POS 006: REVIEWER

PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOCERNANCE DURING SPANISH

PERIOD

 BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT (Powers, responsibilities, and

duties)
 GOVERNOR-GENERAL
 Chief executive (enforced Spanish laws and royal decrees)
 Appointed all subordinate officials (alcaldes mayores)
 King’s official representative
 Vested with executive, legislative, and judicial powers.
(Legislative he enacted and issued laws, regulations, and
decrees. Judicial, he was the president/presiding officer of the
“Royal Audiencia” which was the supreme court”)
 Commander in chief of the armed forces
 Possessed ecclesiastic powers, power to recommend priests
for appointment, and intervene in controversies between
religious authorities
 ROYAL AUDIENCIA
 Empowered to assume government
 Had authority to summon citizens of the islands either peace or
war
 Served as an advisory body to Gov-gen and had power to check
and a report on his abuses
 Audited the expenditures of the colonial gov and sent a yearly
report to Spain
 SPANISH CORTES
 Most powerful governmental institution of the state. Made up of a
lower house, Congress of Deputies, and upper chamber (senate)
 Law making body of Spain and the colonial states

VESTED WITH EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE, AND JUDICIAL

POWERS, THE GOV-GEN IS THE MOST POWERFUL PUBLIC
OFFICIAL. HE WAS APPOINTED BY VICEROY OF THE NEW
SPAIN UPON RECOMMENDATION OF THE SPANISH CORTES
AND GOVENED ON BEHALF OF THE MONARCH TO GOVERN
THE CAPTAINCY GENERAL OF THE PH, WHERE THERE WAS
AVACANCY (e.g. death, or during transitional period bet. Governors),
THE ROYAL AUDIENCIA APPOINTS TEMPORARY GOVERNOR
FROM.
THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
UNDER SPANISH PERIOD

LEVEL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

A. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
 SPANISH EMPIRE
 Monarch of Spain - Civil and spiritual authority
 Council of Indies - Governed all Spanish colonies in the King’s
name
 VICEROYALTY OF SPAIN
 Viceroy - Governed the New Spain on King’s behalf
 GOVERNOR-GENERAL - initially exercised executive, legislative,
judicial, and ecclesiastical powers
- appointed by the King with advice of
council and probably the Viceroy prior to 1821
 CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN MANILA
 Archbishop of Manila - had full spiritual authority over army and
navy as military Vicar Gen
◦ Advised the Capt. Gen, especially in governance and
provisioning of the Church
◦ Ecclesiastical gov of the suffragan dioceses, headed by
bishops
◦ Appointed dignitaries/staff of a diocese (if the Capt. Gen
failed to do so)
 ROYAL AUDIENCIA - Supreme court and advised the Gov-Gen
- composed of 4 judges (oidores), an attorney-
gen (fiscal), and a constable, with attached advocates for accused, a
defender of naturales (natives), and other minor officials; number of
oidores and fiscales would be increased after
- took charge of government upon the death of
Governor (mayor) up to the arrival of his successor
B. LOCAL GOVERNMENT
 PROVINCIAL/ALCADIA
 Alcalde Mayor (province) - executive and judiciary powers in the
province. Collected and tribute.
- until the mid-19th century, he had the
privilege to engage in trade (indulto de comercio), which occasioned
many abuses against local population
- no provision was made restricting the
alcalde mayor to engage in trade
 Corregidor (Districts) - if the province was large, the Alcalde
Mayor had a corregidor to administer over corregimientos
(provincial district). exercised the power of executive and judicial
 Junta Provincial - a council which assisted the alcalde mayor
composed of a public prosecutor, finance administrator, treasurer,
vicars, provincial doctor, and 4 principles of the capital elected by
municipal captains
 PEUBLO/MUNICIPALITIES
 Gobernadorcillo (Pueblo) - position was initially restricted to the
local married men of the elite (principalia). By 1768, it became
elective. Any person elected acquired elite status, diluting the
political power given by Spanish to hereditary datus (old
principalias)
 Caprain Municial ( head of Tribunal Municipal) - equivalent of
the pre-Maura Law Gobernadorcillo. Elected by residents of
municipio
 Tribunal Municipal - council composed of municipal captain,
chief lieutenant, lieutenant police, lieutenant of fields, and
lieutenant of livestock
 Cabeza de Barangay (Barangay) - collected tribute, administered
to 40-50 families. Position was originally hereditary among local
elittes. Elective in 1876; gobernadorcillo and other cabizas choce
a name and presented it to Gov-Gen for appointment to position.
After 3 years of service, cabeza was qualified for election for
gobernadorcillo.

