C.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE

PHILIPPINES IN TRANSITION

The pre-Spanish government.

(1) Unit of government. ·-· Prior to the arriv ~Il of the Spaniards, the Philippines was compolSed of
settlements or villag~!S, each called barangay (consisting of more or less 100 families j, named after
balangay, a Malayan word meaning "boat" (thereby confirming the theory that the early Filipinos
came to the Philippines in boats). Eve1·y barang~y was virtually a state, for it possessed the four
basic elements of statehood. At times, however, some barangays joined together as
"confederations" mainly for the purpose of mutual protection against common enemies.

(2)Datu. -- Each barangay was ruled by a chief called datu in some places, and rajah, sultan or
hadji in ot.lwrs. He wn::; its c hit~ f executive, lawgiver, chief judge, and military head. In the
performance of his duties, however, he was assisted usually by a council of e lders (maginoos)
which served as his advisers. One could be a datu chiefly by inheritance, wisdom,
wealth, or physical prowess. In form, the barang-ay wHs a monarchy with the d<•ht as the monarch.

(3) Social classes i11 the ba.rangay. ---The people of the barangay were divided into four classes,
namely: the nobility (maharlika), to which the datu belonged, the freemen (tima.wa), the serfs
(a/iping namamahay), and the sloves (aliping sagigilid).

(4) Early laws. -·The early Filipinos had both written and mnvritten laws. The written lawl3 were
promulgated by th(: <latus. The two known written codos in the prt:> -Spanish era are the
"!vlaragtaH CodE'" which was said to h ave been written about 1250 A.D. by Datu Sumakwel of
Panay, and the "Kalantiaw Code" written in 1433 A.D. by Datu Kalantiaw. also of Panay. The
unwritten laws consisted of customs and traditions wVc:'h had been passed down from
generation to gen~ration. !

(5) Comparison wWt other ancient govermnrnts. -- It can be said that the laws of the barangay
wt~re generally fair. The system of.government, although defective was not so bad considering
thl:! conditions in other lands in the age during which it flourished. An eminent s cholar has
written: "The Filipino people, l:!ven in the prehistoric times h ad a lready shown high intelligence
and moral virtues; virtues and intelligence clearly manifested in their legislation, which , taking
into consider atiori the circumstances and the epoch in wh ich it was framed, was clearly as wi~e,
as prudent, and as humane. as that of t he nations then at the head of civilization."21
Government during the Spanish period.

Spain's title to the Philippines. - It was based on the discovery made by Ferdinand MagQJlan in
1521, consummated by its conquest by ~1iguel Lopez de L£gazpi forty-five years later and long
possession for almost four centuries, until it was terminated in 1898, when by the Treaty of Paris,
the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the U nit~d States.

Spanish colonial government. -- From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was indirectly governed by
the King of Spain through .Mexico. From 1821, when Mexico obtained her independence from
Spain, to 1898, the Philippines was ruled directly from Spain. The council in Spain responsible
for t he adminietration of the Philippines was the Council of the Indies. In 1837, it was abolished
and legislation for the Philippines was temporarily performed by the Council of Ministers. From
1863, the Ministry ofUltramar (colonies) exercised general powers of supervision over Philippine
affairs. Three times during the Spanish period (1810 -1813, 1820-1823, and
1836-1837), the Philippines was given representation in the Spanish Cortes, the legislative body
of Spain. A basic principle introduced by Spain to the Philippines was the union of the church and
the state.
Government in the Philippines unitary. - The government which Spain established in the
Philippines was centralized in structure and national in scope. The barangays were consolidated
into towns (pueblos) each headed by agobernadorcillo (little governor), popularly called capitan,
and the towns into provinces, each headed by a governor who represented the Governor General
in the province. Cities governed under special charters were also created. Each of these
cities had an ayuntamiento or cabildo (city council). Cebu was the first city to be established in
1565 in the Philippines. The second was Manila , in 1571.

The Governor-General. -The powers of the government were actually exercised by the Governor-
General who resided in Manila. He was "Governor-General," "Captain General," and "vice-royal
patron." As Governor- General, he had executive, administrative, legislative, and judicial
powers. As Captain-General, he was Commander-in-C hief of all the Armed Forces in the
Philippines. As the vice-royal patron, he exercised certain religious powers. Because of these broad
powers, it h <l~ been said that the Governor General enjoyed more powers than the King of Spain
himself. Thi~:; was justified, however, because of the distance of the Philippines from
Spain.
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