of whom 214 (80 percent) were elected for three-year terms
from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities, and
the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the population, on the
basis of a uniform and progressive ratio. The other 24 members
(limited by the constitution to 20 percent of the total) are elected
through a party-list system of registered national, regional, and
sectoral parties or organizations. House members are limited to no
more than three consecutive terms. The current speaker of the House
is Allan Peter Cayetano. By means of a two-thirds majority vote,
Congress can override presidential vetoes and declare a state of war.
Judicial Branch:
The Philippines has an independent judiciary, with the Supreme Court
as the highest court of appeal. The Supreme Court also is empowered
to review the constitutionality of presidential decrees. The Supreme
Court consists of a chief justice and 14 associate justices. It is not
necessary for the entire court to convene in all cases. Justices are
appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and
Bar Council and serve until 70 years of age. The current chief justice is
Renato Corona. Lower-level courts include a national Court of Appeals
divided into 17 divisions, local and regional trial courts, and an informal
local system to settle certain disputes outside the formal court system.
In 1985 a separate court system founded on Islamic law (sharia) was
established in the southern Philippines with jurisdiction over family and
contractual relations among Muslims. Three district magistrates and six
circuit judges oversee the Islamic law system. A special court—the
Sandiganbayan or anti-graft court—focuses exclusively on
investigating charges of judicial corruption.
Administrative Divisions:
Administrative divisions consist of regions, provinces, chartered cities,
municipalities, and barangays (villages). Chartered cities are not part
of any province and do not elect provincial officials. The Philippines has
17 regions, 79 provinces, 117 chartered cities, 1,500 municipalities,
and 41,975 barangays. Metropolitan Manila, which is regarded as a
region, consists of 14 cities, 3 municipalities, and 1,694 barangays. The
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was established in 1990
following a plebicite in late 1989.
Provincial and Local Government:

Governors and vice governors are elected to head provinces, the
largest local administrative unit. Appointed functionaries responsible
for managing offices concerned with finance, tax collection, audit,
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public works, agricultural services, health, and schools are subordinate
not just to the governor, but also to national ministries. Because the
Philippines is a unitary republic, local government has less power than
it would have in a federal system. In fact, according to the constitution,
the president oversees local government. The single biggest problem
for local government has been inadequate funding. Although local
government is permitted to levy taxes, such taxes are subject to
restrictions by Congress, and they have been difficult to collect in
practice. A fragmented four-province Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao (ARMM) was formally established in November 1990 with its
own governor and unicameral legislature. The ARMM as the only
Muslim-majority region in the Philippines.
Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BARMM) was formed after voters
decided to ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law in a January 21, 2019
plebiscite. The ratification was announced on January 25 by the
Commission on Elections. This marks the beginning of the transition of
the ARMM to the BARMM. Another plebiscite was held in nearby regions
that sought to join the area on February 6, 2019. This plebiscite saw 63
of 67 barangays in North Cotabato join Bangsamoro.
Constitutional Commissions
A "constitutional commission" (a commission created by the

constitution) as stated in the 1987 Constitution are governmental
bodies that are independent of the three main branches of
government. These are the:
Civil Service Commission
The Civil Service Commission of the Philippines is one of

the three Constitutional Commissions of the Philippines
with responsibility over the civil service. It is tasked with
overseeing the integrity of government actions and
processes.
Commission on Audit
The Commission on Audit, abbreviated as COA, is an independent

constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines.
It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and
expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government.
Commission on Elections.
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The Commission on Elections, usually abbreviated as
COMELEC, is one of the three constitutional commissions of
the Philippines. Its principal role is to enforce all laws and
regulations relative to the conduct of elections in the Philippines.
Commisions’ General Characteristics:

• Independent
o salary fixed by law and not decreased during tenure
(Sec. 3)
• Fiscal autonomy
o appropriations automatically and regularly released
(Sec. 5)
General Powers
• appoint officials and employees in accordance with law (Sec.
4)
• promulgate rules concerning pleadings and practice (Sec. 6)
o not diminish, increase or modify substantive rights
• decide cases (Sec. 7)
o by a majority vote of all its Members
o as a body and not as individuals
o within 60 days from date of submission (upon filing of
last pleading, brief or memorandum
required by the Rules)
o appealable to the Supreme Court on certiorari within 30
days from receipt has been
changed to appeal to Court of Appeals within 15 days
o certiorari to the Supreme Court only after
reconsideration
(i.e., decisions of Commission En Banc)
o retirement of Commissioner before promulgation
o other functions as may be provided by law (Sec. 8)
General Prohibitions (Sec. 2)

• not hold any other office or employment during tenure
• not engage in the practice of any profession
• not engage in the active management or control of any
business which may be affected by the
functions of his office
• not financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any
Government contract, franchise or privilege
Accountability of Public Officer
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The 1987 Charter included a new provision, “Accountability of Public
Officers,” which commands: “Public officers and employees must at all
times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost
responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and
justice, and lead modest lives.” It prescribed two ways of exacting
accountability.
1. The first is the congressional power to impeach and oust our

top officials — president, vice president, Supreme Court justices,
members of the three constitutional commissions, and
ombudsman — and to disqualify them perpetually from holding
public office for “culpable violation of the Constitution, treason,
bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of
public trust.”
The Constitution gave the House of Representatives “the

exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment” and the
Senate “the sole power to try and decide” such cases. The ease
of obtaining an indictment via one-third vote of all House
members is checked and balanced by the difficulty of getting a
conviction via two-thirds vote (16) of all senators.
To date, Renato Corona's removal as Chief Justice and

disqualification from public office is the only completion of
the impeachment process. He was removed and
disqualified by the Senate on May 29, 2012 by the vote of
20-3. Estrada's impeachment trial ended prematurely,
while Gutierrez and Bautista resigned before the Senate
convened as an impeachment court.
2. The second way of exacting accountability is through the

“independent Office of the Ombudsman (OMB).” The
Constitution grants the OMB vast powers and duties, among
them to “investigate on its own, or on complaint by any person,
any act or omission of any public official, employee, office or
agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust,
improper, or inefficient.”
The Ombudsman Act of 1989 (Republic Act No. 6770) empowers

the OMB “to investigate any serious misconduct in office
allegedly committed by officials removable by impeachment, for
129
the purpose of filing a verified complaint for impeachment, if
warranted” in the House of Representatives.
In addition, Sec. 15 of RA 6770 mandates the OMB “to

investigate and initiate the proper action for the recovery of ill-
gotten and/or unexplained wealth … and the prosecution of the
parties involved therein,” and “to give priority to complaints filed
against high ranking government officials…”
In sum, the OMB’s accountability duty includes the investigation

of impeachable officials for the purpose of (1) recommending, if
warranted, the initiation of impeachment; (2) filing civil cases for
the recovery of ill-gotten wealth; and/or (3) filing criminal
indictments for violation of antigraft and other penal statutes
after the impeachable officials shall have served their terms.
Sources:
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/constitution-day/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Philippines
https://opinion.inquirer.net/108445/checks-balances-public-
accountability#ixzz5yVO02lYM
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The Development of Philippine Agrarian Reform
Agrarian reform is considered wider than land reform. The term

comprises not only land reform (such as the reform of tenure,
production and supporting services structures) but also the reform and
development of complementary institutional framework such as the
administrative agencies of the national government, rural educational
and social welfare institutions and not limited simply to the question of
the relationships of the farmers to the land.
Studying agrarian is important for it teaches us valuable lessons and

gives us a picture of the colorful accounts of how our people and our
nation struggled throughout the years to redeem in all sincerity the
promise of a land reform.
Pre-Spanish Period
Before the Spaniards came to the

Philippines, Filipinos lived in villages or
barangays ruled by chiefs or datus.
The datus comprised the nobility.
Then came the maharlikas (freemen),
followed by the aliping mamamahay
(serfs) and aliping saguiguilid (slaves).
Land was not unequally distributed
before the Spaniards came to the Philippines. The notion of private
property was unknown then as the community (barangay) owned the
land and its distribution for tilling was based on the decision by the
ruling datu.
However, despite the existence of different classes in the social

structure, practically everyone had access to the fruits of the soil and
mutually shares resources and the fruits of their labor. They believed in
and practiced the concept of “stewardship” where relationship
between man and nature is important. Money was unknown, and rice
served as the medium of exchange.
Land cultivation was done commonly by kaingin system or the slash

and burn method wherein land was cleared by burning the bushes
before planting the crops or either land was plowed and harrowed
before planting. Food production was intended for family consumption
only. Later, neighboring communities where engaged in a barter trade,
exchanging their goods with others. Some even traded their
agricultural products with luxury items of some foreign traders like
Chinese, Arabs and Europeans.
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Spanish Period (1521-1898)
Through the Laws of the Indies, agricultural tenancy originates in the

