Philippines in Rizal’s Time

Introduction

Condition of the Philippines in Rizal’s Time?

•Overview of the Spanish Slavery

•Spanish Colonial System in the Philippines

•Evils of the Spanish Colonial System

Trixie Mae Cabreros•Political System

•Instability of Colonial Administration•Corrupt Spanish Officialdom

Janine Docoy•Social System•Racial Discrimination•Overview of Spanish Slavery•Maladministration of Justice

Xyraine Mae Superlativo•Encomienda System

•Tribute•Hacienda Owned by Friars•Guardia Civil

Kathleen Malazarte•Phil. Rep. in Spanish Cortes

•Human Rights Denied to Filipinos•No Equality Before the Law

Sheryl Maratas•Frailocracy

•Force Labor•Bandala•Divide and Rule

Political System

The Spanish Colonial System in the Philippines

Ministro de Ultramar (Ministry of Colonies)

•This body helped the Spanish monarch in governing the colonies•This body exercised legislative, executive, judicial and religious powers.

Governor- General

•was the representative of the Spanish King in the Philippines•exercised the power of the monarch•did NOT possess absolute and independent power.

He had the following powers in his hand:

1.State Power2.Power over religious matters, such as finances and appointment of priests in some ecclesiastical positions3.Power to issue executive orders and proclamations4.Power to act as the commander in chief of the armed forces of the Philippines5.Power over all financial matters6.Power over all the affairs in the Philippines7.Power to supervise and discipline, which gave him opportunity to play favoritism.

The Agencies that checked the Governor-General

The Royal AudienciaSupreme Court in Spain. It possessed judicial, legislative and executive powers.

The ResidenciaJudicial body purpose was to uncover the corruption of the Spanish Officials some of them were convicted on the charge of enriching themselves through such means as encomienda.

The VisitaWas an investigating agency.

Visitador – investigating officerWas to investigate the conditions of the country and the works of the governor general and other Spanish officials.

Instability of Colonial

Administration

Instability of colonial administration

The turbulent Reign King Ferdinand VII (1808-1833) marked the beginning of political chaos in Spain.

From 1834-1862, Spain had adopted four constitutions, elected 28 parliaments, and installed not less than 529 ministers with portfolios; followed in subsequent years by party strifes, revolutions, and other political upheavals.

The political instability in Spain affected Philippine Affairs because it brought about frequent periodic shifts in colonial policies.

Spain’s political instability resulted to the loss of many of her colonies in the America’s.

Central Government in Manila

Headed by the governor general, was the provincial governmentThe known provinces were called alcaldias, headed by alcalde mayor(civil governor)The unknown provinces were called corregimientos, headed by a coregidor, usually, an army officer.

City/ Municipal Government/ Ayuntamiento

Headed by two alcaldes in ordinario(mayor and vice mayor)Chief Judge of a town – gobernadorcillo (capitan)The smallest unit of government was the barangay(cabeza de barangay – to collect taxes)

Guardia CivilHeaded by an alferez helped the cabeza de barangayin maintaining peace and order.

Spain changed its policies in the Philippines and made periodic replacements of Spanish officials. These frequent changes of the administration in the Philippines hampered down the economic and political conditions of the country.

Philippine economy and politics grew from bad to worse at that time.

Corrupt Spanish Officialdom

Corrupt Spanish Officialdom

Corrupt Officialdom was another evil of the Spanish Colonial System.General Rafael de Izquierdo (1871-73) - was a ruthless governor general, aroused the anger of the Filipinos by executing Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora. (GOMBURZA) Martyrs of 1872.

Admiral Jose Malcampo (1874-77) - was a good Moro fighter, but was an inept and weak administrator.

General Fernando Primo de Rivera (1880-83) and (1897-98) – enriched himself by accepting bribes from gambling casinos in Manila which he operated.

General Valeriano Weyler (1888-91) - was a cruel and corrupt governor general. He arrived in Manila a poor man and returned to Spain a millionaire by receiving huge bribes from wealthy Chinese who evaded the anti – Chinese law.Filipinos called him “tyrant” because of his persecution of the family of Rizal in Calamba.

General Camilo de Polavieja (1896-97) - was an able militarist but a heartless governor general, responsible for Rizal’s execution.And as early as 1810, some Spaniard, barbers, and lackeys, were appointed provincial governors and soldiers and district magistrates.

