text:
Copyright © Samuel K. Tan 2008

First published in print by University of the Philippines Press 2008

Cover Design by Zenaida N. Ebalan

ePub design and production by Flipside team

eISBN 978-971-9922-30-8

This e-book edition published 2011
by University of the Philippines Press
and Flipside Digital Content Company, Inc.
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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

I. Evolution of the Land

II. The Cultural Breakthroughs

III. Patterns of Ethnicization

IV. The Rise of Communities

V. Colonialism and Traditions

VI. Imperialism and Filipinism

VII. Neocolonialism and Nationalism

VIII. Democracy on Trial

IX. Democracy at Work

Conclusion

Suggested Readings
Foreword

There is a wealth of published literature on Philippine history, and the boundaries of Philippine historiography have expanded considerably since the postwar period. However, a major deficiency in Philippine historiography is still the dearth of historical works that deal with the totality of Filipino culture and the Filipino nation. Consequently misinformation, prejudices, and biases between and among the different communities of Filipinos have continued to separate and isolate many of us. There are those, for instance, who would articulate the need to search for a Filipino identity (as if we do not really know who or what we are) or who would even question the very existence of the Filipino nation. A serious study of our history and culture would very easily settle these doubts and questions about our identity as a people and a nation.

_A History of the Philippines_ , herein offered by Dr. Samuel K. Tan, former chairman and professor in the Department of History of the University of the Philippines and presently chairman and executive director of the National Historical Institute, offers a conceptual framework of what he calls "the story of man in the Philippines" in the context of "the specific ecological system" and "distinctive historical experience" that have shaped his "particular character and identity." Dr. Tan provides in this slim volume a picture of Philippine culture which, he writes, "ought to be understood from the totality of the ethnolinguistic varieties which constitute the fabric of Filipino society." Hence he divides Filipino cultural communities into three main groups—the Moros, the _Indios_ , the _Infieles_ —colonial categories, but nevertheless reflective of what evolved in the Philippines as a result of the historical processes that have transpired in the island world of the Filipinos.

A very vital and relevant aspect of the Filipino national experience, in Dr. Tan's consideration, is "the struggle of the Filipino toward nationhood, identity, and destiny—a struggle against nature, man, and himself." To underline this theme of history, Dr. Tan explains thus:

in seeking to understand Philippine culture through the cultures of the cultural communities... it is imperative to see the interaction between the diversity and the unity of cultural elements and features. It is not practical to merely view Philippine culture from the frameworks of Islamic and Christian civilizations although both have become parts of the Filipino way of life. In effect, one has to go beyond Islam and Christianity to appreciate the values and aspirations of the numerous ethnolinguistic groups which form the fabric of Filipino society. To do this, we have to adopt certain basic assumptions which are particularly crucial to the Filipino struggle for identity and independence: first, that, however plagued by conflicts and unrest the Philippines is, Philippine society is governed by a distinct geo-historical process which resists fragmentation; second, that the imperatives of Christian and Islamic traditions in Filipino culture are not as crucial to unity as the indigenous foundations of Filipino heritage; and finally, that the secular nature of Philippine realities presents the only meaningful basis for the ultimate fusion of the otherwise disintegrative factors in Philippine history, culture, and society.

This seems a most sensible framework that can be used to rewrite Philippine history that will fill in the gaps in Philippine historiography and heal some of the wounds that have festered among the various cultural communities of Filipinos. Thus, Dr. Tan's book is a timely addition to the literature that will mark the commemoration of the Philippine Centennial in 1998.

It is in line with this writing of a "new" Philippine history that the Manila Studies Association and the Philippine National Historical Society offer the publication of this book as the initial step toward the realization of that project.

Bernardita Reyes Churchill

_President_

Manila Studies Association, Inc.

Philippine National Historical Society, Inc.

October 15, 1997
Preface

This small volume is more of an approach to the study of Philippine history rather than a classroom text. Consequently, details such as dates, events, persons, etc. usually found in standard texts are not as emphasized as concepts or interpretation. The reason is simply to just present my own interpretation of history extracted from lectures delivered in classes and seminars. The encouragement to put the lectures in such a compressed form as this publication came from students, friends, and associates.

One concern I have tried to fulfill in this modest offering is to give the cultural communities, the "other Filipinos," a space they deserve in Philippine history. They have lost practically all the wherewithal for social, political, and economic progress to the process of modernization whose erosive impact on traditional rights to resources has resulted in social marginalization. Unless a new spirit of nationalism and Filipinism changes the neocolonial tendency to ignore the legitimate cries of the cultural communities, the foundation of national unity and peace will remain fragile. The least that can be done by those in the academic and intellectual community is to give equal importance to their history and culture. I hope I have contributed in a small measure to this aim.

S.K.T.
Introduction

What fundamentally separates man from any other in the animal world is the intellect Nature or God has given him whose creative potential and capacity are limitless. It is a gift that allows him to transcend what is ordinarily impossible. It is the only singular tool which helps him overcome the challenges of man and nature and attain "progress," which is the essence of culture and the subject of history.

In effect, what distinguishes one stage of human society from another is the uniqueness of its culture, the expression or evidence of its creativity. In fact, it is the cultural dimension of civilization that should be the focus of historical inquiry. Consequently, even the geography, economy, politics, and social affairs of people find true meaning in this dimension. Without this mark of his development, man ceases to be human. He becomes like other living forms that react to stimuli from instincts and follow the struggle for survival of the species.

Thus, the story of man in the Philippines is in a way a glimpse of a global pattern where human societies have emerged. Only a specificity of the ecological system and distinctiveness of historical experience give the Filipino process its own particular character and identity.

The story of man on the planet Earth has been told through the ages in various ways and by all sorts of people. Their creations have come down to us first as myths, legends, epics, short narratives, and other forms which are called "oral literature." Then, as man began to appreciate his own worth for posterity, he started to put in written or concrete forms the important activities, thoughts, and sentiments that constitute what he hoped to pass on to the next generation. Written history thus became one of the most enduring, albeit controversial, contributions of man to the development of knowledge. Today, when we talk of history we usually think of the written legacies that have become a very vital part of human heritage.

The historical account presented in this volume takes one theme of Philippine history in order to focus attention on a very vital and relevant aspect of national experience—the struggle of the Filipino toward nationhood, identity, and destiny. This experience, written in sweat and blood, is a struggle against nature, man, and himself.

Necessarily, the historical analysis must start from the foundations of culture, which is a product of two ingredients: land and people. The interacting process between these two components becomes the focus of historical study; otherwise a mere awareness and knowledge of geographic features or characteristics become meaningless.

As used in this essay, "culture" is taken in its broadest meaning—the ways of life and habits of thought which are acquired or learned. It is thus more complex than it appears to be because it is a product of numerous factors within and without Philippine societies. These factors are shown in the movements of Philippine history, which seem to follow two distinct patterns. First is what may be simply called "Philippine culture as a diversity in unity." Second is what may be conveniently called "Philippine culture as a unity in diversity." Within these two patterns are subpatterns with their own characteristics and forms.

I

Although more and more studies confirm the common Austronesian pattern of Southeast Asian cultural history, yet the particularization of the Philippine pattern from the Southeast Asian matrix has resulted in the evolution of various areas or patterns of ethnic developments in the Philippine historical process. Since pre-Hispanic times, the clear outlines of ethnic traditions have been well-preserved in many of the tribal groups that were barely touched by colonial influences. The diversifying process was a product of the absence of a monolithic cultural structure and/or a centralized geopolitical authority. The freedom and independence in which the various tribal groups operated were the characteristics that marked importantly the thoughts and actions of people in societies and, therefore, were what constituted the primary aims of social unity in the ethnic level. The strengthening, therefore, of the fabric of ethnic identity around the ancient values of "primitive liberty" became one of the most striking phenomena in Philippine history which, at the time of the Spanish advent, had become distinct from the rest of Southeast Asia and inclusive of the various ethnic processes within the Philippine archipelago.

It was, therefore, the particularization of the Philippine historical process within a distinct geographic and ecological system that provided what may be called the primordial basis for a historico-cultural unity in the Philippine archipelago. What appeared as a dominant feature in the development of communities in the Philippines until the establishment of the Spanish colonial superstructures throughout the archipelago was the preservation and growth of strong ethnic traditions which have found tangible expressions in oral literature. Thus, from Northern Luzon to the southernmost part of the archipelago, we find the diverse patterns of ethnic narratives, epics, ballads, riddles, proverbs, and symbols, as well as customs and practices being kept in interactive and substantive interdependence and interrelationship by the unique pattern of the Philippine historical process. This is confirmed by the studies of foreign as well as local scholars. This is what in a way is being stressed by the theory which views the distinctiveness of Philippine historical development as shaping the character of Philippine culture and providing a rhythm of its own. Therefore, "diversity" is an undeniable mark of social development throughout Philippine historical reality which is being clarified by a process of cultural retrieval in contemporary times. In this sense, Philippine literature, which is one of the most apparent and potent means of retrieval, has indeed acquired a truly meaningful dimension different from the colonial form and essence it has imbibed since Spanish times.

In effect, to understand the uniqueness of ethnic cultures and their significance, one has to relate them to the larger matrix of Philippine culture which is a product not of a single ethnic tradition but of a much more extensive and meaningful historical process. But in the course of evolution, external factors at different times in history altered the ethnic lines of development and have since become instrumental and, in fact, decisive in the evolution of what has been sadly referred to as Filipino national identity and mentality.

The first of these factors was Islam whose introduction to the Philippines antedated the Spanish advent by more than two centuries. It succeeded in bringing within its influence some ethnic communities in Southern Philippines and Central Luzon, giving a new ingredient to ethnic development. But the Islamic process, by its very nature, tended only to provide a loose framework for political and cultural unity. While it introduced a more dynamic religious element into ethnic cultural traditions, it, however, failed to alter the diversifying pattern of ethnic communities. The reason for this failure lies in the absence of a monolithic sense in Islam despite the recognition of _ummah_ , a community consciousness based on adherence to the five Pillars of Islam. What, however, appeared to be a substantial Islamic penetration into ethnic development was the emergence of a supreme political authority in the person of the sultan. And yet, even the introduction of an external political structure, such as the sultanate, was not accompanied by the establishment of a truly monolithic culture. At best, the sultanate provided a new political arrangement for the resolution of conflicts that otherwise would be difficult to resolve within the datuship system which was anchored on the recognized political independence of datus and their respective communities or villages.

The other factor external to the indigenous process was Christianity, which followed about two centuries after the introduction of Islam. The impact of this religion on the cultural forms of Philippine societies was more telling than that of its Islamic counterpart for wherever Spanish sword penetrated, the cross also followed so that, after four hundred years of Christianity, the cultures of Luzon and the Visayas had become substantially modified to accommodate both Hispanic and indigenous elements. We see, therefore, throughout the Spanish period, as well as throughout the American regime, the Christian culture being absorbed and propagated by a large segment of Filipinos. We see evidences of this assimilation in art, architecture, sculpture, painting, music, rituals, manners, and habits of life.

Clearly, the relatively successful penetration of indigenous structures by Christianity was due not only to the determination of the colonial administration, including the religious, to establish the cross, but also to the indigenous search for a common cultural identity which the monolithic structure of Christianity provided quite conveniently. It was, therefore, the monolithic character of Christianity which somehow contributed to the eventual unification of the Christianized communities under a colonial system and which has continued since then to sustain this unity with systematic missionary or evangelistic efforts.

But it was precisely the growing influence and the consolidating efforts of Christianity that somehow contributed to the polarization of sentiments, values, prejudices, habits, attitudes, and tendencies, which are now distinctly portrayed by what social scientists call the "Muslim-Christian dichotomy." Although some Filipino writers refuse to accept the existence of such a dichotomy, the social phenomenon is easily understood when viewed in the perspective of Philippine history. In fact, the present state of Philippine culture, particularly its tendencies to find meaning in noncolonial origins, can best be understood in the perspective of this dichotomy. In effect, Philippine culture in its present state seems to show the coexistence or the synthesis of indigenous cultural patterns and external forms which are represented by Islam, the tribal communities, and Christianity.

To understand, therefore, Filipino culture, it is necessary, first, to recognize the external structures of Filipino culture associated with the two religious systems and, second, to recognize the internal varieties of cultures or subcultures that are associated with the various non-Christian and non-Muslim groups throughout the archipelago. It is, perhaps, within this second level of inquiry or investigation that we may discover or rediscover the basis of Filipino cultural unity, so that one can say that Philippine culture is not only a "diversity in unity" but also a "unity in diversity," which forms the second component in the theoretical framework of this essay. By "unity in diversity" here is meant the underlying cultural thread that binds all the ethnic communities in the archipelago without their Christian or Islamic superstructure. This thread might have been blurred or marred through the centuries but it is still distinguishable in our languages, habits, mores, and social organization.

II

As already mentioned earlier, one of the most significant groups through which the understanding of Philippine culture can be attained is the non-Christian Filipinos whose histories and cultures are not only relevant to the evolution of Philippine culture but also vital to the understanding of contemporary problems.

Specifically, the non-Christian cultural pattern may be viewed, except for the Islamic superstructure, in terms of several ethnolinguistic societies which are mutually exclusive although politically related or integrated by the Philippine political system. They are found throughout the mountain and coastal areas of the archipelago and represent to a large extent the surviving species of the Philippine indigenous cultural communities.

In relation to the Muslims, the best way to understand their cultural traditions is through their oral traditions, which represent the embodiment of their values and struggles. These traditions, however, vary from one Muslim ethnic group to another and are known by such names as Tausug, Maranao, Magindanao, Sama, and Yakan. The written historical accounts, save those that form a part of Muslim heritage such as the _tarsila_ , the _luwaran_ , the _kitab_ , and the legal codes, are products of non-Muslim research and scholarship and are, therefore, significant only insofar as they reflect the external perceptions of Muslim culture and history. Thus, to really understand Philippine culture through Muslim culture, it is imperative, first, to know Muslim oral literature and, second, to see how Islam as an external element has succeeded in modifying or absorbing the indigenous pattern.

There are, therefore, as many varieties of oral literature as there are ethnic groups in Muslim societies. The Tausug and Sama have their own, which consists of the _parangsabil_ (epic), the _kissa_ (narrative), the _katakata_ (folktale), the _tukud-tukud_ or _tigumtigum_ (riddles), the _daman_ (proverbs), the _tarasul_ (wise sayings), the _masaalla_ (wise sayings), the _malikata_ (symbolic language), and the tarsilas (genealogies). The Magindanaon of Cotabato have their own _Bantugan_ epic just as the Maranao of Lanao can boast of their _Maharadia Lawana_. The Yakan of Basilan have likewise preserved a literary tradition of legends, wise sayings, and proverbs. Significantly, the varieties are also found in aspects other than literature.

Historically, the Filipino Muslims are generally categorized into six ethnolinguistic groups. The Tausug are found mostly in the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and a few migrant villages in Basilan Island, Southern Palawan, Zamboanga del Sur, and Davao. The Maranao are found in the two Lanao provinces but mostly around the lake region, the traditional sites of Maranao communities. The Magindanaon live in Cotabato, especially around upper Cotabato which includes the present area of Cotabato City. The Yakan are found in Basilan Island. The Sama, which are subdivided into three or four groups, live in the coastal areas of Sulu, Tawi Tawi, and Zamboanga, and a few have remained nomadic. They are known by several names: Bañgiñgi, Jama Mapun, Badjaw, or Luwaan.

Different languages are spoken by the various groups: Sinug or Tusug by the Tausug, Siama or Sama by the Sama ( _sinama_ the subgroup Sama Laut), Yakan by the Yakan, _Maranao_ by the Maranao, and Magindanao by the Magindanaon. Sometimes, the Bangingi of Zamboanga refer to their language as Bañgiñgi, which is not different from Siama except a few terms like "watong" (Bañgiñgi) instead of "sangpuh" for "ten." Tausug and Sama are bilingual and use their languages interchangeably. This is not, however, true with the other groups.

The origin of the various groups is spoken of in several oral traditions associated with each group. Some of these traditions have been written down, although a great deal have remained uncollected and unclassified. To a limited extent, the tarsilas give brief references to the beginnings of Muslim communities. Only Sulu and Magindanao (Cotabato), however, have written tarsilas which go back to the pre-twentieth century eras. The origins, therefore, of the other Muslim groups are not as clearly described as those of the Sulu archipelago and Cotabato, although modern versions are said to have appeared among the Maranao. Since it is difficult to treat in substance all the types of Muslim literature in so short an essay, it is, therefore, necessary to confine this description to Tausug literature with which I am particularly familiar.

Tausug literature is generally oral. That is, a few written pieces have existed through time. But written literature was strictly limited to three forms. The first were the _sarsilas_ or tarsilas which, according to tradition, existed before or contemporaneously with Islam. The sarsilas are genealogies written by scribes of the sultan for political purposes. They seemed to have appeared in written form during the nineteenth century when the need for some historical or documentary basis of succession was felt by contenders for the sultanate.

Although written in the _jawi_ , an Arabic-derived script, the sarsilas were preserved in the Tausug. Some of these were translated by Najeeb Saleeby, the first noted scholar to preserve these valuable sources of Sulu history. As reproduced by Saleeby, the collection of _sarsilas_ traces the beginnings of the Sulu people, their leaders, and their religious institutions.

Accordingly, the inhabitants of Jolo, which locally is called Sug or Lupah Sug, were the Buranun (Budanun), the Baklaya, and the Tagimaha. These three strains formed the ingredients of the synthesis of the Tausug of today. The people who constituted the ruling class of Tausug society were called by various names or titles such as sultan, datu, _mantiri_ , sharif, tuan, and _orangkaya_. The religion that the people embraced was folk Islam, which has undergone changes through the years.

Thus the sarsila as it pertained to Sulu was a significant attempt of the ruling elite in the nineteenth century to preserve or strengthen their class status. The emphasis of the ruling class, being descended from the aristocratic Buranun strain, was unmistakably to give importance to the Tausug upper class. Thus Islam became vital to the legitimation and foundation of the sultanate, which was not indigenous. But the mention of the various local titles suggests the parallel existence of an equally assertive indigenous political tradition based on the datuship. Although the datuship and the sultanate were sometimes at conflict, both belonged to the ruling class and both found the sarsila tradition an excellent means for perpetuating their political and social status.

Increasingly, the sarsila tradition also developed in Magindanaon society, although no existing evidence can prove its existence in Lanao. Perhaps, the reason was the fact that until late nineteenth century, Maranao society was part of Magindanao, and the Lanao Sultanate system seemed to have developed only after the disintegration of the Magindanao Sultanate. Hence, the need for sarsilas to validate claims to the sultanate or the datuship could not have developed earlier.

The second form of Tausug written literature is the _luntar_ , which is known to Tausug scholars or leaders as a brief historical account of the sultanate. There is, however, no existing copy of this record except reference to it by twentieth-century writers. What are in existence are local kitabs or books which contain recollections of the ruling class of events that happened before or during their time. One such book is the kitab of Hadji Butu, the _wazir_ of Sultan Jamalul Kiram II. The kitab was written in 1904 obviously to trace the history of the Sulu sultanate. Majul thinks that the book is unreliable for the period before late nineteenth century, although the references to events in late nineteenth century may be considered accurate.

Perhaps the Sulu codes, the third category of Sulu written sources, are significant to scholars. They represent concrete materials for reconstructing Tausug or Sulu society in the nineteenth century, although they may not be important for the earlier periods of Sulu history. The first Sulu code was supposed to have been written or prepared by Asmawil, the chief clerk and minister of Sultan Jamalul Alam (1862-1881), and used subsequently by Sultan Harun without any modification. A new code was prepared in 1902 by Hadji Butu Abdul Baqui to systematize the provisions of the first code. The new code had only ten articles, which seemed to have been aimed at preserving the status, privileges, and power of the traditional ruling class especially the sultan.

Except for the sarsilas, luntar, kitabs, and codes, the Sulu people have not developed a worthwhile body of written materials in their own language or in any other. Writing on any subject, however rich the sources, has never been part of Sulu's literary or intellectual tradition. Somehow this could be attributed to a number of factors.

First, the preoccupation of the Sulu people with internal and external conflicts prevented them from the pursuits of the mind. The social or ruling elite who had the resources were not concerned with intellectual matters but with political and economic pursuits. They were not patrons of the arts but of the warriors.

Second, the contacts with western influences did not result in the assimilation or adoption of western intellectual institutions such as schools, newspapers, journals, etc. Perhaps continuing prejudice contributed to the difficulty of assimilation.

Third, the teaching of Islam was confined to the mastery of the practical art of worship. Unlike the Middle East, Muslim Philippines did not witness the kind of intellectual ferment that Islamic communities in the Middle East experienced. The Filipino Muslims seldom understood the intricate doctrines and ethics of Islam except what an inadequately schooled _imam_ or _pandita_ taught them. This lack of knowledge could not produce the desire or compulsion to write commentaries or essays on the Koran, Hadith, or any of the sources of Islamic teaching.

Finally, the failure of Christianity to establish a strong foothold in Muslim society resulted in the absence of any serious doctrinal challenge to the Muslim mind. Thus, the natural need for apologetic literature, such as that developed by Christian scholars during the early centuries of Christianity's confrontation with theological systems of the Near East, was completely absent or lacking. The development, therefore, of a critical mind, which is vital to social progress, was hindered by historical circumstances.

In brief, the intellectual tradition of Sulu is related to oral rather than written literature. It is these oral traditions of the Sulu people that have been greatly, if not, solely responsible for shaping their concepts, values, aspirations, conduct, and life which might have been antagonistic to Christian culture but were not necessarily unrelated to the pre-Islamic indigenous base. In this connection, the unity in Philippine culture can be found not in the Christian or in the Islamic aspects of Filipino tradition but in their pre-Christian, pre-Islamic cultural varieties and patterns. Unfortunately, Philippine scholarship is just in the process of trying to retrieve the artifacts of history and culture, particularly in the southern part of the archipelago, which can precisely prove the existence of a "unity in diversity" in pre-Spanish, pre-Islamic Philippines.

III

In the same manner, the other cultural communities, which are neither Muslim nor Christian, can be used as norms for understanding Philippine culture especially when the problem of cultural identity is involved. Being historically and relatively freed from the impact of Christian and Islamic influences, they represent the more direct descendants of the precolonial Philippine cultural pattern. But to understand the cultural varieties or patterns of these cultural communities requires the difficult task of distinguishing and categorizing the ethnolinguistic groups composing these communities. And, finally, the cultures of these communities must be viewed in relation to both their responses to Christian-Islamic intrusion and their own oral traditions.

In effect, Philippine culture is vague and distorted when seen mainly from the Christian Filipino viewpoint as it is when gleaned purely from the perspective of the non-Christian Filipinos. Hence, Philippine culture ought to be understood from the totality of the ethnolinguistic varieties that constitute the fabric of Filipino society. The cultural traditions of tribal groups in Luzon have been preserved in Spanish works and elaborated in such other works as Felix Keesing's _Ethnohistory of Northern Luzon_ (1962), Morice Vanoverbergh's _The Isneg_ (1932), Laurence I. Wilson's _Apayao Life and Legends_ (1947), Frank Lynch's _Social Class in Bikol Town_ (1959), Ben Wallace's _Gaddang Agriculture_ (1967), Isabel Leano's _The Ibaloys of Takdian_ (1958), Claude Moss's _Nabaloi Law and Ritual_ (1920), Wilhelm Solheim's "Ibanag Pottery Manufacture in Isabela" (1954), Otley Beyer's _The History and Ethnography of the Ifugao People_ (1912), Fred Eggan's "The Sagada Igorots of Northern Luzon" (1960), Roy Barton's _The Kalingas, Their Institutions and Custom Law_ (1949), John Garvan's _The Negritos of the Philippines_ (1964), and Fay-Cooper Cole's _The Tinguian_ (1922).

In the same manner, the ethnic traditions of the Visayas and Mindanao may be gleaned from the _Cartas de los P.P. de la Compania de Jesus_ (1883, 1887, 1889), which are reproduced partly in English translations by Jose Arcilla, Miguel Bernard, and Frank Lynch; Harold Conklin's "Preliminary Report on Field Work on the Islands of Mindoro and Palawan" (1949); Charles Warren's _The Batak of Palawan_ (1964); John Finley's _The Subanon_ (1913); Emerson B. Christie's _The Subanuns of Sindangan Bay_ (1909); Alfred Marche's _Luzon and Palawan_ (1970); Charles Wilkes's "Mindanao and Sulu in 1842" (1917); and Arsenio Manuel's _The Manuvu_ (1975).

Although the impressions of foreign travelers and scholars emphasized the primitive nature or level of cultural developments in the Philippines, yet their observations and studies also showed the unmistakable presence of some common elements in cultural traditions, thus making the various ethnic groups, including the Christianized ones, indeed different manifestations of a larger cultural reality of the Austronesian world. In effect, it was the uniqueness of the Philippine historical process which delineated the varieties of cultural patterns within what may be called Philippine culture.

The unity in Philippine culture may be seen in two levels of cultural development: the intellectual level, which involves (1) cultural consciousness, (2) cultural literature, and (3) cultural ideology; and the practical level, which concerns (1) cultural organization and (2) cultural traditions. While historically it might be difficult to determine the beginnings of such unity, yet contemporary developments in society indicate the evidences of this reality particularly in the intellectual level.