Philippines wherein the Spanish crown awarded vast tracts of land to
wit:
 Friar lands for the religious orders;
 Repartiamentos for lands granted to the
Spanish military as a reward for their
service; and
 Encomienda a large tracts of land given to
Spaniards (encomiendero) to manage and
have the right to receive tributes from the
natives tilling it. Natives within these
areas became mere tillers working for a share of crops. They did
not even have any rights to the land.
When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, the concept of
encomienda (Royal Land Grants) was introduced wherein the lands
were divided and granted to encourage Spanish settlers or reward
soldiers who served the Crown. This system grants that
encomienderos must defend his encomienda from external attack,
maintain peace and order within, and support the missionaries. In turn,
the encomiendero acquired the right to collect and have a share to the
tribute (tributo or buwis) from the indios (native).
The tributes soon became land rents to a few powerful landlords, and
the people living within the boundaries of the encomienda became
tenants who once cultivated the lands in freedom. The encomenderos
became the first hacendados in the country. Religious orders, mainly
Dominican and Augustinian became owners of vast tracts of friar land
which was leased to natives and mestizos. Meanwhile the colonial
government took the place of the datus. The datu was now called
cabeza de barangay, but it was the proprietors of the estates who held
the real power in the barangay or community. Thus the most significant
Spanish innovation concerning property rights was the introduction of
the concept of legal title to land, that is, private ownership.
Much later, in place of the encomiendas, the Spanish authorities began

to group together several barangays into administration units through
the policy of redduccion. The colonial government at this period
introduced a pueblo agriculture, a system wherein native rural
communities were organized into pueblo and each Christianized native
family is given a four to five hectares of land to cultivate. The pueblo
agriculture practiced no share cropper class or landless class. The
native families were merely landholders and not landowners. By law,
the land assigned to them was the property of the Spanish King where
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they pay their colonial tributes to the Spanish authorities in the form of
agricultural products they produced.
Pueblos or municipios which were governed by gobernadorcillos who in

turn were elected by the cabezas de barangays (today’s barangay
captain) comprising the leaders of each barangay of a given pueblo.
Together, the cabezas and gobernadorcillos made up of
the landed class known as caciques (landed class). At
the passing of time, the Filipino caciques intermarried
with Spaniards. This gave such class as mestizo caste
which exists to this day. Through this enviable position,
the cabezas the gobernadorcillos gained more and more
stature or prestige with the Spanish civil and
ecclesiastical authorities, and the common people.
In time, the caciques were given the prerogative of

collecting taxes as well. This act vested in them great
power. Certainly, this did not help to endear them to the
ordinary people. Caciquism as an institution became deeply rooted in
Philippine soil. This paved the way to many present-day agrarian
problems and unrests. As the cacique system grew, it also became
more oppressive. This brought about colonial uprisings during the 19th
century, which tended to occur in the areas with much agricultural
activity such as Central Luzon.
Agrarian-related problems were the only source of major conflicts

during this time. Land was available in the entire archipelago. The
major sources of conflict and rebellion were really the harsh Spanish
impositions, such as: tributo, polo y servicio, encomienda, bandala, etc.
Polo y servicio was a practice employed by Spanish colonizers for over

250 years that required the forced labor of all Filipino males from 16 to
60 years old for 40-day periods. The workers could be placed on any
project the Spanish wanted, despite hazardous or unhealthy
conditions. The polo y servicio crippled the ability of the Filipinos to
feed their selves causing hunger and frustration and leading to
numerous rebellions as this led them to abandon their lands to grow
crops. One could be exempted by the polo y servicio by paying falla or
fine. The gobernadorcillos and cabezas de barangays were all
exempted from the polo.
The Bandala System or compras y vandalas system was a system

implemented by Spanish authorities in the Philippines that required
native Filipino farmers to sell their goods to the government. The
farmers were not in favor of this system and were not even offered fair
market prices for their crops.
133
During the 19th century, several developments occurred that solidified
the land tenure system, and aroused antagonism over its injustices
and inequalities. Since the Spaniards did not levy a land tax or a head
tax (cedula), and few records of land-ownership were kept, the Spanish
government issued two Royal Decrees: decreto realenga (1880) and
the Maura Law (1894). These decrees ordered the caciques and
natives, to secure legal title for their lands or suffer forfeiture. The
Filipino peasants, either ignorant of the processes of the law or of the
Spanish-written instructions, were just slow to respond. The
landowners (caciques) were quick to react. They did not only register
their own landholdings but also took advantage of the ignorance of the
peasants, by claiming peasant lands adjacent to their own holdings
leaving almost 400,000 Filipino peasants landless. No option was left
for those dispossessed because documented titles to the land
prevailed over verbal claims. Hence, most Filipino landed peasants
became mere tenants in their own lands.
Other strategies of dispossessing peasants of their landholdings were:

1. Outright purchase at a low price of real estates (realenga) by a
Spaniard or a cacique, from a badly-in-need peasants.
2. Mortgage system (pacto de retroventa); this is equivalent of
today’s mortgage system (sangla). The mortgage system is
equivalent of today’s mortgage system (sangla), where a
landowner who has loaned a peasant some money becomes this
peasant landlord. This happened simply because the system
required the land to be collateral. While the peasant had not paid
back his loan, he paid the landlord rent for the use of his own
land.
3. Another source of land-related conflict by the late 19th century
was the “friar lands”. Many farmers questioned the amount of
land in grant given by the Spanish crown to the religious orders
(i.e. Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Recollect
Orders). Tenants (inquilinos) paid tax termed as “canon” to the
friars. Spanish Period (1521-1898)
1st Philippine Republic
When the First Philippine Republic was established in 1899, Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo declared in the Malolos Constitution his intention to
confiscate large estates, especially the so-called Friar lands. However,
as the Republic was short-lived, Aguinaldo’s plan was never
implemented.
American Period
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The United States of America took possession of the Philippines
following the Spanish–American War in 1898 and after putting down
the subsequent rebellion in the Philippine–American War. The Second
Philippine Commission, the Taft Commission, viewed economic
development as one of its top three goals. In 1901 93% of the islands'
land area was held by the government and William Howard Taft,
Governor-General of the Philippines, argued for a liberal policy so that
a good portion could be sold off to American investors. Instead, the
United States Congress, influenced by agricultural interests that did
not want competition from the Philippines, in the 1902 Land Act, set a
limit of 16 hectares of land to be sold or leased to American individuals
and 1,024 hectares to American corporations. This and a downturn in
the investment environment discouraged the foreign-owned
plantations common in British Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and
French Indochina.
Further the U.S. Federal Government faced the problem of much of the
private land being owned by the Roman Catholic Church and controlled
by Spanish clerics. The American government—officially secular,
hostile to continued Spanish control of much of the land of the now-
American colony, and long hostile to Catholics—negotiated a
settlement with the Church handing over its land.
The 1902 Philippine Organic Act was a constitution for the Insular
Government, as the U.S. civil administration was known. This act,
among other actions, disestablished the Catholic Church as the state
religion. The United States government, in an effort to resolve the
status of the friars, negotiated with the Vatican. The church agreed to
sell the friars' estates and promised gradual substitution of Filipino and
other non-Spanish priests for the friars. It refused, however, to
withdraw the religious orders from the islands immediately, partly to
avoid offending Spain. In 1904 the administration bought for $7.2
million the major part of the friars' holdings, amounting to some
166,000 hectares (410,000 acres), of which one-half was in the vicinity
of Manila. The land was eventually resold to Filipinos, some of them
tenants but the majority of them estate owners.
Significant legislation enacted during the American

Period:
 Philippine Bill of 1902 – Set the ceilings on the
hectarage of private individuals and
corporations may acquire: 16 has. for private
individuals and 1,024 has. for corporations.
 Land Registration Act of 1902 (Act No. 496) –
Provided for a comprehensive registration of
land titles under the Torrens system. The
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Torrens system, which the Americans instituted for the
registration of lands, did not solve the problem completely. Either
they were not aware of the law or if they did, they could not pay
the survey cost and other fees required in applying for a Torrens
title.
 Public Land Act of 1903 – introduced the homestead system in
the Philippines. Homestead Patent is a mode of acquiring
alienable and disposable lands of the public domain for
agricultural purposes conditioned upon actual cultivation and
residence.
 Tenancy Act of 1933 (Act No. 4054 and 4113) – regulated
relationships between landowners and tenants of rice (50-50
sharing) and sugar cane lands.
Commonwealth Period
During the American Colonial Period, tenant farmers complained about

the sharecropping system, as well as by the dramatic increase in
population which added economic pressure to the tenant farmers'
families. As a result, an agrarian reform program was initiated by the
Commonwealth. However, success of the program was hampered by
ongoing clashes between tenants and landowners.
An example of these clashes includes one initiated by Benigno Ramos

through his Sakdalista movement, which advocated tax reductions,
land reforms, the breakup of the large estates or haciendas, and the
severing of American ties. The uprising, which occurred in Central
Luzon in May 1935, claimed about a hundred lives. President Manuel L.
Quezon espoused the "Social Justice" program to arrest the increasing
social unrest in Central Luzon.
Significant legislation enacted during Commonwealth Period:

