It is said that people deserve the kind of government they have.

In the case of the

Filipino people, they went through a lot of stages, both forceful and peaceful, in their
quest for political maturity and independence.

The barangay was the Filipino's earliest form of government. It was an independent
settlement consisting of thirty to one hundred families usually situated along a river
bank or at the mouth of a river spilling out to the sea. The term barangay was derived
from the Malay word barangay or balangay, which means sailboat. The barangays were
used to transport the early Filipinos and their cargoes to the various sections of the
Philippine archipelago.

Each barangay was ruled by a datu or village chief who was also known as raha or
rajah. Some datus were more powerful than others and, consequently, were duly
respected and exercise tremendous influence. The political development of the
archipelago was such that there was no national or central government yet. In other
words, there was no datu strong enough to consolidate considerable power and to unite
the archipelago into one nation. In the old days, a datu had a council of elders to advise
him, especially whenever he wanted a law to be enacted. The law was written and
announced to the whole barangay by a town crier, called the umalohokan.

The primary duty of the datu was to rule and govern his subjects and to promote their
well-being. In times of peace, he was the chief executive, legislator, and judge. And, in
times of conflict, he was the supreme commander of the warriors. In Western Visayas it
was not uncommon for the datu to be the babaylan, as well. The very influence and
mystical ability of the babaylan, especially if he was a man, made him the most likely
candidate for community leadership.

According to Renato Constantino (1975), the datu was not an absolute ruler. The scope
of his authority was given limits by a traditional body of customs and procedures. His
usefulness to the community earned him respect so that services were willingly
rendered to him. He could be replaced if, for some reasons, he was found incapable of
leading the community and his position was weakened. The subjects, on their part,
served the datu during wars and voyages. Moreover, they paid tributes or buwis to their
datu in the form of farm products.

The datu usually obtained his position by inheritance. However, one could also become
a datu through display of his prowess and valor in battle, or by proving his leadership
skills or other traits useful for the barangay's survival.

In matters of succession in the vent of the datu's death, the first son usually succeeded
him. If the first son died without leaving an heir, the second son succeeded as datu. In

the absence of any male heir, the eldest daughter could become a chieftain. This clearly
indicates that women's rights and abilities were recognized during pre-Spanish times. If
a datu died without any heir, the people of the barangay choose a man to become the
new chieftain on the basis of his wisdom, wealth and physical strength.

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 Filipinos came to the Philippines in boats).
Every barangay 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.

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.

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)

In the case of Waray nation: Datu Tumawo Uripon

Comparison with other ancient governments 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 the
nations then at the head of civilization.

The society during our ancestors' period had two kinds of government: The Barangay
and the Sultanate Government. A datu or raja was the leader of a barangay. He could
make laws and implemented them so that peace and order would prevail in their
community. The members of his community helped and participated in the realization of

the projects in the barangay. There were two kinds of barangay laws: written and oral.
The Sultanate Government was formed because of the presence of the Islam Religion in
the Philippines. This was headed by a sultan. Aside from maintaining peace and order, it
was the sultan's responsibility to let the Islam religion and Muslim tradition remain in
the lives of his constituents. The laws of the sultanate government did not change
because it was based on the Koran which is the Muslim Bible and the Sunnah which are
Mohammed's traditions.

The Early Oral and Written Laws

The Maragtas Code which was written by Datu Sumaktel of Panay in 1250 in an example
of a written law. This is the first law ever written which focuses on the penalty for those
who are lazy. The code of Kalantiaw is another law written by Datu Kalantiaw in 1433.
This code speaks of death penalty, exposure to ant bites for those who have been proen
to be murderers, theives abd those who marry women who are under age and those
who would rebel against elders.

Islam Influence on the Political System

Islam has a great influence on the political system of the natives in the Southern
Philippines. The sultan of the Muslim community is still the sultan of Muslim provinces.
The effect of Islam religion and their interaction with the people behind it, the Muslims
have acquired a better perception of their religion and the laws. The political
organizations and their livelihood progressed. Because of this, they were not easily
swayed by colonizers.

CHOOSING A LEADER AGE the oldest of the group was the leader INHERITANCE
based on blood relations to the datu. (son or daughter of the datu, next immediate
relative) EXTENT OF KNOWLEDGE had enough knowledge of the customs and
traditions of the tribe

THE BARANGAY GOVERNMENT-Made up of 5 to 10 barangays Datu head / extensive

powers / implemented and made the laws Judge between conflicts The community
would serve the DATU in times of WAR / TRAVEL / FARMING / HARVESTING/ FISHING
Laws of the barangay WRITTEN or UNWRITTEN

