I

ntr
oduc
ti
on:

Thi
sc our secrit
ical
lyanal y
zesPhi l
i
ppinehis toryf rom mul ti
pl
eper spec t
ivest hrought hel ensof
sel
ec t
edpr i
marys ources.
Prior
it
ywi l
lbegi vent opr i
mar ysour cest hatdes c r
ibet hei mpor tant
tur
ningpoi ntsinPhi l
i
ppinehi s
toryfrom pr ehistorict i
mesupt ot hec ontempor aryper i
odand
art
icul
atevar iousper specti
ves.Theappr oac h,thoughhi stori
cal,willdealwi thi nterdisci
pli
nary
subj
ec t
ss o ast o broaden and deepen t he s tudent ’
sunder s t
anding ofPhi li
ppine pol i
ti
cal
,
economic ,soci
alandc ult
uralhist
oryandequi pthel ear nerwitht hec ompet enc i
esnec ess ar
yt o
anal
y ze and eval uate diff
erentt ypes ofi nformat i
on:pr i
nt,vi sualand audi o-visual,and
quantit
ative.Theendgoal istodevel opthehi s
tor i
calandc rit
ic
al cons c
iousnes soft hes tudents
sothatt heywillbecomever sati
l
e,broad-minded, mor al
lyupri
ghtandr es ponsi
blec iti
zens .

Readi
ngi
nthephi
l
ippi
nehi
stor
y:

