INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY

WHAT IS HISTORY?

It is a continuous process and written in a chronological order of events and it is important

to our society. It’s from the Greek word “HISTORIA” which means to search or look into. As
time passed by there are some changes into its meaning. History is a brief summary or result
based on a factual research and it is also deals with the sequence of important events. It deals
with science that describes and examine past event in the specific group of people.

SIGNIFICANCE OF HISTORY

Studying history is really important especially in the Philippine setting. These are the
reasons why we need to study:

1. We could determine and understand the contribution of our ancestor in the

foundation of our humanity, origin, and inherent culture. History gives picture to our humanity
and to our society.
2. We could understand the task in the present and future if we study the history. The
events in the past has relation to our present and future. It gives meaning in different
things and events in our society.
3. History can be used to examine and forecast the things in the environment and society.
We've learned to appreciate culture, love, and respect other people in the world.
4. History can give us deeper understanding of different problems and offer solutions in our
present and future. In the study of the past events, we discover new ways in studying in solving
problems in the present and future.
5. History is an eye opener to understand our culture, language and society. History may
arouse patriotic, humanitarian nature in people
6. History develops our knowledge about different race of people, culture, place, and time.
7. The stories of past about people and things in the world we live provide valuable lessons
to us.

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 8. In studying history we’ve learned different ways of studying and researching in social
sciences. It helps us to learn different ways of discovering new knowledge.

Studying History

Once upon a time, the history or story of a society or group of people is rooted from their
myth, epic, folklore, and rituals. It has been transferred from generation to generation. Over
hundred years ago, study of history is based from different data's like document, coins, seal,
picture, and sculptures and carved statue.

In early times, recording history is important to the rulers of government to justify their works.
During that time the laws and agreement became an important basis.
Lately, the basis of data's is not only through written documents but also the things that has
to do with the lives of people. Some of these things are their materials, corpse, settlement,
plants, picture, computer text files and environment
Because of numerous resources of data's, it is a difficult task for the historian to scrutinize
and properly chooses which of these are valid. This is the reason why they need to clarify
properly.
In studying history we need to document, examine the framework properly, it should consider
the relation of document and events due to multifaceted past events. The important data's
should be connected and understandable to become more relevant and realistic from its
interpretation.
The study of history as discipline or science has its advancement during 1900. During those
years, scientist forcedly separated the good data's from the document from its interpretation.
Today, Scientist believes that it is impossible to do because the description of the past
events used by the historian comes from his/her own understanding and imagination that is
scrutinized and connected to the different data's collected.
The experts who studied the different branches of social sciences greatly help to prove that
the data's are genuine. It enlightens and guides us to examine, give meaning and interpretation
from the collected data's.

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HERE ARE THE BRANCHES OF SOCIAL SCIENCES THAT COULD HELP STUDYING
HISTORY.

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H
SOCIOLOGY- the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships; it is
the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective
behavior of organized group of human beings.

SOCIAL SCIENCE- a branch of science that deals with the institutions and functioning
of human society and with the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members
of society; a science (such as economics or political science) dealing with a particular

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phase or aspect of human society.

ARCHAEOLOGY- the scientific study of material remain (such as tools, pottery, stone
walls, and monuments) of past human life and activities.

CARTOGRAPHY- it is the science or art of making maps.

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ANTHROPOLOGY- the study of the human race, its culture and society, and its
physical development; the science of human beings; especially the study of human
being and their ancestors through time and space and in relation to physical
character, environmental and social relations, and culture.

PSYCHOLOGY- the science of the mental or behavioral characteristics of an

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individual or group; it is the study of mind and behavior in relation to a particular
field of knowledge or activity.

ECONOMICS- a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the
production distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

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GEOGRAPHY- a science that deals with the description, distribution, and interaction
of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth’s surface;
including continents, mountains, seas, weather, and plant life, and of the ways in
which countries and people organize life within an area.

LINGUISTICS- it is the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure

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and modification of language.

CHEMISTRY and BIOLOGY could also help us to study about our history. It would be
a great help in studying the history of validation if the fragments is in humans and
not animals. Their DNA analysis will be performed.

WEEK 2
HISTORICAL RESOURCES

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 Historian’s most important research tools are historical sources. In general, historical can be
classified between primary and secondary sources. The classification of sources between these
two categories depends on the historical subject being studied.

Category of Historical Resources

A. PRIMARY RESOURCES

 Primary sources are usually defined as first-hand information or data that is

generated by witness or participants in past events.
 Those sources produced at same time as the event, period, or subject being studied.
These materials are often located in the Special Collections of a library, rather than
in the general collection.
 Are characterized not by their format but rather by the information they convey and
their relationship to the research question. They include letters, diaries, journals,
newspapers, photographs, and other immediate accounts. The interpretation and
evaluation of these sources becomes the basis for research.

Examples:

If a historian wishes to study the Commonwealth Constitution Convention of 1935, his

primary resources can include the minutes of the convention, newspaper clipping, Philippine
Commission reports of the U.S Commissioners, records of the convention, the draft of the
construction, and even photographs of the events.
The same goes with other subjects of historical study, Archival documents, artefacts,
memorabilia, letters, and census and government record, among others are the most common
examples of primary resources.

B. SECONDARY RESOURCES

 Those sources, which were produced by an author who used primary sources to
produce the material. In other words, secondary sources are historical sources,
which studied a certain historical subject.

Examples:

The subject of Philippine Revolution of 1896, students can read Teodoro Agoncillo’s
Revolt of Masses: The Story of Bonifacio and the Katipunan published originally in 1956.

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 We should not be confused between the difference of primary and secondary resources,
as mention above, the classification of sources between primary and secondary depends not on
the period when the source was produced or the type of the source but not on the subject of the
historical research.
Both primary and secondary sources are useful in writing and learning history. However,
historians and students of history need to thoroughly scrutinize these historical sources to avoid
deception and to come up with the historical truth,
The historian should be able to conduct an external and internal criticism of the sources
especially primary resources which can age in centuries.

a. External Criticisms - sometimes called as “lower criticism”

o is the practice of verifying the authenticity of evidence by examining

its physical characteristics; consistency with the historical characteristics of
the time when it was produced: and materials used for evidence.

o Form and appearance and more particularly to question of authorship and

textual circumstances such as time, place and purpose.
o External criticism applies "science to a document." It involves such
physical and technical tests as dating of paper a document is written on, but
it also involves a knowledge of when certain things existed or were possible,
e.g. when zip codes were invented.*

b. Internal Criticism- Sometimes called as “higher criticism”

o The examination of the honesty of the proof, it takes a gander at the

substance of the source and analyses the condition of its generation. It
takes a gander at the honesty and factuality of the confirmation by taking a
gander at the creator of the source, its unique situation, the motivation
behind its creation, the information which educated it, and its planned
reason among others.
o Inner feedback searches inside the information itself to endeavour to decide
truth- - realities and "sensible" understanding. It incorporates taking a
gander at the evident or conceivable thought processes of the individual
giving the information

WEEK 3
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD BY MAGELLAN BY
ANTONIO PIGAFETTA

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 FERDINAND MAGELLAN
February 3, 1480- April 25, 1521

 Portuguese Explorer who organised the

Spanish Expeditions to the East Indies
from 1519-1522 to search for Western
route to the Maluku Islands (The Spice
Island) resulting in the first
circumnavigation of the Earth, completed
by Juan Sebastian Elcano.

ANTONIO PIGAFETTA
1491-1531

 Italian Scholar and explorer from the

Republic of Venice.
 He travelled with the Portuguese explorer
Ferdinand Magellan and his crew by order of
the King Charles I of Spain on their voyage
around the world.
 His work became classic that prominent
literary men in the West like William
Shakespeare, Michel de Montaigne and
Giambattista Vico referred to the book in
their interpretation of the New World.

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  His travelogue is one of the most important primary sources in the study of pre-colonial
Philippines.
 His account was also a major referent to the events leading to Magellan’s arrival in the
Philippines, his encounter with local leaders, his death in the hands of Lapulapu’s forces
in the Battle of Mactan and in the departure of what was left of Magellan’s fleet from the
islands.

The First Voyage around the World by Magellan

 The document reveals several insights not just in the character of the Philippines during
pre-colonial period, but also on how the fresh eyes of the European regard a deeply
unfamiliar terrain, environment, people and culture.
 It was published after Pigafetta returned to Italy.
 Antonio Pigafetta wrote his firsthand observation and general impression of the Far East
including their experiences in the Visayas.

In Pigafetta’s account, their fleet reached what he called the Ladrones Islands or the “Islands of
the Thieves”

“These people have no arms, but use sticks, which have a fishbone at the end. They are poor,
but ingenious, and great thieves, and for the sake of that we called these three islands the
Ladrones Islands”.

Ladrones Island

 Presently known as Marianas

Islands.
 It is located South-Southeast of
Japan, West-Southwest of Hawaii,
North of New Guinea, and East of
Philippines

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March 16, 1521

 Pigafetta reported that they reach the isle of Zamal, now Samar, but Magellan decided to
land in another uninhabited island for greater security where they could rest for a few
days.
 After two days, March 18, nine men came to them and show joy and eagerness in
seeing them and welcomed them with food, drinks, and gifts.

The natives gave them:

 Fish
 Palm wine (uraca)
 Figs
 2 cochos
 Rice (umai)
 Cocos

Pigafetta described what seemed like a coconut.

“This palm produces a fruit names cocho, which is large as the head, or thereabouts: its first
husk is green and two fingers in thickness, in it they find certain threads, with which they make
the cords for fastening their boats. Under this husk there is another very hard, and thicker than
that of a walnut. They burn this second rind, and make with it a powder which is useful to them.
Under this rind there is a white marrow of a finger’s thickness, which they eat fresh with meat
and fish, as we do bread, and it has the taste of an almond, and if anyone dried it he might
make bread of it.”

Pigafetta characterized the people as:

 “very familiar and friendly”

 Willingly showed them different islands and the names of this island.

The fleet went to Humunu Island (Homonhon) and there they found what Pigafetta referred to as
the “Watering Place of Good Signs”. It is in this place where Pigafetta wrote that they found the
first signs of gold in the island. They named the island with the nearby islands as the
archipelago of St. Lazarus.

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March 25, 1521

v Pigafetta recounted that they saw two ballanghai (balangay), a long boat full of people in
Mazzava/Mazaua. The leader, who Pigafetta referred to as the king of the ballanghai
(balangay), sent his men to the ship of Magellan.
v The Europeans entertained these men and gave them gifts. When the king of the
balangay (Raia Siagu) offered to give Magellan a bar of gold and a chest of ginger,
Magellan declined. Magellan sent the interpreter to the king and asked for money for the
needs of his ships and expressed that he came into the islands as a friend and not as an
enemy.
v The king responded by giving Magellan the needed provisions of food in chinaware.
v Magellan exchanged gifts of robes in Turkish fashions, red cap, knives and mirrors.
v The two men (Magellan & Raia Siagu) expressed their desire to become brothers.
v Magellan also boasted of his men in armor who could not strike with swords and
daggers. The king was fascinated and remarked that men in such armor could be worth
one hundred of his men.
v Magellan showed other weapons, helmets and artilleries. He also shared his charts and
maps and how they found the islands.

After a few days

 Magellan was introduced to the king’s brother who was also king of another island.
 They went to this island and they saw mines of gold.
 The gold was abundant that the parts of the ship and the house of the second king were
made of gold.

Raia Calambu

 King of Zuluan and Calagan (Butuan and Caragua)

 Pigafetta described him as the most handsome of all men that he saw in this place.
 He was adorned with sick and golden accessories like golden dagger, which he carried
with him in a wooden polished sheath.

March 31, 1521 (Easter Sunday)

 Magellan ordered the chaplain to preside a Mass by the shore.

 The king sent two dead pigs and attended the Mass with the other king.

Pigafetta reported that both kings participated in the mass. He wrote:

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“…when the offertory of the mass came, the two kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they
offered nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and
adored our Lord with joined hands.”

 After the Mass, Magellan ordered that the cross be brought with nails and crowned in
place.
 Magellan explained that the cross, the nail, and the crown were the signs of his emperor
and that he was ordered to plant it in the places that he would reach and the cross would
be beneficial for their people because once the Spaniards saw this cross, then they
would know that they had been in this land and would not cause them troubles, and any
person who might be held captives by them would be released.

April 7, 1521

 Magellan and his men reached the port of Cebu, the largest and the richest of the
islands with the helped of Raia Calambu.
 The king of Cebu (Rajah Humabon) demanded that they pay tribute as it was customary
but Magellan refused.
 Magellan said that he was the captain himself and thus would not pay tribute to the other
king.
 Magellan’s interpreter explained to the king of Cebu that Magellan’s king was the
emperor of the great empire and that it would do them better to make friends with them
than to forge enmity.
 The king consulted his council and the next day, together with the other principal men of
Cebu, they met in an open space and the king offered a bit of his blood demanded that
Magellan do the same.

Pigafetta recounts:

“Then the king said that he was content, and as a greater sign of affection he sent him a little of
his blood from his right arm, and wished he should do the like. Our people answered that he
would do it. Besides that, he said that all the captains who came to his country had been
accustomed to make a present to him, and he to them, and therefore they should ask their
captain if he would observe the custom. Our people answered that he would; but as the king
wished to keep up the custom, let him begin and make a present, and then the captain would do
his duty.”

 Magellan spoke about peace and God. People took pleasure in his speech.
 Magellan asked the people who would succeed the king after his reign and the people
responded that the eldest child of the king, who happened to be a daughter, would be
the next in line.

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  Parents were no longer taken into account and have to follow the orders of their children
as the new leaders of the land.
 People wished to become Christians though their free will and not because they were
forced or intimidated.