In a sense, the intellectual level should be the first to witness the form and substance of cultural unity because the intellectuals, or _ilustrados_ as they were called in late Spanish times, were the ones who recognized and felt the need for unity in the struggle of the Filipino people for reforms as well as for liberation from colonial rule and influence. It was these intellectual pursuits that brought a kind of cultural consciousness that, although separated by geographical and linguistic barriers, the various tribes in the Philippine archipelago were in fact of common origin and belonged to one society. This consciousness was often shown by the Filipino ilustrados when they were in exile in Europe and were induced to express their sentiments in a common cultural literature. The cultural literature was best exemplified by what historians readily call the propaganda literature, referring to the body of writings which the Filipino ilustrados produced between 1870 and 1892. Not necessarily of less significance was the revolutionary literature which was first associated with the Katipunan in 1892 and, thereafter, with similar revolutionary movements. Although different from the propagandist literature in terms of general aims, being specifically concerned with the overthrow rather than the reform of colonialism, the revolutionary literature, represented by the writings of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Emilio Aguinaldo, and others, revolved around the consciousness that the Filipino people had a culture of their own, a culture which Spanish civilization had debased. It was this general feeling of belonging to a common cultural origin, an origin that was more or less glorious, which provided the bases for the development of a rudimentary national ideology in late nineteenth century and, subsequently, a cultural orientation which was anticolonial. This orientation which might as well be called a "cultural ideology" was evident throughout the archipelago because the Christianized as well as the non-Christianized tribes resisted and opposed the processes of Hispanization and Christianization, the processes being contrary to indigenous cultural traditions. Hence, some of the revolts, particularly those of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, were motivated by a strong desire to retrieve the lost vitalities of native cultures. The famous Dagohoy Rebellion was basically premised on this cultural retrieval.

The other level within which cultural unity can be seen is the practical level involving cultural organization and cultural traditions. The organization of people in Philippine society has developed a dimension which emphasizes trans-ethnic membership or commitment, although voluntary associations in Metro Manila still reveal ethnic or regional characteristics. This tendency toward integrative national cultural organization springs from the presence of unifying factors in the intellectual level without which the development of national culture is at best nominal. Thus, we see today cultural activities being evolved along integrative concepts, the most prominent among which are the efforts to portray Philippine art, architecture, and music as indeed a unified and blended cultural tradition. We see private and public museums and display houses, including those of the government, precisely showing the type of traditional blend which is marked by both diversity and unity of patterns and concepts. To a certain extent, one attempt to bring the unity of culture and history into cultural efforts was the "Kasaysayan ng Lahi," which put in perspective both the aspirations of ethnic cultures and the goals of the national society, however wanting in some respect it might have been.

Thus, in seeking to understand Philippine culture through the cultures of the cultural communities, including the Islamized groups, it is imperative to see the interaction between the diversity and the unity of cultural elements and features. It is not practical to merely view Philippine culture from the frameworks of Islamic and Christian civilizations although both have become parts of the Filipino way of life. In effect, one has to go beyond Islam and Christianity to appreciate the values and aspirations of the numerous ethnolinguistic groups which form the fabric of Filipino society. To do this, we have to adopt certain basic assumptions which are particularly crucial to the Filipino struggle for identity and independence: first, that, however plagued by conflicts and unrest the Philippines is, Philippine society is governed by a distinct geo-historical process which resists fragmentation; second, that the imperatives of Christian and Islamic traditions in Filipino culture are not as crucial to unity as the indigenous foundations of Filipino heritage; and, finally, that the secular nature of Philippine realities presents the only meaningful basis for the ultimate fusion of the otherwise disintegrative factors in Philippine history, culture, and society.
CHAPTER I

Evolution of the Land

(100–2 Million Years)

The archipelago, which has more than 7,000 islands and islets, has its own history going back in time 15 billion years to the "Big Bang" when the beginnings of our universe of myriad cosmic systems manifested themselves in concrete forms in which the Planet Earth was just a speck in an infinity of heavenly bodies. Recent scientific studies based on existing geologic data, including those obtained from oil drillings off Palawan, confirm certain stages or epochs in the evolution of the archipelago through a period of about 100 million years.

**The Cretaceous-Paleogene (135–25 million years)**

The first geologic period called the "Cretaceous-Paleogene" (135–25 million years) saw great changes and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of the primate in the archipelago which emerged during the period. In Early Cretaceous, the flowering plants called angiosperms appeared and multiplied. So did the insect-eating mammals which earlier subsisted on dinosaur eggs, resulting in the extinction of the huge animal by the time of the Cretaceous. During the same epoch the marsupials also arose and grew in number. From the insectivores would develop the flesh-eating or carnivorous animals as proven by the shape and arrangement of the teeth indicating response to the need for agility.

The squirrel-like primates, the earliest of the species that lived in the forests during the Paleogene, would give rise to the ancestor of the tarsier, which is unique to the Philippines.

Marine organism such as corals, clams known as _Rudistid lamellibranchs_ , foraminifera, and algae, which already appeared in Western Pacific during the Pre-Cretaceous period, were also found in Cretaceous Philippines. These fossils, as well as rocks characteristic of the period, were widespread in the archipelago, particularly in areas like Ilocos Norte, Quezon, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cebu, Palawan, Samar, and Mindoro. Similar finds were also discovered in other parts of the world. It is believed that fish and crustaceans such as shrimps and crabs also appeared during this time, although no remains have as yet been discovered by geologists.

From scientific studies, particularly related to palynology, the study of pollen grains, plant life in the archipelago showed remarkable diversity. Mangroves and beach forests were found in lowlands and moss forests in highlands. In fact, among these plants were agoho, pandan, _pako_ , _nito_ , and palms. The latter, which grew abundantly along the coasts, were of several varieties, some of which, like the "proxapertites operculatus," are already extinct. Dipterocarp pollens in rocks show that during the Eocene, inland forests had such Philippine varieties like the pili nut, _alakaak_ , and gutta-percha.

**The Neogene (25–2 million years)**

Likewise, during the second period called the Neogene (25–2 million years), the rock records such as spilites, docite, keratophyre, graywackes, shales, diorites, and limestones indicate the volcanic characteristic of the archipelagic evolution as well as the role of earthquakes in shaping the unique forms of the land. During this period of volcanic upheavals, basaltic rocks flooded large areas of the archipelago and extrusion of rocks brought forth greenish spilites and submarine rocks found in the Luzon Cordilleras as well as in the Sierra Madre and Zambales ranges. These ultramafic rocks, as they are scientifically called, are the sources of iron and magnesium and other mineral resources. Spilites were also found in Samar, Leyte, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Agusan, Surigao, Zamboanga, and South Cotabato. The ultramafic rock terrain indicates a "large uplift" or exposure of rocks formed in the earth's oceanic mantle just as the metamorphic terrain suggests the existence of ancient mountains before they were affected by the volcanic changes. Toward the Eocene, compressive stresses, which brought forth the ultramafic complexes in the areas like Zambales, disappeared. By this time, too, mountain-building processes had raised the Cretaceous-Paleogene rocks as far as Balabac island. This orogenic events, which was a part of a global phenomenon, was related to the shifting of the ocean floor, giving rise to a chain of islands and elongating the mountain ranges. Then, in areas like the Cagayan Valley and the central plains of Luzon, sediments from deformation started to accumulate, and the archipelago, as it is today, was formed. Even the climate was beginning to change from warm to cold, marking the transition to a new geologic epoch.

By this time, also, important resources like oil, gas, and coal had been naturally accumulated in Mindoro and Palawan just as uranium developed in Camarines Norte and Samar; copper, gold, and other metallic minerals in Cebu and the Camarines; chromite, platinum, and nickel in Zambales and Surigao; lead, zinc, and silver in other places. Likewise nonmetallic rocks produced asbestos, and limestones brought marble, which is highly priced.

There were still numerous varieties of mineral resources that resulted from the geologic transformation of the land during the million years of the Cretaceous-Paleogene period but suffice it to say that the remarkable endowment by nature had made the Philippine archipelago an ideal habitat for man, endowed with rich natural resources and good climate.

The period was marked by changes brought about by Oligocene and Miocene events, which involved the geologic time between 40–35 and 10 million years ago. This is also known as the late Tertiary Period during which time certain important faunal changes took place, adding more to the resources and varieties of the archipelago long before the rise of the first discernible evidence of "Paleolithic culture." The shift from a continental environment to an archipelagic ambience by the end of the Eocene epoch was accompanied by "accelerated evolution and diversification." Mammals dominated the period and tectonic events brought climatic changes, inducing development of intelligence and agility of prehuman forms. Mountain building continued and diatrophism in the Oligocene broke up the "ancient sea" called "thetys" which girdled Eurasia and Africa and cut off land bridges which later were restored during the Pliocene. Then subsidence of the archipelago followed, and the sea invaded the land. About half of the present land area of the Philippines was submerged, and sedimentation brought about what is now Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and the Agusan-Davao Valley. Uplift and mountain building brought forth ranges like the Sierra Madre, Cordilleras, and Caraballo in Luzon. The results of these changes and upheavals were abundant Neogene energy resources and minerals including gas and oil in reefs.

The subsequent and continuous lowering of temperatures brought glaciers of global magnitude, forcing life forms to migrate to the tropics. The advance and retreat of the glaciers, which were caused by solar heat variation, volcanic activity, crust shifting, and wobbling of the earth's axis, offered hospitable conditions for the diversification of life forms. The Quaternary to which human evolution in the Philippines is traced belongs to this epoch of glaciation and fluctuating climate and sea levels. In fact, the Philippine archipelago offered a sanctuary for the various life forms that would have been wiped out in the upper latitudes where glaciation had taken place and continued. Remains of elephants, rhinoceros, horses, boar, cats, and early man were found as well as "temperate flora" like pines. The latter were found in the Cordilleras.

Celestial balls of fire added to the earth landscape, including the Philippines, in the form of tektites which were unearthed from Pangasinan to Bicol and which have been used for many works of art. Scientists still debate whether these meteorites came from cosmic explosion, solar changes, or terrestrial volcanism but they have certainly contributed to the mysteries of the archipelago from which man would evolve some of his early notions of his environment and himself.

**The Quaternary (2 million–10,000 years)**

Quite clearly, long before man appeared on the archipelago as a new evolved form from the primate according to the scientific view, the Pleistocene epoch had already added to an ideal habitat more of the resources and varieties of life necessary not only for the survival of man but also for that more important dimension of his development called "culture." This new dimension which transcended his mere biological instincts would set in motion what may be called a higher stage of evolution strictly cultural in nature and motivation. Consequently, man would leave on the face of Planet Earth his most distinguishing contribution to the growth and meaning of life as he slowly shaped the different aspects of culture from ingredients he derived from the vast landscape of the physical environment as well as from the inner complexities within himself, from which would come that most profound and inscrutable creation of man—"religion"—a level of achievement that earned for him the ancient sage's tribute of " _imago Dei_."

Thus, the first stage of man's struggle was against Nature itself—the teeming life forms that constantly challenged his curiosity and creativity and the awe-inspiring mysteries of the archipelago that surrounded him. What resulted from his responses to these challenges of Mother Nature would be marked by the development of his cultural world, a world that produced the many little things which showed not only his remarkable triumphs but also the limitless possibilities of his intelligence. These cultural breakthroughs of his intellect and creativity may be classified into two distinct periods of prehistoric Philippine culture: Paleolithic and Neolithic.
CHAPTER II

The Cultural Breakthroughs

(250,000 BC–200 AD)

The development of culture was a breakthrough in the interaction between environment and life. While the nonhuman forms of life were overwhelmed by the environment and, therefore, had to alter their biological mechanisms to cope with the changes in physical conditions, the rise of homo sapiens (1 million years ago) marked the transition to a new kind of evolutionary process no longer dictated by the development of new species but by the appearance of techniques and methods of responding to the environment using the only distinctive mark of man—his intelligence. It was this intellectual capacity of man to solve his problems and to subdue the challenges of nature that ushered in the greatest revolution in the history of life and, consequently, led to what may be called the cultural aspect of the evolutionary process. In short, evolution as conceived by Charles Darwin actually assumed a different level or dimension with the appearance of man and his more developed brain which rendered biological changes no longer necessary. Thus, the history of man from this time on was characterized by his efforts to conquer his environment and nature and to allow himself to have dominion over all the earth and its resources.

In effect, the beginning of man in the Quaternary period or Pleistocene epoch also brought us to the genesis of his principal contribution to the evolution of life—culture. Hence, culture is generally defined as anything that man learns or acquires by experience as he goes through the process of development. Two periods of cultural development or two patterns of cultural breakthrough are generally referred to when dealing with prehistory: the Paleolithic and Neolithic Culture.

**The Paleolithic Culture (250,000 BC–10,000 BC)**

The period from approximately two million years to about 250,000 BC prepared the ground for the first appearance of a human culture in the Philippines. Man's response to the environment consisted of a kind of technology that allowed him to only survive from the bounties of nature. He survived by merely collecting from what was around, and this earliest form of economic system is called the "collecting economy." He also subsequently made use of stones for the tools he needed to survive, including survival from attacks of animals and other hazards to life. Small and large pebble tools for scraping purposes and larger stones for cutting or felling trees and breaking stones were added to this technological collection, some of which were flaked for refining purposes.

Subsequently, wooden tools were also developed to complement the stone tools. Thus, two parallel technological traditions developed at this stage of the cultural process: the lithic (stone) and the lignic (wood), which perfectly or conveniently suited the food-gathering activities of early man. With the stone and wooden tools man could foray into the forests for tubers, seasonal fruits, flowers, shoots, leaves, and other plants as well as add to his diet such faunal resources as crabs, frogs, crayfish, shells, and fish, not to mention meat of animals that could be hunted by his tools.

In effect, there were no adequate pressures for new technological changes since the population was quite small, mainly involving the nuclear group of not more than thirty individuals whose food needs could be easily met by the vast resources of the forests, rivers, and waters. There was not even a need to explore the vast landscape beyond a radius of ten kilometers as shown, for instance, by the Tasadays of Cotabato, who are believed to be the survivors of this long extinct Paleolithic culture. There was no pressure or incentive to even alter the face of the land, leaving nature to itself to bring the abundant resources for man's collecting instincts. In fact, anthropologists estimate a maximum of four hours daily for such a simple collecting economy, and storing food would not be necessary until the number of people in the group increased, requiring adjustments and new techniques of survival.

The relatively peaceful interaction between early man and his environment also determined the kind of social organization and corresponding economic system suited to such organization. The earliest unit of social organization was the nuclear family, which subsequently included the other kinship-related family groups to form a comfortable band sufficient for both economic needs and security from hostile groups and animals. The internal arrangement of functions was associated not with either paternal or maternal instincts for authority but with the common biological drives for food and survival. The smallness of the group did not need the delineation of authority since food activities were collecting in nature, making the members of the group all participants except the young and the infirmed. The economic arrangement, which naturally resulted from these gathering activities, was based on what may be called "primitive communalism." This was a kind of system in which private or individual ownership was absent and unnecessary. The only thing worth having was food, and there was a lot of it around for as much as one could collect or could use. All the members of the household or group shared what was gathered for the day or days. This kind of family sharing was not only instinctive to man and animals but also socially agreeable. The need for modification in the economic pattern would not come until population increased beyond the limits of primitive ability to provide through its simple technology and until external pressures would exert influence on the kin groups.

Thus the value system that early man in the Philippines developed was a product of the simple communal pattern that he maintained in relation to the ecological environment that surrounded him. One important value that he developed was that mystical sense of attachment to the land, the territorial area that had provided him with everything that he needed to survive, that, in a sense, was the depository of his sweats, tears, and blood. This feeling of oneness with the land became a vital ingredient in shaping his consciousness, which ultimately made his attachment to the land of his birth a matter of paramount importance. This would be the foundation of patriotism that saw its fury when challenged by external threats. It was this value that contributed to man's creative formulation of his cultural institutions and search for identity. Another value which emerged was the sense of concern and solidarity with the kinship group. This was a progressive movement from the mere maternal and paternal instincts of love for the young to the increasing need for social responsibility. The social dimension of this human love and care represented man's victorious struggle over his own individual drives. This sense of union with members of the group provided another important factor, however elemental, in early man's struggle which would need more interdependence as a key to a successful response to external and internal pressures or challenges.

Finally, the Paleolithic society also developed the economic value of regarding the resources of land and people as belonging to the society rather than to the individuals or household units. This attitude toward economic resources or wealth did not only allow early man to preserve the richness and beauty of his environment by maximizing the use of resources but also enabled him to prevent conflicts that would arise from either human exploitation or environmental desecration.

Thus, early man in the Philippines, just like his counterparts in other parts of the world where similar Paleolithic societies emerged, left a legacy of his own, a legacy marked clearly by the archaeological remains of a technology adequately responsive to his needs, an economy free from exploitation, a social organization based on love and mutuality, and a value system that unifed the members of society.

But this idyllic and phlegmatic world of the early Filipino ancestors was really a consequence of a network of factors. First, the pressures and stresses on the human body, soul, and spirit were minimal, requiring no new mechanisms and capacities or adjustments. Economic needs, which principally centered on food, were readily met by abundant resources around. The population was so small in proportion to the available resources that social relations and their related problems literally were not of real concern. There was no need for laws to regulate human greed and selfishness beyond the natural mores inherent in a family or kinship group. There was thus no need for a distinct political leadership to instill discipline other than the matriarchal or patriarchal authority which Nature had provided.

However, as the population increased through birth and affiliation, the pressures preliminary to fundamental changes started to exert influences on society. The immediate resources for food gradually became strained, requiring the opening up of new areas beyond those where the regular collecting activities of the group were confined. Two effects were evident from responses to this change in economic prospects. First, the same territorial area of food collection can be cultivated and developed to produce the necessary products in greater quantities or new grounds can be explored, thus increasing the acreage of the group. This would naturally create problems of time, communication, risks, and travel. This situation prompted a kind of transitional ferment which led to a new cultural stage of development called the Neolithic.

**The Neolithic Culture (10,000 BC–500 BC)**

The Neolithic period of culture is dated from about 10,000 BC to about the beginning of the metal age in the archipelago, circa 500 BC. Generally, this period saw the final stage of Paleolithic society breaking up from economic demands which occasional hunting, fishing, and collecting could no longer satisfy. What came about was the initial attempt to domesticate the desired animals and plants for food and other purposes and to improve the methods of getting water or marine resources. Tools reflective of this period were found among the Tasadays of Cotabato.

Domestication, as a breakthrough, required a different kind of technology, techniques, organization, and values. The earlier rough and chipped stone tools were augmented by a variety of tools such as polished stone tools, chert instruments, adzes, and sickles. Hunting tools became more efficient. Thus, food surplus was created from improved economic technology, and consequently the need for proper storage led to an important economic breakthrough. Baskets and containers made from leaves and barks were augmented by better ones made of durable materials like vines, animal skins, wood, and clay.

The growing complexity of economic activities and the continuing increase in population also affected social organization, especially that of labor. Delineation of specific functions and roles became necessary. The task of hunting for meat and cultivating of lands to raise the needed crops became the males' responsibilities as women had to be relegated to household duties to nurse the young, to care for the old and infirmed, and to attend to multifarious chores especially food preparations for the growing population. Moreover, the management of surpluses, especially food, and its proper distribution entailed the use of special leaders in the community. As conflicts developed naturally within the community whose members by this time had already increased to include people of different kinship groups, the role of these leaders became more and more important. Those that logically would assume this role were the oldest because of their long experience. As the socially accepted elders of the community, they would begin to formulate certain rules and norms which represented the customary law of the society.

This period that witnessed the domestication of cereals and root crops also saw the domestication of the dog, the chicken, and the pig between 3,500 BC and 5,000 BC in Southeast Asia including the Philippines. The surplus food that accompanied this economic stage allowed not only population to grow rapidly but also society to evolve rituals and exchanges. The social style developed showed a conscious need for status expressions as artifacts would tend to prove. Among the ornaments of various kinds, the earliest found were taken from the Manunggul Cave in Palawan and Lallo in Cagayan.

Pottery also emerged and was first used in connection with rituals. Later it developed as a key factor in Neolithic technology and paralleled the shift to agriculture. Being now associated with ritual and food, techniques of manufacture were developed. Hand molding for both interior and exterior purposes emerged. Larger pots and jars were made by coiling. But mass manufacture was not yet employed, and every piece of pottery was an individual unique creation. This was best exemplified by the burial jars that were discovered, especially the Manunggul jars from Tabon Cave dated to about 890 BC and the earliest samples which were found in Sulu and Dimolit, Isabela. The Sulu jar is dated about 4,500 BC and the Dimolit to about 3,000 BC.

Although earlier views considered weaving as not yet a part of Neolithic culture because of the earlier discoveries of only stone implements used for beating barks for clothing purposes, the later unearthing of spindle whorls in two Neolithic sites in Cagayan Valley—Arku Cave and Lanna Site—suggests the presence of weaving. The discovery also indicates thread-making techniques and other related technological requirements.

The growing evidence of Neolithic society and culture culminated in the wide-ranging discoveries by Otley Beyer. He found shell middens in Lallo; two adzes and one chisel in Isabela; a trapezoidal adze in Ifugao; Basconian adzes in Bataan; a trapezoidal adze in Pampanga; varieties of neolithic materials in Novaliches dam, Rizal; a bark-cloth beater in Cavite; jars, stone tools, and shells in Sorsogon and Albay, between 100 and 500 BC; a large polished stone adze in Palawan, etc. From the Palawan sites at Lipuon Point, where Robert Fox also surveyed twenty-nine caves, several remarkable artifacts were found. Pilanduk Cave finds are dated 3,500 to 4,500 BC by C-14 dating, Nigpet Cave about 1,000 to 1,500 BC, Manunggul Cave about 710 B.C. and 890 B.C., and Leta-Leta Cave, whose finds are still under study. In the latter, Late Neolithic shell bead necklaces, bracelets, and good pottery were found.

**The Metal Age (500 BC–900 AD)**

But no other factor accelerated the growth of the Neolithic communities and revolutionized technology as the introduction and use of metal. In India it appeared about 2,300 BC during the Harappa Culture. In China its appearance is dated to about 1,500 BC at the start of the Shang Dynasty. In North Vietnam, during the Dongson Culture, it is dated by Heine-Geldern to about 800 BC. In Saigon, E. Sairin dated it to about 2,000 BC. But in Non Nok Tha, Thailand, bronze-casting already appeared about 2,300 BC, so far the earliest in Asia.

In the Philippines, the earliest postulation of the metal age based on samples from various areas of the archipelago was done by Beyer who saw a "Prehistoric Iron Age" from about 250 BC to 300 AD and a "Late Iron Age" from 300 AD to 850 AD. However, a convincing revision by Robert Fox in 1970 based on his Palawan studies suggests that the Metal Age started about 600 to 500 BC and is divided into two: an "Early Metal Age" marked by bronze and glass and a "Developed Metal Age" characterized by bronze, glass, and iron. The archaeological proofs are the bronze and iron tools from Duyung Cave dated about 500 to 300 BC, the iron beads of glass and stones and iron bracelets from Manunggul Cave dated 190 BC, iron and glass beads from the Kalatagbak area dated 400 to 600 AD, iron discovery from Bato Cave in Bacon, Sorsogon dated circa 500 AD, and the recent discovery of a brass needle from Musang Cave in Cagayan dated 2160 BC, the earliest known brass in Southeast Asia.

The Metal Age in the Philippines, however brief, was associated with certain remarkable changes in Neolithic culture. Pottery received encouragement along creativity and refinement, making this a "golden age" of pottery in the Philippines. Decorations—incised, painted, or impressed—brought new designs and motifs, and pottery types included trays, bowls, goblets, jars, angle pots, vessels, skull boxes, urns, and ritual vessels. The "Kalanay type" of Central Luzon is a good example.

Jade ornaments during this period also showed a striking affinity to ornaments in Vietnam as shown by the artifacts found in Sa-Huynh. This suggests clearly an extensive contact between the archipelago and the rest of Southeast Asia and, in effect, a highly developed maritime technology and trade, especially in shipbuilding. In fact, the boat excavated in 1978 in Butuan, which is dated 320 AD, is a large type measuring 15 meters in length and 3 meters in width. This type of seacraft was more than adequate for interisland or interregional travel. The later assemblage of various kinds of seacrafts seen by Western explorers in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, confirms the earlier use of such vessels for Neolithic migrations, trade, contacts, and exchanges.

Finally, in Late Neolithic, wet cultivation marked an important point in the economic development of communities. It was associated with and accompanied by a lot of profound changes in society, creating the unmistakable transition to the "historic communities" to which the roots of Filipino culture can be meaningfully traced. The system of irrigation was accompanied by the use of the plow, mortar and pestle, and baskets of specific functions. Surplus emerged as an important economic phenomenon which allowed changes in social organization, division of labor, religious activities and rituals. The settlement pattern had become more permanent and the techniques of soil and resource utilization had become more efficient.

But it would not be until the external contacts with Asia had become institutionalized and increased by trade that the ethnolinguistic delineation of the early Philippine communities would become apparent in the cultural landscape.
CHAPTER III

Patterns of Ethnicization

(500 BC–1280 AD)

The Peopling Process

The emergence of patterns along ethnic lines began from the ferment of peoples with strong cultural features and civilizational influences that tended to harden certain aspects of development. Tw o views have been offered to explain the complex peopling of the Philippines and the consequent rise of somewhat new patterns of growth showing a blend or dichotomy of Neolithic and foreign features. One view, which is generally linked to Professor H. Otley Beyer, who had served Philippine anthropology for a long time, suggests what is called the "wave theory." Briefly, this postulates a series of arrivals in the archipelago bringing in different types and levels of culture. Thus, the earliest possible group were the dark-skinned pygmies whose cultural remains are preserved by the Negrito-type Filipinos found in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These first migrations came between 25,000 to 30,000 BC before deglaciation severed the archipelago from the rest of Asia. But their relatively inferior culture did not enable them to overcome the pressures that came from a second wave of people who were much more advanced in culture and who were identified by Beyer as the Indonesians A and B. They are represented today by the Kalinga, Gaddang, Isneg, Mangyan, Tagbanua, Manubo, Mandaya, Subanun, and Sama. The first group was pushed inland as the second occupied the coastal and downriver settlements. This second process took place between 5,000 and 3,500 BC and represents a significant point in Neolithic cultural development which marked it quite distinctively from the earlier Paleolithic achievements of the pygmy group. Finally, the last wave before the colonial era that drastically altered the ethnic equilibrium and ecumene involved Malay migrations between 500 BC and 1,500 AD and the introduction of a far more advanced culture based on the Metal Age technology. These last groups are represented by the Christianized and Islamized Filipinos who pushed the Indonesian groups inland and occupied much of the coastal, lowland, and downstream areas. They were in the process of transforming and consolidating the archipelago at different centers of growth when western civilization arrived on the fringes of the archipelago, setting a new process of change more profound and drastic than any other that had come into the area.

