LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY: DEFINITION, ISSUES, SOURCES AND

METHODOLOGY

TOPICS
1. Meaning and Relevance of History
2. Distinction of Primary and Secondary Sources
3. External and Internal Criticism
4. Repositories of primary sources and different kinds of sources

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. explain the definition and relevance of history; and
2.evaluate primary sources for their credibility, authenticity and
provenance.

TOPIC 1: MEANING AND RELEVANCE OF HISTORY

Lecture through Google Meet

History

History has always been known as the

study of the past. Students of general
education often dread the subject for its
notoriety in requiring them to memorize
dates, places, names, and events from distant
eras. This low appreciation of the discipline
may be rooted from the shallow
understanding of history’s relevance to their
lives and to their respective contexts. While the popular definition of history as the
study of the past is not wrong, it does not give justice to the complexity of the subject
and its importance to human civilization.

History was derived from the Greek word historiawhich means “knowledge
acquired through injury or investigation.” History as a discipline existed for around 2,400
years and is as old as mathematics and philosophy. This term was then adapted to
classical Latin where it acquired a new definition. Historiabecame known as the account
of the past of a person or of a group of people through written documents and historical
evidences. That meaning stuck until the early parts of the twentieth century. History
became an important academic discipline. It became the historian’s duty to write about
the lives of important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints, and nobilities. History
was also focused on writing about wars, revolutions, and other important
breakthroughs. It is thus important to ask: What counts as history? Traditional historians
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lived with the mantra of “no document, no history.” It means that unless a written
document can prove a certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a
historical fact.

But as any other academic disciplines, history progressed and opened up to the
possibility of valid historical sources, which were not limited to written documents, like
government records, chronicles’ accounts, or personal letters. Giving premium to
written documents essentially invalidates the history of other civilizations that do not
keep written records. Some were keener on passing their history by word of mouth.
Others got their historical documents burned or destroyed in the events of war or
colonization. Restricting historical evidence as exclusively written is also discrimination
against other social classes who were not recorded in paper. Nobilities, monarchs, the
elite, and even the middle class would have their birth, education, marriage, and death
as matters of government and historical record. But what of peasant families or
indigenous groups who were not given much thought about being registered to
government records? Does the absence of written documents about them mean that
they were people of no history or past? Did they even exist?

This loophole was recognized by historians who started using other kinds of
historical sources, which may not be in written form but were just as valid. A few of
these examples are oral traditions in forms of epics and songs, artifacts, architecture,
and memory. History thus became more inclusive and starting collaborating with other
disciplines as its auxiliary disciplines. With the aid of archaeologists, historians can use
artifacts from a bygone era to study ancient civilizations that were formerly ignored in
history because of lack of documents. Linguists can also be helpful in tracing historical
evolutions, past connections among different groups, and flow of cultural influence by
studying language and the changes that it has undergone. Even scientists like biologists
and biochemists can help with the study of the past through analyzing genetic and DNA
patterns of human societies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-VT_-n7NHU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmtMpQAIKjQ

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLE-5ElGlPM

Task/activity: Watching Videos and Making Reaction Paper

Direction:. Choose relevant videos/topics about the meaning and relevance of history
and make a reaction following the correct format. 1. Introduction 2. Body 3.Conclusion.
Reaction Paper: Rubric

Poor Fair Good Excellent

1 points 2 points 3 points 4 points
Content (1) Does not (1) (1) (1)
demonstrate Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates
comprehension limited comprehension mastery of core
of content in comprehension of core content content in
reading/video of content in in reading/video
and/or offers reading/video reading/video environment
irrelevant environment environment and offers
responses to and/or offers and offers thoughtful
reaction superficial complete responses to
questions responses to responses to reaction
reaction reaction questions
questions questions

Format& Few Relationships Relationships Writer

Organization relationships among ideas among ideas expresses
between ideas are sometimes are assisted by relationships
are presented. clear, but transitions and among ideas;
conveyed logical careful and
inconsistently. progression of subtle
ideas. organization
enhances
effectiveness of
communication
Grammar, Errors in Errors in A small number Mastery of
Punctuation grammar, grammar, of errors in grammar,
&Spelling spelling, spelling, grammar, spelling,

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 mechanics mechanics spelling and mechanics
cause reader to distract or mechanics do enhances the
frequently stop interfere with not distract effectiveness of
reading. understanding. from the overall communication.
effectiveness of
the paper.

TOPIC 2: DISTINCTION OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

With the past as history’s subject matter, the historian’s most important research tools
are historical sources. In general, historical sources can be classified between primary
and secondary sources. The classification of sources between these two categories
depends on the historical subject being studied.

Primary sources
Primary sources are those sources produced at the same time as the event, period, or
subject being studied. For example, if a historian wishes to study the Commonwealth
Constitution Convention of 1935, his primary can include the minutes of the convention,
newspaper clippings, Philippine Commission reports of the U.S. Commissioners, records
of the convention, the draft of the Constitution, and even the photographs of the event.
Eyewitness accounts of convention delegates and their memoirs can also be used as
primary sources. The same goes with other subjects of historical study. Archival
documents, artifacts, memorabilia, letters, census and government records, among
others are the most common examples of primary sources.

Example of Primary Sources

Secondary sources

Secondary sources are those sources, which were produced by an author who used
primary sources to produce the materials. In other words, secondary sources are
historical sources, which studied a certain historical subject. For example, on the subject
of the Philippine Revolution of 1896, students can read Teodoro Agoncillo’sRevolt of the
Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan published originally in 1956. The
Philippine Revolution happened in the last years of the nineteenth century while
Agoncillo published his work in 1956, which makes the Revolt of the Masses a secondary
source.

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Example of Secondary Sources

Both primary and secondary sources are useful in writing and learning history.
However, historians and students of history need to thoroughly scrutinize these
historical sources to avoid deception and to come up with the historical truth. The
historian should be able to conduct an external and internal criticism of the source,
especially primary sources which can age in centuries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXHO7bTPnw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOXfArLq6uY

Task/activity: Writing your Life History

Direction:Use the different primary sources in writing your life history. Send it to my
Personal Messenger.

TOPIC 3: EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CRITICISM

External Criticism

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 External criticism is the practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by
examining its physical characteristics; consistency with the historical characteristics of
the time when it was produced; and the materials used for evidence. Examples of the
things that will be examined when conducting external criticism of a document include
the quality of the paper, the type of the ink, and the language and words used in the
material among others.

Internal Criticism

Internal Criticism is the examination of the truthfulness of the evidence. It looks at the
content of the source and examines the circumstance of its production. Internal
criticism looks at the truthfulness and factuality of the evidence by looking at the author
of the source, its context, the agenda behind its creation, the knowledge which
informed it, and its intended purpose, among others.

Difference between External and Internal Criticism

Task/activity:Situation Analysis (Individual Activity)

Direction: What Source? Read the following scenarios and classify the sources
discovered as primary, secondary, or tertiary sources. Defend your answer and write on
the space provided. Write and send your answer on my personal messenger

1. Jose was exploring the library in his new school in Manila. He wanted to study
the history of Calamba, Laguna during the nineteenth century. In one of the
books, he saw an old photograph of a woman standing in a front of an old
church, clipped among the pages. At the back of the photo was a fine inscription
that says: “Kalamba, 19 de Junio 1861.”
Is the photograph a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?
__________________________________________________________________

2. It was Lean’s first day in his first year of college in a big university. His excitement
made him come to class unusually early and he found their classroom empty. He
explored the classroom and sat at the teacher’s table. He looked at the table
drawer and saw a book entitled U.G An Underground Tale: The Journey of Edgar
Jopson and the First Quarter Storm Generation. He started reading the book and

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 realized that it was a biography of a student leader turned political activist
during the time of Ferdinand Marcos. The author used interviews with friends
and family of Jopson, and other primary documents related to his works and life.
Is the book a primary, secondary, or a tertiary source?

__________________________________________________________________

3. Lorena was a new teacher of AralingPanlipunan in a small elementary school in

Mauban, Quezon. Her colleagues gave her the new textbook that she ought to
use in class. Before the class started, Lorena studied the textbook carefully. She
noted that the authors used works by another known historian in writing the
textbook. She saw that the bibliography included Teodoro Agoncillo’sThe Revolt
Of The Masses and The Fateful Years: Japan’s Adventure in the Philippines, 1941-
45. She also saw that the authors used Ma. Luisa Camagay’sWorking Women of
Manila During the 19th Century and many others.
Is the textbook a primary, secondary, or a tertiary?

4. Manuel visited the United States for a few months to see his relatives who have
lived there for decades. His uncle brought him on tours around Illinois. Manuel
visited the Field Museum of Natural History where a golden image of a woman
caught his eye. Manuel looked closer and read that the image was called “The
golden Tara.” It originated from Agusandel Sur and was bought by the museum
in 1922. It was believed to be made prior to the arrival of the Spaniards in the
Philippines.
Is the sculpture a primary, secondary, or a tertiary?

5. Gregoria loved to travel around the country. She liked bringing with her a travel
brochure that informs her of the different sites worth visiting in the area. Her
travel brochure was usually produced by the tourism department of the
province. It shows pictures of destinations visited by tourists and basic
information about the place like the origin of the name, the historical
significance of the place, and some other information acquired by the office’s
researches and writers.
Is the travel brochure a primary, secondary, or a tertiary?

TOPIC 4: REPOSITORIES OF PRIMARY SOURCES AND DIFFERENT

KINDS OF SOURCES

Generically refers to a central place where data is stored and maintained. A

repository can be a place where multiple databases or files are located for
distribution over a network, or a repository can be a location that is directly
accessible to the user without having to travel across a network.

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 LINKS
https://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/tutorials/primary-sources/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGNx0IlmKVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7NTW3n8luY

Task/activity: Compare through Graphic Organizer

Direction:Use graphic organizer to compare the different repositories of the different
sources. Send it to my Personal Messenger.

Assessment: Venn Diagram

Direction:
1. Explain briefly the definition and relevance of history.
2. Through Venn diagram show the characteristics of primary and secondary sources
and their similarities. Send it to my Personal Messenger

SIMILARITIES

Assessment Rubric for Venn Diagram

4 3 2 1

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 Each section of Each section of
Each section of Each section of
the diagram the diagram
the diagram the diagram
Concept contains two contains very
contains four contains three
Arrangement facts that are few facts that
facts easily facts easily
somewhat are not easily
identified. identified.
identified. identified.
Student
Student exhibits illustrates a Student displays
Student shows
mastery of the firmer a limited
Primary Source little or no
material as understanding of understanding
Content understanding of
evidenced by most of the with some details
topic. There are
attention to similarities and pertinent to the
few details.
detail. differences subject matter.
brainstormed.
Most of the Reflects some Contains non
Reflects factual information is factual factual
information that factual and information and information that
Linking Content corresponds seemingly attempts to put does not
together with appropriate corresponds it in correspond to
section of with appropriate corresponding the appropriate
diagram. section of section of section of
diagram. diagram. diagram

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 LESSON 2
CONTENT AND CONTEXUTAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED PRIMARY SOURCES
IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

TOPICS
1. Summary of Antonio Pigafetta’s Chronicle
2. Kartilya ng Katipunan
3. Proclamation of Philippine Independence
4. A Glance at Selected of Philippine Political Caricature in Alfred McCoy’s
Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era (1900-1941)
5. Cory Aquino’s Speech in front of US Congress

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. analyze the context, content and perspective and different kinds of
primary sources;
2.determine the contribution of different kind of primary sources in
understanding Philippine History;
3. distinguish critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.

TOPIC 1: SUMMARY OF ANTONIO PIGAFETTA’S CHRONICLE

Browsing the Internet on the different videos and information on the given topic .

First Voyage
Around the
World

Antonio Ferdinand
Pigafetta Magellan

In this chapter we are going to look at a number of primary sources from

different historical periods and evaluate these documents’ content in terms of historical

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value and examine the context of their production. The primary sources that we are
going to examine are Antonio Pigafetta’sFirst Voyage Around the World, Emilio Jacinto’s
“Kartilya ng Katipunan,” the 1898 Declaration of Philippine Independence, Political
Cartoon’s Alfred McCoy’sPhilippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era
(1900–1941), and the Corazon Aquino’s speech before the U.S. Congress. These primary
sources range from chronicles, official documents, speeches, and cartoons to visual arts.
Needless to say, different types of sources necessitate different kinds of analysis and
contain different levels of importance. We are going to explore that in this chapter.
This book was taken from the chronicles of contemporary voyagers and
navigators of the sixteenth century. One of them was Italian nobleman Antonio
Pigafetta, who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan in his fateful circumnavigation of the
world. Pigafetta’s work instantly became a classic that prominent literary men in the
West like William Shakespeare, Michel de Montaigne, and GiambattistaVico referred to
the book in their interpretation of the New World. Pigafetta’s travelogue is one of the
most important primary sources in the study of the precolonial Philippines. His account
was also a major referent to the events leading to Magellan’s arrival in the Philippines,
his encounter with local leaders, his death in the hands of Lapulapu’s forces in the Battle
of Mactan and in the departure of what was left of Magellan’s fleet from the islands.
Examining the document reveals several insights not just in the character of the
Philippines during the precolonial period, but also on how the fresh eyes of the
Europeans regard a deeply unfamiliar terrain, environment, people, and culture.
Locating Pigafetta’s account in the context of its writing warrants a familiarity on the
dominant frame of mind in the age of exploration, which pervaded Europe in the
fifteenth and sixteenth century. Students of history need to realize that primary sources
used in the subsequent written histories depart from certain perspectives. Thus,
Pigafetta’s account was also written from the perspective of Pigafetta himself and was a
product of the context of its production. The First Voyage Around the World by
Magellan was published after Pigafetta returned to Italy.
For this chapter, we will focus on the chronicles of Antonio Pigaffeta as he wrote
his firsthand observation and general impression of the Far East including their
experiences in Visayas. In Pigaffeta's account, their fleet reached what he called the
Landrones Islands of the "Islands of the Thieves." He recounted:

"These people have no arms, but use sticks, which have a fish bone at the end. They
are poor, but ingenious, and great thieves, and for the sake of that we called these
three islands the Landrones Islands.

The Landrones Islands is presently known as the Marianas Islands. These islands
are located south-southeast of Japan, west-southwest of Hawaii, north of New Guinea,
and east of Philippines. Ten days after they reached Landrones Islands, Pigaffeta
reported that they reached what Pigafetta called the isle of Zamal, now Samar but
Magellan decided to land in another uninhabited island of greater security where they
could rest for a few days. Pigaffeta recounted that after two days. March 18, nine men
came to them and showed you and eagerness in seeing them. Magellan realized that
the men were reasonable and welcomed them with food, drinks, and gifts. In turn, the
natives gave those fish, palm wine (uraca), figs, and two cochos. The natives also gave
them rice (umai), cocos, and other food supplies. Pigaffeta detailed in amazement and
fascination the palm tree which bore fruits, called cocho, and wine. He also described
what seemed like a coconut. His description reads:

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 "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 is they find
certain thread, 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 white marrow of a finger's thickness, which they eat fresh with meat and
fish, as we so bread, and it has the taste of an almond, and if anyone dried it he
might make bread of it (p.72)"

Pigaffeta characterized the people as "very familiar and friendly" and willingly
showed them different islands and names of these islands. The fleet went to
HumunuIslano (Homonhon) and there they found what Pigafetta referred to as the
"Watering Place of Good Signs." It is in this place where Pigafetta wrote that they found
the first signs of gold in the island. They named the island with the nearby islands as the
archipelago of St. Lazarus. They left the island, then in March 25th, Pigafetta recounted
that they saw ballanghai (balangay), a long boat full of people in Mazzava/Mazaua. The
leader, who Pigafetta referred to as the king of the ballanghai (balangay), sent his men
to the ship of Magellan. The Europeans entertained these men and gave them gifts.
When the king of the balangay offered to give Magellan a bar of gold and a chest of
ginger, Magellan declined. Magellan sent the interpreter to the king and asked for
money for the needs of his ships and expressed that he came into the islands as a friend
and not as an enemy. The king responded by giving Magellan the needed provisions of
food in chinaware. Magellan exchanged gifts of robes in Turkish fashion, red cap, and
gave the people knives and mirrors. The two then expressed their desire to become
brothers. Magellan also boasted of his men in armor who could not be struck with
swords and daggers. The king was fascinated and remarked that men in such armor
could be worth one hundred of his men. Magellan further showed the king his other
weapons, helmets, and artilleries. Magellan also shared with the king his charts and
maps and shared how they found the islands.
After a few days, Magellan was introduced to the king’s brother who was also a
king of another island. They went to this island and Pigafetta reported that they saw
mines of gold. The gold was abundant that parts of the ship and of the house of the
second king were made of gold. Pigafetta described the king as the most handsome of
all the men that he saw in this place. He was also adorned with silk and gold accessories
like a golden dagger, which he carried with him in a wooden polished sheath. This king
was named RaiaCalambu king of Zuluan and Calagan (Butuan and Caragua), and the first
king was RaiaSiagu. On March 31st, which happened to be Easter Sunday, Magellan
ordered the chaplain to preside a Mass by the shore. The king heard of his plan and sent
two dead pigs and attended the Mass with the other king. Pigafetta reported that both
kings participated in the mass wrote:

“…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.”

After the Mass, Magellan ordered that the cross be brought with nails and crown
in place. Magellan explained that the cross, the nails, and the crown were the signs of
his emperor and that he was ordered to plant it in the places that he would reach.
Magellan further explained that the cross would be beneficial for their people because
once other Spaniards saw this cross, then they would know that they had been in this
land and would not cause those troubles, and any person who might be held captives by
them would be released. The king concurred and allowed for the cross to be planted.

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This Mass would go down in history as the first Mass in the Philippines, and the cross
would be the famed Magellan’s Cross still preserved at present day.
After seven days, Magellan and his men decided to move and look for islands
where they could acquire more supplies and provisions. They learned of the islands of
Ceylon (Leyte), Bohol, and Zzubu (Cebu) and intended to go there. RaiaCalambu offered
to pilot them in going to Cebu, the largest and the richest of the islands. By April 7th of
the same year, Magellan and his men reached the port of Cebu. The king of Cebu,
through Magellan’s interpreter, demanded that they pay tribute as it was customary,
but Magellan refused. Magellan said that he was a captain of a king himself and thus
would not pay tribute to other kings. Magellan’s interpreter explained to the king of
Cebu that Magellan’s king was the emperor of a great empire and that it would do them
better to make friend with them than to forge enmity. The king of Cebu, together with
other principal men of Cebu, met in an open space. There, the king offered a bit of his
blood and demanded that Magellan do the same. Pigafetta recounts:

“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 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.”

The following day, Magellan spoke before the people of Cebu about peace and
God. Pigafetta reported that the people took pleasure in Magellan’s speech. Magellan
then asked the people who would succeed the king after his reign and the people
responded that the eldest child of the king, who happened to be a daughter, would be
the next in line. Pigafetta also related how the people talked about, how at old age,
parents were no longer taken into account and had to follow the orders of their children
as the new leaders of the land. Magellan responded to this by saying that his faith
entailed children to render honor and obedience to their parents. Magellan preached
about their faith further and people were reportedly convinced. Pigafetta wrote that
their men were overjoyed seeing that the people wished to become Christians through
their free will and not because they were forced or intimidated.
On the 14th of April, the people gathered with the king and other principal men
of the islands. Magellan spoke to the king and encouraged him to be a good Christian by
burning all the idols and worship the cross instead. The king of Cebu was then baptized
as a Christian. Pigafetta wrote:

“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 baptized he said that he
would name him Don Charles (Carlos), as the emperor his sovereign was named; and
he named the prince Don Fernand (Fernando), after the brother of the emperor, and
the King of Mazzava, Jehan: to the Moor he gave the name of Christopher, and to the
others each a name of his fancy.”

After eight days, Pigafetta counted that all of the island’s inhabitant were
already baptized. He admitted that they burned a village down for obeying neither the
king nor Magellan. The Mass was conducted by the shore every day. When the queen
came to the Mass one day, Magellan gave her an image of the Infant Jesus made by
Pigafetta himself. The king of Cebu swore that he would always be faithful to Magellan.
When Magellan reiterated that all of the newly baptized Christians need to burn their

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idols, but the natives gave excuses telling Magellan that they needed the idols to heal a
sick man who was a relative to the king. Magellan insisted that they should instead put
their faith in Jesus Christ. They went to the sick man and baptized him. After the
baptismal, Pigafetta recorded that the man was able to speak again. He called this a
miracle.
On the 26th of April, Zula, a principal man from the island of Matan (Mactan)
went to see Magellan and asked him for a boat full of men so that he would be able to
fight the chief named Silapulapu (Lapulapu). Such chief, according to Zula, refused to
obey the king and was also preventing him from doing so. Magellan offered three boats
instead and expressed his desire to go to Mactan himself to fight the said chief.
Magellan’s forces arrived in Mactanin daylight. They numbered 49 in total and the
islanders of Mactan were estimated to number 1,500. The battle began. Pigafetta
recounted:

“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 of 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.”