Bas i
ct ohi storical r es ear chi sut i
li
z ationofs our ces .Ther ear edi ver ses our cesofhi stor yi nc l
udi ng
doc ument ar ys our c esordoc ument s ,ar c haeol ogi calr ecor ds ,andor alandvi deoac c ount s.T o
date,mos tofourhi stor i
c als our cesar edoc ument s.T hes er efert ohandwr i
tten,pr inted,dr awn,
des i
gned, andot herc ompos edmat er i
als .T hes ei ncludebooks ,news paper s,magaz ines , j
our nals,
maps ,ar chitec tur al per spec t i
ves ,pai ntings ,adver ti
s ement s,and phot ogr aphs .Col oni al
recor dss uc has gover nmentr epor t s andl egal doc ument sf orm a s i
gni f
icantpar t of
ourc ollection ofdoc ument sher eandabr oad, particularl
yi nSpai nandt heUni tedSt ates .Int he
20thc entur yand up t o now,memoi r
sorper sonalac c ount swr itten byi mpor tanthi st or i
cal
pers onagesc ons tituteanot hert ype of doc ument s. Phi li
ppi ne pr es i
dent s s uch as
Emili
o Agui nal do, Manuel Quez on, and Di os dadoMac apagalwr otet heirmemoi rst o
highli
ghtt heirr ol esasnat ion-bui lder s .On t he ot herhand,ar chaeol ogi calr ec or dsr efert o
pres ervedr emai nsofhumanbei ngs , thei rac ti
vi ti
es ,andt heenvi ronmentwher et heyl i
ved.I nt he
Phil
ippi nes ,themos ts i
gni fi
c antex cavat edhuman r emai nsi nc lude t he Cal l
ao Man’ st oe
bone ( dat ed 67 000BCE) and t he T abonMan’ ss kul l
c ap( 22000BCE) .As idef r om
humanr emai ns ,ot herar chaeol ogi calr ec or dsar egener allyc at egor i
z edasf os s i
lsandar ti
fac ts.
Fos si
lsar er emai nsofani mal s,pl ant s,andot heror gani smsf rom t hedi stantpas t,whi l
ear tifac t
s
arer emnant sofmat er ialc ultur e devel oped byhuman bei ngs .T hes ei nc l
ude c l
ot hing,f ar m
i
mpl ement s,jewel ry ,pot teryands tonet ool s . Or alandvi deoac c ount sf or mt het hirdki ndof
historicals ourc e.T hes ear eaudi o- visual doc ument ationofpeopl e, event s , andpl ac es .T hes e
areus ually r ec or ded i nvi deo and audi oc as set tes,andc ompac tdi s cs.As i
def roms chol ars,
medi apeopl eal sous eor al andvi deoac count saspar toft hei rnewsandpubl i
caf fai rswor kher e
are t wo gener al ki nds of hi stor i
c al s our ces : pr i
mar y and s econdar y. Pr imar y
Sour cesr efert odoc ument s, phy s i
cal obj ec ts ,andor al/videoac count smadebyani ndi vidual ora
grouppr es entatt het i
meandpl ac ebei ngdes c ri
bed.T hes emat erialspr ovi def ac tsf r om peopl e
whoac tuallywi t
nes sedt heevent . Sec ondar ys our ces ,ont heot herhand,ar emat er i
al smade
bypeopl el ongaf t ert heevent sbei ngdes cribedhadt akenpl ac e.Mos thi stor i
calnar rat ives
todayar es or eli
antondoc ument ar ys our cesduet ot hepl et hor aofwr ittenr ec ordsandt hel ack
ofar chaeol ogic al rec or dsandor al/videomemoi rs .Althoughhavi ngs ever al doc ument saboutan
evental l
owsf oreas ierc ount erchec kingoff ac tshi storyr es ear cher sar ec onf ront edwi thone
bas i
cc hall
engewi t hr egar dpr imar ys our c es -t hei rabi l
itytor eadandunder standt ex tsi nf or eign
l
anguages .Manyofourunt appedar c hival doc ument sher eandabr oadar ewr itteni nSpani s h.A
good knowl edge ofSpani shi sa huge advant age.Butt hiss kil
li sunus ualamong t oday ’
s
historianswhopr ef ert or eadt rans lat i
onsofSpani sht extss uc hast he55- volume.T hePhi li
ppi ne
I
s l
ands ,1
493- 1
898( 1903- 1909)edi tedbyEmmaBl ai randJamesRober ts on, whi chi st hemos tc ited
coll
ec ti
onofpr imar ys our cesaboutt hePhi li
ppi nesbef oret headventoft heAmer i
canc oloni al
regime.T hec ol l
ec tioni ncludest rans lat i
onsofpor ti
onsof1 6t h-c ent uryc hroni cl
ess uc hasAnt onio
Pigafet ta’sPr imoVi aggi oi ntor noal mundo( 1524) ,Mi guel Loar ca’ sRel aciondel asYs l
asF i
li
pi nas
(1
582) ,and JuandePl as enc ia’
sRel ac iondel asI slasPi l
ipinas( 1592) .Tor r
ent ira,Manyofour
untappedar chivaldoc ument sher eandabr oadar ewr itteni nSpani sh.Agoodknowl edgeof
Spani s hisahugeadvant age.Butt hiss kil
l i
sunus ual amongt oday ’
