Philippine History Notes

Kasaysayan: Meaning of History

  • The Filipino word kasaysayan originates from saysay, meaning "sense" or "meaning."
  • The suffix -yan transforms saysayan into the act of conveying words of importance through narrative.
  • The prefix ka- implies connection, interaction, relationship, or being part of something together. Kasaysayan involves people sharing important narratives with similar or opposing viewpoints.

Schools of Thought

  • Positivism:
    • Emerged between the 18th and 19th centuries.
    • Requires empirical and observable evidence before claiming knowledge as true.
    • Historians should be objective and impartial, with "NO DATA, NO HISTORY."
  • Postcolonial History:
    • Emerged in the early 20th century.
    • Formerly colonized nations create identities and understand societies against colonial past.
    • Aims:
    • Highlight national identity free from colonial discourse.
    • Criticize methods, effects, and ideas of colonialism.
    • Reaction against colonial history.

Other Concepts

  • Archaeology:
    • Helps in dealing with buried sites and objects.
    • Uses narrative sources to complement discoveries.
    • Does not "fill the gaps" within textual sources.
  • Historiography:
    • Systematic writing of history.
    • Based on critical examination of sources.
    • Selection of details from authentic materials.
    • Synthesis of details into narrative form.

Types of History

  • Ancient history: From the beginning of human history to the Early Middle Ages.
  • Art history: Study of changes in and social context of art.
  • Chronology: Science of localizing historical events in time.
  • Comparative history: Comparison of societies during the same period with similar cultural conditions.
  • Contemporary history: Study of historical events immediately relevant to the present time.
  • Digital history: Use of computing technologies to produce digital scholarship.
  • Economic history: Study of economic trends and conditions in the past.
    • Environmental history: Looks at the history of the environment and the impact of human activities upon it.
  • Future history: Study of the future.
  • Intellectual history: Study of ideas in the cultures that produced them and their development over time.
  • Literary history: Study of ancient texts.
  • Political history: Study of politics in the past.
  • Psychohistory
  • Social history: Study of the process of social change throughout history.
  • Women's history: History of female human beings; gender history covers the perspective of gender.
  • World history: Study of history from a global perspective.
  • Public history: Historic preservation, archival science, oral history, museum curatorship, and other relatable fields.

Historians

  • A historian studies and writes about the past and researches past events relating to the human race.
  • Traditional historians record events in writing or oral tradition and answer historical questions through documents and accounts.

Historians Mentioned

  • Hecataeus: Lived in the 6th and 5th centuries BC, critical of Greek accounts of their past.
  • Herodotus of Halicarnassus: Father of History, attempted to distinguish between reliable accounts through extensive travel.
  • Thucydides: Approached history with a well-developed historical method, emphasizing cause and effect.
  • Dr. Jose P. Rizal: National identity and the basis for future development key to history.
  • Teodoro Agoncillo: Analyzed conditions of the Philippine past by analyzing the conditions of the masses.

Historical Sources

  • Historical sources are records, accounts, or sources of information used to reconstruct the past.
  • Sources are important for determining the legitimacy and authenticity of data.
  • Sources are called batis in Philippine historiography.

Types of Sources

  • Primary Sources:
    • Produced at the same time as the event being studied.
    • Eyewitness accounts, archival documents, artifacts, memorabilia, letters, census, government records.
    • Examples: Published written sources, manuscripts, diaries, official records, private correspondence, newspapers, memoirs, autobiographies, tax records, census materials, wills, cultural artifacts(cartoons, movies, fiction, Architecture, art).
  • Secondary Sources:
    • Produced by an author who used primary sources.
    • Chronicles or interpretations of events written after the fact.
    • Examples: Monographs, biographies, scholarly journal articles, historical dictionaries, encyclopedias, websites, lectures, and reviews.
  • Other sources of History; relics, memorabilia, pictures, fossils and remains.

