Social Science 1C (SS1C) – Readings in Philippine History

TSU VMGO

VISION Tarlac State University is envisioned to be a premier university

in Asia and the Pacific.

MISSION Tarlac State University commits to promote and sustain the

offering of quality & programs in higher and advanced education
ensuring equitable access to education for people
empowerment, professional development, and global
competitiveness.

Towards this end, TSU shall:

1. Provide high quality instruction trough qualified,

competent & adequately trained faculty members &
support staff.
2. Be a premier research institution by enhancing research
undertaking in the fields of technology & sciences &
strengthening collaborating with local and international
institution.
3. Be a champion in community development by
strengthening partnership with public and private
organization & individuals

CORE VALUES E – xcellence

Q - uality
U - nity
I - ntegrity
T - rust in God, Transparency & True Commitment
Y - earning for Global Competitiveness
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY
SOCIAL SCIENCE 1C (SS1C)
3 UNITS Credit
NO Pre-requisite Course

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The course analyzes Philippine history from multiple perspectives through the lens of selected
primary sources coming from various disciplines and of different genres. Students are given
opportunities to analyze the author’s background and main arguments, compare different points
of view, identify biases and examine the evidences presented in the document. The discussions
will tackle traditional topics in history and other interdisciplinary themes that will deepen and
broaden their understanding of Philippine political, economic, cultural, social, scientific and
religious history. Priority is given to primary materials that could help students develop their
analytical and communication skills. The end goal is to develop the historical and critical
consciousness of the students so that they will become versatile, articulate, broadminded,
morally upright and responsible citizens.

COURSE OUTLINE:

MIDTERM COVERAGE
CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY
Module 1: Introduction to History -- MINE

Module 2: Issues and Problems in Philippine Historiography – MINE

CHAPTER II: NATURE OF CRITICISM IN HISTORY AND ANALYSIS OF SELECTED
PRIMARY SOURCES
Content and contextual analysis of selected primary sources

Identification of the historical importance of the text and examination of the author’s main
argument and point of view

Selected Readings:

Group 1. Module 3: “First Voyage Around the World by Magellan” by Antonio Pigafetta

Group 2. Module 4: “Customs of the Tagalogs” by Juan de Plasencia

Group 3. Module 5: “Kartilya ng Katipunan” by Emilio Jacinto

Group 4. Module 6: “The Revolution of 1896 and its Aftermath” and “Mga Gunita ng
Himagsikan” by Emilio Aguinaldo

Group 5. Module 7: “Declaration of Philippine Independence” by Ambrosio Rianzares-

Bautista
Group 6. Module 8: “ Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era, 1900-
41” by Alfred McCoy

FINAL TERM COVERAGE

CHAPTER III: One Past and many Histories: Controversies and Conflicting Views in
Philippine History
Cases:
Group 7. Module 10: The First Mass in the Philippines

Group 8. Module 11: The Cavite Mutiny of 1872

Group 9. Module 12: Jose Rizal’s Retraction

Group 10. Module 13: Cry of Balintawak or Pugadlawin

Special Topics:
1. 1987 Constitution
2. IPRA Law and Government Peace Treaties with Muslim Filipinos
3. Local and Oral History, Cultural Performances and Indigenous practices
 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO
HISTORY: Definition,
Nature, Methodology and
Importance

RATIONALE:

Module 1 introduces to students the discipline of History and its domain. The students are
expected to understand the methodology of History and appreciate its importance.

Practically, this module aims to develop student’s skill in evaluating historical sources for their
credibility, authenticity, and provenance, as well as analyzing the context, content, and
perspective of different kinds of sources, especially in this times of historical revisionism and
post-truth.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE USER:

1. The user is to study this module at his own pace within the time frame set by the
instructor. Check the OBTL syllabus for guidance.
2. Video links for subtopics are also provided in this module.
3. References, Supplemental and Additional readings are also given for further
understanding and appreciation of the lesson.
4. Self-Check Test are also available for student’s self-assessment. Respective
instructors may ask the students to submit answers via agreed platforms

MODULE 1 OUTLINE

I. Introduction to History
A. Etymology and Definition
B. Historiography
C. Elements
D. Nature
E. Why Do We Study History (Importance)
F. History in relation with other social sciences
II. Sources in History
A. Primary
B. Secondary
C. Tertiary
D. Types of historical sources
III. Historical Criticism
A. External
B. Internal
C. Debunking “Sa Aking Mga Kabata” and “Code of Kalantiaw” through
Historical Criticism

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the definition, nature, methodology and domain of History
2. Appreciate the importance of History
3. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources
4. Evaluate sources for their credibility, authenticity, and provenance
5. Validate sources through historical criticism
 I. Introduction to History

Why do people do the things we do?

How can we explain human behavior?
Under what circumstances do people take certain actions, and in what circumstances do they
take surprising actions?

One can derive answers for these questions from an academic discipline known as History. By
examining past events of humans, we can compare their situations to different periods and draw
conclusions as to what we can learn from these past events. Lessons learned from these past
events can provide understanding of present day phenomenon. We look at the past, but we do
so to learn about people today. By studying history, we are able to know and understand the
story of our nation, trace our roots and identity, find lessons from the past that will address
problems of today and be able to use these to move forward to the future. “Today’s events are
tomorrow’s history” as the saying goes.

A. Etymology and Definition

History ( from the Greek word Historie or Historia which means “learning, inquiry and or
investigation”) is a branch of the Social Sciences that deals with the systematic study of
significant past, a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events and which
concerns people and human nature.
Being a branch of the social sciences, History centers on the study of people and the society.
Which is why, the people are considered as the focal point in the study of history. The
definition emphasizes that it is a “systematic” study. This means that history as a discipline
follows a methodology in order to establish and be able to validate facts and evidences.
The definition mentions of “significant” past as the subject matter of history. By “significant
past” it entails that only past events which has affected the political, cultural, social and
economic aspects of the society or of the lives of the people, are considered part of history. It
does not follow that everything that happened in the past is considered part of Philippine History
i.e On June 14, 2001, Pedro threw a ball of paper in the trashcan. That is a past event but
cannot be considered as part of Philippine History. Consistently, the definition of history
only covers those which are “recorded” or “written” events. It is important to note, that
“history” is a western concept which failed to account unrecorded or unwritten sources
of history like oral traditions in the case of the Philippines. These issues regarding the western
concept of “history” and our Filipino concept of “kasaysayan” will be further tackled in our next
module.
 B. Historiography

Historiography on the other hand refers to the study of history itself. Historiography analyzes
who is the history writer, the motives of the writer, the sources of the writer, theories applied and
other historical methods. It also analyzes the context when the history was written.

C. Elements of History
1. The Historian. This refers to the person writing the history.
2. Place. The location where the history was written
3. Period. Refers to the context of the time when the history was written.
4. Sources. Refers to the basis of claims or analysis of the historian such as documents, written
or oral accounts.

D. Nature of History as an academic discipline

A. History has no subject matter of its own. Of course, the subject matter of history covers all
the persons and all events that have happened in the past. It is actually very broad since it
does cover everything that has happened in the society including all aspects from political,
economic social, culture etc.
B. History synthesizes knowledge from other fields. Since it covers all phenomena, History
as a branch of the Social Sciences analyzes the relations of different events, their cause and
effects using also the knowledge used in other fields of the Social Sciences such as
Anthropology, Sociology Economics etc.
C. History illuminates pieces of the past. History provides for explanations of things that
happened in the past. By looking at relationships of different events and phenomena, it
provides explanations for seemingly unexplainable gaps.
D. History is constantly changing. Since claims to historical facts are based on personal
accounts, documents and artifacts, a historian makes an analysis based only on available
sources of data. The historian cannot conclude something which is baseless. Unlike other
Social Sciences which can gather actual and real time data or conduct experiments to test their
hypothesis, historians have to rely on what is available. Therefore, when new data are
discovered, previous historical accounts can be changed.
E. History sheds light to truth. Since a historian constantly write about previous phenomena
using historical sources as basis, all claims therefore supports only the truth base on the data
available. This however does not preclude the fact that a historian uses also unwritten sources
such as oral accounts and traditions.
 E. Importance of the study of history

The study of History is important because it provides us with the capacity to analyze previous
events and phenomena which therefore will provide us with proper basis on how to view
the present and the future. This being the case history will provide is with a strong basis for
providing answers for problems that pervades at present. A lot of people in our modern day
society would say that history is no longer important. That the study of history is out dated
already.
However, our historical view will in itself provide us with the manner by which we view the
present and how we prepare for the future.
According to E. Kent Rogers, we study History because of the following:
First, “to know more about the roots of our current culture”. This being the case history will
provide us with the basis by which we can understand better different cultural institutions and
constructs. For example, why is it that in the modern-day Philippines a lot of Filipinos value
having white complexion when in fact we are naturally brown skinned? An analysis of our
historical background will of course reveal that because we have been colonized by white
complexioned people particularly the Spaniards and Americans, having white skin is viewed as
somewhat of higher status than the brown skinned;
Second, “to learn about human nature by looking at trends that repeat through history”
and “learn about mistakes of those who have gone before us”. History deals with analysis
therefore, by studying different trends that happened before this could provide us with a clear
analysis of causes of events that happened. If the result of the event is negative then we could
navigate another path to seek for a better state of affairs. On the other hand, if the result of the
events are positive then we can recommend to repeat it to get the same result. Either way by
analyzing historical facts we can use the result in decision making or future planning
F. History in Relation with other Social Sciences

Archaeology is scientific study of material remains of past human life and activities as
stated by Merriam and Webster. Archaeologists usually excavates the earth in search of
artifacts. Through investigations of artifacts such as pottery, weapons, jewelry etc, the historian
can draw important analysis and interpretation from them and make a description of the
lives and culture of the people that owned the artifacts.
Another field of the social sciences that provides relevant input to History is Anthropology.
Anthropology is the study of human beings and their ancestors through time and space
and in relation to physical character, environmental and social relations, and culture.
(Merriam and Webster.) The cultural analysis of ancestors of man will also provide for sources
of historical data that the Historian can make use in writing history.
Sources of History

Historians study the sources that the past has left behind. No statement about the past can
carry conviction unless it can be supported by reference to the historical sources, the evidence
upon which historians base their ideas and interpretations. Historians inevitably spend a lot of
time reading each other’s writings, but the real historical work is done – and the real enjoyment
is to be had – instudying the sources, the actual ‘stuff’ of history. (University of Cambridge
website)
Historical evidences are important proof of the truthfulness of the past. In the aim towards
objectivity of the writing of history, these evidences become the sources of historical data.
“Sources”/ “Batis”/ “Sanggunian” refers to the basis of claims or analysis of the historian.
They serve as the evidences utilized in the study of history.
In history, sources are classified mainly into:
Primary and Secondary Sources. Primary and secondary sources form the cornerstones of
historical research. A modern-day work of history is essentially a description and interpretation
of primary sources, along with commentary of secondary sources, both using them in reference
to the subject matter at hand, and agreeing and disagreeing with them.
A. Primary Sources

A primary source provides direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or

 History is a western concept while kasaysayan is a

Filipino concept. Are the two concepts completely the
same?
 It is consistent that the definition of history studies only
recorded past. Is this the same with kasaysayan?
 How does history link the past, present and future?
 Is history just a matter of chronology?

Questions to Ponder

work of art. These are the evidences by eyewitnesses or created by people who experienced
the said event or phenomena. The historian’s responsibility is to organize the primary sources
into a coherent account to become secondary source.

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 In effect, a primary source is direct source of historical information dating from the period in
question. A baptismal register of 1866 in the parish of Concepcion, Tarlac would be a primary
source about Spanish colonial period in Philippine History. A Philippine coin minted in 1910
would be a primary source about the American colonial period. A newspaper printed in 1943
would be a primary source from the Japanese period..
Primary sources include historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of
experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio and video recordings, speeches,
and art objects. Interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and Internet communications via email, blogs,
and newsgroups are also primary sources.
In the natural and social sciences, primary sources are often empirical studies—research
where an experiment was performed or a direct observation was made. The results of empirical
studies are typically found in scholarly articles or papers delivered at conferences.
B. Secondary Sources

Secondary sources, on the other hand, are interpretations of history They describe,
discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources.
These are the products of people or writers who were not part of the event or
phenomena.
One can consider them as history books, although this is a bit misleading, as secondary
sources can include articles, movies, audio recordings, or any other source of media that
interprets history. Teodoro Agoncillo’s Malolos: The Crisis of The Republic, though deals with
the events of 1899 is a secondary source because it interprets facts of the past; though dealing
with the time-frame , it is not from the period in question.
Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or
movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's
original research.
C. Tertiary Sources

Others cite another classification, the Tertiary Sources which contain information that has
been compiled from primary and secondary sources. Tertiary sources include almanacs,
chronologies, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories, guidebooks, indexes, abstracts,
manuals, and textbooks.
D. Types of historical sources

Historians can get his sources, primary or secondary, from the following:
Archival Material
Manuscripts and archives are primary sources, including business and personal
correspondence, diaries and journals, legal and financial documents, photographs, maps,
architectural drawings, objects, oral histories, computer tapes, and video and audio cassettes.
Some archival materials are published and available in print or online.
Government Documents

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Government documents provide evidence of activities, functions, and policies at all government
levels. For research that relates to the workings of government, government documents are
primary sources.
These documents include hearings and debates of legislative bodies; the official text of laws,
regulations and treaties; records of government expenditures and finances; and statistical
compilations of economic, demographic, and scientific data.
Serials
Journals, magazines, and newspapers are serial publications that are published on an ongoing
basis.
Many scholarly journals in the sciences and social sciences include primary source articles
where the authors report on research they have undertaken. Consequently, these papers may
use the first person ("We observed…"). These articles usually follow a standard format with
sections like "Methods," "Results," and "Conclusion."
Serials may also include book reviews, editorials, and review articles. Review articles
summarize research on a particular topic, but they do not present any new findings; therefore,
they are considered secondary sources. Their bibliographies, however, can be used to identify
primary sources.

