READINGS IN

PHILIPPINE
HISTORY
Prepared by:
Mrs. Merlita C. Mojares, MBA
 CHED MEMORANDUM
ORDER No. 20, Series of 2013
• Art XIV: “The State shall protect and
promote the right of all citizens to quality
education at all levels
• establish, maintain and support a
complete, adequate and integrated system
of education relevant to the needs of the
people and society…
 R.A. 7722
• Higher Education Act of 1994
• CHED set minimum standards for programs and
institutions of higher learning.
• CEB Resolution No. 192-2013 dated March 11,
2013. Commission approved the New General
Education Program : Readings in Philippine
History.
• The GE lays the foundation for the development
of professionally competent, humane and moral
person
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
o To understand the meaning
of history as an academic
discipline and to be familiar
with the underlying
philosophy, and methodology
of the discipline.
o To apply the knowledge in
historical methodology and
philosophy in assessing and
o To examine and assess
critically the value of
historical evidences and
sources.
o To appreciate the
importance of history in
the social and national
life of the Philippines.
 Definition of History
• History was derived from the
Greek word “historia” which
means “knowledge acquired
through inquiry or
investigation”.
• As a discipline it existed for
around 2,400 years and is as old
as mathematics and philosophy.
 Various
“History isHistorians
the record of what one
age finds worthy of note in
another.”
---Burckhardt

“History, in its broadest sense, is

everything that ever happened.”
---Henry Johnson
 Various
“The Historians
value & interest of history
depend largely on the degree in
which the present is illuminated by
the past.”
--- V.S. Smith
“History is the story of man’s
struggle through the ages against
Nature and the elements; against
wild beasts & the jungle & some of
his own kind who have tried to keep
him down and to exploit him for
their own benefit.”
History – provides us
significant records of
events of the past, a
meaningful story of
mankind depicting the
details of what happened
to man and why it
happened.
 NATURE OF
1. History HISTORY
is a study of the present
in the light of the past.
2. History is the study of man.
3. History is concerned with man in
time.
4. History is concerned with man in
space.
5. History provides an objective
record of happenings.
6. History is multisided.
 Nature of History
7. History is a dialogue between
the events of the past &
progressively emerging future
ends.
8. History is not only narration but
it is also an analysis.
9. Continuity and coherence are
the necessary prerequisites of
history.
10. History is relevant.
11. History is comprehensive.
 Relevance &
Functions of History
1. History helps us understand
people & societies.
2. History contributes to moral
understanding
3. History provides identity.
4. Studying history is essential for
good citizenship.
5. History is useful in the world of
work.
 HISTORICAL
SOURCES
Historical sources - an object from
the past or testimony concerning
the past which historian’s use to
create their own depiction of the past.

 Written Sources: are published

materials (books, journals etc.) and
manuscript (handwritten and
unprinted like archival materials and
memoirs)
 Non written Sources: Oral history,
 PRIMARY
SOURCES
• testimony of an eyewitness.
• It must have been produced
by a contemporary of that is
narrated.
• It is a document or physical
object written or created
during the time under study.
 PRIMARY
SOURCES

• These sources were

present during an
experience or time
period and offer an
inside view of a
particular event.
 SECONDARY
SOURCES
 interpret and analyze
primary sources.
 they are one or more
steps removed from
the event. Examples
are printed textbooks
 KINDS OF
PRIMARY
A historical Maps
SOURCES
record Memoirs
Records of social Personal
observations accounts
Chronicles Newspapers &
Human Fossils Magazines
Artifacts Legislative
Royal Decrees journals
and Laws Court Records
Official Reports
 Repositories of
Primary Sources

National Archives National Library of the

of the Philippines Philippines
 Both primary and
secondary sources are
useful in writing and
learning history. However,
they need to scrutinize
thoroughly these document
to avoid deception and to
come up with the historical
truth.
 External
 the Criticism
practice of verifying the
authenticity of evidence by
examining its physical
characteristics; consistency with the
historical characteristic of the time
when it was produced; and the
materials used for the evidence.
ex. Quality of the paper, type of the
ink, language and words used in the
material
 Historical criticism
External Criticism - deals with the
problem of authenticity: to spot
hoaxes, fakes, forgeries and
fabrications. Tests of Authenticity
are:
o Determine the date if it is
Anachronistic: a material, skill or
culture does not exist at that time.
o Determine the author in the
uniqueness of his handwriting or
signature
o Determine the provenance
or custody: genuineness
o Determine the Semantics,
meaning of a text or word
o Determine the
Hermeneutics, the
ambiguities (the branch of
knowledge that deals w/
interpretation, especially of the Bible)
 INTERNAL
CRITISISM
 the examination of the
truthfulness of the evidence. It
looks at the content of the source
and examines the circumstance of
its production.
 It looks at the truthfulness and
factuality of the evidence by
looking at the author of the source,
its context, the agenda behind its
creation, the knowledge which
 Internal
Criticism
It deals with the problem of credibility.
The tests of credibility are:
 Determine the Character of the
Author, his reliability, and his Ability
and Willingness to tell the truth
 Determine the Corroboration,
historical facts rest upon the
testimony of two or more reliable
witnesses
Historical method - the process
of critically examining and
analyzing the records and
survivals
 of the past
The historian is many
times removed from the
events under investigation
 They rely on surviving
records
 History is a
 Only a part of what was observed
was remembered, only a part of
what was remembered was
recorded, only a part of what was
recorded survived, only a part of
what survived came to the
historian’s attention
 Only a part of what is credible
has been grasped, only a part of
what has been grasped can be
expounded and narrated by the
historian.