shi s torianswhopr efert or ead
trans l
at i
onsofSpani s ht ex tss uchast he55- vol ume.T hePhi l
ippi neI s l
ands ,1493- 1898( 1903- 1909)
edi tedbyEmmaBl airandJamesRober tson, whi c hist hemos tc itedc ollec ti
onofpr i
mar ys our c es
aboutt hePhi l
ippi nesbef or et headventoft heAmer icanc oloni alr egi me.T hec oll
ec tioni nc l
udes
trans l
at i
onsofpor ti
onsof1 6t h-c ent uryc hr oni cless uc hasAnt oni oPi gaf et ta’sPr imoVi aggi o
i
nt or noalmundo( 1524) ,Mi guelLoar ca’sRel ac iondel asYs l
asF i
li
pi nas( 1582) ,and Juande
Plas enc i
a’sRel ac i
ondel asI slasPi lipinas( 1592) .F il
i
pi nohi stor ians ,s uc hast hef at her -
daught er
tandem ofGr egor ioZai deandSoni oZai de, have al so c ompi l
ed and t rans lat ed c ol oni al
doc ument s. T hey publ i
s hed t he 1 0- vol umeDoc ument ar ySour c esofPhi l
ippi neHi st ory
(1
994) .As ide f r om r eadi ng t he Spani s h or i
gi nals doc ument s ort rans l
ated wor ds ,anot her
daunt i
ngt as kf orF il
ipinohi s tor i
ansi st odi sc ernt hec ul tur al cont ex tandhi stor i
c al val ueofpr i
mar y
sour cesbec aus emos tof t hes epr i
mar y doc ument swer e wr ittenby c oloni al i
s tsand
reflec ted Wes ter nc ultur al f rames .F or ex ampl es , der ogat or y t er ms us ed t o Label
Fil
ipinos s uc h as “ pagan, ”“ unc ivili
z ed, ”“ wi l
d,”and “ s avage”abound i nt hes ec ol oni al
doc ument s.Unc over i
ng my ths andmi sc onc ept i
ons about F il
ipino c ultur al i dent it
y
propagat ed by t he Spani s h and Amer ican c oloni zer si s ex trac hal lengi ng f or
cont empor aryF i
li
pi nos chol ar s .I ft he key f unc tion of pr imar y s our ce doc ument s i s
to gi ve f ac ts , s ec ondar y s our ce doc ument s ,on t he ot herhand,pr ovi de val uabl e
i
nt er pret ationsofhi s tori
c al event s.T hewor ksofemi nenthi s tor i
ans s uc hasT eodor o Agonc i
ll
o
and Renat oCons t ant i
no ar egood ex ampl esofs ec ondar y s our ces .I n hi s i nt er pret at i
on
of t hePhi li
ppi ne Revol ut i
on, Agonc ill
o di vi dedt her evol ut ioni nt ot wo phas es :t hef i
r st
phas ec over st hey ear sf rom t hes tartoft her evol utioni nAugus t1 896t ot hef li
ghtofEmi li
o
Agui nal doandc ompanyt oHongKongasar es ul toft hePac tofBi ak- na- Bat o,whi l
e t he s ec ond
phas e s pans f romAgui nal do’ s r et urn t o Mani la f rom HongKongunt ilhiss ur rendert o
theAmer i
cansi nMar ch1 901 . However ,Cons tant inor ef ut edAgonc il
lo’sl eader -cent ri
cs chemeof
dividi ngt her evol ut i
oni ntot wophas esbys tres si
ngt hatAgonc il
lo’svi ewpoi nti mpl iedt hatt he
revol ut i
onc amet oahal twhenAgui nal dol ef tt hec ount ry .Cons tant i
nodi sput edt hes oundnes sof
Agonc i
ll
o’ st wo- phas es c hemebyas s er t
ingt hatt hewarofi ndependenc ec ont inuedevenwi thout
Agui nal do’ spr es enc ei nt hec ount ry .As i
de f rom t he i s sue on Phi li
ppi ne Revol ution,
ther e ar e ot her c ont endi ng i ssues i nPhi l
ippi nehi stor ys uc hast hevenueoft hef i
r st
Chr istianmas si nt hec ount ryandt heques t i
onofwhodes er vest obenamednat ional her o.By
andl ar ge, int er pr et ationss er veast ool sofdi scer nmentf orr eader sofhi s torical s our c es , butt hey
shoul d be c aut iousoff ramesofanal y sisus ed f orbi as ed,di s crimi nat or y,and s elf-ser ving
ends .Mos tofournat i
onal histor iest odayf avornar rat i
vest hatdeal wit ht hepol itical as pec tsof
nat ion- buildings uc hast hel egac iesofpol i
tical l
eader sandes tabl i
s hmentofdi f
fer entgover nment .
Ques ti
onss uc hast hef ollowi ngar ef ocalpoi nt si nt hes enar rat ives .Whowast hef i
rs tSpani sh
gover nor -gener alvi talini mpl ement ingt heenc omi endapol icy?Whowast hegover nor -gener al
res pons iblef ort hemas siveempl oy mentofF il
ipinosi nt heAmer icanc oloni albur eauc rac y?Who
ser vedast hel as tpr es i
dentoft hePhi li
ppi neCommonweal thandt hei naugur al chiefex ec utiveof
theT hirdRepubl ic?Whowast hePhi li