Books
Most books are secondary sources, where authors reference primary source materials and add
their own analysis. “The First Filipino” by Leon Ma. Guerrero is a biography of Jose Rizal. If you
are researching Jose Rizal, this book would be a secondary source because the author is
offering his views about the hero. Books can also function as primary sources. For example,
Jose Rizal’s own letters and essays would be primary sources.
Visual and Audio Materials
Visual materials such as maps, photographs, prints, graphic arts, and original art forms can
provide insights into how people viewed and/or were viewed the world in which they existed.
Films, videos, TV programs, and digital recordings can be primary sources. Documentaries,
feature films, and TV news broadcasts can provide insights into the fantasies, biases, political
attitudes, and material culture of the times in which they were created. Radio broadcast
recordings, oral histories, and the recorded music of a particular era can also serve as primary
source material
II. Historical Criticism

The historian’s role in writing history, to reiterate, is to provide meanings to facts that he
gathered from primary sources (facts from manuscripts, documents) or those that have
been gathered by archaeologists or anthropologists (artifacts). He can only make
conclusions and generalizations based on them. It is therefore his duty to check on the
authenticity of the sources that are presented to him to be used as basis in writing history.
Sources have to undergo doubting and therefore should be critically tested for validity. There

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are two kinds of criticisms that a historian can use in the process; these are External and
Internal Criticisms
A. External Criticism

External Criticism covers the physical examinations of sources like documents, manuscripts,
books, pamphlets, maps, inscriptions and monuments. In original documents it includes looking
at the paper and ink used whether or not it is within the same circa as the content of the
work. Oftentimes its more difficult to establish the authenticity of manuscripts and records
rather than document simply because the printed document have already been authenticated by
the writer.
Following are the elements that have to be taken into consideration in doing validation:
a. Authorship. The name of the author of the document usually provides credence in the
establishment of validity of a certain document. The author’s name in itself can provided for the
test of authenticity. In cases of anonymous writings when the exact name of the author is not
known then the office that holds the record should also be taken into consideration. For
example, if we are studying population records and we use documents from civil registrar’s
office then that will lead to the consideration that the documents are authentic.
b. Date and place of publication. The date of the document including the time and place of
publication should be properly analyzed in order to establish its authenticity. Modern day
documents and publication have their date and place of publication usually printed at the back
of the title page. However, for manuscripts there are usually no date and place of publications
indicated. In such cases, the historian should look for dates mentioned within the manuscript or
cross check with other records. Sometimes an analysis of the language used or the date of
birth and death of the author can also be used as basis for the establishment of its true date.
c. Textual errors. The historian should always be in the lookout for errors in the text of
documents and manuscripts. There are two kinds of errors in documents unintentional or
intentional. Unintentional errors are mistakes that are caused by typist or scribes usually in
spelling, omitted words or phrases. Intentional error are often made when there is an effort to
modify or supplement existing records or original manuscript for personal intention or interest of
the record keeper or editor. In such cases, efforts should be made by the historian to get the
original document and compare or cross check with other related records or documents.
Sometimes, the style of writing of the author can also be used to authenticate the originality of
the document. If the style of writing does not match the author’s style of writing then the
document is dubious.
d. Meanings of words used. The meaning of words used usually changes from generation to
generation, therefore the historian have to interpret the words used based on the time when the
document was made. Also, there are instances when words mean differently in different places.
In this case, the historian have to take into consideration the place and culture when the
document was made. He must be very careful in understanding the terms, if not any
misinterpretation will lead to historical misunderstandings.
B. Internal Criticism

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Positive criticism refers to understanding of both literal and real meaning of words. A
historian therefore must be able to analyze and interpret the contents of documents in
their real meaning. Document contains the idea of the person who wrote or made the
evidences, therefore they should be understood within that context. Historians should refrain
from making their own conclusions so as not to convey their own interpretation rather than the
true meaning of the content. One important characteristic that a historian should possess
is the capacity to doubt all documents and facts when these are not yet subjected to
authentication. The historian should question the motive of the writer and question the
accuracy of the document. Likewise, the historian should verify if the writer of the document
has a first had information or had experience the phenomena he wrote and how long the
time elapsed between the occurrence of the event and the time the document was
written. In cases of contradicting records, the historian should corroborate the facts from other
claims or documents. The truthfulness or veracity of the document should be established

C. Debunking “ Sa Aking Mga Kabata” and “The Code of Kalantiaw” through

Historical criticism

1. Jose Rizal’s “ Sa Aking Mga Kabata”

According to Dr. Nancy Kimuell Gabriel on her tesis masterado “Timawa: Kahulugan,
Kasaysayan at Kabuluhan sa Lipunang Pilipino,” on UP Diliman, 2001the poem shows
falseness. Historian Ambeth Ocampo,National artist of the Philippines and writer Virgilio S.
Almario and others have debunked Rizal's traditional authorship of the poem based on the
following.

a.) AUTHORSHIP
No manuscript for Sa Aking Mga Kabatà written in Rizal's handwriting exists. The poem
supposedly wrote in 1869 where he was only 8 years old then.
 A young revolutionary? Another questionable aspect of this poem is the precocious
social commentary of its alleged young author. The poem contains some very mature
insights for an eight-year-old boy – the “stinky fish” line notwithstanding. There
are some bold statements that are just as much about freedom and nationhood as they
are about language.
The language is too precocious even for an eight-year-old prodigy like Jose Rizal
b.) DATE AND PLACE OF PUBLICATION

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The poem was first published in 1906, a decade after his death, in a book authored by the poet
Hermenigildo Cruz.
 Rizal had 35 years to publish or assert authorship. He did not. The poem was
published posthumously.
c. TEXTUAL ERRORS
In Rizal’s childhood they spelled words with a “c” rather than “k.” Further, the word “kalayaan”
(freedom) is used twice.(No manuscript EXIST)
d.)MEANINGS OF WORDS USED
“Kalayaan” was not a common word in 1869 and there is irrefutable evidence that Jose
Rizal himself did not learn the word until he was 25 years old. Rizal first encountered the
word atleast by 1872 the years after the execution of GOMBURZA.
 The historian Zeus Salazar, however, refuted the claims of Andrade and Yanga in his
essay Ang Kartilya ni Emilio Jacinto in 1999. He maintained that the word laya and its
various conjugations “were already a part of Tagalog vocabulary at that time [and]
therefore, could not have been invented by anybody.” However, he also wrote,
“Laya/calayaan was not yet needed in writing before 1864 and even later, especially
since timawa/catimaoan was still widely used back then as meaning ‘free/freedom.’”
Evidently, Rizal had not encountered the word kalayaan until he saw it in Marcelo
H. del Pilar’s Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa [Love for the Native Land], which was his
Tagalog translation of Rizal’s own Spanish essay, Amor Patrio. Naturally, if Rizal didn’t
know the word kalayaan when he was 25 years old, he could not have written a
poem in which the word appears twice when he was only eight years old.
Whichever case is true, young Jose’s alleged use of the word kalayaan in 1869 is no
less curious. Moreover, even if kalayaan was a term known to some people in Bulakan,
the fact that it did not appear in Florante at Laura, the poem that Rizal consulted, is
telling because it was written by the most famous poet of Bulakan, Francisco (Balagtas)
Baltazar. We know this because of a letter he wrote to his brother Paciano in 1886.
Jose had written a Tagalog translation of Friedrich Schiller’s German play Wilhelm
Tell and he wanted Paciano to review it. He explained that he found it difficult to
translate some of the concepts in the play.

“My Dear Brother,

There I’m sending you at last the translation of Wilhelm Tell by Schiller… I lacked many
words, for example, for the word Freiheit or liberty. The Tagalog word kaligtasan cannot
be used, because this means that formerly he was in prison, slavery, etc. I found in the
translation of Amor Patrio the noun malayà, kalayahan that Marcelo del Pilar uses.
In the only Tagalog book I have – Florante – I don’t find an equivalent noun.”

2. The Code of Kalantiaw *** Refer to Sourcebook “Kalantiaw: The Code That Never Was”
pp.24-25 & Roa: The code that never was - SUNSTAR

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William Henry Scott, examined the pre-Hispanic history of the Philippines. Scott raised issues
on the existence of the Code of Kalantiaw, specifically on:

 LACK OF HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

 No written/ pictorial documents from that time in Philippine history
 No documents from other countries that mentions Kalantiaw

 LACK OF EVIDENCE FOR A KALANTIAW LEGEND

 No recorded Filipino legend about Kalantiaw other than the doubtful Pavon
manuscripts before the 20th century
 Historian Diego Alba looked for Kalantiaw in local folklore but found none

 DOUBTFUL PAVON MANUSCRIPTS

 Two inconsistent versions on how Jose Marco obtained the manuscripts
 ( looters and cook stories)
 Mistakes in the Pavon manuscripts

 Does it always follow that primary sources should be given more weight than secondary
sources?
 What are the significance of understanding sources and historical criticism?

Questions to Ponder

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 KEY POINTS

 History is a branch of the Social Sciences that deals with the systematic study of
SIGNIFICANT PAST, a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events and
which concerns people and human nature

 History has no subject matter of its own. It synthesizes knowledge from many fields. It
illuminates pieces of the past. It constantly changing. It is subjective and it searches for
the truth

 Historiography refers to the study of history itself. It analyzes who is the history writer,
the motives of the writer, the sources of the writer, theories applied and other historical
methods. It also analyzes the context when the history was written.

 The elements of history are: the historian, place, period and sources

 The focal point in the study of history are the people and its nature. History being a
branch of social science

 There are bountiful reasons why we have to learn history.

 Other fields of knowledge such as Archaeology, Anthropology, Sociology, Economics,

Politics are important in the study of history.

 History being a discipline follows a methodology in order to establish facts or evidences.

Evidences in history are known as Sources. They can be primary, secondary or tertiary.

 In order to validate these sources, they must undergo Historical Criticism , first is
external then internal.

 Jose Rizal’s poem “ Sa Aking Mga Kabata” and the alleged pre-colonial written code “
The Code of Kalantiaw” were debunked through historical criticism

REFERENCES:

1. Agoncillo, Teodoro. History of the Filipino People. Eighth Edition. Quezon City: C& E
Publishing, 1990. (pp. 184-187).
3. Fox, Robert B. The Tabon Caves. Manila: Monograph of the National Museum, No. 1, 1970.
xiii, 197 pp. Appendix, References, Tables, Illustrations, n.p.l.

4. Gottschalk, Luis. Understanding History: A Primer of Historical Method. New York: Alfred A.
Knopf, 1950.(pp. 41- 61; 117-170).

5. Scott, William Henry Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History. Manila:
University of Santo Tomas Press, Manila, 1968. (pp. 90- 135)

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 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 2

ISSUES and PROBLEMS IN

PHILIPPINE HISTORIOGRAPHY

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RATIONALE:

Module 2 allows the students to assess some of the issues and problems of Philippine
Historiography. This module will differentiate the concept of “history” and the Filipino
concept of kasaysayan. Further, a comparison between the bipartite view and tripartite views
of history will be discussed.

For the students to have a better understanding and as a tool in their analysis of different
historical sources, through Filipino perspective, the different “Pananaw Pangkasaysayan” will be
tackled. As a recommended remedy to the issues and problems in Philippine Historiography and
the way Philippine History is taught in our education system, Zeus Salazar’s “Pantayong
Pananaw” philosophy will be emphasized.

MODULE 2 OUTLINE

I. Issues and Problems in Philippine Historiography

A. Correcting the errors of published historical work
B. Filling the gaps in Philippine History
C. Reinterpretation of historical facts & events and rewriting History in the Filipino
point of view
II. History as a western concept and Kasaysayan as a Filipino concept
III. Bipartite View vis-à-vis Tripartite View of Philippine History
IV. Zeus Salazar’s Pantayong Pananaw and other Pananaw Pangkasaysayan
A. Pantayong Pananaw
B. Pangkaming Pananaw
C. Pangkayong Pananaw
D. Pansilang Pananaw

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Assess the issues and problems in Philippine Historiography
2. Comprehend the distinction between history as a western concept and kasaysayan as a
Filipino concept
3. Compare the bipartite vis-a vis the tripartite view of Philippine History
4. Evaluate sources by being able to identify the point of view used by the author through the
different “Pananaw Pangkasaysayan”
5. Appreciate the need of having a Filipino framework and methodology of writing and teaching
history through the “Pantayong Pananaw”

I. Issues and Problems in Philippine Historiography

As discussed from the previous module, Historiography refers to the study of history itself.
It analyzes who is the history writer, the motives of the writer, the sources of the writer,
theories applied and other historical methods. It also analyzes the context when the
history was written. Basically, it studies how history is written.

18
Philippine Historiography has undergone several changes since the precolonial period until
present. Alongside with these changes, sprung the different issues and problems in which it has
affected our appreciation of Philippine history itself.
At a larger part, Philippine history was originally written and documented by foreign historians, in
fact even at present most primary chronicles are mostly written in Spanish and English. This
being the case, modern day Filipino historian have put a lot of question on the manner by which
Philippine history was written.
A. Correcting the errors of published historical work

Since most of the primary sources were written in foreign language, errors in translation have
happened and have affected much the writing of history. There was therefore the need to
correct errors in publication.
B. Filling the gaps in Philippine History

There were very few anthropologists and archaeologists in the Philippines hence there are
still gaps in some account or parts of the Philippine history.
C. Reinterpretation of historical facts & events

Historical Revisionism is a practice in writing history in which historians reinterpret views of

causes and effects, decisions, explanations and evidences.
D. Rewriting History in the Filipino point of view

The biggest problem that was raised is the fact that writers were foreigners therefore
Philippine history was mostly written in a foreigner’s point of view and not on the point
of view of the Filipinos.

II. History as a western concept and Kasaysayan as a Filipino concept

History and kasaysayan are always equated the same. It is founded on the idea that both
are studies of the past. However, for radical Filipino historians, the two concepts are
not synonymous.
History as a Western Concept
History is a western concept introduced by our colonizers, particularly by the
Spaniards. “History was derived from the Greek word historia which means “knowledge
acquired through inquiry or investigation”. As a discipline, it existed for 2,400 years. The
term historia was then adopted to classical Latin where it acquired a new definition. Historia
became known as the account of a group of people through written documents and
historical evidence. It is a must for traditional historians that unless a written
document can prove a certain historical event, then it cannot be considered as a
historical fact.

19
 With that methodology, radical Filipino historians posed several questions as the mantra of
“no document, no history” if its suits the Philippine context. They point out that, in the
case of the Philippines, despite the fact that even before the colonizers came and ancient
Filipinos already have a writing system, most of them narrated their past and story through
communal songs, epics and other traditions that they passed orally from a generation to
another.
If the strict definition and philosophy of “history” as to recorded documents is to be followed,
then the way our ancestors narrate their past and story will not be accounted for. Which is
why also, the claim that “there is no Philippine history before the colonizers came” became
prevalent despite the fact that in our own point of view, we already have: narrated in a
manner not accounted by the methodology of “history”
Another point posed by Filipino historians as to the exclusivity of the methodology of
“history” is that “History accounts only recorded past.. that means it is only for those who
can write, those who are educated. So this begs the question, how about the “history” of
those who cannot write or are uneducated? Does this mean that “history” is only for a
specific class of people? This issue is very much evident as most of the historical writings
only centered the lives of important individuals like monarchs, heroes, saints, elite and
nobilities. History was also focused on writing about wars, revolutions and developmental
breakthroughs. The question now is “how about the story of ordinary farmers, fishermen, old
folk, peasant families and indigenous people or even the commoner like you?” Restricting
historical evidence as exclusively written is also discrimination against other social classes
who were not recorded in paper. Does the absence of written documents about them mean
that they are people of no history or past? Did they even exist?
Lastly, from the very word “history”, Filipino historians noticed it being gender-biased
towards male; how the term is heavily influenced by patriarchy. “HIStory”... how about
“HERstory”. This lends to the fact why much of historical writings are dedicated to great
men, powerful and dominant male leaders.

Kasaysayan as a Filipino concept

The Pantayong Pananaw definition of kasaysayan is “salaysay na nagsalaysay ng mga
bagay na may saysay para sa sinasalysayang grupo o salinlahi”. The definition gives
emphasis to the root of kasaysayan which is “saysay” which means significant.
Under such definition, it seeks to address some of the issues as regards the western concept of
history and suit the paradigm of such discipline in the Filipino context and culture.
Kasaysayan, unlike history, is not only bound by written documents but as well as oral
traditions like communal songs, legends, epics and the like as mentioned earlier were
the prevalent modes on how the ancient Filipinos and most of the indigenous people
who still exist up this day use as a mode of narrating their past and story. Oral traditions in
the Philippine context are important since they also capture the emerging values, principles and
ideology of certain group of people at a particular time. Example of this is the legend of
“Malakas and Maganda” of the Tagalogs. It is the Filipino version of the creation story in the
bible. The legend tells that men and women sprung at the same time after the legendary bird

20
Tigmamanukan pecked the bamboo. In contrast to the bible story of Adam and Eve, where
Adam, the man, was first created and women through Eve as their representation was created
by God from a body part of Adam. What do these stories tell us? From our “Malakas and
Maganda” legend, we can see that our Filipino ancestors have a strong value for gender
equality. Men and women have equal status in their society. While from the classic story of
Adam and Eve, we can deduce that it is still heavily influence by patriarchy or the idea that men
are more dominant than women.
As to the inclusivity of the concept of kasaysayan, it advocates the philosophy of “People’s
History” or “History from Below”. According to E.P Thompson , “people's history” or “history
from below” is a type of historical narrative which attempts to account for historical events
from the perspective of common people rather than leaders. There is an emphasis on
disenfranchised, the oppressed, the poor, the nonconformists, and otherwise marginal groups.
Unlike the concept of “history” which values the philosophy of “history from above”.