Magellan died in that battle. The natives perceiving that the bodies of the
enemies were protected with armors, aimed for their legs instead. Magellan was
pierced with a poisoned arrow in his right leg. A few of their men charged at the natives
and tried to intimidate them by burning an entire village but this only enraged the
natives further. Magellan was specifically targeted because the natives knew that he
was the captain general. Magellan was hit with a lance in the face. Magellan retaliated
and pierced the same native with his lance in the breast and tried to draw his sword but
could not lift it, because of his wounded arm. Seeing that the captain has already
deteriorated, more natives came to attack him. One native with a great sword delivered
a blow in Magellan’s left leg, brought him face down and the natives ceaselessly
attacked Magellan with lances, swords, and even with their bare hands. Pigafetta
recounted the last moments of Magellan:

“Whilst the Indians were thus overpowering him, 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.”

Pigafetta also said that the king of Cebu who was baptized could have sent help
but Magellan instructed him not to join the battle and stay in the balangay so that he
would see how they fought. The king offered the people of Mactan gifts of any value
and amount in exchange of Magellan’s body the chief refused. They wanted to keep
Magellan’s body as a memento of their victory.

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 Magellan’s men elected Duarte Barbosa as the new captain. Pigafetta also told
how Magellan’s slave and interpreter named Henry betrayed them and told the king of
Cebu that they intended to leave as quickly as possible. Pigafetta alleged that the slave
told the king that if he followed the slave’s advice, then the king could acquire the ships
and the goods of Magellan’s fleet. The two conspired and betrayed what was left of
Magellan’s men. The king invited these men to a gathering where he said he would
present the jewels that he would send for the Kind of Spain. Pigafetta was not able to
join the twenty-four men who attended because he was nursing his battle wounds. It
was only a short time when they heard cries and lamentations. The natives had slain all
of the men except the interpreter and Juan Serrano who was already wounded. Serrano
was presented and shouted at the men in the ship asking them to pay ransom so he
would be spared. However, they refused and would not allow anyone to go to the
shore. The fleet departed and abandoned Serrano. They left Cebu and continued their
journey around the World.

ANALYSIS OF PIGAFETTA’S CHRONICLES

The chronicles of Pigafetta was one of the most cited documents by historians
who wished to study the precolonial Philippines. As one of the earliest written accounts,
Pigafetta was seen as a credible source for a period, which was prior unchronicled and
undocumented. Moreover, being the earliest detailed documentations, it was believed
that Pigafetta’s writings account for the “purest” precolonial society. Indeed, Pigafetta’s
work is of great importance in the study and writing of Philippine history. Nevertheless,
there are needs to have a more nuanced reading of the sources within a contextual
backdrop. A student of history should recognize certain biases accompanying the author
and his identity, loyalties, and the circumstances that he was in; and how it affected the
text that he produced. In that case of Pigafetta, the reader needs to understand that he
was a chronicler commissioned by the King of Spain to accompany and document a
voyage intended to expand the Spanish empire.
He was also of noble descent who came from a rich from a rich family in Italy.
This attributes influenced his narratives, his selections of details to be included in the
text, his characterization of the people and of the species that he encountered, and his
interpretation and retelling of the events. Being a scholar id cartography and geography,
Pigaffeta was able to give details on geography and climate of the places that their
voyage had reached.
In reading Pigaffeta's description of the people, one has to keep in mind that he
was coming from sixteenth century European perspective. Hence, the reader might
notice how Pigaffeta, whether implicitly or explicitly, regarded the indigenous belief
systems and way of life as inferior to that of Christianity and of the Europeans. He would
always remark on the nakedness of the natives or how he was fascinated by their exotic
culture. Pigaffeta also noticeably emphasized the natives' amazement and illiteracy to
the European artillery, merchandise, and other goods, in the same way that Pigaffeta
repeatedly mentioned the abundance of spices like ginger, and of precious metals like
gold. His observations and assessments of the indigenous cultures employed the
European standard. Hence, when they saw the indigenous attired of the natives,
Pigaffeta saw them as being naked because from the European standpoint, they were
wearing fewer clothes indeed. Pigaffeta's perspective was too narrow to realize that
such attire was only appropriate to the tropical climate of the islands. The same was
true for materials that the natives used for their houses like palm and bamboo. These
materials would let more air come through the house and compensate for the hot
climate in the islands.

15
 It should be understood that such observations were rooted from the context of
Pigaffeta and of his era. Europe, for example, was dominated by the Holy Roman
Empire, whose loyalty and purpose was the domination of the Catholic Church all over
the world. Hence, other belief systems are different from that of Christianity were
perceived to be blasphemous and barbaric, even demonic. Aside from this, the sixteenth
century European economy was mercantilist. Such system measures the wealth of
kingdoms based on their accumulation of bullions or precious metals like gold and silver.
It was not surprising therefore that Pigaffeta would always mention the abundance of
gold in the islands as shown in hid description of leaders wearing gold rings and golden
daggers, and offer rich gold mines. An empire like that of the Spain would indeed search
for new kinds where they could acquire more gold and wealth to be on top of all the
European nations. The obsession with spices might be odd for Filipinos because of its
ordinariness in the Philippines, but understanding the context would reveal that spices
were scarce in Europe and hence were seen as prestige goods. In that era, Spain and
Portugal coveted the control of Spice Islands because it would have led to a certain
increase in wealth, influence, and power. These contexts should be used and
understood in order to have a more qualified reading of Pigaffeta's account.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylwiOLab5AA

https://youtu.be/14o9hZmjlf0-

Task/activity :Textual Analysis

Direction: Give textual analysis regarding the First Voyage around the World by
Magellan written by Antonio Pigafetta. Send it to my Personal Messenger.
Criteria Comments Points
Organization of Ideas 50%
Clarity 40%
Grammar 10%
Total: 100%

TOPIC 2: KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN

16
The Kataastasan, KagalanggalangangKatipunan ng mgaAnak ng Bayan (KKK) or
Katipunan is arguably the most important organization formed in the Philippine history.
While anti- colonial movements,
efforts, and organizations had already
been established centuries prior to
the foundation of the Katipunan, it
was only this organization that
envisioned (1) a united Filipino nation
that would revolt against the
Spaniards for (2) the total
independence of the country from
Span. Previous armed revolts had
already occurred before the
foundation of the Katipunan, but none of them envisioned an unfed Filipino nation
revolving against the colonizers. For example, Diego Silang was known as an Ilocano
who took up his arms and led one of the longest running revolts in the country. Slang,
however, was mainly concerned about his locality and referred to him as El Rey de locos
(The King of Ilocos). The imagination of the nation was largely absent in the aspirations
of the local revolts before Katipunan. On the other hand, the propaganda movements
led by the ilustrados like Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and Jose Rizal did
not envision a total separation of the Philippines from Spain, but not only demanded
equal rights, representation, and protection from the abuses of the friars.
In the conduct of their struggle, Katipunan created a complex structure and a
defined value system that would guide the organization as a collective aspiring for a
single goal. One of the most important Katipunan was the Kartilya ng Katipunan. The
original title of document was “Manga [sic] Aral Nang [sic] Katipunan ng mga A.N.B. or
“Lessons of the Organization of the Sons of the Country.” The document was written by
Emilio Jacinto in the 1896. Jacinto was only 18 years old when he joined the movement.
He was a law student at the Universidad de Santo Tomas. Despite his youth, Bonifacio
recognized the value and intellect of Jacinto that upon seeing that Jacinto’s Kartilya was
much better than the Decalogue he wrote, he willingly favored that the Kartilya be
distributed to their fellow Katipuneros. Jacinto became the secretary of the organization
and took charge of the short-lived printing press of the Katipunan. On 15 April 1897,
Bonifacio appointed Jacinto as a commander of the Katipunan in Northern Luzon.
Jacinto was 22 years old. He died of Malaria at a young age of 24 in the town of
Magdalena, Laguna.
The Kartilya can be treated as the Katipunan’s code of conduct. It contains
fourteen rules that instruct the way a Katipuneros should behave, and which specific
values should he uphold. General, the rules stated in the Kartilya can be classified into
two. The first group contains the rules that will make the member upright individual and
the second group contains the rules that will guide he treats his fellow men.

17
 Below is the translated version of the rules in
Kartilya:
1. The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree
without a shade, if not a poisonous weed.
2. To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake is not a virtue.
3. It is rational to be charitable and love one’s fellow creature, and to just one’s
conduct, acts and words to what is in itself reasonable.
4. Whether our skin is black or white, we are all born equal: superiority in
knowledge, wealth and beauty are to be understood, but not superiority in
nature.
5. The honorable man prefers honour to personal gain; the scoundrel, gain to
honor.
6. To the honorable man, his word is sacred.
7. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered but not time lost.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.
9. The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in keeping secrets.
10. On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman and the children, and of
the guide leads to the precipice, those whom he guides will also go there.
11. Thou most not look upon woman as a mere plaything, but as a faithful
companion who will share with thee the penalties of life; her (physical) weakness
will increase thy interest in her and she will remind thee of the mother who bore
As the primary governing d
thee and reared thee.
12. What thou dost not desire unto thy wife, children, brothers and sisters that do
not unto the wife, children, brothers and sisters of thy neighbor.
13. Man is not worth more because he is a king, because his nose is aquiline, and his
color white, not because he is a priest , a servant of God, nor because of the high
prerogative that he enjoys upon earth, but he is worth most who is a man
ofprovenand real value, who does good, keep his words, is worthy and honest;
he
who does not oppress, he who loves and cherishes his fatherland, though he be
born in the wilderness and know no tongue but his own.
14. When these rules of conduct shall be known to all, the longed-for sun of Liberty
shall raise the brilliant over this most unhappy portion of the globe and its rays
shall diffuse everlasting joy among the confederated brethren of the same rays,
the lives of those who have gone before, the fatigues and the well-pad sufferings
will remain. If he who desires to enter has informed himself of all his and believes
he will be able to perform what will be his duties, he may will out the application
for admission.

As the primary governing document this determines the rules of the conduct in
the Katipunan, properly understanding the values, ideals, aspirations, and even the
ideology of the organization.

18
 ANALYSIS OF THE “KARTILYA NG KATIPUNAN ”

Similar to what we have done to the accounts of Pigafetta, this primary source
also needs to be analyzed in terms of content and context. As a document written for a
fraternity whose main purpose is to overthrow a colonial regime, we can explain the
content and provisions of the Kartilyaas a reaction and response to certain value system
that they found despicable in the present state of things that they struggled against
with. For example, the fourth and the thirteenth rules in the Kartilyaare an invocation of
the inherent equality between and among men regardless of race, occupation, or status.
In the context of the Spanish colonial era where the indios were treated as the inferior
of the white Europeans, the Katipunan saw to it that the alternative order that they
wished to promulgate through their revolution necessarily destroyed this kind unjust
hierarchy.
Moreover, one can analyze the values upheld in the document as consistent with
the burgeoning rational and liberal ideals in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
Equality, tolerance, freedom, and liberty were values that first emerged in the
eighteenth century French Revolution, which spread throughout Europe and reached
the educated class of the colonies: Jacinto, an ilustrado himself, certainly got an
understanding of these values. Aside from the liberal values that can be dissected in the
document, we can also decipher certain Victorian and chivalrous values in the text. For
example, various provisions in the Kartilya repeatedly emphasized the importance of
honor in words and in action. The teaching of the Katipunan on how women should be
treated with honor and respect, while positive in many respects and certainly a
significant stride from the practice of raping and physically abusing women, can still be
telling of the Katipunan’s secondary regard for women in relation to men. For example,
in the tenth rule, the document specifically stated that men should be the guide of
women and children, and that he should set a good example, otherwise the women and
the children would be guided in the path of evil. Nevertheless, the same document
stated that women should be treated as companions by men and not as playthings that
can be exploited for their pleasure.
In the contemporary eyes, the Katipunan can be criticized because of these
provisions. However, one must not forget the context where the organization was born.
Not even in Europe or in the whole of the West at that juncture recognized the problem
of gender inequality. Indeed, it can be argued that Katipunan’s recognition of women as
important partners in the struggle, as reflected not just in Kartilya but also in the
organizational structure of the fraternity where a women’s unit was established¸ is an
endeavor advanced for its time. Aside from Rizal’s known Letter to the Women of
Malolos, no same effort by the supposed cosmopolitan Propaganda Movement was
achieved until the movement’s eventual disintegration in the latter part of the 1890s.
Aside from this, the Kartilyawas instructive not just of the Katipunan’s conduct
toward other people, but also for the members’ development as individuals in their own
rights. Generally speaking, the rules in the Kartilyacan be classified as either directed to
how one should treat his neighbor or to how one should develop and conduct one’s self.
Both are essential to the success and fulfillment of the Katipunan’sideals. For example,
the Kartilya’steachings on honoring one’s word and not wasting time are teachings
directed toward self-development, while the rules on treating the neighbor’s wife,
children, and brothers the way that you want yours to be treated is an instruction on
how Katipuneros should treat and regard their neighbor.

19
 All in all, proper reading of the Kartilya will reveal a more thorough
understanding of the Katipunan and the significant role that it played in the revolution
and in the unfolding of the Philippine history, as we know it.

Task/activity : Blog Making (Individual Activity Via Google Meet)

Direction:Choose one rule ofKartilya ng Katipunan and try to explain it by making a blog
consisting of 1-2 minutes of your selected rule. Recitation through Google Meet.

Criteria Comments Points

Content 40%
Presentation 30%
Creativity 20%
Overall Quality 20%
Total: 100%

TOPIC 3: PROCLAMATION OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

20
 Every year, the country commemorates the anniversary of the Philippine
Independence proclaimed on 12 June 1898, in the province of Cavite. Indeed, such
event is a significant turning point in the history of the country because it signaled the
end of the 333 years of Spanish colonization. There have been numerous studies done
on the events leading to the independence of the country but very few students had the
chance to read the actual document of the declaration. This is in spite of the historical
importance of the document and the details that the document reveal on the rationale
and circumstances of that historical day in Cavite. Interestingly, reading the details of
the said document in hindsight is telling of the kind of government that was created
under Aguinaldo, and the forthcoming hand of the United States of America in the next
few years of the newly created republic. The declaration was a short 2,000-wors
document, which summarized the reason behind the revolution against Spain, the war
of independence, and the future of the new republic under Emilio Aguinaldo.
The proclamation commenced with a characterization of the conditions in the
Philippines during the Spanish colonial period. The document specially mentioned
abuses and inequalities in the colony. The declaration says:

"...taking into consideration, that their inhabitants being already weary of bearing
the ominous yoke of Spanish domination, om account of the arbitrary arrests and
harsh treatment practiced by the Civil Guard to thr extent of causing death with the
harsh treatment practiced by the Civil Guard to the extent of causing death with
the connivance and even with the express orders of their commanders, who
sometimes went to the extreme of ordering the shooting of prisoners under the
pretext that they were attempting to escape, in violation of the provisions of the
Regulations of their Corps, which abuses were unpunished and on account of the
unjust deportations, especially those decree by General Blanco, of eminent
personages and of high social position, at the instigation of the Archbishop and
friars interested in keeping them out of the way for their own selfish and avaricious
purpose, deportations which are quickly brought about by a method of procedure
more execrable than that of the Inquisition and which every civilized nation rejects
on the account of a decision being rendered without a hearing of persons accused."
The above passage demonstrates the justifications behind the revolutions
against Spain. Specifically cited are the abuse by Civil Guard and the unlawful shooting
of prisoners whom they alleged as attempting to escape. The passage also condemns
the unequal protection of the law between the Filipino people and the "eminent
personages." Moreover, the line mentions the avarice and greed the clergy like friars
and the Archbishop himself. Lastly, the passage also condemns what they saw as the
unjust deportation and rendering of other decision without proper hearing, expected of
any civilized nation.
From here, the proclamation proceeded with a brief historical overview of the
Spanish occupation since Magellan's arrival in Visayas until the Philippines Revolution,
with specific details about the latter, especially after the Pact of Biak-na-Bato had
collapsed. The document narrates the spread of the movement "like an electric spark"
through different towns and provinces like Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas, Bulacan,
Laguna, and Morong, and quickly decline of Spanish forces in the same provinces. The
revolt also reached Visayas; thus the independence of the country was ensured. The
document also mentions Rizal's execution, calling it unjust. The execution as written in
the document, was done to "please the greedy body of friars in their insatiable desire to
seek revenge upon exterminate all those who are opposed to their Machiavellian
purposes, which tramples upon the penal code prescribed for these islands." The

21
document also narrates the Cavite Mutiny of January 1872 that caused the infamous
execution of the martyred native priest Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto
Zamora, "whose innocent blood was shed through the intrigues of those so-called
religious orders" that incited the three secular priest in the said mutiny.
The proclamation of independence also invokes that the established republic
would be led under the dictatorship of Emilio Aguinaldo. The first mention was at the
very beginning of the proclamation. It stated:
"In the town of Cavite Viejo, in this province of Cavite, on the twelfth day of June
eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, before me, Don AmbrosioRianzares Bautista,
Auditor of War and Special Commissioner appointed to proclaim and solemnize this
act by the Dictatorial Government of these Philippine Islands, for the purposes and by
virtue of the circular addressed by Eminent Dictator of the same Don Emilio Aguinaldo
yAuditor
Famy." of War and Special Commissioner appointed to proclaim and solemnize this
act by the Dictatorial Government of these Philippine Islands, for the purposes and by
virtue of the circular addressed by Eminent Dictator of the same Don Emilio
Aguinaldo y Famy."

The samewas repeated toward the last part of the proclamation. It states:

"We acknowledged, approve and confirm together with the orders that have been
issued therefrom, the Dictatorship established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo, whom we
honor as the Supreme Chief of this Nation, which this day commences to have a life
of its own, in the belief that he is the instrument selected by God, in spite of his
humble origin, to effect the redemption of this unfortunate people, as foretold by
Doctor Jose Rizal in the magnificent verses which he composed when he was
preparing to be shot, liberating them from the yoke of Spanish domination in the
punishment of the impunity with which their Government allowed the commission
abused by its subordinates."

Another detail in the proclamation that is worth looking at is its explanation on

the Philippine flag that was first waved on the same day. The document explained
"And finally, it was unanimously resolved that its Nation, independent from this day,
must use the same flag used heretofore, whose design and colors and described in
the accompanying drawing, with deigns representing in natural colors of the three
arms referred to. The white triangle represents the distinctive emblem of the
famous Katipunan Society, which by means of its compact of blood urged on the
masses of the people to insurrection; the three stars represents that three principal
Islands of this Archipelago, Luzon, Mindanao and Panay, in which this
insurrectionary movement broke out; the sun represents the gigantic strides that
have been made by the sons of this land on the road of progress and civilization its
eight rays symbolizing the eight provinces of Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga,
Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas, which were declared in a state of war
almost as soon as the first insurrectionary movement was initiated; and the colors
blue, red and white, commemorate those of the flag of the United States of North
America, in manifestation of our profound gratitude towards that Great Nation for
the disinterested protection she is extending to us and will continue to extend to
us."

This often overlooked detail reveals much about the historically accurate
meaning behind the most widely known national symbol in the Philippines. It is not

22
known by many for example, that the white triangle was derived from the symbol of the
Katipunan. The red and blue colors of the flag are often associated with courage and
peace, respectively. Our basic education omits the fact that those colors were taken
from the flag of the United States. While it can always be argued that symbolic meaning
can always change and be reinterpreted, the original symbolic meaning of something
presents us several historical truths that can explain the subsequent events, which
unfolded after the declaration of independence on the 12th day of June 1898.

ANALYSIS OF THE PROCLAMATION OF THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

As mentioned earlier, a re-examination of the document on the declaration of

independence can reveal some often-overlooked historical truths about this important
event in Philippine history. Aside from this, the document reflects the general
revolutionary sentiment of that period. For example, the abuses specifically mentioned
in the proclamation like friar’s abuse, racial discrimination, and inequality before the law
reflect the most compelling sentiments represented by the revolutionary leadership.
However, no mention was made about the more serious problem that affected the
masses more profoundly (i.e., the land and agrarian crisis felt by the numerous Filipino
peasants in the nineteenth century). This is ironic especially when renowned Philippine
Revolution historian, Teodoro Agoncillo, stated that the Philippine Revolution was an
agrarian revolution. The common revolutionary soldiers fought in the revolution for the
hope of owning the lands that they were tilling once the friar estates in different
provinces like Batangas and Laguna dissolve, if and when the revolution succeeded.
Such aspects and realities of the revolutionary leaders like Emilio Aguinaldo,
AmbrosioRianzares-Bautista, and Felipe Buencamino, or were intentionally left out
because they were landholders themselves.
The Treaty of Paris was an agreement signed between Spain and the United States of
America regarding the ownership of the Philippine Islands and the other Spanish
colonies in South America. The agreement ended the short-lived Spanish-American
War. The Treaty was signed on 10 December 1898, six months after the revolutionary
government declared the Philippine Independence. The Philippines was sold to the
United States at $20 million and effectively undermined the sovereignty of the
Filipinos after their revolutionary victory. The Americans occupied the Philippines
immediately which resulted in the Philippine-American War that lasted until the
earliest years of the twentieth century.