ppi nepr es i
dentr es pons iblef ort hedec larat ionofmar tial l
aw?
Thec hallengef orpr es ent -dayhi stor iansi st opr es entamor ehol is ti
chi stor yt hatgoesbey ond
pol i
ticsbymeansofi ntegr atingot heras pec tsofnat ion- bui ldings uc hasi tsec onomi candc ultur al
as pec ts.Anot herweaknes sofmos tnat i
onal hi stor iesi st hei mpor tanc egi vent oc oloni al hist ories .
Thisc ont i
nuest obr eedF il
ipinoswhoar emor ef ami li
arwi ths tor iesaboutourc oloni alhi st ory
rathert han s tor i
es ofourpr ec oloni alpas t.Up t o now,s ome s oc ials tudi es t ex t books
mis repr es entanc ientF il
ipinosass avagesorbar bar i
ansbypor tray ingc ol oni zer s,es pec i
allyt he
Spani ar dsandAmer ican,asl iber at or soft heF il
ipinosf r om c ultur albac kwar dnes s.T hekeyt o
unc overs uc hc ultur al pr ejudi c esi s t o ex ami neavai l
abl e hi s tor i
c al sour ces andt o wr i
te
about ourpas t byunder standi ngt hemy thsandmi sc onc ept i
onst hatc har ac ter izedt heF i
li
pino
cultur ef orc ent ur ies .Mos toft hec ount ry’shi s tor i
calnar r ativeshi ghl ightt heher ois m ofmeni n
differentway s :leadi ngr evol tsandl i
ber at ionwar sagai ns tc oloni zer s ,c hampi oni ngt hec aus eof
i
ndependenc e,ands pear headi ngpol i
ti
c alandec onomi cdevel opment .Women,ont heot her
hand,ar evi ewedbys ever alhi s tor i
ansasmer elys uppor tt omen.Letust akef orex ampl et he
womenl eader ss uc hasGabr i
el aSi lang, T andangSor a, andCor az onAqui no.Si langas s umedt he
l
eader shi poft heI loc osr evol taf terherhus bandwasmur der edi nMay1 763.T andangSor a’s
dec isiont oof ferherbar nandf ar mt or evol utionar i
esi nAugus t1 896wasl i
nkedt ohers on’ s
i
nvol vementi nt he Kat ipunan.Aqui no r os et o pr omi nenc e asa mar ty r’
swi dow who l ed a
movementt odepos eadi c tator s hipi nF ebr uar y1 986.T hes er epr es ent at ionss howwomen’ sr ol es
asc ons equenc esoft hei rc onnec t
iont ot he meni nt hei rlives.Wi tht hisbi asi nmi nd,i ti s
i
mper at ivef orc ont empor aryhi s t
orianst ous egender -
sens i
ti
veappr oac hesi nunder s t
andi ng
histor yt oavoi dty pec as ti
ngwomenasdependent ,emot i
onal ,l
es simpor tant ,pas s i
ve, submi ss
ive,
andweak. Nat i
onalhi s toriest endt os how par tiall
y t owar d l owlandChr i
s ti
ani zedF i
l
ipinosat
theex pens eofot herc ulturalc ommuni tiess uc hasMus l
imF i
lipi
nosandot heri ndi genouspeopl es
suchast heManobosofMi ndanao,I baloisofCor dil
l
er a,andMangy ansofMi ndor o.Cel ebr ated
fi
gur esofourpas tar eal ll
owl anderChr is
tiansand pr edomi nant l
yTagal ogsi nc l
udingJos eRi z al
,
thel eadi ng pr opagandi st; Andr es Boni f
ac io, t he Kat ipunan f ounder ; Emi li
o Agui nal
do,
ther evol utionar yleaderwhodec l
aredi ndependenc e;andManuel Quez on,t hef ir
stpr esidentof
the Phi l
ippine Commonweal th.Non- Christi
ans and hi ghlander s r emai nunr ecogni zed i n
histor i
calnar r
atives . Mus l
im F i
li
pinos ,i n par ti
cular, have been s ubj ec ted t o negat i
ve
char ac terizat i
onby lowlandChr ist
iansi npubl i
s hedwor kss uc hashi st
or ybooks .T hisisc aus edby
thec ultureofmi s trustt hat devel opedbet weenChr isti
ans and Mus l
imsdur ing t hec olonial
periods .Mus l
i
mF i
li
pinosar edepi ctedasbr utal, cruel,f
er ocious ,andvi ciousasex empl i
fi
edbyt heir
attac ksofChr i
stian t owns . T his nar row- mi nded vi ew has t o be r eevaluat ed i n
order t o c orrec tmi srepr es entati
onsofMus l
imF il
i
pinosi nt hisageofpol i
ti
c al correctnes sand
cult
ur als ens it
ivi
ty .Bec aus eoft heneedt or eas ses sournat ionalhi stories,manyl ocals tories-
narrat ives about or i
gi ns and devel opment ofa bar angay ,t own,c it
y,pr ovince,or an
ethnol ingui sticcommuni ty–havebeenwr i
tteni nt hel astt hreedec ades .T hewr it
ingoft hes e
storiesbr oadenst hes copeofournat ionalhi storyr eflect i
veoft her olespl ay ed by t he
count r y’
s c ul
tural communi t
iesinnat i
on –bui lding.