Early Philippines Writings

  • Angono Rock Shelter: Drawings of turtles, deer, wild pigs, and other animals.
  • Baybayin:
    • Developed with Indian influence such as Champa and Sri Vijayan Empire. Influenced by kavi/kawi of Java, which was from Sanskrit.
    • Variants depending on the region.
    • Survived in pottery (Calatagan Clay pot) and etched in metal.
    • Butuan Silver strip (found inside a coffin) and Butuan Ivory Seals.
    • Laguna Copper Plate: Deciphered by Antoon Postman.
    • Used as a symbol of the Katipunan, letter K emblazoned on flags.

Source Criticism

  • Essential to check the authenticity of facts and documents.
  • Duty of the historian to doubt every statement until critically tested.
    • External Criticism: Less intellectual, examines documents like manuscripts, books, pamphlets, maps, inscriptions, and monuments.
    • Authenticity: Authorship, date of document, etc.
    • Internal Criticism: Historian must analyze the contents of the documents with a view to determining the real meaning (Positive Criticism).

Contextual Analysis

  • What does the text reveal about itself as a text?
  • What does the text tell us about its apparent intended audience(s)?
  • What seems to have been the author’s intention?
  • What is the occasion for this text?
  • Is the text intended as some sort of call to – or for – action?
  • Is the text intended rather as some sort of call to – or for – reflection or consideration rather than direct action?
  • Can we identify any non-textual circumstances that affected the creation and reception of the text?

Historical Myths

  • Magellan being the first to travel around the world (Elcano and Enrique de Malacca are stronger candidates).
  • Urduja as a historical figure (considered a myth).
  • Fernando Poe Sr. as the model for the Oblation (Anastacio Caedo and Virgilio Raymundo were the models).
  • Blood compact between Legazpi and Sikatuna as the first (Magellan and Rajah Kolambu had an earlier compact).
  • Maragtas as a prehistoric document (actually written by Pedro Monteclaro).

Philippines

  • Ma-yi, meaning Land of gold
  • Maniolas, name given by Claudius Ptolemy
  • Archipelago of St. Lazarus- name given by Magellan
  • Felipinas given by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in honor of King Philip II
  • Pearl of the Orient Seas by Fr. Juan J. Delgado and Dr. Jose Rizal

Early Filipinos

  • There are two theories on the origins of the first Filipinos, the inhabitants of what was to be the Philippines. In the beginning of the 3rd century, inhabitants of Luzon traded with East Asia. In 1380, Muslim Arabs arrived at the Sulu Archipelago.

Philippine History

  • 1521: Ferdinand Magellan (Portuguese explorer serving the Spanish crown) landed in Samar Island and named it Archipelago of San Lazaro.
  • 1565: King Philip II appointed Miguel Lopez de Legazpi as the first Governor-General of the Philippines; Manila chosen as capital.
  • Propaganda Movement emerged with aims for equality between Filipinos and Spaniards.
  • Katipunan, founded by Andres Bonifacio, attacked Spanish Garrison.
  • Aguinaldo drafted a constitution and established the Republic of Biak-na-Bato in Bulacan.
  • Spanish-American War; Philippines ceded to the U.S. by Spain in 1898 (Treaty of Paris).
  • June 12, 1898: Filipinos led by Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence.
  • 1901: Aguinaldo captured and declared allegiance to the U.S.; William Howard Taft appointed first U.S. governor.
  • 1916: Jones Law passed establishing an elected Filipino legislature.
  • 1934: Tydings-McDuffie Act established the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
  • July 4, 1946: Philippines given independence. WWII:
    • December 8, 1941: Japanese invasion.
    • MacArthur & Quezon fled the country.
    • Guerrilla war against the Japanese.
    • October 1944: Gen. MacArthur with President Sergio Osmeña returned and liberated the Philippines.
  • Post-WWII:
    • Manuel Roxas inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of the Philippines.
      Elpidio Quirino
    • Later, elected Ramon Magsaysay as President
    • Diosdado Macapagal declared June 12 as Independence Day.
  • 1965: Ferdinand E. Marcos won the presidency and declared Martial Law in 1972.