The proclamation also gives us the impression on how the victorious

revolutionary government of Aguinaldo historicized the struggle for independence.
There were mentions of past events that were seen as important turning point of the
movement against Spain. The execution of the GOMBURZA, for example, and the failed
Cavite Mutiny of 1872 was narrated in detail. This shows that they saw this event as a
significant awakening of the Filipinos in the real conditions of the nation under Spain.
Jose Rizal's legacy and martyrdom was also mentioned in the document. However, the
Katipunan as the pioneer of the revolutionary movement was only mentioned once
toward the end of the document. There was no mention of the Katipunan's foundation.
Bonifacio and his co-founders were also left out. It can be argued, thus, that the way of
historical narration found in the document also reflects the politics of the victors. The
enmity between Aguinaldo's Magdalo and Bonifacio'sMagdiwang in the Katipunan is no

23
secret in the pages of our history. On the contrary, thewar led by Aguinaldo's men with
the forces of the United States were discussed in detail.
The point is, even official records and documents like the proclamation of
independence, while truthful most of the time, still exude the politics and biases of
whoever is in power. This manifest in the selectiveness of information that can be found
in these records. It is the task of the historian, thus, to analyze the content of these
documents in relation to the dominant politics and the contexts of people and
institutions surrounding it. This tells us a lesson on taking primary sources like official
government records within the circumstances of this production. Studying one historical
subject, thus, entails looking at multiple primary sources and pieces of historical
evidences in order to have a more nuanced and contextual analysis of our past.

Task/activity: Film/ Movie Clip

Direction:Make a Film/ Movie Clip with the use of 3-2-1. Gauge the topic presented
write down takeaways, questions, and something you enjoyed about the text, video or
lesson. Send it to my messenger.

TOPIC 4: A GLANCE AT SELECTED PHILIPPPINE POLITICAL CARICATURES

IN ALFRED McCOY’S PHILIPPINE CARTOONS: POLITICAL CARICATURE OF
THE AMERICAN ERA (1900-1941)

Political Cartoons and caricatures are a rather recent art form, which veered
away from the classical art by exaggerating human features and poking fun at its
subjects. Such art genre and technique became a part of the print media as a form of
social and political commentary, which usually targets persons of power and authority.
Cartoons became an effective tool of publicizing opinions through heavy use of
symbolism, which is different from a verbose written editorial and opinion pieces. The
unique way that a caricature represents opinion and captures the audience’s
imagination is reason enough for historians to examine these political cartoons.
Commentaries in mass media inevitably shape public opinion and such kind of opinion is
worthy of historical examination.
In his book Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era (1900-
1941), Alfred McCoy, together with Alfredo Roces, compiled political cartoons published
in newspaper dailies and periodicals in the aforementioned time period. For this part,
we are going to look at the selected cartoons and explain the context of each one.

24
The first example shown was published by The Independent on
May 20, 1916. The cartoon shows a politician from Tondo, named
Dr. Santos, passing his crown to his brother-in-law, Dr. Barcelona.
A Filipino guy (as depicted wearing salakot and barong tagalog)
was trying to stop Santos, telling the latter to stop giving
Barcelona the crown because it is not his to begin with.

The second cartoon was also published by The Independent on

June 16, 1917. This was drawn by Fernando Amorsolo and was
aimed as a commentary to the working of Manila Police at that
period. Here, we see a Filipino child who stole a skinny chicken
because he had nothing to eat. The police officer was relentlessly
pursuing the said child. A man wearing a salakot, labeled Juan de
la Cruz was grabbing the officer, telling him to leave the small-
time pickpockets and thieves and to turn at the great thieves
instead. He was pointing to huge warehouse containing bulks of
rice, milk, and grocery products.

The third cartoon was a commentary on the unprecedented cases

of colorum automobiles in the city street. The Philippine Free
Press published this commentary when fatal accidents involving
colorum vehicles and taxis occurred too often already.

25
 This fourth cartoon depicts a cinema. A blown-up police officer
was at the screen saying that couples are not allowed to neck
and make love in the theater. Two youngsters looked horrified
while an older couple seemed amused.

The next cartoon was published by The Independent on

November 27, 1915. Here, we see the caricature of Uncle Sam
riding a chariot pulled by a Filipinos wearing school uniforms.
The Filipino boys were carrying American objects like baseball
bats, whiskey, and boxing gloves. McCoy, in his caption to the
said cartoon, says that this cartoon was based on an event in
1907 when William Howard Taft was brought to the Manila pier
riding a chariot pulled by students of Liceo de Manila. Such was
condemned by the nationalists at the time.

The last cartoon was published by Lipang Kalabaw on August 24

1907. In the picture, we can see Uncle Sam rationing porridge to
the politicians and members of the Progresista Party (sometimes
known as the Federalista Party) while members of Nationalista
Party look on and wait for their turn. This cartoon depicts the
patronage of the United States being coveted by politicians from
either of the party.

ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL CARICATURE DURING THE AMERICAN

PERIOD

The transition from the Spanish Colonial period to the American Occupation period,
demonstrated different strands of changes and shiftsin culture, society, and politics. The
Americans drastically introduced democracy to the nascent nation and the
consequences were far from ideal. Aside from this, it was also during the American
period that Filipinos were introduced to different manifestations of modernity like
healthcare, modern transportation, and media. This ushered in a more open freer press.
The post-independence and the post-Filipino-American period in the Philippines were
experienced differently by Filipinos coming from different classes. The upper
principaliaclass experienced economic prosperity with the opening up of the Philippine
economy to the United States but the majority of the poor Filipino remained poor,
desperate, and victims of state repression.
The selected cartoons illustrate not only the opinion of certain media outfits
about the Philippine society during the American period but also paint a broad image of
society and politics under the United States. In the arena of politics, for example, we see
the price that Filipinos paid for the democracy modelled after the Americans. First, it

26
seemed that the Filipino politicians at that time did not understand well enough the
essence of democracy and the accompanying democratic institutions and processes.
This can be seen in the rising dynastic politics in Tondo as depicted in the cartoon
published by The Independent. Patronage also became influential and powerful, not only
between clients and patrons but also between the newly formed political parties
composed of the elite and the United States. This was depicted in the cartoon where the
United States, represented by Uncle Sam, provided dole outs for members of the
Federalista while theNacionalista politicians looked on and waited for their turn. Thus,
the essence of competing political parties to enforce choices among the voters was
cancelled out. The problem continues up to the present where politicians transfer from
one party to another depending on which party was powerful in specific periods of time.
The transition from a Catholic-centered, Spanish-Filipino society to an imperial
American-assimilated one, and its complications, were also depicted in the cartoons.
One example is the unprecedented increase of motorized vehicles in the city.
Automobiles became a popular mode of transportations in the city and led to the
emergence of taxis. However, the laws and policy implementation was mediocre. This
resulted in the increasing colorum and unlicensed vehicles transporting people around
the city. The rules governing the issuance of driver’s license was loose and traffic police
could not be bothered by rampant violations of traffic rules. This is a direct consequence
of the drastic urbanization of the Philippine society. Another example is what McCoy
called the “sexual revolution” that occurred in the 1930s. Young people as early as that
period, disturbed the conservative Filipino mindset by engaging in daring sexual
activities in public spaces like cinemas. Here we can see how that period was the
meeting point between the conservative past and the liberated future of the
Philippines.
Lastly, the cartoons also illustrated the conditions of poor Filipinos in the
Philippines now governed by the United States. From the looks of it, nothing much has
changed. For example, a cartoon depicted how police authorities oppress petty Filipino
criminals while turning a blind eye on hoarders who monopolize goods in their huge
warehouse (presumably Chinese merchants). The other cartoon depicts how Americans
controlled Filipinos through seemingly harmless American objects. By controlling their
consciousness and mentality, Americans got to control and subjugate Filipinos.

Task/activity : Making of Caricature ( Individual)

Direction: Make your own political caricature in connection with President Duterte’s
administration with explanation. Send it to my personal messenger.

Criteria Points

27
 Content 50%
Creativity and Originality 20%
Sloppiness 15%
Overall Impression of the Art 10%
Art Quality 5%
Total: 100%

TOPIC 5: CORY AQUINO’S SPEECH IN FRONT OF U.S CONGRESS

Corazon ‘Cory’ CojuangcoAquino functioned as the

symbol of the restoration of democracy and the
overthrow of the Dictatorship of Marcos in 1986. The
EDSA PEOPLE POWER, which installed Cory Aquino in
the presidency, through peaceful means. Cory was
easily a figure of the said revolution as the widow of
slain Marcos oppositionist and former Senator Benigno
‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. Cory was hoisted as the antithesis of the dictator. Her image as a
mourning, widowed housewife who had always been in the shadow of her husband and
relatives and no experience in politics was juxtaposed against Marcos statesmanship,
eloquence, charisma, and cunning political skills. Nevertheless, Cory was able to capture
the imagination of the people whose rights and freedom had long been compromised
throughout the Marcos regime. This is despite the fact that Cory came from a rich
Haciendero family in Tarlac and owned vast estate of sugar plantation and whose
relatives occupy local and national government position.

The People Power Revolution of 1986 was widely recognized around the world for
its peaceful character. When former Ninoy Aquino was shot at the Tarmac of the
Manila International Airport on 21 August 1983, the Marcos Regime greatly suffered
a crisis of legitimacy. Protests from different sectors frequented different areas in the
country. Marcos credibility in the international community also suffered. Paired with
the looming’s economics crisis. Marcos had to do something to prove to his allies in
the United State that he remained to be the democratically anointed leader of the
country. He called Snap Election in February 1986 where Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.
The widow of the slain senator was convinced to run against Marcos. The Canvassing
was rigged to Marcos favor but the people expressed their protest against the
corrupt and authoritarian government. Leading military official of the regime and
Martial Law orchestrators themselves. Juan Ponce Enrile, Fidel V. Ramos, plotted to
take over the presidency, until the civilian heeded the call of then Manila Archbishop
Jaime Cardinal Sin and other civilian leaders gathered in EDSA. The overwhelming
presence of civilians in EDSA successfully turned a coup into a civilian demonstration.
The thousands of people who gathered overthrow Ferdinand Marcos from the
presidency after 21years.

28
 a crisis of legitimacy. Protests from different sectors frequented different areas in the
country. Marcos credibility in the international community also suffered. Paired with
the looming’s economics crisis. Marcos had to do something to prove to his allies in
the United State that he remained to be the democratically anointed leader of the
country. He called Snap Election in February 1986 where Corazon Cojuangco Aquino.
The widow of the slain senator was convinced to run against Marcos. The Canvassing
was rigged to Marcos favor but the people expressed their protest against the
corrupt and authoritarian government. Leading military official of the regime and
Martial Law orchestrators themselves. Juan Ponce Enrile, Fidel V. Ramos, plotted to
take over the presidency, until the civilian heeded the call of then Manila Archbishop
Jaime Cardinal Sin and other civilian leaders gathered in EDSA. The overwhelming
presence of civilians in EDSA successfully turned a coup into a civilian demonstration.
The thousands of people who gathered overthrow Ferdinand Marcos from the
presidency after 21years.
On 18 September 1986 seven months since Cory became president she went to
the US and spoke before the joint session of the US Congress. Cory was welcomed with
long applause as she took the podium and address the United State about her
presidency and the challenges faced by the new Republic. She began her speech with
the story of her leaving the US three years’ prior as a newly widowed wife of Ninoy
Aquino.
She then told of Ninoy's character, conviction, and resolve in opposing the
authoritarianism of Marcos. She talked of the three times that they lost Ninoy including
his demise on 23 August 1983.The first time was when the dictatorship detained Ninoy
with other dissenters. Cory Related:

"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."

Cory continued that when Ninoy survived that first detention, he was then
charged of subversion, murder and other crimes. He was tried by a military court whose
legitimacy Ninoy adamantly questioned. To solidify his protest, Ninoy decided to do a
hunger strike and fasted for 40 days. Cory treated this event as the second timethat
their family lost Ninoy. She said:

"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 called off the fast on the 40th day."

Ninoy death was the third and the last time that Cory and their children lost
Ninoy. She continued:

29
 "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."

Cory attributed the peaceful EDSA Revolution to the martyrdom ofNinoy. She
stated the death of Ninoy sparked the revolution and the responsibility of “offering the
democratic alternative “fallen on (her) shoulders”. Cory address introduced us to her
democratic philosophy, which she claimed she also acquired from Ninoy. She argued:

"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
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 hugger 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."

Cory talked about her miraculous victory through the people's struggle and
continued talking about her earliest initiatives as the president of a restored democracy.
She stated that she intended to forge and draw reconciliation after a bloody and
polarizing dictatorship. Cory empathize the importance of the EDSA Revolution in terms
of being a "limited revolution that respected the life and freedom of every Filipino." She
also boasted of the restoration of a fully constitutional government whose constitution
gave utmost respect to the Bill of Rights. She reported to the U.S. Congress:

"Again as we restore democracy by the ways of democracy, so are we completing

the constitutional structures of our newdemocracy under a constitution that already
gives full respectto the Bill of Rights. A jealously independent
constitutionalcommission is completing its draft which will be submitted later this
year to a popular referendum. When it is approved, there will be elections for both
national and local positions. So, within about a year from a peaceful but national
upheavalthat overturned a dictatorship, we shall have returned to full constitutional
government."

30
 Cory then proceeded on her peace agenda with the existing
communistinsurgency, aggravated by the dictatorial and authoritarian measure of
Ferdinand Marcos. She asserted:

"My predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency that
numbered less than five hundred.Unhampered by respect for human rights he went
at it with hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that insurgency hadgrown to more
than sixteen thousand. I think there is a lesson here to be learned about trying to
stifle a thing with a meansby which it grows."

Cory's peace agenda involves political initiatives and re-integration program to

persuade insurgents to leave the countryside and return to the mainstream society to
participate in the restoration of democracy. She invoked the path of peace because she
believed that it was the moral path that a moral government must take. Nevertheless,
Cory took a step back when she said that while peace is the priority of her presidency,
she "will not waiver" when freedom and democracy are threatened. She said that,
similar to Abraham Lincoln, she understands that "force may be necessary before
mercy" and while she did not relish that idea, she "will do whatever it takes to defend
the integrity and freedom of (her) country."
Cory then turned to the controversial topic of the Philippine foreign
debtamounting to $26 billion at the time of her speech. This debt had ballooned debts
in the Marcos regime. Cory expressed her intention to honor those debts despite
mentioning that the people did not benefit from such debts. Thus, she mentioned her
protestations about the people way the Philippines was deprived of choices to pay those
debts within the capacity of the Filipino people. She lamented:

"Finally may I turn to that other slavery, our twenty-six-billion-dollar foreign debt. I
have said that we shall honor it. Yet.The means by which we shall be able to do so are
kept from us. Many of the conditions imposed on the previous governmentthat stole
this debt, continue to be imposed on us who never benefited from it."

She continued that while the country had experienced the calamities brought
about by the corrupt dictatorship to Marcos, no commensurate assistance was yet to be
extended to the Philippines. She even remarked that given the peaceful character of
EDSA People Power Revolution, "ours must have been the cheapest revolution ever."
She demonstrated that Filipino people fulfilled the "most difficult condition of the debt
negotiation," which was the "restoration of democracy and responsible government."
Cory related to the U.S. legislators that wherever she went, she met poor and
unemployed Filipinos willing to offer their lives for democracy. She stated:

"Wherever I went in the campaign, slum area or impoverished village. They came to
me with one cry, democracy. Not foodalthough 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 give them work that will put dignity in their lives.
But I feel the pressing obligation to respond quickly as the leader of the people so
deserving of all these things."

Cory proceeded in enumerating the challenges of the Filipino people asthey tried
building the new democracy. These were the persisting communist insurgency and the
economic deterioration. Cory further lamented that these problems worsened by the

31
crippling debt because half of the country's export earnings amounting to $2 billion
would "go to pay just the interest on a debt whose benefit the Filipino people never
received." Cory then asked a rather compelling question to the U.S Congress:

"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 want it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it."

Cory ended her speech by thanking America for serving as home toher family for
what she referred to as the "three happiest years of our livestogether." She enjoined
America in building the Philippines as a new homefor democracy and in turning the
country as a "shining testament of our twonationscommitment to freedom."

ANALYSIS OF CORY AQUINO SPEECH

Cory Aquino's speech was an important event in the political and diplomatic history of
the country because it has arguably cemented the legitimacy of the EDSA government in
the international arena. The speech talks of her family background, especially her
relationship with her late husband, Ninoy Aquino. It is well known that it was Ninoy who
servedas the real leading figure of the opposition at that time. Indeed, Ninoy's
eloquence and charisma could very well compete with that of Marcos. In her speech,
Cory talked at length about Ninoy's toil and suffering at the hands of the dictatorship
that he resisted. Even when she proceeded talking about her new government, she still
went back to Ninoy's legacies and lessons. Moreover, her attribution of the revolution
to Ninoy's death demonstrates not only Cory's personal perception on the revolution,
but since she was the president, it also represents what the dominant discourse was at
that point in our history.
The ideology or the principles of the new democratic government can also be seen in
the same speech. Aquino was able to draw the sharp contrast between her government
and of her predecessor by expressing her commitment to a democratic constitution
drafted by an independent commission. She claimed that such constitution upholdsto
the rights and liberty of the Filipino people. Cory also hoisted herself as the
reconciliatory agent after more than two decades of a polarizing authoritarian politics.
For example, Cory saw the blown-up communist insurgency as a product of a repressive
and corrupt government. Her response to this insurgency rooted from her diametric
opposition of the dictator (i.e., initiating reintegration of communist rebels to the
mainstream Philippine society). Cory claimed her main approach to this problem was
trough peace and not through the sword of war.
Despite Cory’s effort to hoist herself as the exact opposite of Marcos, her speech
still revealed certain parallelism between her and the Marcos’s government. This is seen
in terms of continuing the alliance between the Philippines and the United States
despite the known affinity between the said world super power and Marcos. The Aquino
regime, as seen in Cory’s acceptance of the invitation to address the U.S. Congress and
to the content of the speech, decided to build and continue with the alliance between
the Philippines and the United States and effectively implemented an essentially similar
foreign policy to that of the dictatorship. For example, Cory recognized that the large
sum of foreign debts incurred by the Marcos regime never benefited the Filipino people.
Nevertheless, Cory expressed her intention to pay off those debts. Unknown to many
Filipinos was the fact that there was a choice of waiving the said debts because those

32
were the debt of the dictator and not the country. Cory’s decision is an indicator of her
government’s intention to carry on a debt-driven economy.
Reading through Aquino’s speech, we can already take cues, not just on Cory’s
individual ideas and aspirations, but also the guiding principles and framework of the
government that she represented.

Task/activity: Individual Recitation (Google Meet.)

Direction:Make your own reaction/understanding about Cory Aquino’s Speech in US
Congress.Recitation via Google Meet.
Criteria Comments Points
Content 50%
Costume 20%
Voice 20%
Audience Impact 10%
Total: 100%

Assessment :

1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of the sources used. Write your
reaction/comments and send it to my personal messenger.
2. Determine the different kinds of primary sources and write a critical essay on the
source of your own choice. Must include: discussion on the importance of the text;
the author’s background; the context of the document; and its contribution to
understand Philippine History).
RUBRICS: CRITICAL ESSAY
4 3 2 1
Features
Expert Accomplished Capable Beginner
• Piece was • Piece was
• Piece had • Piece had no
written in an written in an
little style or style or voice
extraordinar interesting
voice • Gives no
y style and style and
Quality of • Gives some new
voice voice
Writing new information
• Very • Somewhat
information and very
informative informative
but poorly poorly
and well and
organized organized
organized organized
• So many
spelling,
• Few
• Virtually • A number punctuatio
spelling and
no spelling, of spelling, n and
Grammar, punctuatio
punctuatio punctuatio grammatic
Usage & ns errors,
n or n or al errors
Mechanics minor
grammatic grammatic that it
grammatica
al errors. al errors. interferes
l errors.
with the
meaning.

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 LESSON 3
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATIONS IN PHILIPPINE HOSTORY: SPACES FOR
CONFLICT AND CONTROVERSIES

TOPICS
1. Site of the First Mass
2. Cavite Mutiny
3. Retraction of Dr. Jose Rizal
4. Cry of Rebellion ( Balintawak or PugadLawin)

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. demonstrate the ability to use primary resources to argue in favour or
against a particular issue;
2.effectively communicate, using various techniques and genres, their
historical analysis of a particular event or issue that could help other understand
the chosen topic; and
3. takes the responsibility of knowing and being Filipino.

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATIONS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY:

SPACES FOR CONFLICT AND CONTROVERSIES

In this chapter, we will analyze four historiographical problems in Philippine

history in an attempt to apply what we have learned thus
far in the work of a historian and the process of historical
inquiry. Earlier, we have been introduced to history as a
discipline, the historical method, and the content and
context analysis of primary sources. Two key concepts
that need to be defined before proceeding to the
historical analysis problem in history are interpretation
and multiperspectivity.
History is the study of the past, but a more
contemporary definition is centered on how it impacts the present through its
consequences. Geoffrey Barraclough defines history as “the attempt to discover, on the
basis of fragmentary evidence, the significant things about the past. “He also notes “the
history we read, though based on facts, is strictly speaking, not factual at all, but a series
of accepted judgements.” Such judgements of historians on how the past should be seen
make the foundation of historical interpretation

34
 CODE OF KALANTIAW

Is a mythical legal code in the epic history Maragtas. Before it was revealed as a
hoax, it was a source of pride for the people of Aklan. In fact, a historical marker was
installed in the town of Batan, Aklan in 1956, with the following text:

“CODE OF KALANTIAW.DatuBendeharaKalantiaw, third Chief of

Panay, born in Aklan, established his government in the peninsula
of Batang, AklanSakup. Considered the First Filipino Lawgiver, he
promulgated in about 1433 a penal code now known as Code of
Kalantiaw containing 18 articles. Don MarcelinoOrilla of Zaragoza,
Spain, obtained the original manuscript from an old chief of Panay
which was latertranslated into Spanish by Rafael
MurviedoYzamaney.” translated into Spanish by Rafael
MurviedoYzamaney.”