THE 4 KINDS OF GROUPS

DATUS OR LEADERS Tagalogs call their datu LAKAN OR GAT wives were called
DAYANG-DAYANG Showed highest respect Made important decisions Regarded as a
Savior
MAHARLIKA or the FREE PEOPLE (NOBLE PEOPLE)Did not pay taxesTravelled with the
datuSupervised the rowers of the boat
TIMAWA or the ORDINARY PEOPLE (The Masa) Allowed to live in other barangays
Rowers of the boat Protected by the datu
ALIPIN OR AYUEY OR THE SLAVES lowest status-caused by inheritance(inherited from a
master)-captured-punished-sold
ALIPING NAMAMAHAY CLASS-owned and live in their own houses.
ALIPING SAGUIGUILID CLASS-did not own anything, had no privileges at all, they could
even be sold.
OTHER IMPORTANT GROUPS:
BABAYLAND, BAYLANA, OR KATALONA female priests / can communicate with the gods
/ heads all rituals
TAMBALAN healers or doctors
ATUBANG NG DATU adviser of the datu
DARAGANGAN outstanding soldier / made to wear pinayusan a decorative scarf
made of abaca / longer potong cover the head
PARATABGAW barangay teacher

Barangay Social Oganization

Political Leadership-leadership was assumed by influential persons, generally coming

from affluent and rich families.
DATU (MAGINOO in some areas)-based on descent. The right to become a datu was
hereditary, courage and skills in war, accumulation of material wealth, and marriage.
PINUNO-if he was at the same time the founder of the barangay.
PANGULO-the datu who had influence over the other datus.
Duties of the Datu: to protect the barangay from outside enemies, to maintain peace &
order, to lead the warriors in battle, to administer to the needs of the people, to settle
family feuds and other personal disputes.
AGORANG-council of elders.
SAKOP-staff of loyal followers.
ATUBANG SA DATU-head of the sakop; the one who faces the datu.

Inter-Barangay Relations-peaceful and friendly. Inter-barangay warfare was common

among our prehistoric ancestors, mostly carried out in form of raiding a neighboring
barangay, arising from family feuds, betrayal of blood pacts (sandugo), abuse of
friendship, or vendetta for unprovoked attacks while in other barangays.

Legal System-the political leadership was legitimized and supported by sets of custom
laws called battasan.

Economic Organization-centered on agriculture, trade, fishing, hunting and

manufacturing farm implements, kitchen utensils and weapons.agricuture was the most
dominant among economic pursuits, it was the source of livelihood.

Power and Functions of Datu

Implementing laws.
Maintaining peace and order.
Giving protection to his subjects.
He also made the law, with theassistance of group of elders who gave advice.
(a newly enacted law was madeknown to the public through town criercalled
umalokohan)
He acted also as a judge during trial.
(it was easy for the datu to run for thebarangay since the population was verysmall.

Historically, the first barangays started as relatively small communities of around 50 to

100 families. Most villages have only thirty to one hundred houses and the population
varies from one hundred to five hundred persons. When the Spaniards came, they found
communities with twenty to thirty people only. They also encountered large and
prestigious principalities.

Social Organization and Stratification

Ancient barangays in the Visayas

In more developed barangays in Visayas (e.g. Cebu, Bohol, and Panay) which were
never conquered by Spain but were subjugated as vassals by means of pacts, peace

treaties, and reciprocal alliances,[11]the datu was at the top of the social order in a
sakop or haop (elsewhere referred to as barangay).
This social order was divided into three classes. The members of the tumao class (which
includes the datu) were the nobility of pure royal descent
Below the tumao were the vassal warrior class known as the timawa, characterized by
the Jesuit priest Francisco Ignatio Alcina as "the third rank of nobility" and by the
conquistadorMiguel de Loarca as "free men, neither chiefs nor slaves". These were
people of lower nobility who were required to render military service to the datu in
hunts, land wars (Mangubat or Managayau), or sea raids (Mangahat or Magahat).[14]
Aside from this, the timawa also paid taxes and tribute (buwis or handug) and were
sometimes called upon for agricultural labor to the datu, though the personal vassals of
the datu may be exempt from such obligations (the latter were characterized by the
Boxer Codex as "knights and hidalgos).[13] Below the timawa were the oripun class
(commoners and slaves), who rendered services to the tumao and timawa for debts or
favors.[13][15]

Ancient barangays in the Tagalog Region

The different type of culture prevalent in Luzon gave a less stable and more complex
social structure to the pre-colonial Tagalog barangays of Manila, Pampanga and Laguna.
The term datu or lakan, or apo refers to the chief, but the noble class to which the datu
belonged to was known as the maginoo class. Any male member of the maginoo class
can become a datu by personal achievement.
The term timawa referring to freemen came into use in the social structure of the
Tagalogs within just twenty years after the coming of the Spaniards. The term, however,
was being incorrectly applied to former alipin (commoner and slave class) who have
escaped bondage by payment, favor, or flight. Moreover, the Tagalog timawa did not
have the military prominence of the Visayan timawa. The equivalent warrior class in the
Tagalog society was present only in Laguna, and they were known as the maharlika
class.

At the bottom of the social hierarchy are the members of the alipin class. There are two
main subclasses of the alipin class . The aliping namamahay who owned their own
houses and served their masters by paying tribute or working on their fields were the
commoners and serfs, while the aliping sa gigilid who lived in their masters' houses
were the servants and slaves.

Laws-based on social and religious usage. Barangay laws covered areas of personal,
familial, public concerns. Offenders were punished, victims were indemnified.

Warfare-killing from a different barangay, running away with someone else's wife,
territorial trespass were the causes of feuding barangays.

LAWS WERE MADE BY CHIEFTAINS AND THE ELDERS