POLITICAL

DEVELOPMENT
OF THE
PHILIPPINE
GOVERNMENT

The Pre-Spanish
Government of
the Philippines

THE PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES

THE PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the

Philippines was composed of settlements

or villages, each called barangay, named
after balangay, a Malayan word meaning
boat.

THE PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
Every barangay 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.

THE PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
DATU
Each barangay was ruled by a chief called

datu in some places, and rajah, sultan or

hadji in others. He was its chief executive,
law giver, chief judge, and military head. In
the performance of his duties, however, he
was assisted usually by a council of elders
(maginoos) which served as his
advertisers. In form, the barangay was
monarchy with the wealth, or physical

THE PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
SOCIAL CLASSES IN THE
BARANGAY
The people of the barangay were divided

into four classes, namely: the nobility

(maharlika), to which the datu belonged,
the freemen (timawa), the serfs (aliping
namamhay), and the slaves (aliping
sagigilid).

THE PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
EARLY LAWS
The early Filipinos had both written and

unwritten laws. The written laws were

promulgated by the datus. The two known
written codes in the pre-Spanish era are
the Maragtas Code which was said to
have 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 PRE-SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
OF THE PHILIPPINES
COMPARISON WITH OTHER ANCIENT
GOVERNMENTS

It can be said that the laws of the

barangay were generally fair. The system

of government, although defective was not
so bad considering the conditions in other
lands in the age during which it flourished.

Philippines
During
the Spanish
Period :
Its Government
and Ruler

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
SPAINS TITLE TO THE PHILIPPINES
It was based on the discovery made by

Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, consummated

by its conquest by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi
45 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 United States.

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
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.

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT
From 1863, the military of Ultramar

(colonies) exercised general powers of

supervision over Philippine affairs. Three
times during the Spanish period (18101813, 1820-1823, and 1836-1837), the
Philippines was given representation in the
Spanish cortes, the legislative body of
Spain.

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE
UNITARY
The government which Spain established
in the Philippines was centralized in
structure and national in scope. The
barangays were consolidated into towns
each headed by a GOBERNADORCILLO,
popularly called capitan, and the towns
into provinces, each headed by a governor
who represented the Governor General in
the province.

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
The power of the government were

actually exercised by the Governor-General

who resided in Manila. He was GovernorGeneral Captain-General, and viceroyal patron. As Governor-General, he had
executive, administrative, legislative and
judicial powers.

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
As Captain-General, he was Commander-

in-Chief of all the Armed Forces in the

Philippines. As the vice-royal patron, he
exercised certain religious powers.
Because of these broad powers, it has
been said that the Governor General
enjoyed more powers than the King of
Spain himself. This was justified, however,
because of the distance of the Philippines

PHILIPPINES DURING
THE SPANISH PERIOD
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL
In the administration of the Philippines, the

Governor-General was assisted by many

boards and officers, particularly the Board
of Authorities and the Council of
Administration.

Philippines
Revolutionary Era:
Governments and
Republics of that
Period

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE KATIPUNAN GOVERNMENT
The Katipunan was secret society that

precipitated our glorious revolution on

August 26, 1896. It was organized by
Andres Bonifacio. Thecentral government
of the Katipunan was vested in a Supreme
Council (Kataastaasang Sanggunian). In
each province there was a Provincial
Council (Sangguniang Balangay) and in
each town, a Popular Council (Sanggunian

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE KATIPUNAN GOVERNMENT
The Judicial Power was exercised by a

Judicial Council (Sangguniang Hukuman).

The Katipunan was replaced by another
government whose officials headed by
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as President, were
elected in the Tejeros Convention held on
March 22, 1897.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE BIAK NA BATO REPUBLIC
On November 1, 1897, a republic was

established by Gen. Aguinaldo in Biak-naBato (now San Miguel de Mayumo,

Bulacan). It had a constitution which was
to take effect for two years only.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE BIAK NA BATO REPUBLIC
. It declared that the aim of the revolutions

was the separation of the Philippines from

the Spanish monarchy and their formation
into an independence state. The Biak-naBato Republic lasted up to December 15,
1897, with conclusion of the Pact of Biakna-Bato.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE DICTATORIAL GOVERNMENT
Following the outbreak of the Spanish-

American war on April 25, 1898, Gen.