April 14, 1521

 The people gathered with the king and other principal men of the island.
 Magellan spoke and encouraged the king to be a good Christian by burning all the idols
and worship the cross instead.
 The king of Cebu was baptized as Christians.

Pigafetta wrote:

”To that the king and all his people answered that they would obey the commands of the captain
and do all that he told them. The captain took the king by the hand, and they walkabout on the
scaffolding, and when he was baptized he said that he would name him Don Charles (Carlos),
as the emperor his sovereign was named: and he named the prince, Don Fernand (Fernando),
after the brother of the emperor, and the king of Mazavva Jehan: to the Moor he gave the name
of Christopher, and to the others each a name of his fancy.”

After eight days….

 All of the island’s inhabitant was already baptized.

 Pigafetta admitted that they burned a village down for obeying neither the king nor
Magellan.
 The Mass was conducted by the shore every day.
 When the queen (Hara Amihan) came to the Mass one day, Magellan gave her an
Image of the Infant Jesus made by Pigafetta himself.

April 26, 1521

 Zula, a principal man from the island of Matan (Mactan) went to see Magellan and ask
him a boat full of men so that he could fight the chief name Silapulapu (Lapulapu).
 According to Zula, Lapulapu refused to obey the king and was also preventing him from
doing so.
 Magellan offered three boats and went to Mactan himself to fight Lapulapu.
 They arrived in Mactan in daylight with 49 in numbers while the islanders of Mactan were
estimated to number 1500.

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Pigafetta recounted:

“When we reached land we found the islanders fifteen hundred in number, drawn up in three
squadrons; they came down upon us with terrible shouts, two squadrons attacking us on the
flanks, and the third in front. The captain then divided his men in two bands. Our musketeers
and crossbow-men fired for half an hour from a distance, but did nothing, since the bullets and
arrows though they passed through their shields made of thin wood, and perhaps wounded their
arms, yet did not stop them. The captain shouted not to fire, but he was not listened to. The
islanders seeing that the shots of our guns did them little or no harm would not retire, but
shouted more loudly, and springing from one side to the other to avoid our shots, they at the
same time drew nearer to us, throwing arrows, javelins, spears hardened in fire, stones, and
even mud, so that we could hardly defend ourselves. Some of them cast lances pointed with
iron at the captain-general.”

 Magellan died in the battle.

 The natives perceiving that the bodies of the enemies were protected with armors,
aimed for their legs instead.
 Magellan was pierced with a poisoned arrow in his right leg.
 A few of their men charges at the natives and tried to intimidate them by burning an
entire village but this only enraged the native further.
 Magellan was specifically targeted because the native knew he was the captain general.
 Magellan was hit with a lance in the face. Magellan retaliated and pierced the same
native with his lance in the breast and tried to draw his sword but could not lift it because
of his wounded arms. One native with a great sword delivered a blow in Magellan’s left
leg, brought him face down and the natives ceaselessly attacked Magellan with lances,
swords and even with their bare hands.

Pigafetta recounted the last moments of Magellan:

“Whilst the Indians were thus overpowering him, several times he turned round towards us to
see if we were all in safety, as though his obstinate fight had no other object than to give an
opportunity for the retreat of his men.”

 The king of Cebu who was baptized could have sent help but Magellan instructed him
not to join the battle and stay in the balangay so that he would see how they fought.
 The king offered the people of Mactan’s gifts of any value and amount in exchange of
Magellan’s body but the chief refused. They wanted to keep Magellan’s body as a
moment of their victory.
 Duarte Barbosa is elected as the new captain.

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 Henry, Magellan’s slave and interpreter betrayed them and told the king of Cebu that
they intended to leave as quickly as possible. The slave allegedly told the king that if he
followed his advice, the king would acquire the ships and the goods of Magellan’s fleet.
 The two conspired and betrayed what was left of Magellan’s men.
 The king invited these men to a gathering where he said he would present the jewels
that he would send for the King of Spain.
 Twenty-four men attended while Pigafetta was not able to join because he was nursing
his battle wounds.
 The natives had slain all the men except the interpreter and Juan Serrano who was
already wounded.
 The fleet departed and abandoned Serrano.
 They fleet departed and abandoned Serrano.
 They left Cebu and continued their journey around the world.
 From the original five ships set to sail (San Antonio, Concepcion, Victoria, Trinidad and
Santiago) only Victoria returned to Spain.
 And from the original 237 men only 18 men survived.

WEEK 4
The KKK and the “Kartilya ng Katipunan”

1. Background of the Author

Emilio Jacinto (Kei Hojas)

15 December 1875 – 16 April 1899

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 v He was a Filipino General during the Philippine Revolution.
v He was one of the highest-ranking officers of the revolutionary society
Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang, Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan,
or simply and more popularly called Katipunan.
v He was elected Secretary of State for the Haring Bayang Katagalugan, a
revolutionary government established during the outbreak of hostilities.
v He is popularly known in Philippine history textbooks as the Brain of the
Katipunan.
v Some contend he should be rightfully recognized as the “Brain of the
Revolution”
v Jacinto was present in the so-called Cry of Pugad Lawin (or Cry of
Balintawak) with Andres Bonifacio, the Supremo (Supreme President) of
the Katipunan.

2. Historical Background of the Document

The KKK or The Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang, Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or

Katipunan is arguably the most important organization formed in the Philippine history.

The organization envisioned:

 A united Filipino nation that would revolt against the Spaniards.

 The total independence of the country from Spain.

Previous armed revolts had already occurred beforenth foundation of the katipunan, but
none of them envisioned a unified Filipino nation revolting against colonizers.

For example:
 Diego Silang was known as an Ilocano who took up his arms and led one of the
strongest running revolts in country. His mainly concerned about is locality and referred
to himself as El Rey de Ilocos (The King of Ilocos). The imagination was largely absent
in the aspirations as the local revolt before the Katipunan.
 The Propaganda movements led by the Illustrado like Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Graciano
Lopez Jaena and Jose Rizal did not envision a total separation of the Philippines from
Spain, but only wants is equal rights, representation, and protection from the abuses of
the friars.

The Katipunan was a Philippine revolutionary society founded by anti-Spanish Filipinos in

Manila in 1892, whose primary aim was to gain independence from Spain through revolution.

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The name Katipunan is actually a shorter version of the official name, which is in Tagalog:
Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (translated as, Supreme
and Venerable Society of the Sons of the People, Highest and Most Honorable Society of the
Children of the Nation). The Katipunan is also known by its acronym, KKK. The word
"katipunan", literally meaning 'association', comes from the root word "tipon", a Tagalog word,
meaning "society" or "gather together". Katipunan was a secret organization until its discovery in
1896 that led to the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution.

3. Content presentation and analysis of the important historical information found in

the document.

On the night of July 7, 1892, Andrés Bonifacio, a member of the La Liga Filipina, founded
the Katipunan in a house in Tondo, Manila. Bonifacio did establish the Katipunan when it was
becoming apparent to anti-Spanish Filipinos that colonial authorities would suppress societies
like the La Liga Filipina. The Katipunan was founded along Azcarraga St. (now Claro M. Recto
Avenue) near Elcano St. in Tondo, Manila.

The Katipunan had four aims, namely:

 To develop a strong alliance with each and every Katipunero;

 To unite Filipinos into one solid nation;
 To win Philippine independence by means of an armed conflict (or revolution);
 To establish a republic after independence.

The rise of the Katipunan signaled the end of the crusade to secure reforms from Spain by
means of a peaceful campaign. The KKK members agreed on the following objectives: The
political goal was to completely separate the Philippines from Spain after declaring the country’s
independence. The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos good manners, cleanliness, hygiene,
fine morals, and how to guard themselves against religious fanaticism. The civic goal was to
encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to defend the poor oppressed.

The Katipunan was governed by the Supreme Council (Tagalog: Kataastaasang

Sanggunian).The first Supreme Council of the Katipunan was formed around August 1892, a
month after the founding of the society. The Supreme Council was headed by an elected
President (Pangulo), followed by the secretary/secretaries (Kalihim); the treasurer (Tagaingat-
yaman) and the fiscal (Tagausig). The Supreme Council also had its councilors (Kasanguni); the
number varied through presidencies. To distinguish from presidents of lower sanggunian or
councils (below) the president of the Supreme Council was called the Supreme President
(Tagalog: Kataastaasang Pangulo; Spanish: Presidente Supremo). In each province where
there were Katipunan members, a provincial council called Sangguniang Bayan was established
and in each town was an organized popular council called Sangguniang Balangay. Each

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Balangay were given a chance to expand their own spheres of influence, through triangle
system in order to elevate their status to Sangguniang Bayan.

It was the original plan of Bonifacio to increase the membership of the Katipunan by means
of sistemang patatsulok or triangle system. He formed his first triangle with his two comrades,
Teodoro Plata and Ladislao Diwa. Each of them re-instituted Katipunan thoughts into another
two new converts. A new system of initiation, modeled after the Masonic rites was then
adopted.

Bonifacio divided the members into three grades. In the meeting of the society, Katipon
wore a black hood with a triangle of white ribbon having the letters "Z. Ll. B.", corresponding to
the roman "A.N.B.", meaning Anak ng Bayan (Son of the People). Kawal wore a green hood
with a triangle having white lines and the letters "Z. LL. B." at the three angles of the triangle,
and also wore a green ribbon with a medal with the letter (ka) in Baybayin script above a
depiction of a crossed sword and flag. The password was Gom-Bur-Za, taken from the names
of the three martyrs. Bayani (Hero) wore a red mask and a sash with green borders,
symbolizing courage and hope. The front of the mask had white borders that formed a triangle
with three Ks arranged as if occupying the angles of a triangle within a triangle, and with the
letters "Z. Ll. B." below. Another password was Rizal. A member meeting another member
placed the palm of his right hand on his breast and, as he passed the other member, he closed
the hands to bring the right index finger and thumb together.

Color designations:

 (Black) Katipon. First-degree members. Other symbols: Black hood, revolver and/or
bolo.
 (Green) Kawal. Second-degree members. Other symbols: green ribbon-medallion with
Malayan K inscription.
 (Red and Green) Bayani. Third degree members. Other symbols: Red hood and sash,
with green borders.

Any person who wished to join the Katipunan was subjected to certain initiation rites to test
his courage, patriotism, and loyalty. New recruits underwent the initiation rite three at a time so
that no member knew more than two other members of the society. The neophyte was first
blindfolded and then led into a dimly lighted room with black curtains where his folded cloth was
removed from his eyes. Inside the candle-lit room, they would be brought to a table adorned
with a skull and a bolo. There, they would condemn the abuses of the Spanish government and
vow to fight colonial oppression.

The next step in the initiation ceremony was the lecture given by the master of ceremonies,
called Mabalasig/Mabalasik (terrible brother), who informed the neophyte to withdraw if he

17
lacked courage since he would be out of place in the patriotic society, If the neophyte persisted,
he was presented to the assembly of the brethren, who subjected him to various ordeals such
as blindfolding him and making him shoot a supposedly a revolver at a person, or forcing him to
jump a supposedly hot flame. After the ordeals came to final rite–the pacto de sangre or blood
compact–in which the neophyte signed the oath with blood taken from his arm. He was then
accepted as a full-pledged member, with a symbolic name by which he was being known within
Katipunan circles.

Kartilya ng Katipunan
By Emilio Jacinto

1. The life that is not consecrated to a lofty and reasonable purpose is a tree without a
shade, if not a poisonous weed.
2. To do good for personal gain and not for its own sake is not virtue.
3. It is rational to be charitable and love one’s fellow creature, and to adjust one’s conduct,
acts and words to what is in itself reasonable.
4. Whether our skin is black or white, we are all born equal: superiority in knowledge,
wealth and beauty are to be understood, but not superiority by nature.
5. The honourable man prefers honor to personal gain; the scoundrel gain to honor.
6. To the honourable man, his word is sacred.
7. Do not waste thy time: wealth can be recovered but not time lost.
8. Defend the oppressed and fight the oppressor before the law or in the field.
9. The prudent man is sparing in words and faithful in keeping secrets.
10. On the thorny path of life, man is the guide of woman and the children, and if the guide
leads to the precipice, those whom he guides will also go there.
11. Thou must not look upon woman as a mere plaything, but as a faithful companion who
will share with thee the penalties of life; her (physical) weakness will increase thy interest
in her and she will remind thee of the mother who bore thee and reared thee.
12. What thou dost not desire unto thy wife, children, brothers and sister that do not unto the
wife, children, brothers and sisters of thy neighbour.
13. Man is not worth more because he is a king, because his nose is aquiline, and his color
white, not because he is a priest, a servant of God, nor because of the high prerogative
that he enjoys upon earth, but he is worth most whi is a man of proven and real value,
who does good, keeps his words, is worthy and honest; he who does not oppress nor
consent to being oppressed, he who loves and cherishes his fatherland, though he be
born in the wilderness and know no tongue but his own.
14. When these rules of conduct shall be known to all, the longed-for sun of liberty shall rise
brilliant over this most unhappy portion of the globe and its rays shall diffuse everlasting
joy among the confederated brethren of the same rays, the lives of those who have gone
before, the fatigues and the well-paid sufferings will remain. If he who desires to enter
has informed himself of all this and believes he will be able to perform what will be his
duties, he may fill out the application for admission.

18
 WEEK 5

READING THE “PROCLAMATION OF THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE”

 Every year, the country commemorates the anniversary of the Philippine Independence

 Proclaimed on the 12th of June, 1898, in the Province of Cavite.