III. Bipartite View vis-à-vis Tripartite View of Philippine History *** Refer to Sourcebook:
Marcelo H. del Pilar, p.59

Bipartite View of Philippine History

For many years and sadly some still believe it until now, the Spaniards made us believe that
there was no civilization in Philippines. They made us think that early Filipino people
were barbaric and uneducated. They have assimilated upon the Filipinos that it was them who
brought civilization and progress to us. This is known as the Bipartite View of Philippine History.
In such view, Philippine History can be only viewed into two epochs. The first is the “Pre-
Hispanic period” characterized as the time prior to the coming of the Spaniards where
the condition of the Philippines is seen of uncivilized society and barbaric people. The
second epoch is the “Hispanic period” characterized as time of the coming of the
Spaniards seen as the advent of civilizing influences from them.
The Bipartite View of Philippine History made us think that we owe our civilization to the
Spaniards. As a metaphor to this view, the Katipuneros illustrated this view as “dilim-liwanag”.
Dilim means darkness and liwanag means light. Such metaphor connotes that the first epoch is
seen as the dark age of Philippine history and the second epoch as the age which brought light
to Philippine history.
Tripartite View of Philippine History
The educated Filipinos during the Spanish era, known as the ilustrados cannot accept the
bipartite view of Philippine history presented by the Spaniards. They come up with a
research on Philippine national history to confront with colonialist ideologies. The beginning of
the research took place in the period of the Propaganda Movement which preceded the
Philippine revolution.

21
From the analysis of Zeus Salazar to the tripartite view of Philippine History:
“One sees that Rizal's conception of the tripartite historical ideology of the Propaganda was the
most extreme. In contrast to Jaena and del Pilar, Rizal saw the problem more holistically,
from the perspective of the entire cultural development of the Filipino people and not
simple from that of the actual possession of political power by any social group, foreign
or local. Thus, for him, it was not just "frailocracy" or "monastic supremacy" which was
at cause: the entire Spanish regime from its very inception was at the root of the social
cancer which had declared itself by the late nineteenth century. With Jaena and del Pilar,
Rizal quite naturally believes in the innate capacity of the Filipino for progress; but, to him, it was
the colonial system as such –– the very existence of Spanish domination –– which was the
cause of the disease that afflicted Filipinas. Monkish predominance, as it were, was in this case
just a symptom of the cancer that gnawed at the vital parts of the nation. For this reason, the
third period is likewise conceived in medical terms as some kind of recovery which
released the creative forces of the patient, giving Filipinas new life, new strength: a
future. The kind of therapy used actually mattered very little. Rizal was willing to try even
the most benign remedies, for which in Noli he would even implore passers-by in front of
the temple, as in biblical times. But his diagnosis –– as well as the analyses of both del
Pilar and Jaena –– pointed clinically to swift surgery as the appropriate therapy.”

22
The Katipuneros adopted this historical framework and used “liwanag-dilim-liwanag” as a
metaphor. The pre-colonial being “liwanag” since it was a great of civilization and identity for the
Filipinos. The colonial period being “dilim” since it was an epoch of abuse of power and lost of
Filipino identity. Lastly, the post-colonial period being “liwanag” again since the end of colonial
regime is a mark of the restoration of Filipino liberty.

IV. Zeus Salazar’s Pantayong Pananaw and other Pananaw Pangkasaysayan

In recent times, truly Filipino historians have occurred and tried to write Philippine History in
the Filipino point of View. One of these writers was Professor Zeus A. Salazar of the
University of the Philippines who saw the relevance of the Filipino point of view in historical
interpretation. In order to introduce indigenization, he introduced the concept of “Pantayong
Pananaw” (from us, for us). Generally, this means that Philippine History is better written
in the point of view of the Filipinos.
Pantayong Pananaw
Only few of our historical documents are written in Filipino or native language. Most of them are
written in English and Spanish. This is due to the fact that the elite Filipinos who studied
abroad during the Spanish and American era took the responsibility to write our history
in English or other foreign language. What was taught to them was to write history in a
foreign perspective. They wrote for foreigners to understand our history but not for their
fellow Filipino who mostly do not understand the medium that they used. According to
Zeus Salazar, to wit:
“Ang buod ng pantayong pananaw ay nasa panloob na pagkakaugnay-ugnay at paguugnay ng
mga katangian, halagahin, kaalaman, karunungan, hangarin, kaugalian, pag-aasal at
karanasan ng isang kabuuang pangkalinangan -- kabuuang nababalot sa, at ipinapahayag sa
pamamagitan ng isang wika; ibig sabihin, sa loob ng isang nagsasariling talastasan/diskursong
pangkalinangan o pangkabihasnan. Isang reyalidad ito sa loob ng alin mang grupong
etnolingguwistikong may kabuuan at kakanyahan, sa atin at sa ibang dako man ng mundo.”
Philippine history should be written and taught in Filipino or ethnolinguistic language in
the Philippines because it is only through our own language that we are able to
understand, appreciate and be able to connect to our own history. Each culture is different
and language serve as the channel for the uniqueness of one’s culture. Through the guiding
philosophy of Pantayong Pananaw, Philippine historiography will be seen from point of
view of Filipinos and addressed directly to the Filipinos.

Pangkaming Pananaw
Historical perspective in which Philippine history is written by Filipinos in foreign language
and intended for to be read by foreigners to understand our history in our point of view.
Example of this writers are the Propagandist in their La Solidaridad. The propagandist are
Filipinos but they used Spanish to write against the Spaniards. Often, this historical
perspective is used to correct or argue against false accounts written by foreigners.

23
Pangkayong Pananaw
Historical perspective in which Philippine history is written by foreigner in a foreign
language as well but it is meant to be addressed or directed to Filipinos as audience.

Pansilang Pananaw
Historical perspective in which Philippine history is written by foreigners in a foreign
language as well and is intended to be read and understood by their fellow foreigners
The scholars of Pantayong Pananaw or the Bagong Kasaysayan advocates this guiding
philosophy as we are in need of a more comprehensive collection of historical accounts
because it should be understood by our own people. Individual histories of ethnic
groups are independent of each other but are all still part of the whole history of the
Philippines a.ka. the concept of ethnohistory. The Pantayong Pananaw seeks to address
the issues and problems in our Philippine historiography and the way Philippine history subjects
are taught in our educational system.
KEYPOINTS:
 Philippine history was originally written and documented by foreign historians, in fact
even at present most primary chronicles are mostly written in Spanish and English. This
being the case, modern day Filipino historian have put a lot of question on the manner
by which Philippine history was written.
 Some of these issues/problems in Philippine Historiography are: 1.) Correcting the errors
of published historical work; 2.) Filling the gaps in Philippine History; 3.) Reinterpretation
of historical facts & events and 4.) rewriting History in the Filipino point of view
 History and kasaysayan are always equated the same. It is founded on the idea that
both are studies of the past. However, for radical Filipino historians, the two concepts
are not synonymous
 For many years and sadly some still believe it until now, the Spaniards made us believe
that there was no civilization in Philippines. They made us think that early Filipino people
were barbaric and uneducated. They have assimilated upon the Filipinos that it was
them who brought civilization and progress to us. This is known as the Bipartite View of
Philippine History.
 The educated Filipinos during the Spanish era, known as the ilustrados cannot accept
the bipartite view of Philippine history presented by the Spaniards. They come up with a
research on Philippine national history to confront with colonialist ideologies. The
beginning of the research took place in the period of the Propaganda Movement which
preceded the Philippine revolution. Thus, the tripartite view of Philippine history.
 Through the guiding philosophy of Pantayong Pananaw, Philippine historiography will be
seen from the point of view of Filipinos and addressed directly to the Filipinos.

24
 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 3

CONTENT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS of “First
Voyage Around the World
by Magellan” by Antonio
Pigafetta

25
RATIONALE:

Module 3 introduces to students content and contextual analysis as a tool in evaluating selected
primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to develop student’s skills in analyzing and
interpreting primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Antonio Pigafetta’s “First Voyage Around the World” will be
examined through content and contextual analysis as he wrote his firsthand observation and
general impression of the far east including their experiences in the Visayas.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine
history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
4. Appreciate the early Filipino civilization and the heroism of our Filipino ancestors.

I. Content and Contextual Analysis

As per the suggested syllabus of the course Readings in Philippine History the Commission
on Higher Education, to end goal of the course is to enable students to understand and
appreciate our rich past by deriving insights from those who were actually present at the
time of the event. As a tool in examining the selected primary sources, content and
contextual analysis will be employed.
Context analysis considers the following:
1. The historical context of source ( time and place it was written and the situation at the
time)
2. The author’s background, intent (to the extent discernable) and authority on the subject
3. The source relevance and meaning today

Content analysis, on the other hand, applies appropriate techniques depending on the type
of source (written, oral, visual. In the process students will be asked, for example, to identify the
author’s main argument or thesis, compare points of view, identify biases and evaluate the
author’s claim based on the evidence presented or other available evidence at the time.

26
 II. A Brief Summary of the First Voyage Around the World by Magellan by Antonio
Pigafetta

FULL TEXT of the READING

Antonio Pigafetta. First Voyage Around the World. Taken from The
Philippine Islands. Vol. XXXIII, 1519–1522. Edited and annotated
by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson
Accessed at: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42884/42884-
h/42884-h.htm#xd21e280

Author’s Background
Antonio Pigafetta Famous is an Italian traveler born in Vicenza around 1490 and died in the
same city in 1534, who is also known by the name of Antonio Lombardo or Francisco Antonio
Pigafetta. Initially linked to the order of Rhodes, which was Knight, went to Spain in 1519,
accompanied by Monsignor Francisco Chiericato, and was made available from Carlos V to
promote the company initiated by the Catholic Monarchs in the Atlantic. Soon he became a
great friendship with Magallanes, who accompanied, together with Juan Sebastián Elcano, in
the famous expedition to the Moluccas begun in August of 1519 and finished in September
1522. e was wounded at the battle of the island of Cebu (Philippines) in which Magellan found
death. The output of Seville made it aboard of the Trinity; the return, along with a handful of
survivors (17 of the 239 who left this adventure), in victory, ship that entered in Sanlúcar de
Barrameda (Cádiz) on September 6, the designated year. In the last years of his life, he traveled
by land from France to finally return to Italy in 1523. He wrote the relation of that trip, which was
the first around the world, Italian and with the title of Relazioni in lathe to the primo viaggio di
circumnavigazione. Notizia del Mondo Nuovo with figure you dei paesi scoperti, which was
published posthumously, in 1536.
The account of Pigafetta is the single most important source about the voyage of
circumnavigation, despite its tendency to include fabulous details. He took notes daily, as he
mentioned when he realizes his surprise at Spain and see that he had lost a day (due to its
driving direction). Includes descriptions of numerous animals, including sharks, the Storm petrel
(Hydrobates pelagicus), the pink spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja) and the Phyllium orthoptera, an insect
similar to a sheet. Pigafetta captured a copy of the latter near Borneo and kept it in a box,
believing a moving blade who lived in the air. His report is rich in ethnographic details. He
practiced as an interpreter and came to develop, at least in two Indonesian dialects.
Pigafetta’s work instantly became a 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. Pigafetta’s travelogue is one of the most
important primary sources in the study of the precolonial Philippines.

27
First Voyage Around the World
In Pigafetta’s account, their fleet reached what he called the LADRONES ISLANDS or the
“Islands of the Thieves.” He recounted: “These people have no arms, but use sticks, which have
a fish bone at the end. They are poor, but ingenious, and great thieves, and for the sake of that
we call these three islands the Ladrones Islands.”
The Ladrones Islands is presently known as the Marianas Islands. Tendays after they have
reached Ladrones Islands, Pigafetta reported that they have what he called 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. On MARCH 18, nine men came to them and showed joy
and eagerness in seeing them. Magellan realized that the men were reasonable and welcomed
them with food, drinks and gifts.
Pigafetta detailed in amazement and fascination the palm tree which bore fruits called cochos
and wine. He characterized the people as “very familiar and friendly” and willingly showed them
different islands and the names of these islands. The fleet went to Humunu Island (Homonhon)
and there they found what he referred to as the “Watering Place of Good Signs.” for it is in this
place that they found the first signs of gold in the island. They named the island together with a
nearby island as the archipelago of St. Lazarus.
On March 25th, Pigafetta recounted that they saw two balanghai (balangay), a long boat full of
people in Mazzava/Mazaus. The leader whom he reffered to the king became closely bonded
with Magellan as they both exchanged gifts to one another. After a few days, Magellan was
introduced to the king’s brother who was also a king of another island where Pigafetta reported
that they saw mines of gold. The gold was abundant that parts of the ship and of the house of
the king were made of gold. This king was named Raia Calambu, king of Zuluan and Calagan
(Butuan and Caragua), and the first king was Raia Siagu.
On March 31st (Easter Sunday), Magellan ordered the chaplain to preside a Mass by the shore.
The king heard about this plan and sent two dead pigs and attended the Mass with the other
king. Pigafetta then wrote: “…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.” This was the first Mass in the
Philippines, and the cross would be famed Magellan’s Cross which is still preserved at present
day. This was the same cross which Magellan explained to the kings as a sign of his emperor
who ordered him to plan it in the places were he would reach and further explained that once
other Spaniards saw this cross, then they would know that they had been in this island and
would not cause them troubles.
By April 7th, Magellan and his men reached the port of Zzubu (Cebu) with the help of Raia
Calambu who offered to pilot them in going to the island. The kind of Cebu demanded that they
pay tribute as it was customary but Magellan refused. By the next day, Magellan’s men and the
king of Cebu, together with other principal men of Cebu, met in an open space. There the king
offered a bit of his blood and demanded that Magellan do the same. On April 14, Magellan
spoke to the kind and encouraged him to be a good Christian by burning all of the idols and
worship the cross instead. The king of Cebu was then baptized as a Christian. After 8 days, all
of the island’s inhabitant were already baptized.

28
When the queen came to the Mass one day, Magellan gave her an image of the Infant Jesus
made by Pigafetta himself. On 26th of April, Zula, a principal man from the island of Matan
(Mactan) went to see Magellan and asked him for a boat full of men so that he would be able to
fight the chief name Silapulapu (Lapulapu). Magellan offered 3 boats instead and went to
Mactan to fight the said chief. They numbered 49 in total and the islanders of Mactan were
estimated to number 1,500. Magellan died in battle. He was pierced with a poison arrow in his
right leg. The king of Cebu who was baptized offered help but Magellan refused so that he could
see how they fought. The kind also offered the people of Mactan gifts of any value and amount
in exchange of Magellan’s body but the chief refused and wanted to keep Magellan’s body as a
memento of their victory.
Magellan’s men then elected Duarte Barbosa as the new captian. Pigafetta also accounted how
Magellan’s slave and interpreter named Henry betrayed them and told the king of Cebu that
they intended to leave as soon as possible. Henry and the king of Cebu 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.
Pigafetta was left on board the ship and was not able to join the 24 men who went to the
gathering because he was nursing his battle wounds. The natives had slain all the men except
the interpreter and Juan Serrano who shouted at the men on this ship to pay ransom so that he
would be spared but he was left on the island for they refused to go back to shore. The fleet
abandoned Serrano and departed. They left Cebu and continued their journey around the world.

KEYPOINTS:
 Context analysis considers the following:
1. The historical context of source ( time and place it was written and the situation at the
time)
2. The author’s background, intent (to the extent discernable) and authority on the subject
3. The source relevance and meaning today

 Content analysis, on the other hand, applies appropriate techniques depending on the
type of source (written, oral, visual. In the process students will be asked, for example, to
identify the author’s main argument or thesis, compare points of view, identify biases
and evaluate the author’s claim based on the evidence presented or other available
evidence at the time.
 The account of Pigafetta is the single most important source about the voyage of
circumnavigation, despite its tendency to include fabulous details.
 Pigafetta wrote his firsthand observation and general impression of the Far East
including their experiences in the Visayas.
 In his account, they reached the Ladrones islands (island of the thieves). By March 16,
1521 they reached the Visayas islands where he called the Philippine archipelago then
as the ‘Archipelago of St. Lazarus’. During their stay in the Visayas, Magellan ordered
the first Mass and baptized several tribe leaders whom he had made blood compact
with. The battle of Mactan where Magellan was killed was also foretold.
 In the Filipino point-of-view, the claim that the Spaniards “discovered” the Philippines is
misplaced, since civilizations were already existing at the time the colonizers came.
 It is important to note, that the accounts of Pigafetta were written in foreign perspective.

