Co, Chynna R.

BPA 2-B

1. Identify and discuss some of the effects of social stratification on health, values, politics, and
family in the Philippine society.

Social stratification system denotes the division of society into social classes and social statuses of
varying ranks of superiority and inferiority. It includes institutionalized inequality in one major
society. It reflects the amount of socialization, the division of labor, and the degree of rewards in the
society.

From the history of the Philippines, there were distinct social classes during the pre-Spanish
period like datus, maharlika, timawa, and alipin. His/her ability and wealth were the criteria to have
power in leadership. Social gap between people in different social classes was clearly defined. When
the Spaniards came, slavery was abolished but a caste like stratification system persisted. Religious,
governmental and business positions were occupied by the peninsulares, and the offspring of
parents with mixed racial and ethnic backgrounds, creoles and mestizos. The members of the native
population were practically denied any chance for social nobility. But when the Americans came, the
conditions were changed slightly because they reinforced the predominant two-class social
stratification system composed of as mall cosmopolitan upper class and a large indigenous lower
class. A small and weak middle class slowly emerged; however, this is more evident in the urban
areas than in the rural areas. Remnants of pre-Spanish systems and outgrowths of the varied
historical experiences of the Filipino, overlap with the urban stratification system to make up the
total Philippine social stratification system.

2. What is the difference between class and caste?

Caste and class are two words that are often used interchangeably, but they have different
meanings. While both words describe social stratification, they refer to different systems.