 Proclaimed between 4 and 5 in the afternoon.
 The event saw the unfurling of the Philippine National Flag, made by Marcela Agoncillo,
Lorenza Agoncillo, and Delfina Herboza.
 Performance of the Marcha Filipina Magdalo, as the National Anthem, now known as
Lupang Hinirang, composed by Julian Felipe and played by the San Francisco de
Malabon Marching Band.
 The proclamation was prepared, written, and read by Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista in
Spanish.
 Signed by 98 people, including a United States Army officer, Mr. L. M. Johnson.
 Eventually promulgated on August 1, after many towns had been organized under
Aguinaldo’s government.
 Not recognized, however, by the United States, nor Spain. U.S. brought the Philippines
from the Spanish in the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

 Philippine-American War

 The Philippine Revolutionary Government did not recognize the treaty or American
sovereignty, and subsequently fought and lost a conflict with United States.
 Ended when Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. forces in March 23, 1901, and
issued a statement acknowledging and accepting the sovereignty of the United States
over the Philippines.
 The U.S. finally granted complete independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946 via
the Treaty of Manila, following World War II.

President Diosdado Macapagal, in 1964, signed into Law Republic Act No. 4166,
designating June 12 as the country’s Independence Day.
It is a significant turning point in the history of the country.
It signalled the end of the 333 years of Spanish colonization.

 There have been numerous studies done on the events leading to the independence of the
country, but very few students had the chance to read the actual document of the
declaration.
 This is in spite of the historical importance of the document and the details that the
document reveals on the rationale and circumstances of that historical day.

19
 Interestingly, reading the details of the said document in hindsight is telling of the kind of
government that was created under Aguinaldo, and the forthcoming hand of the United
States of America in the next few years of the newly created republic.

Proclamation of the Philippine Independence

 It is a short 2,000-word document.

 It summarized the reason behind the revolution against Spain.
 It also summarized the subsequent war for independence, as well as the future of the new
republic under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo.

The proclamation commenced with a characterization of the condition of the Philippines

during the Spanish colonial period.
 It specifically mentioned the abuses and inequalities existing in the colony.
The declaration says:

“…taking into consideration, that their inhabitants being already weary of bearing the ominous yoke
of Spanish domination, on account of the arbitrary arrests and harsh treatment practiced by the Civil
Guard to the extent of causing death with the connivance and even with the express orders of their
commanders, who sometimes went to the extreme of ordering the shooting of prisoners under the
pretext that they were attempting to escape, in violation of the provisions of the Regulations of their
Corps, which abuses were unpunished and on account of the unjust deportations, especially those
decreed by General Blanco, of eminent personages and of high social position, at the instigation of
the Archbishops and friars interested in keeping them out of the way for their own selfish and
avaricious purpose, deportations which are quickly brought about by a method of procedure more
execrable than that of the Inquisition and which every civilized nation rejects on account of a
decision being rendered without a hearing of the persons accused.”
 The passage demonstrates the justifications behind the revolution against Spain.
 Specifically cited are the abuses by the Civil Guards and the unlawful shooting of
prisoners whom they alleged as “attempting to escape”.
 It also condemns the unequal protection of the law between the Filipino people
and the “eminent personages”.
 Moreover, the line mentions the avarice and greed of the clergy like the friars and
the Archbishop himself.
 The passage also condemns what they saw as the unjust deportation and
rendering of other decisions without proper hearing, expected of any civilized
nation.

Historical Overview

 The proclamation then proceeded with a brief historical overview of the Spanish
occupation since Magellan’s arrival until the Philippine Revolution.

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 It narrates the movement, describing it as “like an electric spark”, through different
towns and provinces like Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, and
Morong, and the quick decline of Spanish forces in the same provinces.
 The revolt also reached Visayas, thus, the independence of the country was
ensured.
 The document also mentions Rizal’s execution, calling it unjust.
 The execution was done “to please the greedy body of friars in their insatiable
desire to seek revenge upon and exterminate all those who are opposed to
their Machiavellian purposes, which tramples upon the penal code prescribed
for these islands.”
 It also narrates the Cavite Mutiny of January 1872 that caused the infamous
execution of the martyred native priests namely Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and
Jacinto Zamora, “whose innocent blood was shed through the intrigues of those so-
called religious orders” that incited the three secular priests in the said mutiny.

Emilio Aguinaldo’s Dictatorship

 The proclamation of independence also invokes that

the established republic would be led under the
dictatorship of Emilio Aguinaldo. The first mention
was at the very beginning of the proclamation.

It stated:

“In the town of Cavite Viejo, in this province of Cavite, on the

twelfth day of June eighteen hundred and ninety-eight,
before me, Don Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, Auditor of
War and Special Commissioner appointed to proclaim and
solemnize this act by the Dictatorial Government of these
Philippine Islands, for the purposes and by virtue of the
circular addressed by the Eminent Dictator of the same Don
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy.”

 The same was repeated toward the last part of the proclamation.

It states:

“We acknowledge, approve and confirm together with the orders that have been issued
therefrom, the Dictatorship established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo, whom we honor as the
Supreme Chief of this Nation, which this day commences to have a life of its own, in the belief
that he is the instrument selected by God, in spite of his humble origin to effect the redemption
of this unfortunate people, as foretold by Doctor Jose Rizal in the magnificent verses which he
composed when he was preparing to be shot, liberating them from the yoke of Spanish
domination in punishment of the impunity with which their Government allowed the commission
of abuses by its subordinates.”

21
 The Philippine Flag

 Another detail in the proclamation that is worth looking at is its explanation on the
Philippine flag that was first waved on the same day.

The document explained:

“And finally, it was unanimously

resolved that this Nation,
independent from this day, must
use the same flag used
heretofore, whose design and
colors and described in the
accompanying drawing, with
design representing in natural
colors the three arms referred to. The white triangle represents the distinctive emblem of the
famous Katipunan Society, which by means of its compact of blood urged on the masses of the
people to insurrection; the three stars represent the three principal Islands of this Archipelago,
Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay, in which this insurrectionary movement broke out; the sun
represents the gigantic strides that have been made by the sons of this land on the road of
progress and civilization, its eight rays symbolizing the eight provinces of Manila, Cavite,
Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Laguna and Batangas, which were declared in a
state of war almost as soon as the first insurrectionary movement was initiated; and the colors
blue, red and white, commemorate those of the flag of the United States of North America, in
manifestations of our profound gratitude towards that Great Nation for the disinterested
protection she is extending to us and will continue to extend to us.”
This often overlooked detail reveals much about the historically accurate meaning behind
the most widely known national symbol in the Philippines. It is not known by many for example,
that the white triangle was derived from the symbol of the Katipunan. The red and blue colors of
the flags are often associated with courage and peace, respectively. Our basic education omits
the fact that those colors were taken from the flag of the United States. While it can always be
argued that symbolic meaning can always change and be reinterpreted, the original symbolic
meaning of something presents us several historical truths that can explain the subsequent
events, which unfolded after the declaration of independence on the 12th day of June 1898.

WEEK 7

CASE STUDY 1: WHERE DID THE FIRST CATHOLIC MASS TAKE PLACE IN THE
PHILIPPINES

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 Butuan has long been believed as the site of the first Mass. In fact, this has been the case
for three centuries, culminating in the erection of a monument in 1872 near Agusan River, which
commemorates the expedition’s arrival and celebration of Mass on 8 April 1521.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth century, together
with the increasing scholarship on the history of the Philippines, a more nuanced reading of the
available evidence was made, which brought to light more considerations in going against the
more accepted interpretation of the first Mass in the Philippines, made both by Spanish and
Filipino scholars.

It must be noted that there are only two primary sources that historians refer to in
identifying the site of the first Mass. One is the log kept by Francisco Albo, a pilot of one of
Magellan’s ship, Trinidad. He was one of the 18 survivors who returned with Sebastian Elcano
on the ship Victoria after they circumnavigated the world. The other, and the more complete,
was the account by Antonio Pigafetta, Primo viaggo intorno al mondo (First voyage Around the
World). Pigafetta, like Albo, was a member of the Magellan expedition and an eyewitness of the
events, particularly, of the first Mass.

PRIMARY SOURCE: FRANCISCO ALBO’S LOG

Source: “Diario ó derotero del viage de Magallanes desde el cabo se S. Agustin en el Brazil
hasta el regreso a Espana de la nao Victoria, escrito por Frandsco Albo,” Document no. xxii in
Colleción de viages y descubrimientos que hicieron por mar los Españoles desde fines del siglo
XV, ed. Martin Fernandez de Navarrete (reprinted Buenos Aires 1945,5 Vols.) IV, 191-225. As
cited in Miguel A. Bernard “Butuan or Limasawa? The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A
Reexamination of Evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern Philippines, Vol. III, 1-35.

1. On the 16th of March 1521 as they sailed in a westerly course from Landrones,
they saw land towards the Northwest; but owing to many shallow places they did
not approach it. They found later that its name was Yunagan.
2. They went instead that same day southwards to another small island named
Suluan, and there they anchored. There they saw some canoes but these fled at
the Spaniards’ approach. This island was at 9 and two-thirds degrees North
latitude.
3. Departing from those two islands, they sailed westward to an uninhabited island
of “Gada” where they took in a supply of wood and water. The sea around that
island was free from shallows. (Albo does not give the latitude of this island, but
from Pigafetta’s testimony, this seems to be the “Acquada” or Homonhon, at 10
degress North latitude).
23
 4. From that island they sailed westwards towards a large island names Seilani that
was inhabited and was known to have gold. (Seilani-or, as Pigafetta calls it,
“Ceylon”-was the island of Leyte.)
5. Sailing southwards along the coast of that large island of Seilani, they turned
southwest to a small island called “Mazava.”That island is also at latitude of 9
and two-thirds degrees north.
6. The people of that island of Mazava were very good. There the Spaniards
planted a cross upon a mountain-top, and from there they were sown three
islands to the west and southwest, where they were told there was much gold.
“They showed us how the gold was gathered, which came in small pieces like
peas and lentils.”
7. From Mazava they sailed northwards again towards Seilani. They followed the
coast of Seilani in a northwesterly direction, ascending up to 10 degress of
latitude where they saw three small islands.
8. From there they sailed westwards some ten leagues, and there they saw three
islets, where they dropped anchor for the night. In the morning they sailed
southwest some 12 leagues, down to latitude of 10 and one-third degree. There
they entered a channel between two islands, one of which was called “Matan”
and the other “Subu.”
9. They sailed down the channel and then turned westward and anchored at the
town (la villa) of Subu where they stayed many days and obtained provisions and
entered into a peace-pact with the local king.
10. The town of Subu was on east-west direction islands of Suluan and Mazava. But
between Mazava and Subu, there were so many shallows that the boats could
not go westward directly but has to go (as they did) in a round-about way.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PIGAFETTA’S TESTIMONY ON THE ROUTE OF MAGELLAN’S

EXPIDITION
Source: Emma Blair and James Alexande Robertsons, The Philippine islands, Vols. 33 and 34
as cited in Miguel A. Bernard, “Butuan or Limasawa? The Site of the First Mass I n the
Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern
Philippines, Vol.III, 1-35.

1. Saturday, 16 March 1521-Magellan’s expedition sighted a “high land” named

“Zamal” which was some 300 leagues westward of Landrones (now Marianas )
Islands.
2. Sunday, March 17-“The following day” after sighting Zamal Island, they landed on
“another island which was uninhabited” and which lay “lay to the right” of the
above-mentioned island of “Zamal.”(To the “right” here would mean on their
starboard going south or southwest.) there they set up two tents for the sick
members of the crew and had a sow killed for them. The name of this island was
“Humunu” (Homonhon). This island was located at 0 degrees North latitude.

24
3. On that same day (Sunday, March 17), Magellan named the entire archipelago
the “Islands of Saint Lazarus,” the reason being that it was Sunday in the Lenten
season when the Gospel assigned for the Mass and the liturgical Office was the
eleventh chapter of St. John, which tells of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
4. Monday, March 18- ln the afternoon of their second day on that island, they saw
a boat coming towards them with nine men in it. An exchange of gifts was
affected. Magellan asked for food supplies, and the men went away, promising to
bring rice and other supplies in “four days.”
5. There were two springs of water on that island of Homonhon. Also they saw there
some indications that there was gold in these islands. Consequently Magellan
renamed the island and called it the “Watering Place of Good Omen” (Acquada
la di bouni segnialli)
6. Friday, March 22- At noon the natives returned. This time they were in two boats,
and they brought food supplies.
7. Magellan’s expedition stayed eight days at Homonhon: from Sunday, March 17,
to the Monday of the following week, March 25.
8. Monday, March 25- In the afternoon, the expedition weighed anchor and left the
island of Homonhon. In the ecclesiastical calendar, this day (March 25) was the
feast-day of the Incarnation, also called the feast of the Annunciation and
therefore “Our Lady’s Day.” On this day, as they were about to weigh anchor, an
accident happened to Pigafetta: he fell into the water but was rescued. He
attributed his narrow escape from death as grace obtained through the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary on her feast-day.
9. The route taken by the expedition after leaving Homonhon was “toward the west
southwest, between four islands: namely Cenalo, Hiunanghan, Ibusson and
Albarien.” Very probably “Cenalo” is a misspelling in the Italian manuscript for
what Pigafetta in his map calls “Ceilon” and Albo calls “Seilani”: namely the island
of Leyte. “Hiunanghan” (a misspelling of Hinunangan) seemed to Pigafetta to be
a separate island, but is actually on the mainland of Leyte (i.e, “Ceylon”). On the
other hand, Hibuson (Pigafetta’s Ibusson) is an island east of Leyte’s southern
tip.

Thus, it is easy to see what Pigafetta meant by sailing “toward the west
southwest” past those islands. They left Homonhon sailing westward towards
Leyte, then followed the Leyte coast southward, passing between the island of
Hibuson on their portside and Hiunangan bay on their starboard, and then
continued southward, then turning westward to “Mazaua.”
10. Thursday, March 28- In the morning of holy Thursday, March 28, they anchored
off an island where the previous night they had seen a light or a bonfire. That
island “lies in a latitude of nine and two-thirds towards the Arctic Pole (i.e., North)
and in a longitude of one hundred and sixty-two degrees from the line of
demarcation. It is twenty-five leagues from the Acquada, and is called Mazaua.”
11. They remained seven days on Mazaua Island.

