1. The Government of
Transition of the
Philippines
J. Colima Bajado

2.  Prehispanic
 Spanish Government
 American
 Japanese
 Postwar

3. The pre-Spanish government.
 Unit of government. Prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards, the
 Philippines was composed of settlements or
villages, each called barangay (consisting of
more or less 100 families, named after balangay,
a Malayan word meaning "boat" (thereby
confirming the theory that the early Filipinoscame
to the Philippines in boats). Eve1·y barang~y was
virtually a state, for it possessed the four basic
elements of statehood. At times, however, some
barangays joined together as "confederations"
mainly for the purpose of mutual protection
against common enemies.

4.  Datu. - Each barangay was ruled by a chief called
datu. In some places, and rajah, sultan or hadji
 In the performance of his duties, however, he was
assisted usually by a council of elders
(maginoos) which served as his advisers. One
could be a datu chiefly by inheritance, wisdom,
wealth, or physical prowess. In form, the
barangay is a monarchy with the datu as the
monarch.

5.  Social classes in the barangay.
 The people of the barangay were
divided into four classes, namely: the
nobility (maharlika), to which the datu
belonged, the freemen (timawa), the
serfs (aliping namamahay), and the
slaves (aliping sagigilid)

6. In the case of Waray nation:
 Datu
 Tumawo
 Uripon

7. Comparison with other ancient
govermenments
 It can be said that the laws of the barangay were
generally fair. The system of government, although
defective was not so bad considering these
conditions in other lands in the age during which it
flourished. An eminent scholar has written: "The
Filipino people in the prehistoric times had already
shown high intelligence and moral virtues; virtues and
intelligence clearly manifested in their legislation,
which , taking into consideration the circumstances
and the epoch in which it was framed, was clearly as
wise, as prudent, and as humane. as that of t he
nations then at the head of civilization.

8. Government During
Spanish Time

9. Spain's title to the Philippines
 It was based on the discovery made by
Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, consummated
by its conquest by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
forty five years later and long possession for
almost four centuries, until it was terminated
in 1898, when by the Treaty of Paris, the
Philippines was ceded by Spain to the United
States.

10. Spanish colonial government
 From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was indirectly
governed by the King of Spain through Mexico.
From 1821, when Mexico obtained her
independence from Spain, to 1898, the
Philippines was ruled directly from Spain. The
council in Spain responsible for the
administration of the Philippines was the Council
of the Indies. In 1837, it was abolished and
legislation for the Philippines was temporarily
performed by the Council of Ministers. From
1863, the Ministry of Ultramar (colonies)
exercised general powers of supervision over
Philippine affairs.

11.  Three times during the Spanish period
(1810 -1813, 1820-1823, and 1836-
1837), the Philippines was given
representation in the Spanish Cortes,
the legislative body of Spain. A basic
principle introduced by Spain to the
Philippines was the union of the church
and the state.
 (Ventura de los Reyes)

12. Government of the Philippines
(under Spain)
 UNITARY - The government which Spain established
in the Philippines was centralized in structure and
national in scope. The barangays were consolidated
into towns (pueblos), and the towns into provinces,
each headed by a governor who represented the
Governor General in the province.
 Cities governed under special charters were also
created. Each of these cities had an ayuntamiento or
cabildo (city council). Cebu was the first city to be
established in 1565 in the Philippines. The second
was Manila , in 1571.

13. The Governor-General.
 The powers of the government were actually
exercised by the Governor-General who resided in
Manila. He was "Governor-General," "Captain
General," and "vice-royal patron." As Governor-
General, he had executive, administrative, legislative,
and judicial powers. As Captain-General, he was
Commander-in-chief of all the Armed Forces in the
Philippines. As the vice-royal patron, he exercised
certain religious powers. Because of these broad
powers, it has been said that the Governor General
enjoyed more powers than the King of Spain himself.
This was justified, however, because of the distance
of the Philippines from Spain.

14.  In the administration of the Philippines, the
Governor-General was assisted by many
boards and officers, particularly the Board of
Authorities and the Council of Administration.
 The first Spanish Governor-General in the
Philippines was Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
(1565-1571) and the last was Gen. Diego de
los Rios (1898).