29
REFERENCES:

1. Candelaria, John Lee. Readings in Philippine History, (pp. 13- 22)

2. Pigafetta, Antonio. “First Voyage Around the World.” Blair, Emma and Robertson, James
Alexander. The Philippine Islands. Ohio: Arthur Clarke and Company, Vol. XXXIII, 1519–
1522.

3. Xiao Chua, MODULE Hamon at Tugon: Conquista at Reaksyon ng Bayan tungo sa

pambansang Himagsikan (1571-1913), in
https://www.academia.edu/6894504/Chua_Hamon_at_Tugon_KASPIL1_ (pp. 2-14)

TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

30
 MODULE 4

CONTENT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS of “Customs of
the Tagalogs” by Juan de
Plasencia

RATIONALE:

Module 4 furthers the understanding of students through content and contextual analysis as a
tool in evaluating selected primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to develop student’s
skills in analyzing and interpreting primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Juan de Plasencia’s “First Voyage Around the World” will be
examined through content and contextual analysis as he wrote his firsthand observation and
general impression of the customs of the Tagalogs.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: *** Refer to Sourcebook: “Customs of the Tagalogs,” pp. 34-40)
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources

31
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine
history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
4. Appreciate the early Filipino civilization and acknowledge the rich Filipino culture even before
3the advent of colonialism.

32
Source: Boxer Codex: This Is What 16th Century Filipinos Looked Like, posted
by Margaux, The Visual Traveler May 12, 2018 accessed at
https://www.thevisualtraveler.net/2018/05/boxer-codex-this-is-what-16th-century.html

"The Bisayans are accustomed to paint their bodies with some very elegant tattoos. They
do this with iron or brass rods, the points of which are heated on fire. These are done in
the manner illuminations, paintings all parts of the body, such as the chest, the stomach,
legs, arms, shoulders, hands, and muscles, and among some, the posteriors.

33
A Tagalog Noble couple dressed in gold accessories. "The dress of the women is not as
neat nor as elegant as that of the Bisayans, because they wrap a cotton or taffeta mantle
around the body with very little polish. They wear jackets and skirts in the same way we
have described of the Bisayans. They also wear their dress skin-tight, gathering it at the
waist and breast because they use no chemise or stockings...All carry over their dress
some small mantles, which reach to the waist, these are of colored cotton, and some are
of satin, taffeta, and damask obtained from China."

34
 Tagalog common men. "The Moros (Islamized Tagalogs) are dressed with clothes of
cotton and are not naked like the Bisayans...from the calves of the knees they wear many
chainlets often made of brass, which they call bitiques (bitik). These are worn only by the
men who regard them as very stylish."

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Customs of the Tagalogs
(Two Relations by Juan de Plasencia, O.S.F.)
After receiving your Lordship's letter, I wished to reply immediately; but I postponed my answer
in order that I might first thoroughly inform myself in regard to your request, and to avoid
discussing the conflicting reports of the Indians, who are wont to tell what suits their purpose.
Therefore, to this end, I collected Indians from different districts—old men, and those of most
capacity, all known to me; and from them I have obtained the simple truth, after weeding out
much foolishness, in regard to their government, administration of justice, inheritances, slaves,
and dowries.1 It is as follows:
Customs of the Tagalogs
This people always had chiefs, called by them datos, who governed them and were captains in
their wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced. The subject who committed any offense
against them, or spoke but a word to their wives and children, was severely punished.
These chiefs ruled over but few people; sometimes as many as a hundred houses, sometimes
even less than thirty. This tribal gathering is called in Tagalo a barangay. It was inferred that the
reason for giving themselves this name arose from the fact (as they are classed, by their
language, among the Malay nations) that when they came to this land, the head of the
barangay, which is a boat, thus called—as is discussed at length in the first chapter of the first
ten chapters—became a dato. And so, even at the present day, it is ascertained that this
barangay in its origin was a family of parents and children, relations and slaves. There were
many of these barangays in each town, or, at least, on account of wars, they did not settle far
from one another. They were not, however, subject to one another, except in friendship and
relationship. The chiefs, in their various wars, helped one another with their respective
barangays.
In addition to the chiefs, who corresponded to our knights, there were three castes: nobles,
commoners, and slaves. The nobles were the free-born whom they call maharlica. They did not
pay tax or tribute to the dato, but must accompany him in war, at their own expense. The chief
offered them beforehand a feast, and afterward they divided the spoils. Moreover, when the
dato went upon the water those whom he summoned rowed for him. If he built a house, they
helped him, and had to be fed for it. The same was true when the whole barangay went to clear
up his lands for tillage. The lands which they inhabited were divided among the whole barangay,
especially the irrigated portion, and thus each one knew his own. No one belonging to another
barangay would cultivate them unless after purchase or inheritance. The lands on the tingues,
or mountain-ridges, are not divided, but owned in common by the barangay.
Consequently, at the time of the rice harvest, any individual of any particular barangay, although
he may have come from some other village, if he commences to clear any land may sow it, and
no one can compel him to abandon it. There are some villages (as, for example, Pila de la
Laguna) in which these nobles, or maharlicas, paid annually to the dato a hundred gantas of
rice. The reason of this was that, at the time of their settlement there, another chief occupied the
lands, which the new chief, upon his arrival, bought with his own gold; and therefore the
members of his barangay paid him for the arable land, and he divided it, among those whom he
saw fit to reward. But now, since the advent of the Spaniards, it is not so divided.

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The chiefs in some villages had also fisheries, with established limits, and sections of the rivers
for markets. At these no one could fish, or trade in the markets, without paying for the privilege,
unless he belonged to the chief's barangay or village.
The commoners are called aliping namamahay. They are married, and serve their master,
whether he be a dato or not, with half of their cultivated lands, as was agreed upon in the
beginning. They accompanied him whenever he went beyond the island, and rowed for him.
They live in their own houses, and are lords of their property and gold. Their children inherit it,
and enjoy their property and lands. The children, then, enjoy the rank of their fathers, and they
cannot be made slaves (sa guiguilir) nor can either parents or children be sold. If they should fall
by inheritance into the hands of a son of their master who was going to dwell in another village,
they could not be taken from their own village and carried with him; but they would remain in
their native village, doing service there and cultivating the sowed lands.
The slaves are called aliping sa guiguilir. They serve their master in his house and on his
cultivated lands, and may be sold. The master grants them, should he see fit, and providing that
he has profited through their industry, a portion of their harvests, so that they may work
faithfully. For these reasons, servants who are born in the house of their master are rarely, if
ever, sold. That is the lot of captives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest fields.
Those to whom a debt was owed transferred the debt to another, thereby themselves making a
profit, and reducing the wretched debtors to a slavery which was not their natural lot. If any
person among those who were made slaves (sa guiguilir)—through war, by the trade of
goldsmith, or otherwise—happened to possess any gold beyond the sum that he had to give his
master, he ransomed himself, becoming thus a namamahay, or what we call a commoner. The
price of this ransom was never less than five taels, and from that upwards; and if he gave ten or
more taels, as they might agree, he became wholly free. An amusing ceremony accompanied
this custom. After having divided all the trinkets which the slave possessed, if he maintained a
house of his own, they divided even the pots and jars, and if an odd one of these remained, they
broke it; and if a piece of cloth were left, they parted it in the middle.
The difference between the aliping namamahay and the aliping sa guiguilir, should be noted;
for, by a confusion of the two terms, many have been classed as slaves who really are not. The
Indians seeing that the alcaldes-mayor do not understand this, have adopted the custom of
taking away the children of the aliping namamahay, making use of them as they would of
the aliping sa guiguilir, as servants in their households, which is illegal, and if the aliping
namamahay should appeal to justice, it is proved that he is an aliping as well as his father and
mother before him and no reservation is made as to whether he is aliping
namamahay or atiping sa guiguilir. He is at once considered an alipin, without further
declaration. In this way he becomes a sa guiguilir, and is even sold. Consequently, the alcaldes-
mayor should be instructed to ascertain, when anyone asks for his alipin, to which class he
belongs, and to have the answer put in the document that they give him.
In these three classes, those who are maharlicas on both the father's and mother's side
continue to be so forever; and if it happens that they should become slaves, it is through
marriage, as I shall soon explain. If these maharlicas had children among their slaves, the
children and their mothers became free; if one of them had children by the slave-woman of
another, she was compelled, when pregnant, to give her master half of a gold tael, because of
her risk of death, and for her inability to labor during the pregnancy. In such a case half of the

37
child was free—namely, the half belonging to the father, who supplied the child with food. If he
did not do this, he showed that he did not recognize him as his child, in which case the latter
was wholly a slave. If a free woman had children by a slave, they were all free, provided he
were not her husband.
If two persons married, of whom one was a maharlica and the other a slave,
whether namamahay or sa guiguilir, the children were divided: the first, whether male or female,
belonged to the father, as did the third and fifth; the second, the fourth, and the sixth fell to the
mother, and so on. In this manner, if the father were free, all those who belonged to him were
free; if he were a slave, all those who belonged to him were slaves; and the same applied to the
mother. If there should not be more than one child he was half free and half slave. The only
question here concerned the division, whether the child were male or female. Those who
became slaves fell under the category of servitude which was their parent's, either namamahay
or sa guiguilir. If there were an odd number of children, the odd one was half free and half slave.
I have not been able to ascertain with any certainty when or at what age the division of children
was made, for each one suited himself in this respect. Of these two kinds of slaves the sa
guiguilir could be sold, but not the namamahay and their children, nor could they be transferred.
However, they could be transferred from the barangay by inheritance, provided they remained in
the same village.
The maharlicas could not, after marriage, move from one village to another, or from one
barangay to another, without paying a certain fine in gold, as arranged among them. This fine
was larger or smaller according to the inclination of the different villages, running from one to
three taels and a banquet to the entire barangay. Failure to pay the fine might result in a war
between the barangay which the person left and the one which he entered. This applied equally
to men and women, except that when one married a woman of another village, the children
were afterwards divided equally between the two barangays. This arrangement kept them
obedient to the dato, or chief, which is no longer the case—because, if the dato is energetic and
commands what the religious fathers enjoin him, they soon leave him and go to other villages
and other datos, who endure and protect them and do not order them about. This is the kind of
dato that they now prefer, not him who has the spirit to command. There is a great need of
reform in this, for the chiefs are spiritless and faint-hearted.
Investigations made and sentences passed by the dato must take place in the presence of
those of his barangay. If any of the litigants felt himself aggrieved, an arbiter was unanimously
named from another village or barangay, whether he were a dato or not; since they had for this
purpose some persons, known as fair and just men, who were said to give true judgment
according to their customs. If the controversy lay between two chiefs, when they wished to avoid
war, they also convoked judges to act as arbiters; they did the same if the disputants belonged
to two different barangays. In this ceremony they always had to drink, the plaintiff inviting the
others.
They had laws by which they condemned to death a man of low birth who insulted the daughter
or wife of a chief; likewise witches, and others of the same class.
They condemned no one to slavery, unless he merited the death-penalty. As for the witches,
they killed them, and their children and accomplices became slaves of the chief, after he had
made some recompense to the injured person. All other offenses were punished by fines in
gold, which, if not paid with promptness, exposed the culprit to serve, until the payment should

38
be made, the person aggrieved, to whom the money was to be paid. This was done in the
following way: Half the cultivated lands and all their produce belonged to the master. The
master provided the culprit with food and clothing, thus enslaving the culprit and his children
until such time as he might amass enough money to pay the fine. If the father should by chance
pay his debt, the master then claimed that he had fed and clothed his children, and should be
paid therefor. In this way he kept possession of the children if the payment could not be met.
This last was usually the case, and they remained slaves. If the culprit had some relative or
friend who paid for him, he was obliged to render the latter half his service until he was paid—
not, however, service within the house as aliping sa guiguilir, but living independently, as aliping
namamahay. If the creditor were not served in this wise, the culprit had to pay the double of
what was lent him. In this way slaves were made by debt: either sa guiguilir, if they served the
master to whom the judgment applied; or aliping namamahay, if they served the person who
lent them wherewith to pay.
In what concerns loans, there was formerly, and is today, an excess of usury, which is a great
hindrance to baptism as well as to confession; for it turns out in the same way as I have showed
in the case of the one under judgment, who gives half of his cultivated lands and profits until he
pays the debt. The debtor is condemned to a life of toil; and thus borrowers become slaves, and
after the death of the father the children pay the debt. Not doing so, double the amount must be
paid. This system should and can be reformed.
As for inheritances, the legitimate children of a father and mother inherited equally, except in the
case where the father and mother showed a slight partiality by such gifts as two or three gold
taels, or perhaps a jewel.
When the parents gave a dowry to any son, and, when, in order to marry him to a chief's
daughter, the dowry was greater than the sum given the other sons, the excess was not
counted in the whole property to be divided. But any other thing that should have been given to
any son, though it might be for some necessity, was taken into consideration at the time of the
partition of the property, unless the parents should declare that such a bestowal was made
outside of the inheritance. If one had had children by two or more legitimate wives, each child
received the inheritance and dowry of his mother, with its increase, and that share of his father's
estate which fell to him out of the whole. If a man had a child by one of his slaves, as well as
legitimate children, the former had no share in the inheritance; but the legitimate children were
bound to free the mother, and to give him something—a tael or a slave, if the father were a
chief; or if, finally, anything else were given it was by the unanimous consent of all. If besides
his legitimate children, he had also some son by a free unmarried woman, to whom a dowry
was given but who was not considered as a real wife, all these were classed as natural children,
although the child by the unmarried woman should have been begotten after his marriage. Such
children did not inherit equally with the legitimate children, but only the third part. For example, if
there were two children, the legitimate one had two parts, and the one of the inaasava one part.
When there were no children by a legitimate wife, but only children by an unmarried woman,
or inaasava, the latter inherited all. If he had a child by a slave woman, that child received his
share as above stated. If there were no legitimate or natural child, or a child by an inaasava,
whether there was a son of a slave woman or not, the inheritance went only to the father or
grandparents, brothers, or nearest relatives of the deceased, who gave to the slave-child as
above stated.