It was only in1968that it was proved a hoax, when William Henry Scott, then a
doctoral candidate at the University of Santo Tomas, defended his research on pre-
Hespanic sources in Philippine history. He attributed the code to a historical fiction
written in 1913 by Jose E. Marcotitled Las AntiguasLeyendas de la Isla de Negros. Marco
attributed the code itself to a priest named Jose Maria Pavon. Prominent Filipino
historians did not dissent to Scott’s findings, but there are still some who would like to
believe that the code is a legitimate document.
Historians utilize facts collected from primary source of history and then draw
their own readings so that their intended audience may understand the historical event,
a process that in essence, “makes of the past.” The premise is that not all primary
sources are accessible to a general audience, and without the proper training and
background, a non-historian interpreting a primary source may do more harm than
good—a primary source may even cause misunderstandings; sometimes, even resulting
in more problems.
Interpretations of the past, therefore, vary according to who reads the primary
source, when it was read, and how it was read.As students of history, we must be well
equipped to recognized different types of interpretations, why these may differ from
each other, and how to critically sift these interpretations through historical evaluation.

35
Interpretations of historical events change over time; thus it is an important skill for a
student of history to track these changes in attempt to understand the past.

SA AKING MGA KABATA

Is a poem purportedly written by Jose Rizal when he was eight years old and is probably
one of Rizal’s most prominent works. There is no evidence to support the claim that this
poem, with the now immortalized lines
“Anghindimagmahalsakanyangsalita/mahigitsahayop at malansangisda” was written
by Rizal, and worse, the evidence against Rizal’s authorship of the poem seems all
unassailable.
There exists no manuscript of the poem handwritten by Rizal. The poem was first
published in 1906, in a book by Hermenegildo Cruz. Cruz said he received from Gabriel
Beato Francisco, who claimed to have received it in 1884 from Rizal’s close friend,
SaturninoRaselis. Rizal never mentioned writing this poem anywhere in his writings, and
more importantly, he never mentioned of having a close friend by the person of Raselis.
Further criticism of the poem reveals more about wrongful attribution of the
poem to Rizal. The poem was written in Tagalog and referred to the word “kalayaan.”
But it was documented in Rizal’s letters that he first encountered the word through a
Marcelo H. del Pilar’s translation of Rizal’s essay “El Amor Patrio,” where it was spelled
as “kalayahan.”
While Rizal’s native tongue was Tagalog he was educated in Spanish, starting
from his mother, Teodora Alfonso. Later on, he would express disappointment in his
difficulty in expressing himself in his native tongue.
The poem’s spelling is also suspect-the use of letters “k” and “w” to replace “c”
and “u”, respectively was suggested by Rizal as an adult. If the poem was indeed written
during his time, it should use the original Spanish orthography that was prevalent in his
time.

“SA AKING MGA KABATA”

Kapagkaangbaya’ysadyangumiibig
Sakanyangsalitangkaloob ng langit,
Sanglangkalayaannasa ring masapit
Katulad ng ibongnasahimpapawid.

Pagka’tangsalita’yisangkahatulan
Sabayan, sanayo’tmgakaharian,
At angisangtao’ykatulad, kabagay
Ng alinmanglikhanoongkalayaan.

Anghindimagmahalsakanyangsalita
Mahigitsahayop at malansangisda,
Kaya angmarapatpagyamaningkusa
Na tuladsainangtunaynanagpala.

Angwikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin

Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitanganghel,
Sapagka’tangPoongmaalamtumingin
Angsiyangnaggawad, nagbigaysaatin.

Angsalitanati’yhuwad din saiba

Na may alfabeto at sarilingletra,
Na kaya nawala’ydinatnan ng sigwa
Anglundaysalawanoongdakonguna.

36
 Many of the things we accept a “true” about the past might not be the cases
anymore; just because these were taught to us as “facts” when we were younger does
not mean that it is set in stone—history is, after all a construct. And as a construct.
There might be conflicting and competing accounts of the past that need one’s
attention, and can impact the way we view our country’s history and identity. It is
important, therefore, to subject to evaluation not only the primary sources, but also the
historical interpretation of the same, to ensure that the current interpretation is reliable
to support our acceptance of events of the past.

MULTIPERSPECTIVITY

With several possibilities of interpreting the past, another important concept we

must note is multiperspectivity.This can be defined as a way of looking at historical
events, personalities, developments, cultures, and societies from different perspectives.
Historical writing is, by definition, biased, partial, and contains perceptions.The historian
decides on what sources to use, what interpretations to make more apparent,
depending on what his end is.
Historians may misinterpret evidence, attending to those that suggest that a
certain event happened, and then ignore the rest that goes against the evidence.
Historians may omit significant facts about their subject, which makes the interpretation
unbalanced. Historians may impose a certain ideology to their subject, which may not
be appropriate to the period the subject was from. Historians may also provide a single
cause for an event without considering other possible causal explanations of said event.
These are just many of the ways a historian may fail in his historical inference,
description, and interpretation. With multiperspectivity as an approach in history, we
must understand that historical interpretations contain discrepancies, contradictions,
ambiguities, and are often the focus of dissent.
Exploring multiple perspectives in history requires incorporating source materials
that reflect different views of an event in history, because singular historical narratives
do not provide for space to inquire and investigate. Different sources that counter each
other may create space for more investigation and research, while providing more
evidence for those truths that these sources agree on.
Different kinds of sources also provide different historical truths–an official
document may note different aspects of the past than, say, a memoir of an ordinary
person on the same event. Different historical agents create different historical truths,
and while this may be a burdensome work for the historian, it also renders more validity
to the historical scholarship.
Taking this in close regard in the reading of historical interpretations, it provides
for the audience a more complex, but also a more complete and richer understanding of
the past.

Task/activity :Document Analysis

Direction:Analyze the text about the “Code of Kalantiaw” and “Sa AkingMgaKabata”.
Discuss briefly the controversies that you will find in the two texts.Send it to my
personal messenger.

37
 Criteria Comments Score
Content 30%
Critical Thinking 30%
Organization of Ideas 30%
Language Used 10%
Total: 100%

TOPIC 1: SITE OF THE FIRST MASS

The popularity of knowing where the “firsts”

happened in history has been easy way to
trivialize history, but this case study will not focus
on the significance of the site of the first catholic
mass in the Philippines, but rather, use it as a
historiographical exercise in the utilization of
evidence and interpretationin reading historical
events.
Butuanhas long been believed as the site
of the first mass. In fact, this has been the case for
three centuries, culminating in the erection of a monument in the 1872 near Agusan
River, which commemorates the expedition’s arrival and celebration of Mass on 8 April
1521.The Butuan claim has been based on a rather elementary reading of primary
sourcesfrom the event.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth
century, together with the increasing scholarship on the history of the Philippines, a
more nuanced reading of available evidence was made, which brought to light more
considerations in going against the more accepted interpretationof the first Mass in the
Philippines, made both by Spanish and Filipino scholars.
It must be noted that there are only two primary sources that historians refer in
identifying the site of the first mass. One is the log kept by Francisco Albo, a pilot of one
of the Magellan’s ship, Trinidad. He was one of 18 survivors who returned with
Sebastian Elcano on the hip Victoria after they circumnavigated the world. The other,
and the more complete, was the account by Antonio Pigafetta, Primo viaggiointorno al
mondo(First Voyage around the world). Pigafetta, like Albo, was a member of the
Magellan expedition and an eyewitness of the events, particularly, of the first Mass.

Primary Source:
Albo’s Log

38
Source: “Diaro ó derotero del viage de Magallanes desde el cabo se S. Agustin en el
Brazil hasta el regreso a Espana de la nao Victoria, escritoporFrandscoAlbo,” Document
no. xxii in Colleción de viages y descubrimientos que hicieronpor mar losEspañolesdesde
fines del siglo XV, Ed Martin Fernandez de Navarrete (reprinted Buenos Aires 1945, 5
Vols.) IV, 191-225. As cited in Miguel A. Bernard “Buuan or Limasawa? The Site of the
First Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: A Journal
of Southern Philippines, Vol. III, 1-35.
1. On the 16th of March(1521) as they sailed in a westerly course from Ladrones, they
saw land towards the northwest; but owing to many shallow places they did not
approach it. They found later that its name was Yunagan.
2. They went instead that same day Southwards to another small island named Suluan,
and there they anchored. There they saw some canoes but these fled at the
spaniards approach. This island was at 9 and two degrees North latitude.
3. Departing from those two islands, they sailed westward to an uninhabited island of
“Gada” where they took in a supply of wood and water. The sea around that island
was free from shallows.(Albo does not give the latitude of this island, but from
Pigafetta’s testimony, this seems to be the “Acquada” or Homonhon, at 10 degrees
North latitude.)
4. From that island they sailed westwards towards a large island names Seilani that was
inhabited and was known to have gold. (Seilani or, as Pigafetta calls it, “Ceylon”- was
the island of Leyte.)
5. Sailing southwards along the coast of that large island of Seilani, they turned
southwest to a small island called “Mazava”. That island is also at a latitude of 9 and
two-thirds degrees North.
6. The people of that island of Mazava were very good. There the Spaniards planted a
cross upon a mountain-top, and from there they were shown three islands to the
west and southwest, where they were told there was much gold. “They showed us
how the gold was gathered, which came in small pieces like peas and lentils.
7. From Mazava they sailed northwards again towards Seilani. They followed the coast
of Seilani in a northwesterly direction, ascending up to 10 one third degrees of
latitude where they saw three small islands.
8. From there they sailed westwards some ten leagues, and there they saw three islets,
where they drop anchor for the night. In the morning they sailed southwest some 12
leagues, down to a latitude of 10 and one third degree. There they entered a
channel between two islands, one of which was called “Matan” and the other
“Subu”.
9. They sailed down that channel and then turned westward and anchored at the town
(La Villa) of Subu, where they stayed many days and obtained provisions and
entered into a peace-pact with the local king.
10. The town of Subu was on an east-west direction with the islands of Suluan and
Mazava. But between Mazava and Subu, there were so many shallows that the boats
could not go westward directly but has to go(as they did) in a round-about way.

It must be noted that in Albo’s account, the location of Mazava fits the location
of the island of Limasawa, at the Southern tip of Leyte, 95°54’N. Also, Albo does not
mention the first Mass, but only the planting of the cross upon a mountain-top from
which could be seen three islands to the west and southwest, which also fits the
southern end of Limasawa.

39
 Primary Source:
Pigafetta’s Testimony on
the Route of Magellan’s
Expedition

Source: Emma Blair and James Alexander Robertson. The Philippine Islands, Vols. 33 and
34, as cited in Miguel A. Bernard, “Butuan or Limasawa? The site of the first Mass in the
Philippines: A reexamination of evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: a journal of Southern
Philippines, Vol, III, 1-35.
1. Saturday, 16 March 1521- Magellan’s expedition sighted a “high land” named Zamal
which was some 300 leagues westward of Ladrones (now the Marianas) Islands.
2. Sunday, March 17- “The following day” after sighting Zamal island, they landed on
“another island which was uninhabited” and which lay “to the right” of the above-
mentioned island of “Zamal”. There they set up two tents for the sick members of
the crew and had a sow killed for them. The name of this island was “Humunu”
(Homonhon). The island was located at 10 degrees’ north latitude.
3. On that same day (Sunday, March 17), Magellan named the entire archipelago the
“Islands of Saint Lazarus”, the reason being that it was Sunday in the Lenten season
when the Gospel assigned for the mass and the liturgical office was the eleventh
chapter of St. John, which tells of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
4. Monday, March 18- in the afternoon of their second day on that island, they saw a
boat coming towards them with nine men in it. An exchange of gifts was effected.
Magellan asked for food supplies, and the men went away, promising to bring rice
and other supplies in “four days”.
5. There were two springs of water on that Homonhon. Also they saw there some
indications that there was gold in these islands. Consequently, Magellan renamed
the island and called it the “Watering place of good Omen” (Acquada la di
bounisegnialli).
6. Friday, March 22- at noon the natives returned. This time they were in two boats,
and they brought food supplies.
7. Magellans expedition stayed eight days at Homonhon: from Sunday, March 17, to
Monday of the following week, March 25.
8. Monday, March 25- in the Afternoon, the expedition weighed anchor and left the
island of Homonhon. In the ecclesiastical calendar, this day (March 25) was the feast
day of the Incarnation also called the feast of the Annunciation and therefore “Our
Lady’s day”. On this day, as they were about to weigh anchor, an accident happened
to Pigafetta: he fell into the water but was rescued. He attributed his narrow escape
from death as grace obtained through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on
her feast day.
9. The route taken by the expedition after leaving Homonhon was “toward the west
southwest, between four islands namely, Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson, and
Alberien.” Very probably “Cenalo” is a misspelling in the Italian manuscript for what
Pigafetta in his map calls “Ceilon” and Albo calls “Seilani”: namely the island of
Leyte. “Hiunanghan” (a misspelling of Hinunangan) seemed to Pigafetta to be a
separated island, but is actually on the mainland of Leyte (i.e.,”Ceylon”). On the
other hand, Hibuson (Pigafetta’sIbusson) is an island east of Leyte’s southern tip.

40
 Thus, it is easy to see what Pigafetta meant by sailing “toward the west
southwest” past those islands. They left Homonhonsailingwestward towards Leyte,
then followed the Leyte coast southward, passing between the island of Hibuson on
their portside and Hiunangan Bay on their starboard, and then continued
southward, then turning westward to “Mazaua”.
10. Thursday, March 28- In the morning of Holy Thursday, March 28, they anchored of
an island where the previous night they had seen a light or a bonfire. That island
“lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds towards the Arctic Pole (i.e., North) and in a
longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees from the line of the demarcation. It
is twenty-five leagues from the Acquada and is called Mazaua.”
11. They remained seven days on Mazaua Island.
12. Thursday, April 4- They left Mazaua, bound for Cebu. They were guided thither by
the king of Mazaua who sailed in his own boat. Their route took them past five
“islands” namely: “Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and Gatighan.”
13. At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three islands of the Camotes Group,
namely, Poro, Pasihan and Ponson. Here the Spanish ships stooped to allow the king
of Mazaua to catch up with them, since the Spanish ships were much faster than the
native balanghai- a thing that excited the admiration of the king of Mazaua.
14. From the CamotesIslandS they sailed southwards towards “Zubu.”
15. Sunday, April 7- at noon they entered the harbor of “Zubu” (Cebu). It had taken
them three days to negotiate the journey from Mazaua northwards to the Camotes
Island and then southwards to Cebu.

It must be pointed out that Albo and Pigafetta’s testimonies coincide and
corroborate each other. Pigafetta gave more details on what they did during their
weeklong stay at Mazaua.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PIGAFETTA AND SEVEN DAYS IN MAZAUA

Source: Emma Blair and James Robertson, The Philippine Islands, Vols. 33 and 34, as
cited in Miguel A. Bernad, “Butuan or Limasawa? The Site of the First Mass in the
Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern
Philippines, Vol. III, 1-35.
1. Thursday, March 28- In the morning they anchored near an island where they had
seen a light the night before a small boat (boloto) came with eight natives, to whom
Magellan threw some frinkets as presents. The natives paddled away, but two hours
later two larger boats (balanghai) came, in one of which the native king sat under an
awning of mats. At Magellan’s invitation some of the natives went up the Spanish
ship, but the native king remained seated in his boat. An exchange of gifts was
effected. In the afternoon that day, the Spanish ships weighed anchor and came
closer to shore, anchoring near the native king’s village. This Thursday, March 28,
was Thursday in Holy Week, i.e., Holy Thursday.
2. Friday, March 29- “Next day. Holi Friday,” Magellan sent his slave interpreter ashore
in a small boat to ask the king if he could provide the expedition with food supplies,
and to say that they had come as friends and not as enemies. In reply the king
himself came in a boat with six or eight men, and this time went up Magellan’s ship
and the two men embraced. Another exchanged of gift was made. The native king
and his companions returned ashore, bringing with them two members of
Magellan’s expedition as guests for the night. One of the two was Pigafetta.
3. Saturday, March 30- Pigafetta and his companion had sent the previous evening
feasting and drinking with the native king and his son. Pigafettadeplored the fact
that, although it was Good Friday, they had to eat meat. The following morning

41
 (Sarurday) Pigafetta and his companion took leave of their hosts and returned to the
ships.
4. Sunday, March 31- “Early in the morning of Sunday, the last of March and Easter
day,” Magellan sent the priest ashore with some men to prepare for the mass. Later
in the morning Magellan landed with some fifty men and Mass was celebrated, after
which a cross was venerated. Magellan and the Spaniards returned to the ship for
the noon-day meal, but in the afternoon they returned ashore to plant the cross on
the summit of the highest hill. In attendance both at the Mass and at the planting of
the cross were the king of Mazaua and the king of Butuan.
5. Sunday, March 31- on the same afternoon, while on the summit of the highest hill,
Magellan asked the two kings which port he should go to in order to obtain more
abundant supplies of food than were available in that island. They replied that there
were three ports to choose from: Ceylon, Zubu, and Calgan. Of the three, Zubu was
the port with the most trade. Magellan then said that he wished to go to Zubu and
to depart the following morning. He asked for someone to guide him thither. The
kings replied that the pilots would be available “any time.” But later that evening the
king of Mazaua changed his mind and said that he would himself conduct Magellan
to Zubu but that he would first have to bring the harvest in. He asked, Magellan to
send him men to help with the harvest.
6. Monday, April 1- Magellan sent men ashore to help with the harvest, but no work
was done that day because the two kings were sleeping off their drinking bout the
night before.
7. Tuesday, April 2 and Wednesday, April 3 – work on the harvest during the “next two
days,” i.e., Tuesday and Wednesday the 2nd and 3rd of April.
8. Thursday, April 4- They leave Mazaua bound for Cebu.

Using the primary sources available, Jesuit priest Miguel A. Bernard in his work
Butuan or Limasawa: The site of the first Mass in the Philippines: A reexamination of
evidence (1981) lays down the argument that in the Pigafetta account, a crucial aspect
of Butuan was not mentioned- the river. Butuan is a riverine settlement, situated on the
Agusan River. The beach of Masao is in the delta of said river. It is curious omission in
the account of the river, which makes part of a district characteristic of Butuan’s
geography that seemed to be too important to be
missed.
The Age of Exploration is a period of competition among European rulers to
conquer and colonized lands outside their original domain. Initially, the goal was to
find alternative routes by sea to get Asia were mainly by land and cost very
expensive. A sea route to Asia means European could access the spice trade
directly, greatly reducing cost of traderers. Spain’s major foray into the exploration
was through Christopher Colombus, who proposed to sail westward to find a
shortcut to Asia. He was able to reach the Americas, which was then cut- off from
the rest of the known world.
Spain colonized parts of North America, Mexico, and South America in the sixteenth
century. They were also able to reach the Philippines and claim it for the Spanish
crown. Later on, other European rulers would compete with the activities of
exploring and conquering lands.

It must also be pointed out that later on, after Magellan’s death, the survivors of
his expedition went to Mindanao, and seemingly went to Butuan. In this instance,
Pigafetta vividly describes a trip in a river. But note that this account already happened
after Magellan’s death.

42
 Task/activity : Timeline Graphic Organizer ( Group of 5)
Direction: Use Timeline graphic organizer to show the geographic information aboutthe
site of the First Mass. Conceptualizedframework that provides the ability to capture and
analyse spatial and geographic data. . Send it to my personal messenger.

TOPIC 2: CAVITE MUTINY

The year 1872 is the year of two events: The Cavite Mutiny and the martyrdom
of the three priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora, later on
immortalized as GOMBURZA. These events are very important milestones in Philippine
history and have caused ripples throughout time, directly influencing the decisive events
of the Philippine Revolution toward to the end of the century. While the significance is
unquestioned, what made this controversial are the different sides to the story,a battle
of perspectives supported by primary sources. In this case study, we zoom in to the
events of the Cavite Mutiny, a major factor in the awakening of nationalism among the
Filipinos of that time.

SPANISH ACCOUNTS OF THE CAVITY MUTINY

The documentation of Spanish historian Jose Montero y Vidal centered on how the
event was an attempt in overthrowing the Spanish government in the Philippines.
Although regarded as a historian, his account of the mutiny was criticized as woefully
biased and rabid for a scholar. Another account from the official report written by then
Governor General Rafael Izquierdo implicated the native clergy, who were then, active
in the movement toward secularization of parishes. These two accounts corroborated
each other.

43
 Primary Source: Excerpts
from Montero’s Account of
the Cavite Mutiny

Source: Jose Montero y Vidal, “Spanish Version of the Cavity Mutiny of 1872,” in
Gregorio Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Vol. 7
(Manila: National Book Store, 1990), 269-273.
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.
The Spanish revolution which overthrew a secular throne; the propaganda
carried on by an unbridled press against monarchical principles, attentatory of the most
sacred respects toward the dethroned majesty; the democratic and republican books
and pamphlets; the outburst 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 that 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 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.

Primary Source: Excerpts from

the Official Report of Governor
Isquierdo on the Cavite Mutiny
of 1872

Source: Rafael Izquierdo, “Official Report on the Cavite Mutiny,” in Gregorio Zaide and
Sonia Zaide, Documentary Sources of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila: National
Book Store, 1990), 281-286.