25
 12. Thursday, April 4- they left Mazaua, bound for Cebu. They were guided thither by
the king of Mazaua who sailed in his own boat. Their route took them past five
“islands” namely: “Ceylon, Bohol, Canighan, Baibai, and Gatighan.”
13. At Gatighan, they sailed westward to the three islands of th Camotes group,
namely, Poro, Pasihan and Ponson. Here the Spanish ships stopped to allow the
king of Mazaua to catch up with them, since the Spanish ships were much faster
than the native balanghai- a thing that excited the admiration of the king of
Mazaua.
14. Fom the Camotes Islands they sailed southwards towards “Zubu.”
15. Sunday, April 7- At noon they entered the harbor of “Zubu” (Cebu). It had taken
them three days to negotiate the journey from Mazaua northwards to the
camotes Islands and then southwards to Cebu.

PRIMARY SOURCE: PIGAFETTA AND SEVEN DAYS IN MAZAUA

Source: Emma Blair and James Alexande Robertsons, The Philippine islands, Vols. 33 and 34
as cited in Miguel A. Bernard, “Butuan or Limasawa? The Site of the First Mass I n the
Philippines: A Reexamination of Evidence” 1981, Kinaadman: A Journal of Southern
Philippines, Vol.III, 1-35.

1. Thursday, March 28- In the morning they anchored near an island where they
had seen a light the night before a small boat (boloto) came with eight natives, to
whom Magellan threw some trinkets as presents. The natives paddled away, but
two hours later two larger boats (balanghai) came, in one of which the native king
sat under an awning of mats. At Magellan’s invitation some of the natives went
up the Spanish ship, but the native king remained seated in his boat. An
exchange of gifts was effected. In the afternoon that day, the Spanish ships
weighed anchor and came closer to shore, anchoring near the native king’s
village. This Thursday, March 28, was Thursday in Holy Week, i.e., Holy
Thursday.
2. Friday, March 29- “Next day. Holy Friday,” Magellan sent his slave interpreter
ashore in a small boat to ask the king if he could provide the expedition with food
supplies, and to say that they had come as friends and not as enemies. In reply
the king himself came in a boat with six or eight men, and this time went up
Magellan’s ship and the two men embraced. Another exchange of gifts was
made. The native king and his companions returned ashore, bringing with them
two members of Magellan’s expedition as guests for the night. One of the twi was
Pigafetta.
3. Saturday, March 30- Pigafetta and his companion had spent the previous
evening feasting and drinking with the native king and his son. Pigafetta deplored
the fact that, although it was Good Friday, they had to eat meat. The following
morning (Saturday) Pigafetta and his companion took leave of their hosts and
returned to the ships.

26
 4. Sunday, March 31- “Early in the morning of Sunday, the last of March and Easter
day,” Magellan sent the priest ashore with some men to prepare for the Mass.
Later in the morning Magellan landed with some fifty men and Mass was
celebrated, after which a cross was venerated. Magellan and the Spaniards
returned to the ship for the noon-dy meal, but in the afternoon they returned
ashore to plant the cross on the summit of the highest hill. In attendance boh at
the Mass and at the planting of the cross were the king of Mazaua and the king
Butuan.
5. Sunday, March 31- On that same afternoon, while on the summit of the highest
hill, Magellan asked the two kings which ports he should go to in order to obtain
more abundant supplies of food than were available in that island. They replied
that there were three ports to choose from: Ceylon, Zubu, and Calagan. Of the
three, Zubu was the port with the most trade. Magellan then said that he wished
to go to Zubu and to depart the following morning. He asked for someone to
guide him thither. The kings replied that the pilots would be available “any time.”
But later that evening the King of Mazaua changed his mind and said that he
would himself conduct Magellan to Zubu but that he would first have to bring the
harvest in. He asked Magellan to send him men to help with the harvest.
6. Monday, April 1- Magellan sent men ashore to help with the harvest, but no work
was done that day because the two kings were sleeping off their drinking bout
the night before.
7. Tuesday, April 2 and Wednesday, April 3- Work on the harvest during the “next to
days,” i.e., Tuesday and Wednesday, the 2nd and 3rd of April.
8. Thursday, April 4- They leave Mazaua, bound for Cebu.

Using the primary sources available, Jesuit priest Miguel A. Bernard in his work
Butuan or Limasawa: The Site of the First Mass in the Philippines: A Reexamination of
Evidence (1981) lays down the argument that in Pigafetta account, a crucial aspect of
Butuan was not mentioned-the river. Butuan is a riverine settlement, situated on the
Agusan River. The beach of Masao is in the delta of said river. It is curious omission in
the account of the river, which makes part of a distinct characteristic of Butuans’
geography that seemed to be too important
to be missed.

WEEK 8
DID RIZAL RETRACT?

27
 Jose Rizal

 Identified as a hero of the revolution for his writings that center on ending
colonialism and liberating Filipino minds to contribute to creating the Filipino nation.
 The great volume of Rizal’s lifework was committed to this end, particularly the more
influential ones, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
 His essays vilify not the Catholic religion, but the friar’s, the main of injustice in the
Philippine society.

Case study 2: Did Rizal Retract?

 It is understandable; therefore, that any piece of writing from Rizal that recants
everything he wrote against the friars and the Catholic Church in the Philippines could
deal heavy damage to his image as a prominent Filipino revolutionary.
 Such document purportedly exists, allegedly signed by Rizal a few hours before his
execution. This document, referred to as “The Retraction”, declares Rizal’s belief in the
Catholic faith, and retracts everything he wrote against church.

Primary Source: Rizal’s Retraction

Source: Translated from the document found by Fr. Manuel Garcia, C.M. on 18 May 1935

‘’I declare myself a catholic and in this Religion in which I was born and educated I wish to live
and die.
I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct has been
contrary to my character as son of the Catholic Church. I believe and I confess whatever she
teaches and I submit to whatever she demands. I abominate Masonry, as the enemy which is of
the Church, and as a Society prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate may, as the
Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this spontaneous manifestation of mine in order
to repair the scandal which my acts may have caused and so that God and people may pardon
me’’.
Manila 29 of December of 1896
Jose Rizal

o There are four iterations of the texts of this retraction:

1. The first was published in La Voz Española and Dario de Manila on the day of the
execution, 30 December 1896.

28
 2. The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the magazine La Juventud, a few
months after the execution, 14 February 1897, from an anonymous writer who was
later on revealed to be Fr. Vicente Balaguer. However, the “original” text was only
found in the archdiocesan archives on 18 May 1935, after almost four decades of
disappearance.

3. The Balaguer Testimony

 Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because only one

eyewitness account of the writing of the document exists- that of the Jesuit
Friar Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
 According to his testimony, Rizal woke up several times, confessed four times,
attended a Mass, received communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which
seemed out of character. But since it is the only testimony of allegedly a
“primary” account that Rizal ever wrote a retraction document, it has been used
to argue the authenticity of the document.

4. The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia

 Another eyewitness account surface in 2016, through the research of Professor

Rene R. Escalante. In his research, documents of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia
included a report on the last hours of Rizal, written by Federico Moreno. The
report details the statement of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia to Moreno.

Primary Source: Eyewitness Account of the Last Hours of Rizal

Source: Michael Charleston Chua, Retraction in Jose Rizal: Mga Bagong Dokumento at
Pananaw,”GMA News Online, published 29 December 2016.

Most Illustrious Sir, the agent of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia stationed in Fort Santiago to
report on the events during the [illegible] day in prison of the accused Jose Rizal, informs me on
this date of the following:

At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his counsel,
Señor Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclara. At the urgings of the former and
moments after entering, he was served a light breakfast. At approximately 9, the Assistant of the
Plaza, Señor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything. He replied that at the moment he only
wanted a prayer book, which was brought to him shortly by Father March.
Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for long while with the Jesuit fathers, March
and Vilaclara, regarding religious matters, it seems. It appears that these two represented him
with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he refused to sign. They argued about the

29
matter until 2:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken. Afterwards he asked to
leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself.

At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him what he had
written. Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señor del Fresno and the Assistant of the
Plaza, Señor Maure, were informed. They entered death row and together with Rizal signed the
document that the accused had written.

At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison… dresses in mourning.
Only the former entered the chapel, followed by a military chaplain whose name I cannot
ascertain. Donning his formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the artillery, the nuptials of Rizal
and the woman who had been his lover were performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis).
After embracing him she left, flooded with tears.

This account corroborates the existence of the retraction documents, giving it credence.
However, nowhere in the account was Fr. Balaguer mentioned, which makes the friar a mere
secondary source to the writing of the document. The retraction of Rizal remainsto this day, a
controversy; many scholars, however, agree that the document does not tarnish the heroism of
Rizal. His relevance remained solidified to Filipinos and pushed them to continue the revolution,
which eventually resulted in independence in 1898.

WEEK 9
CASE STUDY 3: WHERE DID THE CRY OF REBELLION HAPPEN?

DEFINITION OF THE CRY

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  The word “cry” comes from the Spanish el grito de rebelion (cry of rebellion) or el grito
for short. Thus the Grito de Balintawak is similar to the Grito de Dolores of Mexico
(1810). But the “el grito de rebelion” strictly refers to a decision or call to revolt. It doesn’t
necessarily mean shouting, unlike the Filipino term Sigaw or Sigao.
 Originally the term “cry” referred to the first clash between the members of Katipunan
and the Civil Guards (Guardia Civil).
 The cry could also refer to the tearing up of cedulas (community tax certificates) in
resistance to Spanish government.
 The cry can also be referred to in the inscriptions of “Viva la Independencia Filipina”
which was literally accompanied by patriotic shouts.

Cry of Rebellion

 Momentous events swept the Spanish colonies in the late nineteenth century,
including the Philippines.
 Journalist of the time referred to the phrase “El Grito de Rebellion” or “Cry of
Rebellion” to mark the start of these revolutionary events, identifying the places
where it happened.
 In the Philippines, this happened in August 1896, northeast of Manila, where they
declared rebellion against the Spanish colonial government.
 These events are important markers in the history of colonies that struggled for their
independence against their colonizers.
 The controversy regarding this event stems from the identification of the date and
place where the Cry happened. Prominent Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo
emphasizes the event when Bonifacio tore the cedula or tax receipt before the
Katipunerios who also did the same.
 Some writers identified the first military event with the Spaniards as the moment of
the Cry, for which, Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned a “Himno de Balintawak” to
inspire the renewed struggle after the Pact of the Biak-na-Bato failed.
 A monument to the Heroes of
1896 was erected in what is now
the intersection of Epifanio de los
Santos Avenue (EDSA) and
Andres Bonifacio Drive-North
Diversion Road, and from then
on until 1962, the Cry of
Balintawak was chosen for an
unknown reason.

Cedula or Tax Receipt

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 (Cedula of a Katipunero torn in half)

The Cry of Biak-na-Bato

The Pact of Biak-na-Bato

Signing

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 The Cry of Pugad Lawin

DIFFERENT DATES AND PLACES OF THE CRY

Various accounts of the Cry give different dates and places.

 A guardi civil, Lt. Olegario Diaz, identified the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 25
August 1896.
 Teodoro Kalaw, Filipino historian, marks the place to be in Kangkong, Balintawak, on the
last week of August 1896.
 Santiago Alvarez, a Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez, leader of the Magdiwang
faction in Cavite, put the Cry in Bahay Toro in Quezon City on 24 August 1896.
 Pio Valenzuela, known Katipunero and privy too many events concerning the Katipunan
stated that the Cry happened in Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896.
 Historian Gregorio Zaide identified the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 26
August 1896.
 Teodoro Agoncillo put it at Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896, according to statements by
Pio Valenzuela.
 Research by historian claimed that the event took place in Tandang Sora’s barn in
Gulod, Barangay Banlat, Quezon City, on 21 August 1896.

EVENTS PRIOR TO THE CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN

 Several events occurred to strengthen the unity of the Filipino people and brought a
“thirst” for independence.
 These include the Cavite Mutiny of 1872, Martyrdom of the GOMBURZA, propaganda
movements, and different peaceful campaigns for reforms, Dr. Rizal’s exile in Dapitan,
and the foundation and the discovery of the KKK or Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang

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 Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (“Supreme and Venerable Association of the Children
of the Nation”).

THE KATIPUNAN

 The Katipunan was an offshoot from the La Liga Filipina, a movement that sought to
bring about political reform in the Spanish colonial government led by José Rizal
(Philippines’ national hero).
 Rizal had been exiled right after his organization was formed with their first meeting.
 After several years had passed with essentially no changes in the constitution, Bonifacio
and others lost all hope for some peaceful reform being brought about by La Liga
Filipina.
 Spearheaded by Andres Bonifacio, they abandoned the organization and concentrated
their efforts on the Katipunan to bring about a revolution with the use of violence and
arms.
 Founded by Bonifacio, Ladislaw Diwa, Deodato Arellano, and others on July 7, 1892, the
secret organization consisted of both male and female patrons, including Bonifacio’s
wife, who led the female faction.
 With aiming the organization’s goal of independence from Spain, the Katipunan led by
Andres Bonifacio started the revolution preceded by the Cry of Pugad Lawin.
 August 19, 1896, the paraphernalia used in printing Katipunan documents and other
items was found revealing the existence of the Katipunan.
 Consequently, a series of arrests of Katipuneros in Manila followed, and many Filipinos
were jailed or imprisoned.
 As many as five hundred arrests were performed and many escaped the city for fear of
been captured, tortured, or killed.