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In the case of a child by a free married woman, born while she was married, if the husband
punished the adulterer this was considered a dowry; and the child entered with the others into
partition in the inheritance. His share equaled the part left by the father, nothing more. If there
were no other sons than he, the children and the nearest relatives inherited equally with him.
But if the adulterer were not punished by the husband of the woman who had the child, the latter
was not considered as his child, nor did he inherit anything. It should be noticed that the
offender was not considered dishonored by the punishment inflicted, nor did the husband leave
the woman. By the punishment of the father the child was fittingly made legitimate.
Adopted children, of whom there are many among them, inherit the double of what was paid for
their adoption. For example, if one gold tael was given that he might be adopted when the first
father died, the child was given [in inheritance] two taels. But if this child should die first, his
children do not inherit from the second father, for the arrangement stops at that point.
This is the danger to which his money is exposed, as well as his being protected as a child. On
this account this manner of adoption common among them is considered lawful.
Dowries are given by the men to the women's parents. If the latter are living, they enjoy the use
of it. At their death, provided the dowry has not been consumed, it is divided like the rest of the
estate, equally among the children, except in case the father should care to bestow something
additional upon the daughter. If the wife, at the time of her marriage, has neither father, mother,
nor grandparents, she enjoys her dowry—which, in such a case, belongs to no other relative or
child. It should be noticed that unmarried women can own no property, in land or dowry, for the
result of all their labors accrues to their parents.
In the case of a divorce before the birth of children, if the wife left the husband for the purpose of
marrying another, all her dowry and an equal additional amount fell to the husband; but if she
left him, and did not marry another, the dowry was returned. When the husband left his wife, he
lost the half of the dowry, and the other half was returned to him. If he possessed children at the
time of his divorce, the whole dowry and the fine went to the children, and was held for them by
their grandparents or other responsible relatives.
I have also seen another practice in two villages. In one case, upon the death of the wife who in
a year's time had borne no children, the parents returned one-half the dowry to the husband
whose wife had died. In the other case, upon the death of the husband, one-half the dowry was
returned to the relatives of the husband. I have ascertained that this is not a general practice; for
upon inquiry I learned that when this is done it is done through piety, and that all do not do it.
In the matter of marriage dowries which fathers bestow upon their sons when they are about to
be married, and half of which is given immediately, even when they are only children, there is a
great deal more complexity. There is a fine stipulated in the contract, that he who violates it shall
pay a certain sum which varies according to the practice of the village and the affluence of the
individual. The fine was heaviest if, upon the death of the parents, the son or daughter should
be unwilling to marry because it had been arranged by his or her parents. In this case the dowry
which the parents had received was returned and nothing more. But if the parents were living,
they paid the fine, because it was assumed that it had been their design to separate the
children.
The above is what I have been able to ascertain clearly concerning customs observed among
these natives in all this Laguna and the tingues, and among the entire Tagalo race. The old men

40
say that a dato who did anything contrary to this would not be esteemed; and, in relating
tyrannies which they had committed, some condemned them and adjudged them wicked.
Others, perchance, may offer a more extended narrative, but leaving aside irrelevant matters
concerning government and justice among them, a summary of the whole truth is contained in
the above. I am sending the account in this clear and concise form because I had received no
orders to pursue the work further. Whatever may be decided upon, it is certainly important that it
should be given to the alcal-des-mayor, accompanied by an explanation; for the absurdities
which are to be found in their opinions are indeed pitiable.
May our Lord bestow upon your Lordship His grace and spirit, so that in every step good fortune
may be yours; and upon every occasion may your Lordship deign to consider me your humble
servant, to be which would be the greatest satisfaction and favor that I could receive. Nagcarlán,
October 21, 1589.
Fray Juan de Plasencia2
Relation of the Worship of the Tagalogs, Their Gods, and Their Burials and Superstitions
In all the villages, or in other parts of the Filipinas Islands, there are no temples consecrated to
the performing of sacrifices, the adoration of their idols, or the general practice of idolatry. It is
true that they have the name simbahan, which means a temple or place of adoration; but this is
because, formerly, when they wished to celebrate a festival, which they called pandot, or
“worship,” they celebrated it in the large house of a chief. There they constructed, for the
purpose of sheltering the assembled people, a temporary shed on each side of the house, with
a roof, called sibi, to protect the people from the wet when it rained. They so constructed the
house that it might contain many people—dividing it, after the fashion of ships, into three
compartments. On the posts of the house they set small lamps, called sorihile; in the center of
the house they placed one large lamp, adorned with leaves of the white palm, wrought into
many designs. They also brought together many drums, large and small, which they beat
successively while the feast lasted, which was usually four days. During this time the whole
barangay, or family, united and joined in the worship which they call nagaanitos. The house, for
the above-mentioned period of time, was called a temple.
Among their many idols there was one called. Badhala, whom they especially worshiped. The
title seems to signify “all powerful,” or “maker of all things.” They also worshiped the sun, which,
on account of its beauty, is almost universally respected and honored by heathens. They
worshiped, too, the moon, especially when it was new, at which time they held great rejoicings,
adoring it and bidding it welcome. Some of them also adored the stars, although they did not
know them by their names, as the Spaniards and other nations know the planets—with the one
exception of the morning star, which they called Tala. They knew, too, the “seven little goats”
[the Pleiades]—as we call them—and, consequently, the change of seasons, which they call
Mapolon; and Balatic, which is our Greater Bear. They possessed many idols called lic-ha,
which were images with different shapes; and at times they worshiped any little trifle, in which
they adored, as did the Romans, some particular dead man who was brave in war and endowed
with special faculties, to whom they commended themselves for protection in their tribulations.
They had another idol called Dian masalanta, who was the patron of lovers and of generation.
The idols called Lacapati and Idianale were the patrons of the cultivated lands and of
husbandry. They paid reverence to water-lizards called by them buaya, or crocodiles, from fear

41
of being harmed by them. They were even in the habit of offering these animals a portion of
what they carried in their boats, by throwing it into the water, or placing it upon the bank.
They were, moreover, very liable to find auguries in things they witnessed. For example, if they
left their house and met on the way a serpent or rat, or a bird called Tigmamanuguin which was
singing in the tree, or if they chanced upon anyone who sneezed, they returned at once to their
house, considering the incident as an augury that some evil might befall them if they should
continue their journey—especially when the above-mentioned bird sang. This song had two
different forms: in the one case it was considered as an evil omen; in the other, as a good
omen, and then they continued their journey. They also practiced divination, to see whether
weapons, such as a dagger or knife, were to be useful and lucky for their possessor whenever
occasion should offer.
These natives had no established division of years, months, and days; these are determined by
the cultivation of the soil, counted by moons, and the different effect produced upon the trees
when yielding flowers, fruits, and leaves: all this helps them in making up the year. The winter
and summer are distinguished as sun-time and water-time—the latter term designating winter in
those regions, where there is no cold, snow, or ice.
It seems, however, that now since they have become Christians, the seasons are not quite the
same, for at Christmas it gets somewhat cooler. The years, since the advent of the Spaniards,
have been determined by the latter, and the seasons have been given their proper names, and
they have been divided into weeks.
Their manner of offering sacrifice was to proclaim a feast, and offer to the devil what they had to
eat. This was done in front of the idol, which they anoint with fragrant perfumes, such as musk
and civet, or gum of the storax-tree and other odoriferous woods, and praise it in poetic songs
sung by the officiating priest, male or female, who is called catolonan. The participants made
responses to the song, beseeching the idol to favor them with those things of which they were in
need, and generally, by offering repeated healths, they all became intoxicated. In some of their
idolatries they were accustomed to place a good piece of cloth, doubled, over the idol, and over
the cloth a chain or large, gold ring, thus worshiping the devil without having sight of him. The
devil was sometimes liable to enter into the body of the catolonan, and, assuming her shape
and appearance, filled her with so great arrogance—he being the cause of it—that she seemed
to shoot flames from her eyes; her hair stood on end, a fearful sight to those beholding, and she
uttered words of arrogance and superiority. In some districts, especially in the mountains, when
in those idolatries the devil incarnated himself and took on the form of his minister, the latter had
to be tied to a tree by his companions, to prevent the devil in his infernal fury from destroying
him. This, however, happened but rarely. The objects of sacrifice were goats, fowls, and swine,
which were flayed, decapitated, and laid before the idol. They performed another ceremony by
cooking a jar of rice until the water was evaporated, after which they broke the jar, and the rice
was left as an intact mass which was set before the idol; and all about it, at intervals, were
placed a few buyos—which is a small fruit 3 wrapped in a leaf with some lime, a food generally
eaten in these regions—as well as fried food and fruits. All the above-mentioned articles were
eaten by the guests at the feast; the heads [of the animals], after being “offered,” as they
expressed it, were cooked and eaten also.
The reasons for offering this sacrifice and adoration were, in addition to whatever personal
matters there might be, the recovery of a sick person, the prosperous voyage of those

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embarking on the sea, a good harvest in the sowed lands, a propitious result in wars, a
successful delivery in childbirth, and a happy outcome in married life. If this took place among
people of rank, the festivities lasted thirty days.
In the case of young girls who first had their monthly courses, their eyes were blindfolded four
days and four nights; and, in the meantime, the friends and relatives were all invited to partake
of food and drink. At the end of this period, the catolonan took the young girl to the water,
bathed her and washed her head, and removed the bandage from her eyes. The old men said
that they did this in order that the girls might bear children, and have fortune in finding husbands
to their taste, who would not leave them widows in their youth.
The distinctions made among the priests of the devil were as follows: The first, called catolonan,
as above stated, was either a man or a woman. This office was an honorable one among the
natives, and was held ordinarily by people of rank, this rule being general in all the islands.
The second they called mangagauay, or witches, who deceived by pretending to heal the sick.
These priests even induced maladies by their charms, which in proportion to the strength and
efficacy of the witchcraft, are capable of causing death. In this way, if they wished to kill at once
they did so; or they could prolong life for a year by binding to the waist a live serpent, which was
believed to be the devil, or at least his substance. This office was general throughout the land.
The third they called manyisalat, which is the same as magagauay. These priests had the
power of applying such remedies to lovers that they would abandon and despise their own
wives, and in fact could prevent them from having intercourse with the latter. If the woman,
constrained by these means, were abandoned, it would bring sickness upon her; and on
account of the desertion she would discharge blood and matter. This office was also general
throughout the land.
The fourth was called mancocolam, whose duty it was to emit fire from himself at night, once or
oftener each month. This fire could not be extinguished; nor could it be thus emitted except as
the priest wallowed in the ordure and filth which falls from the houses; and he who lived in the
house where the priest was wallowing in order to emit this fire from himself, fell ill and died. This
office was general.
The fifth was called hocloban, which is another kind of witch, of greater efficacy than the
mangagauay. Without the use of medicine, and by simply saluting or raising the hand, they
killed whom they chose. But if they desired to heal those whom they had made ill by their
charms, they did so by using other charms. Moreover, if they wished to destroy the house of
some Indian hostile to them, they were able to do so without instruments. This was in
Catanduanes, an island off the upper part of Luzon.
The sixth was called silagan, whose office it was, if they saw anyone clothed in white, to tear out
his liver and eat it, thus causing his death. This, like the preceding, was in the island of
Catanduanes. Let no one, moreover, consider this a fable; because, in Calavan, they tore out in
this way through the anus all the intestines of a Spanish notary, who was buried in Calilaya by
father Fray Juan de Mérida.
The seventh was called magtatangal, and his purpose was to show himself at night to many
persons, without his head or entrails. In such wise the devil walked about and carried, or
pretended to carry, his head to different places; and, in the morning, returned it to his body—
remaining, as before, alive. This seems to me to be a fable, although the natives affirm that they

43
have seen it, because the devil probably caused them so to believe. This occurred in
Catanduanes.
The eighth they called osuang, which is equivalent to “sorcerer;” they say that they have seen
him fly, and that he murdered men and ate their flesh. This was among the Visayas Islands;
among the Tagalos these did not exist.
The ninth was another class of witches called mangagayoma. They made charms for lovers out
of herbs, stones, and wood, which would infuse the heart with love. Thus did they deceive the
people, although sometimes, through the intervention of the devil, they gained their ends.
The tenth was known as sonat, which is equivalent to “preacher.” It was his office to help one to
die, at which time he predicted the salvation or condemnation of the soul. It was not lawful for
the functions of this office to be fulfilled by others than people of high standing, on account of
the esteem in which it was held. This office was general throughout the islands.
The eleventh, pangatahojan, was a soothsayer, and predicted the future. This office was
general in all the islands.
The twelfth, bayoguin, signified a “cotquean,” a man whose nature inclined toward that of a
woman.
Their manner of burying the dead was as follows: The deceased was buried beside his house;
and, if he were a chief, he was placed beneath a little house or porch which they constructed for
this purpose. Before interring him, they mourned him for four days; and afterward laid him on a
boat which served as a coffin or bier, placing him beneath the porch, where guard was kept over
him by a slave. In place of rowers, various animals were placed within the boat, each one being
assigned a place at the oar by twos—male and female of each species being together—as for
example two goats, two deer, or two fowls. It was the slave's care to see that they were fed. If
the deceased had been a warrior, a living slave was tied beneath his body until in this wretched
way he died. In course of time, all suffered decay; and for many days the relatives of the dead
man bewailed him, singing dirges, and praises of his good qualities, until finally they wearied of
it. This grief was also accompanied by eating and drinking. This was a custom of the Tagalos.
The Aetas,4 or Negrillos [Negritos] inhabitants of this island, had also a form of burial, but
different. They dug a deep, perpendicular hole, and placed the deceased within it, leaving him
upright with head or crown unburied, on top of which they put half a cocoa-nut which was to
serve him as a shield. Then they went in pursuit of some Indian, whom they killed in retribution
for the Negrillo who had died. To this end they conspired together, hanging a certain token on
their necks until some one of them procured the death of the innocent one.
These infidels said that they knew that there was another life of rest which they called maca,
just as if we should say “paradise,” or, in other words, “village of rest.” They say that those who
go to this place are the just, and the valiant, and those who lived without doing harm, or who
possessed other moral virtues. They said also that in the other life and mortality, there was a
place of punishment, grief, and affliction, called casanaan, which was “a place of anguish;” they
also maintained that no one would go to heaven, where there dwelt only Bathala, “the maker of
all things,” who governed from above. There were also other pagans who confessed more
clearly to a hell, which they called, as I have said, casanaan; they said that all the wicked went
to that place, and there dwelt the demons, whom they called sitan.

44
All the various kinds of infernal ministers were, therefore, as has been stated: catolonan;
sonat (who was a sort of bishop who ordained priestesses and received their reverence, for they
knelt before him as before one who could pardon sins, and expected salvation through
him); mangagauay, manyisalat, mancocolam, hocloban, silagan, magtatangal, osuan,
mangagayoma, pangatahoan.5
There were also ghosts, which they called vibit; and phantoms, which they called Tigbalaang.
They had another deception—namely, that if any woman died in childbirth, she and the child
suffered punishment; and that, at night, she could be heard lamenting. This was called patianac.
May the honor and glory be God our Lord's, that among all the Tagalos not a trace of this is left;
and that those who are now marrying do not even know what it is, thanks to the preaching of the
holy gospel, which has banished it.

1
With this document cf., throughout, the “Relation” by Miguel de Loarca, in Vol. V of this series.
2
Juan de Plasencia, who entered the Franciscan order in early youth, came to the Philippine
Islands as one of the first missionaries of that order, in 1577. He was distinguished, in his labors
among the natives, for gathering the converts into reductions (villages in which they dwelt apart
from the heathen, and under the special care of the missionaries), for establishing numerous
primary schools, for his linguistic abilities—being one of the first to form a grammar and
vocabulary of the Tagal language—and for the ethnological researches embodied in the memoir
which is presented in our text. He died at Lilio, in the province of La Laguna, in 1590. See
account of his life in Santa Inés's Crónica, i, pp. 512–522; and of his writings, Id., ii, pp. 590,
591.
3
The betel-nut; see Vol. IV, p. 222.
4
The Aetas, or Negritos, were the primitive inhabitants of the Philippine Islands; but their origin
is not certainly known. It is perhaps most probable that they came from Papua or New Guinea.
For various opinions on this point, see Zúñiga's Estadismo (Retana's ed.), i, pp. 422–429;
Delgado's Historia general, part i, lib. iii, cap. i; and Report of U.S. Philippine Commission, 1900,
iii, pp. 333–335. Invasions of the islands by Indonesian tribes, of superior strength and culture,
drove the Negritos into the forest and mountain regions of the islands where they dwelt; they still
remain there, in a state of barbarism, but in gradually decreasing numbers. See
the Report above cited (pp. 347–351), for habitat and physical characteristics of this race.
5
For much curious and interesting information regarding these superstitions, beliefs in demons,
etc., see Blumentritt's ”Diccionario mitológico,” in Retana's Archivo, ii, pp. 345–454.