1. 1935 Constitution – "The promotion of social justice to ensure the
well-being and economic security of all people should be the
concern of the State"
2. Commonwealth Act No. 178 (An Amendment to Rice Tenancy Act
No. 4045), Nov. 13, 1936 – Provided for certain controls in the
landlord-tenant relationships, a 50–50 sharing of the crop,
regulation of interest to 10% per agricultural year, and a
safeguard against arbitrary dismissal by the landlord. The major
flaw of this law was that it could be used only when the majority
of municipal councils in a province petitioned for it. Since
landowners usually controlled such councils, no province ever
asked that the law be applied. Therefore, Quezón ordered that
the act be mandatory in all Central Luzon provinces. However,
contracts were good only for one year.
136
3. National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARIC), 1936 – Established
the price of rice and corn thereby help the poor tenants as well
as consumers.
4. Commonwealth Act. No. 461, 1937 – Specified reasons for the
dismissal of tenants and only with the approval of the Tenancy
Division of the Department of Justice.
5. Rural Program Administration, created March 2, 1939 – Provided
the purchase and lease of haciendas and their sale and lease to
the tenants.
6. Commonwealth Act No. 441 enacted on June 3, 1939 – Created
the National Settlement Administration with a capital stock of
P20,000,000.
Japanese Occupation
The Second World War II started in Europe in 1939 and in the Pacific in
1941. Hukbalahapn (Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon) controlled
whole areas of Central Luzon; landlords who supported the Japanese
lost their lands to peasants while those who supported the Huks
earned fixed rentals in favor of the tenants. Upon the arrival of the
Japanese in the Philippines in 1942, peasants and workers
organizations grew strength. Many peasants took up arms and
identified themselves with the anti-Japanese group, the HUKBALAHAP
(Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon).
Agrarian Reform During the 3rd to 5th Philippine Republic
Unfortunately, the end of war also signaled the end of gains

acquired by the peasants. After the establishment of the
Philippine Independence in 1946, the problems of land tenure
remained. These became worst in certain areas. Thus the
Congress of the Philippines revised the tenancy law.
The following were the contributions of the Philippine

presidents to the agrarian reforms from the onset of Philippine
3rd Republic to its present 5th Republic:
Manuel Roxas (1946-1948) enacted the following laws:

1. Republic Act No. 34 -- Established the 70-30 sharing
arrangements and regulating share-tenancy contracts.
2. Republic Act No. 55 -- Provided for a more effective safeguard
against arbitrary ejectment of tenants.
Quirino (1948-1953) enacted the following law:

1. Executive Order No. 355 issued on October 23, 1950 -- Replaced
the National Land Settlement Administration with Land
137
Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) which takes
over the responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery Equipment
Corporation and the Rice and Corn Production Administration.
President Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957) enacted the following

laws:
2. Republic Act No. 1160 of 1954 -- Abolished the LASEDECO and
established the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation
Administration (NARRA) to resettle dissidents and landless
farmers. It was particularly aimed at rebel returnees providing
home lots and farmlands in Palawan and Mindanao.
3. Republic Act No. 1199 (Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954) --
governed the relationship between landowners and tenant
farmers by organizing share-tenancy and leasehold system. The
law provided the security of tenure of tenants. It also created the
Court of Agrarian Relations.
4. Republic Act No. 1400 (Land Reform Act of 1955) -- Created the
Land Tenure Administration (LTA) which was responsible for the
acquisition and distribution of large tenanted rice and corn lands
over 200 hectares for individuals and 600 hectares for
corporations.
5. Republic Act No. 821 (Creation of Agricultural Credit Cooperative
Financing Administration) -- Provided small farmers and share
tenants loans with low interest rates of six to eight percent.
President Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961) continued the program of

President Ramon Magsaysay. No new legislation passed.
President Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965) enacted the following

law:
1. Republic Act No. 3844 of August 8, 1963 (Agricultural Land
Reform Code) -- Abolished share tenancy, institutionalized
leasehold, set retention limit at 75 hectares, invested rights of
preemption and redemption for tenant farmers, provided for an
administrative machinery for implementation, institutionalized a
judicial system of agrarian cases, incorporated extension,
marketing and supervised credit system of services of farmer
beneficiaries. This RA was hailed as one that would emancipate
Filipino farmers from the bondage of tenancy.
President Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986). Proclamation No. 1081

on September 21, 1972 ushered the Period of the New Society. Five
days after the proclamation of Martial Law, the entire country was
proclaimed a land reform area and simultaneously the Agrarian Reform
Program was decreed.
138
President Marcos enacted the following laws:
2. Republic Act No. 6389, (Code of Agrarian Reform) and RA No.
6390 of 1971 -- Created the Department of Agrarian Reform and
the Agrarian Reform Special Account Fund. It strengthen the
position of farmers and expanded the scope of agrarian reform.
3. Presidential Decree No. 2, September 26, 1972 -- Declared the
country under land reform program. It enjoined all agencies and
offices of the government to extend full cooperation and
assistance to the DAR. It also activated the Agrarian Reform
Coordinating Council.
4. Presidential Decree No. 27, October 21, 1972 -- Restricted land
reform scope to tenanted rice and corn lands and set the
retention limit at 7 hectares.
President Corazon C. Aquino (1986-1992) had the Constitution

ratified by the Filipino people during her administration. The 1987
Constitution provides under Section 21 under Article II that “The State
shall promote comprehensive rural development and agrarian reform.”
Consequently, on June 10, 1988, former President Corazon C. Aquino

signed into law Republic Act No. 6657 or otherwise known as the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). The law became effective
on June 15, 1988.
President Corazon C. Aquino enacted the following laws:

1. Executive Order No. 228, July 16, 1987 – Declared full ownership
to qualified farmer-beneficiaries covered by PD 27. It also
determined the value remaining unvalued rice and corn lands
subject of PD 27 and provided for the manner of payment by the
FBs and mode of compensation to landowners.
2. Executive Order No. 229, July 22, 1987 – Provided mechanism for
the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program (CARP).
3. Proclamation No. 131, July 22, 1987 – Instituted the CARP as a
major program of the government. It provided for a special fund
known as the Agrarian Reform Fund (ARF), with an initial amount
of Php50 billion to cover the estimated cost of the program from
1987-1992.
4. Executive Order No. 129-A, July 26, 1987 – streamlined and
expanded the power and operations of the DAR.
5. Republic Act No. 6657, June 10, 1988 (Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law) – An act which became effective June 15, 1988 and
instituted a comprehensive agrarian reform program to promote
social justice and industrialization providing the mechanism for
its implementation and for other purposes. This law is still the
one being implemented at present.
139
6. Executive Order No. 405, June 14, 1990 – Vested in the Land
Bank of the Philippines the responsibility to determine land
valuation and compensation for all lands covered by CARP.
7. Executive Order No. 407, June 14, 1990 – Accelerated the
acquisition and distribution of agricultural lands, pasture lands,
fishponds, agro-forestry lands and other lands of the public
domain suitable for agriculture.
President Fidel V. Ramos (1992-1998) President Fidel V. Ramos

formally took over in 1992 and his administration came face to face
with publics who have lost confidence in the agrarian reform program.
His administration committed to the vision “Fairer, faster and more
meaningful implementation of the Agrarian Reform Program.
President Fidel V. Ramos enacted the following laws:

1. Republic Act No. 7881, 1995 – Amended certain provisions of RA
6657 and exempted fishponds and prawns from the coverage of
CARP.
2. Republic Act No. 7905, 1995 – Strengthened the implementation
of the CARP.
3. Executive Order No. 363, 1997 – Limits the type of lands that
may be converted by setting conditions under which limits the
type of lands that may be converted by setting conditions under
which specific categories of agricultural land are either
absolutely non-negotiable for conversion or highly restricted for
conversion.
4. Republic Act No. 8435, 1997 (Agriculture and Fisheries
Modernization Act AFMA) – Plugged the legal loopholes in land
use conversion.
5. Republic Act 8532, 1998 (Agrarian Reform Fund Bill) – Provided
an additional Php50 billion for CARP and extended its
implementation for another 10 years.
President Joseph E. Estrada (1998-2000) “ERAP PARA SA