TEARING OF CEDULA

 Not all statements describe the tearing of cédulas in the last days of August but the
version of Agoncillo, which was based on the later statements of Pío Valenzuela
including the others who insisted that the cry happened in Pugad Lawin instead of
Balintawak, was the source of the current stance of the Philippine government official
commemorations.
 Bonifacio and many others had escaped to Pugad Lawin.
 During their meeting at the house of Juan Ramos on August 23, 1896, Bonifacio urged
his supporters to tear into pieces their cédulas (residence certificates) as a sign of revolt
against the Spanish government.
 Being highly motivated by the killings and arrest of their fellow members in Manila, they
tore up their cedulas and let out the cry “Long live the Philippines,” which is known as
the Cry of Pugad Lawin in Philippine history.
 He released a manifesto on the 28th for all their supporters in the surrounding towns to
take up arms on the impending strike on Manila which would happen on August 29th.
 The revolt eventually increased in strength and spread to eight provinces –Manila,
Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija — which were
subsequently represented by the eight rays of the sun in the present Filipino flag.

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DEATH AND LEGACY

 The Cry of the Rebellion in Pugad Lawin marked the beginning of the Philippine
Revolution in 1896 which ultimately led to Philippine Independence in 1898.
 After Bonifacio’s death on May 10, 1897, in Maragondon, Cavite, and General Emilio
Aguinaldo continued the revolution.
 He declared the independence of the country from Spain on June 12, 1898, at Kawit,
Cavite.

WEEK 10
EVOLUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

The constitution is defined as a set of fundamental principles or established precedent

according to which a state or other organization I governed, thus, the word itself means to be a
part of a whole, the coming together of distinct entities into one group, with the same principles
and ideals. These principles define the nature and extent of government.

The Constitution of the Philippines, the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines,
has been in effect since 1987. There were only three other constitutions that have effectively
governed the country: the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution, the 1973 Constitution, and the
1986 Freedom Constitution. However, there was earlier constitution attempted by Filipinos in
the struggle to break free from the colonial yoke.

1897: Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was the provisionary Constitution of the Philippine

Republic during the Philippine Revolution, and was promulgated by the Philippine Revolutionary
Government on 1 November 1897. The constitution, borrowed from Cuba, was written by
Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer in Spanish, on translated into Tagalog.

The organs of the government under the Constitution were:(1) the Supreme Council,
which was vested with the power of the Republic, headed by the president and four department
secretaries: the interior, foreign affairs, treasury, and war; (2) the Consejo Supremo de Gracia Y
Justicia (Supreme Council of Grace and Justice), which was given the authority to make
decisions and affirm or disprove the sentences rendered by other courts and to dictate rules for
the administration of justice; and (3) the Asamblea de Representantes ( Assembly of
Representatives), which was to be convened after the revolution to create a new Constitution
and to elect a new Council of Government and Representatives of the people.

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 The Constitution of Biak-na Bato was never fully implemented, since a truce, the Pact of
Biak-na-Bato, was signed between the Spanish and the Philippine Revolutionary Army.

Primary Source: Preamble of the Biak-na-Bato Constitution

The separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their formation into an
independent state with its own government called the Philippine Republic has been the end
sought by the Revolution in the existing war, begun on the 24 th of August, 1896; and, therefore,
in its name and by the power delegated by the Filipino people, interpreting faithfullyr their
desires and ambitions, we the representatives of the Revolution, in a meeting at Biak-na-Bato,
November 1, 1897, unanimously adopted the following articles for the constitutions of the State.

1899: Malolos Constitution

After the signing of the truce, the Filipino revolutionary leaders accepted a payment from
Spain and went to exile in Hong Kong. Upon the defeat of the Spanish to the Americans in the
Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, the United States Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the
Philippines. The newly reformed Philippine revolutionary forces reverted to the control of
Aguinaldo, and the Philippine Declaration of Independence was issued on 12 June 1898,
together with several decrees that formed the First Philippine Republic. The Malolos Congress
was elected, which selected a commission to draw up a draft constitution on 17 September
1898, which was composed of wealthy and educated men.

The document they came up with, approved by the Congress on 29 November 1898,
and promulgated by Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899, was titled "The Political Constitution of
1899" and written in Spanish. The constitution has 39 articles divided into 14 titles, with eight
articles of transitory provisions, and a final additional article. The document was patterned after
the Spanish Constitution of 1812, with influences from the charters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and the French Constitution of 1973. According to
Felipe Calderon, main author of the constitution, these countries were studied because they
shared similar social, political, ethnological, and governance conditions with the Philippines.
Prior constitutional projects in the Philippines also influenced the Malolos Constitution, namely,
the Kartilya and the Sangguniang-Hukuman, the charter of laws and morals of the Katipunan
written by Emilio Jacinto in 1896; the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897 planned by Isabelo
Artacho; Mabini’s Constitutional Program of the Philippines Republic of 1898; the provisional
constitutions; and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898.

Primary Source: Preamble of the Political Constitution of 1899

36
 We, the Representatives of the Filipino People, lawfully convened, in order to establish
justice, provide for common defense, promote the general welfare and insure the benefits of
liberty, imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator of the Universe for the attainment of these
ends, have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the following political constitution.

As a direct challenge to colonial authorities of the Spanish empire, the sovereignty was
retroverted to the people, a legal principle underlying the Philippine Revolution. The people
delegated governmental functions to civil servants while they retained actual sovereignty. The
27 articles of Title IV detail the natural rights and popular sovereignty of Filipinos, the
enumeration of which does not imply the prohibition of any other rights not expressly stated.
Title III, Article V also declares that the State recognizes the freedom and equality of all beliefs,
as well as the separation of Church and State. These are direct reactions to features of the
Spanish government in the Philippines, where the friars were dominant agents of the State.

The form of government, according to Title II, Article 4 is to be popular, representative,

alternative, and responsible, and shall exercise three distinct power-legislative, executive, and
judicial. The legislative power was vested in a unicameral body called the Assembly of
Representatives, members of which are elected for terms of four years. Secretaries of the
government were given seats in the assembly, which meet annually for a period of at least three
months. Bills could be introduced either by the president or by a member of the assembly.
Some powers not legislative in nature were also and interpretation, and the right of impeaching
the president, cabinet members, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and the solicitor-
general. A permanent commission of seven, elected by the assembly, and granted specific
powers by the constitutions, was to sit during the intervals between sessions of the assembly.

Execute power was vested in the president, and elected by a constituent assembly of
the Assembly of Representatives and special representatives. The president will serve a term of
four years without re-election. There was no vice president, and in case of a vacancy, a
president was to be selected by the constituent assembly.

The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the ongoing war. The
Philippines was effectively a territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris
between Spain and the United States, transferring sovereignty of the Philippines on 10
December 1898.

1935: The Commonwealth Constitution

37
 It is worth mentioning that after the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was subject to the
power of the United States of America, effectively the new colonizers of the country. From 1898
to 1901, the Philippines would be placed under a military government until a civil government
would be put into place.

Two acts of the United States Congress were passed that may be considered to have
qualities of constitutionality. First was the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, the first organic law for
the Philippine Islands that provided for the creation of a popularly elected Philippine Assembly.
The act specified that legislative power would be vested in a bicameral legislature composed of
the Philippine Commission as the upper house and the Philippine Assembly as lower house.
Key provisions of the act included a bill of rights for Filipinos and the appointments of two non-
voting Filipino Resident Commissioners of the Philippines are representative to the United
States House of Representatives. The second act that functioned as a constitution was the
Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, commonly referred to as “Jones Law”, which modified the
structure of the Philippine government through the removal of the Philippine Commission,
replacing it with a Senate that served as the upper house and its members elected by the
Filipino voters, the first truly elected national legislature. It was also this Act that explicitly
declared the purpose of the United States to end their sovereignty over the Philippines and
recognize Philippine independence as soon as a stable government can be established.

In 1932, with the efforts of the Filipino independence mission led by Sergio Osmeña and
Manuel Roxas, the United States Congress passed the Hare-Hawess-Cutting Act with the
promise of granting Filipinos’ independence. The bill was opposed by then Senate President
Manuel L. Quezon and consequently, rejected by the Philippine Senate.

By 1934, another law, the Tydings-McDuffie Act, also known as the Philippine
Independence Act, was passed by the United States Congress that provided authority and
defined mechanisms for the establishment of a formal constitution by a constitutional
convention. The members of the convention were elected and held their first meeting on 30 July
1934, with Claro m. Recto unanimously elected as president.

The constitution was crafted to meet the approval of the United States government, and
to ensure that the United States would live up to its promise to grant independence to the
Philippines.

Primary Source: Preamble of the 1935 Commonwealth

The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a government
that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation, promote the

38
general welfare, and secure to themselves and their posterity the blessings of independence
under a regime of justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain and promulgate this constitution.

The constitution created the Commonwealth of the Philippines, an administrative body

that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946. It is a transitional administration to prepare the
country toward its full achievement of independence. It originality provided for a unicameral
National Assembly with a president and vice president elected to six-year term without re-
election. It was amended in 1940 to have a bicameral Congress composed of a Senate and a
House of Representatives, as well as the creation of an independent electoral commission, and
limited the term of office of the president and vice president to four years, with one re-election.
Rights to suffrage were originally afforded to male citizens of the Philippines who are twenty-one
years of age or over and are able to read and write; this was later on extended to women within
two years after the adoption of the constitution.

While the dominant influence in the constitution was American, it also bears traces of the
Malolos Constitution, the German, Spanish, and Mexican constitutions, constitution of several
South American countries, and the unwritten English Constitution.

The draft of the constitution was approved by the constitutional convention on 8

February 1935, and ratified by then U.S President Franklin B. Roosevelt on 25 March 1935.
Elections were held in September 1935 and Manuel L. Quezon was elected President of the
Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth was briefly interrupted by the events of the World War II, with
Japanese occupying the Philippines. Afterward, upon liberation, the Philippines was declared an
independent republic on 4 July 1946.

WEEK 11

1973: Constitutional Authoritarianism

In 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected president, and in 1967, Philippine Congress
passed a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to change the 1935 Constitutional.
Marcos won the re- election in 1969, in a bid boosted by campaign overspending and use of
government funds. Elections of the delegates to the constitutional convention were held on 20
November 1970, and the convention began formally on 1 June 1971, with former President

39
Carlos P. Garcia elected as convention president. Unfortunately, he died, and was succeeded
by another former president, Diosdado Macapagal.

Before the convention finished its work, Martial Law was declared. Marcos cited a
growing communist insurgency as reason for the Martial Law, which was provided for in the
1935 Constitution. Some delegates of the ongoing constitutional convention were placed behind
bars and others went into hiding or were voluntary exiled. With Marcos as dictator, the direction
for the convention turned, with accounts that the president himself dictated some provisions of
the constitution, manipulating the document to be able to hold on to power for as long as he
could. On 29 November 1972, the convention approved its proposed constitution.

The constitution was supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style government, where

legislative power was vested in a unicameral National Assembly, with members being elected to
a six- year term. The president was to be elected as the symbolic and ceremonial head of state
chosen from the members of the National Assembly. The president would serve a six- year term
and could be re- elected to an unlimited number of terms. Executive power was relegated to the
Prime Minister, who was also the head of government and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed
Forces who was also to be elected from the National Assembly.

President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 73 setting the date of the plebiscite to
ratify or reject the proposed constitution on 30 November 1973. This plebiscite was postponed
later on since Marcos feared that the public might vote to reject the constitution. Instead of a
plebiscite, Citizen Assemblies were held, from 10-15 January 1973, where the citizens coming
together and voting by hand, decided on whether to ratify the constitution, suspend the
convening of the Interim National Assembly, continue Martial Law, or place a moratorium on
elections for a period of at least several years. The president, on 17 January 1973, issued a
proclamation announcing that the proposed constitutional had been ratified by an overwhelming
vote of the members of the highly irregular Citizens Assemblies.

The constitution was amended several times. In 1976, Citizen Assemblies, once again,
decided to allow the continuation of Martial Law, as well as approved the amendments: an
Interim Batasang Pambansa to substitute for the Interim National Assembly, the president to
also become the Prime Minister and continue to exercise legislative powers until Martial Law
was lifted and authorized the President to legislate on his own on an emergency basis. An
overwhelming majority would ratify further amendments succeeding. In 1980, the retirement age
of members of the judiciary was extended to 70 years. In 1981, the parliamentary system was
formally modified to a French- style, semi- presidential system where executive power was
restored to the president, who was, once again, to be directly elected; an Executive Committee
was to be created, composed of the Prime Minister and 14 others that served as the president’s
Cabinet; and some electoral reforms were instituted. In 1984, the Executive Committee was
abolished and the position of the vice president was restored.

40
 After all the amendments introduced, the 1973 Constitution was merely a way for the
President to keep executive powers, abolish the Senate, and by any means, never acted as a
parliamentary system, instead functioned as an authoritarian presidential system, with all the
real power concentrated in the hands of the president, with the backing of the constitution.

The situation in the 1980s had been very turbulent. As Marcos amassed power,
discontent has also been burgeoning. The tide turned swiftly when in August1983, Benigno
Aquino Jr., and opposition leader and regarded as the most credible alternative to President
Marcos, was assassinated while under military escort immediately after his return from exile in
the United States. There was widespread suspicion that the others to assassinate Aquino came
from the top levels of the government and the military. This event caused the coming the
coming together of the non- violent opposition against the Marcos authoritarian regimen. Marcos
was then forced to hold “snap” elections a year early, and said elections were marred by
widespread fraud. Marcos declared him winner despite international condemnation and
nationwide protests. A small group military rebel attempted to stage a coup, but failed; however,
this triggered what came to be known as the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, as
people from all walks of life spilled onto the streets. Under pressure from the United States of
America, who used to support Marcos and his Martial Law, the Marcos family fled into exile. His
opponent in the snap elections, Benigno Aquino Jr,’ widow, Corazon Aquino, was installed as
president on 25 February 1986.