44
 ..It seems define the insurrection was motivated and prepared by the native
clergy, by the mestizos and native lawyers, and by those known here as abogadillos…
The integrators, 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 encourages 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 Indioshave no word on their language to describe
this different form of government, whose head in Filipino would be calledhari; but it
turns that they would place at the head of the government a priest... that the head
selected would be D. Jose Burgos, or D. Jacinto 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 on 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” the rebels. Izquierdo, in an obviously biased report,
highlighted that attempt to overthrow the Spanish government in the Philippines in
install a new “hari” in the persons of Father 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.
In Spaniard’s accounts, the event of 1872 was premeditated and was part of big
conspiracy among the educated leaders, mistezos, 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 Intramuros.
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
Caviteños allegedly mistook this ass the signal to commence Spanish with the attack,
ordered the reinforcement of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt, the
“revolution” was easily crushed, when the Manilenos who were expected to aid the
Caviteños did not arrive. Leaders of the plot were killed in the resulting skirmish, while
Father 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
Regidor, Jose and PioBasa and other Filipino lawyers were suspended from the practice
of law, arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment at Maranias Island. Izquierdo
dissolved the native regiments of artillery and ordered the certain of an artillery forced
composed exclusively by Peninsulares.
On 17 February 1872, the GOMBURZA were executed to serve as a threat to
Filipinos never to attempt to fight the Spaniards again.

45
 DIFFERING ACCOUNTS OF THE EVENTS OF 1876

Two other primary accounts exist that seem to counter the accounts of Izquierdo and
Montero. First, the account of Dr. Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino
scholar and researcher, who wrote a Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite.

Primary Source:
Excerpts from Pardo
de Tavera’s Account
of the Cavite Mutiny

Source: Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, “Filipino Version of the Cavite Mutiny,” in Gregorio
Zaide and Sonia Zaide, Documentary Source of Philippine History, Volume 7 (Manila:
National Book store, 1990), 274-----280
This uprising among the soldiers in Cavite was used as powerful level by the
Spanish residents and by the friars… the Government in Madrid had announced its
attention 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 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 complete a thing of the past.
…Up to that there had been no invention of secession from Spain, and the only
aspiration of the people was to secure the material and education advancement of the
country…
According to this account, the incident was merely by the Filipino soldiers and
laborers of the Cavite arsenal to the dissatisfaction arising from the 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 smokescreen to creating a
political club.
Tavera is of the opinion that the Spanish Friars and Izquierdo used the Cavity
Mutiny as 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 matter 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 the education in the Philippines by requiring
teaching positions in these schools to be filled by competitive examinations, an
improvement welcomed by most Filipinos.
Another account, the time by French writer Edmund Plauchut completed
Tavera’s account and analyzed the motivations of the 1872 Cavity Mutiny.

46
 Primary Source: Excerpts
from Plauchut’s Account
of the Cavite Mutiny

Source: Edmund Plauchut, “The Cavity Mutiny of 1872 and the Martydom of Gom-Bur-
Za,” in Gregorio Zaide, Documentary Source of Philippine History, Volume 7(Manila:
National Book store, 1990), 251—268
General La Torre… created a junta composed of high officials… including some
friars and six Spanish officials… At the committee to investigate the same problems
submitted to the manila committee. When the two finished work, it was found that they
reform 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 state, enjoy freedom
of worship, and operate commercial transport 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 Civil Administration in the Philippines, rendering
unnecessary the sending home of short-term civil official’s 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 Izquierdo… 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
liberal teachings, General Izquierdo suspended the opening of the school… the day
previous 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 at 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.

47
 The GOMBURZA is the collective name of the three martyred priests
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, Jacinto Zamora, who were tagged as the
masterminds of the Cavity mutiny. They were prominent Filipino priests
charged with treason and sedition. It is believed that the Spanish clergy
connected the priests who desired to have their own parishes instead of
being merely assistants to the regular friars. The GOMBURZA were
executed by garrotte in public, a scene purportedly witnessed by a young
Jose Rizal.
Their martyrdom is widely accepted as the dawn of the Philippine
nationalism in the nineteenth century, with Rizal dedicating his second
novel, El Filibusterismo, to their memory:
“The government, by enshrouding your trial in mystery and
pardoning your co-accused, has suggested that some mistake was
committed when your fate was decided; and the whole of the
Philippines, in paying homage to your memory and calling you
martyrs, totally rejects your guilt. The Church, by refusing to
degrade you, has put in doubt the crime charged against you.”

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
0f 1872 resulted in the martyrdom of GOMBURZA and paved the
way to the revolution culminating in 1898.

The 12th of June of every year since 1898 is a very important event for all the
Filipinos. In this particular day, the entire Filipino nation as well as Filipino communities
all over the world gathers to celebrate the Philippines’ Independence Day. 1898 came
to be a very significant year for all of us— it is as equally important as 1896—the year
when the Philippine Revolution broke out owing to the Filipinos’ desire to be free from
the abuses of the Spanish colonial regime. But we should be reminded that another
year is as historic as the two—1872.
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.

48
Spanish Accounts of the Cavite Mutiny
Jose Montero y Vidal, a prolific Spanish
historian documented the event and highlighted
it as an attempt of the Indios to overthrow the
Spanish government in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gen. Rafael Izquierdo’s official
report magnified the event and made use of it
to implicate the native clergy, which was then
active in the call for secularization. The two
accounts complimented and corroborated with
one other, only that the general’s report was more spiteful. Initially, both Montero and
Izquierdo scored out that the abolition of privileges enjoyed by the workers of Cavite
arsenal such as non-payment of tributes and
exemption from force labor were the main reasons
of the “revolution” as how they called it, however,
other causes were enumerated by them including
the Spanish Revolution which overthrew the
secular throne, dirty propagandas proliferated by
unrestrained press, democratic, liberal and
republican books and pamphlets reaching the
Philippines, and most importantly, the presence of
the native clergy who out of animosity against the
Spanish friars, “conspired and supported” the
rebels and enemies of Spain. In particular, Izquierdo blamed the unruly Spanish Press
for “stockpiling” malicious propagandas grasped by the Filipinos. He reported to the
King of Spain that the “rebels” wanted to overthrow the Spanish government to install a
new “hari” in the likes of Fathers Burgos and Zamora. The general even added that the
native clergy enticed other participants by giving them charismatic assurance that their
fight will not fail because God is with them coupled with handsome promises of rewards
such as employment, wealth, and ranks in the army. Izquierdo, in his report lambasted
the Indios as gullible and possessed an innate propensity for stealing.
The two Spaniards deemed that the event of
1872 was planned earlier and was thought of it as a
big conspiracy among educated leaders, mestizos,
abogadillos or native lawyers, residents of Manila
and Cavite and the native clergy. They insinuated
that the conspirators of Manila and Cavite planned
to liquidate high-ranking Spanish officers to be
followed by the massacre of the friars. The alleged
pre-concerted signal among the conspirators of
Manila and Cavite was the firing of rockets from the
walls of Intramuros.
According to the accounts of the two, on 20 January 1872, the district of Sampaloc
celebrated the feast of the Virgin of Loreto, unfortunately participants to the feast
celebrated the occasion with the usual fireworks displays. Allegedly, those in Cavite
mistook the fireworks as the sign for the attack, and just like what was agreed upon, the
200-men contingent headed by Sergeant Lamadrid launched an attack targeting Spanish
officers at sight and seized the arsenal.

49
 When the news reached the iron-fisted Gov. Izquierdo, he readily ordered the
reinforcement of the Spanish forces in Cavite to quell the revolt. The “revolution” was
easily crushed when the expected reinforcement from Manila did not come ashore.
Major instigators including Sergeant Lamadrid were killed in the skirmish, while the
GOMBURZA were tried by a court-martial and were sentenced to die by strangulation.
Patriots like Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Jose and PioBasa and other
abogadillos were suspended by the Audencia (High Court) from the practice of law,
arrested and were sentenced with life imprisonment at the Marianas Island.
Furthermore, Gov. Izquierdo dissolved the native regiments of artillery and ordered the
creation of artillery force to be composed exclusively of the Peninsulares.
On 17 February 1872 in an attempt of the
Spanish government and Frailocracia to instill
fear among the Filipinos so that they may never
commit such daring act again, the GOMBURZA
were executed. This event was tragic but served
as one of the moving forces that shaped Filipino
nationalism.

Filipino Accounts of Cavite Mutiny

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.
On 20 January 1872, about 200 men comprised of soldiers, laborers of the arsenal,
and residents of Cavite headed by Sergeant Lamadrid rose in arms and assassinated the
commanding officer and Spanish officers in sight. The insurgents were expecting
support from the bulk of the army unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The news about
the mutiny reached authorities in Manila and Gen. Izquierdo immediately ordered the
reinforcement of Spanish troops in Cavite. After two days, the mutiny was officially
declared subdued.
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. It is noteworthy that
during the time, the Central Government in Madrid announced its intention to deprive
the friars of all the powers of intervention in matters of civil government and the
direction and management of educational institutions. This turnout of events was

50
believed by Tavera, prompted the friars to do something drastic in their dire sedire to
maintain power in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, in the intention of installing reforms, the Central Government of Spain
welcomed an educational decree authored by SegismundoMoret promoted the fusion
of sectarian schools run by the friars into a school called Philippine Institute. The decree
proposed to improve the standard of education in the Philippines by requiring teaching
positions in such schools to be filled by competitive examinations. This improvement
was warmly received by most Filipinos in spite of the native clergy’s zest for
secularization.
The friars, fearing that their influence in the Philippines would be a thing of the past,
took advantage of the incident and presented it to the Spanish Government as a vast
conspiracy organized throughout the archipelago with the object of destroying Spanish
sovereignty. Tavera sadly confirmed that the Madrid government came to believe that
the scheme was true without any attempt to investigate the real facts or extent of the
alleged “revolution” reported by Izquierdo and the friars.
Convicted educated men who participated in
the mutiny were sentenced life imprisonment while
members of the native clergy headed by the
GOMBURZA were tried and executed by garrote.
This episode leads to the awakening of nationalism
and eventually to the outbreak of Philippine
Revolution of 1896. The French writer Edmund
Plauchut’s account complimented Tavera’s account
by confirming that the event happened due to
discontentment of the arsenal workers and soldiers
in Cavite fort. The Frenchman, however, dwelt
more on the execution of the three martyr priests
which he actually witnessed.

Task/Activity: Group Debate ( Group of 2)

Direction: Proposition. Whose Account is the most realistic? Defend your answer.
Choose one account. Why did you choose that account? Defend your answer. Group
debate via Google Meet.

Criteria Comments Points

Content 40%
Development of Ideas 40%
Overall Quality 20%
Total: 100%

51
 TOPIC 3: RETRACTION OF DR. JOSE P. RIZAL

Jose Rizal is identified as a hero of the

revolution for his writings that center on ending
colonialism and liberating Filipino minds to
contribute to creating the Filipino nation. The great
volume of Rizal’s lifework was committed to this
end, particularly the more influential ones, Noli Me
Tangereand El Filibusterismo. His essays vilify not the
Catholic religion, but the friars, the main agents of
injustice in the Philippine society.

It is understandable therefore, that any piece of writing from Rizal that recants
everything he wrote against the friars and the Catholic Church in the Philippines could
deal heavy damage to his image as a prominent Filipino revolutionary. Such document
purportedly exists, allegedly signed by Rizal a few hours before his execution. This
document, referred to as “The Retraction,” declares Rizal’s belief in the Catholic faith,
and retracts everything he wrote against the Church

PRIMARY SOURCE. RIZAL’S RETRACTION

Source: Translated from the document found by Fr. Manuel Garcia

C.M. on 18 May 1935
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 Palate 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

52
 FOUR VERSIONS OF THE ALLEGED RETRACTION LETTER OF RIZAL

The first text was The second text

published in La Vos appeared in
Espanola and Diario Barcelona, Spain on
de Manila on the February 14, 1897 in
very day of Rizal’s the fortnightly
execution, magazine La
December 30, 1986. Juventud.

The original text was The fourth text

discovered in the appeared in El
archdiocesan Imparcial on the day
archives on May 18, after Rizal's
1935. execution.

BALAGUER TESTIMONY

Doubts on the retraction document abound,

especially because only one eyewitness account of the
writing of the document exists–that of the Jesuit friar Fr.
Vicente Balaguer. According to his testimony, Rizal woke up
several times, confessed four times, attended a Mass,
received communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which
seemed out of character. But since it is the only testimony
of allegedly a “primary” account that Rizal ever wrote a retraction document, it has
been used to argue the authenticity of the document.

THE TESTIMONY OF CUERPO DE VIGILANCIA

Another eyewitness account surfaced in 2016, through the

research of Professor Rene R. Escalante. In his research, documents
of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia included a report on the last hours of
Rizal, written by Federico Moreno. The report details the statement
of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia to Moreno

53
 PRIMARY SOURCE: EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE LAST HOURS OF RIZAL

Source: Michael Charleston Chua, “Retraction ni Jose Rizal: MgaBagongDokumento at

Pananaw,” GMA News Online, published 29 December 2016.
“Most Illustrious Sir, the agent of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia stationed in Fort
Santiago to report on the events during the [illegible] day in prison of the accused Jose
Rizal, informs me on this date of the following:
“At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his
counsel, SeñorTaviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclara. At the urgings of the
former and moments after entering, he was served a light breakfast. At approximately
9, the Assistant of the Plaza, SeñorMaure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything. He replied
that at the moment he only wanted a prayer book which was brought to him shortly by
Father March.
“Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the
Jesuit fathers, March and Vilaclara, regarding religious matters, it seems. It appears that
these two presented him with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he
refused to sign. They argued about the matter until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached
egg and a little chicken. Afterwards he asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time
by himself.
“At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him
what he had written. Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señordel Fresno and the
Assistant of the Plaza, SeñorMaure, were informed. They entered death row and
together with Rizal signed the document that the accused had written.”
“At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison… dressed
in mourning. Only the former entered the chapel, followed by a military chaplain whose
name I cannot ascertain. Donning his formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the
artillery, the nuptials of Rizal and the woman who had been his lover were performed at
the point of death (in articulo mortis). After embracing him she left, flooded with tears.”
This account corroborates the existence of the retraction document, giving it
credence. However, nowhere in the account was Fr. Balaguer mentioned, which makes
the friar a mere secondary source to the writing of the document.
The retraction of Rizal remains to this day, a controversy; many scholars,
however, agree that the document does not tarnish the heroism of Rizal. His relevance
remained solidified to Filipinos and pushed them to continue the revolution, which
eventually resulted in independence in 1898.

54
 Rizal’s Connection to the Katipunan is undeniable–in fact, the precursor of the
Katipunan as an organization is the La Liga Filipina, an organization Rizal founded,
with Andres AndresBonifacio as one of its members. But La Liga Filipina was short-
lived as the Spaniards exiled Rizal to Dapitan. Former members decided to band
together to establish the Katipunan a few days after Rizal’s exile on 7 July 1892.
Rizal may not have been officially part of the Katipunan, but the Katipunan, but the
Katipunerosshowed great appreciation of his work toward the same goals. Out of the
28 members of the leadership of the Katipunan (known as the Kataas-
taasangSanggunian ng Katipunan) from 1892 to 1896, 13 were former members of La
Liga Filipina. Katipuneros even used Rizal’s name as a password.
In 1896, the Katipuneros decided to inform Rizal of their plans to launch the
revolution, and sent Pio Valenzuela to visit Rizal in Dapitan. Valenzuela’s accounts of
his meeting with Rizal have been greatly doubted by many scholars, but according to
him, Rizal objected to the plans, saying that doing so would be tantamount to suicide
since it would be difficult to fight the Spaniards who had the advantage of military
resources. He added that the leaders of the Katipunan must do everything they could
to prevent the spilling of Filipino blood. Valenzuela informed Rizal that the revolution
could inevitably break out if the Katipunan were to be discovered by the Spaniards.
Rizal advised Valenzuela that the Katipunan should first secure the support of wealthy
Filipinos to strengthen their cause, and suggested that Antonio Luna be recruited to
direct the military movement of the revolution.

Task/activity: Web Map

Direction:Make a Web Map for the topic “Did Dr. Jose P. Rizal retract?”Yes or No. If YES
defend your answer and, IfNO support your answer too through Web Map Presentation.
Send it to my personal messenger.

RUBRICS : WEB MAP

55
 TOPIC 4: CRY OF REBELLION (BALINTAWAK OR PUGADLAWIN)

Momentous events swept the Spanish colonies in the late nineteenth century,
including the Philippines. Journalists of the time referred to the phrase “El Grito de
Rebelion” or “Cry of Rebellion” to mark the start of these revolutionary events,
identifying the places where it happened. In the Philippines, this happened in August
1896, northeast of Manila, where they declared rebellion against the Spanish colonial
government. These events are important markers in the history of colonies that
struggled for their independence against their colonizers.
The controversy regarding this event stems from the identification of the date
and place where the Cry happened. Prominent Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo
emphases the event when Bonifacio tore the cedula or tax receipt before the
Katipuneros who also did the same. Some writers identified the first military event with
the Spaniards as the moment of the Cry, for which, Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned as
“Himno de Balintawak” to inspire the renewed struggle after the Pact of the Biak-na-
Bato failed. A monument to the Heroes of 1896 was erected in what is now the
intersection of Epifanio de los Santos (EDSA) Avenue and Andres Bonifacio Drive-North
Diversion road, and from then on until 192, the Cry of Balintawak was celebrated every
26th of August. The site of the monument was chosen for unknown reason.

BalintawakPugadLawin

56
 DIFFERENT DATES AND PLACES OF THE CRY OF BALINTAWAK

Teodoro Kalaw,
Filipino historian,
marks the place
to be in
Kangkong, Historians Milagros
Pio Valenzuela, known Balintawak, on Guerrero, Emmanuel
Katipunero and privy the last week of Encarnacion, and
to many events August 1896. Ramon Villegas claimed
concerning the that the event took
Katipunan and Teodoro place in Tandang Sora’s
Agoncillo stated that barn in Gulod,
the Cry happened in Barangay Banlat,
Pugad Lawin on 23 Quezon City, on 24
August 1896. August 1896.

Lt. Olegario Diaz, a Santiago Alvarez, a

guardia civil (25 Katipunero and son
August 1896) and of Mariano Alvarez,
Historian Gregorio leader of the
Zaide (26 August Magdiwang faction
1896) identified the in Cavite,put the Cry
Cry to have in Bahay Toro in
happened in Quezon City on 24
Balintawak. August 1896.

Various accounts of the cry give different dates and places. A guardia civil, Lt.
Olegario Diaz, identified the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 25 August 1896.
Teodoro Kalaw, Filipino historian, marks the place to be in Kangkong, Balintawak, on the
last week of August 1896. Santiago Alvarez, a Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez,
leader of the Magdiwang faction in Cavite, put the Cry in Bahay Toro in Quezon City on
24 August 1896. Pio Valenzuela, known Katipunero and privy too many events
concerning the Katipunan stated that the Cry happened in PugadLawin on 23 August
1896. Historian Gregorio Zaide identified the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 26
August 1896, while Teodoro Agoncillo put it at PugadLawin on 23 August 1896,
according to statements by Pio Valenzuela. Research by historians Milagros Guerrero,
Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas claimed that the event took place in
TandangSora’s barn in Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City, on 24 August 1896.

57
 PRIMARY SOURCE: ACCOUNTS OF THE CRY OF BALINTAWAK

➢ Guillermo Masangkay

Source: Guillermo Masangkay, “Cry of Balintawak” in Gregorio

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, Aguedodel Rosario, Tomas Remigio,
BriccioPantas, 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, BriccioPantas, 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 for 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) thecedula 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

Source: Pio Valenzuela, “Cry of PugadLawin,” in Gregorio 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,
ProcopioBonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Aguedodel Rosario, and myself
was Balintawak, the first five arriving there on August 19, and I, on
August 20, 1986. The first place where some 500 members of the
Katipunan met on August 22, 1986, was the house and yard of
Apolonio Samson at Kangkong. Aside from the persons mentioned above, among those
who were there were BriccioPantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio
Samson, and others. Here, views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated
or adopted. It was at PugadLawin, the house, store-house, and yard of Juan Ramos, son

58
of Melchora Aquino, 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 these presents tore their cedula
certificates and shouted, “Long live the Philippines! Long live the Philippines!”
From the eyewitness accounts presented, there is indeed marked disagreement
among historical witnesses as to the place and time of the occurrence of the Cry. Using
primary and secondary sources, four places have been identified: Balintawak, Kangkong,
PugadLawin, and Bahay Toro, while the dates vary: 23, 24, 25, or 26 August 1896.
Valenzuela’s account should be read with caution: He once told a Spanish
investigator that the “Cry” happened in Balintawak on Wednesday, 26 august 1896.
Much later, he wrote in his Memoires of the Revolution that it happened at PugadLawin
on 23 August 1896. Such inconsistencies in accounts should always be seen as a red flag
when dealing with primary sources.
According to Guerrero, Encarnacion, and Villegas, all these places are in
Balintawak, then part of Caloocan, now, in Quezon City. As for the dates, Bonifacio and
his troops may have been moving from one place to another to avoid being located by
the Spanish government, which could explain why there are several accounts of the Cry.

Task/activity: Group Activity/ Video Presentation

Direction:Form a group of five through group chat and make a flip top battle regarding
where the Cry of Rebellion did happen. (Google Meet).

Criteria Points
Content Words chosen are 50%
appropriate; types of
strategies that have been
used; and relevant
information.
Performance Voice quality, and clarity on 50%
how the group delivered
their ideas
Total: 100%

Assessment: Mini-symposium on Historical Controversy

Direction: Demonstrate your ability to use primary sources through mini-symposium on
historical controversy through Zoom /Google Meet.