MAHIRAP’. This was the battle cry that endeared President Joseph
Estrada and made him very popular during the 1998 presidential
election.
President Joseph E. Estrada initiated the enactment of the following

law:
1. Executive Order N0. 151, September 1999 (Farmer’s Trust Fund)
– Allowed the voluntary consolidation of small farm operation
into medium and large scale integrated enterprise that can
access long-term capital.
140
2. During his administration, President Estrada launched the
Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The
DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into
agrarian sector to make FBs competitive. However, the Estrada
Administration was short lived. The masses who put him into
office demanded for his ouster.
President Gloria Macapacal-Arroyo (2000-2010) agrarian reform

program is anchored on the vision “To make the countryside
economically viable for the Filipino family by building partnership and
promoting social equity and new economic opportunities towards
lasting peace and sustainable rural development.” The following were
implemented during her term:
1. Land Tenure Improvement - DAR will remain vigorous in
implementing land acquisition and distribution component of
CARP. The DAR will improve land tenure system through land
distribution and leasehold.
2. Provision of Support Services - CARP not only involves the
distribution of lands but also included package of support
services which includes: credit assistance, extension services,
irrigation facilities, roads and bridges, marketing facilities and
training and technical support programs.
3. Infrastrucre Projects - DAR will transform the agrarian reform
communities (ARCs), an area focused and integrated delivery
of support services, into rural economic zones that will help in
the creation of job opportunities in the countryside.
4. KALAHI ARZone - The KALAHI Agrarian Reform (KAR) Zones
were also launched. These zones consists of one or more
municipalities with concentration of ARC population to achieve
greater agro-productivity.
5. Agrarian Justice - To help clear the backlog of agrarian cases,
DAR will hire more paralegal officers to support undermanned
adjudicatory boards and introduce quota system to compel
adjudicators to work faster on agrarian reform cases. DAR will
respect the rights of both farmers and landowners.
6. On 27 September 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
signed Executive Order No. 364, and the Department of
Agrarian Reform was renamed to Department of Land Reform.
This EO also broadened the scope of the department, making
it responsible for all land reform in the country. It also placed
the Philippine Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) under its
supervision and control. Recognition of the ownership of
ancestral domain by indigenous peoples also became the
responsibility of this new department, under the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
141
7. On 23 August 2005, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed
Executive Order No. 456 and renamed the Department of
Land Reform back to Department of Agrarian Reform, since
"the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law goes beyond just
land reform but includes the totality of all factors and support
services designed to lift the economic status of the
beneficiaries.
When President Noynoy Aquino took office, there was a renewed push
to compete the agrarian reform. The Department of Agrarian Reform
adopted a goal of distributed all CARP-eligible land by the end of Pres.
Aquino's term in 2016. As of June 2013, 694,181 hectares remained to
be distributed, according to DAR. Hacienda Luisita, owned by the
Cojuangco family, which includes the late former President Corazón C.
Aquino and her son, former President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco
Aquino III, has been a notable case of land reform.
142
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program is the current law under which
land reform is conducted. Large land-
holdings are broken up and distributed
to farmers and workers on that
particular hacienda. The crops grown on
such haciendas include sugar and rice.
Each farmer is giving a "certificates of
land ownership award" or CLOA for their new property. Under the law, a
landowner can only retain 5 hectares, regardless of the size of the
hacienda. Conflict can arise between previous landowners and
"beneficiaries" and between competing farmers' groups that have
conflicting claims.
In December 2008, CARP expired and the following year CARPer was
passed. CARPer stands for "Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
Extension with Reforms". CARPer expired in 2014.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform_in_the_Philippines
http://www.dar.gov.ph/about-us/agrarian-reform-history
https://nelson.wisc.edu/ltc/docs/philippinesbrief.pdf
The Development of Philippine Taxation
Taxation is the imposition of compulsory levies on individuals or

entities by governments. Taxes are levied in almost every country of
the world, primarily to raise revenue for government expenditures,
although they serve other purposes as well. In modern economies
taxes are the most important source of governmental revenue. Without
taxes, governments would be unable to meet the demands of their
societies. Taxes are crucial because governments collect this money
and use it to finance social projects.
Taxes differ from other sources of revenue in that they are compulsory
levies and are unrequited—i.e., they are generally not paid in exchange
for some specific thing, such as a particular public service, the sale of
public property, or the issuance of public debt. While taxes are
presumably collected for the welfare of taxpayers as a whole, the
individual taxpayer’s liability is independent of any specific benefit
received.
143
Pre-colonial Taxation System
Before, the archipelago was constituted

of small islands wherein every islands
has their own political system called
Barangay. These kinship groups were led
by a datu, hence ‘barangay’ also meant
the following of a datu, a political
community defined by personal
attachment, not territorial location. The
barangay settled together in a
community ranging from thirty to one hundred households, and
through subdivision, many were still that size when the Spanish arrived
in the sixteenth century.
Pre-hispanic Filipinos were already practicing paying taxes in the form

of buwis or handug for the protection from their datu or rajah. The
chieftain’s family members were enoying exemption from paying
taxes. Non-payment of taxes was already punishable during this period
like being punish into slavery.
There were three classes in pre-colonial barangays in the Philipphines,

to wit:
1. ”tumao”or maginoo class (includes datu) were the nobility of
pure royal descent.
2. ”timawa”class were warrior class or the “the third rank of
nobility" and "free men” who were neither chiefs nor slaves.
They were required to render military service to the datu in
hunts, land wars or sea raids. They could acquire property,
acquire any job they want, pick their own wives, and acquire
an Alipin thus they were however expected to pay taxes, and
support the Maginoo class. They are the only class to pay
taxes, and hence their importance in the community.
3. ”oripun”class (commoners and slaves), renders services to the
tumao and timawa for debts or favors. Since the oripon did
not likely make any money for their services, and hence did
not pay taxes.
Payment of tribute to the datu were in kind either through gold,

services, rice, animals,etc.
Spanish Colonial Taxation
144
In order to get enough money to pay for the
administration of the country and the
construction of churches, government
buildings, roads and bridges, and
improvements in transportation and
communication, the Filipinos were compelled to
pay tribute called tributo, to the colonial
government. The tribute was imposed as a sign
of the Filipinos' loyalty to the king of Spain.
Spaniards resident in the islands were exempt
in paying tax. The rate, known as "one tribute,"
was originally 8 silver reales for each family,
but this was early raised to 10 reales fuertes
and a small part of it, called sanctorum, went to the church.
Subsequently the tax was raised again in 1851 to 12 reales. The tribute
can be paid in cash or their equivalent in kind like chicken, pig, gold,
rice, or anything that can be readily disposed of.
The unit of assessment was the family. For this purpose the family
ordinarily included a married man over twenty years of age (after
1851, over sixteen) and his wife and minor children. Every unmarried
male over twenty and every unmarried female over twenty-five (after
1851, eighteen and twenty) living with the parents paid one-half a
"tribute." The duty to contribute ceased when the taxpayer reached
sixty years of age. Briefly stated, this was a uniform poll tax, at the
rate of half a "tribute," levied upon every person, male or female, over
sixteen years of age and under sixty.'
Exempt from the tribute, besides the Spaniards were:

1. The alcaldes, gobernadores and the cabezas de Barangay.
These were who collected these taxes; as were also their
wives and first-born sons or, if they had no sons, the persons
adopted as such. This exemption lasted three years, or for
the term of office.
2. Soldiers and militia men, both active and retired or invalided,
together with their wives and those sons who resided under
the parental roof; also their widows; and further the members
of the provincial reserves.
3. Members of the various branches of the civil guard (exclusive
of the municipal guard), including members of the resguardo
volante (revenue inspectors) and guardas volantes, the
custom-house guards (carabineros de hacienda), and the
marine guards (resguardos maritimos) with their wives and
sons.
145
4. Inspectors of tobacco and storekeepers, both male and
female, under the administration of the tobacco monopoly,
with their wives or husbands and sons.
5. Government employees receiving a fixed salary.
6. Paupers and cripples receiving public benevolence.
7. Miscellaneous persons, some exempt in recognition of
distinguished services to the government, or to agriculture or
industry, and others for "just cause." Example of these were
the cantores and one sacristan for every pueblo’s church
having one hundred native inhabitants.
On the other hand, the sons by native women of the Sangleyes, or