Aguinaldo in view of the chaotic conditions
in the country, established the Dictatorial
Government on May 24, 1898.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE DICTATORIAL GOVERNMENT
The most important achievements of the

Dictatorial Government were the

Proclamation of the Philippine
Independence at Kawit on June 12, 1898
and the reorganization of local
governments.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE REVOLUTIONARY
GOVERNMENT
In the administration of the Philippines, the

Governor-General was assisted by many

boards and officers, particularly the Board
of Authorities and the Council of
Administration.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE REVOLUTIONARY
GOVERNMENT
On June 23, 1898, Gen. Aguinaldo

established the Revolutionary Government

replacing the Dictatorial Government.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE REVOLUTIONARY
GOVERNMENT
The decree-making such change stated

that the aims of the new government were

struggle for the independence of the
Philippines, until all nations including Spain
will expressly recognize it, and to
prepare the country for the establishment
of a real Republic.

Governments of
the Philippines
during the
American
Occupation

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT
The American military rule in the

Philippines began on April 4, 1898, the day

after the capture of Manila. The existence
of was gave the President of the United
States the power to establish a Military
Government in the Philippines, as
Commander-in-Chief of all Armed Forces of
the United States.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT
His authoritywas delegated to the military

governor who exercised as long as the war

lasted, all powers of government
executive, legislative and judicial.
The first American Military Governor was
General Wesley Merritt, the second was
General Elwell E. Otis, and the third and
last was Major General Arthur MacArthur.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT
Pursuant to the so-called Spooner

Amendment (on the army appropriation act

passed in the US Congress on March 3,
1901) which ended the military regime in
the Philippines, the Civil Government was
inaugurated in Manila on July 4, 1901.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT
The Civil Governor whose positions was

created on October 29, 1901. The Civil

Governor, also exercised legislative
powers. He remained as President of the
Philippine Comission, the sole law-making
body of the government from 1901 to
1907.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT
From 1907 to 1916, the Philippine

Commission acted as the upper house of

the legislative branch with the Philippine
Assembly serving as the lower house. With
the passage of the Spooner Law in 1916,
these two bodies gave way to the
Philippine Legislature. The Philippines was
represented in the United States by two
Resident Commissioners who were elected

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES

The next stage in the political

development of the Filipinos was the

establishment of the Commonwealth
Government of the Philippines pursuant to
an act of the United States Congress on
March 24, 1934, commonly known was the
Tydings-McDuffie Law.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES

Among other things, the law provided for a

transition period of ten years during which

the Philippines Commonwealth would
operate and at the expiration of said period
on July 4, 1896, the independence of the
Philippines would be proclaimed and
established.

Philippines' Revolutionary Era:

Governments and Republics of
that Period
COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES

The new government of the

Commonwealth of the Philippines, deemed

successor to the Government of the
Philippine Islands, was inaugurated on
November 15, 1935, following the first
national election under the 1935
Constitution held on September 12, 1935,
with Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmea,

Governments of the
Philippines During
the Japanese
Occupation
of the Philippines

Governments of the Philippines

during
the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines

Governments of the Philippines

during
the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines
THE JAPANESE MILITARY
ADMINISTRATION

It was established in Manila on January 3,

1942, one day after its occupation. Under a

proclamation issued by the Japanese High
Command, the sovereignty of United
States over the Philippines was declared
terminated.

Governments of the Philippines

during
the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines
THE PHILIPPINE EXECUTIVE COMMISSION

A Civil government known as the

Philippine Executive Commission

composed of Filipinos with Jorge B. Vargas
as Chairman, was organized by the military
forces of occupation. The commission
exercised both the executive and
legislative powers.

Governments of the Philippines

during
the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines
THE PHILIPPINE EXECUTIVE COMMISSION

The laws enacted were, however, subject

to the approval of the Commander-in-Chief

of the Japanese Forces. The Judiciary
continued in the same form as it was under
the Commonwealth. However, it functioned
without the independence which it had
traditionally enjoyed.

Governments of the Philippines

during
the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines
JAPANESE-SPONSORED REPUBLIC OF
THE PHILIPPINES

On October 14, 1943, the so-called

Japanese-sponsored Republic of the

Philippines was inaugurated with Jose P.
Laurel as President. It was the same
character as the Philippine Executive
Commission.

Governments of the Philippines

during
the Japanese Occupation of the
Philippines
JAPANESE-SPONSORED REPUBLIC OF
THE PHILIPPINES

Like the latter, the ultimate source of its

authority was the Japanese military

authority and government, on August 17,
1945. President Laurel proclaimed the
dissolution of the Republic.

REFERENCES:
WEBSITE
http://
aboutfilipino.com/government-of-the-philippines
-during-the-spanish-era

Thank you

JReyes/JBernadino