This wave theory was questioned by some anthropologists and the evaluation has remained a vibrant topic. Robert Fox, who had done significant diggings, as well as Filipino prehistorians like F. Landa Jocano, Alfredo Evangelista, and Jesus Peralta, have postulated the view that the neat straightjacketed peopling of the archipelago could not have been the actual process. The geographic distribution of the ethnolinguistic groups, which shows overlapping of otherwise similar racial strains in both upland and lowland cultures or coastal and inland communities, suggests a random and unstructured advent of different kinds of groups in the archipelago. Although some may have been earlier than others, the succession of progressive cultural levels could not explain the diversity of Philippine ethnic populations. In fact, Jocano, who has attempted to draw something from speculative analysis and scant archaeological evidences, boldly presented a periodization of a gradual cultural process in the archipelago. The "germinal period" covers the time from 250,000 BC to 10,000 BC. The second, called the "formative" period, covers the time from 10,000 to 500 BC. The "incipient" period takes off from 500 BC to 900 AD or the Iron Age. The "emergent" period from 900 to 1,400 AD was the transition to the historic period. While Jocano offers a somewhat modified view of the migrations, it is not, however, quite convincing to the Beyerists. To some, particularly E. Arsenio Manuel, Beyer's theory remains a more acceptable position.

From anthropological studies and debates, the historian has at least obtained a general view of the prehistory of the archipelago. It seems that the development of the Paleolithic and Neolithic patterns in the archipelago followed the logical and necessary shift in evolution from a biological to a cultural level. Primeval man, with his highly marked intellect, rather than his bodily capacities, struggled to overcome the forces of nature that tended to create problems to his survival and security. This type of creative response would become more and more elaborate and complex as the population would increase in natural fashion. The regular change or increase in population from the smallest original band (about twenty-five) to a tribe or clan (about 500) in a century provided the first important factor toward evolutionary change and, eventually, toward ethnic formulation. But it would not be until the beginning of the Neolithic or toward the close of the Paleolithic that the demographic pressure would lead to new creative energies and technological change. The lithic tradition would be augmented by the lignic tradition as new technological means were needed to meet economic needs.

The Civilizational Influences

The second factor in the peopling process that contributed greatly to the character of Philippine prehistoric culture was the series of migrations that came to the archipelago. The strains which came from the pygmy, Indonesian, and Malay groups became eventually the dominant influence in ethnic reformulation and, consequently, new cultural features not related to preNeolithic culture marked one group from another. This enrichment process was augmented by influences of two major civilizations in Asia whose beginnings went back to the third or fourth millennium BC. Chinese economic and sociocultural influences came by way of Chinese porcelain, silk, and traders. The latter, being largely male, intermarried with native women. The other civilizational influence coming from the Indian subcontinent filtered into the archipelago by way of two "Indianized empires" between the eighth and the fourteenth centuries. The impact would be clearly seen in the political and cultural developments in the archipelago.

From the third century AD, archaeological artifacts were augmented by historical evidences to show the direct interaction between China and Southeast Asia. Earlier the contacts with China were indirectly carried through the Mon State of Tunsun or Funan but largely, if not mainly, confined to the northern part of the Malay Peninsula. The motivation for such a contact came from the closures of the traditional overland route through Central Asia by barbaric invasions which forced Chinese movement to the South and the development of China's maritime trade with Southeast Asia. This also received encouragement from the Southeast Asian shipping facilities which literally dominated the Asian seas. In effect, Southeast Asia contributed significantly to the growth of maritime trade in the Asian region long before the advent of western civilization. In the fifth century the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa Hsien wrote of his travels to India (413–14 AD), noting such places as Java among others. Other Chinese sources also mentioned the Southeast Asian ship _Kunlun_ as having traded with Nan Hai or the Southern Ocean, presumably including Java and Shrivijaya. By the eighth century, as a result of the intensification and increase of the China trade and the consequent development of various trading points on the Southeast Asian coasts, Srivijaya emerged and Canton became an important Chinese port.

In the eleventh century, China under the Sung Dynasty began to alter her dependence on Southeast Asian vessels, and Chinese trading ships began to call directly at Southeast Asian ports. Chau Ju Kua reported this rise of China's mercantile shipping in 1225 AD and by 1330 AD with the decline of Srivijaya, a greater part of regional trading had passed to Chinese hands. But the change in political leadership from Sung to the Ming also brought a restriction of Chinese trade with Southeast Asia. Emperor Tai Tsu (1368–1398 AD) limited trade only to vessels of China, and Canton became the only port of entry for such trade. What developed was an illegal trade and the rise of Majapahit which led to the decline of China's trade with Southeast Asia. The subsequent decline of Majapahit and the spread of Chinese influence under Mongol rule to Southeast Asia affected the development of cultural institutions in the region. While China failed to establish a political presence in the area like the "Indianized empires," her cultural influence had penetrated into the fabric of Southeast Asian cultures including the Philippines, particularly in the social and economic aspects of development.

Consequently, much of the cultural forms or patterns in the Philippine archipelago were directly traceable to the filtered elements of Southeast Asian cultural points like Indonesia and the Malay peninsula which had earlier been subjected to civilizational pressures from India, China, and mainland Southeast Asia. This indirect nature of influence on the Philippines made the Filipino more akin to their neighbors south of the archipelago culturally or otherwise. Thus, the various communities or settlements that emerged in the islands could hardly be distinguished from those that marked the landscape of the Indo-Malay world except for the features that were attributable to the influence of the immediate environment.

In contrast to China, India's influences on the Philippines were more indirect and were found in the religious, cultural aspect of precolonial society, although some portions of the political systems, to a certain extent, showed possible influences from Indian political institutions. The indirect influences came by way of two Indianized empires:

The Srivijayan Empire (683–1275 AD) was based in Sumatra and extended its influence gradually to the surrounding areas, although conflicts and shifts of local powers characterized the development of this empire. The cultural effect of this political change was the introduction of Indian features, particularly Buddhistic-Hinduistic institutions, which offered new alternatives to indigenous traditions but which eventually led to a dichotomous nature of cultural reformulation. The Srivijayan period lasted for about seven centuries before it was replaced by the Majapahit Empire, which emerged from a base in Java. It covered the period from 1275 AD with the rise of Kertanegara of Singosari in East Java to about late fourteenth century. Through this empire the Hinduistic influence penetrated into Southeast Asia.

Significantly, the contribution of the Indianized empires was in the religio-cultural aspect of society. This was the logical area of influence because Indian civilization had become rooted in and circumscribed by Hinduism after the disappearance of Buddhism from India. Religious concepts like _bathala_ , _narka_ , _surga_ , etc., are of Hindu origin, although terms like maharajah and rajah may be ultimately traced to its Indian source through the Indonesian and Malaysian channels.

**The Ethnic Synthesis**

In a sense, one of the obvious developments from the dynamic interactions between specific ecological systems and external influences was the emergence of "ethnolinguistic groups" in the archipelago somewhat different generally from their kinsmen in the region. It is from this point in time, approximately from the eleventh century, that the "historic communities" in the archipelago can be truly traced. This is sometimes referred to by current Filipino anthropologists as the "emergent period."

But this dynamic interaction between indigenous cultural elements and that of the migrants, which was a long period (30,000–10th century AD), actually saw the initial crystallization of ethnolinguistic groups along certain lines before they finally narrowed into distinct ethnic groups by the time of western contact. One line appeared in the northern part along the Iloko cultural influence as a more advanced lowland culture bringing into its orbit some of the members of the upland societies. Another line, the Pangasinan, which was also an advanced lowland culture, represented a separate process affecting the adjacent groups. The third line, which involved mainly the upland societies, was the Igorot or Ygolote process whose strains extended to all the ethnic groups inhabiting the Cordilleras and other mountain regions. In fact, the term "Igorot" was for some time applied to all the mountain peoples of Northern Luzon separate or distinct from the Iloko and Pangasinan. Then south of these three lines there was the beginning of an ambiguous outline of cultural particularization along the dominant lowland Pampango and Tagalog cultures drawing also into its orbit upland groups like the Zambals, Negritoes, Dumagats, and others. The Bikols, who occupied the long stretch of land that bears the ethnic name, appeared as a separate distinct line and developed both the upland and lowland types of cultural patterns, although Fray San Antonio later noted that the people resembled the tattooed ones of the Visayas. In the Visayas were the Visayans speaking initially a common language. In the Mindanao area, we see the five "nations" of Combes: Caragans, Mandanaos, Lutaos, Subanuns, and Dapitans.

The linguistic evidences showing the larger context of demographic consolidation before similar units of ethnicity emerged by the time of Western contact can be seen from the classification of over a hundred languages and dialects into a dozen linguistic categories. In 1900, Frederick H. Sawyer identified thirty-eight groups and in 1951, Marcelo Tangco, a professor of anthropology at the University of the Philippines, had in his list forty-five ethnolinguistic groups. But he pointed out that before the Christian era, there were forty-three subgroups of non-Christians speaking ninety-seven subdialects; seven of the groups were Muslims and thirty-five were "Pagans." The Christian group had five major and nineteen minor groups. In 1942, according to Tangco, there were eighteen linguistic groups in Luzon, five in the Visayas, twenty in Mindanao-Sulu, and four mixed historic groups. Of the Negrito-Aetas, seven were in Luzon, three in Central Philippines, and two in Mindanao. The mixed group consisted of the Caviteño, Ermitaño, Chabacano, and Davaweño. The _Area Handbook on the Philippines_ (1956), prepared by the Human Relations File Inc. of the University of Chicago, identified thirty-nine major and twenty minor cultural linguistic groups.

It appeared, therefore, that ethnicization in precolonial times clearly began from the three major linguistic groups (Negritoes, Indonesians, and Malays). Then the intermixtures of peoples and races, including Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Indo-Chinese, led to new patterns and forms. Geographic isolation, economic pressures, and deliberate budding off must have contributed to the ethnolinguistic reformulation along smaller units. The movement, therefore, from simplicity to multiplicity, variety, and complexity continued as a pattern of development. By the time of the Spanish advent, Spanish observers and writers identified these new forms as well as the old. Colin mentions the Iloko, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Tagalog, Pampango, Bikol, Negrillos, and Camarines. About the same time San Antonio refers to "the Bisaya and Painted ones" in the Visayas just as Combes wrote of five Mindanao tribes.

By about the tenth century, the ferment of cultures involving interactions between original communities on one hand and migrants on the other clearly led to cultural breakthroughs in which political, economic, and social changes indicated positive assimilation of progressive ideas. New concepts were shown by the communities or settlements, especially those remarkable benefits brought about by the Metal Age. Even cultural refinement in terms of art and values was obvious so that, at the close of the Metal Age (tenth century), the Philippine landscape witnessed the emergence of societies eager to learn and acquire new technology, devices, and concepts essential to progress. It was this remarkable display of openness and hope that marked the preliminary stage to the coming of Islam, which was the third civilizational influence that reached the archipelago. The two earlier ones—Chinese and Indian—had already given the archipelago certain economic, social, and political ingredients that enriched the vocabulary and experiences of the inhabitants. In fact, geopolitical considerations had become influential in the rise of distinct ethnolinguistic groups in various parts of the archipelago as the population increased significantly to about half a million or more by the time of the Islamic advent or about a million by Spanish contact. Even local conflicts would become necessary to reinforce internal consolidation for purposes of survival as well as dominance and security.

The institutions that emerged during this pre-Islamic era now reflected the full components of cohesive communities or societies definitely governed by internal processes distinct to themselves and relevant and responsive to their limited social needs.

1. _The Political Institutions_. The archipelago saw the rise of several patterns of leadership from North to South, from coast to inland areas. The Ivatan of the Batanes islands developed a system in which two leaders shared authority. The _mampus_ was the paramount leader who shared authority with a few subordinates called _mapolons_ to ensure cohesion. The Ilocano observed a power arrangement in which the _babacnang_ or _amaen ti ili_ exercised dominant influence and power. The Igorot setup consisted of the _Apo_ who performed roles with authority, elder-philosophers who interpreted the local laws, and warriors called _kailian_ who took care of security. Slaves were the lowest in the community. The Ilongot, a neighbor of the Igorot, had a sort of "familial government" in which the families in the community participated in decision making. The recognized head was called the _benganganat_ who exercised near absolute power. He was assisted by the _macotay_ , a younger successor-to-be. As a basis of judgment, the _ali alipian_ (families) promulgated the Seven Commandments. Somewhat different was the Zambal political arrangement which simply gave the best and recognized fighting man the honor of being the leader. The Gaddang of Northern Luzon developed a setup in which the best headhunter, called the _mingal_ , exercised dominant authority although the _dakay_ or headmen was the recognized head of the settlements. Spiritual mediums also played a role. The _tongtong_ represented the collective arrangement of power and roles.

In Central and Southern Luzon, the political organization was more developed. Among the Tagalog, a multiple authority system was observed: the rajahship in Manila, the datuship in the rest of the region with chieftains assuming distinct titles of _Gat_ or _Lakan_. Below was the council of elders which served as an advisory body in decision making. The lowest were the serfs and slaves. However, in the Bikol region, the datuship consisted of the datu as leader, assisted by the _duluyan_ or workers and served by the _oripon_ or slaves. Among the Boholanos, there was a sort of "hierarchy of chiefs" called the datu. A paramount datu heads the community state which was subdivided into ten to twelve villages headed by a datu. Laws followed by the community were promulgated by the datus in conference but they could be vetoed by the chief datu. The Waray of Leyte had a _balangay_ system in which the datu who had wealth, wisdom, and strength ruled. His position could be inherited by his son, daughter or brother. He was assisted in his work by a council of elders and remained in his position as long as he could still run the affairs of his balangay. The Cebuano precolonial community was headed by a rajah who was assisted, like in other areas, by a council of elders. But ultimate authority was determined by force. The Ilongo political setup did not differ from that of Leyte or Bohol. The datu performed the same functions and exercised similar powers, assisted by a council.

In Southern Philippines, the patterns of power setup varied. The Mandaya were divided into small groups ruled by a _bagani_ , a warrior recognized usually for his valorous deeds. The Bukidnun observed a datuship in which the datu ruled and the right to rule passed on to son or younger brother. A rite called _tagalambong ha datu patolawas_ was performed to validate or confirm succession. The datu's subject was called _sakop_. The Bagobo had a datu for their chieftain. He exercised both civil and religious powers as head of the village. But security was the responsibility of the _magani_ or warriors whose reputation was determined by the number of enemies killed as expressed in the kind of kerchief or suit he wore. The Manobo had a kind of village or community government called _banua_ in which three or more datus governed. The multiple authority system operated on the principle of coequality. The datu who heard cases was called the _taukum_ and the one who settled cases was the _tausay_. The _bahani_ was the military leader or warrior.

Among the Subanun of Zamboanga, the _timuway_ was the chieftain, equivalent in functions to the datu. He was assisted by his own council of elders as in other areas. The Sama of the Sulu Archipelago had only a _nakurah_ as head of the nomadic band whose functions were not as elaborate as in the datuship. The Tausug of Sulu were governed by a local hierarchy of datus, rajahs, maharajahs, _panglimas_ , and minor local officials before they were subordinated later under an Islamic structure headed by the sultan. The Maguindanaon of Cotabato developed a system of datus, rajahs, _dumatus_ , and _ambarajahs_ for local administration in both upriver and downriver societies. Likewise, the Maranao of the Lake Lanao region were governed by datus, _solotans_ , _cabugatans_ , and minor local leaders or assistants.

2. _The Economic Institutions_. Although varied, they were founded upon certain common principles related to material resources and rights. The land on which the early societies depended largely for survival and well-being was viewed as a sacred endowment of nature and as such should be the possession of the datuship or society which occupied it. This ancient communalism was practiced in accordance with the concept of mutual sharing of resources so that no individual, regardless of status, was without sustenance. Consequently, ownership of land was nonexistent or unimportant. The right of usufruct was what regulated the development of lands. This was the system observed in Maranao societies and other cultural communities.

In addition to land, marine resources and fishing grounds were free to all in the communities whose economy was based on this kind of resources. Hence, the coastal communities, including those in the Southern Archipelago, depended for their economic welfare on the kind of fishing sharing concept similar to those in land communities. This was more or less exemplified by the _añgambit_ of the Sama whose rights to the fsh catch and others were determined by the communal system called the _komkoman-mundaan_. Only the recognized leaders like the datus, the rajahs, the _tinuays_ , or the nakurahs enjoyed some economic privileges and benefits by virtue of their positions of importance without which social control would not have been effective and easy. But their rights, related to either land and sea, were subject to their responsibility to protect the communities from danger and to provide them with the leadership and means of survival.

Forming an equally important part of the economy was internal and external trade. The interbaranganic exchanges, based on barter, was an effective, complementary system which involved relations of interdependence between lowland and upland societies or between land and sea dwellers. This was evident in the case of the Ilocano and Igorot in Luzon, the Tagalog and Mangyan in Mindoro, the Visayan and Manobo in mainland Mindanao, the _saraya_ and _sailud_ inhabitants in Maguindanao, the Subanun and Lutao in Zamboanga, and the Tausug and Sama in the Sulu Archipelago. The interdependence of societies on one another was one of the ancient foundations of peace and security. Then, the exposure of the ancient communities to varieties of trade items from China, India, and Southeast Asia added a new dimension and horizon to the ancient economy. Dynamic interaction resulted from the mutual demands for new products—Chinese porcelains, silk, and coins; Indian piece goods; and Malay metal works and items for local needs and wants; as well as forest and sea products for foreign markets. By the time of the Islamic advent, when a new dynamic process was introduced, the trade patterns in the Philippines had literally brought the entire upland, lowland, and coastal communities in a network of economic exchanges and interdependence extending to the Micronesian fringe of the Pacific and as far as China and India. This extensive trade system provided inevitably a perfect mechanism for intercultural penetration and even for intrusive processes seeking to profit from the benefits of economic progress.

3. _The Sociocultural Processes_. The sociocultural institutions that emerged varied from community to community but were nevertheless tinted by trade contact and influences which, in a sense, established an ancient, although loose, line of coordination and economic identity. But because cultural traditions and foundations were crucial to survival and identity, the communities consciously strengthened and preserved their ancient traditions against destabilizing cultural values and concepts from external contact. Only those that tended to accommodate and reinforce ethnic community consciousness were readily assimilated. This was the case of the communities in the South that adopted Islam as a part of sociocultural development.

The social structure of pre-Islamic Philippines was represented by the datuship or baranganic setup in which social classes formed a natural hierarchy of status. The nobility from which the leaders came consisted of men of wealth and prestige. Below them were a class of freemen who formed the largest sector in the society and who provided society with warriors, artisans, artists, and other special services. The freemen, known as _maharlika_ among the Tagalog and _timawa_ in the Visayas, enjoyed rights and privileges of social mobility. The last level included two classes: the serfs called _alipin namamahay_ who performed forced labor for offenses committed against society, and the slaves who were called _alipin saguiguilir_. The latter had no rights and privileges and were considered properties that could be sold or exchanged. They were usually captives taken in war or those born into slave families.

In the cultural communities, the patterns of development showed similar distinctiveness and vigor. Although commonly based on basic familial concepts natural to man, social organization and cultural development were varied. This variation may be seen in the Isneg _kamenglan_ , the Ifugao _kadangian-nawotwot_ , the Tagbanua _maginu-u-timawa-uripan,_ the Mandaya _kallayonan_ , and the Tiruray _setipon-mengeselet-mingerafukureng_ systems of status delineation. But it was among the Islamized groups where the Islamic-indigenous blend in social structure and culture was quite developed. The social stratifcation in Maranao, Maguindanaon, and Tausug societies were governed by the _maratabat_ and the _adat-tabiat_ concepts.
CHAPTER IV

The Rise of Communities

(1280–1663 AD)

Despite the particularization of populations along larger ethnolinguistic patterns, the trends by the end of the Iron Age continued further to sub-particularize the inhabitants. This process toward fragmentation was encouraged by a number of factors: first, the character of the geographic environment naturally induced isolation and differentiation or budding off populations; second, the absence of unifying and controlling systems allowed the process to move undeterred. It would not be until after the thirteenth or fourteenth century that new external forces appeared in certain parts of the archipelago, subjecting the immediate areas to a centrifugal process toward new and larger consolidations.

The Moros

One such force was Islam whose beginnings in the archipelago was traced by Najeeb M. Saleeby to about 1380 AD when the first _makdum_ arrived in Sulu. However, this date has been questioned by some Muslim writers and researchers who prefer to push back the arrival of Islam a century to about 1280 AD. The preference is based on the discovery of a gravemark inscription at Bud Datu believed to be that of Tuan Mashaika who died in 710 AH or 1310 AD. As probably the first Muslim to bring the faith according to the Sulu tarsila, the year 1280 AD coincides reasonably with the missionary activities of Muslim mystics and teachers in Southeast Asia.

The establishment or spread of Islamic roots in Maguindanao, the ancient base of the Cotabato people, around the lake region of Lanao, and as far as the mouth of the Pasig in Luzon, set in motion three interrelated processes of Islamization. One was the political process embodied in both the structure and functions of the sultanate. But before this, a more fundamental foundation had to be established in the consciousness of the people. This was readily and conveniently provided by the concept of ummah in Islam. The ummah refers to the community of believers ( _Muslimin_ ) in Islam who are bound solely by spiritual ties regardless of sex, status, color, and residence. It is, therefore, equivalent to the Christian concept of the _ecclesia_ or "church." The consciousness that developed from this concept placed the Muslim South in the territorial world of Islam called _darul Islam_. To a large extent, the sultanate as a system derived its historic influence from this consciousness vis-á-vis the datuship or rajahship whose limited area of importance was confined to its immediate kinship and jurisdiction.

But the effect of the ummah on popular consciousness and culture resulted not in the social transformation of the Muslim communities into orthodox Islamic societies. Rather, it led to the development of a folk-Islamic tradition which was a blend of Islam and indigenous local-ethnic traditions. This harmonious mixture was obvious not only in the sociocultural aspect but also in the political. Even the structure of the sultanate allowed the integration of the pre-Islamic system for purposes of administration.

Another factor that helped shape and consolidate the Muslim ethnic groups was the establishment of the sultanate. The first to emerge was in 1450 AD in Sulu with Abu Bakr as the first Sultan. Before this historic event, Rajah Baguinda had preceded him by half a century, bringing, by both persuasion and forceful means, the inhabitants of the Sulu archipelago to accept Islam. His daughter, Paramisuli, also married Abu Bakr and thus became the first Dayang Dayang. The Sulu Sultanate claimed jurisdiction over territorial areas represented today by Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Palawan, Basilan, and Zamboanga. Four ethnic groups were within this jurisdiction: Sama, Tausug, Yakan, and Subanun.

As a political structure, the sultanate was governed by the sultan who exercised indigenous leadership and paramount control over the people. This control, which had the effect of consolidating and centralizing the otherwise independent datuships, involved political as well as religious rights and activities and other aspects of society. In effect, the sultanate, as an Islamic element, brought to the southern archipelago the integrated Islamic system which did not separate or delineate the sacred from the profane, the spiritual from the secular. Islamic society was viewed as a totality expressing the unity of life as taught by the Koran, a life that revolves around the praise and worship to Allah and doing his will. This underlying concept in the sultanate thus provided the effective means of ensuring popular loyalty and the sultan's stable leadership.

The Sultanate of Maguindanao, which was the second to be established in Southern Philippines, was based on Sherif Kabungsuan's arrangement with the local leaders who had ruled independently prior to the sherif's arrival. The Mastura tarsila, the only one translated and preserved by Najeeb M. Saleeby, starts with the circumstances that led to the meeting between local royalties led by Tabunaway and Sherif Kabungsuan. The latter's marriage into the local royalty resulted in an integrated dualistic system wherein the paramount leaders would come from Kabungsuan's lineage but the formal validation of successional rights and rule would not be attained until the local representative performed the ritual of the "white sand" on which the Sultan-to-be was to stand, symbolic of the distinct function of the local leadership in the new system. The local institution created to preserve this dichotomy was the dumatus whose lineage comes from Tabunaway. The secondary but crucial role of the dumatus (datus-to-be) in the ritual of succession established a kind of harmony in the sultanate and allowed Islamization to develop a pattern of integration that preserved status delineation without the accompanying tensions and conflicts inherent in a hierarchical system.

The Lanao sultanates, while claimed by contemporary Maranao scholarship as of ancient origins contemporaneous with Maguindanao and Sulu, were actually nebulous historical entities which can be safely assumed to be just datuships. In fact, traditional sources claimed that there were four _pañgampongs_ (ancient communities) that comprised Maranao society: Maciu, Onayan, Bayabao, and Baloi. Maciu in the southeastern side of the lake is believed to be the most ancient. Onayan in the south claims to be the most significant historically because of several anticolonial struggles staged by Onayan datus. Bayabao in the west boasts equally of its importance in the struggle against foreign rule. Baloi in the north is considered the latest of the four, formed by elements from the Iligan-Cagayan and lake regions. Spanish as well as Muslim sources commonly note that the Lanao sultanates were really part of the Maguindanao until the latter was eclipsed by the eighteenth century, thus giving impetus to the reassertion of the Maranao ancient datuships and other peripheral datuships with obvious design to approximate the status of a sultanate or, at least, to pursue independent rule. But the process of reassertion led not to a unifed system as in Maguindanao or Sulu but a constellation of royal houses which had unreconciled claims to legitimacy and historicity.

