Politics and Governance in

Spanish Colonial Philippines

Breakdown of Topics

Administrative Issues

Modern Concept of Good Governance

The Rule of Law v. Rule of Men

Checks and Balances

Union of Church and State

The Education System

Remedies by the Spanish Government

The Modern Concept of Public Office

Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must, at

all times, be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost
responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and
justice, and lead modest lives. Art XI, Sec. 1, 1987 Phl. Constitution.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people. -A.

Lincoln

Colonial Concept

Filipinos were not a people to be served, but were instead as savages to

be kept in check and maintained on a leash.

PROBLEM: The philosophy of public service that held little to no concept

of accountability, coupled with the racism of Spanish officials made sure
that Filipinos of the time had dismal living conditions. Because to a
Spanish official, They were only savages, a little less than human, a
little more than an animal.

The Rule of Man v. The Rule of Law

There was no black and white upon which the people could base their
complaints.

There were no tax rates fixed by law.

Taxation was arbitrary.

There were no minimum qualifications prescribed for public officials.

People made use of the compadrazgo system in order to gain public office.

Political incompetents and undesirables in public office.

There were no fixed term limits and salaries.

It was only in 1844 that Spanish Government issued a decree fixing more
reasonable rate of compensation for government officials and also
qualifications for public officials.

The Injustice to Little Pepe

When Jose Pepe Rizal was a young boy, his brother and mother were
accused of attempting to poison his brother's adulterous wife. Civil
authorities intimidate Pepes mother, Teodora, into confessing, to the
crime and was promised she and her son would be released and remain
unharmed. After the confession, however, the Doa and her son were
incarcerated and all appeals were ignored. Rizals mother languished in
prison for 2yrs for a crime she did not commit. However, when the
Governor-General visited Calamba, he was so enthralled by Soledads
(Pepes younger sister) dance at gathering that he told the little girl that
he would give her anything that she wanted. The four year old asked
that her mother be released from prison, a wish that the GovernorGeneral immediately granted without a second thought.

A System of Checks and Balances (or

the lack thereof):

The Present System: The Separation of Powers

The Congress (Legislative) has the power to keep an abusive president by controlling his budget
(The Power of the Purse) and:
Impeach erring public officials
Confirm qualifications of Presidential Appointees.

The Executive, headed by the President, who implements the law (The Power of the Sword) can
choose to refuse implementing a law passed by Congress by refusing to give his assent/signature.

The Supreme Court (Judiciary) has the Power of Pen, to strike down either the Executive, the
Legislative, or both, when they are remiss of their duties according to the Constitution.

Administrative Considerations:

No laws providing for a right to an appeal.

No law provided for free legal representation.

Appellate authorities were sometimes in Spain.

The Visitador and Residencia System

The Visitador was an official task to pay regular visits to the territories
administered by provincial governors.

The Residencia was an official tasked with investigating an outgoing

official for the reports and accounts of their services during their tenure.

The fact that the decisions, along with the corresponding punishments,
of these officials were not subject to the review of a higher impartial
judicial authority made it highly probable that there was a grave abuse
of discretion amounting to a lack or excess of jurisdiction on their part.

Human Rights? (P***** Ina)

A Bill of Rights or any form of Magna Carta usually guarantees rights

afforded to the people against the Government. No such civil, political,
or economic rights (human rights) were afforded to Filipinos during the
Spanish Colonial Era.

The Union of Church and State

The Non-Separation of Church and State often proved to be problematic. State

and Church interest often clashed leading to friction between civil and spiritual
authorities.

There was often an overlap between the functions of the friars and the civil
authorities.

Frialocracia- literally meaning rule of the friars arose during the height of
political instability in Spain.

From 1849-1898 about 45 Governor-Generals were sent to the Philippines, with one
often being replaced before he could develop a solid grip on the reins of power in the
archipelago. Civil Authorities from Spain were often seen as the representatives of an
unstable central government, while the friars became knowledgeable of the
conditions of the island. The more or less stable domicile of the friars in the island
made them more formidable political players than the governor general who simply
came and went.

The Colonial Education System

For the first 300 years of Spanish Colonial Rule there was no government intervention in
Education.

Religious Institutions opened on their own accord and were free to prescribe their own
curricula and to set the qualifications of their teachers.

Most schools were run by religious communities.

Fear of God and Obedience to the Church was emphasized over academic freedom and free thought.

The emphasis at the time was education through memorization rather than education and
innovation. The intellectual stagnation lead to men of prominent families such as Rizal and the
Brothers Juan and Antonio Luna to seek schooling in Europe.

Only the Pontificia et Regalis Sancti Thomae Aquinatis Universitas Manilana, today known as
the University of Santo Tomas was the only University-level school in the entire archipelago
at that time. By Royal Decree of Queen Isabel II in 1865, the UST was declared the de facto
Department of Education of the time, placing all higher institutions of learning so affiliated
under its jurisdiction- and not surprisingly, under the jurisdiction of the Order of Preachers
which administered the University.

Teacher discrimination against Filipinos was prevalent at the time,

and it was only the Ateneo de Manila run by the Jesuits which had a
renowned reputation for treating all her students, whether Spaard,
Mestizo, or Indio, equally.

By the end of the Spanish Colonial Era, only the Collegio de San Juan de
Letran and the Ateneo de Manila had been offering secondary education
in the entire country.

Even with the remedies adopted by the Spanish Government, American

Authorities found once Spain had ceded the islands, that the population
had a teacher student ratio of approximately 1:4800. And even then, the
implementation of the Spanish education decrees had not been taken
seriously, making the figure much more dismal.

Remedies by the Spanish

Government:

The Education Decree of 1863

Required that each major town was to establish at least one primary school
for boys and another for girls, birthing a public education system. It sought to
establish government supervision over education. It also required that
Spanish be the medium of instruction.

Civil Authorities failed to take the decree seriously, and even upon full
implementation it was approximated that the teacher student ratio would only
be approximately 1:4000. Also, in connivance with Church Authorities,
Spanish was not used as the medium of instruction in order to keep the
Filipinos meek by reason of their perceived intellectual inferiority.

The Moret Decree of 1870

Intended to secularize higher education in the Philippines.

Remedies by the Spanish

Government:

Representation in the Spanish Cortes

In 1809 it was decreed that the Philippines should have representation in the
Spanish Cortes.

It was short lived, because in 1837 when Constitutional Government was

established, and the fury in the Latin colonies had begun to die down, there
was no longer a need for colonial representation in the Cortes.

FIN

Espaa Guiando a Filipinas

Juan Luna