REFERENCES:

1. Candelaria, John Lee. Readings in Philippine History, (pp. 2- 5)

2. Juan de Plasencia, OFM, “Customs of the Tagalogs (Two Relations),” dated October 21,
1589. Blair, Emma and Robertson, James A.The Philippine Islands. Ohio: Arthur Clark and

45
 Company, Vol. VII, 1588-1591. See also
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13701/13701-h/13701-h.htm

3. Boxer Codex: This Is What 16th Century Filipinos Looked Like, posted by Margaux, The
Visual Traveler May 12, 2018 accessed at https://www.thevisualtraveler.net/2018/05/boxer-
codex-this-is-what-16th-century.html

46
 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL
SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 5

CONTENT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS of “Kartilya ng
Katipunan” by Emilio
Jacinto

RATIONALE:

47
Module 5 furthers the understanding of students through content and contextual analysis as a
tool in evaluating selected primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to develop student’s
skills in analyzing and interpreting primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Emilio Jacinto’s “Kartilya ng Katipunan” will be examined through
content and contextual analysis as he wrote teachings and principles of Katipunan members. It
is expected that student will acknowledge these teachings and be able to live up to them as
good citizens of our nation.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: *** Refer to Sourcebook: Andres Bonifacio & Katipunan, pp.91-
125)
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine
history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
4. Appreciate the teachings of the Kartilya and be able to live up to these principles as good
citizens of our nation.

48
The KKK or Katipunan
The Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) or Katipunan
is arguably the most important organization formed in the Philippine history. The two principal
aims of the KKK as gathered from the writings of Bonifacio:
1. Unity of the Filipino people
2. Separation from Spain through revolution

Bonifacio came out after the failure of the reform movement headed by Rizal and M. Del Pilar.
This paved way for a more radical and more active lines. He formed the Katipunan, a secret
society which was founded at Tondo Manila, in a house on Azcarraga Street then numbered
314, on July 7, 1892, the same date on which Rizal was decreed to be banished to Dapitan.
Rizal doubtless approved the first aim but refused to accept the second and this was the reason
that he refused to go along with the “Katipuneros” (soldiers’ of the Katipunan) and voluntarily
surrendered that leads him to prison and death. To achieve unity of the Filipinos, propaganda
work must be done and this was through massive education and civic trainings of the
Katipuneros. To that end, Bonifacio prepared his now well-known decalogue, and Jacinto his
famous “Kartilya ng Katipunan” (Primer of the Katipunan)
These are the rules in Kartilya. The Kartilya can be treated as the Katipunan’s Code of conduct
which contains 14 rules that instruct the way a Katipunero should behave.

49
 Kartilya ng Katipunan
Emilio Jacinto
Mga Aral nang Katipunan ng mga The Katipunan Code of Conduct
A.N.B.
1. A life that is not consecrated to a
1. Ang kabuhayang hindi ginugugol sa lofty and reasonable purpose is a
isang maamingt banal na kadahilanan ay tree without a shade, if not a
kahoy na walang lilim, kundi damong poisonous weed.
makamandag
2. To do good for personal gain
2. Ang gawang magaling na nagbubuhat and not for its own sake is not
sa pagpipita sa sarili, at hindi sa talagang virtue.
nasang gumawa ng kagalingan, ay di
kabaitan. 3. It is rational to be charitable and
love one's fellow creature, and to
3. Ang tunay na kabanalan ay ang adjust one's’ conduct, acts and
pagkakawang gawa, ang pagibig sa kapua words to what is in itself
at ang isukat ang bawat kilos, gawa’t reasonable.
pangungusap sa talagang Katuiran.
4. Whether our skin be black or
4. Maitim man at maputi ang kulay ng white, we are all born equal:
balat, lahat ng tao’y magkakapantay; superiority in knowledge, wealth
mangyayaring ang isa’y higtan sa dunong, and beauty are to be understood,
sa yaman, sa ganda…; ngunit di but not superiority by nature.
mahihigtan sa pagkatao.
5. The honorable man prefers
5. Ang may mataas na kalooban inuuna honor to personal gain; the
ang puri sa pagpipita sa sarili; ang may scoundrel, gain to honor.
hamak na kalooban inuuna ang pagpipita
sa sarili sa puri. 6. To the honorable man, his word
is sacred.
6. Sa taong may hiya, salita’y panunumpa.
7. Do not waste thy time: wealth
can be recovered but not time lost.
7. Huag mong sasayangin ang panahun;
ang yamang naaming magyayaring 8. Defend the oppressed and fight
magbalik; ngamin panahong nagdaan na’y the oppressor before the law or in
di na muli pang magdadaan. Value of time the field.

8. Ipagtanggol mo ang inaapi, at 9. The prudent man is sparing in

kabakahin ang umaapi. words and faithful in keeping
secrets.
9. Ang taong matalino’y ang may pagiingat
sa bawat sasabihin, at matutong ipaglihim 10. On the thorny path of life, man
ang dapat ipaglihim. is the guide of woman and the
children, and if the guide leads to

50
 the precipice, those whom he
10. Sa daang matinik ng kabuhayan, lalaki guides will also go there.
ay siyang patnugot ng asawa’t mga anak;
kung ang umaakay ay tungo sa sama, ang 11. Thou must not look upon
patutunguhan ng iaakay ay kasamaan din. woman as a mere plaything, but as
a faithful companion who will share
with thee the penalties of life; her
11. Ang babai ay huag mong tignang isang (physical) weakness will increase
bagay na libangan lamang, kundi isang thy interest in her and she will
katuang at kaaminga mga kahirapan remind thee of the mother who bore
nitong kabuhayan; gamitan mo ng buong thee and reared thee.
pagpipitagan ang kaniyang kahinaan, at
alalahanin ang inang pinagbuhata’t nagiwi 12. What thou dost not desire done
sa iyong kasangulan. unto thy wife, children, brothers and
sisters, that do not unto the wife,
12. Ang di mo ibig na gawin sa asawa mo, children, brothers and sisters of thy
anak at kapatid, ay huag mong gagawin sa neighbor.
asawa, anak, at kapatid ng iba.
13. Man is not worth more because
13. Ang kamahalan ng tao’y wala sa he is a king, because his nose is
pagkahari, wala saamingag ilong at puti ng aquiline, and his color white, not
mukha, wala sa pagkaparing kahalili ng because he is a *priest, a servant
Dios wala sa mataas na kalagayan sa of God, nor because of the high
balat ng lupa; wagas at tunay na mahal na prerogative that he enjoys upon
tao, kahit laking gubat at walang nababatid earth, but he is worth most who is a
kundi ang sariling wika, yaong may man of proven and real value, who
magandang asal, may isang pangungusap, does good, keeps his words, is
may dangal at puri; yaong di napaaapi’t di worthy and honest; he who does
nakikiapi; yaong marunong magdamdam not oppress nor consent to being
at marunong lumingap sa bayang oppressed, he who loves and
tinubuan. cherishes his fatherland, though he
be born in the wilderness and know
14. Paglaganap ng mga aral na ito at no tongue but his own.
maningning na sumikat ang araw ng mahal
na Kalayaan diamina kaabaabang 14. When these rules of conduct
Sangkalupuan, at sabugan ng matamis shall be known to all, the longed-for
niyang liwanag ang nangagkaisang sun of Liberty shall rise brilliant
magkalahi’t magkakapatid ng ligaya ng over this most unhappy portion of
walang katapusan, ang mga ginugol na the globe and its rays shall diffuse
buhay, pagud, at mga tiniis na kahirapa’y everlasting joy among the
labis nang natumbasan. Kung lahat ng ito’y confederated brethren of the same
mataruk na ng nagiibig pumasuk at rays, the lives of those who have
inaakala niyang matutupad ang mga gone before, the fatigues and the
tutungkulin, maitatala ang kaniyang well-paid sufferings will remain. If
ninanasa sa kasunod nito. he who desires to enter (the
Katipunan) has informed himself of
all this and believes he will be able

51
 to perform what will be his duties,
he may fill out the application for
admission.
[translation by Gregorio Nieva,
1918]

An Excerpt from the Second Paragraph of the Kartilya which states that “The object pursued by
this association is great and precious: to unite in ideas and purposes all filipinos by means of a
strong oath and from union derive force with which to tear the veil that obscures intelligence and
thus find the true path of reason and light”.
The strong oath was documented and signed with the signed with the blood of the “Katipuneros”
(blood (blood compact). They swore at the Katipunan creed; Katipunan creed; to defend the
oppressed, fight the fight the oppressor even to the extent of supreme self- supreme self-
sacrifice.
One of the most important Katipunan documents was the Kartilya ng Katipunan. The original
title of the document was “Manga (sic) Aral Nang (sic) Katipunan ng mga A.N.B.” Or “Lesson of
the Organization of the Sons of Country”.
__________________________________________
Emilio Jacinto (attrib.), Katipunan nang manga A. N. B. – Sa may nasang makisanib sa
katipunang ito [The “Kartilya”]

Sources: Adrian E. Cristobal, The Tragedy of the Revolution (Makati City: Studio 5 Publishing
Inc., 1997) 46; José P. Santos, Buhay at mga sinulat ni Emilio Jacinto (Manila: José Paez
Santos, 1935), 59–63.

Taught in schools and debated in universities, the “Kartilya” is the best known of all
Katipunan texts. Making manifest the KKK’s principles and teachings, it was printed as a small
pamphlet for new members. It is the only document of any length set in print by the Katipunan
prior to August 1896 that is known to be still extant.

The earliest reference to the Kartilya yet found is in the minutes of a Supreme Assembly
meeting held in December 1895, which say the manifesto (“pahayag”) will be priced at 4 kualta
per copy. Whether it is the KKK branches or the individual recruits who are to be charged this
amount is not clear, and nor is it known whether the title phrase - “To those who want to join this
Katipunan” - truly means potential recruits, or in practice should be taken to mean “To those
who have just joined this Katipunan.” If copies were sold to potential as well as actual recruits,
needless to say, there was a heightened risk they might fall into the wrong hands.
The Kartilya was still in use during the first phase of the revolution, and Bonifacio was planning
to print more copies shortly before he was killed. It may still have been used during the second
phase of the revolution, for a version survives in the Philippine Insurgent Records that is
stamped with the seal used by Artemio Ricarte in 1899. This version contains basically the
same text as is transcribed here, but it bears a different title – “Final Declaration on Admission

52
to the Katipunan” (Katapusang pamamahayag sa pagpasok sa K.) – and it omits the famous
footnote that says “the word Tagalog means all those born in this Archipelago.”

Authorship of the Kartilya has always been credited to Emilio Jacinto, and there is little
doubt this attribution is sound: it dates back to the Sensacional memoria of Isabelo de los
Reyes, whose sources included several senior KKK veterans, and it has never been
challenged. Bonifacio, the story goes, had originally intended that his “Decalogue” should be
printed and handed to new recruits, but he then read Jacinto’s Kartilya and decided it was
superior. The two texts, though, are not really comparable. Bonifacio seeks only to enumerate
the duties of Katipunan members, Jacinto couches his primer, four times as long, rather as a
statement of aspirations and ethical values. Bonifacio lists ten obligations; Jacinto presents
twelve “guiding principles” and fourteen “teachings”.

In its structure the Kartilya resembles the declaration used in Manila’s Masonic lodges, a
declaration that had presumably been written in Spain around 1889 when the grand order to
which the lodges were affiliated – the Gran Oriente Español - had been founded by Miguel
Morayta. The Kartilya is addressed “To those who want to join the Katipunan”; the Masonic
document to “los profanos que deben inscribirse en la Sociedad.” The preamble to the Kartilya
echoes the Masonic document’s stated purpose, which is to ensure that candidates fully
understand the association’s objectives before making a commitment they might later repent.
The division in the Kartilya between principles (“layon”) and teachings (“aral”) broadly parallels
the division in the Gran Oriente’s manifesto between the “Programa Masonica” and the “Codigo
Masonico.” And the Kartilya, finally, like the document used in the lodges, asks neophytes to
pledge their allegiance to the association’s objectives and to affirm with their signature that they
are becoming members of their own free will (“ninais ng loob ko”).

There are also parallels between the content of the two documents. Recruits to the lodges were
advised that Masonry “considera como hermanos todos los hombres”; that they should
renounce “todos los vicios”; and should “defenderás al oprimido.” Within the Katipunan, said
the Kartilya, “all are equal and true brethren.” Members had to “renounce disorderly habits” and
to “defend the oppressed.”

Other influences may be identified more tentatively. The admonitions to regard a woman
as a “helpmate” rather than a “plaything,” and to “have due regard to her weakness” may be
Biblical in origin. The adage that “an honorable man’s word is his bond” may be traced back to
Cervantes; and the thought that “time lost is lost forever” may have come from Benjamin
Franklin. One precept is perhaps taken from Rizal. A “life which is not dedicated to a great idea
is useless,” declares Rizal’s fictional insurrectionist Simoun in El Filibusterismo: “It is a pebble
lost in the field, when it should form part of some building.” “Life which is not consecrated to a
lofty and sacred cause,”Jacinto writes, varying the metaphor, “is like a tree without shade, if not
a poisonous weed.”

To emphasize Enlightenment influences on Katipunan thinking, some say, effaces the

originality of documents like the Kartilya, which may be found in the nuances of their Tagalog
and their resonance with the native psyche, familial bonds, folk Christianity, indigenous
dissident traditions and so on. Such arguments may be true up to a point, but often they seem
nebulous, reliant more on wishful assertion than on substantiating chapter and verse. The
Tagalog words that resound loudest in the Kartilya, beyond doubt, are the equivalents of the
Enlightenment’s defining watchwords: Liberty (“Kalayaan”), Equality (“lahat ng tao’y
magkakapantay”), Fraternity (“kayong lahat ay magkakapatid”), Reason (“Katuiran”), Progress
(“Kagalingan”) and Enlightenment itself (“Kaliwanagan”). Most, perhaps all, of these Tagalog

53
equivalents had already been employed by ilustrado writers like Rizal and Del Pilar before the
KKK was founded. The revolutionary originality of the Katipunan lay not in its idiom, but in its
objectives and its deeds.

References:

1. Candelaria, John Lee, Readings in Philippine History, (pp. 22- 26)

2. Cristobal, Adrian E. The Tragedy of the Revolution. Quezon City, University of the Philippines
Press, 2008. (p.46)

3. Santos José P., Buhay at mga sinulat ni Emilio Jacinto), Manila: Impr. Manila, 1935. (pp. 59–
63)

4. Katipunan Documents and Studies accessed at http://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/

54
 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 6

CONTENT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS of “On the Philippine
Revolution of 1896 and Its
Aftermath” and “Mga Gunita ng
Himagsikan” by Emilio Aguinaldo

55
RATIONALE:

Module 6 furthers the understanding of students through content and contextual analysis as a
tool in evaluating selected primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to develop student’s
skills in analyzing and interpreting primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Emilio Aguinaldo’s “On the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and its
Aftermath” and some excerpts from “Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan” will be examined through
content and contextual analysis as he wrote his firsthand observation and experiences before
and during the 1896 Revolution. The students are expected to critically evaluate the role of
Aguinaldo during the 1896 Revolution and how he should be judged by our history.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine
history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
4. Critically evaluate the role of Aguinaldo during the 1896 Revolution and how he should be
judged by our history.

