Conditions during Spanish Regime

 Instability of Colonial Administration – The change of

colonial officials hampered the political and economic
development of the Philippines.
 Corrupt Colonial Officials – Spanish officials became rich by
illegal means or by marrying the heiresses of rich Filipino
families.
 No Philippine Representation in the Spanish Cortes – Due
to misrepresentation in the Spanish Cortes, abuses had been
prevalent.
Conditions during Spanish Regime
 Human Rights Denied to Filipinos – Freedom of
expression was being denied to Filipinos.
 No Equality Before the Law – It regarded the Filipino as
inferior beings and subject for exploitation.
 Maladministration of Justice – Most officials in the
Spanish colonial government were incompetent, corrupt,
and ignorant of the law leading to the Philippine justice
system imposed as partial, biased, and slow.
Conditions during Spanish Regime
 Racial Discrimination – Many Spaniards called the brown-skinned
men and flat-nosed Filipinos as “INDIOS”.

 Frailocracy – Due to the political union of Church and State, there

arose a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines called
“frailocracy” means a government of friars.

 Forced Labor (polo) – A compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish

colonial authorities on adult Filipino males in the construction of
churches, schools, hospitals, building and repair of roads, of ships in
the shipyards; and other public works.
 Falla – A sum of money paid to the government to be exempted from the

polo.
Conditions during Spanish Regime
 Haciendas Owned by the Friars – Spanish friars coming
from various religious orders (Augustinians, Dominicans,
and Franciscans) were the richest landlords, owning large
and best producing agricultural lands in the Philippines.
 Guardia Civil – one of the most hated Spanish symbols of
tyranny in the Philippines was the Guardia Civil. It was
created for the purpose of maintaining peace and order in
the Philippines.
 SPANISH
GOVERNMENT
 KING OF SPAIN

MINISTRY OF THE COLONIES

(Ministro de Ultramar)

GOBERNADOR-GENERAL

ALCALDE MAYOR CORREGIDORES

GOBERNADORCILLO

CABEZA DE BARANGAY
King of Spain
- the supreme ruler and law maker
of all Spanish possessions.

Ministry of the Colonies (Ministro de

Ultramar)
- governs all Spanish possessions
and oversees the colonies of the
Spanish empire.
- established in Madrid in 1863
Ministry of the Colonies (Ministro de
Ultramar)
- this body helped the Spanish
monarchs manage the affairs of the
colonies and governed the Philippines
through centralized machinery,
exercising executive, legislative,
judicial, and religious powers.
Gobernador-General
- the spokesman and
representative of the King in the
Philippines.
- appointed by the Spanish
monarch
- headed the central government or
administration in Manila.
- he was the representative in all
state and religious matters, and as
such, he exercised extensive powers.
Gobernador-General
- he issued executive orders and
proclamations and had supervision and
disciplinary powers over all
government officials.
- he was commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines.
- he had supreme authority in
financial matters until 1784.
Functions of the
Gobernador-General:
 The Commander-in-Chief of the Army
and the Navy
 The President of the Royal Audencia
(Supreme Court)
 The Vice-Real Patron
 The source of Civil Power
o The Gobernador-General, however,
did not possess absolute and
independent power. He was still
subject to higher powers. The Royal
Audencia, the Residencia, and the
Visita were the agencies that
checked the Gobernador-General.
The Royal Audencia
- the Supreme Court in Spain
The Residencia
- was the judicial review or body
- it put under trial those outgoing
governors and other Spanish officials,
forcing them to give account of their
leadership and checking their deeds
during their term of office. The purpose
was to uncover the corruption of the
Spanish officials
The Visita
- was the investigating agency
- checked the abuses of the
government officials
 Visitador
- the investigating officer
- in being sent to the colonies such
as the Philippines , the visitador was to
investigate the conditions of the
country and the works of the governor
general and other Spanish officials.
 Provincial Government:
Alcalde Mayor
- the civil governor
- heads the pacified or known
provinces called ALCALDIAS.

Corregidor or Corregidores
- usually an army officer
- heads the unpacified or unknown
provinces called CORREGIMIENTOS
Functions of the Alcalde
Mayor and Corregidores:
 Judge
 Inspector of Encomiendas
 Chief of Police
 Tribute Collector
 Vice-Regal Patron
 Captain-General of the Province
 City or Municipal Government
- called as AYUNTAMIENTO
- headed by two alcaldes en
ordinario (mayor and vice-mayor)

 Gobernadorcillo
- the highest position that a Filipino
could attain
- also reffered to as the “Little
Governor”
- the chief judge of the town
- fondly called “capitan”
Qualifications to be a
Gobernadorcillo:
 Any Filipino or Chinese Mestizo
 at least 25 years old
 Literate in Oral or Written Spanish
 Had been a Cabeza de Barangay for 4
years

*elected by 13 electors (6 former

cabezas, 6 actual cabezas, and 1
Duties of the
Gobernadorcillo:
 Preparation of the Padron (tribute
list)
 Recruitment and Distribution of Men
for draft labor, communal public work
and the quinto.
 Postal Clerk
 Judge in civil suits involving Php
44.00 or less
 Barangay or Barrio
- the smallest unit of government
 Cabeza de Barangay
- controlled and headed the
barangay or barrio
- main responsibility was to
collect tributes and taxes in the
barrio and maintain peace and order
in his own barangay or barrio with
the help of the guardia civils and
cuadrilleros who performed police
duties.
 • Alferez
- the second lieutenant
- usually a Spaniard
- headed the corps of guardia civil
in each town
Responsibilities of the
Cabeza de Barangay:
 Tax and Distributions Collector for
the Gobernadorcillo
 Responsible for the peace and order
in his own barrio
 Recruited Polistas for communal
public works
 How was the
Social System or
Structure during
the Spanish
Regime?
 Philippine society was
predominantly feudalistic, the result
of the Spanish landholding system
imposed upon the country with the
arrival of the conquistadores.
 The pyramidal structure of the 19th
century Philippine society favored
the Spaniards.
 This social structure showed
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.
 Spaniards
born outside  Spanish
the country Officials APEX
but were  Peninsulares
living and  Spanish Priests
residing in (Friars) MIDDLE
the
AREA- by a
Philippines
small middle
during the
class which
Spanish
consisted of
Period  mestizos (half-breed) favored
 creoles (Philippine-born Spaniards) Filipinos

Indios- considered as the lowest kind of human beings

BASE- by the Filipino majority

Thank You for not
Sleeping !