Chinese traders, in the islands) was double in amount that levied on
the natives, and they paid two reales for the tithe, one real for the
community fund and three reales for the sanctorum. Spanish mestizos
were exempt from the tribute. This exemption included the sons of
Spaniards by native women and of natives by Spanish women.
In case the payment of the tribute should become excessively

burdensome, on account of suffering among the people from plague,
failure of crops or severe tempest, such payment might be wholly or
partially suspended or remitted. The laws of the Indies required that
the "Indians" should pay the tribute in their pueblos and that they must
not be required to deliver it elsewhere.
On the other hand, the original basis of the revenue system was the
responsibility of the native chieftains, the cabezas de Barangay of
every pueblo, for the taxes levied against the people of their district.
The cabezas de Barangay were made the actual collectors of the
tribute for the forty or fifty families under their charge but its
remittance to Manila treasury was in the hands of local officials -the
alcaldes, for the province; the mayors (corre gidores) or the petty
governors (gobernadorcillos), commonly known as "captains," for the
municipality. The collection of taxes was primarily based on a padron
de tasas, or tax list based on the assessment by the colonial
government once every two (2) years. This assessment was based on
census of the tribute-paying natives, as it gave the names, ages and
occupations of the heads of families subject to the tribute.
Because of the widespread

opposition to the tribute and to the
abuses in its collection, the king
abolished it in 1884. The cedula
personal, the equivalent of which is
146
the present residence certificate, was introduced in its place. Every
resident of the country - Spaniards and foreigners, as well as natives,
without distinction of race, nationality or sex, over eighteen years of
age was required to obtain. The only exceptions were the Chinese, who
paid another poll tax, the remontados d infieles (bandits living in the
mountains), not subject to the local administration, and the natives
and colonists of the archipelago of Jolo and of the islands of Balabac
and Palawan.
Aside from the tribute, the Filipinos also paid other taxes. There were
the diezmos prediales, the donativo de Zamboanga, and the vinta. The
diezmos prediales was a tax consisting of one-tenth of the produce of
one's land. The donativo de Zamboanga, introduced in 1635, was
taxed specifically used for the conquest of Jolo. The vinta was tax paid
by people in the provinces along the coast of Western Luzon to defend
the area against Muslim pirates common at the time, as can still be
seen from the surviving towers of stone (where bells were rung to warn
the locality when Muslim pirates arrived).
American Era
In the early American regime from the period 1898 to 1901, the
country was ruled by American military governors. In 1902, the first
civil government was established under William H. Taft. However, it
was only during the term of second civil governor Luke E. Wright that
the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was created through the passage
of Reorganization Act No. 1189 dated July 2, 1904. On August 1, 1904,
the BIR was formally organized and made operational under the
Secretary of Finance, Henry Ide (author of the Internal Revenue Law of
1904), with John S. Hord as the first Collector (Commissioner). The first
organization started with 69 employees, which consisted of a Collector,
Vice-Collector, one Chief Clerk, one Law Clerk, one Records Clerk and
three (3) Division Chiefs.
Following the tenure of John S. Hord were three (3) more American
collectors, namely: Ellis Cromwell (1909-1912), William T. Holting
(1912-1214) and James J. Rafferty (1914-1918). They were all
appointed by the Governor-General with the approval of the Philippine
Commission and the US President.
147
During the term of Collector Holting, the Bureau had its first
reorganization on January 1, 1913 with the creation of eight (8)
divisions, namely: 1) Accounting, 2) Cash, 3) Clerical, 4) Inspection, 5)
Law, 6) Real Estate, 7) License and 8) Records. Collections by the Real
Estate and License Divisions were confined to revenue accruing to the
City of Manila.
In line with the Filipinization policy of then US President McKinley,

Filipino Collectors were appointed. The first three (3) BIR Collectors
were: Wenceslao Trinidad (1918-1922); Juan Posadas, Jr. (1922-1934)
and Alfredo Yatao (1934-1938).
In 1937, the Secretary of Finance promulgated Regulation No. 95,

reorganizing the Provincial Inspection Districts and maintaining in each
province an Internal Revenue Office supervised by a Provincial Agent.
Japanese Era
At the outbreak of World War II, under the Japanese regime (1942-
1945), the Bureau was combined with the Customs Office and was
headed by a Director of Customs and Internal Revenue.
Post War Era
On July 4, 1946, when the Philippines gained its independence from the
United States, the Bureau was eventually re-established separately.
This led to a reorganization on October 1, 1947, by virtue of Executive
Order No. 94, wherein the following were undertaken: 1) the
Accounting Unit and the Revenue Accounts and Statistical Division
were merged into one; 2) all records in the Records Section under the
Administrative Division were consolidated; and 3) all legal work were
centralized in the Law Division.
Revenue Regulations No. V-2 dated October 23, 1947 divided the
country into 31 inspection units, each of which was under a Provincial
Revenue Agent (except in certain special units which were headed by a
City Revenue Agent or supervisors for distilleries and tobacco
factories).
148
The second major reorganization of the Bureau took place on January
1, 1951 through the passage of Executive Order No. 392. Three (3) new
departments were created, namely: 1) Legal, 2) Assessment and 3)
Collection. On the latter part of January of the same year,
Memorandum Order No. V-188 created the Withholding Tax Unit, which
was placed under the Income Tax Division of the Assessment
Department. Simultaneously, the implementation of the withholding
tax system was adopted by virtue of Republic Act (RA) 690. This
method of collecting income tax upon receipt of the income resulted to
the collection of approximately 25% of the total income tax collected
during the said period.
The third major reorganization of the Bureau took effect on

March 1, 1954 through Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No.
41. This led to the creation of the following offices: 1) Specific
Tax Division, 2) Litigation Section, 3) Processing Section and
the 4) Office of the City Revenue Examiner. By September 1,
1954, a Training Unit was created through RMO No. V-4-47.
As an initial step towards decentralization, the Bureau created

its first 2 Regional Offices in Cebu and in Davao on July 20,
1955 per RMO No. V-536. Each Regional Office was headed by a
Regional Director, assisted by Chiefs of five (5) Branches,
namely: 1) Tax Audit, 2) Collection, 3) Investigation, 4) Legal
and 5) Administrative. The creation of the Regional Offices
marked the division of the Philippine islands into three (3)
revenue regions.
The Bureau's organizational set-up expanded beginning 1956

in line with the regionalization scheme of the government.
Consequently, the Bureau's Regional Offices increased to (8)
eight and later into ten (10) in 1957. The Accounting Machine
Branch was also created in each Regional Office.
149
In January 1957, the position title of the head of the Bureau
was changed from Collector to Commissioner. The last
Collector and the first Commissioner of the BIR was Jose
Aranas.
A significant step undertaken by the Bureau in 1958 was the

establishment of the Tax Census Division and the
corresponding Tax Census Unit for each Regional Office. This
was done to consolidate all statements of assets, incomes and
liabilities of all individual and resident corporations in the
Philippines into a National Tax Census.
To strictly enforce the payment of taxes and to further

discourage tax evasion, RA No. 233 or the Rewards Law was
passed on June 19, 1959 whereby informers were rewarded the
25% equivalent of the revenue collected from the tax evader.
In 1964, the Philippines was re-divided anew into 15 regions

and 72 inspection districts. The Tobacco Inspection Board and
Accountable Forms Committee were also created directly
under the Office of the Commissioner.
Marcos Administration
The appointment of Misael Vera as Commissioner in 1965 led

the Bureau to a "new direction" in tax administration. The
most notable programs implemented were the "Blue Master
Program" and the "Voluntary Tax Compliance Program". The
first program was adopted to curb the abuses of both the
taxpayers and BIR personnel, while the second program was
designed to encourage professionals in the private and
150
government sectors to report their true income and to pay the
correct amount of taxes.
It was also during Commissioner Vera's administration that the

country was further subdivided into 20 Regional Offices and 90
Revenue District Offices, in addition to the creation of various
offices which included the Internal Audit Department
(replacing the Inspection Department), Administrative Service
Department, International Tax Affairs Staff and Specific Tax
Department.
Providing each taxpayer with a permanent Tax Account

Number (TAN) in 1970 not only facilitated the identification of
taxpayers but also resulted to faster verification of tax
records. Similarly, the payment of taxes through banks (per
Executive Order No. 206), as well as the implementation of the
package audit investigation by industry are considered to be
important measures which contributed significantly to the
improved collection performance of the Bureau.
The proclamation of Martial Law on September 21, 1972

marked the advent of the New Society and ushered in a new
approach in the developmental efforts of the government.
Several tax amnesty decrees issued by the President were
promulgated to enable erring taxpayers to start anew.
Organization-wise, the Bureau had also undergone several
changes during the Martial Law period (1972-1980).
In 1976, under Commissioner Efren Plana's administration, the

