Philippine History and Society: Political Systems, Colonial Experiences, and Women's Struggle

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Filipino psychology, political dynasties, corruption, Spanish and Japanese colonial rule, Martial Law, and the historical feminist movement in the Philippines.

Virgilio Enriquez

The founder of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) who categorized core Filipino values into accommodative and confrontative traits.

Accommodative Values (Pakikiayon o Pakikipagkasundo)

Filipino values and behaviors that focus on harmony, interpersonal agreement, and maintaining positive social ties, which include utang na loob, pakikisama, and pakikiramdam.

Confrontative Values

Filipino values and behaviors emphasizing resistance, moral courage, and direct opposition to injustice, abuse, and wrongdoing, illustrated by lakas ng loob, paninindigan, and paglaban sa pang-aapi.

Corruption

The misuse of authority, power, or official position in government or private institutions to advance self-interest rather than the public good.

Backer System

A form of corruption in which an individual secures a job, political appointment, or favor through the assistance and influence of a powerful patron or connection.

Plunder

A crime consisting of the unlawful acquisition or misappropriation of large sums of money from the public treasury for personal enrichment.

Political Dynasty

A governance pattern where political power and elected offices remain monopolized by members of a single family who hold positions simultaneously or sequentially.

Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution

The constitutional provision that mandates the State to guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law.

Consanguinity

The relationship between people who are biologically related by blood.

Affinity

The familial relationship created between individuals as a result of legal marriage.

An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines (1993)

A foundational scholarly work edited by Alfred W. McCoy analyzing the significant power and enduring influence of elite familial dynasties in Philippine politics and history.

Collusion (Pakikipagsabwatan)

A clandestine arrangement between two or more parties designed to obtain private gain at the expense of public welfare.

Cronyism

The practice of distributing official offices, lucrative contracts, or special privileges to personal friends and close associates regardless of qualifications.

Decentralization

The delegation and transfer of administrative power, decision-making, and responsibilities from a centralized government to local government bodies.

Alcalde Mayor

The chief civil administrator and highest-ranking colonial executive of a province during the Spanish regime in the Philippines.

Gobernadorcillo

The indigenous leader who served as the chief administrative executive of a town or municipality (pueblo) during Spanish rule.

Cabeza de Barangay

The appointed or inherited administrative head of a local barangay unit in the Spanish colonial political structure.

Principalia

The indigenous and mestizo upper class who held local bureaucratic power and social prominence under Spanish colonial administration.

Oligarchy

A political and economic system governed and controlled by a small, wealthy, and powerful ruling faction.

Martial Law (Batas Militar)

The emergency system in which military authorities are endowed with expansive governing powers, imposed by Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972 (Proclamation No. 1081) and lifted on January 17, 1981 (Proclamation No. 2045).

Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)

A human rights organization established in 1974 that documented human rights violations under Martial Law, recording over 50,000 warrantless arrests, 5,531 torture cases, 2,537 killings, and 783 enforced disappearances.

Liliosa Hilao

A 23-year-old student, campus journalist, and associate editor of Hasik who was abducted by the Philippine Constabulary and died in military custody on April 5, 1973, becoming one of the first prominent martyrs of Martial Law.

Primitivo Mijares

A former media adviser to Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who defected from the regime and authored the exposé The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)

A legal advocacy group founded in 1974 by Jose W. Diokno that offered pro bono legal representation to political detainees and victims of human rights abuses under Martial Law.

Benigno Aquino Jr.

A prominent senator and chief political rival of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who was assassinated on August 21, 1983, upon his return to Manila International Airport after three years of exile.

EDSA People Power Revolution

The peaceful mass civilian and military uprising in February 1986 that toppled the authoritarian presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., prompted by the defection of Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos.

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

The concept advanced by imperial Japan to replace Western imperial influence with Japanese dominance while extracting the raw materials of occupied territories like the Philippines to sustain its wartime economy.

Jose P. Laurel

The Filipino leader installed as the president of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic during World War II after Manuel L. Quezon was forced into exile.

Bataan Death March

The brutal forced relocation by the Imperial Japanese Army in April 1942 of between 75,000 and 78,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war from Bagac, Bataan, to San Fernando, Pampanga.

Bayonet (Bayoneta)

A blade attached to the barrel of an infantry rifle, commonly used by Japanese soldiers to execute exhausted POWs unable to continue marching during the Bataan Death March.

Bahay na Pula

A house located in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, utilized by the Japanese military as a garrison where Filipino women were detained and abused as comfort women (sexual slaves) during World War II.

MAKAPILI (Makabayang Katipunan ng Pilipino)

A pro-Japanese Filipino collaborationist paramilitary militia known for wearing woven bayong bags over their heads with eyeholes to point out anti-Japanese resistance fighters.

Babaylan

Traditional indigenous spiritual leaders, healers, and community authorities in precolonial and early colonial Philippines, especially prominent in Visayan societies.

Patriarchal System

A socio-cultural and political system wherein men hold disproportionate power, status, leadership, and primary authority over decision-making.

Sexism

Prejudice, stereotyping, or institutional inequality and discriminatory treatment aimed at women based exclusively on biological sex or gender.

Historical Object

A historical participant who is treated merely as a passive entity or subject of study rather than recognized for their own self-determined choices and contributions.

Historical Subject

An active agent or 'history maker' who executes deliberate actions, shapes events, and directly affects the progression of history.

Asociación Feminista Filipina

The earliest organized feminist association in the Philippines, established in 1905 by Concepción Félix to advance women's rights and protect them from harassment.

Concepción Félix

The pioneering feminist leader who founded the Asociación Feminista Filipina in 1905, laying the groundwork for women's civic organization in the country.

Pura Villanueva-Kalaw

The feminist writer and organizer who established the Asociación Feminista Ilongga in 1906 and utilized the publication El Tiempo to advocate for women's status and rights.

Josefa Llanes Escoda

A prominent social worker and advocate who organized the National Federation of Women's Clubs in 1920 and established the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.