Therefore with the successful Islamization of the South, the historic communities by the advent of Spanish rule had evolved into three but interrelated patterns, namely: (1) the indigenous communities or the _Infieles_ as the Spaniards called them, (2) the Muslim community or the Moros as colonial sources referred to them, and (3) the Christian community or _Indios_ as they are known in Spanish sources. This threefold classification of the ethnic groups was primarily based on the perception of the Spanish colonialist, civil and religious, who clearly saw the point of differentiation only in religious practices and beliefs. The other aspects of culture, including the political, were hardly perceivable as really divergent among the ethnic groups whose remote beginnings could be traced to common origins.

For purposes of colonial policies and administration the religious differentiation provided the colonial power a definite point of reference in dealing with the diversity of cultures as well as a convenient way of restructuring the colonial society which must of necessity include the numerous communities.

The Indios

The Indio as such emerged upon the advent of Spanish culture which was spread throughout the archipelago by means of the sword as well as the cross, but which succeeded only in creating a foothold in some of the ethnic groups. Generally, the settlements that were Hispanized or Christianized were lowland populations within the direct route or perimeter of Spanish military influence. Although the Magellan expedition in 1521 led to the introduction of Christianity in Limasawa or Butuan, the establishment of a Christian community in the archipelago would not be effected until the establishment of Spanish political nucleus and foothold in Manila about four decades after the planting of the Cross in the archipelago. But a process had began to create ferment so that when Spanish effort finally confronted the Muslim stronghold under Rajah Sulayman, Rajah Lakandula, and Rajah Laya in Manila, the Visayans contributed to this effort. The elimination of the Muslim presence in Manila by conquest or conversion secured Luzon and the Visayas for the eventual work of Christianization and pacification. The Spanish drive after 1570 to central and northern Luzon and southward to the Bicol peninsula and the Visayas, through the Cross and the Sword, led to the founding of the bishoprics of Manila, Nueva Segovia (Vigan), Nueva Caceres (Naga), and religious missions in Cebu. From these religious centers the lowland villages were brought by the _reducción_ under the "bell," and the Indio Community, distinct from the Moro Community, had been established by the end of the sixteenth century.

By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Southern third of the archipelago, represented by Mindanao and Sulu, appeared as the next target for the process of penetration, pacification, and Christianization which had already been started by the Figueroa expedition to Mindanao a few years back against the Maguindanao sultanate and much earlier by Gov. Francisco Sande against the Sulu sultanate and Brunei. But it would not be until 1636 that the colonial effort would finally succeed in establishing the Spanish fort in Zamboanga called Fort San Jose, later renamed in 1719 to Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa. The fort was intended to coordinate strategically the Spanish thrust into Muslim Mindanao and control Spanish gains in the island. Meanwhile, the religious also accelerated Church planting and town building in accordance with the same pattern in Luzon and the Visayas called the "plaza complex," a kind of town planning in which the fort and the Church were integrated centrally and concentrically with the social classes. Even the outlying hinterlands where no white men ever set foot were reached by the Jesuits and, later, the Recollects whose approach to the native religion was subtle and intrusive. Eventually, town building proved initially successful and a nucleus of the Christian Community surfaced in Zamboanga, Misamis, and Davao with the Visayan migrants proving to be open to the new faith. By the middle of the seventeenth century, Christianity had created its foundation in the island, ready to mount the systematic Christianization of the Muslim area. In fact, the colonial presence in Mindanao was represented by the Christian community when Spanish forces were withdrawn in 1663.

Like the Muslim Community, the Christian Community witnessed the rise of a cultural synthesis from the interplay of Christian and native elements. This folk Christian pattern which literally marked the commonality within this community portrayed the kind of colonial accommodation which the colonial power tried to pursue in the archipelago. While, therefore, the Indios went about performing the outward rituals and displaying the symbols of the new faith such as processions, masses, and sacraments, they also were secretly observing in caves and forests the ancient rites and practices of their ancestors. Eventually, the dichotomy developed roots, and the Indio, by years of constant practice, became inextricably linked to both aspects of the cultural dichotomy. The dichotomy itself became tradition.

The Infieles

After Islamization and Christianization, whatever was left of the pre-Islamic pattern was represented by the upland societies and communities in the archipelago that had succeeded in preserving their own traditions from the two processes. These communities were called collectively by the Spanish sources as the infieles (pagans). Why they succeeded could be attributed to several factors and circumstances. First, the Spanish colonial strategy of pacification required the takeover first of the lowland communities and the coastal villages, especially those that were vital to trade. This focus on the lowland societies was necessary for sustaining the logistics of Spanish conquest. Hence, the upland societies were naturally outside the immediate concern of Spanish interest, allowing them, in effect, the relative security from external threat. It would not be until Spanish thrust into Northern Luzon stumbled into information on Igorot gold mines that what is now Mountain Province or then Ygollote country was subjected to planned probes. Missions accompanied by both religious and military personnel were conducted through trails and rivers, triggering occasional encounters with upland warriors trying to defend their areas. But this Spanish attention on the Mountain Province was more of an exception to Spanish initial policies on conquest.

Another explanation for the successful preservation of upland communities, as they were before western contact, was the effort of the upland inhabitants to resist the new influence by an effective method of withdrawal into the deeper recesses of the hinterlands and usually into the inaccessible cliffs and forests literally diffcult and often devastating to any westerner. The experience of the Igorot in Mountain Province, the Ivatan in the Batanes, the Mangyan in Mindoro, the Negrito and similar groups in Zambales, Panay, Negros, and Bicol, as well as the Manuvu in Mindanao would illustrate the system of withdrawal. In the case of the Ivatan, the climatic and sea turbulence created by typhoons and winds added to the miseries of adventurers and Spanish missions and reinforced Ivatan isolation, much more well-defined in cultural norms, values, and features than any in Luzon. Withdrawal and isolation would not only help in preserving the indigenous and ancient mode of life and traditions but would also thwart the Christianization process in the upland societies, thus separating them from the newly evolved Christian community.

In relation to the Muslim factor, the upland societies did not experience the threat to their identities and cultures as they did in relation to the Spanish. For one thing, the Muslim Community was, in a sense, different from the Christian as far as religious work was concerned. Although dominant and well-established before the Christian advent, the Muslim did not institute a monolithic religious hierarchy and structure as the Christian Church. There was, therefore, no conscious and systematic attempt to spread Islam throughout the archipelago and to convert the natives to Islam. There was only the spread of Islamic political and territorial influence through the sultanate but more for political and economic reasons than for religious purposes. The Muslims in Manila, where Rajah Sulayman, Rajah Lakandula, and Rajah Laya were the recognized political powers, could have Islamized the outlying communities of what is now Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas. But they did not. Instead, the internal trade of Central Luzon received paramount attention from the Muslim kingdom. The same was true in Mindoro with whose natives the Muslim traders had dynamic relations and in Mindanao where the Muslims had coexisted with the upland societies like those of the Subanun in Zamboanga, the Manuvu in Central Mindanao, and other groups. The only exception was in the Subanun area where a portion of the ethnic society adopted Islam voluntarily and reconstituted themselves into what is known today as the Kalibugan. The latter were Subanun in all respects except religion.

The same was also true of the Sama people whose sea orientation literally shielded them from the Tausug Muslim whose main concern was to preserve their political dominance through the sultanate and not to convert the seafarers to Islam. But the Sama also eventually, like the Subanun, adopted Islam into their culture as a positive element. The reason for this positive nature of Muslim relations with the non-Christian settlements was due not only to the nonproselyting, nonmissionary character of Islam but also to the complementary nature of interests. The Muslims of Mindanao, represented by the Maguindanaon and Maranao, were the middlemen in the internal and international trade and were the ones who provided the upland societies with lowland and coastal goods, materials and items needed, especially those the Muslim themselves manufactured like weapons and other metalcrafts. In the case of the Sama, the Tausug were dependent on them for their sea products and food resources just as the Sama were dependent on the Tausug for their forest needs like cassava, fruits, betel nuts, and many others.

Thus, the "infieles societies," which had become peripheral to colonial administration, represented, from a cultural perspective, a much older base of archipelagic culture. The political systems were still based on the patriarchal and kinship-oriented arrangement of power and authority. The economic activities were governed by the concepts of an ancient communalism and mutual help. The social structure, which emphasized division of labor and distinction of functions, not status, was maintained. And the cultural styles and forms of life portraying the varieties of social courtesies and ecological adjustments were kept constantly vibrant.

The relationship between the three communities or societies and the colonial power would be necessarily determined by the aims of Spanish colonialism as well as by the consciousness of the communities. Spanish aims certainly narrowed to favor one community as against another. What relationships were established between the three basic groups depended on the role of colonialism vis-á-vis the communities and the reactions of the latter to such role. Thus the pro-Christian or pro-Indio attitude of colonialism would bring generally a mutual feeling of suspicion, fear, and hostility between the Christians on one hand and the non-Christians on the other. In brief, colonialism tended to divide and rule an otherwise culturally and historically related populace through a colonial system that would exploit both the virtues and vices of the people.
CHAPTER V

Colonialism and Traditions

(1521–1898)

The Colonial System

The kind of colonial system Spain established in the Philippines following the successful takeover of Manila from the Muslims depended on the broad aims of Spanish colonialism. These may be summarized under the headings _God_ , _Glory_ , and _Gold_. The aims, which were not necessarily mutually exclusive, were clearly expressed in the written instructions to the expeditions from Magellan to Legaspi as well as from the numerous reports, memorials, and correspondences of the religious orders to and from the Philippines. It is now essential to deal briefy with these aims:

1. _Colonial Aims_. The portrait of Spain as a colonial power would be incomplete without the religious color given to its march to empire. Equally emphasized by the Crown was the need to spread Christianity throughout the Spanish dominions. This was in the New World or in the Americas as well as in the Philippines. The expeditions from 1521 to 1565 were accompanied by religious missionaries who were as much prepared to preach the Christian faith as they were to explore and exploit the material resources of the colonies. In particular, when Magellan landed on Limasawa or Butuan, the first significant act taken, besides the procurement of needed provisions, was the celebration of the Mass, and upon landing in Cebu, the conversion of Rajah Humabon and his people was effected.

But perhaps more explicit were the religious aspects of Legaspi's expedition in 1565. Five Augustinian friars "labored in harmony with Legaspi" and won converts. Their religious zeal and tireless efforts were moved by an almost obsessive desire to check the "slowly advancing tide of Mohammedans." The process of Christianization in Cebu started with the conversion of King Tupas's niece. This was followed by the conversion of a Muslim interpreter, King Tupas, and his son. The effect of such a breakthrough in the ruling level of native society was to hasten the process of Christianization among the people for "the example of Tupas had great weight." Thus, with the aid of Christianized Cebuanos, the Muslim stronghold of Manila was taken by Spanish troops and Christianity planted in the city. The subsequent work of evangelism by the different religious orders from Manila to the outlying areas and islands, including the hinterlands, received such attention and priority that it is logical to relate it to the more important task of pacification. In the words of Edward Gaylord Bourne, "The Philippine Islands in situation and inhabitants belong to the Asiatic world, but, for the first three centuries of their recorded history, they were in a sense a dependency of America, and now the whirling of time has restored them in their political relations to the Western Hemisphere. As a dependency of New Spain they constituted the extreme Western verge of the Spanish dominions and were commonly known as the Western Islands ( _las islas de poniente_ ). Their discovery and conquest rounded out an empire which in geographical extent far surpassed anything the world had then seen."

Consequently, King Philip II boasted that the sun never set in his empire because while the sun rose in Madrid it was still early afternoon in Manila of the preceding day. In this regard, the Philippines was just a link of the Spanish imperial sway which, in a sense, would trigger the move to extend Spanish conquest not only to the islands south of the archipelago but also north to Japan and China. This dream of an "Oriental Empire" placed the Philippines strategically in the heart of Spanish imperial design.

But inherently involved in the idea of imperial conquest and expansion was the aim to obtain material benefits from resources and people. This was quite explicit in the Spanish efforts to acquire the Philippines notwithstanding the fact that the islands had become a part of Portuguese territorial rights following the signing of the Treaty of Zaragosa in 1529. In this treaty King Charles of Spain relinquished claims to the Philippines in exchange for 350,000 gold ducats. The preparation of an expedition under Ruy Lopez de Villalobos from Mexico in 1542 clearly confirmed the determination of Spain to lay hands on the islands. The reason for this Spanish brushing aside of Portugal's rights was earlier expressed by Fray Andres de Urdaneta who had gone to the Moluccas with Loaisa in 1525 and had informed the Spanish King of Portugal's rights under the Zaragosa Treaty. He believed that for Spain to contravene such treaty agreement, some "legitimate or pious reason for the expedition should be assigned, such as the rescue of sailors who had been lost on the islands in previous expeditions or the determination of the longitude of the Demarcation line." The real motive for ignoring Portugal's rights clearly surfaced in King Philip's own proposal to ignore all provisions of the treaty regarding islands other than the Moluccas where expeditions were prohibited from going. But to islands like the Philippines, the ventures must go because of the spices. In fact, the reason for the search for spices was already stressed earlier by King Charles to Magellan: "Inasmuch as you bind yourself to discover in the dominions which belong to us and are ours in the Ocean Sea within the limits of our demarcation, islands and mainlands and rich spiceries, etc."

Thus, the system of colonial rule Spain established in the Philippines was determined by various colonial aims. To help realize such aims, the political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of administration had to be effectively designed to ensure that power, wealth, and status in the colony were conveniently and exclusively enjoyed by the Spaniards as a matter of birthright.

2. _Economic Institutions_. Spanish colonial aims necessitated the establishment of definite institutions to bring in the economic and material benefits expected from the colony. The institutions would involve the effective use of the components of the national economy represented by income or benefits derived from land, trade and commerce, and labor. Harnessing the potentials of these economic resources would therefore form the thrust of colonial policies and practices which also consequently encouraged abuses and oppression. Certain institutions became the hallmarks of Spanish colonialism: encomiendas, haciendas, taxation, monopolies, galleon trade, and _polos y servicios_ (forced labor).

Although the encomienda was not a land grant per se, it was, however, a system of land distribution that brought greater benefits to the colonial officials and institutions involved. The system allowed the encomenderos or institutions certain rights and privileges over a piece of territory including the inhabitants therein for a certain period of time, usually up to two or three generations. The sharing of land produce and the collection of dues were determined by the encomenderos although, theoretically, royal instructions should govern relations in the encomienda. Since the system was a way of recognizing and rewarding persons and institutions for their contributions to colonial purposes, the native inhabitants, whose welfare was enjoined by the Crown, were exploited in many ways for the personal benefits of the encomenderos. Even the religious corporations like the Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits who received or acquired encomiendas or haciendas were not freed from the temptation to profit from the ignorance and weaknesses of the natives who were brought under the effective control of the religious authorities. The eventual abolition of the encomienda system, while eradicating the abuses associated with the encomenderos, did not affect religious orders. In fact, it actually allowed such orders to enlarge, by purchase or donations, their landed interests which would be reflected, to a certain extent, in what is called "temporalities." Understandably, the rise of landed estates called haciendas became the marked feature of agrarian development in the archipelago in which the religious was the central focus. This kind of role or position the religious order acquired in the economic development of the archipelago would become the main cause of native radical reactions to Spanish rule.

While the Colonial State had justified the control over economic ventures from the crucial need for revenues, the effects of the monopolies, not only on the domestic economy but also on the people themselves, were not really beneficial. The monopolies on wine, betel nut, playing cards, and tobacco involved certain areas of popular interests in which native habits and even vices had taken deep root and from which consequently the natives could not readily move away for reasons beyond mere personal taste. The importance and place of wine in native society were associated with rituals and ceremonies. No religious ceremonies were complete or valid without the use of wine. The same was true of the betel nut, which was also used in social amenities and rituals of friendship throughout the archipelago. The blood compacts that were used in native relations as well as in foreign diplomacy, such as those between Sicatuna and Legaspi in 1565 or between Sulayman and Goiti in 1570, were unlikely without wine. Although no native records refer to the effects of the wine monopoly in the Ilocos, uprisings in 1807 indicated how government control over the local wine industry was received by the Ilocos people. The same was also shown in the other uprisings in late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in northern Luzon where state monopoly on tobacco was pursued effectively and zealously through the Royal Company of the Philippines.

During a period of over two centuries the foreign trade aspect of the Philippine economy was represented by the "Galleon Trade" or the "Manila-Acapulco Trade." The impact of this institution on the pre-Spanish economic setup was fundamental to native progress. Before Spanish rule, domestic and external trade was marked by freedom and reciprocity. The archipelago was literally opened to all traders from China, India, and Southeast Asia. There was not only freedom of commerce but also a dynamic interaction between peoples. Even Spanish records confirm, for instance, the impressive trade between Chinese traders and the natives in Luzon and the Visayas in which honesty and trust were displayed by parties in barter transactions.

Consequently, the establishment of a monopolistic foreign trade by Spain through only two ports, Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco in Mexico, disrupted and eventually destroyed the dynamic nature of Philippine external trade and commerce. This was done through limitations to freedom of trade and strict legal exactions on native trade by limiting foreign entry to only one port, thus ensuring the easy and effective collection of dues from foreign traders. The only participation the natives had was to provide services as oarsmen and other labor needs. The privileges or rights of investment were confined to the Spaniards, especially members of the religious orders who almost monopolized the benefits of colonialism. Such privileges in the galleon trade were obtained through the _boletas_ , which allowed investors certain space in the ship.

Collecting taxes or support from the governed is an inherent right of government. But equally integral is the responsibility of government to use the taxes not only for the support of government but also for the well-being of the people. This was the kind of reciprocity and mutuality that was lacking in the Spanish system of taxation. Tributes and dues were imposed on the people and were used for the benefit of the Spanish community. Very little went into improving native conditions. The system allowed the participation of the local chieftains but only as collectors, not as users of the revenues collected. This was therefore a radical departure from the pre-Spanish setup in which the chieftains enjoyed the right and privilege of using the revenues collected from their subjects. Thus, colonial taxation destroyed the economic integrity of native leadership.

What aggravated the problem and dilemma of local leaders, when tax lists were not regularly corrected, was the compulsion to exploit their own people beyond what was expected of them. The unjust imposition by the system on the _gobernadorcillos_ or _cabezas_ to collect the dues as expected led to the breakdown of morality. Thus, through corruption, which the colonial system encouraged, the local leadership lost the moral base of their authority which they had been enjoying before the Spanish advent.

The Spanish economic system, by the very nature of colonial aims, required the effective utilization of native labor throughout the archipelago. Thus, colonial laws or ordinances required the natives to provide either free labor or labor with nominal compensation for all sorts of Spanish needs, from domestic services at home to military services in Spanish expeditions. Although the concept of public service is a natural obligation of the people to the State, the corresponding compensation for labor is equally important to create or maintain equilibrium in the system. But the just sharing of responsibilities was absent in the polos y servicios which literally forced the natives to work against their will and interests. In effect, the Spanish labor system destroyed the precolonial communal ideal where leaders and people shared in the affairs of the community as well as in the defense against enemies. Road building, ship building, and galleon trade labor requirements were notorious for many inhuman treatments, deaths of natives, and breakup of families resulting in untold sufferings. Those who served as oarsmen tried to escape. Some succeeded in losing themselves in Mexico and never returned to the Philippines. Others, like those forced to work in the Cavite arsenal, had to bear the rigors and pains of ferrying logs from the forests of Laguna to Cavite. Native women, who unfortunately found themselves compelled to render personal and domestic services in Spanish homes, convents, and other places, had to go through the humiliation and anxieties of bearing unwanted pregnancies or swallowing Spanish expletives in resignation. Reports in _La Solidaridad_ carried news of such Spanish abuses on the natives, including even those committed by "men of God."

3. _Political Setup_. Colonialism needed a kind of power arrangement that would allow the realization of colonial aims a degree of native participation without its precolonial dominance. The reorganization, therefore, of the political structure followed a dualistic-hierarchical pattern along Spanish and native lines but devoid of the political mobility from the bottom up. Thus the colonial structure consisted of a bureaucracy with appropriate linkages between the home government and the colony and a structure of authority in the colony that ensured the exercise of authority by the Spaniards and the performance of responsibilities by the natives.

To allow Spanish colonial aims to be readily achieved in the archipelago, a kind of political structure was necessary. Thus Spain put up what the political scientist turned historian, O.D. Corpuz, called the "bureaucracy." This consisted of a political hierarchy that brought the home government and the colony into a relationship in which the exploitation of the colonized became not only necessary but also normal and, in fact, to a certain extent, moral. The highest or first level was the authority of the Crown in colonial affairs. This was expressed in a series of bureaucratic mechanisms. The Council of the Indies was the body that allowed the Crown to influence the colony through legislation. Below this council was the Ministry of the Ultramar which performed the function of dealing with the colony. But the geographic distance between Spain and the Philippines made direct administration meaningless and the indirect rule, through the "Viceroyalty of Mexico," was established. This cut the distance by half, thus making the rule of the Crown through his personal appointee in Mexico more felt. The arrangement continued up to 1820 when Mexico acquired independence and consequently brought the Philippines directly under Madrid. More important for Crown rule, however, was the appointment of the king's representative as governor, later as captain general and governor general, to govern directly the colony. To ensure that the governor was doing what the Crown willed, checks and balances were established, such as the _visitador general_ who visited the colony at the instance of the Crown; the religious officials who could send reports or memorials without problem; and a _residencia_ , a tribunal to initiate public trial of the governor at the end of his term.

The colonial level of the bureaucracy was the most important because it was involved in the day-to-day affairs of the natives. Under the power setup, the Crown gave to the colonial administration vast powers, which virtually established an absolutism in the colony. There were three administrative levels in the colonial bureaucracy: the central, the provincial, and the municipal.

The central level was represented by the governor of the colony who would later assume the title of captain general to reflect his military authority and governor general to stress the pervasiveness of his powers. His powers were vast despite subjection to the overall authority of the Crown. He enjoyed executive, legislative, military, judicial, and religious powers. As executive of the colony, all executive functions in the bureaucracy were subject to his authority directly or indirectly. As captain general, he was the commander in chief of the Spanish armed forces, which could be used as he pleased. As presiding officer of the Royal Audiencia, which served as the Supreme Court of the colony, he had judicial authority or influence over court matters. As chief executive, he was also given legislative powers to promulgate ordinances in the colony and to lay aside the implementation of royal decrees he felt was not necessary, thus giving accent to the expression _obedezco pero no complo_. Finally, he also enjoyed religious powers because of the _Patronato Real_ , a special right given by the Pope to the Spanish Crown to appoint bishops or priests in the colony in recognition of Spain's important contribution to the purposes of the Catholic Church. Consequently, by virtue of his position as Vice Regal Patron, the governor could interfere in the work or function of the religious in the colony.

As a consequence, therefore, of the extent of his powers, the governor general evolved into an absolute ruler like a little king in the colony where his word was law. His absolutism was created not by the expressed provision of law but rather by circumstances attributable to geographic and communication factors. While subordinate to the Council of the Indies or the Crown, his position in the colony was strengthened by a number of factors which, in addition to geography and communication, included the corruptibility of the visitador general and the personal interests of the governor general whose tenure was uncertain and whose appointment was usually taken through payment of a sum. The exploitation of the native and his resources became the focus of the art of corruption in the highest level of government, including even the religious.

The second level of administration was represented by those provincial officials called alcaldes in the case of the pacified and organized units called _alcaldias_ , and _corregidores_ in the case of the _corregimientos_ , areas not yet subdued and, therefore, administered through military commanders. As head of the alcadia, the _alcalde mayor_ exercised executive as well as judicial powers. To these powers was added the _indulto de comercio_ which granted to the alcalde the right and privilege to engage in commerce. Consequently, the concentration of powers in the alcalde, like that of the governor general, did not only lead to oppressive treatment of the natives but also to their socioeconomic exploitation. In the case of the alcalde, the indulto gave him the monopolistic control of economic or commercial affairs in his jurisdiction. The same was true of the corregimientos which were under military pressure, although, by the very nature of the areas, economic exploitation was not as easy as in the pacified towns and cities.

The third and last level of the bureaucracy was the municipal unit which was represented by a dichotomy of political leadership consisting of the Spanish _cura parroco_ who exercised all the powers of government in the municipal level and the gobernadorcillos and _cabezas de barangay_ who only implemented colonial policies and measures, sometimes against their own interests. Although theoretically the gobernadorcillo was supposed to be the head of the municipal unit, the friar was really the absolute authority. Consequently, what developed was a kind of union of political and religious powers which the propagandist, Marcelo H. del Pilar, called the _frailocracia_. In effect, while the natives had participation in the bureaucracy it was limited to the exercise of responsibility, not authority or power. Since colonial aims required the effective collection of tributes and other dues from the natives, the old precolonial political structure was conveniently preserved throughout Spanish rule but integrated into the entire colonial society for purposes of conquest, pacification, and exploitation. Thus even the native _principalia_ from which the gobernadorcillo and cabeza were chosen was not spared from the racial indignities inflicted on the natives as a race.

The native level was the last or lowest unit of the Spanish colonial bureaucracy where native participation in the colonial scheme was confined to powerless tasks. There were no natives that were involved in the central and provincial levels of administration. Even their part in the last level of administration was mainly in the area of implementation of colonial policies and aims. The exercise of power, including its rights and privileges, was given to the local friar or Spanish priest. How the religious performed this role from the native point-of-view was summed up in the writings of Filipino propagandists like Fr. Jose Burgos's _Manifesto_ and _La Lobra Negra_ , Graciano Lopez Jaena's _Fray Botod_ , Gregorio Sanciangco's _El Progreso de Filipinas_ , Marcelo H. del Pilar's _La Soberania Monacal_ and _Dasalan at Toksohan_ , and Jose Rizal's _Noli Me Tangere_ and _El Filibusterismo_.