Criteria Comments Points

Content 50%
Organization of Ideas 30%
Overall Impression 20%
Total: 100%

59
 LESSON 4
SOCIAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL ISSUES IN PHILIPPINE
HISTORY

TOPICS
1. Agrarian Reform Policies
2. The Evolution of Philippine Constitution
2.1 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
3. 1899 Malolos Constitution
4. 1935 Commonwealth Constitution
5. 1973 Constitutional Authoritarianism
6 1987 Constitution
7. Taxation

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. reflect critically on shared concern;
2.propose recommendations/solutions to present-day problems based on
their understanding of root causes and their anticipation of future scenarios; and
3. contribute personally and meaningfully to the Country’s development.

TOPIC 1: AGRARIAN REFORM POLICIES

Agrarian reform is essentially the rectification of the whole system of agriculture,

an important aspect of the Philippine economy because nearly half of the population is
employed in the agricultural sector, and most citizens live in rural areas. Agrarian reform
is centered on the relationship between production
and distribution of land among farmers. It is also
focused on the political and economic class character
of the relations of production and distribution in
farming and related enterprises, and how these
connect to wider class structure. Through genuine and
comprehensive agrarian reform, the Philippines would
be able to gain more from its agricultural potential and uplift the Filipinos in the
agricultural sector, who have been, for the longest time, suffering in poverty and
discontent.
In our attempt to understand the development of agrarian reform in the
Philippines, we turn our attention in our country’s history, especially our colonial past,

60
where we could find the root of the agrarian woes the country has experienced up to
this very day.

Task/activity :Internet or Archival Research

Direction: Make a research about the Policies of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines
nowadays, and make an editorial regarding to what you have searched. Try to compare
from the old agrarian policies. Send it to my Personal Messenger.
Criteria Points
Content 50%
Organization of Ideas 30%
Effective Communication 10%
Presentation 10%
Total: 100%

TOPIC 2: THE EVOLUTION OF PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

The constitution is defining as a set of fundamental

principles established precedents according to which a
state or organization is governed, thus, the word itself
means to be a part of a whole, the coming together of
distinct entities into one group, with the same principles
and ideals. These principles define the nature and extent
of government.
The Constitution of the Philippines, the supreme
law of the Republic of the Philippines, has been in effect
since 1987. There were only three other constitutions that
have effectively governed the country:
• The 1935 Commonwealth Constitution
• The 1973 Constitution
• The 1986 Freedom Constitution.

However, there were earlier constitutions attempted by Filipinos in the struggle

to break free from the colonial

61
 Task/activity:Sequential Graphic Organizer
Direction:Show the sequential Evolution of events of the Philippine Constitution using
Sequential Graphic Organizer. Prepare it in a sequential manner.Send it to my personal
Messenger.

Sequential Graphic Organizer Rubrics

62
 TOPIC 2.1 :1897 CONSTITUTION OF BIAK-NA-BATO

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

was a provisionary Constitution of the
Philippine Republic during the Philippine
Revolution and was promulgated by the
Philippine Revolutionary Government on
November 1, 1897. The constitution is
borrowed from Cuba, was written by
IsabeloArtacho and Felix Ferrer in Spanish,
and later on translated into Tagalog.

The Organs of the Government under the Constitution were:

• The Supreme Council – it was vested with the power of the republic headed by
the president, vice-president, and four department secretaries: interior, foreign
affairs, treasury and war.
• The ConsejoSupremo de Gracia y Justicia (the Supreme Council of Grace and
Justice) – it was given the authority to make decisions and affirm or disprove the
sentences rendered by other courts and to dictate rules for administration of
justice.
• The Asamblea de Representantes (Assembly of Representatives)– it was to be
convened after the revolution to create new constitution and to elect a new
council of government and representatives of the people.

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was never fully implemented, since a truce, the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato, was signed between the Spanish and the Philippine Revolutionary
Army.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PREAMBLE OF THE BIAK-NA-BATO CONSTITUTION

The separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their
formation into an independent state with its own government called the Philippine
Republic has been the end sought by the Revolution in the existing war, begun on the
24th of August, 189; and, therefore, in its name and by the power delegated by the
Filipino people, interpreting faithfully their desires and ambitions, we the
representatives of the Revolution, in a meeting at Biak-na-bato, November 1, 1897,
unanimously adopted the following articles for the Constitution of the State.

63
 TOPIC 3: 1899 MALOLOS CONSTITUTION

After the signing

of truce, the Filipino
revolutionary leaders
accepted a payment
from Spanish and went
to exile in Hong Kong.
Upon the defeat of the
Spanish to the
Americans in the Battle
of Manila Bay on May 1,
1898, the United States
Navy transported
Aguinaldo back to the
Philippines. The newly
reformed Philippine
revolutionary forces reverted to the control of Aguinaldo, and the Philippine declaration
of Independence was issued on June 12, 1898, together with several decrees that form
the First Philippine Republic. The Malolos Congress was elected, which selected a
commission to draw up a draft constitution on September 17, 1898, which was
composed of wealthy and educated men.
The document they came up with, approved by the Congress on November 29,
1898, and promulgated by Aguinaldo on January 21, 1898, was titled “The Political
Constitution of 1899” and written in Spanish. The constitution has 39 articles divided
into 14 titles with eight articles of transitory provisions and final additional article. The
document was patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812 with influences from
the characters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala, and the
French Constitution of 1793. According to Felipe Calderon, main author of the
constitution, these countries were studied because they shared similar social, political,
ethnological, and governance conditions with the Philippines. Prior constitutional
projects in the Philippines also influenced the Malolos Constitution, namely the Kartilya
and the Sanggunian-Hukuman, the character laws and morals of the Katipunan written
by Emilio Jacinto in 1896; the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897 planned by
IsabeloArtacho; Mabini’s Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic of 1898; the
provisional constitution of Mariano Ponce in 1898 that followed the Spanish
Constitutions; and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PREAMBLE OF THE POLITICAL CONSTITUTION

1899
We the representatives of Filipino People, lawfully convened, in order to
established justice, provide for common defense, 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 political constitution.
As direct challenge to colonial authorities of the Spanish empire, the sovereignty
was retroverted to the people, a legal principle underlying the Philippine Revolution.
The people delegated governmental functions to civil servants while they retained
actual sovereignty. The 27 articles of Title IV detail the natural rights and popular

64
sovereignty of Filipinos, the enumeration of which does not imply the prohibition of any
other rights not expressly stated. Title III, Article V also declares that the State
recognizes the freedom and equality of all beliefs, as well as the separation of Church
and State. These are direct reactions to features of the Spanish Government in the
Philippines, where the friars were dominant agents of the state.
The form of government according to Title II, Article 4 is to be popular,
representative, alternative, and responsible and shall exercise three distinct powers –
legislative, executive and the judicial. The legislative power was vested in a unicameral
body called the Assembly of Representatives, members of which are elected for terms
of four years. Secretaries of the government were given seats in the assembly, which
meet annually for a period of least three months. Bills could be introduced either by the
president or by a member of the assembly. Some powers not legislative in nature were
also given to the body, such as the right to select its own officers, right of censure and
interpellation, and the right of impeaching the president, cabinet members, the chief
justice of the Supreme Court, and the solicitor-general. A permanent commission of
seven, elected by the assembly, and granted specific powers by the constitution, was to
sit during the intervals between sessions of the assembly.
Executive power was vested in the president and elected by a constituent
assembly of the Assembly of Representatives and special representatives. The president
will serve a term of four years without re-election. There was no vice president, and in
case of a vacancy, a president was to be selected by the constituent assembly.
The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the ongoing war. The
Philippines was effectively a territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty
of Paris between Spain and the United States, transferring sovereignty of the Philippines
on December 10, 1898.

Task/activity: Make a Short Film Clips

Direction:Find and compile proofs of the evolution of Malolos Constitution from the
internet. Make a shortfilm clipsof the proofs collected.Send it to my personal
messenger.
Film Technique Relativity in the Creativity TOTAL
(50%) film (20%) (100%)
(30%)

TOPIC 4: 1935 COMMONWEALTH CONSTITUTION

It is worth mentioning that after the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was subject
to the power of the United States of America, effectively the new colonizers of the
country. From 1898 to 1901, the Philippines would be placed under a military
government until a civil government would be put into place.
Two acts of the United States Congress were passed that may be considered to
have qualities of constitutionality. First was the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, the first
organic law for the Philippine Islands that provided for the creation of a popularly

65
elected Philippine Assembly. The act specified that legislative power would be vested in
a bicameral legislature composed of the Philippine Commission as the upper house and
the Philippine Assembly as lower house. Key provisions of the act included a bill of rights
for Filipinos and the appointment of two non-voting Filipino Resident Commissioners of
the Philippines as representative to the United States House of Representatives. The
second act that functioned as a constitution was the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916,
commonly referred to as “Jones Law,” which modified the structure of the Philippine
government through the removal of the Philippine Commission, replacing it with a
Senate that served as the upper house and its members elected by the Filipino voters,
the first truly elected national legislature. It was also this Act that explicitly declared the
purpose of the United States to end their sovereignty over the Philippines and recognize
Philippine independence as soon as a stable government can be established.
In 1932, with the efforts of the Filipino independence
mission led by Sergio Osmeῆa and Manuel Roxas, the United
States Congress passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act with the
promise of granting Filipinos’ independence. The bill was
opposed by then Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and
consequently, rejected by the Philippine Senate.
By 1934, another law, the Tydings-McDuffie Act, also known as the Philippine
Independence Act, was passed by the United States Congress that provided authority
and defined mechanisms for the establishment of a formal constitution by a
constitutional convention. The members of the convention were elected and held their
first meeting on 30 July 1934, with Claro M. Recto unanimously elected as president.
The constitution was crafted to meet the approval of the United States
government, and to ensure that the United States would live up to its promise to grant
independence to the Philippines.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PREAMBLE OF THE 1935 COMMONWEALTH

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 constitution created the Commonwealth of the Philippines, an

administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946. It is a transitional
administration to prepare the country toward its full achievement of independence. It
originally provided for a unicameral National Assembly with a president and vice
president elected to a six-year term without re-election. It was amended in 1940 to have
a bicameral Congress composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, as well as
the creation of an independent electoral commission, and limited the term of office of
the president and vice president to four years, with one re-election. Rights to suffrage
were originally afforded to male citizens of the Philippines who are twenty-one years of
age or over and are able to read and write; this was later on extended to women within
two years after the adoption of the constitution.
While the dominant influence in the constitution was American, it also bears
traces of the MalolosConstitution, the German, Spanish, and Mexican constitutions,

66
constitutions of several South American countries, and the unwritten English
Constitution.
The draft of the constitution was approved by the
constitutional convention on 8 February 1935 and ratified by
then U.S. President Franklin B. Roosevelt on 25 March 1935.
Elections were held in September 1935 and Manuel L.
Quezon was elected President of the Commonwealth.
The commonwealth was briefly interrupted by the
events of the World War II, with the Japanese occupying the Philippines. Afterward,
upon liberation, the Philippines was declared an independent republic on 4 July 1946.

Task/activity :Document Analysis.

Direction:Analyze the text in videos about 1935 Commonwealth Constitution. Write an
essay of 200 words about the given topic. Send it to my personal messenger.
RUBRICS: DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS

Criteria Excellent Very good Satisfactory Needs Total:

(10) (8) (6) Improvement (20)
(4)
Delivery • Captured • Good eye • Little eye • No eye
the contact contact contact
audience • Prepared • Somewhat • Unprepared
with eye • Fluid prepared • Very poor
contact and delivery • Choppy delivery
clear voice. • Good delivery • Very
• Professional voice • Hard to difficult to
delivery hear and hear and
• Well- follow follow
prepared
Content • Clear • Some • Attempts • Objectives
objectives success in to define and subject
and subject defining the matter are
matter the objective not clearly
• Accurate, objectives and subject defined.
complete and matter. • Useful
and useful subject • Some information
information matter informatio are missing
• Complete • Some n are • References
and correct examples, inaccurate are not
citation of facts and and not cited
references other useful • Major ideas
• Ideas are useful • Incomplete are unclear
summarized informati and wrong leaving the
and the on citation of audience
audience is • Some references with no
left with full citation • Major learning.
understandi of ideas are
ng of the reference not
topic s summarize

67
 • May need d or the
to refine audience is
summary left with
or final vague
idea. ideas.
Teamwork • Clear • Adequate • Some • Little
evidence of evidence evidence of evidence of
teamwork of teamwork teamwork
and equal teamwor and some and division
division of k and division of of labor
labor. fairly labor • Only 1
• Task have good • Most of person did
within the division the work all of the
group of labor was done work
• Assigned • Tasks by only 1
tasks have person
performed been
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member d within
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• Assigned
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performe
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of the
members

TOPIC 5: 1973 CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITARIANISM

In 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected president, and in 1967, Philippine

Congress passed a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to change the 1935
constitution. Marcos won the re-election in 1969, in a bid boosted by campaign
overspending and use of government funds. Election of the delegates to the
constitutional convention was held 20 November 1970, and the convention began
formally on 1 June 1971, with former President Carlos P. Garcia being elected as
convention president. Unfortunately, he died, and was succeeded by another former
president, Diosdado Macapagal.

Before the convention finished its worth,

Martial law was declared. Marcos cited a
growing communist insurgency as reason
for Martial law, which was provided for in
the 1935 Constitution. Some delegates of
the ongoing constitutional convention
were placed behind bars and others went
into hiding or were voluntary exiled. With
Marcos as dictator, the direction of the
convention turned with accounts that the president himself dedicated some provisions
of the constitution, manipulating the document to be able to hold on the power for as

68
long as he could. On 29 November 1972, the convention approved its proposed
constitution.
The constitution was supposed to introduced of parliamentary-style
government, were legislative power was vested in a unicameral National Assembly, with
members being elected to a six-year term. The president was to be elected as the
symbolic and ceremonial head of state chosen from the members of the National
Assembly. The president would serve a six-year term and could be re-elected to an
unlimited number of term. Executive power was relegated to the Prime Minister, who
was also the head of the government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
who was also to be elected from the National Assembly.
President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 73 setting the date of the
plebiscite to ratify or reject the proposed constitution on 30 November 1973. This
plebiscite was postponed later on since Marcos feared that the public might vote to
reject the constitution. Instead of a plebiscite, Citizen Assemblies were held, from 10-15
January 1973, where the citizens coming together and voting by hand, decided on
whether to ratify the constitution, suspend the convening of the Interim National
Assembly, continue Martial Law, or place a moratorium on elections for a period of at
least several years. The President, on 17 January 1973, issued a proclamation
announcing that the proposed constitution had been ratified by an overwhelming vote
of the members of the highly irregular Citizen Assemblies.
The constitution was amended several times. In 1976, Citizen Assemblies, once
again, decided to allow the continuation of Martial Law, as well as approved the
amendments: an Interim BatasangPambansa to substitute for the Interim
NationalAssembly, the president to also become the Prime Minister and to exercise
legislative powers until Martial Law was lifted and authorized the President to legislate
on his own on an emergency basis. An overwhelming majority would ratify further
amendments succeeding. In 1980, the retirement age of members of the judiciary was
extended to 70 years. In 1981, the parliamentary system was formally modified to a
French-style, semi-presidential system where executive power was restored to the
president, who was, once again to be directly elected; an Executive Committee was to
created, composed of the Prime Minister and 14 others, that served as the president’s
Cabinet; and some electoral reforms where instituted. In 1984, the Executive
Committee was abolished and the position of the vice president was restored.
After all the amendments introduced, the 1973 Constitution was merely a way
for the president to keep executive powers, abolish the Senate, and by any means,
never acted as a parliamentary system, instead functioned as an authoritarian
presidential system, with all the real power concentrated in the hands of the president,
with the backing of the constitution.
The situation in the 1980s had been very turbulent. As Marcos amassed power,
discontent has also been burgeoning. The tide turned swiftly when in August 1983,
Benigno Aquino Jr., opposition leader and regarded as the most credible alternative to
President Marcos, was assassinated while under military escort immediately after his
return from exile in the United States. There was widespread suspicion that the orders
to assassinate Aquino came from the top levels of the government and the military. This
event caused the coming together of the non-violent opposition against the Marcos
declared himself winner despite international condemnation and nationwide protests. A
small group of military rebels attempted to stage a coup, but failed; however, this
triggered what came to be known as the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, as
people from all walks of life spilled onto the streets. Under pressure from the United
States of America, who used to support Marcos and his Martial Law, the Marcos family

69
fled into exile. His opponent in the snap elections, Benigno Aquino Jr.’s widow, Corazon
Aquino, was installed as president on 25 February 1986.

Task/activity: Acrostic Making

Direction:Make an Acrostic about your understanding on the 1973 Constitutional
Authoritarianism and you will focus your work on how to improve constitutional
Authoritarianism. Send your work on my personal messenger.
RUBRICS: ACROSTIC

TOPIC 6: 1987 CONSTITUTION

President Aquino’s government had three options regarding the constitution:

revert to the 1935 Constitution, retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power
to make reforms, or start anew and break from the “vestiges of a disgraced
dictatorship.” They decided to make a new constitution that, according to the President
herself, should be “truly reflective of the aspirations and ideals of the Filipino people”.
In March 1986, President Aquino proclaimed a transitional constitution to last
for a year while a Constitutional Commission drafted a permanent constitution. This
transitional constitution, called the Freedom Constitution maintained many provisions
of the old one, including n rewritten form the presidential right to rule by decree. In
1986, a constitutional convention was created, composed of 48 members appointed by
President Aquino from varied backgrounds and representations. The convention drew
up a permanent constitution, largely restoring the setup abolished by Marcos in 1972,
but with new ways to keep the president in check, a reaction to the experience of
Marcos’s rule. The new constitution was officially adopted on February 1987.
The constitution begins with a preamble and eighteen self-contained articles. It
established the Philippines as a “democratic republican state” where “sovereignty
resides the people and all government authority emanates from them”. It allocates
governmental powers among the executive, legislative, and the judicial branches of the
government.

70
 The Executive branch is headed by the President and his
cabinet, whom he appoints. The president is the head of the
state and the chief executive, but his power is limited by
significant checks from the two other co-equal branches of the
government, especially during times of emergency. This is put
in place to safeguard the country from the experience of
martial law despotism during the presidency of Marcos. N
cases of national emergency, the president may still declare
martial law, but no longer than a period of sixty days. Congress,
through a majority vote, can evoke this decision, or extend it for a period that
determine. The Supreme Court may also review the declaration of martial law and
decide if there were sufficient justifying facts for the act. The president and the vice
president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a single tax six-year term.
The legislative resides in a Congress divided into two
Houses: The Senate and the House of Representatives. The 24
senators are elected at large by popular vote, and can serve no
more than two consecutive six-year terms. The House is
composed of district representative’s districts in the Philippines
that elect their representatives to serve three-year terms. The
1987 Constitution created a party-list system to provide spaces
for the participation of under-represented community sectors or
groups. Party-list representatives may fill up not more than 20%
of the seats in the House.
Aside from the exclusive power of legislation, Congress may also declare war,
through a two-thirds vote in both upper and lower houses. The power of legislation,
however, is also subject to an executive check, as the president retains the power to
veto or stop a bill from becoming a law. Congress may only override this power with a
two-thirds vote in both houses.
The Philippine Court system is vested with the power of
the judiciary, and is composed of a Supreme Court and lower
courts as created by law. The Supreme Court is a 15-member
court appointed by the president without the need to be
confirmed by Congress. The appointment the president makes,
however, is limited to a list of nominees provided by a
constitutionally specified Judicial and Bar Council. The Supreme
Court Justices may hear, on appeal, any cases dealing with the
constitutionally of any law, treaty, or decree of the government, cases where questions
of jurisdiction or judicial error are concerned, or cases where the penalty is sufficiently
grave. It may also exercise original jurisdiction over cases involving government or
international officials. The Supreme Court is also in charge of overseeing the functioning
and administration of the lower courts and their personnel.

71
 The Constitution also established three independent Constitutional
Commissions:

Independent Constitutional
Civil Service Commission - a central
tendency in charge of government
personnel

Commission Commission on Audit - it which examines

all funds, transactions, and the property
accounts of the government and its
agencies.

Commission on Election -it

mandated to enforce and administer
all election law and regulations

To further promote the ethical and lawful conduct of the

government, the Office of the Ombudsman was created to investigate
complaints that pertain to public corruption, unlawful behavior to
public officials, and other public misconduct. The Ombudsman can
charge public officials before the Sandiganbayan, a special court
created for this purpose.