1987: Constitution After Martial Law

President Corazon Aquino’s government had three options regarding the constitution:
revert to the 1935 Constitution, retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power to make
reforms, or start a new and break from the “vestiges of a disgraced dictatorship.” They decide to
make a new constitution that, according to the president herself, should be “truly reflective of the
aspirations and ideals of the Filipino people.”

In March 1986, President Aquino proclaimed a transitional constitution to last for a year
while a Constitutional Commission drafted a permanent constitution. This transitional
constitutions, called the Freedom Constitution, maintained many provisions of the one old,
including in rewritten form the presidential right to rule by decree. In 1986, a constitutional
convention was created, composed of 48 members appointed by the President Aquino from
varied backgrounds and representations. The convention drew up a permanent constitution,
largely restoring the setup abolished by Marcos in 1972, but with new ways to keep the
president in check, a reaction to the experience of Marcos’s rule. The new constitution was
officially adopted on 2 February 1987.

41
 The Constitution begins with preamble and eighteen self-contained articles. It
established the Philippines as a “democratic republican State” where “sovereignty resides in the
people and all government authority emanates from them.” It allocates governmental powers
among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government.

The Executive branch is headed by the president and his cabinet, whom he appoints.
The president is the head of the state and the chief executive, but his power is limited by
significant checks from the two other co-equal branches of government, especially during times
of emergency. This is put in place to safeguard the country from the experience of martial law
despotism during the presidency of Marcos. In case of national emergency, the president may
still declare martial law, but no longer than a period of sixty days. Congress, through a majority
vote, can revoke this decision, or extend it for a period that they determine. The Supreme Court
may also review the declaration of martial law and decide if there were sufficient justifying facts
for the act. The president and the vice president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a
single six year term.

The legislative power resides in a Congress divided into two Houses: the Senate and the
House of Representatives. The 24 senators are elected at large by popular vote, and can serve
no more than two consecutive six year terms. The House is composed of district representatives
representing a particular geographic area and makes up around 80% of the total number of
representatives. There are 234 legislative districts in the Philippines that elect their
representatives to serve three-year terms. The 1987 Constitution created a party-list system to
provide sources for the participation of under-represented community sectors or groups. Party-
list representatives may fill up not more than 20% of the seats in the House.
Aside from the exclusive power of legislation, Congress may also declare war, through a
two-thirds vote in both upper and lower houses. The power of legislation, however, is also
subject to an executive check, as the president retains the power to veto or stop a bill from
becoming a law. Congress may only override this power with two-thirds vote in both houses.

The Philippine Court system is vested with the power of the judiciary, and is composed
for a Supreme Court and lower courts as created by law. The Supreme Court is a 15-member
court appointed by the president without the need to be confirmed by Congress. The
appointment the president makes, however, is limited to a list of nominees provided by a
specified Judicial and Bar Council. The Supreme Court Justices may hear, on appeal, any
cases dealing with the constitutionally of any law, treaty, or decree of the government, case
where questions of jurisdiction or judicial error are concerned, or cases where the penalty is
sufficiently grave. It may also exercise original jurisdiction over cases involving government or
international officials. The Supreme Court is also in charge of overseeing the functioning and
administration of the lower courts and their personnel.

The Constitution also established three independent Constitutional Commissions,

namely, the Civil Service Commission, a central agency in charge of government personnel; the

42
Commission on Elections, mandated to enforce and administer all election laws and regulations;
and the Commission on Audit, which examines all funds, transactions, and property accounts of
the government and its agencies.

To further promote to ethical and lawful conduct of the government, the Office of the
Ombudsman was created to investigate complaints that pertain to public corruption, unlawful
behavior of public officials, and other public misconduct. The Ombudsman can charge public
officials before the Sandigang Bayan, a special court created for this purpose.

Only the House of Representatives can initiate the impeachment of the president,
members of the Supreme Court, and other constitutionally protected public officials such as the
Ombudsman. The Senate will then try the impeachment case. This is another safeguard to
promote moral and ethical conduct in the government.

Attempts to Amend or Change the 1987 Constitution

The 1987 Constitution provided for three methods by which the Constitution can be
amended, all requiring ratification by a majority vote in a national referendum. These methods
were Constituent Assembly, Constitutional Convention, and People’s Initiative. Using these
modes, there were efforts to amend of change the 1987 Constitution, starting with the
presidency of Fidel V. Ramos who succeeded Corazon Aquino. The first attempt was in 1995,
when the Secretary of the National Security Council Jose Almonte drafted a constitution, but it
was exposed to the media and it never prospered. The second effort happened in 1997, when a
group called PIRMA hoped to gather signatures from voters to change the constitution through a
people’s initiative. Many were against this, including then Senator Miriam Defensor- Santiago,
who brought the issue to court and won—with the Supreme Court judging that a people’s
initiative cannot push through without an enabling law.

The succeeding president, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, formed a study commission to

investigate the issues surrounding charter change focusing on the economic and judiciary
provisions of the constitution. This effort was also blocked by different entities. After President
Estrada was replaced by another people Power and succeeded by his Vice President, Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, then House Speaker Jose de Venecia endorsed constitutional change
through a Constituent Assembly, which entails a two-thirds vote of the House to propose
amendments or revision to the Constitution. This initiative was also not successful since the
term of President Arroyo was mired in controversy and scandal, including the possibility of
Arroyo extending her term as president, which the Constitution does not allow.

The administration of the succeeding President Benigno Aquino III had no marked
interest in charter change, except those emanating from different members of Congress,

43
including the Speaker of the House, Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who attempted to introduce
amendments to the Constitution that concern economic provisions that aim toward liberalization.
This effort did not see the light of day.

In an upsurge of populism, President Rodrigo Duterte won the 2016 presidential

elections in a campaign centering on law and order, proposing to reduce crime by killing tens of
thousands criminals. He is also known advocate of federalism, a compound mode of
government combining a central of federal government with regional governments in a single
political system. This advocacy is in part an influence of his background, being a local leader in
Mindanao that has been mired in poverty and violence for decades. On 7 December 2016,
President Duterte signed an executive order creating a consultative committee to review the
1987 Constitution.

WEEK 13
Evolution of Philippine Taxation

In today’s world, taxation is a reality that all citizens must contend with for the primary reason
that governments raise revenue from the people they govern to be able to functions fully. In
exchange for the taxes that people pay, the government promises to improve the citizen’s lives
through good governance. Taxation, as a government mechanism to raise funds, developed
and evolved through time, and in the context of the Philippines, we must understand that it
came with our colonial experience.

Taxation in Spanish Philippines

The Philippines may have abundant natural resources even before the encroachment of
the Spaniards, but our ancestors were mainly involved in a subsistence economy, and while the
payment of tribute or taxes (buhis/ buwis/ handug) or the obligation to provide labor services
to the datus in some early Filipino communities in the Philippines may resemble taxation, it is
essentially different from the contemporary meaning of the concept.

The arrival of the Spaniards altered this subsistence system because they imposed the
payment of tributos (tributes) from the Filipinos, similar to what had been practiced in all
colonies in America. The purpose is to generate resources to finance the maintenance of the
islands, such as salaries of government officials and expenses of the clergy. The difficulty faced
by the Spaniards in revenue collections through the tribute was the dispersed nature of the

44
settlements, which they solved by introducing the system of reduccion by creating pueblos,
where Filipinos were gathered and awarded plots of land to till. Later on, the settlements will be
handled by encomenderos who received rewards from the Spanish crown for their services.
Exempted from payment of tributos were the principals: alcaldes, gobernadores, cabezas de
barangay, soldiers, and members of the civil guard, government officials, and vagrants.

The Filipinos who were once satisfied with agricultural production for subsistence had to
increase production to meet the demands of payments and a more intensive agricultural system
had to be introduced. Later on, half of the tribute was paid in cash and the rest with produce.
This financed the conquest of the Philippines.

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, the Manila-Acapulco trade was established
through the galleons, a way by which the Spaniards could make sure that European presence
would be sustained. Once a year, the galleon would be loaded up with merchandise from Asia
and sent to New Spain (Mexico), and back. This improved the economy of the Philippines and
reinforced the control of the Spaniards all over the country. Tax collection was still very poor and
subsidy from the Spain would be needed through the situado real delivered from the Mexican
treasury to the Philippines through the galleons. This subsidy stopped as Mexico became
independent in 1820.

In 1884, the payment of tribute was put to a stop and was replaced by a poll tax
collected through a certificate of identification called the cèdula personal. This is required from
every resident and must be carried while traveling. Unlike the tribute, the payment of cèdulas is
by person, not by family. Payment of the cèdula is progressive and according to income
categories. This system, however, was a heavy burden for the peasants and was easy for the
wealthy. But because of this, revenue collection greatly increased and became the main source
of government income. The Chinese in the Philippines were also made to pay their
discriminatory cèdula which was bigger than what the Filipinos paid.

Two direct taxes were added in 1878 and imposed on urban incomes. Urbana is a tax on
the annual rental value of an urban real estate and industria is a tax on salaries, dividends, and
profits. These taxes were universal and affected all kinds of economic activity except
agriculture, which was exempt to encourage growth.
Indirect taxes such as customs duties were imposed on exports and imports to further
raise revenue, especially during the nineteenth century when economic growth increased
exponentially. There were no excise taxes collected by the Spaniards throughout the years of
colonialism.

The colonial government also gained income from monopolies, such as the sale of
stamped paper, manufacture and sale of liquor, cockpits, and opium, but the biggest of the state
monopolies was tobacco, which began in 1781 and halted in 1882. Only certain areas were

45
assigned to cultivate tobacco, which the government purchased at a price dictated to the
growers. This monopoly made it possible for the colony to create a surplus of income that made
it self-sufficient without the need for the situado real and even contributed to the Treasury of
Spain.

Forced labor was a character of Spanish colonial taxation in the Philippines and was
required from the Filipinos. It proved useful in defending the territory of the colony and
augmenting the labor required by woodcutting and shipbuilding especially during the time of the
galleon trade. Through the polo system, male Filipinos were obliged to serve, a burden that
resulted in an increase in death rate and flight to the mountains, which led to a decrease in
population in the seventeenth century. This changed later on, as polos and servicious became
lighter, and was organized at the municipal level. Labor provided was used in public works, such
as the building of roads and bridges. Some were made to serve the municipal officer or as night
guards.

Males were required to provide labor for 40 days a year (reduced to 15 days a year in
1884). They may opt out by paying the fallas of three pesos per annum, which was usually lost
to corruption because it was collected at the municipal level and were known as caidas or
droppings. The polos would be called prestaciòn personal (personal services) by the second
half of the nineteenth century.

Taxation in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period was characterized by the
heavy burden placed on the Filipinos, and the corruption of the principales, or the former datus
and local elites who were co-opted by the Spaniards to subjugate and control the natives on
their behalf. The principals who were given positions such as cabezas de barangay or alcaldes
in the local government were able to enrich themselves by pocketing tributos and/or fallas, while
the peasants were left to be abused. Taxation appeared progressive but the disparity between
the less taxed principales and the heavily taxed peasants made the rich richer and the poor
poorer.

Primary Source: Mariano Herbosa Writes to Rizal About Taxes

Source: Mariano Herbosa to Jose Rizal, Calamba, 29 August 1886, Letters Between Rizal
and Family Members (Manila: National Heroes Commission, 1964), 239-241.
The tax! With regard to your questions on this, the answer is very long, as it is the cause of
the prevailing misery here. What I can write you will be only one-half of the story and even
Dumas, senior, cannot exhaust the subject. Nevertheless, I’ll try to write what I can, though
I may not be able to give a complete story, you may at least know half of it.

Here, there are many kinds of taxes. What they call irrigated rice land, even if it has no
water, must pay a tax of 50 cavanes of palay (unhusked rice) and land with six cavanes of

46
 seed pay 5 pesos in cash. The land they call dry land that is planted to sugar cane, maize,
and others pay different rates. Even if the agreed amount is 30 pesos for land with six
cavanes of seed, if they see that the harvest is good, they increase the tax, but they don’t
decrease it, if the harvest is poor. There is land whose tax is 25 pesos or 20 pesos,
according to custom.

The most troublesome are the residential lots in the town. There is no fixed rule that is
followed, only their whim. Hence, even if it is only one span in size, if a stone wall is added,
50 pesos must be paid, the lowest being 20 pesos. But a nipa or cogon house pays only
one peso for an area of ten fathoms square. Another feature of this system is that on the
day you accept the conditions, the contract will be written which cannot be changed for four
years, but the tax is increased every year. For these reasons, for two years now the
payment of tax is confused and little by little the fear of the residents here of the word
“vacant” is being dispelled, which our ancestors had feared so much. The result is
bargaining, like they do in buying fish. It is advisable to offer a low figure and payment can
be postponed, unlike before when people were very much afraid to pay after May.

I’m looking for a receipt to send you, but I cannot find any, because we don’t get a receipt
every time we pay. Anyway it is value-less as it does not state the amount paid; it only says
that the tax for that year was paid. Without stating whether it is five centavos, twenty-five
centavos, one hundred, or one thousand pesos. The residents who ask or get the said
receipt accept it with closed eyes. The receipt has no signature in the place where the
amount paid ought to be, although it bears their name. Until now I cannot comprehend why
some are signed and others are not. This is more or less what is happening here in the
payment of the land tax and it has been so for many years since I can remember.