Bureau's National Office transferred from the Finance Building
in Manila to its own 12-storey building in Quezon City, which
was inaugurated on June 3, 1977. It was also in the same year
that President Marcos promulgated the National Internal
Revenue Code of 1977, which updated the 1934 Tax Code.
151
On August 1, 1980, the Bureau was further reorganized under
the administration of Commissioner Ruben Ancheta. New
offices were created and some organizational units were
relocated for the purpose of making the Bureau more
responsive to the needs of the taxpaying public.
Aquino Administration
After the People's Revolution in February 1986, a renewed

thrust towards an effective tax administration was pursued by
the Bureau. "Operation: Walang Lagay" was launched to
promote the efficient and honest collection of taxes.
On January 30, 1987, the Bureau was reorganized under the

administration of Commissioner Bienvenido Tan, Jr. pursuant to
Executive Order (EO) No. 127. Under the said EO, two (2) major
functional groups headed and supervised by a Deputy
Commissioner were created, and these were: 1) the
Assessment and Collection Group; and 2) the Legal and
Internal Administration Group.
With the advent of the value-added tax (VAT) in 1988, a

massive campaign program aimed to promote and encourage
compliance with the requirements of the VAT was launched.
The adoption of the VAT system was one of the structural
reforms provided for in the 1986 Tax Reform Program, which
was designed to simplify tax administration and make the tax
system more equitable. It was also in 1988 that the Revenue
Information Systems Services Inc. (RISSI) was abolished and
transferred back to the BIR by virtue of a Memorandum Order
from the Office of the President dated May 24, 1988. This
transfer had implications on the delivery of the
computerization requirements of the Bureau in relation to its
functions of tax assessment and collection.
152
The entry of Commissioner Jose Ong in 1989 saw the advent of
the "Tax Administration Program" which is the embodiment of
the Bureau's mission to improve tax collection and simplify tax
administration. The Program contained several tax reform and
enhancement measures, which included the use of the
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and the adoption of the
New Payment Control System and Simplified Net Income
Taxation Scheme.
Ramos Administration
The year 1993 marked the entry into the Bureau of its first
lady Commissioner, Liwayway Vinzons-Chato. In order to attain
the Bureau's vision of transformation, a comprehensive and
integrated program known as the ACTS or Action-Centered
Transformation Program was undertaken to realign and direct
the entire organization towards the fulfillment of its vision and
mission.
It was during Commissioner Chato's term that a five-year Tax

Computerization Project (TCP) was undertaken in 1994. This
involved the establishment of a modern and computerized
Integrated Tax System and Internal Administration System.
Further streamlining of the BIR was approved on July 1997

through the passage of EO No.430, in order to support the
implementation of the computerized Integrated Tax System.
Highlights of the said EO included the: 1) creation of a fourth
Revenue Group in the BIR, which is the Legal and Enforcement
Group (headed by a Deputy Commissioner); and 2) creation of
the Internal Affairs Service, Taxpayers Assistance Service,
153
Information Planning and Quality Service and the Revenue
Data Centers.
Estrada Administration
With the advent of President Estrada's administration, a

Deputy Commissioner of the BIR, Beethoven Rualo, was
appointed as Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Under his
leadership, priority reform measures were undertaken to
enhance voluntary compliance and improve the Bureau's
productivity. One of the most significant reform measures was
the implementation of the Economic Recovery Assistance
Payment (ERAP) Program, which granted immunity from audit
and investigation to taxpayers who have paid 20% more than
the tax paid in 1997 for income tax, VAT and/or percentage
taxes.
In order to encourage and educate consumers/taxpayers to

demand sales invoices and receipts, the raffle promo "Humingi
ng Resibo, Manalo ng Libo-Libo" was institutionalized in 1999.
The Large Taxpayers Monitoring System was also established
under Commissioner Rualo's administration to closely monitor
the tax compliance of the country's large taxpayers.
The coming of the new millennium ushered in the changing of

the guard in the BIR with the appointment of Dakila Fonacier
as the new Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Under his
administration, measures that would enhance taxpayer
compliance and deter tax violations were prioritized. The most
significant of these measures include: full utilization of tax
computerization in the Bureau's operations; expansion of the
use of electronic Documentary Stamp Tax metering machine
and establishment of tie-up with the national government
agencies and local government units for the prompt remittance
154
of withholding taxes; and implementation of Compromise
Settlement Program for taxpayers with outstanding accounts
receivable and disputed assessments with the BIR.
Memoranda of Agreement were also forged with the league of

local government units and several private sector and
professional organizations (i.e. MAP, TMAP, PCCI, FFCCCI, etc.)
to help the BIR implement tax campaign initiatives.
In September 1, 2000, the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) and

the Excise Taxpayers Service (ETS) were established under EO
No. 175 to reinforce the tax administration and enforcement
capabilities of the BIR. Shortly after the establishment of said
revenue services, a new organizational structure was approved
on October 31, 2001 under EO No. 306 which resulted in the
integration of the functions of the ETS and the LTS.
In line with the passage of the Electronic Commerce Act of

2000 on June 14, the Bureau implemented a Full Integrated Tax
System (ITS) Rollout Acceleration Program to facilitate the full
utilization of tax computerization in the Bureau's operations.
Under the Program, seven (7) ITS back-end systems were
released in stages in RR 8 - Makati City and the Large
Taxpayers Service.
Arroyo Administration
Following the momentous events of EDSA II in January 2001,

newly-installed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed a
former Deputy Commissioner, Atty. René G. Bañez, as the new
Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
155
Under Commissioner Bañez's administration, the BIR’s thrust
was to transform the agency to make it taxpayer-focused. This
was undertaken through the implementation of change
initiatives that were directed to: 1) reform the tax system to
make it simpler and suit the Philippine culture; 2) reengineer
the tax processes to make them simpler, more efficient and
transparent; 3) restructure the BIR to give it financial and
administrative flexibility; and 4) redesign the human resource
policies, systems and procedures to transform the workforce
to be more responsive to taxpayers' needs.
Measures to enhance the Bureau's revenue-generating

capability were also implemented, the most notable of which
were the implementation of the Voluntary Assessment
Program and Compromise Settlement Program and expansion
of coverage of the creditable withholding tax system. A
technology-based system that promotes the paperless filing of
tax returns and payment of taxes was also adopted through
the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS).
With the resignation of Commissioner Bañez on August 19,

2002, Finance Undersecretary Cornelio C. Gison was
designated as interim BIR Commissioner. Eight days later (on
August 27, 2002), former Customs Commissioner, Guillermo L.
Parayno, Jr. was appointed as the new Commissioner of
Internal Revenue (CIR).
Barely a month since his assumption to duty as the new CIR,

Commissioner Parayno offered a Voluntary Assessment and
Abatement Program (VAAP) to taxpayers with under-declared
sales/receipts/income. To enhance the collection performance
of the BIR, Commissioner Parayno adopted the use of new
systems such as the Reconciliation of Listings for Enforcement
or RELIEF System to detect under-declarations of taxable
income by taxpayers and the electronic broadcasting system to
enhance the security of tax payments. It was also under
156
Commissioner Parayno’s administration that the BIR expanded
its electronic services to include the web-based TIN application
and processing; electronic raffle of invoices/receipts; provision
of e-payment gateways; e-substituted filing of tax returns and
electronic submission of sales reports. The conduct of special
operations on high profile tax evaders, which resulted to the
filing of tax cases under the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE)
Program marked Commissioner Parayno’s administration as
well as the conduct of Tax Compliance Verification Drives and
accreditation and registration of cash register machines and
point-of-sale machines. To improve taxpayer service, the
Bureau also established a BIR Contact Center in the National
Office and eLounges in Regional Offices.
On October 28, 2006, Deputy Commissioner for Legal and

Inspection Group, Jose Mario C. Buñag was appointed as full-
fledged Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Under his
administration, the Bureau attained success in a number of key
undertakings, which included the expansion of the RATE
Program to the Regional Offices; inclusion of new payment
gateways, such as the Efficient Service Machines and the G-
Cash and SMART Money facilities; implementation of the
Benchmarking Method and installation of the Bureau’s e-
Complaint System, a new e-Service that allows taxpayers to
log their complaints against erring revenuers through the BIR
website. The Nationwide Rollout of Computerized Systems
(NRCS) was also undertaken to extend the use of the Bureau’s
Integrated Tax System across its non-computerized Revenue
District Offices. In 2007, the National Program Support for Tax
Administration Reform (NPSTAR), a program funded by various
international development agencies, was launched to improve
the BIR efficiency in various areas of tax administration (i.e.
taxpayer compliance, tax enforcement and control, etc.).
On June 29, 2007, Commissioner Buñag relinquished the top

post of the BIR and was replaced by Deputy Commissioner for
Operations Group, Lilian B. Hefti, making her the second lady
Commissioner of the BIR. Commissioner Hefti focused on the
157
strengthening of the use of business intelligence by embarking
on data matching of income payments of withholding agents
against the reported income of the concerned recipients.
Information sharing between the BIR and the Local
Government Units (LGUs) was also intensified through the LGU
Revenue Assurance System, which aims to uncover fraud and
non-payment of taxes. To enhance the Bureau’s audit
capabilities, the use of Computer-Assisted Audit Tools and
Techniques (CAATTs) was also introduced in the BIR under her
term.
With the resignation of Commissioner Hefti in October 2008,

former BIR Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Enforcement
Group, Sixto S. Esquivias IV was appointed as the new
Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Commissioner Esquivias’
administration was marked with the conduct of nationwide
closure of erring business establishments under the “Oplan
Kandado” Program. A Taxpayer Feedback Mechanism (through
the eComplaint facility accessible via the BIR Website) was
also established under his term where complaints on erring
BIR employees and taxpayers who do not pay taxes and do not
issue ORs/invoices can be reported. In 2009, the Bureau
revived its “Handang Maglingkod” Project where the best
frontline offices were recognized for rendering effective
taxpayer service.
When Commissioner Esquivias resigned in November 2009,