15. The Judiciary
 The Royal Audiencia which was established
in 1583 was the Supreme Court of the
Philippines during the Spanish times. Its
decision was final except on certain cases of
great importance which could be appealed to
the King of Spain. It also performed. functions
of executive and legislative nature.

16. Evaluation of the Spanish
Government in the Philippines
 The government which Spain established in
the Philippines was defective. It was a
government for the Spaniards and not for the
Filipino. The Spanish officials were often
inefficient. and corrupt. The union of church
and state produced serious strifes between
the ecclesiastical and civil authorities.
 Equality before the law was denied to the
Filipinos.

17. Governments during the
Revolutionary era

18. The Katipunan government.
 The Katipunan was the secret society that
precipitated our glorious revolution on August 26,
1896. It was organized by Andres Bonifacio, who,
together with a group of Filipino patriots, signed the
covenant of the Katipunan with their own blood on
July 7. 1892.~6 The central government of the
Katipunan was vested in a Supreme Council
(Kataastaasang Sanggunian). In each province there
was a Provincial Council (Sangguniang Balangay)
and in each town, a Popular Council (Sangguniang
Bayan).
 The judicial power was exercised by a Judicial
Council (Sangguniang Hukuman)

19.  The Katipunan was the first clear break
from Spanish rule with the ultimate goal
to establish a free and sovereign
Philippines. It was replaced by another
government whose officials headed by
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as President,
were elected in the Tejeros Convention
held on March 22, 1897.

20. The Biak-na-Bato Republic
 On November 1, 1897, a republic was
established by Gen. Aguinaldo in Biak-na-
Bato (now San Miguel de Mayumo, Bulacan).
It had a constitution which was to take effect
for two years only. It declared that the aim of
the revolutions was the "separation of the
Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and
their form ation into an independent state."
The Biak-na Bato Republic lasted up to
December 15, 1897, with the conclusion of
the "Pact of Biak-na-Bato."

21. The Dictatorial Government
 Following the outbreak of the Spanish-
American war on April 25, 1898, Gen.
Aguinaldo, in view of the chaotic conditions in
the country, established the Dictatorial
Government on May 23, 1898. The most
important achievements of the Dictatorial
Government were the Proclamation of
Philippine Independence at Kawit , Cavite on
June 12, 1898 and the reorganization of local
governments.

22. The Revolutionary Government
 On ,June 29, 1898, Gen. Aguinaldo
established the Revolutionary Government
replacing the Dictatorial Government with
himself as President and a Congress whose
function was advisory and ministerial. The
decree making such change stated that the
aims of the new government were "to struggle
for the independence of the Philippines, until
all nations including Spain will expressly
recognize it,“ and "to prepare the country for
the establishment of a real Republic."

23. The First Philippine Republic
 On September 15, 1898, a revolutionary
Congress of Filipino representatives met in
Malolos, Bulacan at the call of the
Revolutionary Government. The Malolos
Congress ratified on September 29, 1898 the
proclamation of Philippine independence made
by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite on
,June 12, 1898 and framed the so-called
Malolos Constitution.
 This Constitution was the first democratic
constitution ever promulgated in the whole of
Asia.

24.  It established a "free and independent
Philippine Republic" which was inaugurated
on .January 23, 1899 with G(m. Aguinaldo as
President.
 Our First Philippine Republic was not
recognized by t he family of nations. It was
nevertheless an organized government
because it actually existed and its authority
was accepted by the people. It existed from
January 23, 1899 to March 23, 1901.

25.  In February, 1899, the United States annexed
the Philippines as a result of the Spanish-
American War and in April, 1901, Gen.
Aguinaldo was captured. Thus, the Republic
was short lived, its in dependence cut short by
the superior might. of a new colonial power.
The Malolos Constitution which provided for the
establishment of a Philippine Republic had no
opportunity to operate. However, this in no way
diminishes the historical significance of the
Philippine Revolution of 1896. It was the first
war of independence fought by Asians against
foreign domination and it gave birth to the first
constitutional democracy i n Asia and the West
Pacific.

26. Governments during the
American regime.

27. The Military Government
 The American military rule in the Philippines began
on August 14, 1H98, the day after the capture of
Manila. The existence of war gave t he President of
the United States the power to establish a Military
Government in the Philippines, as Commander-in-
Chief of all Armed Forces of the United States. His
authority was delegated to the military governor who
exercised as long as t he war lasted, all powers of
government - executive, legislative, and judicial.
 The first American Military Governor was General
Wesley Merritt, the second was Gen. Elwell E. Otis,
and the third and last, was Major General Arthur
McArthur.