In effect, the colonial system allowed the natives to preserve their ancient political structures simply because the Spaniards found its preservation and use effective in the collection of tributes and in suppressing one group of natives by another under the policy of "divide and rule." Conversely, the native leadership, although symbolically sporting the mechanism of colonial rule, continued to provide the main line of resistance that would later erupt into movements to undermine colonial rule and, ultimately, to overthrow it.

4. _The Sociocultural Patterns_. The kind of society and culture that would emerge from the nature of colonial aims would also show the subordination and isolation of the natives from the benefits of status which was what sociocultural development really meant or underlined. Thus, the precolonial social organization was not changed. The chieftains, freemen, serfs, and slaves remained as they were as far as relations within native society were concerned. Only when they related to other sectors or classes outside their own were the criteria and the rules changed. In other words, what colonialism did to the social structure was to superimpose a colonial level composed of Spaniards whose relation to the natives was based on the superior-inferior and civilized-primitive stereotype. Regardless of rank or status in the native structure, the datu, timawa, and the _alipin_ or oripon were just regarded as one class level—the lowest—in the colonial society, not entitled to any social importance and rights except to serve those above them. Consequently, even the datus were not treated as such vis-á-vis even the ordinary Spaniard.

The effect of the Spanish social stratification was consciously extended from the local to the national society based upon racial and religious factors. As earlier discussed, the terms Indios, Moros, and Infieles divided the entire Philippine archipelago into three national societies definitely beneficial to the Spaniards. This categorization in the colonial social hierarchy implied also the corresponding social rights and privileges enjoyed by the three societies. In effect, the Indios or Christianized natives were allowed certain status, although below the Spanish, higher than that of the Moros and Infieles who were regarded as the lowest. In fact, the descriptions of the latter groups showed how much they were deprived, ridiculed, and repressed because of their religious traditions.

What emerged from the colonial social system was a kind of cultural development that followed three parallel patterns. The Christian, Muslim, and indigenous societies were able to preserve their old traditions except that, by virtue of their conversion to Christianity, the Christians gradually evolved a kind of cultural form or substance that allowed them to interact more dynamically with their colonizer. At the end of Spanish rule in 1898, the Filipino national culture was basically and mainly associated with a pro-Spanish culture developed by the Christianized societies throughout the archipelago. On the other hand, the cultural patterns of the Muslims and other minorities had remained generally unchanged, however persistent were the Spanish efforts to convert them, simply because they resisted or avoided conversion.

**Native Responses**

During the entire period of Spanish rule, native responses were related to the three kinds of societies or communities that developed. The responses were influenced by the extent of Christianization and exploitation.

1. _The Indio Response_. Expectedly, the Christian community, because of interactions with colonizers, manifested two types of attitude to colonialism. One was the willingness to assimilate what was necessary for acquiring benefits from the system. Since religious change was important, the Indios endeavored to practice the symbolic and outward requirements of Christianity by adherence to the prescribed rituals or sacraments of the Church even if the performance of such formalism entailed physical and financial sacrifices and, to a large extent, moral compromises. Eventually, the regular performance of rituals developed a kind of inner transformation that allowed a synthesis of religious values. Indigenous religion and Christianity blended in a folk Christian synthesis. By the end of the nineteenth century, Filipino religious tradition had become both "native and colonial."

It was a blending of East and West in the Filipino that prompted him to regard the centuries of repression and exploitation as a problem that could be solved through (1) assimilation of the Philippines as a province of Spain, or (2) separation from Spanish rule, not necessarily from Spanish civilization. The first was expressed by the Propaganda Movement (1872–1892) which sought the reform of the colony through the expulsion of the friars, the representation of the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes, and the institution of specific reforms. The movement, despite vigorous Spanish counteraction, was conducted in both Spain and the Philippines. In the Philippines, it actually began earlier in the narrow struggle of the Filipino clergy for justice. Its most noted spokesman was Father Jose Burgos whose numerous writings, more than that of Rizal, clearly revealed that racial discrimination was responsible for Spanish exploitation of the Filipinos including those who had taken the vow to serve God. The "secularization of the parishes," as the religious movement was called, developed into a "filipinization of the parishes" movement. It was this emphasis on the "Filipino" that provided the priestly role its most important dimension to the natives. The martyrdom of the three priests—Jose Burgos, Jacinto Zamora, and Mariano Gomez—gave Filipinism its first valuable impetus, expressed by no less than Jose Rizal in the introduction to his second novel, _El Filibusterismo_.

Thus, the period from 1872 to 1892 witnessed the transformation of a narrow religious struggle to a national struggle for justice and the consequent enlargement of the Filipino consciousness, important later to the making of a Filipino nation before the close of Spanish rule. It was during this period that a new breed of Filipinos—young, idealistic, impatient, and restless—emerged with nothing but the desire to prove themselves to the colonizer that they had as much claim to intelligence and culture as the Spaniards. They entered the schools to learn exactly what the colonizers were proud of: the knowledge and art of the Christian religion, the Spanish language, and whatever cultural refinements were accessible, including literary and artistic creativity. Consequently, the Propaganda Movement, as the decade was characterized, produced luminaries such as Graciano Lopez Jaena of Iloilo, Gregorio Sanciangco and Pedro Paterno of Manila, Jose Rizal of Laguna, Marcelo H. del Pilar of Bulacan, Jose Maria Panganiban of Bicol. But the movement was similar to secularization because it did not seek independence but merely reforms from the Mother Country. The reformers wanted to be like the Spaniards and be accepted as such. To them citizenship was the key to such reforms. It was this limited vision that led the propagandists to failure, in effect that provided Marcelo H. del Pilar the reason for doubting the rationale of their struggle and consequently entertaining the possibility of revolution. In a sense, this realization gave the propagandists their only linkage with a movement, a process in the Philippines that sought the overthrow of the colonial power through violence, thus continuing the earlier revolts in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The formation of the Katipunan in 1892 as the vehicle of the Revolution involved partly, if not mostly, people from La Liga Filipina, a reformist society organized by Jose Rizal, the foremost advocate of the reform movement. Thus the period from 1892 to 1896 marked the dramatic shift in Filipino activities to revolutionary struggle and, in fact, provided the only linkage with the struggles of the Muslim and other tribal minorities. It was, therefore, the ideals of independence and freedom that unified the natives of the archipelago, however divided or separated geographically and culturally they might have been.

2. _The Moro Struggle_. Since the advent of Spanish colonialism, the Muslims had shown by word and deed their opposition to colonial attempts to deprive them of their liberties. Under Rajah Sulayman they fought the Spanish forces led by Martin de Goiti and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi whose aim was to destroy the Muslim stronghold of Manila and establish thereat the center of Spanish rule in the archipelago. Deceived earlier by Spanish participation in the ancient blood compact, the Muslims were defeated and Spain succeeded in inaugurating her colonial system in 1570 with the founding of the municipal government of Manila, the _ayuntamiento_. But the Muslims learned the lessons of dealing with colonialism. Their subsequent action was marked by uncompromising battles against Spanish expeditions sent frequently against Muslim bases in Mindanao and Sulu, the two centers of the sultanate. The expeditions culminated in the spoiling campaigns of Antonio Urbiztondo in 1850 and Jose Malacampo in 1876 which destroyed coastal villages in the Sulu archipelago. The Muslim answer to Spanish bloody campaigns were the retaliatory raids on Christian communities in the Visayas and Luzon, especially along the Bicol Peninsula where the biggest impact of the Moro raids was quite evident.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Muslim strategy had acquired the nature of the jihad, the Islamic method of dealing with an enemy. In fact, the appearance of the _sabilallahs_ or juramentados, as the Spaniards called them, was an indication of a crisis in the Muslim struggle. The sabilallahs were individual warriors who were set aside by society with appropriate rituals of sanctification and cleansing before dying for the cause. Their only mission was to kill as many of the enemy as possible. Many of them were unleashed in Cotabato and Sulu, causing casualties on the Spaniards otherwise not possible through the open combat between the _kampilan_ on one hand and the gun on the other. In effect, the use of the sabilallah as a means of combat showed the defensive trend in Muslim resistance. But the entry of American might against the Spanish power blunted Spanish thrust in Moroland.

3. _Response of Other Minorities_. The reaction of the other non-Christians who were not Islamized was to withdraw from the pressures of colonialism. The Cordilleras, where the various ethnic groups generally called Igorot found refuge in the hinterlands of the Mountain Province, was quite inaccessible under normal circumstances. Only in instances where Spanish missions and troops succeeded in penetrating the communities that the response was one of either indifference or outward conformity to colonial presence, which was nominal in character. The revolts or armed struggle of the Igorot at different times in history were efforts to destabilize the colonial extension into areas that were important to them—those where, for instance, gold mines were found.

Consequently, the kind of response the tribal minorities chose to deal with colonial threat worked well to their advantage by making it difficult for Christianity to really take a foothold in their traditions. Although persistent and determined, the religious missions did not achieve the level of success as achieved in the lowland communities. Partly, the failure of Spanish colonialism in the periphery of Philippine society was due to geographic barriers and Spanish preoccupation with lowland communities and the Muslim threat. In other words, it was practical for Spanish aims to concentrate attention and efforts in the more progressive and developed lowland communities whose potentials for colonial purposes could be used to bring the non-Christians into the system.
CHAPTER VI

Imperialism and Filipinism

(1898–1946)

**The Imperialist Thrust**

The end of Spanish colonial rule in 1898, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris, did not mean for the Filipinos the end of their independence struggle. Clearly, the transfer of sovereignty from one power to another was a unilateral action to which the duly constituted Filipino government was not a party. What therefore followed American political and military entry into the archipelago was the establishment of a kind of system that was imperialistic in nature. As distinguished from colonialism, imperialism had a broader and subtle method of continuing the colony in all aspects of development.

Thus, the establishment of American colonial rule was based on policies and programs comprehensive enough to allow American presence throughout the archipelago. American colonial policies were expressed initially in the proclamation of President William McKinley on December 21, 1898, otherwise known as the "Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation." The declaration came after the formation of the Malolos Congress. The United States declared her intention to establish sovereignty over the archipelago but would endeavor to pursue a humane policy to assimilate the colony. Shortly thereafter the Schurman Commission, sent to the Philippines in 1899 to assess the situation, reiterated the American commitment to pursue a policy that would respect the customs and traditions of the people. This change in policy came at a time when tensions were moving toward the possible outbreak of hostilities as the Malolos government showed its determination to attain Philippine independence. When the first shot was fired from an American gun at San Juan bridge on February 4, 1899, killing a Filipino, the hostilities formally begun. It was, however, futile to stop the war since the American military under Gen. Elwell Otis ignored Filipino peace overtures and carried out a military solution to Filipino recalcitrance. The refusal of the Filipinos to yield and the determination to continue the struggle prompted the organization on April 7, 1900, of a second Philippine Commission under William H. Taft to serve not only as a body to study the Philippine condition but also to serve as a government in itself. The instruction of President McKinley, conveyed through Secretary of War Elihu Root, was to establish in the colony not a government for the "theoretical satisfaction of the American people" but for "the happiness and prosperity of the Filipino people," one that would respect the customs, habits, traditions, and even the prejudices of the people. The eventual capture and surrender of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo at Palanan, Isabela, in 1901 removed the political obstacle to the enforcement of American sovereignty. What followed this encouraging prospect for American colonialism was a new reexpression of American intention.

One of the immediate acts in pursuance of American colonial policies was the Philippine Bill of 1902 which promised self-government for the Philippines. But there was only a general and ambiguous commitment to prepare the Filipinos for self-government, despite the declared policy of "the Philippines for the Filipinos" enunciated by Taft early in his civil rule. How long it would take for independence to be realized was left unanswered. But, at least, it gave some hope to people longing for freedom, for the independence that was about to be theirs in 1898 had not American design aborted that possibility. This hope was kept buoyant with certain political measuring such as the appointment of Filipinos not only as local executives but also as members of the Philippine Commission, the body that legislated for the colony until 1907 when the Philippine Assembly was constituted to serve the function of a lower house. This gave the Filipinos partial legislative participation until 1916 when a bicameral Philippine Legislature was formally established by the Jones Law, finally giving to the Filipinos the legislative authority and responsibility in the colony. Only the veto power under the setup and the appointment of non-Christian representatives were in American hands.

By 1913, new political changes in the United States had created repercussions in the Philippines especially in policy direction. While there was some ambiguity or uncertainty in the first decade, the second decade, which saw the rise of the Democratic Party, also saw a definite commitment of independence for the Philippines. In 1916, the Jones Law, otherwise known as the "Organic Act of the Philippines," definitely promised independence after a "stable government" would have been established. But it would not be until 1934, with the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, that a definite transition of ten years before independence was pledged.

How the premises of American rule and policies were actually implemented showed the imperialistic character of the American colonial venture. The most glaring was the complete snubbing of Filipino participation from the capitulation of Manila on August 14, 1898, to the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, which ceded the Philippines to the United States for $20 million. The complete exclusion of the Filipinos from the process was contrary to the "benevolent policy" of President McKinley. But the best illustration of American imperialistic approach was the military suppression of Filipino resistance from 1899 to 1913 during which period thousands died, including about 20,000 Muslims. In addition, the display of any nationalistic fervor in art, literature, and whatever form was punished under the Sedition Law of 1907.

The suppression of revolutionary movements continued even after the establishment of civil government in the Muslim South in 1914. The movements, which assumed the nature of millenarian, revivalistic, and messianic agitations, were found in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The _colorum_ uprisings in Pangasinan in 1926 and, later, the Sakdal uprisings in the Tagalog region in 1933 gave the American regime its popular challenge. In the Visayas, there was the Entrencherado movement that brought popular protests in the 1920s to a level of anxiety. In Mindanao, as well as in Sulu, the Santiago (1924), Alangkat (1927), and Tahil (1927) disturbances added a general character to popular reactions. So did the _kutah_ fights in Lanao in the 1930s led by Amai Milon and Dimakaling. The Americans dealt with these incidents through a divide-and-rule tactic. The effective use of Filipinos and Muslims against their own kind underlined the imperialistic character of colonial policy and rule.

Perhaps more subtle as an imperialist tool was the economic system established by the United States, especially in the area of trade relations. American economic interests in colonization were related to markets for manufactured products and sources of raw materials. In the Treaty of Paris, the pursuit of American aims was somewhat affected by a provision granting for ten years a most-favored-nation treatment to Spain. Consequently, whatever privileges or rights American businesses would enjoy in Philippine trade would also be extended to the Spanish. It was not until the end of the ten-year period in 1909 that the United States was able to initiate a definite economic policy. The Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 embodied this policy on "free trade." Under this concept, Philippine exports to the United States would be governed by quotas but that of the United States would enter the Philippines without any limitation at all. Moreover, the products the Philippines could export were also confined to what American industries needed as raw materials, as the first decade of American rule tended inevitably to create an economic relation based on Philippine dependence on American economy. Thus Philippine development became vulnerable to strong American pressures.

In 1913, a change in economic policy came by way of the Simmons-Underwood Tariff Act which eliminated the quotas on Philippine products, thus establishing "free trade" mutually and equally between two countries. But it should be noted that the elimination of the quotas on sugar, tobacco, and rice was necessary since the Philippines could not even meet the quotas of 1909. In effect, the dangers to American domestic interests were not present in such economic relation and the imposition of limitations was unnecessary. The economic development of the Philippines, especially in terms of agricultural exports, registered impressive progress particularly in the 1920s—from 23.7 percent in 1899-1908 to 62.899 percent in 1916-1925, and 71.4 percent in 1926-1935 of the total foreign trade of the Philippines. According to Shirley Jenkins, for 1920-1930, sugar exports rose to 450 percent, coconut oil to 223 percent, and cordage to over 500 percent. The increasing dependency of the Philippines on the exports to the United States of a few products resulted from the "free trade" relations in which the party with the best potentials and capacities (in this case the United States) would profit almost unilaterally from the trade.

In 1934 the United States passed the Tydings-McDuffie Law which extended free trade to 1940, but reinforced the quotas of 850,000 tons for sugar, 20,000 tons for coconut oil, and 3,000,000 pounds for cordage. Beyond the limit, a graduated Philippine duty of 5 percent would be imposed until 25 percent in 1946. Conversely, the Philippines would pay US duties after July 1946, the day independence would be recognized. Because of Philippine dissatisfaction, the US Congress passed the Jones-Costigan amendment of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1934 which substituted "absolute quotas" for duty-free quotas. Clearly, the United States sought not only to preserve its special and dominant position in the Philippine economy but also to insure such position through the deepening dependency of the Philippines on US economic assistance. This imperialistic manner of dealing with the Philippines was further revealed in the negotiations after 1935 in anticipation of the grave economic problems the Philippines would suffer in seeking sources of income and markets other than export diversification. The Joint Preparatory Committee on Philippine Affairs composed of Filipinos and Americans tasked with finding ways to help recommended (1) the substitution of annually declining duty-free quotas for increasing Philippine export taxes and (2) a graduated preferential tariff treatment of 5 percent annually on Philippine exports after 1946. In 1939, the amendment to the Independence Act of 1934 instituted the declining duty-free quotas on coconut oil, cigars, pearl buttons, and some tabacco products.

In the area of investment and trade, the total foreign trade of the Philippines increased from $34M in 1899 to $251M in 1940 and trade with the United States grew from 16 percent to 25 percent, respectively. By 1940, American investments in the Philippines had reached $258M, about 60 percent of total foreign investments in the Philippines, about 30 percent of US investments in Asia and about 1 percent of all US foreign investments. But a great bulk of the US investments in the Philippines came from savings in the islands and profit reinvestments of US corporations in mining, public utilities, and export industries. When viewed in relation to key products, American control was evident. In sugar on which 12 percent of the Filipino population depended, $93M was invested in centrals, $181M in lands, etc., and $25M in crop loans. Of the total, 50 percent was Filipino, 30 percent American, and 15 percent Spanish. In coconut by 1940 also, total investments reached $226,215,000, of which $209,320,000 was in land. American capital was $8,375,000 and that of the Philippines was $194,665,000. But in mills and refineries, of the total investment of $11,895,000, $905,000 was Filipino, $5,545,000 Americans, and $3,495,000 British.

In other economic areas, the United States had also a substantial part. In 1938, the manufacturing investments totaled $178.2M of which 35 percent was Filipino, 19 percent American, 14 percent Spanish, and 7 percent Chinese. In power, of the total $28.2M, 73 percent was American and 20 percent Filipino. Of the mining investments of $100M, 48 percent was Filipino, 37 percent American, and 6 percent British. The lumber industry had a total investment of $18.5M, 39 percent of which was Filipino, 36 percent American, 10 percent Chinese, and 7 percent Japanese. In commerce, of the total investments of $293.8M, 35 percent was Filipino, 21 percent American, and 25 percent Chinese.

Reinforcing the political and economic control of the United States over the Philippines was a more subtle, indirect, and effective means of sociocultural reorientation of the Filipinos through schools, sports, literature, language, art, music, religion, health and sanitation, and others related to value-changing and concept-forming processes. What made the sociocultural approach readily acceptable to the Filipinos, except for those exposed to the radical movements and ferment, was the level of modernization that had become an index of progress at the turn of the century. Even the ilustrados of the late nineteenth century already had written and shown their positive response to colonialism. They were willing to assimilate what was useful to material progress.

The colonial educational system, while allowing Spanish institutions to continue as they were, emphasized the education of the Filipinos as a whole. Under Spain this privilege was given only to the elite and limited only to the clerical profession until the nineteenth century when reforms were instituted. The free primary school education, which was compulsory, involved the first three grades and therefore affected children from ages seven to nine. Later, the remaining four grades provided continuity along critical lines. The same was true of the secondary level. Thus, by 1908 when the University of the Philippines was established, the first secondary products of the educational system were ready to be trained and educated in liberal democracy. It was from this Filipino breed that national leaders would come. The curricular programs pursued aimed at opening the Filipino mind to new winds of change. The zealous propagation of English as medium of instruction and communication provided a strong unifying factor for the colony and enabled the Filipinos to assimilate the values of American culture. Consequently, the growth or development of a Filipino language, particularly Tagalog, which was beginning to be used as a larger medium of communication, was stunted and eventually subordinated in importance, giving nationalists justification for calling English, however important it may be for international purposes, the "tool of imperialism."

What emerged from the educational processes were new generations of Filipinos from all age levels equipped with not only tools of modernization but also a kind of cultural outlook that became indifferent to traditional values and institutions. It became the nemesis of what was held culturally vital and superior by the premodern Filipinos. In effect, the cultural orientation provided by the educational system regarded the traditional cultures as primitive and inferior to the new pattern from the West which was considered modern and, therefore, superior. What was regarded as "civilized" was equated with everything that came under the label "modern." This actually meant anything that was western. Not only values but also lifestyles changed, giving the traditional another blow. Even aspirations were likewise altered or redirected to the acquisition of western civilizational rituals and symbolisms.

Helping in the process of reorientation were varieties of social activities. New sports like baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, basketball, etc. were added to _sipa_ , _kaldang_ , _pagtanduk_ , and various water sports. Games like billiard, bridge, poker, magic, etc. found good reception among the people. Theatrical performances, already introduced in Spanish times, were expanded by western movies and other forms of entertainment. Music from America competed for popular patronage with the _kundimans_ and ethnic music. Native and Spanish dances were complemented by boogie-woogie, waltzes, etc. Art exhibits of western works, including architecture and sculpture, provided new models for artists and art lovers, bringing modern art to its acme during the late American period. Even buildings, especially public edifices, acquired the utilitarian and colonial influences of American architecture, putting the " _bahay-kubo_ " and the "antillean houses" on the side. Men and women's fashion from head to foot transformed the Filipino, including the minorities, into objects of praise and ridicule. In a photo collection of Dean C. Worcester, an Igorot chieftain who tried to show his modern image posed in his top hat and American suit but with only his _bahag_ (G-string) for pants. The American policy of liberalism and respect for individual freedom, except when its exercise would prejudice American interest, encouraged the Filipino's indiscriminate assimilation of western form and substance. As a result, the impact of American colonialism and imperialism on attitudes and values was largely achieved through sociocultural ferment, much more rewarding to American experience than the military exploits of trigger-happy recruits and economic adventurers who literally evolved for America her controversial image. Thus, the success of the United States in realizing her colonial aims in the Philippines, especially economic dominance and priority, was attributable to the pro-American values and attitudes of a growing number of Filipinos, a sociocultural phenomenon not achieved by Spain in more than three hundred years.

**The Nationalist Reaction**

1. _The Option of Compromise_ (1898–1913). Unlike Spanish colonialism to which the Filipinos reacted negatively, American imperialism evoked a kind of response that was clearly marked by dilemmas, dividing the Filipinos in a way into those who opposed American presence and those who welcomed it. This was quite evident during the "military phase" of American rule (1898–1913) when the Filipino leadership under Aguinaldo opened hostilities against American rule after American rejection of peace overtures by Aguinaldo following the San Juan Bridge incident of February 4, 1899. In this war, the Filipinos determinedly fought from Manila up to Northern Luzon and down to the Bicol Peninsula, the Visayas, and Mindanao. But, as events proved, Filipino war efforts were neutralized by an equally substantial sector of the people opting to accept the offer of the Schurman Commission in 1899 to accept American rule and reorganize themselves, as in Baliwag, Bulacan, into a municipality under the new government. The process was augmented by assistance from the Macabebe and Tinguianes against the revolutionists. Thus by 1901, with the capture of Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela, the war had definitely gone against the Filipinos, leaving the struggle to a few remaining Filipino revolutionaries to continue in Samar and the Tagalog region. In fact, with Negros choosing early in 1899 to accept American sovereignty, the Visayas was moving the way of Luzon.

It was in Mindanao where the challenge to American rule lasted up to 1913 when Sulu finally yielded after the massacre of Bud Bagsak for which Gen. John Pershing earned a name in American military history and subsequently a promotion ahead of his superiors. On March 22, 1915, Sultan Jamalul Kiram II signed the Kiram-Carpenter Agreement relinquishing his political authority over his subjects. The same was true of Lanao where resistance lasted up to 1906 and of Cotabato where Datu Almada continued Ali's resistance up to 1912. Like the Filipino resistance in the North, the Muslim armed struggle was diluted by Muslim leaders who sided with the Americans for reasons of political expediency and benefits. In effect, while American military rule already ended in the archipelago with the inauguration of civil government in 1901, the military continued to rule in the Muslim South until 1913 when the "Moro Province," which was organized in 1903 as the structure for such special rule, was abolished and civil government was instituted thereafter.

2. _The Revolutionary Continuum_ (1901–1935). During the civil phase of American rule (1901–1935) the revolutionary struggle throughout the islands continued in Luzon and the Visayas through messianic or nativistic movements such as the Dios-Dios in Tayabas, the Pulahan in Samar, Papa Isio in Bicol, the babaylanes in Negros, the Santa Iglesia in Central Luzon, the Guardia de Honor in the Ilocos, Entrencherado in Panay, and the Sakdal in the Tagalog region. In Southern Philippines, movements that assumed a similar nature and objectives were those of Jamluddin and Tungalan in Sulu, Aha in Basilan, Salip Masdal in Jolo (1904), Acbara and Sihaban in Pata (1923), Saruang (1920) and Datu Pandak (1924) in Lanao, and the Mahdi Movement in Surigao (1924).

