His

RIZAL
Legacy

to Philippine

Society

The Philippines during the 19th century,

under Spanish Rule
Political Institutions
The Spanish colonical government in the Philippines
was centralized in from. The Philippines was governed
through the ministries of the Colonies established in
madrid in 1863. The body governed the affairs of the
colonies of Spain, including the Philippines, through
centralized machinery exercising executive, legative,
judicial, and religious powers. The national government
in the Philippines was headed by a mestizo, while the
local government was headed by an indio.

The judicial system during the time of Rizal was

costly, partial, and slow. Poor Filipinos had no access
to the courts because they could not afford the heavy
litigation expenses. Rizals family also became a
victim of injustices in the Philippines. His mother was
unjustly arrested and jailed without due process. The
GOMBURZA priests were executed, thus becoming
noble victims of the Spaniards injustices.

The main local government units were the provinces

(alcaldias), headed by the alcalde mayor or provincial
governor, who exercised executive and judicial
functions. The alcalde mayor was considered the
most corrupt government official then in the
Philippines; he was the administrator, judge, and
military commandant, with the privilege of engaging in
and monopilizing trade, called indulto de commercio

Sources of Abuses in the Administrative

System (Romero, 1978)
Government officials who lacked appropriate
qualifications and who had no dedication to duty and
no moral strength to resist corruption for material
advancement were appointed. Moreover, there was
an overlapping of positions, which resulted in
confusion and friction.
The principal officials obtained their respective
positions via royal appointment by the governorgeneral himself, or the positions were sold to the
highest bidder.

 The most corrupt government official was the

alcalde mayor, often collecting excessive tributes,
much more than those required by law.
As the position of gobernadorcillo was hononary,
many of such officials collected taxes from the
natives and did not use these for the improvement
of their locality but instead pocketed them.

The Philippine Social Structure

The pyramidal social structure of the 19 th century favored the
Spaniards. The highest social class consisted of the
peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain), followed by the
insulares (Spaniards born in the Philippines), the Spanish and
Chinese mestizos, and the principalia, the latter class
composed of the gobernadorcillos, cabezas de barangay,
merchants , and wealthy native families.
Racial discrimination was prevalent then in the Philippines, as
shown by the fact that the Spanish-born peninsularies were
given the highest offices and positions in the government while
the creoles enjoyed second priority and the lowly natives or
indios were discriminated against.

The Educational System

The schools in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial
period were not coeducational; the girls were seperated
from the boys. The first college for boys was college of
manila, founded by the jesuits in 1589. It was renamed
College of San Ignacio and later (in 1621) became a
university. It was closed in the 18th century when the
Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines.
The first College for girls, established in 1589, was
colegio de Santa Potenciana. In 1866, it was merged with
another school, forming what is now Sta. Isabel College.

Economic Institution
The current economic structure of the Philippines, which
is basically feudalistic, stemmed from the encomienda
system that the Spaniards introduced in the colony. Such
system was one of the instruments that were used by the
government officials to pacify and exploit the natives
during the Spanish colonial period. It paved the way for
various oppressive practices, such as the tributo, forced
labor, bandala, and military conscription. All these
exactions assumed greater urgency and were therefore
enforced with greater severity when Spain was at war.

The Tributo
The collection of the tributo (tribute) began during
the time of Legazpi and was imposed throughout
until 1884. It was levied on all Filipinos from 19 to
60 years old, with the exception of the incumbent
gobernadorcillos and cabezas and their families,
the soldiers who had rendered distinguished
service, the other native cheiftains, and the
government employees, choir members,
sacritanes, and church porters. The tribute could be
paid in cash or in kind.

Polo
In addition to the tribute, the male natives between
the ages of 16 to 60, except for the chieftains and
their eldest sons, were required to serve for 40
days each year under the system of forced labor or
polo. This requirement was instituted in 1580, but
the number of days of required service was
reduced to 15 per year in 1884.

The Bandala
Another explotative device was instituted by
Governor Sebastian hurtado de Corcuera in the
first half of the 17th century. This was the bandala. It
consisted of the assignment of annual quotas to
each province for the compulsory sale of produce
to the government. The provincial quotas were
subdivided among the towns.

Thank you!!