Social System

The Social System Feudalism was the social structure in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.The structure of the Philippine society was pyramidal. And this is consists of three layers: Topmost layer- Spanish officials, the PENINSULARES Middle Layer- few favored Filipinos, the MESTIZOS and

CREOLLOS (those Spaniards born in America) 

Lowest Layer- INDIOS (the lowest kind)  

EncomiendaSystem

Encomienda System

-this is a system where Spanish monarch granted lands to certain individuals who had rendered great services to Spain. And this individual could take care a certain territory in the conquered lands.

-came from the word “encomendar” which means to commend or entrust to one’s care.

-the person in-charge was called “encomendero”.

Rights of encomendero vested by Spanish Crown:

•the right to collect tributes.•the right to use the personal services of the inhabitants.•required to protect the people and to give them some education.

 -greed and cruelty mainly filled up the encomienda system.

-proof given by Antonio de Morga:

“They employ the Indians in building houses and large vessels, grinding rice, cutting woods, and carrying it all to their houses and to Manila and then pay them little or nothing at all for their labor.”

Tribute

TRIBUTE

•Filipinos before paid tribute as a symbol of servitude to Spain.

•it consisted of eight(8) reales <one peso>, payable in kind or money.

•in 1851, the tribute was increased to twelve reales. But in 1884, the cedula replaced the reales. The Filipinos hated the tribute for two reasons:

•It reminded them of their bondage to Spain, and•it spawned Spanish abuses.

Philippine Representation in

Spanish Cortes

1810-1813Philippine experience her first period of

representation in the Cortes

Ventura delos Reyes•Took active part in framing of the Constitution of 1812•Abolition of the Galleon trade

(1820- 23) and (1834- 37)Less fruitful because the Philippines delegate were

not as energetic and devoted in parliamentary work as Delos Reyes

1837Philippines Representation was abolished

Garciano Lopez JaenaOne of the patriots who pleaded the restoration of

the Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes but plea only ended in deaf ears

Human Rights Denied to Filipinos

People of Spain enjoyed

•Freedom of Speech•Freedom of the Press•Freedom of Assembly

The Spanish authorities who cherished these human rights or constitutional liberties in Spain denied them to the Filipinos in Asia.

No Equality Before the Law

Spanish missionaries in 16th Century taught that all men, irrespective of color and race are children of God and as such they are brothers, equal before God.

Spanish colonial authorities arrogantly the brown-skinned Filipinos as inferior beings, not their Christian brothers to be protected but rather as their majesty’s subjects to be exploited. Leyes de Indian (Laws of the Indies)

•Promulgated by the Christian monarch’s of Spain

•To protect the rights of natives in Spain’s overseas colonies to promote their welfare

•But it wasn’t implemented by the officials

•Filipinos were abused, brutalized, persecuted and slander by their Spanish maters.

The Spanish Penal Code

•Enforced in the Philippines

•Imposed heavier native Filipinos or Mestizos

•Lighter penalties on white-complexioned Spaniards.

Racial Discrimination

Racial Discrimination Filipinos were regarded as INFERIOR BEINGS. Racial prejudice is rampant in the Philippines especially in the offices, military, social gatherings and in schools. Man’s merit was BASED on the COLOR OF THE SKIN, HAIR, the Shape Of The Nose and of the HEAD. Fr. Jose Burgos lamented the racial discrimination due by the Spaniards to the Filipinos.

Overview of Spanish Slavery

Overview of the Spanish Slavery  The 16th century Spain made it a custom to hold a non-Christian slave.The second largest market place at the time Legaspi settled in Sugbu was Seville.

Slaves were usually BLACKS imported from Africa, brought and sold by the Portuguese Slave Traders. And, just like some other imported goods from other countries, an IMPORT

FEE was imposed on the slaves in Seville. Masters employed their slaves to different kinds of work. They were made to work as BAKERS, JEWELERS. Tailors and WEAVERS. A master could also rent his slave to another, or sent his slave for his personal debt, or made his slave to Serve A Jail in his place. Also, two masters might own one slave. Christian clergy and religious orders were allowed to hold slaves and even to sell them.

A child of a slave was automatically the master’s possession, no matter who the father was. If the master himself was the father, he set the child free. The child of a clergy was automatically the slave of the church, no matter who the mother was.