THE COURTS AND TAXATION AND REVENUE

 TAXATION - the power of sovereign to impose burdens/charges

upon persons, property/property rights for the use and support of the
government. One of the inherent powers of the state
 TAX - compulsory distribution to state revenue, levied by
government on workers’ income and business profits, / added to the
cost of some goods, services, and transactions.
ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS DURING THE SPANISH COLONIAL
GOVERNMENT

 TRIBUTE (Tributo) - Filipinos were compelled to pay tribute

(tributo) to national government. It was imposed as as sign of the
Filipinos loyalty to the King of Spain
 CEDULLA (Resident Certificate Tax) - certificate identifying the
taxpayer. It rercorded name, age, birthplace, marital state, occupation,
place of residence, nationality, and sex
 THE DONATIVO DE ZAMBOANGA - tax specifically used for the
conquest of Mindanao
 VINTA - tax was collected to fund vintas to guard coastal areas of
Luzon to defend against Muslim pirates
 BANDALA - system to increase funds for war against other European
explorers. Farmers are forced to sell their produce to government. The
government would buy the harvests of the farmers but would only
give them promissory notes. The Filipinos became poorer (11 bad
effects)
 POLO Y SERVICIOS - All male Filipinos (18-60 yrs old) were
required to give free labor (POLO) to the gov. Construction of
buildings, churches, and cutting of trees. (40 days a year), for them to
be exempted they will pay FALLA = 1 1/2 reals.
BAD EFFECTS:
 Polo was made at the same time as planting and harvesting
 Separation from family
 Relocation to different places (outside PH)
 Lessened male population
 GALLEON TRADE - government monopoly that lasted for 250 years
BAD EFFECTS:
 Neglect of local products
 Filipinos became poorer

PHILIPPINES UNDER US RULE

 President McKinley’s strategy going into the conflict was to take as

much of the PH as possible and then, during peace negotiations to
only “keep what we want”.
 Philippines as an American protectorate/american colony

ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES
 PRES. WILLIAM McKinley’s BENEVOLENT ASSIMILATION -
future control, disposition, and government of the PH islands were
ceded to US and military gov is to be used.
AIM OF MILITARY GOVERNMENT:
 Win with confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants
 Proving that the mission of US is benevolent assimilation substituting
mild sway of justice and right arbitrary rule

 MANIFEST DESTINY (1845) - idea that US is destined by God, to

expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the
entire world. America’s duty was to closely watch and monitor PH in
order that it may become a civilized and upright nation. Must rely on
US in order to become “civilized” by Western standards
 JACOB GOULD SHURMAN’S COMMISSION - Jan. 20, 1899, US
Pres William McKinley created 1st PH Commission (Shurman
Commission). Recommended establishment of a civil gov, bicameral
legislature,and public school system. Its report became the basis of 2nd
PH commission’s creation on JULY 4, 1901
 WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT’S COMMISSION - William H. Taft
became the 1st civilian gov. Its mission as preparing Filipinos for
eventual independence, focused on economic development, public
education, and establishment of representative institutions
 SPOONER AMENDMENT - congressional amendment to the Army
Appropriations Act of 1901 that called for the end of US Military
Gov. By the Treaty of Paris (Dec. 1898), sovereignty over PH had
passed from Spain to US. Spooner Amendment supplant military gov
with civ gov in July 1901

FROM INCLUSION TO EXCLUSION (INDEPENDENCE)

 SHURMAN COMMISION (Jan. 20, 1899)

- On Jan 20, 1899 Pres. McKinley appointed the 1st PH Commission a 5
person group headed by Dr. Jacob Shurman (Pres of Cornell Univ) to
investigate conditions in PH and make recommendations.

RECOMMENDATIONS
 Deep aspiration for independence (PH was not ready)
 Establishment of civil gov
 Bicameral Legislature
 Autonomous gov on provincial and municipal levels
 System of free public elementary school

 TAFT COMMISSION
- shortly after receiving Shurman’s report, McKinley appointed a 2nd PH
Commission headed by federal judge William H. Taft to begin designing
a civil gov based on US model
COMMISSION REPORT ISSUED IN AUGUST 1900
 Filipinos were ignorant, superstitious, and credulous in remarkable
degree
 Civil service
 Enact currency and tax program
 Creates public work, capital investment, educational reforms. On the
heels of this report, the commission assumed all legislative powers in
PH on Sept. 1, 1900
 Pushed congress to follow recommendation and approve civil gov
 Insular architecture included gov-gen and a legislative body,
consisting of commission and possibly 1 or 2 reliable Filipinos to act
as provisional legislature for 18 months/2 years until a larger gov
could be installed