56
On the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and its Aftermath

THE REVOLUTION OF 1896. REFER to Philippine History Sourcebook, pp. 111-118

Spain maintained control of the Philippine Islands for more than three centuries and a half,
during which period the tyranny, misconduct and abuses of the Friars and the Civil and Military
Administration exhausted the patience of the natives and caused them to make a desperate
effort to shake off the unbearable galling yoke on the 26th and 31st August, 1896, then
commencing the revolution in the provinces of Manila and Cavite.
On these memorable days the people of Balintawak, Santa Mesa, Kalookan, Kawit, Noveleta
and San Francisco de Malabon rose against the Spaniards and proclaimed the Independence of
the Philippines, and in the course of the next five days these uprisings were followed by the
inhabitants of the other towns in Cavite province joining in the revolt against the Spanish

57
Government although there was no previous arrangement looking to a general revolt. The latter
were undoubtedly moved to action by the noble example of the former.
With regard to the rising in the province of Cavite it should be stated that although a call to arms
bearing the signatures of Don Augustin Rieta, Don Candido (T)irona and myself, who were
Lieutenants of the Revolutionary Forces, was circulated there was no certainty about the orders
being obeyed, or even received by the people, for it happened that one copy of the orders fell
into the hands of a Spaniard named Don Fernando Parga, Military Governor of the province,
who at that time was exercising the functions of Civil Governor, who promptly reported its
contents to the Captain-General of the Philippines, Don Ramon Blanco y Erenas.
The latter at once issued orders for the Spanish troops to attack the revolutionary forces. It
would appear beyond doubt that One whom eye of man hath not seen in his wisdom and mercy
ordained that the emancipation of the oppressed people of the Philippines should be undertaken
at this time, for otherwise it is inexplicable how men armed only with sticks and gulok;' wholly
unorganized and undisciplined, could defeat the Spanish Regulars in severe engagements at
Bakoor, Imus and Noveleta and, in addition to making many of them prisoners, captured a large
quantity of arms and ammunition. It was owing to this astonishing success of the revolutionary
troops that General Blanco quickly concluded to endeavor to maintain Spanish control by the
adoption of a conciliatory policy under the pretext that thereby he could quell the rebellion, his
first act being a declaration to the effect that it was not the purpose of his Government to
oppress the people and he had no desire to slaughter the Filipinos.
The Government of Madrid disapproved of General Blanco's new policy and speedily appointed
Lieutenant-General Don Camilo Polavieja to succeed him, and despatched forthwith a large
number of Regulars to the Philippines … (pages 1-3)
Oh, dear Philippines! Blame your wealth, your beauty for the stupendous disgrace that rests
upon your faithful sons. You have aroused the ambition of the Imperialists and Expansionists of
North America and both have placed their sharp claws upon your entrails!
Loved mother, sweet mother, we are here to defend your liberty and independence to the
death! We do not want war; on the contrary, we wish for peace ; but honorable peace, which
does not make you blush nor stain your forehead with shame and confusion. And we swear to
you and promise that while America with all her power and wealth could possibly vanquish us ;
killing all of us ; but enslave us, never !!!
No ; this humiliation is not the compact I celebrated in Singapore with the American Consul
Pratt. This was not the agreement stipulated for with Mr. Wildman, American Consul in
Hongkong. Finally, it was not the subjection of my beloved country to a new alien yoke that
Admiral Dewey promised me.
It is certain that these three have abandoned me, forgetting that I was sought for and taken
from my exile and deportation ; forgetting, also, that neither of these three solicited my services
in behalf of American Sovereignty; they paying the expense of the Philippine Revolution for
which, manifestly, they sought me and brought me back to your beloved bosom.
If there is, as I believe, one God, the root and fountain of all justice and only eternal judge of
international disputes, it will not take long, dear mother, to save you from the hands, of your
unjust enemies. So I trust in the honor of Admiral Dewey : So I trust in the rectitude of the great

58
people of the United States of America, where, if there are ambitious Imperialists, there are
defenders of the humane doctrines of the immortal Monroe, Franklin, and Washington ; unless
the race of noble citizens, glorious founders of the present greatness of the North American
Republic, have so degenerated that their benevolent influence has become subservient to the
grasping ambition of the Expansionists, in which latter unfortunate circumstance would not
death be preferable to bondage ? Oh, sensible American people!
Deep is the admiration of all the Philippine people and of their untrained Army of the courage
displayed by your Commanders and soldiers. We are weak in comparison with such Titanic
instruments of your Government's ambitious Caesarian policy and find it difficult to effectively
resist their courageous onslaught. Limited are our warlike resources, but we will continue this
unjust, bloody, and unequal struggle, not for the love of war—which we abhor —but to defend
our incontrovertible rights of Liberty and Independence (so dearly won in war with Spain) and
our territory which is threatened by the ambitions of a party that is trying to subjugate us.
Distressing, indeed, is war! Its ravages cause us horror. Luckless Filipinos succumb in the
confusion of combat, leaving behind them mothers, widows and children. America could put up
with all the misfortunes she brings on us without discomfort; but what the North American
people are not agreeable to is that she should continue sacrificing her sons, causing distress
and anguish to mothers, widows and daughters to satisfy the whim of maintaining a war in
contravention of their honorable traditions as enunciated by Washington and Jefferson. Go
back, therefore, North American people, to your old-time liberty. Put your hand on your heart
and tell me: Would it be pleasant for you if, in the course of time, North America should find
herself in the pitiful plight of a weak and oppressed people and the Philippines, a free and
powerful nation, then at war with jour oppressors, asked for your aid promising to deliver you
from such a weighty yoke, and after defeating her enemy with your aid she set about
subjugating you, refusing the promised liberation?
Civilized nations! Honorable inhabitants of the United States, to whose high and estimable
consideration I submit this unpretentious work herein you have the providential facts which led
to the unjust attack upon the existence of the Philippine Republic and the existence of those for
whom, though unworthy, God made me the principal guardian. The veracity of these facts rests
upon my word as President of this Republic and on the honor of the whole population of eight
million souls, who, for more than three hundred years have been sacrificing the lives and wealth
of their brave sons to obtain due recognition of the natural rights of mankind—liberty and
independence. If you wi]l do me the honour to receive and read this work and then pass
judgment impartially solemnly declaring on which side right and justice rests, your respectful
servant will be eternally grateful.
(Signed) EMILIO AGUINALDO. Tarlak, 23rd September, 1899.

59
HENERAL EMILIO AGUINALDO: MGA GUNITA NG HIMAGSIKAN
DAKILANG PARANGAL SA PAGDATING NG SUPREMO

"Nang matapos ang masayang pagpapaalaman, ang Supremo at mga kasamahan, ay sumama
na sa Pamunuan ng Magdiwang. Gayon na lamang ang karingalan at kasayahang naghari sa
pagsalubong na ginawa ng mga bayang kanilang pinagdaanan. Sa hanay na may siyam na
kilometro ang haba, mula sa Noveleta, hanggang sa San Francisco Malabon, ang lahat halos
ng mga bahay ay may mga palamuting balantok na kawayang kinaskas at pinalamutihan ng
sari-saring watawat, tanda ng maringal na pagsalubong at maligayang bati sa dakilang
panauhin.
Isang kilometro pa lamang ang agwat bago dumating sa kabayanan ng San Francisco de
Malabon, ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio, sinalubong agad ng isang banda ng musika at nang
nasa pintuan na ng simbahan at nirupiki ng gayon na lamang ang kampana.
Ang malalaking aranya at dambana sa loob ng simbahan ay paamingay sindi ng ilaw. At ang
kurang Tagalog na si Padre Manuel Trias, saka ang "P“llo," ”y naghihintay naman sa mga
panauhin sa pintuan ng simbahan, at pagkatapos ay kumanta ng Te Deum, hanggang sa
dambana na kaakbay ang mga panauhin. Pagkatapos ng ganyang parangal sila'y’itinuloy sa
bahay ni Binibining Estefania Potente.

PAGHIRANG SA SUPREMO BILANG HARI

Isang paglalarawan kay Bonifacio bilang "A“g Haring Bayan"
”ulat kamay mismo ni Bonifacio ang titolo at lagda na hango sa "A“ta de Tejeros"
”Kinabukasan naman, ang Gabinete ng Pamahalaang Magdiwang, ang gumanap ng kanilang
malaon nang inihandang pagpaparangal sa pamamagitan ng isang kapasiyahan na
pagkalooban ang dakilang panauhin, Supremo Andres Bonifacio, ng pinakamataas na tungkulin
sa taguring HARING BAYAN. Sa ganito'y’lubusan nang mabubuo ang pamunuan ng nasabing
Sanggunian na dati-rati'y’wala ng tungkuling ito at pansamantala lamang nanunungkulan sa
pagka Vi Rey, si Heneral Mariano Alvarez.
Ang buong Pamunuan ng kanilang Sanggunian, ay magagarang kasuotan kung
nangagpupulong. Simula sa HARING BAYAN, hanggang sa kahuli-hulihang Ministro at Capitan
General, ay may mga bandang pulang ginintuan nakasakbat sa kani-kanilang balikat. Kung
minsan sa kanilang paglalakad, ay nakasuot pa rin ang nasabing banda upang makilala ang
kanilang katayuan marahil.

Lubhang masaya sila parati, palibhasa'y’ang labing-dalawang bayan na kanilang nasasakupan

ay di naliligalig sa anumang laban. Sila'y’naliliskub halos ay nanga sa likuran ng mga bayang
maliligalig tuwina ng Pamahalaang Magdalo.
Nang matapos ang ilang araw na parangal sa Supremo at mga kasama, dinalaw nilang lahat
ang labing-dalawang bayang nasasakupan nila bilang paghahanda sa gagawing pagpipisan ng
dalawang Sangguniang Magdiwang at Magdalo. Nangagtalumpati sila at anangaral ng pagka-
makabayan at iba pang makagising-damdaming pangungusap ukol sa kaamingaSabihin pa,

60
ang galak ng mga taong bayan, kaya't’gayon na lamang karingal ang pagtanggap sa kanila at
para bang isang HARING BAYAN nga ang dumating. Ang mga daan ay paaminginalantukan,
may banda ng musika at panay ang hiyawan ng "V“va Tagalog," ”agkabi-kabila. Ang mga
kampana'y’halos mabasag sa pagrurupiki sa mga simbahan niyang pinatutunguhan, may mga
dapit pa ng ceamingt awit ng Te Deum.
Sa kabilang dako naman, sa gitna ng gayong di magkamayaw na kasayahan at paghdiriwang,
ang walong bayang nasa Pamahalaan ng Magdalo. ay laamingagigimbal araw at gabi ng
paghanap sa kalaban sa mga hanay ng Zapote, Almanza, San Nicolas, Bakood, Arumahan,
Pintong Bato, at Molino sa bayan ng Bakoof, at kasakit-sakit sabihin na sa masamang
pagkakataon, ang mga kalaban ay nakalusot tuloy nang di napapansin sa kabilang ilog ng
Zapote, dahil sa puyat at pagod ng ating mga kawal.
Gayon man ang matatapang nating sandatahan sa ilalim ng mando ni Heneral Mariano Noriel
at Heneral Pio del Pilar, ay agad-agad dinaluhong ang mga kalaban, kaya't’putukan at tagaang
katakut-takot ang naghari pagkatapos. Sa wakas, muli na naamingagtagumpay ang ating mga
kawal, at ang Ilog Zapote ay muling namula sa dugo ng mga kalaban. Ganyan nang ganyan
ang nangyayari parati sa buong hanay ng aming labanan."
”

HALALAN SA KAPULUNGAN NG TEJEROS

PAGPIPISAN NG SANGGUNIANG MAGDIWANG AT MAGDALO

"H“ndi ko pa nasasagot ang kanilang pakay sa akin, agad-agad ay isinalaysay sa akin ang mga
sumusunod na pangyayari sa halalan:
Na pagkatapos mabuksan ang kapulungang paamingag Manghihimagsik na pinangunguluhan
ng Haring Bayan, Andres Bonifacio ay isinunod agad ang paghirang at paghalal ukol sa
Kataas-taasang Puno na mangungulo sa ganitong pag-iisa.
Dalawa lamang kandidato ang napaharap, at ito'y’ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio at si Heneral
Emilio Aguinaldo. Pagkatapos ng halalan ay lumabas noon din at ipinasiya ng Kapulungan sa
pamamagitan ng Supremo Andres Bonifacio, na si Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo, ang siyang
pinagkaisahan at pinagbotohang maging Kataas-taasang Puno o taga-Pangulo ng
Manghihimagsik.

Nagtaka sila diumano kung paano nangyari, na ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio na siyang
nagpahanda ng nasabing pag-iisa at siya pang pangulo sa nasabing pulong, ay kung bakit ako
ang inihalal ng karamihan laban sa Supremo Andres Bonifacio.
Isinunod ang tungkuling Vice-Presidente. Ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio, ay muling
ikinandidato, subalit tinalo siya ng kanya ring Ministro de Gracia y Justicia, na si Heneral
Mariano Trias, at noon din ay ginawa ang proklamasyon.
Isinunod ang tungkuling Kapitan Heneral, ay nagtunggali naman ang dating Kapitan Santiago
Alvarez, anak ni Virey Mariano Alvarez, at si Heneral Artemio Ricarte, isang Ilocano.
Bagama't’tumutol si Heneral A. Ricarte sa pagkakahalal sa kanya, dahil diumano sa kawalan

61
niya ng kaya sa gayong tungkulin, ay iniurong din niya pagkatapos nang hindi tanggapin ng
mesa. Isinunod diaminng proklamasyon sa kanya.
Sa paka-Secretario de Guerra, ang Supremo Andres Bonifacio ay muli na naamingkinandidato,
at ang nakatunggali niya ay si Heneral Emiliano Riego de Dios, na kanya ring Ministro de
Fomento sa Sangguniang Magdiwang. Natalo na naman ang Supremo, at ito ang ikatlong
pagkagapi niya sa halalan.
Sa pagka-Secretario de Interior, ay muli na naamingpinasok na kandidato ang Supremo Andres
Bonifacio at ang kanyang kalaban ay ang dalawa niyang Ministro sa Magdiwang na sina
Ginoong Severino de las Alas at Ginoong Diego Mojica. Sa halalang ito'y’nagtagumpay ang
Supremo Andres Bonifacio, at kagaya ng kaugalian ay ipinasiya na siya ang nahalal at dahil
diaminy binati sa kanyang tagumpay.
Subali't’pagkatapos na pagkatapos na maipasiya ng Asamblea ang kanyang tagumpay ay
biglang tumindig at sumalungat sa pagkahalal sa kanya si Heneral Daniel Tirona, at sinabing;
"H“ndi nababagay sa Supremo Andres Bonifacio, ang tungkuling nasabi, pagka't’hindi
siya abogado, at ang bagay rito'y’ang Abogado Jose del Rosario, na taga Tanza."
”Dito nagmula ang gulo ng Kapulungan, subalit wala naaminginumang pumangalawa kay
Heneral Tirona, kaya't’wala ring kabuluhan ang nasabing pagtutol. Gayon man, sa sama yata
ng loob ng Supremo kay Heneral Daniel Tirona, ay agad-agad siyang tumindig at sinabi ang
ganito: "H“ndi baga bago tayo nagpulong ay pinagkaisahan natin na sinuman ang
lumabas o mahalal sa Kapulungang ito, ay ating susundin at igagalang ng lahat?"
”"O“o" ” –ng hiyawan ng madla.
"K“ng gayon" ” –atuloy niya, "B“kit nang ako ang napahalal ay may tumututol?
"W“la pong pumangalawa sa tutol."
”At sa di mapigil na sama ng loob ng Supremo, ay agad binunot ang kanyang rebolber at
anyong papuputukan si Heneral Daniel Tirona, sa gitna ng di magkamayaw na gulong naghari.
Salamat na lamang at napigil ni G. Jacinto Lumbreras at ni Heneral Artemio Ricarte, ang
masamang tangka ng Supremo. Si Heneral Tirona naman ay maliksing nakapagtago at
nagsuut-suot sa kakapalan ng mga Asemblesista kaya hindi natuloy ang pagtudla sa kanya.
Palibhasa'y’hindi yata mapigilan ng Supremo ang sama ng loob, bakit maikatlo pang natalo sa
halalan, bagama't’napayapa ang gusot at tahimik na ang lahat, pagdaka'y’tumindig siya at
sinabi sa kapulungan ang ganito
"A“o sa aking pagka-Pangulo nitong Kapulungang Pambansa ng mga Manghihimagsik,
ay pinawawalan ko ng kabuluhan ang halalang dito'y’naganap." ”aka pagdaka'y’umalis at
nilisan ang kapulungan at umuwi sa Malabon.
Sa ganyang pangyayari, ay naligalig saamingng kapulungan, ngunit biglang tumahimik nang
ang delegado ng lalawigang Batangas, na si Koronel Santiago Rillo, na kumakatawan sa may
2,000 manghihimagsik, ay nagtindig at isinigaw sa Supremo na huwag siyang umalis,
pagka't’proklamado na siya sa pagka-Secretario de Interior, bukod sa ang mungkahi ni Heneral
D. Tirona, laban sa kanya ay wala sa orden, pagka't’walang sinumang pumangalawa, at dahil
dito'y’walang anumang biamiGayon man ay di nangyaring napigilan ang Supremo at patuloy
nang umalis nang walang paalam.