There were also violent movements that were antigovernment and inter-Muslim such as those of Panglima Hassan in 1903, Pala in 1904, Jikiri in 1906, Aukasa in 1919, Maharajah Untong in 1920, Mahmud and Saccam in the 1930s, Tahil in 1927, all in Sulu; Ampatuan in 1913, Amai Binaning in 1912, Amai Milon and Dimakaling in 1926, the Kutah fights in the late '30s in Lanao; and Datu Santiago in 1923 and the Alangkat movement in 1927 in Cotabato. In a sense, these disturbances were indications of the persistent revolutionary agitation against American imperialism which had already co-opted the Christian and Muslim leaders in the colonial efforts to suppress the remaining recalcitrants, although, in the case of the Muslims, only a part of the political elite was co-opted.

But perhaps more detrimental to the Filipino struggle for independence was a movement parallel to the revolutionary process. This was more or less the movement of the upper crust of society which already accepted or, at least, did not oppose the establishment of American rule. The nonrevolutionary process actually started with those who collaborated with the colonial administration in the organization of the municipalities in the initial decade of American rule. The municipal elite was attracted by the American policy of political participation in colonial administration which was much more realistic than during the Spanish regime. Their role was complemented subsequently in the outbreak of the war by the Macabebes and Tinguianes who assisted the American troops. The "Batson Guerrillas," as the Macabebes were called, served as a forward party in military operations in Luzon.

The inauguration of the civil government in 1901 brought the elite into the entire American bureaucracy, with prominent Filipinos appointed to the Philippine Commission which served both as the executive and legislative arms of the government. By 1913, the civil service had about 70 percent Filipino employees who began to consider their positions in the colonial administration as a sort of status symbol. Then in 1907, the Filipino politicos organized their own Philippine Assembly which served as a lower house of legislature until 1916 when the Jones Law created formally a bicameral legislature composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In effect, the Philippine Commission ceased to perform legislative work. Filipinos were elected to the two chambers, except for two Muslim representatives who were appointed to the Senate by the governor general. Why the Muslims were not allowed to elect their representatives like the Christians could only be viewed from an entirely colonial scheme. In 1935, by virtue of the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, the elections for the constitutional convention and subsequently for the Commonwealth were held. Again, the political elite, now divided generally between Sergio Osmeña and Manuel L. Quezon, responded enthusiastically to the democratic process since autonomy was to be granted to the Commonwealth except in matters of currency, foreign affairs, and security.

But while the Filipino elite allowed themselves to be absorbed into the bureaucracy and fully cooperated with the American administration in implementing programs, they had not forgotten or overlooked the independent aspirations of the Filipino people. While they were not involved in the revolutionary movement for independence, they nevertheless continued to express in public fora and official circles the demand for independence. The Philippine Assembly since 1907 had not failed to express at the end of each session the Filipino desire for independence. The elite reinforced the role by creating an oppositionist posture in the legislature to neutralize American dominance in the executive. This was demonstrated in the way bills were blocked by Filipino legislators, compelling the governor general, as in the case of Leonard Wood, to veto the bills in order to override the opposition.

3. _The Parliamentary Alternative_ (1919–1935). More impressive for purposes of publicity were the "parliamentary missions" that were sent by the Philippine Legislature to the United States to work for the independence of the Philippines. Starting with the Quezon mission in 1919 up to the last OSROX Mission in 1931, the missions were really areas of political struggle between two dominant political figures of the time—Osmeña and Quezon. Thus the period was really a decade of political excitement involving various Filipino politicos who were more interested in projecting their national image rather than in the real question of independence. The masses, especially those in the urban centers, were rallied by politicians like Quezon and Osmeña to provide popular color to their political directions. Until Governor General Wood stopped budgetary provisions, the Filipino legislators used public funds for the "independence missions" to the United States where the members enjoyed the changing seasons of Washington D.C. and thereabouts.

From the standpoint of actual legislative results, the missions were failures because no meaningful action came from the US Congress to give the missions what they wanted until 1932 when circumstances in the United States were becoming favorable. At this time, the domestic pressures on senators and congressmen as a result of the Depression were making independence of the Philippines an attractive option. This was reinforced by the growing threat of Japan to peace in Asia and the Pacific to which the isolationists forces in America reacted with a favorable attitude to Philippine independence. The 1933 Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill was an embodiment of this sentiment. Under the bill independence would be granted after a transition of ten years during which a Commonwealth government would be established, allowing the Filipinos some degree of autonomy.

4. _Reaction to Independence_ (1920–1935). The Filipino responses to the prospects of independence, as envisioned by the US Congress, were varied. The Americans in the Philippines were not in favor of abandoning the colony after spending time, effort, and money for what they believed was a good pioneering venture. The Muslims, especially their leaders, registered their opposition to independence in petitions signed by various datus and sultans from Lanao, Cotabato, and Sulu although there were also those who favored independence. The latter were mostly coming from government participants in the 1930 Independence Congress. The Muslim opposition was premised on their unwillingness to be subject to Filipino Christian rule and their preference to remain under American rule. Their other option was a "Moro Nation" that would be independent from the Filipino nation which they believed they were not a part of historically.

But an interesting opposition to the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill came from Quezon who considered the bill short of what he wanted for the Filipinos. He questioned in particular the provisions on military reservations and economic relations. He vigorously campaigned against the ratification of the bill and promised to get a better one if the people would reject the bill. His supporters who were called the "Antis" fought the "Pros" as the Osmeña-Roxas followers were called. The result of the legislative action was victory for Quezon who subsequently took the political gamble by going to the United States to work for a new bill. He returned with the famous Tydings-McDuffie Law in 1934 and presented the same as a political achievement for the Filipinos. Comparing the bill to the previous one, there were no differences at all except the clarification of American military reservations as "refueling naval stations" and a promise of future clarification of economic issues. This effort of Quezon showed that the politics of independence was more important to him than the substance. It would be politically defeating for Quezon's leadership to allow his opponent Osmeña to get the credit for such an extremely important goal as independence.

In a sense, there was something common between the revolutionary and parliamentary movements in the Philippines, however different or divergent the class interests might be. This lies in the struggle for independence. Only the method actually differed. In fact, it was not unusual for the elite and the masses to find themselves involved in the movement such as during the early phase of the Filipino-American War and during the independence campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s. But by the mid-'30s, after the founding of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the radicalization of consciousness had created a strong political and social trend along class lines, putting the Filipino elite on the side of the imperialists. The "radical nationalists" contended that the elite was really the class tool of colonial interests since their political and economic future and interests would or could not really work for the welfare of the peasants and workers as shown by historical experience under Spanish rule. Even the ideal of independence sought by the elite was really self-serving since the withdrawal of colonial rule would logically and naturally create a vacuum into which they had been prepared to step in. By the very nature of their colonial orientation, education, experience, and status the Americans would favor giving them the mantle of political succession rather than allow the emerging radical nationalists a part in the bureaucracy.

The radical nationalists actually consisted of two types: the socialists and the communists. The first, best exemplified by the movement led by Pedro Abad Santos and by Luis Taruc, were concerned with the increasing need for state control of economic resources especially land. But the communists, while interested in reforming society like the socialists, were more concerned with a complete change of the social order in line with the utopian ideals of Marxist-Leninist ideology. Two of the most important changes desired was the elimination of private property and the "dictatorship of the proletariat." Clearly, the aims of socialism and communism were not contradictory. The differences, if any, involved only the extent and depth of social change. Consequently, in the revolutionary or violent movements, they found themselves fighting for a common cause such as illustrated quite aptly by the "Sakdalista Uprising" in 1933. In fact, during the period of the Japanese occupation (1942-1945), nationalists of all sorts, except those of the Sakdals that opted to support Japanese rule out of conviction, formed a united front against all forms of Japanese atrocities, harassments, and abuses.

5. _Test of Filipino Loyalty_ (1935–1946). The establishment of the Commonwealth gave the Filipinos the opportunity to enjoy autonomy prior to independence. The elite, who assumed the leadership during the period, demonstrated that the American colonial experiment was successful in the Philippines. The Quezon leadership preserved the liberal democratic process and the American party system. No significance was given to radical nationalism. The economy of the nation was anchored on the trade relations blueprinted by the 1934 law. No attempts were initiated to curb alien control except those of the Chinese. American economic interests enjoyed privileges and protection from Commonwealth policies and measures such as the Immigration Act of 1940 which affected alien immigration except American. Cultural nationalism was hindered by ambivalence. A national language based on Tagalog was neutralized by the encouragement given to English as a medium of communication. Military affairs were placed under American tutelage and direction as shown by the dominant role given to Douglas MacArthur, who enjoyed privileges equal to the president of the Commonwealth, to structure the military future of the Philippines. Even a floor in the famous Manila Hotel had to be restructured and furnished like Malacañang, as demanded by MacArthur. But the most impressive show of loyalty to American ideals was the Filipino commitment to fight with and for American ideals during the Pacific War (1941–1946), at the sacrifice of over a million Filipino lives and the destruction of Manila, second only to Warsaw. The Japanese offer of independence in 1942 was rejected by the Filipino leaders except those like Jose P. Laurel, Jorge B. Vargas, Claro M. Recto, etc. who were instructed and encouraged by Quezon to cooperate with the enemy in order to protect the people. The guerrilla movement against the Japanese was the highest demonstration of Filipino loyalty to the American cause.

In Central Luzon, where the communists had established a foothold since 1930, the anti-Japanese resistance was effective. Even the left-leaning Chinese guerrillas known as the "Wa Chi" joined the American-officered guerrilla war. Their exploits and losses could be added to those who had earned the honor of _bayani ng bayan_ whose memories and remains are immortalized in history and in Philippine war monuments. This spontaneous spirit of resistance was a reexpression of the old inertia of libertarian movements and impulses that marked the struggle of the early Filipinos. Somehow the long incubation of Filipinism in a colonial superficial shell allowed colonial values to dominate the Filipino psyche.

The remarkable display of Filipino support for the American cause, at great sacrifice of lives and resources, was only matched by the equally impressive acquiescence to American expectation in other aspects of the Commonwealth era. In fact, by the time "liberation day" came in October 1944, larger parts of the archipelago had already been cleared of Japanese, thus making the American efforts less costly. And yet, the contribution of the Filipino to the war has not been justly recognized.

In effect, the Filipino transformation during the period of American colonialism had affected the nationalist movement. Whatever nationalist substance was left to sustain the libertarian struggle against imperialism was somehow diluted by the cultural transformation of the Filipino psyche and yet he was denied his dignity and share in the struggle. When the war ended in 1945 and independence was recognized on July 4, 1946, the Filipinos faced an uncertain and difficult future. It was this uncertainty, confounded by dilemmas of developments, that made the Filipino and his aspirations vulnerable to external manipulation and exploitation.
CHAPTER VII

Neocolonialism and Nationalism

(1946–1972)

**Roots of Neocolonialism**

When the "liberation" forces returned in October 1944 as promised by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the Filipino guerrilla movements throughout the archipelago had already substantially neutralized the Japanese forces in the islands, leaving to the "liberators" the finishing touches of the war and the decisive blow to Japanese resistance in strategic urban centers. The ruin brought by three years of enemy occupation was not as physically and economically devastating as the effects of the liberation. Consequently, the postwar problems of a new and independent Philippines would be affected by the aftermath of war, and the responsibility of reconstruction lay not only in the vanquished but also in the victor.

It was in the context of a tattered economy, political uncertainties, and sociocultural dislocations that a new reality emerged out of a strategic colonial withdrawal and Filipino aspirations—a phenomenon called "neocolonialism" which presented a blueprint of recovery, reconstruction, and progress. This was initiated by the proclamation of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946, by Ambassador Paul V. McNutt representing the United States. The effect of this proclamation, which was a literal fulfillment of the Tydings-McDuffie Law, was to free the United States legally and formally from obligations of postwar reconstruction except those agreed upon between the two countries before the war.

What was left of American responsibilities to a former colony and ally was moral in nature. Thus whatever amount of aid and in whatever form and conditions were given by the United States fell under the category of "moral obligations" for which the recipient country owed gratitude and from which the donor country gets the image of benevolence. Reflectively, had independence been delayed for sometime after the war, as thought of by Sergio Osmeña, the United States would have been bound to rehabilitate the Philippines as a colony. But Philippine independence in 1946 provided an exit for the United States from such tremendous burden and yet gave her the chance to still extend the much needed help under a new basis of equality and reciprocity between two theoretically sovereign nations in which the compromises of diplomacy would ultimately determine the outcome. It was here where the pragmatic realities of American foreign policies would prevail.

In effect, the advantageous position of the United States in postwar Philippines led to the establishment of an American "neocolony" in which the islands were governed by a dichotomy of American and Filipino interests and in which the latter was subordinated to the former. The mechanisms that made this possible were the cultural, economic, and military agreements whose specific provisions, however expressed in benevolent terms, tended to hinder, if not negate, the exercise of sovereignty on the part of the Philippines. This was because the painful choice between national survival and neocolonialism was ultimately dictated by the expediency of Filipino political and economic interests generally associated with the elites in society as well as the isolation of the Filipino masses from national decision-making processes. Even in popular fora or elections where the masses were allowed by law and practice to participate, their collective will followed the inclination of the elite through the latter's near monopoly of political and economic power.

There were actually four avenues opened to neocolonialism in postwar Philippines through which previous colonial control over national and local affairs could be maintained or strengthened. The first three—political, economic, and military—were vulnerable to the clear-cut processes of negotiations and therefore could be easily legislated and reduced to specific and tangible terms and hence easily implementable. These had been the areas where a lot of friction, irritation, and controversy in Philippine-American relations were perceivable and where tedious negotiations finally yielded some improvements in what had been generally considered inequitable, onerous, and detrimental. But the fourth avenue, which was sociocultural in nature, has remained the most elusive, ambiguous, and amorphous. Therefore it is less responsive to even the most effective instruments of negotiations. And yet this avenue is very often the likely source of problems involving political, economic, and military matters. This is what Amb. Stephen Bosworth meant when he said that there are more to Philippine-American relations than the narrow, formal, and specific provisions of agreements.

Indeed, the sociocultural world of the Filipinos is as complex and inscrutable as the highly industrialized American society. Any attempt to explore this ambiguous area of relations is likely to meet the mazes and puzzles of the oriental mind from which the Filipino has not yet been emancipated despite colonial domination. Thus, in the case of postwar Philippines, the new political status given the Filipinos led to the conclusion of agreements that established the foundation of Philippine-American relations along the three avenues mentioned above. However, it left to nature the cultural direction which, as shown by subsequent events, became the "Achilles' heel" of the Philippines in its struggle against neocolonialism.

The first agreement involved the most serious and urgent problem that faced the Philippines after the war—reconstruction and recovery. Almost 100 percent of the industries were destroyed, and agricultural production was also in need of immediate attention. The financial resources of the Republic were not only meager but also mainly contingent on external aid and on whatever prewar accounts were saved from the Japanese occupation, including amounts kept in US depositories. Consequently, the United States represented the only source of economic help not only because she had the vast resources within ready reach but also because of the obligation to assist a former colony whose sufferings and losses could not be divorced from Filipino allegiance to the United States during the war.

After negotiations which were already conducted before the war, important measures were introduced in 1946 by the US Congress to respond to Philippine postwar needs. The Bell Trade Relations Act gave economic assistance through trade just as the Tydings Rehabilitation Act gave financial help. But what induced criticisms and charges of continued colonial exploitation was the nature and extent of economic aid given under the acts. For instance, while the extension of "free trade" for eight years after 1945 was intended to allow Philippine exports to survive in the American market, three factors in the Bell measure neutralized whatever hopeful prospects the Philippines would have and established the basis of a neocolonial control of the economy. The Philippine exporters could not profit initially from the free-trade extension since industrial and agricultural capacities were destroyed by the war. But American exporters could very well flood the Philippine market and neutralize local industries. The quota limitation reimposed on Philippine exports and none on American exports favored the latter rather than the former. The prohibition against any change in the parity of the dollar to the pesos ($1 to  2) would provide stability for profit remittances.

On the other hand, the Tydings Rehabilitation Act, while providing $620M—apparently enough for immediate reconstruction but subsequently regarded as inadequate for Filipino well-being—was burdened by a provision, attributed to Paul McNutt, that no amount over $500 per claim would be allowed unless the Philippines would grant "parity rights" to Americans. This condition, which Tydings likened to "a gun pointed at the Filipino head" was criticized by some American legislators. It was taken in disbelief and resignation by Filipino nationalists who later rationalized the demand in the plebiscite of March 11, 1947, as a choice between survival and integrity.

Rightly, the intention of the parity right clause was to encourage the entry of American capital into the Philippines, but subsequent developments showed that this good intention was not realized. The passage of the General Banking Act in 1948 allowed the establishment of branches of foreign banks in the Philippines. It also permitted the banks to accept deposits from domestic sources, thus competing with Filipino financial institutions for the meager domestic resources. The foreign sector as well as the Filipinos readily found the banks more attractive and reliable for their deposits. In due time, the foreign banks accumulated capital resources from domestic sources, and the flow of foreign capital into the country was naturally affected.

What happened to the domestic capital in foreign banks was more important to Philippine development than anything else. From records, less than 30 percent of the resources went to Filipino borrowers. While the banks operated legally and along normal business practices, the advantages given to foreign interests deprived local Filipino entrepreneurs and firms of the chances and rights to even use their own capital resources. In the words of then Senator Lorenzo Tañada, _ang mga Filipino ay niluluto sa kanilang sariling mantika_. It was undoubtedly the sort of American privileges such as the Philippines allowed that set in motion the neocolonial processes in the country and somehow hindered economic developments along Filipino and independent lines.

Another area of postwar relations that opened the Philippines to continued American dominance was military affairs and security. Three agreements were concluded to provide military aid to the Philippines. The first was the Military Bases Agreement which was signed on March 14, 1947, three days after the plebiscite on the parity rights. Under the agreement, the Philippines granted, among others, to the United States the use of twenty-three bases in the archipelago, from Aparri to Tawi-Tawi "free of rent" for a period of ninety-nine years "subject to extension thereafter." The generality of the concession and the comparably long term with no limitation on extensions virtually gave the United States proprietary and perpetual rights over the bases. In addition, the right of extraterritoriality, which was already abandoned by the Western powers in China after the war, was reimposed on the Philippines for reasons the Filipinos attributed quite correctly to American lack of trust and confidence in Filipino justice.

The second military agreement known as the Military Assistance Pact was signed on March 21, 1947, seven days after the Bases document. The agreement was intended to provide the Philippines with military aid presumably in return for the grant of bases. However, certain provisions of the pact indicated not only limitations on the Philippine freedom to develop its armed forces in accordance with Philippine objectives but also provided substantial room for American control. The military surplus turned over to the Philippines under the agreement did not include ownership. Its mere use, therefore, served as a psychological, if not a real, factor in influencing military affairs. Likewise, the prohibition against the acquisition by the Philippines of advanced military equipment or aircraft confined Philippine freedom to acquire only that which the United States was willing to sell. Without stressing necessarily such other stipulations as the Philippine obligation to provide material and physical conveniences, from drivers to quarters, to American members of the JUSMAG "in accordance with American standards" the agreement on security and defense already carried more than enough space for American neocolonial control.

The last area of military relations which virtually put Philippine sovereign rights in jeopardy was mutual defense. The Mutual Defense Treaty, which took care of this, was signed four years later on August 30, 1951. It was a response to the growing threat of Communist China after the ouster of Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist government in 1949. The mutuality of interests which was stressed by the treaty was somewhat marred by the fact that the American commitment to defend the Philippines was not automatic. The "constitutional processes" which defined the nature and limit of American involvement justified Filipino criticism that the benefit of security was less than expected. Demands for a more reliable commitment became persistent, but American assurances, as George Taylor quite forcefully expressed it, could not be judged by a mere treaty document because Philippine defense was a vital part of American defense and any attack on the bases would bring automatic military response with or without the treaty.

As between friends and even enemies, there is always room for "necessary compromise," an attitude of mind or resolution of issues where mutual sacrifice of interest and/or integrity becomes a vital precondition to the improvement of relations. In the case of postwar neocolonial developments which had given the United States more than enough leverage in her relations with the Philippines, two economic measures represented American efforts to reach out and bridge the gap in economic perceptions. The financial package of $250M, which the Daniel Bell Mission recommended in 1951, offered some hope for economic recovery. Then, the Laurel-Langley Agreement of 1955 resolved, at least, theoretically, the issue of parity rights as well as provided some preferential tariff adjustment to help Philippine exports. The percentage arrangement of tariff duties which was intended to give the Philippines competitive advantage in US markets after 1954 was complemented by a reciprocal grant of parity rights to Filipinos. But this reciprocity was at best symbolic or theoretical, considering the nature of State-Federal rights in the American Constitution. Therefore, the extension of American parity rights to "all forms of business enterprises" in the Laurel-Langley agreement removed the limitation to parity in the Bell Trade Act of 1946 which allowed the application of such rights to only the "exploitation of natural resources" and the "operation of public utilities." With such comprehensive rights to Americans, the trade benefits the Filipinos were expected to get under the agreement would look minimal and ultimately inconsequential.

However, it was in the military aspect that some concrete improvements were made, principally the reduction of the bases term from ninety-nine to twenty-five years in 1959 and to five years in 1984; the provision of automatic retaliation in 1959; the flying of the Philippine tricolor over the bases; and the appointment of a Filipino commander for the bases thereafter. That there were issues that had remained crucial to Philippine sovereignty and integrity could not be denied. That their ultimate resolution would put an end to problems of Philippine-American relations would be too optimistic and simplistic for as Ambassador Bosworth correctly perceived, there is more to Philippine-American historic relations than the material benefits or inequalities in the agreements, economic or otherwise. Clearly, Bosworth was referring to the abstract processes of sociocultural relations that have been steadily going on and developing in various dimensions of culture whose impact on Filipino orientation, values, purposes, and aspirations cannot be reduced to statistics and documents.

A _Special Report_ prepared for the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 1967 summarized the economic and military aid to the Philippines in millions of dollars from 1946 to 1966. It divided the periods into four: (1) Postwar Relief (1946–1948), (2) Marshall Plan (1949–1952), (3) Mutual Security Act (1953–1961), and (4) Foreign Assistance Act (1962–1966). Total economic and military aid amounted to $1,925M broken up as follows: (a) economic aid—$1,435.5M and (b) military aid—$489M.

The economic aid consisted of assistance through four sources (1) USAID and predecessor agencies ($276.7M), (2) Food for Peace ($112.1M), (3) Export-Import Bank Long-Term Loans ($178.7M), and (4) Other US Economic Programs ($868M). The last amount according to the explanatory note in the report included $634.6M in rehabilitation grants, $460M in Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) loans, $37.5M in debt funding, $28.3M in civilian supplies, $9.2M surplus property credits, $7.7M in UN Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (UNRRA), $73M in Philippine war damage claims, and $17.7M for Peace Corps. The Rehabilitation Grants ($634.6M) were payments for private claims amounting to $400M, which included American claims in the Philippines and others. In the general breakup of economic aid, $357.4M were loans and therefore repayable with interest to the United States and $1,077.9M were grants which, as pointed out earlier, included expenses of American agencies in the Philippines.

**Response to Neocolonialism**

The Filipino reaction to neocolonialism, considering the dominant role it developed in the postwar period, was marked by two obvious thrusts of Philippine nationalism, each claiming to represent national interests. The first involved those who belong to the ruling sector, whether represented by the political leaders or the social and economic elites. Expectedly, they considered relations with neocolonial interests or forces as one of accommodation beneficial to them and consequently to society. Their acquiescence to agreements with the United States was only matched by their assimilation of the new elements from the West in matters of cultural development.

But this attitude would be put to a dilemma by the growing protest of the Filipino masses and the reaction of the ruling elites expressed in public and theoretical denunciations as so revealed in carefully worded speeches, messages, and even development plans which tried to show the directions along Filipinistic and nationalist lines. What, however, clearly minimized the impact of "conservative," "elitist," or "capitalist" nationalism was the minimal or nominal implementation of what otherwise would have been truly a nationalist blueprint for reforms and changes. Why this glaring failure to implement nationalist plans could be related directly to the obvious contradiction the realistic implementation of which would have against the fundamental interests of the elites, politically or otherwise.

Consequently, the presidency from Manuel Roxas to Diosdado Macapagal, covering about twenty years, was marked by a dichotomy of national development and an ambivalent national policy often dictated by the United States. The indirect and subtle way by which American intentions were conveyed provided the national leadership with a semblance of sovereignty or independence in the determination of national directions. In the pursuit of liberal democracy (1946–1948), Roxas implemented an anticommunist plan against duly elected members of Congress in 1947 to ensure the approval of the parity rights. Elpidio Quirino (1948–1952), who succeeded Roxas after the latter's death at Clark Air Base in 1948 and got elected in 1949 against Jose P. Laurel, pursued economic goals and programs and obtained a $250M aid package. Ramon Magsaysay (1953–1957), "the Guy," as he was popularly called, ousted the reelectionist Quirino in 1953 and pursued a populist approach by looking at the " _tao_ "—the little man in society—which earned him great popular support. Being himself a man of the masses, he was aided or guided by his American friends in mass-oriented programs like artesian wells and opening Malacañang Palace to the people. But in so doing, he was also effectively used to destroy the radical movement led by the Communist Party. In fact, the capture of Politburo members in 1950 when he was secretary of National Defense already showed what he was designed to be as president from the perspective of the American government which had built him up. Later events showed the continuing role of neocolonialism in shaping the political leadership in the Philippines.