After Marcos:

  • 1986: Corazon Aquino installed as president after EDSA Revolution. Restored civil liberties, initiated a new constitution, restored Congress. Military bases closed.
  • 1992: Fidel Ramos won the election
    • National Reconciliation, peace agreement with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
    • Ramos worked for economic stability
      1998: Joseph Ejercito Estrada succeeded Ramos
    • Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA
    • 2000: Luis "Chavit" Singson accused Estrada of receiving millions of pesos from Jueteng, an illegal numbers game
    • 2001: Supreme Court declared Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the constitutional successor to Estrada

Macapagal-Arroyo Administration

  • 2004: Arroyo with her running mate Noli de Castro was eventually proclaimed the winners of the Presidential & Vice-Presidential elections.
    • 2006: Declared a State of Emergency- mobilised the police and the military averting any destabilization moves.
      Macapal-Arroyo- Economic Reforms: Arroyo advocated for the B.I.R to collect the proper taxes that was collected by public companies and privates.

Post-Arroyo

  • 2010: Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, was elected as president.
    May 9 2016: Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte (a.k.a. Digong), assumed the presidency.

Geography

  • Located in the southeast portion of Asian continent, bounded by the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Celebes Sea.
  • Consists of 7,107 islands and islets, approximately 300,000 sq.km.
  • Main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao.
  • 82 provinces, divided into regions.
  • Tropical climate, affected by monsoon winds.
  • Rugged or mountainous terrain.
  • Mt. Apo is the highest mountain.
  • Diverse flora and fauna.

Davao de Oro (Compostela Valley)

  • Created by virtue of RA 8470 in 1998, Renamed Davao de Oro in 2019( Republic Act No. 11297).
  • Top investment and tourism destination in Mindanao.
  • PLGU-DDO Officials and employees live on to the following core values: Unity, Competence, Bayanihan-driven, Integrity, God-centeredness
  • Eco-Adventure Tourism Destination.
  • Inhabitants are migrants from Cebu, Samar, Bohol, and other Visayan provinces.
  • Minorities: Mansaka, Mandaya, Dibabawon, Mangguangan and Manobo groups.
  • Agricultural products: rice, coconut, cacao, coffee, papaya, mango, pineapple, durian, and banana.

Constitutions

  • Constitution of Biak-na-Bato (1897):

    • Provisional Constitution of the Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution.
    • Separated the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy.

  • Malolos Constitution (1899):

    • Draft constitution by the selected commission of the elected Malolos Congress
    • Created on September 17, 1898, it was approved on November 29, 1898
    • Promulgated on January 21, 1899 by Aguinaldo in Spanish named “The Political Constitution of 1899”

  • Philippine Organic Act of 1902:

    • Creation of the popularly elected Philippine Assembly, Legislative vested in bicameral Legislature, Bill of Rights for Filipinos, Appointment of two non-voting Filipino Resident Commissioners of the Philippines.

  • Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 (Jones Law)

    • Explicitly declared the purpose of the US for Philippines independence.

  • 1935 Constitution

    • Government embodies ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation.

  • 1973 Constitution - The martial law
    Constitutional Commission drafted a permanent constitution in 1986: Composed of 48 members to check the president’s authority - New Constitution adopted on February 2, 1987.

Agrarian Reform

  • Pre-Spanish Era: Everyone had access to the fruits of the soil. Money was unknown, and rice served as the medium of exchange.
  • Spanish Era: Concept of encomienda (Royal Land Grants) introduced. Tribute became land rents to a few powerful landlords.
    When the First Philippine Republic was established in 1899, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declared in the Malolos Constitution his intention to confiscate large estates, especially the so-called Friar lands.

American Period Significant legislation:Philippine Bill of 1902, Act No. 496, Act of 1903, Tenancy Act of 1933
The Americans instituted for the registration of lands by creating The Torrens system

Commonwealth Period to Present: 1935, November 13, 1936, 1936, 1937- Created several acts and Republic Acts like that with president Manuel L. Quezon

TAXES
Taxation defined as the process or means by which the sovereign, through its law-making body, raises income to defray the necessary expenses of government. It is a method of apportioning the cost of government among those who enjoy its benefits.

  • We are paying for government for infrastructural facilities and benefits day to day and in the long run.
  • There are people exempted for paying taxes like citizens abroad