Conc
lus
ion:

Mar ti
all
aw,"Phil
i
ppines ty
le",hasmai nl
ybeenc ri
ti
ci
zedast heendofdemoc racyi
nt hePhi l
i
ppines.
Thisat t
ackhasc omepr i
mar i
l
yf r
om thec onsti
tuti
onali
sts,c
ivi
ll i
bert
ari
ansand l egali
sts.T hi
s
conc l
usi
onisbas edmai nlyint hefusi
oninone- manofal l
power sofgover nment ,result
ingint he
dest r
ucti
onoft hel egali
ns t
ituti
onsandt hei
runder l
yingprinc
ipl
esc onsis
t entwithademoc rati
c
state.Essenti
altotheircri
teri
onofademoc rati
cs t
ateistheex i
stenceofc ertai
nlegalinsti
tuti
ons.
Thes earemainly,ac onst
it
utionwhi c
houtl
inesthes tr
uctureofgover nmentanddef i
nesitspower ,
at r
ipart
it
es t
ructureofgover nmentandas ystemofpopul arel
ections.

Thetheoryunderl
y i
ngtheseins ti
tuti
onsi st hatgover nmentex i
stsforthepeople,theirsoverei
gn
wil
lembodied inac onsti
tut
ion,i nsur i
ng thatt hei
rr epresentat
iveswho ar ec hos enthrough
popularel
ect
ionss hal
lpursuet heirinteres t
sandkeepwi thi
nthel i
mit
ss ettherei
n.F ur
thermore,
thatthegover nmentalstruc
t urec ons is
tingoft hreec o-equaldepar t
ment sco-exi
s tunderthe
pri
nci
pleofcheckandbal ance,s eeingt oi tthateachbr and.doesnotex ceedtheboundss etby
thefundamentallaw andbys t
atut es.T heval ueoft heselegalinsti
tuti
onsinanymoder nday
soci
etyiswit
houtques ti
on.However ,itistheirabil
it
yt ofuncti
oninac cordancetot hei
ravowed
purposeundergivens oci
o-economi cr el
at i
onswhi c
hiss ubjec
ttos eri
ousex ami
nation.

Witt
inglyorunwit
ti
ngl
y,t
heabovevi ew seri
ousl
yimpli
esthatdemoc r
acywasanex i
sti
ngfact
previoustomarti
all
aw.I
ttendstoassertthatmart
iall
awisanaccidentinourlegalproces
ses.
Thatitisar eac
ti
ontothes oc
io-
pol
i
tic
aleventsoft he70'
sandt het hr
eatitposedupont he
poli
ti
calpowerhel
dby·adefi
nit
emanoragr oupofmen.

Obs curedbyt heabovevi ewist hef actthatt heseinsti

tuti
onsar emerelypar tofthes tate.The
centralpowers tr
uc t
urewhichthroughouthi s t
or yhasbeendomi natedbys ociety'
seconomi cel
ite.
I
thasbeen t he meansbywhi cht hei
ri nterestshave been pr ot
ected and ex panded.As
"di
ff
er enc esinpr opert
yar ealsodi ff
erencesi npower "1t hest atewhichs tandsonanec onomi c
baser eflectsthepowerr elati
onshipsandi nequal i
ti
esofitsbas e.
Thereforeasl ongast hes tat
eandi tslegal i
nstit
uti
onsar eundert hecontrol ofasmallgr oupof
economi c ,pol
iti
calormi l
i
taryeli
te,democ racyi sani l
l
usi
on.I tisamy thut il
i
zedt omai ntainthe
exis
ting i mbalance ofpoweri ns oci
ety.A my t
h whichi ss us t
ained byl egals t
ruct
ur esand
proces ses .
Theex erci
seofemer gencypower sundert he1935Phil
i
ppineCons t
it
uti
onwasanattemptinr e-
vit
ali
zingt heerodingbel i
efoftheF i
l
ipinopeopleinthemyth.
MacI verex plai
nst henat ur
eandf unc t
ionofmy thsbysayingthattheyare"
val
ue-i
mpregnated
beli
efsandnot i
onst hatmenhol d,thattheylivebyorli
vefor.Ever
y
soci
etyi s heldtoget herby a my th-sy
stem,a c ompl
ex ofdomi nati
ng t
hought
-f
orms that
determi nesands ustainsall
it
sac t
ivit
ies."2

Unfortunatel
y,seveny earsofmar t
iall
awhasbeenapr ocessofmy t
hunmas ki
ng.Ithasbec omea
concretepoli
ti
caleducationf orourpeopleont het r
uenat ur
eoft hestateandt heinteres
tsi tt
rul
y
represents.From ahis t
oricalviewpoint,marti
allaw i
st hefinalst
ageofal ongdr awnhi stori
cal
proces sofourpeopl e'sstrugglef orpoli
ti
cali
ndependenc eandec onomicdevel opment .Iti
sa
stage int he decol
oni zat
ion pr ocess wheret he prevail
i
ng neo- c
oloni
ali nt
erests are being
expos edandar eunabl etopeac ef
ull
ypursuetheireconomicinter
estsvis-
a-vistherisi
ngforcesof
nati
onal i
smandl i
berati
on.

Ref
erenc
es:

2013, 03). Phili

ppi
nes Histor
y St udy
Mode.com. Ret ri
eved 03, 201
3, f
rom
htt
ps:/
/www.
study
mode.com/
ess
ay s
/Phi
l
ippi
nes-
His
tor
y-1
492358.
html