After the Magsaysay era, which was marked by a dramatic blow to the communist movement, the national leadership took serious note of the need to pursue a meaningful nationalist reform of society. Carlos Garcia (1957–1961), who assumed the remaining term of Magsaysay after the latter's death in a plane crash over Cebu and was successfully elected in 1956, pursued the "Filipino First Policy" in 1957. Earlier, he implemented the Retail Trade Nationalization Law. Undoubtedly, Garcia's nationalist policy was an expression of what nationalists like Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel had been emphasizing and writing about since 1953. But again despite the real need to carry out a truly nationalist program, Garcia's administration was still hindered by a lingering neocolonial influence so that economic nationalism affected mainly Chinese control in the economy and somehow allowed American interests to remain undisturbed. Some concessions were obtained from the United States in the 1955 Laurel-Langley Agreement which granted Filipinos preferential tariff treatment and reciprocal parity rights and in the Serrano-Bohlen Agreement in 1959 which granted military concessions. Diosdado Macapagal (1961–1965), who was referred to as the "poor boy from Lubao," promised land reform to emancipate the farmers from bondage. The "incorruptible," as he would like to call himself, assumed the presidency in 1961 amidst popular expectation for history to finally give the poor what they deserved from society and the State. But like his predecessors, Macapagal could only feign a Filipinistic posture. Neocolonialism was very much around and the ills of the economy, plagued by increasing patronage of foreign products, could only be nominally neutralized by a control program. The precarious balance of economic development continued to strengthen Philippine dependency on American support and aid. Thus, whatever good was intended by an economic plan that the Macapagal administration had on paper could not take off. There was an ambivalent popular perception of nationalist development. The Macapagal charisma was on the way out and a new wind of political change was on the offing.

A new profile of leadership was shown by Ferdinand Marcos in the 1965 election with a base of support from the Ilocano "Solid North" where he came. He clearly won the election with a big majority on the same issue of graft and corruption, peace and order, and economic progress which had been mouthed by politicians in every election, local or national. The landslide victory of the "man from Batac" or "The Apo" brought popular enthusiasm to a new height since the "Guy" captured the ordinary man on the street with his handshakes and engineer's outfit in 1953. Marcos offered the nation in a dilemma a hope to be "great again." It was an idea that flashed back to some undetermined and elusive "golden past" from whence a new nationalism could emerge to neutralize a growing radicalism. Marcos's economic plans reflected a conscious effort to gradually free the economy from foreign control by developing the potential local industries for exports to new markets, including the newly opened ties with socialist countries. Even the self-reliance plan for the Philippine armed forces was also given serious attention to minimize military dependence on the United States. The cultural programs of the First Lady, Imelda Marcos, to retrieve and revive traditional cultures, were a complement to the effort to free the country from strong foreign influences. But problems of implementation soon emerged to create dilemmas, ambiguities, and uncertainties in national perceptions—situations that were quickly utilized by anti-Marcos and antigovernment forces to gain popular ground. Thus Marcos and his administration were plagued with the same neocolonial ills that haunted the national leadership since 1946. He earned for his government the label "US-Marcos fascist dictatorship" by the time his first term ended in 1968.

The second type of nationalist response, which paralleled the elitist reaction, was the radical agitation and movement involving more or less a large portion of the "masses," a term generally used for the working men and the peasantry. In radical terminology, they were referred to as "the proletarian" and "peasant" classes. At once, the motivation for their movements in the postwar period sprang from the inertia of social movements in colonial times during which the revolutionary struggle, after the co-optation of the elites by colonialism, also created a new type of leadership more or less not fashioned in the formal processes of academic and social institutions. It was in the milieu of this mass movement, often called nativistic, millenarian, or revivalistic, where the ideologically sophisticated socialist and Marxist elements found complementary roles. By the time the Communist Party was formed in 1930 it had become a part of this movement of people from the lower levels seeking the radical change of conditions or the social order. The Huk movement, whose impressive role in the anti-Japanese struggle is a tribute to its leadership, became in the postwar period a rallying point of radicalism as the only answer to neocolonialism.

The neutralization of the Huk leadership by the Magsaysay-preemptive capture of politburo members shifted attention to a new radical source of leadership from the urban workers and the studentry. The decades after the Magsaysay era were marked by street demonstrations and protest rallies of various mass sectors against landlord-capitalist interests as well as against what they called "American imperialism." By the time the Marcos decade began in 1965, the streets had become a common point of convergence and demonstration, putting pressures on the government and stresses on the economy and society. The term "parliament of the streets" had been confined to the academic corridors. Jose Ma. Sison, Edgar Jopson, and Voltaire Garcia III emerged in the media as names representing the emerging groups collectively fighting what they called the new "US-Marcos dictatorship." Subsequently, numerous names had been added to the leadership of the revitalized radical movement which had spread to the urban and rural centers outside Metro Manila by the time Marcos achieved the distinction of being the first to be reelected in 1968.

There was no doubt that events after 1968 were moving toward an inevitable clash between State processes and radical initiatives which had now been joined by a coalition of protest and opposition groups whose only aim was the overthrow of the Marcos regime. Mass demonstrations, strikes, bombings, and NPA attacks became regular means of protest. For sometime, ideological differences were submerged in an anti-Marcos offensive encouraged directly or secretly by neocolonial interests. Meanwhile, the "Muslim problem" in the South had increased in seriousness. Muslim attacks and harassments increased their momentum to gain national attention and concessions, culminating in the 1968 formation of the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) by Gov. Udtog Matalam of Cotabato. Its short-lived existence led to the separatist struggle of Nur Misuari who succeeded in radicalizing the Muslim youth and getting the support of the traditional leaders not only in Sulu but also in Basilan, Zamboanga, Lanao, and Cotabato. By 1972, Marcos had seen events unfavorable to his administration moving toward inevitable conflict. The nation was caught in a serious crisis. The Mindanao bloodshed, caused by clashes between government forces and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)-New People's Army (NPA) rebels, plus the gory massacres in the Barracuda-Ilaga conflict, provided the immediate context for one of Marcos's unorthodox and surprising approaches—the declaration of martial law on September 21, 1972, through Presidential Decree (PD) 1081. The move was based on article 7, section 10 (2), of the Constitution. This was another "first" for Marcos's political achievement in keeping power for an indefinite period. It ushered in a unique period in Philippine postwar history.

Complementary to the political, economic, and social reactions of postwar Philippines to the neocolonial phenomenon was the equally important cultural expression of protest, resistance, or struggle through the medium of the arts, music, and literature. In literature, criticisms and attacks on American dominance were forcefully presented in Claro M. Recto's speeches and essays excerpted in _The Recto Reader_ , Lorenzo M. Tañada's _Summons to Greatness_ , Hernando Abaya's _The Untold Philippine Story_ , Amado Hernandez's poetry, Jose Ma. Sison's _Philippine Society and Revolution_ , and other numerous publications authored by both professionals and students, and well-known and less-known writers from different sectors.
CHAPTER VIII

Democracy on Trial

(1972–1986)

**Constitutional Authoritarianisms**

The period after the establishment of martial law was unique politically for the Philippines because President Marcos established a regime of authoritarianism not dreamed of by his predecessors. Although by standards of political measurement it was not democratic, yet it was rationalized under the concept of "constitutional authoritarianism." It was an act that somehow stopped the democratic clock with no indication when it would resume ticking. As explained in Marcos's _he Democratic Revolution in the Philippines_ (1974), the new regime was inevitably brought about by a serious crisis threatening not only democratic processes but also the very life or survival of the nation itself. The crisis was affecting the economy, social stability, political effectiveness of government, and even morality. The harbingers of the national threat were the communist insurgents who had increased in number, the rightist oppositionists who had been encouraged by vested interests, and the Muslim secessionists who had looked to a "nation" in the past for their liberation movement.

The instant effect of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus was the immediate arrest of subversives, oppositionist leaders, and others suspected of involvement in rebellion or subversion. The electrifying effect of the mass arrests was to put over the country a canopy of gloom and crisis, and the exercise of freedom was drastically limited. Freedom itself went underground. But to those who supported Marcos, the new era was a welcome respite from pressures and anxieties that pre-martial law criticisms, threats, and perils brought upon the regime. In particular, the military establishment had found the propitious time to show the rationale for their existence.

What significantly followed the initial shock of mass arrests were the measured and systematic dismantling of the "Old Oligarchy" and their foundations starting from the preemption of opposition papers like the _Manila Times_ and the _Manila Chronicle_ by the State to the setting up of structures of "constitutional authoritarianism." Congress was abolished and legislation was provided by presidential decrees. But Marcos insisted that martial law (PD 1081) was only intended to meet the combined threat of leftist-rightist revolution and Muslim secessionism. Thus the kind of rule he would pursue was a "smiling martial law."

To show that he was actually intending to observe the principles of democracy, a series of decrees were issued in 1973 establishing the processes for democratic expression starting from the lowest unit of society. PD 86 created the "citizens assemblies" which broadened the democratic base defined by Republic Act 3590 known as the Revised Barrio Charter. On January 5, 1973, the 1971 Constitution was presented for ratification to the citizens assemblies and was ratified by 14,976,561 votes against 743,869 opposed to it. On January 17, 1973, Presidential Proclamation 1102 announced the ratification of the Constitution. This established a constitutional basis for martial law rule. PD 228 of June 26, 1973, set the day for the barangay referendum on July 27, 1973, to settle the issues involving the assemblies and enjoined the people to discuss freely the issues in the referendum. This was followed two days later by PD 229 stipulating the manner of voting for the referendum.

With the constitutional foundations established, martial law began the building of what President Marcos called a "New Society." Apparently, the aim was to initiate a kind of social transformation that would not only gradually improve the social conditions, economic well-being, and political consciousness of the people through national self-discipline but also free the country from the neocolonial control that hindered its full and independent development. Political initiatives opened more diplomatic relations and new markets and got concessions on the American military bases and other agreements, especially the reduction of the bases' term from twenty-five years in 1959 to five years in 1984. In 1976 the bases acreage of about 250,000 hectares in thirteen provinces was reduced to seven areas covering about 71,000 hectares. Economic prospects were improved with the opening of new markets for exports outside the United States and the development of domestic export potentials other than the traditional exports to the United States. Self-sufficiency in domestic needs, particularly in food, power, and services, was encouraged through the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK) Program, agro-industrial projects, arms and ammunition factories, manpower training, and infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile the opposition forces continued to consolidate their causes by coalition and compromises, ultimately resulting in a united front directed against President Marcos, not necessarily against the system that he represented. Only the radical left associated with the Marxist-Leninist ideology was totally committed to change what it labeled as the capitalist order. But even the left was willing to subsume their fundamental goal in a common, general anti-Marcos movement. The assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. on August 21, 1983, was the only ingredient needed to finally put the opposition forces in a powerful juggernaut and produce what became popularly known as "people power." Immediately, the tarmac incident led to the "From Tarmac to Tarlac" hysteria, and the psychological-emotional dimension of the oppositionist struggle had been put in place.

The factional effects of the destabilizing processes generated by the opposition became the central focus of analysis by the Marcos people, and the initiation of the "Filipino Ideology" was the theoretical answer of the regime to the problem of national unity. PD 879 organized a commission directly under the First Lady to promote the Filipino ideology. But to an Executive Working Group (EWG) under Presidential Spokesman Adrian Cristobal and his staff was vested the actual work to conceptualize the ideology and operationalize its implementation. A battery of minds from various disciplines organized the ideas into a unified theoretical model of three components: (1) political emancipation, (2) economic liberation, and (3) social concord. Political efforts were exerted to bring about the full effect of a democratic revolution in which the government was the central mover. Economic endeavors were initiated to realize the equitable distribution of wealth. A series of lectures by well-known intellectuals for the decision makers of the bureaucracy were held at the Development Academy of the Philippines in late 1983 and subsequent series was conducted in various national offices and rural areas by academicians, professionals, military trainors, labor educators, and youth leaders.

But just as the Filipino ideology was beginning to take momentum, opposition movements forced President Marcos to call a snap election in early 1986. The political contests, after tedious haggling in the opposition camp, were finally reduced to Ferdinand Marcos vs. Corazon Aquino. When the results of the February 7 elections were counted, the incumbent party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), had won by 1,500,000 votes. Expectedly, the opposition refused to accept the verdict even after Marcos and his running mate, Arturo Tolentino, had been constitutionally proclaimed by the Batasang Pambansa. The momentum of post-election protests, with American support, ended in the "Yellow Revolution" of February 22-25, 1986, at EDSA which compelled Marcos and his family to leave the country with American assistance. The Marcoses were finally settled in Hawaii instead of the Ilocos as he had wished.

**"The Yellow Revolution"**

The military-civilian-revolt led by the Enrile-Ramos military component and the Aquino-Sin civilian faction installed a "revolutionary government" which took immediate action to dismantle the previous regime. The new Supreme Court of Aquino-appointed justices replaced the Marcos appointees. The Batasang Pambansa was abolished and presidential decrees took care of legislation. A "Freedom Constitution" was promulgated by Aquino to provide her government with a temporary legal foundation. What followed after this was the formulation of presidential commissions on good government, human rights, government reorganization, etc. To dismantle the structures and gains of the old regime became Aquino's obsession. Dramatic and controversial was the effort of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to recover what it called the "hidden" and "ill-gotten" wealth of the Marcoses and their cronies in the Philippines and abroad, especially in Switzerland and the United States.

Slowly, the Marcos bureaucracy was rid of employees suspected to be loyalists, including civil service eligibles. Local officials from governors to barangay captains were replaced by OICs (officers-in-charge). Sensitive bureaus like the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, National Housing Authority, and the Manila International Airport were manned by "Coryistas." Suspected "crony" companies were reorganized to accommodate the Aquino men in executive positions.

To achieve further stability legal steps were taken. A new Constitutional Convention composed of appointees of Aquino was organized with three representatives from the cultural communities: Ahmad Alonto of Lanao, Yusup Abubakar of Sulu, and Lugum Uka of Cotabato. On February 2, 1987, the New Constitution of 119 pages was submitted for referendum in which about 75 percent of the electorate ratified it. Opposition groups with powerful arguments charged Aquino of manipulating the results. Then, on May 11, the congressional elections brought the Union for Peace and Progress (UPP)-KBL, the Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD), and the Lakas ng Bayan (Laban) parties in a nationwide contest. Aquino's candidates won majority of the seats with only two oppositionists from GAD—Juan Ponce-Enrile and Joseph Estrada—winning seats in the Senate. Postelection frauds were hurled and documented to raise serious questions that the twenty-two Laban senators were really elected. They were referred to as the "Computerized Senators" and Aquino the "Ratified President."

After eighteen months in power, the Aquino government began to show serious cracks. Slowly, disenchantment started to be aired by even the Coryistas. The ills of the Marcos era were still around and had become even worse. Corruption in government had become common practice. Due process became mere slogans. Economic conditions had worsened. Attempted coups erupted and the military personnel involved were detained. Images of the Aquino government were discernible in labels like "Coryakot," "Corycongs" and "coup d'kat." The coalition government had to go. By its very nature, the coalition started to break up. Enrile was removed as secretary of Defense and Gregorio Honasan, his close aide, led an almost successful coup d'état on August 28, 1987, the effect of which was adverse on the economy and the counterinsurgency program. Then on September 16, Salvador Laurel submitted his irrevocable resignation in the wake of the mass Cabinet resignation following the August 28 "Gringo Honasan" coup. Adding to the confusion were the continuing threats from the "Gregorian soldiers" with ready supporters from the Guardians, Guardian Brotherhood, and UP Vanguards. The increasing NPA attacks on government troops acquired daily coverage, creating the impression that the country was dying. The Norbert Garrett CIA Secret Report on the Aquino government pointed weaknesses in the government and the possible return of Marcos by Washington to arrest the deteriorating situation and prevent a communist takeover in two to five years.

To boost the sagging profile of the Aquino leadership, several measures were taken after the aborted coup. Anti-Honasan campaigns began in the media with both civilian and military leaders taking potshots at Honasan's character and ambition. Clear was the unified thrust to portray Honasan's cause as "power grab." But popular defense of the Honasan cause came from various sectors, especially the rank-and-file military personnel. Washington came out with a reiteration of support for the Aquino government, and the US Congress passed a joint resolution deploring the military coup and threatening to cut all aid to any rebel government. The Philippine Congress feverishly worked on several bills seeking to grant financial increases to the soldiers' below-subsistence pay and budgetary increases for all military needs. The Catholic hierarchy came in with a timid support for Aquino's leadership. Finally, a new cabinet was formed with the first batch announced by Aquino at 6 p.m., Wednesday, of the 16th: Manuel Yan for Foreign Affairs, Vicente Jayme for Finance, Florencio Estuar for Public Works, and Salvador Mison for Customs.

But despite the measures to restore political normalcy, the irrevocable resignation of Salvador Laurel as secretary of Foreign Affairs was followed by Laurel's press conference announcing his breakaway from the government. A new political crisis was shaping, posing a serious threat to the fragile Aquino coalition. Only the Ramos-Aquino faction had remained with the Catholic leadership under Cardinal Sin acting like a mediator or a spectator. Thus the question raised was no longer how the coalition would last but how long will the Aquino government last. Will it finish the year 1987? Will Marcos finally return to pick up the pieces? Will the communist takeover with Russian aid materialize? Or will the whole country witness the emergence of semi-independent or independent political factions ending the life of the Philippine Republic?

From cultural communities, the prospects of peace efforts were clouded by the problem of implementing government commitments to development and autonomy. By the end of November 1987, Father Conrado Balweg's optimism for a Cordillera autonomous structure had turned to a mild lamentation. The effort to form the Regional Consultative Commission had been met with sustained MNLF indifference and skeptical treatment from Sen. Aquilino Pimentel. Adding confusion to the Muslim struggle was the untimely introduction of the Shahani bill in the Senate calling for the dropping of the Sabah Claim. Perceived as an effort to appease Malaysia whose presence in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in December was desired, the bill met strong reactions from Senators Santanina Rasul, Mamintal Tamano, and Juan Ponce Enrile. Rasul warned against serious repercussions in the Muslim South and served notice that abandoning of the Sabah claim reverts sovereignty to the Sulu Sultanate.

But the tensions over the Sabah issue and talks of coups were neutralized by public interest in the forthcoming local elections and government preparations for the ASEAN Summit scheduled from December 14 to 16. Apparently, the answer of the Aquino administration to all the numerous criticisms and charges was that the manifestations of instability and disequilibrium in the country were natural parts of the transition to true democracy.

**The National Community**

As events showed, the change from Marcos to Aquino did not bring the basis of unity long desired by the various sectors that constitute the "National Community." The three historic communities that had formed the outlines of a nation in the making have witnessed new problems of unity. The Christian sector was seriously divided by political enmity between followers of the "old" and the "new" regimes often labelled as "Loyalists" and "Coryistas," respectively. Even some Protestant groups began entertaining thoughts that the Catholic Church was subtly regaining its base and strengthening its hold on the national community through political avenues readily opened to it.

On the other hand, the cultural communities represented by the Muslims and the other non-Christian groups expressed in word and deed their doubts that they are really Filipinos. They recounted in emotional forms their neglect and sufferings in past administrations or regimes, colonial and Filipino, and began to doubt that the Aquino government offered any real basis of hope. The creation of three distinct offices for the Muslims, the Northern Communities, and the Southern Communities appeared merely bureaucratic, with power and resources still in the hands of the Christian majority. Despite factional interests expressed by the MNLF, MNLF-Reformists, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Muslims generally viewed with real skepticism Aquino's avowed intention to redress their grievances. The series of peace negotiations undertaken by the Pimentel, Pelaez, and Bengzon panels appeared to be only political strategies to keep the Muslims divided and to allow time to render the issues academic. Likewise, the Lumads of Mindanao and the Cordillera people expressed their own versions of protests and anxieties in forms less violent than the Muslims. They lamented their neglect and expressed longings to recover their historic rights to ancestral lands and destiny.

With the national community remaining divided and moving toward serious demands for independence, the future of democracy in the republic seemed in peril. Or, is the prospect an expression of the real essence of democracy itself? Is the long travail of democracy in the islands coming to an end? Is the verdict a nation of multiple state systems or a nation hopelessly divided? But judging from the new slogan, "one bread, one body, one nation," which has been promoted by the Christian sector, is the national will being pushed toward the eventual establishment of a truly Christian nation in Asia regardless of the implications to the cultural communities? The answer is clear: the unity of the national community is ideologically found in a secular basis of the state which is summed up more accurately in the slogan "one nation, one spirit."

The year 1987 ended for the Aquino government with a measure of optimism. On December 9, Col. "Gringo" Honasan and four military aides were captured in Valle Verde, Pasig, by Gen. Ramon Montano's men. The news elated Malacañang and military authorities who had been kept on edge since the August 28 coup. At least, the threat from another coup was lessened, although the rest of Honasan's men had remained defiant. For Malacañang Palace, the capture of Honasan removed a serious thorn to the summit meeting of ASEAN leaders whose security required the deployment of about ten thousand soldiers and policemen in strategic areas of Metro Manila especially at the Cultural Center complex and the Philippine International Convention Center, the site of the summit. The arrival of the heads of state of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei for the two-day meeting from December 14 to 15 provided the government with the kind of international coverage needed to neutralize the impression of political instability hovering over the country. With the Christmas season around, the post-summit days were marked by lanterns, carols, holiday shopping, and family reunions. Preelection killings and bombings had given way to Christmas cheer.

But the prospects for the incoming year were still hinged to certain basic issues of the year just ended. Political stability would be dependent on the results of the January 18 local elections as well as on the activities of the opposition. The Marcos loyalists led by leaders like Mambabatas Pambansa (MP) Rafael Recto and Speaker Nicanor Yñiguez had not given up hope that the Marcos days would be back. Adding to this expectation were the continuing efforts of military elements under Brigadier General Zumel and Colonel Cabuatan to maintain loyalist resistance to the Aquino military leadership. The problem over the Sabah claim had revived serious issues between Muslim aspirations and national interests. Foreign investments, while pledged, had not come as desired. Finally, the questions over ideological direction had not been satisfactorily clarified, creating impression of ambiguity in national purposes and goals.
CHAPTER IX

Democracy at Work

(1992–1997)

Before the May 11, 1992 presidential election, the events in the Philippines had assumed patterns of instability created by a series of coups d'état in 1987, 1988, and 1989. The latter, which took place on November 29 to December 9, was particularly serious because it brought the prospects of oppositionists, including Marcos loyalists, regaining what was lost to the EDSA uprising. The leaders involved in the coup were Col. Gregorio Honasan in Metro Manila, Brig. Gen. Jose Comendador in Cebu, and Col. Alexander Noble in Agusan. But the Aquino administration survived this last significant politico-military threat through the unequivocal support of Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos for President Aquino. The strategic flight of an American fighter jet toward two coup tora tora planes reiterated American support for the Aquino administration. With the military threat over, the opposition to the Aquino administration took a more realistic turn by gnawing at several basic premises of governance and administration. Through both public demonstrations, protests, and media attacks, the opposition underlined (1) the vindictive nature of Aquino's " _bagong demokrasya_ ," citing the almost singular attention being given to the destruction of the Marcos family and interests through filing of both petty and serious charges as well as through rapid sequestration of known and imagined hidden wealth; (2) the emergence of a new breed of grafters and exploiters in the government involving those who assumed powers and privileges after the collapse of the Marcos government; (3) the building of a socioeconomic and sociocultural system through legal and democratic means to institutionalize and deodorize whatsoever was inherited from the old regime.

By the time the candidates for the presidential election in May 1992 were ready for the battle of ideas, platforms, and personalities, the nation was once again looking to some basis for finally resolving the nagging problem of disunity, economic insufficiencies and instability, and social and cultural dilemmas. For the first time in Philippine political history, several presidential tandems fought strongly for the popular mandate from Luzon to Mindanao, using in many instances the traditional ways of election campaign where money and guns had their part. When the final count was made, Fidel Valdez Ramos of the Partido Lakas ng Tao (Lakas)-National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD) emerged as the first president elected by a plurality of votes with a political machine not as formidable and established as the others. Joseph Estrada of the Nationalist People's Coalition won as vice president. While the endorsement of President Aquino was a factor according to some political analysts, especially those very much attached to the Aquino administration, some attributed the victory of the Ramos presidency to his own personal track record, linkages, and personality that brought the image of a man with very broad and long experience in practically all aspects of government and public service. But whatever be the actual and factual basis of the Ramos political triumph, the Filipino people was now looking forward to what the new leadership could offer to solve the many persistent problems that marked the end of the Aquino administration. When the oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Andres Narvasa to President-elect Fidel Valdez Ramos on June 30, 1992, he also took upon his shoulder the burden of a plurality president and the fundamental problems that still beset the economy, bureaucracy, society, and its culture.

**The New Rhetorics**

Necessarily, as in all administrations, a new rhetorical thrust was needed to bring a nation politically divided to focus attention on certain principles of leadership, ideals of governance, and visions of development that would enable words to be translated into performance and realities. President Ramos adopted the "thumbs up" sign to stress the positive note of the will and capacity to carry out promises, commitments, and visions of development in contrast to the previous administration whose distinctive symbol of purpose and interest was the negative "laban" sign (L).

The difference in rhetorical symbolism would soon be strengthened by a politico-ideological advocacy of using the essence of the democratic system expressed in the slogan "people empowerment." Immediately it was not difficult for people to see the realistic devolution of power to the people as the basis for realizing the will and capacity to fulfill development plans and goals. What remained to be done by the new administration was to translate the rhetorics into definite, concrete, and specific development plans, programs, and projects as well as the implementing mechanisms, measures, and reforms needed. This was done by President Ramos in his 1992 State of the Nation Address before Congress in which he said: "We must, in sum, depart from the 'trickle down' policies of the past, which had only left our poor communities behind—and move into a policy of 'positive discrimination' to lift them up and equip them with the humanities of life." Determined to prove that he had a definite approach to reform Filipino society, revive the Philippine economy, and revitalize the bureaucracy, President Ramos initiated specific plans. These were summed up for quick popular recall in _Philippines 2000_. Under this concept of development the twenty-first century became the motivating point of reference. The envisioned future for Filipinos became the moving force for endeavors of government described in the National Mid-Term Development Plan for six years from 1993 to 1998.

