POLICIES DURING SPANISH ERA

1. REDUCCION
 “Contraction” or to lessen
 A law outlined and drafted by King Philip II
 King Philip ordered that each city should have at least one (1) church which will serve as the city’s
center
 Spaniard gathered natives or indigenous people in a specific area to make a new city or town
o They did this to fasten the conversion of Christianity in the country and to have them
recorded
o Not all natives were in favor of relocating, they instead ran into the mountains and hills—
these people were then called REMONTADOS— and they remained as muslims or natives.
 Inside the church, there is a bell (kampana) that will be rung as a sign of starting the day and/or
whenever there is an important announcement.

2. ENCOMIENDA
 “Trustee”
 It is a favor granted by the King to a Spanish official
 It can also be a pie of land granted by the king to the Spanish official who colonized the area
 The Spanish official will then be called ENCOMENDERO after being granted favor by the king
o They will take over or take in charge of the farm and will get a portion of the harvest
o Encomenderos has to do the ff:
 Ensure the safety of the people and be their protector in case of an attack
 Spread Christianity
 Act as the leader of the place
 Town leaders are required to pay tributes to the encomenderos in the form of food, cloth, minerals,
and laborers who will do services for them like farming, protection, etc.
 3 TYPES OF ENCOMIENDA
1. Royal Encomienda – all tributes collected will be given to the KING
2. Ecclesiastical Encomienda - all tributes collected will be given to the CHURCH
3. Private Encomienda - all tributes collected will be given to PRIVATE
INDIVIDUALS who are appointed by the king through an agreement or are influential
people
 These private individuals are still required to give tributes

 Encomenderos collected more taxes than required

 Farmers are punished for not paying taxes
 There are instances that they will take all the harvest and leave nothing to the farmers

3. TAXATION
 There are 4 kinds of taxation in the Philippines during the Spanish Era
 Different kinds but same purpose = to collect
a. TRIBUTO – people from 18 to 60 years old are required to pay tribute of 8 reales (1 peso) per year
 Not everyone is capable to pay 8 reales per year, thus, other form of payments were accepted:
gold, livestock, textile (rubber), cotton, rice but should still be equal to 8 reales
 If not satisfied, they will be subjected to labor
 Tributo is then replaces by CEDULA in 1884
 Cedula served as a proof that you are a (good) tax payer
 It also served as an early form of birth certificate; to keep track of people in their
vicinity since it includes all details about a person such as their name, bday, etc.
 b. DIEZMOS PREDUALES / TITHES – it is collected in churches
 10% or 1/10 of the produce of one’s land will be given to Spanish officials per harvest

c. DONATIVO DE ZAMBOANGA – taxes are collected only from cities or places in Mindanao
 ½ of reales or rice was collected

d. VINTA – tax collected to fund the construction of vintas

 Vintas are used for protection and security of coastal areas from the attacks of Muslim pirates

4. POLO Y SERVICIOS
 “Free labor” in theory ; out of free will (pwede tumanggi)
 The King of Spain set out rules that should be followed by the Spanish officials, however, die to abuse
of power and corruption, free labor became force labor
 Laborers must render 40 days of serve per year
 They are then paid ¼ reales for their service rendered
 Workers are called POLISTAS

THREE OBLIGATIONS / TYPES OF WORKS OF POLISTAS

1. Construction of buildings  Only Filipino males from 18 to 60 years old

2. Construction of churches can work
3. Cutting of trees to make logs  However, both male and female will still pay
taxes

RULES OF POLO Y SERVICIOS BY KING PHILIP

1. The Filipinos to be drafted for work must be paid (for the service they render )
2. The Filipino laborers should not be made to work in distant places where they could not return to their families
3. The drafting of laborers should not coincide with the planting and harvesting season
 Plant and harvest should be prioritized because a portion of it will go to Spanish officials
 Filo laborers should be free from any obligations before rendering service for polo
4. Men who are physically incapable should not be drafted for work
5. Force labor should be resorted to only in cases of absolute necessity
 Such as when calamity happened
6. The number of laborers drafted should diminish as soon as laborers from other countries have volunteer to work

EXCEPTION TO POLO Y SERVICIOS

 FALLA – amount to be paid to be exempted from polo

o One and a half (1 ½) reales

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF POLO Y SERVICIOS

1. Separation from families of the workers since they are placed in distant places
2. Relocation – they built settlement outside the jurisdiction of their certain cities and they became susceptible to
pirate attacks and terrorists
3. Decrease in male population due to overwork, fatigue, and etc. since it is concentrated in Filipino male
population