Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

• Learning Objectives: At the end of this LEA1 (Law Enforcement Administration with
segment Inter-Agency Approach)
you should be able to:
1. Recognize the Historical Background of
various law enforcement during Pre-Spanish Week 1
Time.
• Topic: Historical Background of various law enforcement during Pre-Spanish Time

Read and re-read the following topic notes and answer the activities provided in this module.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course covers the organizational set-up of relevant various law enforcement and public
safety agencies, its legal mandate, functions and responsibilities, and its functional relations,
coordination and cooperation with other law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Introduction:

Early Policing System

Primitive Policing Law enforcement can be traced back to the cave dwellers, who were expected to
follow certain rules or face banishment or death. The customs depicted in early cave-dwelling may
represent the beginning of law and law enforcement. The prehistoric social order consisted of small
family groups living together as tribes or clans. Group living gave rise to customs everyone was expected
to observe. The tribe's chief had executive, legislative and judicial powers and often appointed tribe
members to perform the special task to include guarding the community against the depredation of
lawless elements.

Kin Policing
 the family of the offended individual was expected to assume responsibility for justice
 the family of the victim was allowed to exact vengeance

Ancient Egypt
 The early Egyptians established laws and court and rudimentary rule of law. The first account of
a developing court system originated in Egypt in approximately 1500 B.C. the court system was
presided by judges who were appointed by the pharaoh. They later organized marine patrols
and customhouses to protect commerce.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINE POLICING SYSTEM 

THE PRE-SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

 Because of the Spaniards, the Philippines was composed of settlements or villages, each
called barangay, named after balangay, a Malayan word meaning “boat”.
 Each barangay was virtually a state, for it controlled the four basic elements of
statehood. At times, however, some barangays joined together as “confederations”
mainly for the resolution of mutual protection against common enemies.
 Collectively every barangay was ruled by a chief called datu in some places, and rajah,
sultan, or hadji in others. He was its chief executive, lawgiver, 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 prowess.
 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).

SOCIAL CLASSES IN THE BARANGAY

THE PRE-SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

The early Filipinos had both written and unwritten laws. The written laws were propagated by
the datus. The two recognized 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.

EARLY LAWS

THE PRE-SPANISH GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

It can be said that the laws of the barangay were usually fair. The system of government,
although imperfect was not so bad considering the conditions in other lands in the age during which it
flourished.

CODE OF RAJAH KALANTIAW was a supposed legal code in the epic history Maragtas that is said to have
been written in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw, a chief on the island of Negros in the Philippines.

For additional readings, Check the link below and know about code of
Kalantiaw, Happy Reading!
https://www.chanrobles.com/codeofkalantiaw.html#.XyWzd54zbIU

Questions for this article is written on the self-learning activities

 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

The code is now thought by many historians to

have been a fraud and that it had actually been
written in 1913 by Jose E. Marco as a part of his
historical fiction Las antiguas leyendas de la Isla
de Negros (English: The Ancient Legends of the
Island of Negros), which he credited to a
priest named Jose Maria Pavon.

Self-Learning Activities
Done reading the topic notes? (Re-read it if you want to come up with a better output.)
The following activities will assess your learnings of this module. Let’s start, good luck!

Let’s do this!

I. Identify the following: This will be self-assessment so be honest!

1. The family of the offended
individual was expected to
assume responsibility for justice.

2. They shall be slaves for a given

time who steal away the women
of the headmen; he who
possesses dogs that bite the
headmen; he who burns another
man's sown field.
3. 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
Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

other lands in the age during

which it flourished.
4. 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 prowess.
5. Ye shall not kill, neither shall ye
steal nor shall ye hurt the aged,
lest ye incur the danger of death.
All those who this order shall
infringe shall be tied to a stone
and drowned in a river or in
boiling water.
6. They shall be slaves for life, who
having beautiful daughters shall
deny them to the sons of the
headman, or shall hide them in
bad faith.
7. Concerning their beliefs and
superstitions: they shall be
scourged, who eat bad meat of
respected insects or herbs that
are supposed to be good; who
hurt or kill the young manual bird
and the white monkey.
8. Ye shall revere respectable
places, trees of known value, and
other sites. He shall pay a
month's work, in gold or money,
whoever fails to do this; and if
twice committed, he shall be
declared a slave.
9. Obey ye: no one shall have wives
that are too young, nor shall they
be more than what he can take
care of, nor spend much luxury.
 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

He who fulfils not, obeys not,

shall be condemned to swim
three hours and, for the second
time, shall be scourged with
spines to death.
10. It shall be the obligation of every
mother to show her daughter
secretly the things that are
lascivious, and prepare them for
womanhood; men shall not be
cruel to their wives, nor should
they punish them when they
catch them in the act of adultery.
He who disobeys shall be torn to
pieces and thrown to the
caymans.

Explore: Check out this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U40MBqNImXY

Watch the documentary regarding ancient Philippines and give your point
of view in relation to the pre-Hispanic Law enforcement era in the country.
Write your answer in a separate sheets of paper and submit it with
the self-learning activities.
1 Essay (10 points)

Explain the importance of pre-Hispanic era of Philippines in relation to criminology profession

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED
COLLEGE OF CRIMINOLOGY

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That would be all for today! See you next week! 

References:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/Sports-and-recreation#ref23713
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Kalantiaw#History_and_authenticity_dispute
https://www.slideshare.net/jhengrayn/political-development-of-the-philippine-
government#:~:text=4.,chief%20judge%2C%20and%20military%20head.
https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/internet-research.html
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fphilippines.fandom.com%2Fwiki
%2FBaybayin&psig=AOvVaw2tkGmNqPG5XcEf7QzGSwsf&ust=1594730945239000&source=images&cd=
vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCMDP096nyuoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
https://www.pinclipart.com/picdir/middle/8-85017_female-clipart-presentation-teacher-clipart-png-
download.png

Prepared by:
Lynsthel Mapalo-Repoyo