Senior Deputy Commissioner, Joel L. Tan-Torres assumed the
position of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Under his
administration, Commissioner Tan-Torres pursued a high
visibility public awareness campaign on the Bureau’s
enforcement and taxpayers’ service programs. He
institutionalized several programs/projects to improve revenue
collections, and these include Project R.I.P (Rest in Peace);
intensified filing of tax evasion cases under the re-invigorated
RATE Program; conduct of Taxpayers Lifestyle Check and
development of Industry Champions. Linkages with various
agencies (i.e. LTO, SEC, BLGF, PHALTRA, etc.) were also
158
established through the signing of several Memoranda of
Agreement to improve specific areas of tax administration.
P-Noy Aquino Administration
Following the highly-acclaimed inauguration of President

Benigno C. Aquino III on June 30, 2010, a former BIR Deputy
Commissioner, Atty. Kim S. Jacinto-Henares, was appointed as
the new Commissioner of Internal Revenue. During her first
few months in the BIR, Commissioner Henares focused on the
filing of tax evasion cases under the RATE Program, in
compliance with the SONA pronouncements of President
Aquino.
159
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5620267
https://www.britannica.com/topic/taxation
https://www.scribd.com/document/289579370/History-of-Taxation-in-the-
Philippines
https://www.academia.edu/28866524/Philippines_The_Economic_Situation_
during_Pre-Colonial_and_Early_Colonial
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2140422.pdf
160
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/45479/did-young-rizal-really-write-
poem-for-children#ixzz5eVyRJmCA
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
Dr Robert Stradling (2003), Multiperspectivity in history teaching: a guide

for teachers, https://rm.coe.int/1680493c9e
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/45479/did-young-rizal-really-write-

poem-for-children#ixzz5eVy91kKD
Chris Antonette Piedad-Pugay (2012), The Two Faces of the 1872 Cavite
Mutiny, http://nhcp.gov.ph/the-two-faces-of-the-1872-cavite-mutiny/
J. Llewellyn and S. Thompson, “Problems of thinking about history” at
Alpha History, https://alphahistory.com/problems-of-history/, 2018,
accessed [date of last access].
John Shaw (2005), Why Do Historians Disagree?,
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/why-do-historians-
disagree#main_header
Ezekiel Oladele Adeoti and James Olusegun Adeyeri (2007), History, the
Historian and His Work: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, International Journal
of Educational Research and Technology,
http://www.soeagra.com/ijert/ijertdec2012/6.pdf
References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals
1. Antonio, Eleonor D., Dallo, Evangeline M. at et al... ; 2010; Kayamanan
(kasaysayan ng Pilipinas); Sampaloc, Manila; Rex Book Store, Inc.
2. Rafael Izquierdo, “Official Report on the Cavity Mutiny,” in Gregoria
Zaide and Sonia
Zaide, Documentary Sources of the Philippine History, Volume 7
(Manila: National Book Store 1990, 281-286.
3. Candelaria, John Lee P., Alporha, Veronica C.: Reading in Philippine
History; Sampaloc
Manila: REX Book Store, Inc.
4. Edmund Plauchut, “The Cavity Mutiny of 1872 and the Martyr of GOM-
BUR-ZA,” in
161
Gregoria Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary sources of Philippine
History, Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 251-268.
5. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, “ Filipino of the Cavite Mutiny,” in Gregoria
Zaide and
Sonia, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila:
National Book Store, 1990), 274-280.
6. Jose Montero Y Vidal, and “Spanish Version of the Cavity Mutiny of
1872,” in Gregoria
Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History,
Volume 7 (Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 269-273.
162
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Chapter 1 - Introduction 1
What is History? 1
Why History Matters? 2
Discrimination in the Validity of History 3
On the Used of Historiography 3
What are Primary Sources? 4
What are Secondary Sources? 5
163
Republic of the Philippines
NORTHWEST SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY
Rueda Street, Calbayog City
Actualizing vision.
Harnessing potentials.
(055) 209-3657; (055) 533-9857 main@nwssu.edu.ph
Improving lives. (055) 209-3657 www.nwssu.edu.ph
COURSE SYLLABUS
1. COURSE SPECIFICATIONS
Course READINGS IN PHILIPPINE Course GE 2/5
Title HISTORY Code:
Course The course analyzes Philippine history from multiple
Descripti perspectives through the lens of selected primary sources
on coming from various disciplines and of different genres.
Students are given opportunities to analyze the author’s
background and main arguments, compare different points
of view, identify biases and examine the evidences
presented in the document. The discussions will tackle
traditional topics in history and other interdisciplinary
themes that will deepen and broaden their understanding
of Philippine political, economic, cultural, social, scientific
and religious history. Priority is given to primary materials
that could help students develop their analytical and
communication skills. The end goal is to develop the
historical and critical consciousness of the students so that
they will become versatile, articulate, broad-minded,
morally upright and responsible citizens.
This course includes mandatory topics on the Philippine

Constitution, agrarian reform, and taxation.
SY/Semester 2019-2020/1st Credit Units 3 units = 3
Semester hours/week (18
weeks,54 hours)
Program(s) to BSOAD/BSHM/BS Prerequisit None
which it TM e
contributes
2. VISION AND MISSION OF NwSSU

VISION MISSION
A provider of relevant and quality An academic institution providing
education to a society where citizens technological, professional, research
are competent, skilled, dignified, and and extension programs to form
community-oriented. principled men and women of
competencies and skills responsive to
164
local and global development needs.
3. MAJOR COURSE OUTPUTS (MCO)/OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND

GRADING SYSTEM
Learning Required Output Due Date

Outcomes
LO1 MCO1: Submit examples of primary sources and the One week before Mid-
corresponding secondary sources derived from term Exam
them
LO2 MCO2: Submit hard and soft copy of reports of One week before Mid-
primary sources and the corresponding secondary term Exam
sources derived from them.
LO3/LO4 MCO3/MCO4: Submit critical essay about a One week before Mid-
i
particular primary source. term Exam
LO5 MCO5:Submit a reaction/reflection paper on a One week before Mid-
sponsored activity like lecture, debate, symposium, term Exam
round table discussion and the like.
LO6/LO7 MCO6/MCO7: Submit a research output that may be One week before Final
in the form of a term paper, exhibit, documentary Exam
presentation, diorama, webpage, and other genres
where students can express their ideas.
LO8 MCO8: Submit a reaction paper or critique of the One week before Final
shrines, historical sites, museums the students Exam
visited.
GRADING SYSTEM:
To pass this course, one must accumulate at least 75 points through

the course requirements discussed above. The maximum points that a
student can obtain through each requirement are shown below:
Requirement/Assessment Task Points

Two Major Exams (Mid-Term & Final Exam) 30%
Quizzes 30%
Class Performance (Projects, assignments, and 30%
recitations)
Attendance 10%
TOTAL 100%
4. LEARNING PLAN
LO TOPICS Teaching and Assessment Resources