The political measures taken to pursue development were aimed at ensuring peace and security by resolving persistent political problems. These were (1) the peace talks with the military faction that was behind the series of coups led by Col. Gregorio Honasan and his Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) soldiers and the mutual agreement to allow the rebels to be amnestied and return to their units, (2) the peace initiatives and negotiations with Chairman Nur Misuari of the MNLF which led to the peace agreement of September 2, 1996, and the return of the Front to the fold of the law, (3) the peace process seeking to bring the NDF-NPA to a peace agreement that would eventually end decades of armed conflict with the government, and (4) the pursuit of "people empowerment" through the implementation of the Autonomy Law for Muslim Mindanao of 1989 and the Local Government Code of 1991.

The economic growth plan, which was contingent on political stability, was marked by clearly conceived areas of concern such as (1) infrastructure building not only to "create jobs in the countryside" but also to "give proof of our resolve to provide growth a solid foundation for sustainable development," (2) public finance to fund infrastructures through "unrelenting collection" of taxes due to the government, (3) debt management to "contain obligatory burden of debt servicing," (4) monetary program to maintain economic stability through continued fiscal and monetary discipline by keeping the budget within manageable and acceptable levels and keeping inflation to a single digit "throughout the year and beyond," (5) energy measures to moderate the oil crisis through a new Department of Energy, (6) investment improvements to make foreign companies secure in the possession of their plant sites in industrial estates through the Foreign Investments Act, (7) environment protection through an Environment Protection Code and a New Forestry Code, (8) war on poverty to bring the poor majority into the mainstream of development through an executive order creating a President's Commission to Fight Poverty, (9) government reorganization to devolve and decentralize more of national administration through a Comprehensive Government Reorganization Act, (10) elimination of graft and corruption through the reorganization and professionalization of the civil service, and (11) rationalization of foreign relations to secure continued access to world markets and technology.

**Breakthrough, Recovery, and Progress**

By mid-1995, three years of patience and determination finally gave the Ramos administration its reason for elation as visible signs of economic recovery, political stability, and renewed faith in the Filipino began to be positively portrayed in both domestic and foreign media. The power crisis was solved through new power plants and a new Department of Energy. National unification efforts led to the end of the MNLF-led separatist movement, amnesty of military rebels, and the dialogue with communist-led insurgency through the repeal of the Anti-subversion Law (RA 1700). Political upheavals in Congress were removed by the "rainbow coalition." Poverty alleviation was beginning to be realized through the Social Reform Agenda, low-cost public housing, and urban renewal of depressed areas like Smokey Mountain in Tondo. Infrastructural breakthrough came in several flyovers put up to decongest traffic as well as building of numerous roads and bridges including circumferential roads. Foreign investments in billions of dollars came in with the passage of investment and banking laws, tax incentives, Subic Free Zone, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as through the presidential visits to various parts of the world to attract investors. Problems of the ecology were addressed by First Lady Amelita Ramos's Pasig River renewal project and government closure of polluting industries. The Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) and the Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption dealt with problems of criminality and security.

The serious efforts of the government to achieve goals were necessarily reflected in the steady increase in national budget from  =285,676,139,000 in 1992 to P=330,358,757,000 in 1993, P=327,768,066,000 in 1994, P=372,081,474,000 in 1995, and P=445,734,562,000 in 1996. By the start of 1996 the Ramos administration had proven its critics and detractors wrong as the Philippines continued to witness the gradual increase in per capita income, gross national product, and dollar reserves, and decrease in poverty level, inflation, and unemployment. The effect of improved performance despite adverse conditions was obvious in the transformation of the Ramos presidency from a plurality-elect handicapped administration to an increasingly acceptable style of leadership exceeding expectation as shown in favorable poll survey ratings. Part of this metamorphosis was attributable to the realistic pursuit of the essence of democratic participation through people empowerment. Soon sincerity of efforts and honesty of purpose began to be perceived in the ambitious programs, projects, and projections of the government. By the beginning of 1996, there was no doubt in the public mind and even in the skeptical media that President Ramos would be a formidable factor in any political process. This image was further enhanced by the series of diplomatic breakthroughs such as the signing of multibillion-dollar economic and trade agreements in several presidential trips abroad, the dramatic conclusions of a series of peace talks with the MNLF leading to the signing of the peace agreement in Malacañang Palace between Nur Misuari and President Ramos, and the subsequent creation of the Special Zone of Peace and Development in Southern Philippines (SZOPAD), Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD), and the hosting of the first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit of eighteen heads of states in Subic. In the areas of culture, the Ramos administration rationalized cultural directions and integration through the adoption of the seven-point guideline of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

**Tests of Stability**

Just as the infrastructures, fundamentals, and processes of economic recovery and growth had been established, the tests of stability began to shake the structure of the Ramos administration. Oppositionists and detractors, who saw in the strong and positive images of the Ramos presidency a formidable barrier to their political ambition and future, began the media assault on the administration's weakest points such as the traffic problems, the rising cases of criminality, the continuing National Democratic Front (NDF)-NPA insurgency problems, the MILF separatist movement, and even the uncollected garbage problems. All were somehow attributed to the administration. But it was not difficult for the government to explain away the issues as something that had been with all administrations since 1946 and aggravated each decade by population increase, which was difficult to neutralize without substantial change in the Catholic church's attitude to family planning. The administration had easily surmounted the political threat.

But as 1997 began a new wave of economic activities to anticipate the Philippine graduation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) economic tutelage by the end of the year, a more organized and determined political opposition was being formed by those who could not accept the political consequences of the Ramos success on their unfulfilled visions and hopes. The climate for a new political crisis was beginning to shape as the people, happy with the improved economic condition of the country, also pooled themselves and resources together not only to support the continuing programs and projects of the government but also to lay the ground for the continuity of the Ramos leadership beyond the first term. The People's Initiative for Reforms, Modernization, and Action (PIRMA) became the point of convergence of all oppositionists and detractors of the Ramos government, people and factions that had no ideological or fundamental connection except to prevent a successful Ramos presidency from getting a new political mandate for the twenty-first century.

Conveniently, the issue of constitutional limit to the presidency became the opposition's only serious weapon against the administration. For the first time, oppositionists with coats of many colors, from all age levels and sectors, including men in robes and women in gowns, had found one common cause: to preserve the sacredness of the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land. Even the Catholic hierarchy led by Cardinal Sin and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the Iglesia ni Kristo, and a faction of the Protestant community to which Ramos belongs had joined in what appeared to be a common stand against constitutional change despite numerous infirmities of the Constitution in concepts, structures, and visions as pointed out by proponents of constitutional amendments. Soon the battle in media plus organized demonstrations put pressures on members of Congress who were also divided on the issue. The assurances and reassurances by the president that he would not seek reelection, a reality that had given the politically ambitious serious fears of defeat in the 1998 presidential election, did not bring political calm. The effect of sustained political assaults on the president became apparent in declining poll survey ratings. For sometime, political uncertainties continued until prospects of constitutional change began to fade and the president retrieved what was lost as national attention was focused on the new question: Who shall be the president's anointed? After so much speculations by practically all sectors, especially the political analysts and media, the president finally declared Speaker Jose de Venecia as his anointed to the dismay of Renato de Villa and his supporters. This was again an indication of the president's adherence to the concept of people empowerment apparently shown in the Lakas-NUCD rank-and-file support for the Speaker's nomination. With the political issue of "the anointed" behind him, the president turned his attention on the proclamation of nine National Artists in a well-attended ceremony in Malacañang at three in the afternoon of December 8, 1997, where he paid tribute to Filipino creativity and genius in the field of culture and challenged others of equal potentials to follow in their steps.
Conclusion

Indeed, the history of the Philippines is the story of a people struggling to create a nation they can truly call their own. Although they began from a common ancestry somewhere in the Austronesian world of prehistory, they found themselves in an archipelago of natural beauty, richness, and mystery which tended to erode their common origin and to induce the kind of ethnolinguistic diversity that characterized their communities by the time of western contact. Instead of recovering the cord of their primordial unity, they had developed a particular fondness for their habitat and, consequently, received the new stimulus to human development and progress which is called culture. Within this most important contribution of man to evolution, with ingredients coming from outside civilizations like India and China, took place the ferment of culture that gave definite forms to the various ethnolinguistic groups.

Whether such ethnolinguistic diversity would have led ultimately to a multiple state system in the archipelago no one can really tell, but the coming of Islam in 1280 AD and Christianity in 1565 led to the reformulation of the various groups along a much larger structure of consciousness which brought forth a three-community pattern in the islands conveniently called Indios, Moros, and Infieles. It was from this point of history, when an exploitative and racially fuelled system called colonialism entered the scene that the struggle of the Filipino people for community and identity really began. In the course of over four hundred years, they had seen what it meant to be in bondage to foreign power and how important to them were their "ancient liberties." It was, in fact, the preservation (in the case of the Infieles), the protection (in the case of the Moros), and the recovery (in the case of the Indios) of the ancient liberties that constitute the unifying ideology of the Filipino struggle.

Largely attributable to colonial aims, policies, and strategies, the struggle of the three Filipino communities throughout colonial history had been plagued by ethnic and religious differences. It had eventually been neutralized by the creation of a counterculture which was both colonial and Filipino. By the time colonial rule withdrew its presence in 1946 and the tricolor took its place, the Filipino nation had only removed the rags of colonial bondage but the chains had remained. Thus the struggle for true independence continued against a new form of colonialism which is called "neocolonialism" in which the colonized has become the instrument of their own new bondage. The struggle has become even more burdensome and complex because of the failure to strengthen the cultural bonds between the communities and to decolonize the values that have governed their relations. In a word, the bond of national unity is as elusive as the reality of peace.
Suggested Readings

For general information and convenience, the following may be consulted, but for substantial data, primary sources, including foreign, ought to be used:

A. Precolonial Culture

Fox, Robert B. "The Archaeological Records of Chinese Influences in the Philippines." _Philippine Studies_ 15 (January 1967): 41-62.

———. _The Philippines in Prehistoric Times_. Manila: National Museum, 1967.

Fund for Assistance to Private Education. _The Philippine Atlas_. Manila, 1975.

Garvan, John M. _The Negritos of the Philippines_. Edited by Hermann Hochegger. Horn-Vienna: Verlag Ferdinand Berger, 1964.

Jocano, F. Landa. _Philippine Prehistory_. Quezon City: Philippine Center for Advanced Studies, 1975.

Manuel, E. Arsenio. _Documenting Philippineasian_. Quezon City: The Philippine Asian Society, 1994.

Marcos, Ferdinand E. _Tadhana: The History of the Filipino People_ , Volume One, Part I. National Media Production Center, 1980.

Patanne, E.P. _The Philippines in the World of Southeast Asia: A Cultural History_. Quezon City: Enterprise Publishing, 1972.

Saleeby, Najeeb M. _Studies in Moro History, Law, and Religion_. Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1905.

Sawyer, Frederic H. _The Inhabitants of the Philippines_. London: Sampson, Low, Marston, 1900.

Scott, William Henry. _Barangay 16th Century Culture and Society_. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994.

———. _Prehispanic Source Materials for the Study of Philippine History_. Manila: University of Santo Tomas, 1968.

B. Colonialism

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. _The Revolt of the Masses_. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1956.

Bazaco, Evergist, OP. _History of Education in the Philippines_. Manila: University of Santo Tomas, 1953.

Bernad, Miguel, SJ. _The Christianization of the Philippines: Problems and Perspectives_. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1972.

Blair, Emma Helen, and James Alexander Robertson, eds. _The Philippine Islands_. 55 Vols. Cleveland, Ohio: A.J. Clark, 1909. (Reprinted 1973 by Cacho Hermanos, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila).

Blount, James H. _The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912_. New York: Putnam, 1912.

Constantino, Renato. _The Philippines: A Past Revisited_. Quezon City: 1975.

Craig, Austin, and Conrado Benitez. _Philippine Progress Prior to 1898_. Manila: Philippine Education Company, 1916. (Reprinted by Cacho Hermanos, Mandaluyong, 1985).

Cushner, Nicholas, SJ. _Spain in the Philippines_. Kurland, Vt. and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1970.

de Comyn, Tomas. _The State of the Philippines in 1810_. Translated by William Walton. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1969.

de Jesus, Ed C. _The Tobacco Monopoly in the Philippines Bureaucratic Enterprise and Social Change 1766-1880_. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1992.

de Mas, Sinibaldo. _Informe Secreto_ ( _Secret Report of Sinibaldo de Mas_ ). Translated by Dr. Carlos Botor. Manila: Historical Conservation Society, 1963.

de Morga, Antonio. _Historical Events in the Philippine Islands_. Annotated by Jose Rizal. Trans. H.E.J.S. Stanley. Manila: National Historical Institute, 1992.

de Zuñiga, Joaquin, OSA. _A Historical Review of the Philippine Islands_. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1966.

———. _State of the Philippines in 1800_. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1966.

Gleek, Lewis. _The American Governor Generals and High Commissioners in the Philippines: Proconsuls, Nation Builders and Politicians_. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1986.

Gowing, Peter. _American Mandate in Moroland_. Quezon City: 1977.

Hurley, Vic. _Swish of the Kris: The Story of the Moros_. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1936. (Reprinted by Cachos Hermanos, Mandaluyong, 1985).

Kalaw, Maximo M. _The Development of Philippine Politics 1872-1920_. Manila: Oriental Commercial, 1926.

———. _The Philippine Revolution_. Manila: Manila Book Co., 1925.

Keesing, Felix. _The Ethnohistory of Northern Luzon_. California: Stanford University, 1962.

Le Roy, James. _The Americans in the Philippines_. 2 Vols. Manila: Houghton Mifflin, 1914.

Licuanan, Virginia Benitez, and Jose Llavador Mira, eds. _The Philippines under Spain: Compilations and Translations of Original Documents_. Philippines: National Institute for Historical and Cultural Preservation of the Philippines and the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture, 1990.

McCarthy, Eduard J., OSA. _Spanish Beginnings in the Philippines, 1564-1572_. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1943.

McHale, Thomas R., and Mary C. McHale, eds. _Early American-Philippine Trade: The Journal of Nathaniel Bowditch in Manila, 1796_. New Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 1962.

McMicking, Robert. _Recollection of Manila and the Philippines 1848, 1849 and 1850_. Annotated by Morton Netzorg. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1967.

Mabini, Apolinario. _The Philippine Revolution_. Translated by Leon Ma. Guerrero. Manila: National Historical Commission, 1969.

———. _Memoirs of the Philippine Revolution_. 2 Vols. Manila: Asvel, 1964.

Majul, Cesar A. _The Muslims in the Philippines_. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1973.

———. _The Political and Constitutional Ideas of the Philippine Revolution_. Revised Edition. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1967.

Marcos, Ferdinand E. _Tadhana: The History of the Filipino People_ (Abridged), Volume I. National Media Production Center, 1982.

Miller, Hugo H. _Economic Conditions in the Philippines_. Boston: Ginn, 1913.

———. _Principles of Economics Applied to the Philippines_. Boston: Ginn, 1932.

Nesom, G.E. _The Sugar Industry of the Philippine Islands_. Manila: Bureau of Printing, 1911.

Phelan, John Leddy. _The Hispanization of the Philippines: Spanish Aims and Filipino Responses, 1565-1700_. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1959.

Quiason, Serafin D. _English Country Trade with the Philippines_. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1966.

Robles, Eliodoro. _The Philippines in the Nineteenth Century_. Quezon City: Malaya Books, 1969.

Schumacher, John N. _The Propaganda Movement, 1880-1895_. Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1974.

———. _Revolutionary Clergy and the Nationalist Movement 1850-1903_. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1981.

Schurz, William Lytle. _The Manila Galleon_. New York: E.P Dutton, 1959.

Zaide, Gregorio F. _Philippine Political and Cultural History_. Rev. Edition. 2 Vols. Manila: Philippine Educational Company, 1957.

Zaide, Gregorio F., and Sonia M. Zaide. _Documentary Sources of Philippine History_. 10 Vols. Manila: National Book Store, 1990.

C. Imperialism

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. _Malolos: The Crisis of the Republic_. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1960.

———. _The Fateful Years_. 2 Vols. Quezon City: R.P. Garcia Publishing, 1965.

———. _A Burden of Proof_. Quezon City: R.P. Garcia Publishing, 1985.

Archer, Jules. _The Philippines' Fight for Freedom_. London: Collier MacMillan Ltd., 1970.

Brands, H.W. _Bound to Empire_. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Churchill, Bernardita R. _The Philippine Independence Missions to the United States 1919-1934_. Manila: National Historical Institute, 1983.

Cruz, Romeo V. _America's Colonial Desk and the Philippines, 1898-1934_. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1974.

Friend, Theodore. _Between Two Empires_. Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1969.

Golay, Frank, ed. _The United States and the Philippines_. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1966.

Hartendorp, A.V.H. _The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines_. 2 Vols. Manila: Bookmark, 1967.

Jenkins, Shirley. _American Economic Policy towards the Philippines_. California: Stanford, 1954.

Malay, Armando. _Occupied Philippines_. Manila: Filipiniana Book Guild, 1967.

Morgan, Wayne H. _America's Road to Empire: The War with Spain and Overseas Expansion_. New York, London and Sydney: John Wiley and Sons, 1965.

Perkins, Whitney T. _Denial of Empire: The United States and Its Dependencies_. Leyden: A.W Sythoff, 1962.

Quezon, Manuel L. _The Good Fight_. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1946.

Recto, Claro M. _Three Years of Enemy Occupation_. Manila: People's Publishers, 1946. Reprinted by Cacho Hermanos, Mandaluyong, 1985.

Regidor y Jurado, Antonio M., and Warren J. Mason. "Commercial Progress in the Philippine Islands." _American Chamber of Commerce Journal 5_ (March 1925): 5-26.

Reuter, Frank T. _Catholic Influence on American Colonial Policies, 1898-1904_. Austin and London: University of Texas Press, 1967.

Roosevelt, Theodore. _Colonial Policies of the United States_. New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1937.

Salamanca, Bonifacio. _The Philippine Reaction to American Rule, 1901-1913_. Hamden, Connecticut: The Shoe String Press, 1968.

Saniel, Josefa M., ed. _The Filipino Exclusion Movement, 1927-1935_. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1967.

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. _The Filipino Martyrs: A Story of the Crime of February 4, 1899 by an Eyewitness_. London: 1900.

Schurman, _Jacob G. Philippine Affairs: Retrospect and Outlook_. New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1902.

Schott, Joseph. _The Ordeal of Samar_. New York: Bobbs Merrill Co. Inc., 1964.

Tan, Samuel K. _The Filipino Muslim Armed Struggle, 1900-1972_. Makati: Filipinas Foundation, Inc., 1978.

———. _Internationalization of the Bangsamoro Struggle_. Quezon City: Center for Integrative and Development Studies and the University of the Philippines Press, 1995.

D. Neocolonialism

Abaya, Hernando J. _Betrayal in the Philippines_. Quezon City: Malaya Books, 1947.

———. _The Untold Philippine Story_. Quezon City: Malaya Books, 1967.

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. _Filipino Nationalism 1872-1970_. Quezon City: R.P. Garcia Publishing Co., 1974.

Constantino, Renato, and Letizia R. Constantino. _The Philippines: A Continuing Past_. Quezon City: Foundation for Nationalist Studies, 1978.

Fernandez, Alejandro. _The Philippines and the United States: The Forging of New Relations_. Quezon City: UP-NSDB Integrated Research Program, 1977.

Hayden, Joseph Raston. _The Philippines: A Study in National Development_. New York: McMillan, 1955.

Jose, F. Sionil, ed. _Solidarity_ 100 (January-February 1987).

Lande, Carl H. _Leaders, Factions and Parties: The Structure of Philippine Politics_. New Haven: Yale University Southeast Asia Studies, 1965.

Onorato, Michael. _A Brief Review of American Interest in Philippine Development and Other Essays_. Berkeley, California: McCuthchan, 1968.

Philippine Historical Association. _50 Years of American Autonomy: The Golden Jubilee of the First Philippine Legislature, 1916-1966_. Manila: 1966.

Pomeroy, William. _American Neo-Colonialism: Its Emergence in the Philippines and Asia_. New York: International Publishers, 1970.

Saulo, Afredo B. _Communism in the Philippines: An Introduction_. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1969.

Shalom, Stephen Rosskam. _The United States and the Philippines: A Study of Neocolonialism_. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1986.

Steinberg, David Joel. _Philippine Collaboration in the Second World War_. Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House, 1967.

Tañada, Lorenzo. _Nationalism! Summons to Greatness_. Quezon City, 1965.

Taylor, George E. _The Philippines and the United States: Problems of Partnership_. New York and London: Frederick A. Praeger, 1964.

E. General Survey

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. _A Brief History of the Philippines_. New York: Mentor Books, 1977.

Corpuz, Onofre D. _The Philippines_. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1970.

———. _Roots of the Filipino People_. 2 Vols. Quezon City: Aklahi Foundation, 1989.

De La Costa, Horacio. _Readings in Philippine History_. Manila: Bookmark, 1973.

Forbes, William Cameron. _The Philippine Islands_. 2 Vols. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1928.

Marcos, Ferdinand E. _The Outline of Tadhana: The History of the Filipino People_. Manila: National Media Production Center, 1975.

Reyes, Ramon Lala. _The Philippine Islands_. New York: Continental Publishing, 1898.

Roces, Alfredo, ed. _Filipino Heritage_. 10 Vols. Lahing Pilipino Publishing Inc., 1978.

_United States Military Bases in the Philippines: Issues and Scenarios_. Quezon City: International Studies Institute, 1986.

Wright, Hamilton M. _A Handbook of the Philippines_. Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1907.
The Author

Dr. Samuel K. Tan is a native of Siasi, Sulu, born of Tausug-Sama-Chinese parentage. He is a holder of several degrees and a recipient of honors and awards. He finished two years of business administration at Silliman University as a consistent University Scholar; a Bachelor of Theology at Ebenezer Bible College where he taught and served as Dean of Men; a Bachelor of History at the Zamboanga A.E. Colleges, _summa cum laude_ ; a Master of Arts in History at the University of the Philippines; and a Ph.D. in Social Science Interdisciplinary at Maxwell School, Syracuse University, New York.

His published works include _Sulu under American Military Rule, 1899–1913_ (1967); _The Filipino Muslim Armed Struggle, 1900–1972_ (1978); _Selected Essays on the Filipino Muslims_ (1982); _Decolonization and Filipino Muslim Identity_ (1985); _The Critical Decade, 1920–1930_ (1987); and several essays on history, culture, politics, and religion. He edited or co-edited four regional histories of Mindanao: _Haylaya, Linibung, Bagani,_ and _Daragen_ (1980). He also contributed several essays in the regional histories of Luzon and Visayas: _Atang, Handog_ (1986). He was a research fellow and consultant of the Special Research Project, 1974–1983.

In addition to his academic duties as former chairman and professor, Department of History, University of the Philippines, Dr. Tan had lectured at the Development Academy of the Philippines, National Defense College of the Philippines, and national fora on the Filipino Muslims and Mindanao issues. He presented papers in international conferences and was a member of the UNESCO Advisory Committee on Southeast Asian Cultures (1982–1984). He served as an Executive Committee (Execom) chairman of the Committee on Historical Research of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), commissioner of the National Centennial Commission, convenor-director of the Mindanao Studies Program of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, (UPCIDS), and chairman and executive director of the National Historical Institute.

Even after retirement in 1994, the author has continued his research and studies on Philippine history and culture especially those of the Muslim South and its indigenous traditions otherwise known as the Jawi heritage. Through his efforts, a series of publications were published by the UPCIDS Mindanao Studies Program such as _Internationalization of the Bangsamoro Struggle_ (1995); _Socio-Economic Dimension of Moro Secessionism_ (1995); _An Annotated Bibliography of Jawi, Materials of the Muslim South,_ Jawi Documentary Series No. 1 (1996, 2002); _The Surat Maguindanaon,_ Jawi Documentary Series No. 2 (1996, 2002); _An Annotation of the Marsada Kitabs,_ Documentary Series No. 3 (2002); _Islam in the Philippines_ (1995, 2006); _Filipino Muslim Perceptions of Their History and Culture as Seen through Indigenous Sources_ (2003), _Basilan Kitabs_ , Documentary Series No. 4 (2008); and _Tawi-Tawi Kitabs_ , Documentary Series No. 5 (2008).

In addition, the author also contributed through other institutions of note in the country and abroad several essays and books such as eight essays on Muslim Mindanao in Benjamin H. Beede, ed., _Garland Encyclopedia of American Wars: The Spanish American War and Small Wars_ (Rutgers, 1992); "Report on Two Villages in the Philippines" in _East Asian Cultural Studies_ , Vol. XXIV (Tokyo, March 1985); "Black Teeth, G-Strings and Blood" in _Vietnam Social Science Quarterly Review_ , Vol. 1-2 (1988); "The Moro Secessionist Movement in the Philippines" in Ralph R. Premdas, et al., eds. _Secessionist Movements in Comparative Perspective_ (London Printer Publishers, Ltd., 1990); "Human Development and Education in Muslim Mindanao" (UNDP Report for 2000); _Tawi-Tawi, the Southernmost Frontier_ (2001); _Surat Sug_ (National Historical Institute, 2005), 2 volumes; _The Filipino-American War, 1899_ (Cavite Historical Society, 2002); and _Mindanao and Sulu_ (Southern Philippines Development Authority, 2002).

For his contributions to historical and cultural research and studies, the author received distinctive recognition and awards such as the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship Grant (1970–1973), Chairman's Award of Region IX Commission for Outstanding Achievements and Service (1980), UP Professorial Chair for History (1988), Fulbright-Hays Research Grant (1984), Ford-Rockefeller Grant (Summer 1993), Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation Research Grant (1995), UP Alumni Association Outstanding Award for History (1998), National Historical Institute Distinguished Service Award (1998), National Commission for Culture and the Arts Distinguished Commissioner Award (1999), the Toyota Foundation Research Grant (2002), and Dañgal ng Haraya Award (NCCA, 2007).

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