Maladministration of Justice

Maladministration of Justice Corruption characterized the courts in the Philippines during the time of Rizal. In fact, from the view point of the Filipino victims, these courts were rather rightly called “COURTS OF INJUSTICE.” Justice was costly, PARTIAL and SLOW.  The poor almost had no access to the court but the rich had. Wealth, prestige and color of skin were the factors of winning a case in the court. The saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied” was true. Among the victims were Rizal and his family and the GomBurza. 

Frailocracy

Frailocracy or Frailocracia -is a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines.

-“a government by friars.”

 

Friars (Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans) •They were the ones who controlled the religious and educational life of the Philippines.•Later in the 19th Century, they came to acquire tremendous political power, influence, and riches.•Aside from their priestly duties, a friar:

* was a supervisor of local elections,* the inspector of schools and taxes, * the arbiter of morals,* the censor of books and comedias (stage

plays),* the superintendent of public works, and * the guardian of peace and order.

•He could even send a patriotic Filipino to jail or denounce him as a filibustero (traitor) to be exiled in a distant place or to be executed as an enemy of God and Spain.

Manila was dependent on the interior part of the land, that is, on the peasants. 

Church acted as the only link between the small foreign community in Manila and the mass of the peasants in the countryside. 

Governor General depended on the friars in reaching the peasants. 

Rome made the Governor General the vice-patron of the Church and granted him ecclesiastical authority, but the Governor General had no command over the friars.

Force LaborThe Polo

Forced Labor •known as the Polo.•was instituted in 1580•was the compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish Colonial Authorities on adult Filipino males ( except chieftains and their sons ) in the construction of churches, schools, hospitals; building and repair of roads and bridge; the building of ships in the shipyards and other public works.

 Males 16 – 60 years old were obliged to render forced labor for 40 days a year. 

Polista the name given to those who performed the forced labor.

Polo System only gave each polista ¼ real with some rice per day and the worst thing was that the polistas were seldom paid. 

Harvesting and Planting Seasons The polistas were not supposed to render services such as public works of non military nature. But this was violated. Instead, the authorities required the polistas to work in mines and to cut trees for building ships needed for war.

Royal Decree of July 12, 1883 •Implemented by the New Regulations, promulgated by the Council of State of February 3, 1885 increased the minimum age of the Polistas from 16 – 18 and reduced the days of labor from 40 – 15.•Also provided that not only native Filipinos but also all male Spanish Residents from 18 – 60 must render forced labor, but this was never implemented in the Philippines for obvious reasons.

Falla A sum of money paid to the government to be exempted from the polo but the money was just being pocketed by the alcaldes. 

Bandala

Governor General Hurtado de Corcuera Introduced Bandala in the first half of the 17th Century.

 Bandala •Another exploitative economic device was the annual quota assigned to each province.•In every province, everyone had to make a compulsory sale of his products to the government.

Divide and Rule

The Spanish Military Force was just small in the country. So, it had to be backed up by the natives. MilitaryUsed the services of the natives for their purposes by employing the divide-and-rule strategy. The Spaniards recruited the natives in the region to support them but the Military merely used them to put down the revolts in another region.

Hacienda owned by Friars

Haciendas Owned by the Friars

Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders were the richest landlords.

•They owned the best haciendas (agricultural lands) in the Philippines.+tenants- rural folks who had been living in these haciendas and cultivating them generation after generation.•Naturally, they resented the loss of their lands which belonged to their ancestors since pre-Spanish times;•Legally, however, the friars were recognized as legal owners of said lands because they obtained royal titles of ownership from the Spanish crown.•One of these bloody agrarian revolts was the agrarian upheaval in 1745-1746.•In 1768, Governor Anda strongly recommended to the Madrid government the sale of the friar estates.•Unfortunately, his wise recommendation was ignored.

Guardia Civil

THE GUARDIA CIVIL

•the last hated symbol of Spanish tyranny.•it was created by the Royal Decree of February 12, 1852 as amended by the Royal Decree of March 24, 1888.•its purpose is to maintain internal peace and order in the Philippines. •it was patterned after the famous and well-disciplined Guardia Civil in Spain.•most of the members of the Guardia Civil were untrained and ignorant. Thus, they turned out to be agents of abuses.•they maltreated innocent people, looting their carabaos, chickens, and valuable belongings, and raping helpless women.

The End