Changing the Constitutionis a perennial issue that crops up, and terms such as “Cha-
Cha,” “Con-Ass,” and “Con-Con” are regularly thrown around. Article XVII of the 1987
Constitution provides for three ways by which the Constitutions can be changed.
Congress (House of Representatives and the Senate) may convene as a Constituent
Assembly (or Con-Ass) to propose amendments to the Constitutions, it is not clear,
however, if Congress is to vote as a single body or separately. How the Congress
convenes as a Con-Ass is also not provided for in the Constitution.
Another method is through the Constitutional Convention (or Con-Con), where the
Congress, upon a vote of two-thirds of all its members, calls for a constitutional
convention. They may also submit to the electorate the question of calling a
convention through a majority vote of all its members. In a Con-Con. Delegates will
propose amendments or revisions to the constitution, not Congress. The 1987
Constitution does not provide for a method by which delegates to the Con0Con are
chose.
The third method is called the “People’s Initiative” (or PI). In this method,
amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the people upon a petition of at
least 12% of the total number of registered voters. All legislative districts must be
represented by at least 12% of the registered voters therein. No amendment is
allowed more than once every five years since a successful PI. The 1987 Constitution
directs the Congress to enact a law to implement provisions of the PI, which has not
yet materialized. 72
Amendments or revision to the constitution shall be valid not only when ratified by a
majority of the votes cast in a national referendum.
The third method is called the “People’s Initiative” (or PI). In this method,
amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the people upon a petition of at
least 12% of the total number of registered voters. All legislative districts must be
represented by at least 12% of the registered voters therein. No amendment is
allowed more than once every five years since a successful PI. The 1987 Constitution
directs the Congress to enact a law to implement provisions of the PI, which has not
yet materialized.
Amendments or revision to the constitution shall be valid not only when ratified by a
majority of the votes cast in a national referendum.

Only the House of Representatives can initiate the impeachment of the president,
members of the Supreme Court, and other constitutionally protected public officials
such as the Ombudsman. The Senate will then try the impeachment case. This is another
safeguard to promote moral and ethical conduct in the government.

Task/activity: Vertical Flow Chart ( Group Chat/Zoom/G Meet)

(Activity ) a vertical flow-chart by group .Discuss with your group mate the kind
Direction:Submit
of government during 1987 constitution including the 3 branches of government.

TOPIC 7: TAXATION

The Philippines may have abundant natural resources even before the
encroachment of Spaniards, but are our ancestors were mainly involved in subsistence
economy, and while the payment of tribute or taxes (buhis/buwis/handog) or the
obligation to provide labor services to the datus in some early Filipino communities in
the Philippines may resemble taxation, it is essential different from the contemporary
meaning of the concept.

73
 The arrival of the Spaniards altered this
subsistence system because they imposed the
payment of tributos(tributes) from the Filipino, similar
to what had been practiced in all colonies in America.
The purpose is to generate resources to finance the
maintenance of the islands, such as salaries of
government officials and expenses of the clergy. The
difficulty faced by the Spaniards in revenue collection
through the tribute was the dispersed nature of the
settlements, which they solved by the introducing the
system of reduccionby creating pueblos, Where
Filipinos were gathered and awarded plots of land to till. Letter on the settlements will
be handled byencomenderoswho received rewards from the Spanish crown for their
services. Exempted from payment of tributes were the principales: alcaldes,
gobernadores, cabezas de barangay, soldiers, member of the civil guards, government
officials, and vagrants.
The Filipinos who were once satisfied with agricultural production for
subsistence had to increase production to meet the demands of payments and a more
intensive agricultural system had to be introduced. Later on, half of the tribute was paid
in cash and the rest with produce. This financed the conquest of the Philippines.
Toward he ends of the 16th century, the Manila-Acapulco trade was established
through the galleons, a way by which the Spaniards could make sure that European
presence would be sustained. Once a year, the galleon would be loaded up with
merchandise from Asia and sent to New Spain (Mexico) and back. This improved the
economy of the Philippines and reinforced the control of the Spaniards all over the
country. Tax collection was still very poor and subsidy from the Spain would be needed
through the situado real delivered the Mexican treasury to the Philippines through the
galleons. This subsidy stopped as Mexico became independent in 1820.
In 1884, the payment of tribute was put to stop and was replaced by a poll tax
collected through a certificate of identification called thecedula personal. This is
required from every resident and must be carried while traveling. Unlike the tribute, the
payment of cedulas is by person, not by family. Payment of thecedula is progressive and
according to income categories. This system, however, was a heavy burden for the
peasants and was easy for the wealthy. But because of this, revenue collection greatly
increased and became the main source of government income. The Chinese in the
Philippines were also made to pay their discriminatory cedula which was bigger than
what the Filipinos paid.
Two direct taxes were added in 1878 and imposed on urban incomes. Urbana is
a tax on the annual rental value of an urban real state and industriais a tax on salaries,
dividends, and profits. These taxes were universal and affected all kinds of economic
activity except agriculture, which was attempted to encouraged growth.
Indirect taxes such as customs duties were imposed on exports, and imports to further
raise revenue, especially during the 19th century when economic growth increased
exponentially. There were no excise taxes collected by the Spaniards throughout the
years of colonialism.
The colonial government also gained income from monopolies, such as the sale
of stamped paper, manufactured and sale of liquor, cockpits, and opium, but the biggest
of the state monopolies was tobacco, which began in 1781 and halted in 1882. Only
certain areas were assigned to cultivate tobacco, which the government purchased at a
price dictated to the growers. This monopoly made I possible for the colony to create a

74
surplus of income that made it self-sufficient without the need for the situado real and
even contributed to the Treasury of Spain.
Force labor was a character of Spanish colonial taxation in the Philippines and
was required from the Filipinos. It proved useful in defending the territory of the colony
and augmenting the labor required by woodcutting and shipbuilding especially during
the time of the galleon trade. Through the polo system, male Filipinos were obliged to
serve, a burden that resulted in an increase in death rate and flight to the mountains,
which led to a decrease in population in the 17th century. This changed later on, as polos
and serviciosbecame lighter, and was organized at the municipal level. Labor provided
was used in public works, such as the building of roads and bridges. Some were made to
serve the municipal office or as night guards.
Males were required to provide labor for 40 days a year (reduced to 15 days a
year in 1884). They may opt out by paying the fallas of three pesos per annum, which
was usually lost to corruption because it was collected at the municipal level and were
known as caidas or droppings. The polos would be called prestacion personal (personal
services) by the second half of the 19th century.
Taxation in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period was characterized
by the heavy burden placed on the Filipinos, and the corruption of the principals who
were given positions such as cabezas de barangay or alcaldes in the local government
were able to enrich themselves by pocketing tributos and/or fallas, while the peasants
were left to be abused. Taxation appeared progressive but the disparity between the
less taxed pricipales and the heavily taxed peasants made the rich richer and the poor
poorer.

PRIMARY SOURCE: MARIANO HERBOSA WRITES TO RIZAL ABOUT TAXES

Source: Mariano Herbosa to Jose Rizal, Calamba, 29 August 1886, Letters

Between Rizal and Family Members (Manila: National Heroes Commission, 1964), 239–
241.

75
The tax! With regard to your question on this, the answer is very long, as it is the
cause of the prevailing misery here. What I can write you will be only on-half of the
story and even Dumas, Senior, cannot exhaust the subject. Nevertheless, I’ll try to
write what I can, though I may not be able to give a complete story, you may at least
know half of it.
Here, there are many kinds of taxes. What they call irrigated rice land, even if it has
no water, must pay a tax of 50 cavanes of palay (unhusked rice) and land with six
cavans of seed pay 5 pesos in cash cavanes of seed pay 5 pesos in cash. The land they
call dry land that is planted to sugar cane, maize, and other ay different rates. Even if
the agreed amount is 30 pesos for land with six cavanes of seed, if they see that the
harvest is good, the increase tax but they don’t decrease it, harvest is poor. There is
land whose tax is 25 pesos or 20 pesos, according to custom.
The most troublesome are they residential lots in town. There is no fixed rule that is
followed, only their whim. Hence, even if it is only one span in size, if a stone wall is
added, 50 pesos must be paid, the lowest being 20 pesos. But a nipa or cogon house
pays only one peso for an area of ten fathoms square. Another feature of this system
is that on the day you accept the conditions, the contract will be written which cannot
be changed for four years, but the tax is increase every year. For these reasons, for
two years now the payment of tax is confused and little by little the fear of the
residents here of the word “vacant” is being dispelled, which our ancestors had
feared so much. The result is bargaining, like they do in buying fish. It is advisable to
offer a low figure and payment can be postponed, unlike before when people were
very much afraid to pay after May.
I’m looking for a receipt to send you, but I cannot find any, because we don’t get a
receipt every time we pay. Anytime it is value-less as it does not state the amount
paid; it only sys that the tax for that year was paid, without stating whether it is five
centavos, twenty-five centavos, one hundred, or one thousand pesos. The residents
who ask or get the said receipt accept it with closed eyes. The receipt has no
signature in the place where the amount paid ought to be, although it bears their
name. Until now I cannot comprehend why some are signed and other are not. This is
more or less what is happening here in the payment of the land tax and it has been so
for many years since I can remember.
Besides this, the taxes on the plants in the fields that are far from the town, like the
land in Pansol, are various. The tax on the palay is separate from the tax on maize,
mongo, or garlic. There is no limit to this tax, for they fix it themselves. Since July no
one buys sugar and since June locusts are all over the town and they are destroying
palayand sugar cane which is what we regret here. The governor gave 50 pesos to pay
the catchers of locusts, but when they took them to the town hall they were paid only
25 cents a cavan and a half; and it seems that the locusts are not decreasing.
According to the guess of the residents here only 300 cavanes of locusts have been
caught in this town. Many still remain. Though the governor has not sent any more,
the people have not stopped catching them.
caught in this town. Many still remain. Though the governor has not sent any more,
the people have not stopped catching them.

76
 TAXATION UNDER THE AMERICANS

The Americans who acquired the Philippines aimed to make the economy self-
sufficient by running the government with the smallest possible sum of revenue and
create surplus in the budget. From 1898 to 1903, the Americans followed the Spanish
system of taxation with some modifications, noting that the system introduced by the
Spaniards were outdated and regressive. The military government suspended the
contracts for the sale of opium, lottery and mint charges for coinage of money. Later on,
the urbana would be replaced by tax on real estate, which became known as the land
tax.The land tax was levied on both urban and rural real estates.
The problem with land tax was that land titling in the rural area was very
disorderly; the appraising of land value was influenced by political and familial factors
and the introduction of a taxation system on agricultural land faced objections from the
landed elite. Tax evasion was prevalent, especially among the elites.
The Internal Revenue Law of 1904 was passed
as a reaction to the problems of collecting land tax. It
prescribed ten major sources of revenue: (1) licensed
taxes on firms dealing in alcoholic beverages and
tobacco, (2) excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and
tobacco products, (3) taxes on banks and bankers, (4)
document stamp taxes, (5) thecedula, (6) taxes on
insurance and insurance companies, (7) taxes on forest products, (8) mining
concessions, (9) taxes on business and manufacturing, and (10) occupational licenses.
Thecedulawent through changes in the new law as the rate was fixed per adult
male, which resulted in a great decline in revenues. In 1907, some provinces were
authorized to double the fee for thecedula to support the construction and
maintenance of roads. The industria tax was levied on the business community and
became a highly complex system that assigned a certain tax to an industrial or
commercial activity according to their profitability. The new act also imposed a
percentage tax on sales payable quarterly.
In 1913, the Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act was passed,
resulting in a reduction in the revenue of the government as export
taxes levied on sugar, tobacco, hemp, and copra were lifted. To
make up for the loss, then Governor General Francis Burton Harrison
urged that tax receipt be increased to make up for the loss. Minor
changes were made to the 1904 Internal Revenue Act such as the
imposition of taxes on mines, petroleum products, and dealers of
petroleum productsand tobacco.
Oscar Underwood

New sources of taxes were introduced later on. In 1914, an income tax was
introduced; in 1919, an inheritance tax was created; and in 1932, a national lottery was
established to create more revenue for the government. However, these new creations
were not enough to increase government revenues.

77
 TAXATION UNDER THE AMERICANS

New measures and legislation were introduced to make

the taxation system appear more equitable during the
Commonwealth. Income tax rates were increased in 1936,
adding a surtax rate on individual net income in excess of
10,000 pesos. Income tax rates of corporations were also
increased. In 1937, thecedula tax was abolished, which
appeared to be a progressive move; but in 1940, a residence tax was imposed on every
citizen aged 18 years old and on every corporation.
In 1939, the Commonwealth government drafted the National Internal Revenue Code,
introducing major changes in the new tax system, as follows:
1. The normal the three percent and the surtax on income was tax at a
progressive rate.
2. Personal exemptions were reduced.
3. Corporation income tax was slightly increased by introducing taxes on
inherited estates of gifts donated in the name of dead persons.
4. The cumulative sales tax was replaced by a single turnover tax of 10% on
luxuries.
5. Taxes on liquors, cigarettes, forestry products, and mining were increased.
6. Dividends were made taxable.

The introduced tax structure was an improvement of the earlier system introduced
by the Americans, but still remained inequitable. The lower class still felt the bulk of the
burden of taxation, while the upper class, the landed elite or the people in political
positions, were able to maneuver the situation that would benefit them more. The
agriculture sector was still taxed low to promote growth, but there was no incentive for
industrial investment to take root and develop.
Finally, a common character of taxation during the American occupation in the
Philippines was not used to diversify the economy or direct economic development as
some sectors still carried the disproportionate share of the tax burden.
As World War II reached the Philippine shores, economic activity was put to a stop
and the Philippines bowed to a new set of administrators, the Japanese. The Japanese
military administration in the Philippines during World War II immediately continued the
system of tax collection introduced during the Commonwealth, but exempted the
articles belonging to the Japanese armed forces. Foreign trade fell and the main sources
of taxation came from amusements, manufactures, professions, and business licenses.
As the war raged, tax collection was a difficult task and additional incomes of the
government were derived from the sales of the National Sweepstakes and sale of
government bonds.
The expenditure of the Japanese military government grew greatly, and they issued
military notes in order to cover the costs of the war.

78
 FISCAL POLICY FROM 1946 TO PRESENT

The impact of the war on the Philippine economy was effectively disparate, as
Manila, the capital, was razed to the ground while the rest of the Philippines was
relatively untouched. But the highly agriculture-based economy was disrupted. The
United States may have declared the Philippines independent, but as the country
needed rehabilitation funds from the United States the dependency of the Philippines to
the Americans was an opportunity to be taken advantage of by the former colonial
administrators. The economic situation was so problematic that by 1949, there was a
severe lack of funds in many aspects of governance, such as the military and education
sectors no efforts were made to improved tax collection and the United States advised
the adaption of direct taxation. The administration of President Manuel Roxas declined
the proposal because it did not want to alienate its allies in congress.
The impetus for economic growth came during the time of President
ElpidioQuirino through the implementation of import and exchange controls that led
through import substitution development. This policy allowed for the expansion of the
viable manufacturing sector that reduced economic dependence on imports. New tax
measures were also passed, which include higher corporate tax rates that increased
government revenues-tax revenue in 1953 increased twofold compared to 1948, the
year when Quirino first assumed presidency.
While the succeeding presidencies of Magsaysay, Garcia, and Macapagal
promised to study the tax structure and policy of the country (through the creation of a
Tax Commission in 1959by means of Republic Act No. 1122) to make way for more
robust and more efficient tax collection scheme, post-war fiscal policy remained
regressive, characterized by the overburdening of the lowest classes while the landed
elite who held business interest were in Congress to ensure that taxes would not be
levied to them who belong to the higher classes of society. The period of the post-war
republic also saw a rise in corruption. From 1959 to 1968, congress did not pass any tax
legislation despite important changes in the economy and the vested interests of
Filipino businessmen in congress would manifest in many instances such as the rejection
of taxes on imports. Indirect taxation still contributed to three quarters of tax revenues

79
and the Omnibus Tax Law of 1969 did not increase the ratio of income tax to general tax
revenue. Collection of taxes remained poor; tax structure was still problematic; and
much of public funds were lost to corruption, which left the government incapable of
funding projects geared toward development.
Under the Marcos authoritarian regime, the tax system remained regressive.
During the latter part of the Marco’s years (1981-1985), the tax system was still heavily
dependent on direct taxes, which made up of 70% of total tax collection the tax system
also remained unresponsive. Taxes grew at an average annual rate of 15% and
generated a low tax yield. Tax effort, defined as the ratio between the share of the
actual tax collection in gross domestic product and predictable taxable capacity, was at
a low 10.7%.
As Corazon Aquino took the helm of the government after the EDSA Revolution,
she reformed the tax system through the 1986 Tax Reform Program. The aim was to
improve the responsiveness of the tax system, promote equity by ensuring that similarly
situated individuals and firms bear the same tax burden, promote growth by
withdrawing or modifying taxes that reduce incentives to work or produce, improve tax
administration by simplifying the tax system and promoting the tax compliance.
A major reform in the tax system introduced under the term of Aquino was the
introduction of the value-added tax (VAT), with the following features:
1. Uniform rate of 10% on sale of domestic and imported goods and services and
zero percent on exports and foreign-currency dominated sales;
2. Ten (10) percent in lieu of varied rates applicable to fixed taxes (60 nominal
rates), advance sales tax, tax on original sales, subsequent sales tax
compensating tax, miller’s tax, contractor’s tax, broker’s tax, film lessor and
distributor’s tax, excise tax on solvents and matches, and excise tax on processed
videotapes;
3. Two percent tax on entities with annual sales or receipts of less than 5,200,000;
4. Adoption of tax credits method of calculating tax by subtracting tax on inputs
from tax on gross sales;
5. Exemption of the sale of basic of commodities such as agriculture and marine
food products in their original state, price-regulated petroleum products and
fertilizers; and
6. Additional 20% tax on non-essential articles such jewelry, perfumes, toilet
waters, yacht, and other vessels for pleasure and sports.

The VAT law was signed in 1986 and put to effect in 1988. While it was a reliable
source of revenue for the government, new tax laws would reduce its reliability as
legislated exemptions grew.
Along with tax reform came the administrative reforms, such as the restructuring
of the Department of Finance and its attached agency, the Bureau of Internal Revenue
(BIR) through the Executive Order 127. Tax collection and tax audits were intensified;
computerization was introduced; and corruption was relatively reduced, which
improved the trust in the BIR in general. As a result of the tax reform of the Aquino
administration, both tax and revenue effort rose, increasing from 10.7%in 1985 to
15.4% in 1992.
Greater political stability during the administration of Fidel Ramos in 1992
allowed for continued economic growth. The Ramos administration ventured into its
own tax reform program in 1997 through the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program,
which was implemented to (1) make tax system broad-based, simple, with reasonable
tax rates; (2) minimized tax avoidance allowed by existing flaws and loopholes in the
system; (3) encourage payments by increasing tax exemptions levels, lowering the

80
highest tax rates, and simplifying procedure; and (4) rationalize the grant of tax
incentives, which was estimated to be worth 531.7 billion pesos in 1994.
The VAT based was also broadened in 1997 to include services, through Republic
Act 7716. The features of the improved VAT law were as follows:
1. Restored the VAT exemptions to all cooperatives (agricultural, electric, or
multipurpose and others) provided that the share capital of each member does
not exceed 515,000 pesos.
2. Expanded the coverage of the term “simple processes” by including broiling and
roasting effectively narrowing the tax base food products.
3. Expanded the coverage of the term “original state” by including molasses.
4. Exempted from the VAT are the following:
• Importation of meat.
• Sale or importation of coal and natural gas in whatever form or state.
• Educational services rendered by private educational institutions duly
accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
• House and lot and other residential dwellings valued at 51 million and
below, subject to adjustment using the Costumer Price Index (CPI).
• Lease of residential units with monthly rental per unit or not more than
58,000, subject to adjustment to CPI.
• Sale, importation, printing, or publication of books and any newspaper.

The succeeding term of President Joseph Estrada in 1998 was too short to
constitute any change in the tax system. Then Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
was swept to power through another EDSA Revolution. As president she undertook
increased government spending without adjusting tax collections. This resulted in large
deficits from 2002 to 2004. The government had to look for additional resources of
revenue, and in 2005 the Expanded Value-Added Tax (E-VAT) was signed into law as
Republic Act 9337. This expanded the VAT base, subjecting to VAT energy products such
as coal and petroleum products and electricity generation, transmission, and
distribution. Select professional services were also taxed. In February 2006, the VAT tax
rate was also increased from 10% to 12%.
As President Benigno Aquino III succeeded President Arroyo in 2010, he
promised that no new taxes would be imposed and additional revenue would have to
come from adjusting existing taxes. The administration ventured into the adjustment of
excise tax on liquor and cigarettes or the Sin Tax Reform, motivations from which was
primarily fiscal, public health, and social order related considerations. Republic Act
10351 was passed, and government revenues from alcohol and tobacco excise taxes
increased. Collections from tobacco and alcohol in 2015 made up of 1.1% of the Gross
Domestic Product and the improvement in tax collection resulting in the Philippines
receiving a credit rating upgrade into investment grade status. The Sin Tax Reform was
an example on how tax reform could impact social services as it allowed for the increase
of the Department of Health budget (triple in 2015) and free health insurance premiums
for the poor people enrolled in PhilHealth increased (from 55.2 million in 2012 to 5154
million in 2015).
The administration of the new President Rodrigo Duterte promised tax reform,
particularly in income taxes as it vowed to lower income tax rates shouldered by
working Filipinos. The present income tax scheme of the country is the second largest in
Southeast Asia and the current laws on income taxes were outdated as they were
drafted two decades ago. The proposed tax reform also seeks to limit VAT exemptions
and increase excise taxes on petroleum products and automobiles. It is hope that

81
reforms in the country’s tax policy will result in the much-desired economic
development that will be felt even by the lowest classes in society.

Task/activity:Documentary Film
Direction:Form a group with five members each. Produce a video clip with 1 to 2
minutes in relation about the Evolution of the Philippine Taxation.