28. The Civil Government
 Pursuant to the so-called Spooner Amendment
(on the army appropriation act passed in the
U.S. Congress on March 3, 1901) which ended
the military regime in the Philippines , the Civil
Government was inaugurated in Manila on July
4, 1901, headed by a Civil Governor whose
position was created on October 29, 1901. The
Civil Governor (the title was later changed to
Governor-General on February 6, 1905) also
exercised legislative powers . He remained as
President of the Philippine Commission, the sole
lawmaking body of the government from 1901 to
1907.

29.  From 1907 to 1916, the Philippine Commission
acted as the upper house of the legislative
branch with the Philippine Assembly serving as
the lower house. With the pass age of the
Spooner Law in 1901, these two bodies gave
way to the Philippine Legislature. The Philippines
was represented in the United States by two
Resident Commissioners who were elected by
the Philippine Legislature. These commissioners
had seats in the United States House of
Representatives, receiving the same
emoluments and other privileges as the
American members of that body, but without the
right to vote.

30.  The first Civil Governor was Judge William H.
Taft (1901-1903). He was succeeded by Luke
F. Wright (1904-1906) who was the first
American to enjoy the title of Governor-General
of the Philippines. The last Governor-General
was Frank Murphy (1933-1935) who was also
the first High Commissioner of the United
States to the Philippines upon the inauguration
of the Commonwealth Government of the
Philippines.

31. The Commonwealth
Government of' the Philippines
 The next stage in the political development of the
Filipinos was the establishment of the
Commonwealth Government of the Philippines
pursuant to an act. Of the United States Congress on
March 24, 1934, commonly known as the Tydings-
McDuffie Law. Among other things, the Law provided
for a transition period often years during which the
Philippine Commonwealth would operate and at the
expiration of said period on July 4, 1946, the
independence of the Philippines would be proclaimed
and established.

32.  The new government of the Commonwealth
of the Philippines, deemed successor to the
Government of the Philippine Islands, was
inaugurated on November 15, 1935, following
the first national election under the 1935
Constitution held on September 12, 1935,
with Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmena,
as President and Vice-President,
respectively.

33.  The Commonwealth Government of the
Philippines was republican in form under the
presidential type. The legislative power was first
vested in a unicameral National Assembly and
later in a bicameral Congress composed of the
Senate and the House of Representatives. The
judicial power was vested in the Supreme Court
and inferior (i.e., lower) courts provided by law.
The Government of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines was very autonomous. The Filipino
had almost complete control over the domestic
affairs, the United States retaining control only
over matters involving foreign affairs.

34.  During World War II, the Commonwealth
Government functioned in exile in
Washington from May 13, 1942 to October
3, 1944. It was re-established in Manila on
February 27, 1945 when Gen. Douglas
MacArthur, in a ceremony held at
Malacanang Palace on behalf of the United
States Government, turned over to President
Osmena the full powers and responsibilities
of the Commonweath Government under the
(1935) Constitution.

35. Government during
Japanese Occupation

36. The Japanese Military Administration
 It was established in Manila on January
3, 1942, one day after its occupation.
Under a proclamation issued by the
Japanese High Command, the
sovereignty of the United States over
the Philippines was declared
terminated.

37. The Philippine Executive
Commission
 A civil government known as the Philippine
Executive Commission composed of Filipinos
with Jorge B. Vargas as chairman, was organized
by t he military forced of occupation.
 The commission exercised both the executive and
legislative powers. The laws enacted were. however,
subject to the approval of the Commander-in-Chief of
the Japanese Forces. The judiciary continued in the
same form as it was under the Commonwealth.
However, it functioned without the independence
which it had traditionally enjoyed

38. The Japanese-sponsored
Republic of the Philippines
 On October 14, 1943, the so-called Japanese-
sponsored Republic of the Philippines was
inaugurated with .Jose P. Laurel as President. It was
of the same character as the Philippine Executive
Commission. Like the latter, the ultimate source of its
authority was the Japanese military authority and
government.
 On August 17, 1945. President Laurel proclaimed the
dissolution of the Republic