62
Dahil sa kaguluhang nangyari, at sapagka't’hindi napigilan ang Supremo, sa kaniyang pasiya na
lisanin ang kapulungan, si Santiago Rillo, delegado ng Batangas, ay tumayo at nagtanong sa
madla kung sang-ayon silang ipagpatuloy ang kapulungan, at kung pahihintulutan nilang siya
na ang mangulo. Sa ganitong katanungan ay parang iisang taong sumagot ang lahat ng "O“o."
”Sa ganyang kapasiyahan, ay ipinagpatuloy ang Kapulungan at wala naamingba pang pinag-
usapan maliban sa kilalanin o pagtibayin ang tanang mga naihalal na saka humirang ng isang
"C“mission" ”pang ipabatid kay Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo, ang pagka-hirang sa kanya ng
Kapulungan ng Manghihimagsik na maging Kataas-taasang Puno ng Himagsikan, tuloy kaunin
siya sa madaling panahon upang makapanumpa sa tungkuling iniaatang sa kanya ng bayang
nanghihimagsik.
Pagkatapos nito, ay pinigil munang pansamantala ang pulong, samantalang hinihintay nang
buong kasabikan ang pagdating ng nahalal na puno ng himagsikan, si Heneral Aguinaldo."

ONLINE VIDEO LINKS:

GMA Public Affairs, Katipunan Episodes, accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SGRAldzxR3U&list=PLk250GTsLEsuQGmPGfV6FkDtlfjsDszk2
News5Everywhere, Andres Bonifacio: Unang Pangulo? | History, accessed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzYKNkVvHtM

REFERENCES:

1. Candelaria, John Lee. Readings in Philippine History, (pp. 2- 5)

2. Aguinaldo, Emilio. True version of the Philippine revolution.Tarlak: P.I., 1899. (pp. 1-3, 56-
59).

3. Aguinaldo, Emilio, Mga Gunita ng Himagsikan. Manila : National Centennial Commission :

Cavite Historical Society : A.T.S. & Associates, 1998. (pp. 78-82;95-100;177-188;212-227)

4. GMA Public Affairs, Katipunan Episodes, accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=SGRAldzxR3U&list=PLk250GTsLEsuQGmPGfV6FkDtlfjsDszk2

5. News5Everywhere, Andres Bonifacio: Unang Pangulo? | History, accessed at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzYKNkVvHtM

63
64
 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 7

CONTENT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS of “Declaration
of Philippine
Independence” by
Ambrosio Rianzares-
Bautista

RATIONALE:

65
Module 7 furthers the understanding of students through content and contextual analysis as a
tool in evaluating selected primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to develop student’s
skills in analyzing and interpreting primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Ambrosio Rianzares-Bautista’s “Declaration of Philippine

Independence” will be examined through content and contextual analysis. It is expected that
students will be able to acknowledge the legitimacy of the first Philippine Republic and address
to the world our sovereignty based on our history.
.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: *** Refer to Sourcebook: Emilio Aguinaldo & the US, pp.127-
146)

1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine
history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
4. Acknowledge the legitimacy of the first Philippine Republic and address to the world our
sovereignty based on our history.

66
 S

ource: Presidential Museum and Library, History of the Philippine Flag, accessed at
http://malacanang.gov.ph/history-of-the-philippine-flag/

67
DECLARATION OF PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE

Translation by Sulpicio Guevara

In the town of Cavite-Viejo, Province of Cavite, this 12th day of June 1898:
BEFORE ME, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, War Counsellor and Special Delegate designated
to proclaim and solemnize this Declaration of Independence by the Dictatorial Government of
the Philippines, pursuant to, and by virtue of, a Decree issued by the Engregious Dictator Don
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy,1
The undersigned assemblage of military chiefs and others of the army who could not attend, as
well as the representatives of the various towns,
Taking into account the fact that the people of this country are already tired of bearing the
ominous joke of Spanish domination,
Because of arbitrary arrests and abuses of the Civil Guards who cause deaths in connivance
with and even under the express orders of their superior officers who at times would order the
shooting of those placed under arrest under the pretext that they attempted to escape in
violation of known Rules and Regulations, which abuses were left unpunished, and because of
unjust deportations of illustrious Filipinos, especially those decreed by General Blanco at the
instigation of the Archbishop and friars interested in keeping them in ignorance for egoistic and
selfish ends, which deportations were carried out through processes more execrable than those
of the Inquisition which every civilized nation repudiates as a trial without hearing.
Had resolved to start a revolution in August 1896 in order to regain the independence and
sovereignty of which the people had been deprived by Spain through Governor Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi who, continuing the course followed by his predecessor Ferdinand Magellan who
landed on the shores of Cebu and occupied said Island by means of a Pact of Friendship with
Chief Tupas, although he was killed in the battle that took place in said shores to which battle he
was provoked by Chief Kalipulako ** of Mactan who suspected his evil designs, landed on the
Island of Bohol by entering also into a Blood Compact with its Chief Sikatuna, with the purpose
of later taking by force the Island of Cebu, and because his successor Tupas did not allow him
to occupy it, he went to Manila, the capital, winning likewise the friendship of its Chiefs Soliman
and Lakandula, later taking possession of the city and the whole Archipelago in the name of
Spain by virtue of an order of King Philip II, and with these historical precedents and because in
international law the prescription established by law to legalize the vicious acquisition of private
property is not recognized, the legitimacy of such revolution cannot be put in doubt which was
calmed but not complete stifled by the pacification proposed by Don Pedro A. Paterno with Don
Emilio Aguinaldo as President of the Republic established in Biak-na-Bato and accepted by
Governor-General Don Fernando Primo De Rivera under terms, both written and oral, among
them being a general amnesty for all deported and convicted persons; that by reason of the
non-fulfillment of some of the terms, after the destruction of the plaza of Cavite, Don Emilio
Aguinaldo returned in order to initiate a new revolution and no sooner had he given the order to
rise on the 31st of last month when several towns anticipating the revolution, rose in revolt on the
28th , such that a Spanish contingent of 178 men, between Imus Cavite-Viejo, under the
command of major of the Marine Infantry capitulated , the revolutionary movement spreading

68
like wild fire to other towns of Cavite and the other provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Batangas,
Bulacan, Laguna, and Morong, some of them with seaports and such was the success of the
victory of our arms, truly marvelous and without equal in the history of colonial revolutions that in
the first mentioned province only the Detachments in Naic and Indang remained to surrender; in
the second all Detachments had been wiped out; in the third the resistance of the Spanish
forces was localized in the town of San Fernando where the greater part of them are
concentrated, the remainder in Macabebe, Sexmoan, and Guagua; in the fourth, in the town of
Lipa; in the fifth, in the capital and in Calumpit; and in last two remaining provinces, only in their
respective capitals, and the city of Manila will soon be besieged by our forces as well as the
provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union, Zambales, and some others in the
Visayas where the revolution at the time of the pacification and others even before, so that the
independence of our country and the re-vindication of our sovereignty is assured.
And having as witness to the rectitude of our intentions the Supreme Judge of the Universe, and
under the protection of our Powerful and Humanitarian Nation, The United States of America,
we do hereby proclaim and declare solemnly in the name by authority of the people of these
Philippine Islands,
That they are and have the right to be free and independent; that they have ceased to have
allegiance to the Crown of Spain; that all political ties between them are should be completely
severed and annulled; and that, like other free and independent States, they enjoy the full power
to make War and Peace, conclude commercial treaties, enter into alliances, regulate commerce,
and do all other acts and things which and Independent State Has right to do,
And imbued with firm confidence in Divine Providence, we hereby mutually bind ourselves to
support this Declaration with our lives, our fortunes, and with our sacred possession, our Honor.
We recognize, approve, and ratify, with all the orders emanating from the same, the Dictatorship
established by Don Emilio Aguinaldo whom we reverse as the Supreme Head of this Nation2,
which today begins to have a life of its own, in the conviction that he has been the instrument
chosen by God, in spite of his humble origin, to effectuate the redemption of this unfortunate
country as foretold by Dr. Don Jose Rizal in his magnificent verses which he composed in his
prison cell prior to his execution, liberating it from the Yoke of Spanish domination,
And in punishment for the impunity with which the Government sanctioned the commission of
abuses by its officials, and for the unjust execution of Rizal and others who were sacrificed in
order to please the insatiable friars in their enormous thirst for vengeance against and
extermination of all those who oppose their Machiavellian ends, trampling upon the Penal Code
of these Islands, and of those suspected persons arrested by the Chiefs of Detachments at the
instigation of the friars, without any form nor semblance of trial and without any spiritual aid of
our sacred Religion; and likewise, and for the same ends, eminent Filipino priest, Doctor Don
Jose Burgos, Don Mariano Gomez, and Don Jacinto Zamora were hanged whose innocent
blood was shed due to the intrigues of these so-called Religious corporations which made the
authorities to believe that the military uprising at the fort of San Felipe in Cavite on the night of
January 21, 1872 was instigated by those Filipino martyrs, thereby impeding the execution of
the decree- sentence issued by the Council of State in the appeal in the administrative case
interposed by the secular clergy against the Royal Orders that directed that the parishes under
them within the jurisdiction of this Bishopric be turned over to the Recollects in exchange for
those controlled by them in Mindanao which were to be transferred to the Jesuits, thus revoking

69
them completely and ordering the return of those parishes, all of which proceedings are on file
with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to which they are sent last month of the year of the issuance
of the proper Royal Degree which, in turn, caused the grow of the tree of the liberty in our dear
land that grow more and more through the iniquitous measures of oppressions, until the last
drop of our chalice of suffering having been drained, the first spark of revolution broke out in
Caloocan, spread out to Santa Mesa and continued its course to the adjoining regions of the
province were the unequalled heroism of its inhabitants fought a one sided battle against
superior forces of General Blanco and General Polavieja for a period of 3 months, without
proper arms nor ammunitions, except bolos, pointed bamboos, and arrows.
Moreover, we confer upon our famous Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo3 all the powers necessary
to enable him to discharge the duties of Government, including the prerogatives of granting
pardon and amnesty,
And lastly, it was results unanimously that this Nation, already free and independent as of this
day, must use the same flag which up to now is being used, whose designed and colored are
found described in the attached drawing, the white triangle signifying the distinctive emblem of
the famous Society of the Katipunan which by means of its blood compact inspired the masses
to rise in revolution; the tree stars, signifying the three principal Islands of these Archipelago -
Luzon, Mindanao, and Panay - where the revolutionary movement started; the sun representing
the gigantic step made by the son of the country along the path of Progress and Civilization; the
eight rays, signifying the eight provinces - Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija,
Bataan, Laguna, and Batangas - which declares themselves in a state of war as soon as the
first revolt was initiated; and the colors of Blue, Red, and White, commemorating the flag of the
United States of America, as a manifestation of our profound gratitude towards this Great Nation
for its disinterested protection which it lent us and continues lending us.
And holding up this flag of ours, I present it to the gentlemen here assembled:
(95 names are listed)

Who solemnly swear to recognize and defend it unto the last drop of their blood.
In witness thereof, I certify that this Act of Declaration of Independence was signed by me and
by all those here assembled including the only stranger who attended those proceedings, a
citizen of the U.S.A., Mr. L.M. Johnson, a Colonel of Artillery.
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista
War Counsellor and Special Delegate-Designate

REFERENCES:
1. Candelaria, John Lee. Readings in Philippine History, (pp. 26- 30)

2. Documents of the 1898 Declaration of Philippine Independence, The Malolos Constitution

and the First Philippine Republic. Manila: National Historical Institute, 1987. (pp. 19-23)

70
 TARLAC STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MODULE 8

CONTENT & CONTEXTUAL

ANALYSIS of “Philippine
Cartoons: Political Caricatures of
the American Era, 1900-41” by
Alfred McCoy

71
RATIONALE:

Module 8 furthers the understanding of students through content and contextual analysis as a
tool in evaluating selected primary sources in Philippine history. It aims to develop student’s
skills in analyzing and interpreting primary sources.

Particularly, in this module, Alfred McCoy’s “Political Caricatures in the American Era” will be
examined through content and contextual analysis. It is expected that students will be able to
explore and identify economic, political and socio-cultural issues during the American era as
illustrated by the cartoons.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Analyze the context, content and perspective of different kinds of primary sources
2. Determine the contribution of different kinds of primary sources in understanding Philippine
history.
3. Develop critical and analytical skills with exposure to primary sources.
4. Explore and identify economic, political and socio-cultural issues during the American era as
illustrated by the cartoons.

The American Period and Political Cartoons, 1899 – 1941: Caricatures on Colonialism
The United States of America, following Spain, occupied the Philippines between 1899 and
1946. The archipelago was the largest among the territories that the US took over from Spain,
including Puerto Rico and Cuba. In spite of the dominance of American imperialistic acts, the
development of publishing industry and newspapers brought out innovative expressions of
protest from liberal-minded Filipinos. The period saw the rise of editorial cartoons in many
newspapers, magazines, and other publications, making caricature of the political and social
conditions of the times.
Even in the United States at the time, American satirical cartoonists were unforgiving. Criticizing
the American acquisition of the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century, some satirical
magazines denigrated the new colony but some also exposed the hypocrisy of the American
political establishment in its policy toward the Philippines.

72
A dictatorial teacher (Uncle Sam – or U.S.) instructing his new students (representing the new
colonies that included the Philippines and acquired by the United States in 1898 with its war
against Spain. (From Puck magazine).

73
An early cartoon was from the Chicago Chronicle, in an issue of January, 1900. Entitled “The
Forbidden Book”, it caricatures how the U.S. military, through President William McKinley,
banned the American media in the covering and reportage of Filipinos’ activities, especially
rebellion and insurgency, during the protracted Philippine-American War. For the American
government, actually, what was transpiring then was not war but insurgency.

Cartoons In the Philippine Colony

Philippine political cartoons gained full expression during the American era. Filipino artists
recorded national attitudes toward the coming of the Americans as well as the changing mores
and times.

74
Among the early Philippine periodicals that made use of satire through cartoons were from
Lipang Kalabaw, during its maiden issue of July 27, 1907. “Lipang Kalabaw” is the counterpart
of poison ivy, a plant which irritates the skin upon contact. Entitled “Progresista Voters,” it shows
how the Progresista Party (formerly Federalista Party that advocated for Philippine statehood
under the U.S.) changed stance when rural voters (seen in the back row) tipped the vote for the
party to support eventual Philippine independence.
Source: Indio Bravo, “Ang Pikon, Talo”: Satire as Impulse to Freedom accessed at
http://indiohistorian.tumblr.com/post/159257082266/ang-pikon-talo-satire-as-impulse-to-freedom

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Socio-Cultural Transformations

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Satirical cartoon making fun of Dominador Gomez, a leading figure in the Nacionalista Party
until a scandal in 1906-1907, as featured in Lipang Kalabaw, April 4, 1908.

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In High Stakes satirical cartoon, Manuel L. Quezon is portrayed as if in a poker game, alluding
his maneuverings in Congress for Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act (for Philippine Independence from
the U.S.) to be rejected, opposing Sergio Osmeña. The maneuvering ends with Osmeña
agreeing to the rejection of HHC, as Quezon accepts responsibility of its rejection, and
promising to get an even more beneficial independence bill from the U.S. As it turned out, after
4 months, Quezon gets Tydings-McDuffie Law passed, almost the same as HHC. From the
Philippines Free Press, August 5, 1933.

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Editorial cartoon of The Independent, Jan. 13, 1917. Source: Alfred McCoy and Alfredo Roces,
Philippine Cartoons (Vera-Reyes, Inc., Philippines, 1985), p. 124.

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