Criteria Comments Points

Content 25%

Originality 15%

References 25%

Creativity 20%

Clarity of the Performance 15%

Total: 100%

Assessment: Conceptual Map

Direction: Propose/recommend a solution to present day problems about Social,
Political, Economic, and Cultural Issuesin Philippine History using conceptual map. Send
it to my personal messenger.

Sample Conceptual Map:

82
RUBRICS: CONCEPT MAP

83
 LESSON 5
Doing History: A Guide for Student

TOPICS
1. Filipino Cultural Heritage
2. Filipino-American Heritage
3. Government peace treaties with Muslim Filipino’s
4. Institutional History of Elected Schools, Corporations, Industries and Religious
Groups
5. Biography of Prominent Filipinos
6. Critical Evaluation and Promotion of Local and Oral History, Museums, Historical
Shrines, Cultural Performances, Religious Rites and Rituals

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1.manifest interest in local history and concern in promoting and
preserving our country’s national patrimony and cultural heritage; and
2.display the ability to work in a team and contribute to a group project.

TOPIC 1: FILIPINO CULTURAL HERITAGE

History
The Philippines has a rich history beginning from its earliest days as one of the
busiest trading posts in South East Asia and later, in the trans-Pacific galleon trade. A
period of Spanish colonization spanning three centuries then made an indelible
impression on the country. This mercurial era, along with the American occupation,
played a vital role in shaping the Philippines and its people. A vivid past has left its mark
all over the archipelago in many different forms that present-day visitors to the country
are now discovering.
The rich Philippine heritage can be experienced, not only in textbooks and
museums, but also in beautifully preserved historical sites across the country. A simple
textbook description of a historical event comes to life upon a visit to the place where it
unfolded. Isla ng Corregidor, or simply, Corregidor, is now a tranquil island where the

84
epic dramatic Battle of Corregidor took place during the last world war. In a country like
the Philippines, where history is kept alive, one doesn't need to go far to travel back in
time.

Heritage
Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park
Location: Middle of the Sulu Sea, 181 kilometers
southeast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Inscribe in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in
1993

The Tubbataha Reef Marine Park covers 33,200

hectares including the north and south reefs. It is a
marvelous marine wilderness and a special
ecosystem much appreciated for its beauty as well as its scientific value.

It is a unique example of an atoll reef with a very high density of marine species, with
80% coral cover of 46 coral genres and 376 fish species. The site is an excellent example
of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100-meter perpendicular wall, extensive
lagoons and two-coral islands.

Tubbataha’s north islet is a nesting site for sea birds of all kinds and endangered
hawksbill sea turtles; a diver’s paradise with gorgonian seafans, soft corals, and gigantic
sea sponges serving as home to turkey fish, anemone crab, banded seasnakes,
nudibranchs, starfish, catsharks, surgeon fish, batfish, and butterfly fish. The rare,
unusual looking fox-faced rabbit fish can also be found in the marine park. Marine
turtles, including the critically endangered hawksbill and green turtle, nest on some of
the beaches.
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River
National Park
Location: Saint Paul Mountain Range on the
northern coast of Palawan
Inscribe in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites
in 1999

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River

National Park features a spectacular limestone karst landscape with its underground
river. The river is unique because it flows directly into the sea, and its lower portion is
subject to tidal influences. The area also represents a significant habitat for biodiversity
conservation. The site contains a whole ecosystem --- from mountain to the sea; and
protects forests, which are among the most significant in Asia.

85
A highlight of each visit is a ride through its 8 km-long underground river which runs
through a dome of stalactites complemented by stalagmites running the entire length of
the cave.

The park is a popular destination for bird watching and is known for regular sightings of
threatened bird species of Palawan peacock-peasant and Philippine cockatoo and the
endemic birds Palawan scopsowl, swiftlet, hornbill, flyeater and blue flycatcher, tit and
flowerpecker. It is blessed to have the Palawan flying fox, Oriental small-clawed otter,
stinkbadger, binturong, flying squirrel, mountain tree squirrel and porcupine.

The park also features an exciting Monkey Trail with its series of wooden paths to the
forest.

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

Location: Ifugao
Inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage
Sites in 1995

The 2,000-year old Banaue Rice Terraces –

the most extensive anywhere in the world
– were carved into the mountains of Ifugao
by ancestors of the Batad indigenous
people. The terraces are located approximately 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) above sea
level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4,000 square miles) of the
mountainside.

Known as the “eight wonder of the world,” the terraces were carved with only simple
tools and bare hands. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system, an ingenious
complex of bamboo pipes and canals, drawing water from streams created by bubbling
springs located in the mountain rainforests.

Considered as a monument to man’s genius in turning a rugged and forbidding terrain

into a source of sustenance, the rice terraces stand to be the most awe-inspiring man-
made landscape in the Cordilleras. They are also invariably called “The Stairway to the
Sky.”

Historic Town of Vigan

Location: Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Inscribed in the UNESCO World
Heritage Sites in 1999

The 16th century town of Vigan is “an

exceptionally intact and well-preserved
example of a European trading town in
East and East Asia.” Its architecture
reflects the fusion of cultural elements
from the Philippines, China and Europe, resulting in a culture and townscape that has no

86
parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Seemingly impervious to time, spared from rebellion and the ravages of war, Vigan has
remained unchanged and its many preserved historic sites – more than 180 edifices –
make it look like “a piece of Spain.” With its grand cathedral, massive mansions with
red-tile roofs and spacious balconies, narrow cobblestone streets, horse drawn
carriages, and friendly faces peering out of large windows, Vigan is a place where “time
stood still.”

San Agustin Church in Intramuros,

Manila
Built in 1587, the San Agustin Church is
the oldest stone church in the
Philippines, the only one that remains as
the original evidence of the 16th century
Spanish architecture. It has defied
several earthquakes and the heavy
shelling of both Japanese and American
forces in 1945 and now stands as a
reminder of the grandeur of the past.

The structural design of the church is extraordinary. It boasts of the only example in the
country of a barrel vault, dome and arched vestibules, supporting its choir loft, all made
of stone. Its façade is notable for its two pairs of columns – the lowest pair in Doric style,
the upper pair in Corinthian topped by a pediment surmounted by a Cross. The main
door, carved out of Philippine molave, has a bas-relief of St. Augustine and his mother,
Santa Monica. San Agustin Church represents the art and technology of Spanish,
Chinese, and native cultures fused together “to suit human sentiments and faiths that
found expression in customs and traditions that were evolved through the centuries.”

As the best-preserved example of an urban ecclesiastical complex in the Philippines, the

compound serves not only as a historical document of the Spanish colonial heritage but
also as a repository of the most important works of art and literature of the period.

Miag-ao Church in Iloilo

Built in yellow-orange sandstone, the large fortress-church of Miag-ao was completed in
1797. It served as a fortress against raids of marauding Moro pirates.

The church is amazingly beautiful because of its two asymmetric pyramidal towers and
its finely sculptured, yellow sandstone façade. Its façade’s carving is the pinnacle of
Filipino naïve art, in which craftsmen abandon all restraints to interpret Western
decorative styles in the local folk idiom. The central element in the façade is Saint
Christopher, clad like a Filipino farmer with rolled-up trousers. He carries the Christ Child
on his back while holding on to a lush coconut tree for support. Beside him are guava
and papaya trees, flanked by ornamental urns. The scene merges Western Catholic
iconography with a folk interpretation of coastal Iloilo countryside.

87
San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte
Photo by Anna Buenaventura.

Paoay’s San Agustin Church, built in

1604, is one of the most outstanding
variants of “earthquake baroque” in
the Philippines, where the primary
consideration was to design the
structure for earthquake protection.

The façade of San Agustin Church is

astounding but its most prominent
feature is the phalanx of buttresses
that juts out perpendicularly from the
sidewalls, purposely to strengthen the walls – and the entire structure – against
earthquake damage. Fourteen massive S-shaped buttresses rise in rhythmic cadence
from the ground to the roofline.

The church is an eye-catcher as it emerges from a beautiful open space, unlike many
other churches located within urban settings.

LEGACY: Philippine World Heritage Sites

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu1p5j3nkK4

88
 Task/activity :Making a Blog
Direction:Make a Blog showing the different Cultural Heritage. Send it to my Personal
Messenger.

RUBRICS: BLOGGING

TOPIC 2: FILIPINO- AMERICAN HERITAGE

PowerPoint Presentation

36 Slides

LINK:https://www.scribd.com/presentation/393579778/49859292-
Philippine-History-American-Heritage-ppt

89
 Video Presentation

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JlbyP3irNY

Task/activity :Making a Parody (Group Activity)

Direction: Group Activity. In a Group of ten (10) Make a parody about your reflection on
Filipino-American Heritage. Collate your reactions through Group chat and send it to my
messenger.

TOPIC 3: GOVERNMENT PEACE TREATIES WITH MUSLIM FILIPINO’S

Video Presentation

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZkd1sOiD4A

90
 Task/activity :E-Poster/Poster Making
Direction: Make an E Poster/ Poster about Government Peace Treaties with Muslim
Filipino’s. Send it to my messenger.

Sample Poster

Poster Rubrics

91
TOPIC 4: INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF SELECTED SCHOOLS,
CORPORATIONS INDUSTRIES, RELIGIOUS GROUP

Philippine Education History Video Presentation

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqlzcs_SfJM

The Origins of the Modern Corporation

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c5uvMftJY8

92
 Philippine Economy through the Years

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyxLgVMbslE

History of different religion in the Philippines

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkHdY8YL5GY

Religion of Philippines

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gepgWYnjU9I
93
 Task/activity: Collage Making
Direction:Make a collage showing the different institutions and include the
impact/contribution to the present condition. Send it to my messenger.

TOPIC 5: BIOGRAPHY OF PROMINENT FILIPINO

Historian Xiao Chua on the Filipino Race

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm7okrksbGo

Famous Filipino People: Filipino Artists, Scientists,

Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

LINK:https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/guide/philippines/4/

94
 Task/activity: Slideshow Making .Group Activity. (5 Students)
Direction:Create a Slide Show of the different Pictures of Prominent Filipinos .Live
Presentation through Meet.
Grading Rubric for Power Point Presentation/Slide Share

5 4 3 2 1

Content Content is Content is Content is Content is Content

accurate and accurate but accurate but questionab is
all required some some required le. inaccura
information is required information is Informatio te.
presented in a information missing and/or n is not Informat
logical order. is missing not presented presented ion is
and/or not in a logical in a logical not
presented in order, making order, present
a logical it difficult to making it ed in a
order, but is follow. difficult to logical
still generally follow. order,
easy to making
follow. it
difficult
to
follow.

Slide Presentation Presentation Presentation Presentatio Presenta

Creation flows well and flows well. flows well. n is tion has
logically. Tools are Some tools are unorganize no flow.
Presentation used used to show d. Tools are No tools
reflects correctly. acceptable not used in used.
extensive use understanding. a relevant
Overall
of tools in a manner.
presentation
creative way.
is
interesting.

Slide Transitions Smooth Smooth Very few No

Transitions are smooth. transitions transitions are transitions transitio
Transitions are used on used on some are used ns are
enhance the most slides. slides and/or used.
presentation. they
distract
from the
presentatio
n.

Pictures, Images are Images are Most images Images are No

Clip Art appropriate. appropriate. are inappropri images
Background Layout is appropriate ate.
Layout is
cluttered.
pleasing to

95
 the eye.

Mechanics No spelling Few spelling Some spelling Some Many

errors. No errors. Few errors. Some spelling spelling
grammar grammar grammar errors. and or
errors. Text is errors. Text errors. Some gramma
in authors’ is in authors’ grammar r errors.
Text is in
own words. own words. errors. Text is
authors’ own
Most of copied.
words.
text is in
authors’
own
words.

Presentatio Well General level Acceptable Low level No

n rehearsed. of rehearsal. level of of rehearsa
No Few rehearsal. rehearsal. l
Skills
pronunciation pronunciatio Some Numerous indicate
errors or n errors or pronunciation pronunciati d. Too
other other errors or other on errors many
mistakes. mistakes. mistakes. or other pronunc
mistakes. iation
errors or
other
mistakes
.

Name________________________________ Period_____
Subject______________________________ Score_____
Score/Grade: 6 to 7=10 10 to 11=30 14 to 15=50 18 to 20=70 24 to 27=90
8 to 9=20 12 to 13=40 16 to 17=60 21 to 23=80 28 to 30=100

96
TOPIC 6: DOING HISTORY
CRITICAL EVALUATION AND PROMOTION OF LOCAL AND ORAL
HISTORY, MUSEUMS, HISTORICAL SHRINES, CULTURAL
PERFORMANCES, INDIGENOUS PRACTICES, RELIGIOUS RITES, AND
RITUALS

Video Presentation

LINK:https://prezi.com/p/s2i9qol1o3du/doing-history-a-guide-for-
students/

What to do in San Jose Mindoro (Occidental Mindoro,

Philippines)

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxW2bHKxtvY

97
 SAN JOSE, OCCIDENTAL MINDORO: Karen ClaudeneBarot

LINK:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP5QwLiXPq0

Task/activity: Making a Blog

Direction:Sight on the YouTube. Choose one on the following: local museums, historical
shrines , cultural performances, indigenous practices, religious rites and rituals of your
own place and make a blog. Send it to my messenger.

Assessment : Brochure Making

Direction: Display your ability to work in a team in promoting and preserving your own
local history. Grouping of student by town.Send your work on my personal messenger.

Making A Brochure : Rubric

CATEGORY 4 3 2 1 X2
Graphics/Pictures Graphics go well Graphics go well Graphics go well Graphics do not go
with the text and with the text, but with the text, but with the
there is a good mix there are so many there are too few accompanying text
of text and that they distract and the brochure or appear to be
graphics. from the text. seems "text- randomly chosen.
heavy".

Attractiveness & The brochure has The brochure has The brochure has The brochure's
Organization exceptionally attractive well-organized formatting and
attractive formatting and information. organization of
formatting and well-organized material are
well-organized information. confusing to the
information. reader.

98
Content - Accuracy All facts in the 99-90% of the 89-80% of the Fewer than 80% of
brochure are facts in the facts in the the facts in the
accurate. brochure are brochure are brochure are
accurate. accurate. accurate.

Graphics/Pictures Graphics go well Graphics go well Graphics go well Graphics do not go

with the text and with the text, but with the text, but with the
there is a good mix there are so many there are too few accompanying text
of text and that they distract and the brochure or appear to be
graphics. from the text. seems "text- randomly chosen.
heavy".

Sources Careful and Careful and Careful and Sources are not
accurate records accurate records accurate records documented
are kept to are kept to are kept to accurately or are
document the document the document the not kept on many
source of 95-100% source of 94-85% source of 84-75% facts and graphics.
of the facts and of the facts and of the facts and
graphics in the graphics in the graphics in the
brochure. brochure. brochure.
Spelling & No spelling errors No more than 1 No more than 3 Several spelling
Proofreading remain after one spelling error spelling errors errors in the
person other than remains after one remain after one brochure.
the typist reads person other than person other than
and corrects the the typist reads the typist reads
brochure. and corrects the and corrects the
brochure. brochure.

99
 REFERENCES
BOOKS
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▪ Agoncillo, Teodoro, The Revolt of the Masses: The story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan.
▪ Aguinaldo, Emilio. (1964). MgaGunita ng Himagsikan. Manila: C.A. Suntay.
▪ Alvarez, Santiago. (1998). Katipunan and the Revolution: Memoirs of a General. Lungsod
Quezon: Ateneo de Manila University Press.
▪ Corpuz, Onofre. (1989). The Roots of the Filipino Nation.
▪ Nolledo, Jose. (1999). Principles of Agrarian Reform, Cooperatives and Taxation.
LungsodMandaluyong: National Book Store.
▪ Blair, Emma Helen and James Alexander Robertson (1961). The Philippine Islands; 1493-
1898.MandaluyongCachosHermanos Inc.
▪ Blount, James. (1968). The American Occupation of the
Philippines, 1898-1912. Lungsod Quezon: Malaya Books
Inc.
▪ Cavanna, Jesus Ma. The Unfading Glory: Documentary History of the Conversion of Jose
Rizal. [s.n.].
▪ Constantino, Renato. (1975). The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Quezon City: Renato
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▪ Constantino, Renato and Letizia Constantino. (1978). The Philippines: The Continuing
Past. Quezon City: The Foundation for Nationalist Studies.
▪ Del Pilar, Marcelo (1957). Monastic Supremacy in the Philippines. Manila: Philippine
Historical Association.
▪ Fernandez, Pablo. (1979). History of the Church in the Philippines, 1521-1898. Manila:
National Book Store, 1979.
▪ Forbes, William Cameron.(1928). The Philippine Islands.Vol.2. New
YorkHoughton.Mifflin
▪ Fox, Robert. (1970). TheTabon Caves. Manila: National Museum.
▪ Friend Theodore. (1965). Between Two Empires: The Ordeal of the Philippines, 1929-
1946. New Haven: Yale University Press.
▪ GalangZoilo. (1950). Encuclopedia of the Philippines, Vol. 17. Manila: E. Floro.
▪ Garcia, Mauro ed. (1969). Aguinaldo in Retrospect. Manila: Philippine Historical
Association.
▪ _____________. (1979). Readings in Philippine Prehistory. Manila: Filipiniana Book
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▪ Gottschalk, Louis. (1969). Understanding History: A Primer of Historical Method. New
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▪ Hontiveros, Greg. (2008). A Fire on the Island: A fresh look at the First Mass Controversy.
Butuan City: Butuan City Historical and Cultural Foundation, Inc.
▪ Howell, Martha and Walter Prevenier. (2001). From Reliable Source: An Introduction to
Historical Methods. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
▪ Karnow, Stanley. (1989). In our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines. New York:
Random House.
▪ Laurel, Jose P. (1962). War Memoirs of Jose P. Laurel. Manila: Jose P. Laurel Memorial
Foundation.
▪ McCoy, Alfred and Alfredo Roces. (1985). Philippine Cartoons: Political
Caricature of the American Era. 1900-1941. Lungsod Quezon: Vera Reyes,
Inc.
▪ Majul, Cesar Adib. (1973). Muslims in the Philippines. Quezon City: University of the
Philippines Press.
▪ Pascual, Ricard. (1950). Rizal Beyond the Grave: A Reiteration of the Greatness of the
Martyr of Bagumbayan. Manila: Luzon Publisher.

100
 ▪ Pigafetta, Antonio. (1969). First Voyage Around the World. Manila: Filipiniana Book
Guild.
▪ Querol, Mariano. (1974). Land Reform in Asia. Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House.
▪ Ricarte, Artemio. (1992). Memoirs of General ArtemioRicarte. Manila: National Historical
Institute.
▪ Richardson, Jim. (2013). The Light of Liberty: Documents and Studies on the Katipunan,
1892-1897. Lungsod Quezon: Ateneo de Manila Press.
▪ Salamanca, Bonifacio. (1968). The Filipinos Reaction to American Rule, 1901-1913.
Quezon City: New Day Publishers.
▪ SaleebyNajeeb. (1976). Studies in Moro History, Laws and Religion. Manila:
Filipiniana Book Guild.
▪ Scheurs, Peter. (2000). The Location of Pigafetta’sMazaua, Butuan and Calagan, 1521-
1571. Manila: Manila: National Historical Institute.
▪ Schumacher, John. (1992). Readings in Philippine Church History. Quezon City: Ateneo
de Manila University Press.
▪ Scott, William Henry. (1984). Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine
History.
▪ Stanley, Peter. (1974). A Nation in the Making: The Philippines and the United States,
1899-1912. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
▪ Taylor, John R.M. (1971). The Philippine Insurrection Against the United States. Vol. 1.
Pasay City: Eugenio Lopez Foundation.
▪ Tuazon Bobby and Oscar Evangelista. (2008). The Moro Reader: History and
Contemporary Struggles of the Bangsamoro People. Lungsod Quezon: CenPeg
Publications.
▪ Zaide, Gregorio and Sonia Zaide. (1990). Documentary Sources of Philippine History. 12
volc. Manila: National Book Store.

INTERNET SITES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLE-5ElGlPM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7SsZSVlb5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCxTDXM_U9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__o7rrLD32s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGNx0IlmKVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxsdwC0ATgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1og03RKuhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pup5eVSbGkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96aHP18DpkE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFKNNvAgZ5g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-VT_-n7NHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvmin4VK3m4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2_IyVbGE2Q
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315678206_Selected_sections_and_cartoons_fr
om_'Philippine_Cartoons_Political_Caricature_of_the_American_Era_1900-
1941'_edited_by_Alfred_W_McCoy_and_Alfredo_R_Roces_1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZnnvbKyNCQ or
http://www-rohansdsu.edu/dept/polsciwb/brianldocs/1934PhilippineIndep.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDxaIWo1DM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZphT11cgg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsncTQjuQVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX7ZBiQNqXg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQPBmNih434
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOg_kSL3o5I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CwmcUCwuv8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzG6tbcYxk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh7oowrwvJQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S67peLFcIg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWY9GAeYLYo

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7h2CyUGHbE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCt86HAORiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNRljIn3QUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Ti2J1HU9c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt92RlQNwp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30hCuQTAe5E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oqcnmrie1tA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ZDY9kPF0c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c54NqfxiWh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qroFR4jG8MM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag8cqRVIs4o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boRXVpPxKf4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhKyuw9cm5A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JlbyP3irNY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nAO1WF2x00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c5uvMftJY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3d2rULZXWQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vuu-xe9JnM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gepgWYnjU9I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm7okrksbGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwQue9_KMB4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4wma27plQs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvWYW0i0Dfc

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