Political System during the
Spanish Occupation
Reported by Group 2: Feliciano,
Angelo, Barril, Tongoy, Soriano
1-SLP
Encomienda
•“encomendar” - to commend or to commit
to one’s care
•Originally a feudal institution in Spain to
reward deserving Spaniards.
•Was introduced by the Spanish Crown to
attract others to settle in the colonies
Encomienda in the Philippines
•It was an administrative unit for the purpose
of exacting tribute from the natives and to use
the personal services of the King’s vassals in
the encomienda.
•It was looked upon by its beneficiaries as a
pretense for slavery.
•It became the tool of oppression and
depression of the by the encomenderos.
Encomendero
•Undertook ways to look after the well-being of his
people
•Educated the people with Spanish norms of
conduct
•Authorized to collect tribute from natives
•Recruited workers for Polo y Servicio
•Received about 1/4 of the tribute collected
Thomas de Comyn
• A Spanish social scientist
• One of the authors of “The Former Philippines
Thru Foreign Eyes”
• Described that the office of alcalde-mayor as:
 Model of graft and corruption
 Inefficiency brought about inexperienced men
governing the provinces
Some had little or no background at all to execute
their varied responsibilities
AlcaldiaMayor
Pueblo
Barangay
barangay
Pueblo
barangay
Organization of the Provinces
Gobernadorcillo
• This position is open to Filipinos
• This was first occupied by pre-colonial chieftains
and their descendants and later elected by an
electoral board consisting of the outgoing
gobernadorcillo and 12 members of the
principalia
• Principalia- prominent land-owning and
propertied citizens who could read, write and
speak Spanish
Cabeza de Barangay
• They were the ones who collected tributes
when the encomienda system was still
imposed.
• An appointed office
The Governor General
• The king appoints the governor general
• Acts as the chief executive, the commanderin-chief of the military forces of the colony,
the vice-royal patron
• His term usually lasts for 2 years and 10
months
• This office is often bought or granted as a
favor
The Governor General as the vice-royal
patron
• He has the power to
– Recommend priests in parishes
– Authority to intervene in controversies between
religious authorities
– Reject or suspend the implementation of any royal
decree or law from Spain (known as the Cumplase
power)
How do they check the gubernatorial
power?
•AUDENCIA ROYAL
• To act as the Supreme court of the colony also
served as advisory body to the governor and
audited the expenditures of the government.
•RESIDENCIA
• To conduct a trial of an outgoing governor
general and other Spanish officials for the
purpose of punishing those guilty of
corruption.
•VISITADOR-GENERAL
• To check the behavior of the high officials in
the colony
•ARCHBISHOP AND
CLERGY
• Who were appointed by the Pope upon the
reccommendation of the king.
TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
• A situation in which a government imposes
taxes on a particular group of its
citizens, despite the citizens not consenting or
having an actual representative deliver their
views when the taxation decision was made.
• DIRECT taxes – personal tributes and income
tax
• INDIRECT taxes – custom duties and bandalâ
• MONOPOLIES (rentas estancadas) of special
crops and items – e.g. liquors, betel nut,
tobacco, explosives, opium
Buwis (tribute) – may be paid in cash or kind, partly or wholly
Palay or tobacco, chickens, textiles, wax and special
regional produce (depends on area of country)
o Samboangan/donativo de Zamboanga – one half of real (rice)
that was collected
To crush the Moro raids and vinta to equip vintas to
shield the coastal areas of Bulacan and Pampanga
Tax exemptions – descendants of Filipino chiefly class
(conquistadores), laborers of the arsenal and artillery yard
(Cavite), mediquillos (Filipinos who had medical experience but
no title)
Bandalâ – assignments of annual quotas to each province for the
compulsory sale of products to the government
Cedula personal (personal identity paper) – equivalent to the
present residence tax; everyone, over 18 yrs. of age was required
to pay
GAME!
• 4 x 4 BOARD
• 3 questions per topic
• 1 topic will have an extra question