Besides this, the taxes on the plants in the fields that are far from the town, like the land in
Pansol, are various. The tax on the palay is separate from the tax on maize, mongo, or
garlic. There is no limit to this tax, for they fix it themselves. Since July no one buys sugar
and since June locusts are all over the town and they are destroying palay and sugar cane,
which is what we regret here. The governor gave 50 pesos to pay the catchers of locusts,
but when they took them to the town hall they were paid only 25 cents a cavan and a half;
and it seems that the locusts are not decreasing. According to the guess of the residents
here only 300 cavanes of locusts have been caught in this town. Many still remain. Though
the governor has not sent any more money, the people have not stopped catching them.

Taxation under the Americans

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 The Americans who acquired the Philippines aimed to make the economy self-sufficient
by running the government with the smallest possible sum of revenue and create surplus in the
budget. From 1898 to 1903, the Americans followed the Spanish system of taxation with some
modification, noting that the system introduced by the Spaniards were outdated and regressive.
The military government suspended the contracts for the sale of opium, lottery, and mint
charges for coinage of money. Later on, the urbana would be replaced by tax on real estate,
which became known as the land tax. The land tax was levied on both urban and rural real
estates.

The problem with land tax was that land titling in the rural area was very disorderly: the
appraising of land value was influenced by political and familial factors and the introduction of a
taxation system on agricultural land faced objections from the landed elite. Tax evasion was
prevalent, especially among the elites.

The Internal Revenue Law of 1904 was passed as a reaction to the problems of
collecting land tax. It prescribed ten major sources of revenue: (1) licensed taxes on firms
dealing alcoholic beverages and tobacco, (2) excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco
products, (3) taxes on banks and bankers, (4) document stamp taxes, (5) the cèdula, (6) taxes
on insurance and insurance companies, (7) taxes on forest products, (8) mining concessions,
(9) taxes on business and manufacturing, and (10) occupational licenses.

The cèdula went through changes in the new law as the rate was fixed per adult male,
which resulted in a great decline in revenues. In 1907, some provinces were authorized to
double the fee for the cèdula to support the construction and maintenance of roads. The
industria tax was levied on the business community and became a highly complex system that
assigned a certain tax to an industrial or commercial activity according to their profitability. The
new act also imposed a percentage tax on sales payable quarterly.

In 1913, the Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act was passed, resulting in a reduction in the
revenue of the government as export taxes levied on sugar, tobacco, hemp, and copra were
lifted. To make up for the loss, then Governor General Francis Burton Harrison urged that tax
receipts be increased to make up for the loss. Minor changes were made to the 1904 Internal
Revenue Act such as the imposition of taxes on mines, petroleum products, and dealers of
petroleum products and tobacco.

New sources of taxes were introduced later on. In 1914, an income tax was introduced;
in 1919, an inheritance tax was created; and in 1932, a national lottery was established to
create more revenue for the government. However, these new creations were not enough to
increase government revenues.

Taxation during the Commonwealth Period

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 New measures and legislation were introduced to make the taxation system appear
more equitable during the Commonwealth. Income tax rates were increased in 1936, adding a
surtax rate on individual net incomes in excess of 10,000 pesos. Income tax rates of
corporations were also increased. In 1937, the cèdula tax was abolished, which appeared to be
a progressive move; but in 1940, a residence tax was imposed on every citizen aged 18 years
old and on every corporation.

In 1939, the Commonwealth government drafted the National Internal Revenue Code,
introducing major changes in the new tax system, as follows:

1. The normal tax of three percent and the surtax on income was replaced by a single tax
at a progressive rate.
2. Personal exemption was reduced.
3. Corporation income tax was slightly increased by introducing taxes on inherited estates
or gifts donated in the name of dead persons.
4. The cumulative sales tax was replaced by a single turnover tax of 10% on luxuries.
5. Taxes on liquors, cigarettes, forestry products, and mining were increased.
6. Dividends were made taxable.

The introduced tax structure was an improvement of the earlier system introduced by the
Americans, but remained inequitable. The lower class still felt the bulk of the burden of taxation,
while the upper class, the landed elite or the people in political positions, were able to maneuver
the situation that would benefit them more. The agriculture sector was still taxed low to promote
growth, but there was no incentive for industrial investments to take root and develop.

Finally, a common character of taxation during the American occupation in the Philippines
was not used to diversify the economy or direct economic development as some sectors still
carried the disproportionate share of the tax burden.

As World War II reached the Philippine shores, economic activity was put to a stop and the
Philippines bowed to a new set of administrators, the Japanese. The Japanese military
administration in the Philippines during World War II immediately continued the system of tax
collection introduced during the Commonwealth, but exempted the articles belonging to the
Japanese armed forces. Foreign trade fell and the main sources of taxation came from
amusements, manufactures, professions, and business licenses. As the war raged, tax
collection was a difficult tax and additional incomes of the government were derived from the
sales of the National Sweepstakes and sale of government bonds.

49
 The expenditure of Japanese military government grew greatly, and they issued military
notes in order to cover the costs of the war.

Fiscal Policy from 1946 to Present

The impact of the war on the Philippine economy was effectively disparate, as Manila,
the capital, was razed to the ground while the rest of the Philippines were relatively untouched.
But the highly agriculture based economy was disrupted. The United States may have declared
the Philippines independent, but as the country needed rehabilitation funds from the United
States, the dependency of the Philippines to the Americans was an opportunity to be taken
advantage of by the former colonial administrators. The economic situation was so problematic
that by 1949, there was a severe lack of funds in many aspects of governance, such as the
military and education sectors. No efforts were made to improve tax collection and the United
States advised the adoption of direct taxation. The administration of President Manuel Roxas
declined the proposal because it did not want to alienate its allies in Congress.

The impetus for economic growth came during the time of President Elpido Quirino
through the implementation of import and exchange controls that led to import substitution
development. This policy allowed for the expansion of a viable manufacturing sector that
reduced economic dependence on imports. New tax measures were also passed, which
included higher corporate tax rates that increased government revenues- tax revenue in 1953-
increased two fold compared to 1948, the year when Quirino first assumed presidency.

While the succeeding presidencies of Magsaysay, Garcia, and Macapagal promised to

study the tax structure and policy of the country (through the creation of a Tax Commission in
1959 by means of Republic Act No. 2211) to make way for a more robust and efficient tax
collection scheme, post-war fiscal policy remained regressive, characterized by the
overburdening of the lowest classes while the landed elite who held business interests were in
Congress to ensure that taxes would not be levied to them who belonged to the higher classes
of society. The period of the post-war republic also saw a rise in corruption. From 1959 to 1968,
Congress did not pass any tax legislation despite important changes in the economy and the
stakes of Filipino businesspersons in Congress would manifest in many instances such as the
rejection of taxes on imports. Indirect taxation still contributed to three quarters of tax revenues
and the Omnibus Tax Law of 1969 did not increase the ratio of income tax to general tax
revenue. Collection of taxes remained poor; tax structure was still problematic; and much of
public funds were lost to corruption, which left the government incapable of funding projects
geared toward development.

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 Under the Marcos authoritarian regime, the tax system remained regressive. During the
latter part of the Marcos’s years (1981-1985), the tax system was still heavily dependent on
indirect taxes, which made up 70% of total tax collection. The tax system also remained
unresponsive. Taxes grew at an average annual rate of 15% and generated a low tax yield. Tax
effort, defined as the ratio between the share of the actual tax collection in gross domestic
product and predictable taxable capacity, was at a low 10.7%.

As Corazon Aquino took the helm of the government after the EDSA Revolution, she
reformed the tax system through the 1986 Tax Reform Program. The aim was to improve the
responsiveness of the tax system, promote equity by ensuring that similarly situated individuals
and firms bear the same tax burden, and promote growth by withdrawing or modifying taxes that
reduce incentives to work or produce, and improve tax administration by simplifying the tax
system and promoting tax compliance.

A major reform in the tax system introduced under the term of Aquino was the
introduction of the value-added tax (VAT), with the following features:

1. Uniform rate of 10% on sale of domestic and imported goods and services and zero
percent on exports and foreign-currency denominated sales;
2. Ten (10) percent in lieu of varied rates applicable to fixed taxes (60 nominal rates),
advance sales tax, tax on original sale, subsequent sales tax, compensating tax,
miller’s tax, contractor’s tax, broker’s tax, film lessors and distributor’s tax, excise tax
on solvents and matches, and excise tax on processed videotapes;
3. Two percent tax on entities with annual sales or receipts of less than 5,200,000;
4. Adoption of tax credit method of calculating tax by subtracting tax on inputs from tax
on gross sales;
5. Exemption of the sale of basic commodities such as agriculture and marine food
products in their original state, price-regulated petroleum products and fertilizers; and
6. Additional 20% tax on non-essential articles such jewelry, perfumes, toilet waters,
yacht, and other vessels for pleasure and sports.

The VAT law was signed in 1986 and put to effect in 1988. While it was a reliable source of
revenue for the government, new tax laws would reduce its reliability as legislated exemptions
grew.

Along with tax, reform came the administrative reforms, such as the restructuring of the
Department of Finance and its attached agency, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) through
the Executive Order 127. Tax collection and tax audits were intensified; computerization was
introduced; and corruption was relatively reduced, which improved the trust in the BIR in
general. As a result of the tax reform of the Aquino administration, both tax and revenue effort
rose, increasing from 10.7% in 1985 to 15.4% in 1992.

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 Greater political stability during the administration of Fidel Ramos in 1992 allowed for
continued economic growth. The Ramos administration ventured into its own tax reform
program in 1997 through the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which was implemented to
(1) make the tax system broad-based, simple, and with reasonable tax rates; (2) minimize tax
avoidance allowed by existing flaws and loopholes in the system; (3) encourage payments by
increasing tax exemptions levels, lowering the highest tax rates, and simplifying procedure; and
(4) rationalize the grant of tax incentives, which was estimated to be worth 531.7 billion pesos in
1994.

The VAT base was also broadened in 1997 to include services, through Republic Act 7716.
The features of the improved VAT law were as follows:

1. Restored the VAT exemptions for all cooperatives (agricultural, electric, credit or
multipurpose, and others) provided that the share capital of each member does not
exceed 515,000 pesos.
2. Expanded the coverage of the term “simple processes” by including broiling and
roasting, effectively narrowing the tax base for food products.
3. Expanded the coverage of the term “original state” by including molasses.
4. Exempted from the VAT are the following:
 Importation of meat
 Sale or importation of coal and natural gas in whatever form or state
 Educational services rendered by private educational institution duly
accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)
 House and lot and other residential dwellings valued at 51 million and below,
subject to adjustment using the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
 Lease of residential units with monthly rental per unit of not more than
58,000, subject to adjustment using CPI.
 Sale, importation, printing, or publication of books and any newspaper

The succeeding term of President Joseph Estrada in 1998 was too short to constitute any
change in the tax system. Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was swept to power
through another EDSA Revolution. As President, she undertook increased government
spending without adjusting tax collections. This resulted in large defects from 2002 to 2004. The
government had to look for additional sources of revenue, and in 2005, the Expanded Value-
Added Tax (E-VAT) was signed into law as Republic Act 9337. This expanded the VAT base,
subjecting to VAT energy products such as coal and petroleum products and electricity
generation, transmission, and distribution. Select professional services were also taxed. In
February 2006, the VAT tax rate was also increased from 10% to 12%.

As President Benigno Aquino III succeeded President Arroyo in 2010, he promised that no
new taxes would be imposed and additional revenue would have to come from adjusting
existing taxes. The administration ventured into the adjustment of excise tax on liquor and

52
cigarettes or the Sin Tax Reform, motivations for which was primarily fiscal, public health, and
social order related considerations. Republic Act 10351 was passed, and government revenues
from alcohol and tobacco excise taxes increased. Collections from tobacco and alcohol in 2015
made up 1.1% of the Gross Domestic Product and the improvement in tax collection resulted in
the Philippines receiving a credit rating upgrade into investment grade status. The Sin Tax
Reform was an exemplar on how tax reform could impact social services as it allowed for the
increase of the Department of Health budget (triple in 2015) and free health insurance
premiums for the poor people enrolled in PhilHealth increased (from 55.2 million in 2012 to
515.4 million in 2015).

The administration of the new President Rodrigo Duterte promised tax reform, particularly in
income taxes as it vowed to lower income tax rates shouldered by working Filipinos. The
present income tax scheme of the country is the second highest in Southeast Asia and the
current laws on income taxes were outdated as they were drafted two decades ago. The
proposed tax reform also seeks to limit VAT exemptions and increase excise taxes on
petroleum products and automobiles. It is hoped that reforms in the country’s tax policy will
result in the much-desired economic development that will be felt even by the lowest classes in
society.

WEEK 14
Doing Historical Research Online and Libraries

Online

Let us start with the first tool that any student nowadays would use to do research- the
Internet. It has increasingly becomes the primary means by which anyone would find any
information that they need. With a single click, students are able to access tons and tons of
available information. So much information, in fact, that it would be easy to get lost in all the
data available.

Cyberspace is a great resource for research if you know how to sue it properly.
Remember that just because information is available does not mean you should just get it and
use it right away- appropriating something, such as an idea, as yours is considered plagiarism,
which is one of the worst crimes in the academe. Treat anything you find online as a source and
use the same historical methods you have learned to analyze the data you get online.

53
 A simple skill that will get you far in doing historical research online knows where to look
and how to look. Search engine websites such as Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) or Google
(www.google.com) could lead you to a lot of sources with the right search strings. A search
string is combination of words that you use to come up with relevant results and lead you to
what you are looking for. The more refined your search string is, the more definite and refined
the results will be.

Google also provide its own customized platform for scholarly research, called Google
Scholar (www.scholar.google.com). You may use it to find electronic journal articles, material
from institutional repositories, and book chapters from many different sources. It could be a
good starting point in building your research by providing you an overview of existing published
material for your topic. Google Books (www.books.google.com) also provides sources for
scanned books, where you may be able read some chapters for free. This could be useful if you
want to know if a certain book would be useful to your research before going to a physical
library to loan the book or photocopy pages of it.