Learning Activities
(Methodology)
LO 1. Lecture/Discussion Produce examples 1. Louis Gottschalk,
1 Meaning and relevance 2. Library, Museum of primary sources Understanding History,
of history; distinction and Archives and the (pp. 41-61; 17-170).
of primary and visitation corresponding 2. Howell and Prevenier,
secondary sources; (depends on the secondary sources From Reliable Sources,
external and internal location of the derived from them. (pp. 17-68)
criticism; repositories HEI) 3. Santiago Alvarez.
of primary sources, 3. Comparative Katipunan and the
165
analysis of primary Revolution: Memoirs of
and different kinds of and secondary Week 1-2 a General, (pp. 82-88).
primary sources. sources 4. Teodoro Agoncillo,
History of the Filipino
People, (pp. 184-187).
5. Robert Fox, The Tabon
Caves, (pp.40-44; 109-
119). (Human remains
and artifacts)
6. William Henty Scott,
Prehispanic Source
Materials for the Study
of Philippine History
(pp. 90-135).
LO 1. Lecture/Discussion 1. Graded 1. Antonio Pigafetta. First
2, Content and 2. Library research Reporting Voyage Around the
LO contextual analysis of 3. Textual analysis 2. Quizzes World, (pp. 23-48)
3, selected primary 4. Small group 3. Critical Essay (Chronicle)
LO sources; identification discussion about a 2. Juan de Plasencia,
4 of the historical 5. Reporting particular Customs of the
importance of the text; Film Analysis primary Tagalogs, (Garcia
and examination of the source; 1979, pp. 221-234)
author’s main students are to (Friar Account)
argument and point of discuss the 3. Emilio Jacinto, “Kartilla
view importance of ng Katipunan”
the text, the (Richardson, 2013, pp.
author’s 131-137) (Declaration
background, of Principles)
the context of 4. Emilio Aguinaldo, Mga
the document, Gunita ng Himagsikan.
and its (pp. 78-82; 95-100;
contribution to 177-188; 212-227)
understanding (Memoirs)
ii Philippine 5. National Historical
history Institute (1997).
Documents of the
3-6 Weeks 1898 Declaration of
Philippine
Independence, The
Malolos Constitution
and the First Philippine
Republic. Manila:
National Historical
Institute (pp. 19-23)
(Proclamation)
6. Alfred McCoy, Political
Caricatures of the
American Era (Editorial
cartoons)
7. Commission on
Independence, Filipino
Grievances Against
Governor Wood (Zaide
1990. Vol. 11, pp. 230-
234). (Petition letter)
8. Corazon Aquino,
President Corazon
Aquino’s Speech
before the U.S.
Congress Sept. 18,
1986 (Speech)
166
9. Raiders of the Sulu
Sea (film)
Works of Luna and
Amorsolo (Paintings)
LO “One past but many 1. Lecture/Discussio 1. Debate a 1. Antonio Pigafetta. First
5 histories”: n particular issue Voyage Around the
controversies and 2. Document in Philippine World, (pp. 23-32)
conflicting views in analysis history 2. Trinidad Pardo de
Philippine History 3. Group discussion 2. Tavera, Filipino Version
a. Site of the First Debate, round Reaction/reflection of the Cavity Mutiny of
Mass table discussion or paper on a 1872, (Zaide 1990,
b. Cavity Mutiny symposium sponsored activity vol. 7, pp. 274-280)
c. Retraction of like lecture, 3. Jose Montero y Vidal,
Rizal symposium, round Spanish Version of the
d. Cry of table discussion Cavity Mutiny of 1872
Balintawak or and the like (Zaide 1990, vol. 7,
Pugadlawin pp. 269-273)
7-9 Weeks 4. Rafael Izquirdo,
Official Report on the
Cavite Mutiny, (Zaide
1990 vol. 7, pp. 281-
286)
5. Ricardo P. Garcia, The
Great Debate: The
Rizal Retraction (pp. 9-
19; 31-43)
6. Jesus Ma. Cavanna,
Rizal’s Unfading Glory
(pp. 1-52)
7. Ricardo R. Pascual,
Rizal Beyond the
Grave, (pp. 7-36)
8. Pio Valenzuela, Cry of
Pugadlawin, (Zaide
1990, vol. 8, pp. 301-
302)
9. Santiago Alvarez, Cry
of Bahay Toro (Zaide
1990, vol. 8, pp. 303-
304)
10. Gregorio de Jesus,
Version of the First
Cry, (Zaide 1990, vol.
8, pp. 305-306
Guillermo Masangkay,
Cry of Balintawak
(Zaide 1990, vol. 8, pp.
307-309)
MIDTERM EXAM Week 10
LO Social, political, 1. Lecture/Discussion Research output Note: Students will be

6 economic and cultural 2. Library and that may be in the required to look for
LO issues in Philippine Archival research form of a Pterm primary sources on which
7 history: 3. Document paper, exhibit, they will base their
LO Mandated topics: analysis documentary narrative and analysis of
8 1. Agrarian Reform 3. Group reporting presentation, the topic assigned to them
Policies Documentary Film diorama,P 1. De leon
a. History AR Showing webpage, and 2. Lazo
b. Ra 6657 other genres
(salient where. students
feature) can express their Week 11-14
iii
167
c. LR vs AR ideas. The output
d. CARP (salient should trace the
feature) evolution of the
2. The Philippine chosen topic
Constitution: through at least
a. Brief History of three periods.
the evolution Group members
of 4 should collaborate
Constitutions to produce a
b. National synthesis that
Territory examines the role
1.issues /cases of this issue in
c. Declaration of promoting/hinderin
State g nation building,
Principles & Policies and provide
( case –based) appropriate
d. Bill of Rights recommendations
(prominent case and rooted in a
pressing issues ) historical
e. Branches of understanding of
Gov’t. the issue.
1. check &
balances
2. prohibited &
forbidden office
f. Constitutional
Commissions
g. Accountability of
Public Officer
3.Taxation
a. Evolution of
Taxation in the
Philippines
b. Different kinds of
Taxation
LO Critical evaluation and 1. Lecture/Discussion 1. Reaction paper 1. Historical Data Papers
9 promotion of local and 2. Research in Local or critique of 2. Ereccion de Pueblos
oral history, museums, libraries and Local the shrines, (Creation of Towns)
historical shrines, Studies Centers (if historical sites, 3. Museums, Local
cultural performances, available) museums the Studies Centers
indigenous practices, 3. Tour in local students 4. Art Galleries, Painting
religious rites and museums, visited collections
rituals, etc. historical sites, art 2. Critique of 5. Historical landmarks
1. The History of My galleries, Selected and UNESCO sites
Family through the archeological Family Tree 6. Performances that
Family Tree sites, and other Narrative and showcase traditional
2.The Emergence of places where one Local arts and culture
Pueblo de Calbayog could see cultural Barangays’ 7. Fiestas and similar
and the Abaca and heritage Historical local celebrations
Industry (Its displays Narratives.
Importance to 4. Conduct Oral 3. Letter to the
World History). interview editor
3. The 4. Blogs
Sarakiki/Hadang 5. Transcript of
Festival of oral interview
Calbayog City.
4. The History of
Nijaga (One of the
martyrs of Trese
Martires of
Cavite).
168
5. The Historical
Significance of
the Streets in
Calbayog City.
FINAL EXAM Week 18
5. REFERENCES
Candelaria, J.L. P. and V. C. Alporha Readings in Philippine History,

1st Ed. Rex Bookstore
iv
iv
169
READINGS IN
PHILLIPPINE
HISTORY
General Education 2/5
STUDENT NAME: _________________________________________________
COURSE/YEAR LEVEL: _____________________________________________
170

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CHAPTER 1

On one hand, Crabtree (1993) had a simple definition of it as: “History

The first word is “significant.” No one could record everything that is

Significance is determined by the historian. The historian sorts through

Why History Matters?

Historians are often asked: what is the use or relevance of studying

So understanding the linkages between past and present is absolutely

In all cases, understanding History is integral to a good understanding

Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is a discrimination

On the Used of Historiography

History is the history of history. It covers how historianshave studied

There are two main schools of thought on historiography:

Two Things in Writing History:

How can Historians find out about the past?

Like detectives, historians gather information or evidence to put

A primary source is a document or record which contains first-hand

Remember that primary sources are often reproduced in book format -

Advantages of Using Primary Sources:

 Primary sources provide a window into the past—unfiltered

• Questions of creator bias, purpose, and point of view may

What are secondary sources?

• “Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources.

Secondary Source Disadvantages

Name: ________________________________________ Course & Year:

I. Fill-in the blanks.

______________ 1. A Time magazine from 1960.

Identify or describe the object shown?

How old do you think it is?

What do you think it was used for?

Do you think the object comes directly from the past or is a

Document Analysis of Selected Primary Sources in Philippine

Analyzing documents incorporates coding content into themes similar

• Public Records: The official, ongoing records of an organization’s

• Personal Documents: First-person accounts of an individual’s

• Physical Evidence: Physical objects found within the study setting

Document Analysis Worksheets

1. Meet the document.

2. Observe its parts.

3. Try to make sense of it.

4. Use it as historical evidence.

1. Gather relevant texts.

Observe its parts.

Use it as historical evidence.

Analyze a Written Document

Try to make sense of it.

Material (check all that apply):

Observe its parts.

Try to make sense of it.

Use it as historical evidence.

Meet the Video.

Observe its parts.

Write one sentence summarizing this video.

Try to make sense of it.

Use it as historical evidence.

Observe its parts.

Try to make sense of it.

Use it as historical evidence.

Observe its parts.

Write one sentence summarizing this photo.

Try to make sense of it.

Use it as historical evidence.

Quickly scan the poster. What do you notice first?

__________________ng taong 189.

the of the month of _____