Sometimes, a simple search online is all you need to find the data you need. And most
often, one of the first results that will come out will be pages from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is the
biggest open source encyclopedia in the whole of cyberspace. In 2017, it has 40 million articles
in 293 languages. Being an open source encyclopedia, anyone could contribute or edit articles
in the site, which makes some of the information in the site unreliable. Nonetheless, Wikipedia
provides a useful launch pad to sources that you may use for research. When you read from
Wikipedia, look at the linked citations in the articles, which could lead you to a source you may
use for your own research. However, exercise caution in using this site, as many in the
academe frown upon research that utilizes Wikipedia. As a practice, use Wikipedia to gain a
general overview of what you need to know so that you may be guided in looking for credible
and reliable sources that you need for your research.

There are websites that you may use to legally download scanned copies of books and
other materials for free, especially those books with expired copyrights and are in public
domain. Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) is the oldest digital library in the world,
founded in 1971. It has more than 50,000 items in its collection, which include may works
concerning the Philippines, such as the Doctrina Cristiana (the first published book in the
Philippines). The published travelogues of foreigners who visited the Philippines such as Jagor,
de Comyn, Virchow, Foreman, and Worcester; Austin Craig’s biography of Rizal, and all
volumes of Blair and Robertson’s The Philippine Islands: 1943-1898. Another online archive you
may use is Internet Archive (www.archive.org), an online library that originally sought to archive
web history, but grew later on to provide digital versions of other works. The archive contains
279 billion web pages, 11 million books and texts, four million audio recordings, three million
videos, one million images, and 100,000 software programs.

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 Philippine government websites (www.gov.ph) are starting to be enriched with sources
that may be used for historical research, especially on laws and other government issuances
that may be useful when doing topics of a more contemporary period. Websites of newspapers,
magazines, broadcasting stations, and other media outlets usually keep an archive of their
articles from a particular date. For older issues, you may have to find copies, either digitized or
physical copies, in the library.

Libraries

Research in libraries is necessary in the study of history as these are repositories of

primary and secondary sources that allow us to create narratives of the past through accepted
methods of historical scholarship. It is imperative upon students to be able to develop an
aptitude toward doing research in these venues so as to further develop their skills in historical
research.

Students of history are usually expected to write historical essays and/or historical
research paper, and this entails the collection of data through primary sources. There are
available primary sources on Philippine history online, however, much remains to be digitized
and made accessible to the public. Libraries still provide more variety of sources in different
formats such as books, journal articles, newspapers, magazines, photographs, and even audio
and video recordings. But sifting through all the materials available might prove to be a daunting
task for the unacquainted.

Nowadays, libraries have forgone the tedious and antiquated card cataloging system
and have been using the digital version to catalog their holdings, called the Online Public
Access Catalog (OPAC), sometimes simply the Library Catalog. In this system, instead of going
through each entry on physical index cards, a simple search will yield the holdings of the library
related to what you are searching for. Searching by subject will give you a list of sources;
primary and secondary, to aid you in creating a preliminary biography that you may later on
access physically in the holdings of the library.

A problem that could arise this way is when the search yields too many results- sifting
through these may need a more refined search string using more definite keywords to limit the
results. For example, “Philippine History” as a search string would result in hundreds, even
thousands of materials. Limit it to particular keywords that focus on your topic, such as

55
“Philippine Revolution,” “Emilio Aguinaldo,” “Declaration of Independence,” and other more
defined strings.

The catalog lists down all kinds of materials available based on the subject used in the
search. These could be books, journals, maps, and other materials that fit what you might be
looking for. Do not limit yourself to using books and other published materials when you may be
able to utilize other forms of sources. Materials that may be too old to be physically handled
may also be available in digital form or microfilm.

The National Library of the Philippines in Ermita, Manila Provides a rich treasure trove of
materials for the student-researcher interested in Philippine history, especially in their Filipiniana
section. It has a valuable Rizaliana collection, several sets of Blair and Robertson’s The
Philippine islands, 1493-1898, rare Filipiniana books, Philippine Presidential Papers, and other
materials that are accessible to the public, especially to students.

Research in archives may be a lot more difficult and prove to be too advanced, but will
provide you with many sources not available in the usual libraries. The National Archives of the
Philippines, also in Manila, is an agency of the government mandated to collect, store, preserve,
and make available records of the government and other primary sources pertaining to the
history and development of the Philippines. Most of the materials here especially for the years of
Spanish colonialism, are in their original language and may not be accessible to college
students. But other materials may be useful, and it would not hurt to ask assistance from the
staff in the archives.

The libraries in the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City have holdings
that could also be useful in research. The collections particularly in the Main Library in Gonzales
Hall are rich in resources especially the Filipiniana section, serials, theses, and dissertations.

Other university libraries are also accessible to the public. The Ateneo de Manila
University in Quezon City holds the American Historical Collection, a rich source for the
American period in the Philippines. The University of Santo Tomas in España, Mania also has
collections from the sixteenth century, owing to the fact that it is the oldest Catholic University in
the country and is a historic site in itself.

Private libraries and institutions also have archives that may be used for research. The
Family History Center at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a generous resource
for research on genealogies. The Chinben See Memorial Library in Kaisa-Angelo King Heritage
Center offers resources on Chinese and Filipino-Chinese in the Philippines and in Southeast
Asia. The Archdiocesan Archives of Manila has immense Church data sources. Your city or

56
town may have its own local archives, museum, or public library where you may access primary
sources and other materials for your research.

WEEK 15
Doing Life Histories and Biographical Research

Studying history is always focused on history of nations and different collectives.

Studying the life of an individual is often incidental to a greater event that has been significant to
the life of a larger unit that he or she happened to contribute to. Life history is an oft-neglected
subdiscipline of history because it is seen as trivial to larger narratives of nations, societies, and
civilizations. However, students of history should realize that the individual is a significant
contributor to various historical breakthroughs across periods of time. Individuals make up
societies and individual actions can cause large-scale social change.

Individuals’ influence can span centuries and generations. Individuals can also influence
large spaces and many places. For example, Jesus Christ as an individual influenced the whole
world. The faith and the religion that He started also launched wars, created civilizations, lasted
for many centuries, and persist up to the present. Jose Rizal, on the other hand, influenced
many generations of Filipinos. His novels inspired radical Filipinos to fight the colonizers, and
his death was seen as the tipping point of the revolution. However, his influence was limited to
the Philippines.

These examples are cases of exceptional individuals. History has proven that their lives,
their exploits, and their legacies had a huge impact in the society where they belonged.
Nevertheless, the writing of life history should not be limited to great individuals like heroes,
prophets, or world leaders. Ordinary individuals should also be able to locate themselves in the
pages of history. One should see himself as part of a larger history and not as a separate and
remote entity unaffected by what is happening around him. Doing life histories should be
accompanied by locating the life of the individual in the larger social life.

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 Indeed, people’s interest in history can be perked up once they realize that their lives
can be plotted alongside the trajectory of history of a larger nation, society, or even local
community. There is after all, a mutual constitution between history and biography. However,
doing a life history is not an easy task. The researcher should be able to identify different factors
that affected the life of the person he is trying to study. Some special scientists would lament
that studying individuals tend to be more complicated than studying societies. Individuals are
distinct, unique and dynamic. The life historian or the biographer should identify aspects of the
individual’s life in order to properly historicize his life.

For example, studying the life of Jose Rizal does not only require looking at big events in
his life that affected the nascent nation, like the publication of his novels, his exile to Dapitan, or
his execution in Bagumbayan. A more thorough understanding of Rizal’s life necessitates
looking at different aspects of his life that affected his persona. Examples are his family, his
education, his peers, his travels, and even his affections. In relation to this, one should also look
at the context where Rizal existed. It’s worthwhile to ask, for example, about Rizal’s hometown.
What were the characteristics of Calamba, Laguna in the nineteenth century? What was the
most common livelihood in that town? Was it rich progressive municipality? What was the
terrain like? Was it an agricultural locality? These questions will give context to Rizal’s childhood
and family.

Speaking of family, doing a life history of an individual will also lead to questions about
his family and genealogy. Indeed, family is an important aspect of an individual. It determines
the person’s socioeconomic status, religious belief, character, interests, and values. In the same
example, getting to know Rizal’s family and genealogy would tell us about Rizal’s
socioeconomic status. Such will answer other questions about Rizal, like how did he afford to
study in good schools in Manila even though he was an indio? What were his interests in the
Calamba hacienda incident? Who instilled upon him the value of education? Who was his
greatest influence? And so on.

Institutions where the individual belonged should also be looked at in studying his life
history. If the family and the community where he belonged will give us clues about his early life,
the latter stages of his life can be understood with certain activities and learning that he had as
he affiliated in different institutions like schools, organizations, fraternity, church, and interest
groups. In the case of Rizal, for example, one can learn a lot about the development of his ideas
by knowing the kind of education taught at the Universidad de Santo Tomas and Ateneo
Municipal. His political opinions and biases shaped his work with the Propagandistas in Europe
and in his stint in La Solidaridad. Institutions, indeed, are not only shaped by individuals.
Institutions also shaped individuals.

Other aspects that may be studied in order to come up with a deeper life history are
sector, ethnic group, and culture. Zooming out to the national history of the country where that
individual identifies with is also helpful.

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 Understanding these seemingly mundane aspects of an individual’s life would provide
historians insightful information that will allow him, not just to simply state facts about the
individual but also to make sense of these facts and establish connections about different
aspects of the individual’s life in order to understand the person that he has become.

Biographical research in education may be conceived in many different ways; however,

typically the topic constitutes the study of a single life, focusing primarily upon an individual who
in some way is affiliated with the professional field of education, broadly conceived (Garraty,
1957; Oates, 1986). Other research methodologies are often bundled within the descriptor of
biography and include life history writing, oral history, memoir, autobiography, and life narrative
(Roberts, 2002; Josselson & Lieblich, 1993).

Among the numerous forms of biographical research in education, five types are often noted:
scholarly chronicles, intellectual biography, life history writing, memoir biography, and narrative
biography. These orientations may take the form of articles, vignettes, chapters, monographs,
and full-length books. One need not draw fine distinctions among these different approaches,
however, and each orientation offers particular strengths for the presentation of the biographical
subject. Realms are crossed continually as the intent and purpose of the biographer become
more clearly defined during the research process. Ultimately, biographers while engaged in their
research are constantly examining their interpretive voices as much as the lives of their
biographical subjects.

The scholarly chronicle is the most fundamental (and common) type of biographical
research with its focus on the historical portrayal of an individual life. This basic research
orientation constitutes telling the subject’s story in chronological order with emphasis upon the
development of a quest plot (life pattern-stages) and the description of acts of recognition (or
notoriety) as the biographer marches through the life of the biographical subject. The scholarly
chronicle is often viewed as synonymous with biography; however, this research orientation is
markedly different from other forms of biographical inquiry.

Another genre, intellectual biography, forsakes the need for basic chronological structure
and develops a narrative of a life through the conceptual analysis of the subject’s motives and
beliefs within the world of ideas. Those who write intellectual biography have overcome the
interpretive angst of other educational researchers, what Rollyson (2005) has deemed “the
biographical apologia,” who include pages of interviewee narrative and rich description but who
refrain from interpreting motives and feelings. In contrast, the intellectual biographer recognizes
and accepts the invasive yet justifiable analysis and overcomes the intrusive nature of inquiry
with care resulting in self-reflective thoughtfulness and insight.

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 A third form of biographical research is defined as life history writing (and the narrative
study of lives) with strong allegiance to the social science research traditions of oral history and
narrative discourse and, specifically, great devotion to theoretical constructs from sociology and
psychology. Case study paradigms emerge as life history writers address issues of
generalizability, social interaction-social structure, and reliability and validity as well as the
biographical quest of any study of a life. This research genre has taken many forms in the field
of education, perhaps resonating most in the area of teacher education with the narrative study
of teachers’ lives scholarship and, to a lesser degree, with the first-year teacher research that
also remains loyal to aspects of intellectual biography (Goodson, 2008; Bullough, 2008).

In recent years a fourth genre, memoir biography (still distinct from autobiography and
memoir) has begun to appear in the field of curriculum studies. Attention is devoted to the
researcher’s motives in relation to the biographical subject and with emphasis upon the stylistic
presentation of the biographer’s reflections and insights in relation to the factual account of the
life. An interpretive narrative of the writer, alongside the presentation of the biographical subject,
becomes part of the research. A life story is being told, yet in relation to the transactional
experiences of the biographer that in turn influences and foreshadows similar experiences for
the reader.

A fifth type, narrative biography, represents a dynamic portrayal of a life without the need
for absolute facticity or a comprehensive account from birth to grave. Neither is this style
burdened by the ultimate interpretation of the subject that must be accepted by the reader.
Facts are recognized and some interpretations are accepted as being more significant than
others; however, the biographer, though consciously aware of his or her personal emotions and
reactions to the subject, acknowledges that the telling of the story is primarily defined by the
subject in relation to the reader.

No definitive listing of biographical types can ever be constructed since, fortunately, new
forms—content and process oriented—are continually being conceived and explored. Other
more content-related designations include feminist biography (Alpern, et al., 1992; Ascher, et.
al., 1984; Wagner-Martin, 1994) and black biography (Backscheider, 1997), all with emphasis
upon identity and the restoration of the “invisible” subject.

Biography’s relationship to autobiography, memoir, and narrative research in education is

well developed and will continually be redefined (Denzin, 1989; Epstein, 1991; Rollyson,
2008) Yet, with the emerging interest in biographical inquiry and with some growing interest in
prosopography (group biography), little consensus of terminology exists; for example, it should
be noted that while some qualitative researchers view the term auto/biography as accurate,
there are dramatic differences between biography and autobiography—much more than any
slash or solidus can convey.

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