Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

LSPU Self- Paced Learning

Module (SLM)
Course Readings in Philippine
History
Sem/AY First Semester/2020-2021
Module No. 4
Lesson Title Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Issues in Philippine History
Week
4
Duration
Date
This lesson chapter is dedicated to enduring issues in Philippine society, which history
Description could lend a hand in understanding, and hopefully, proposing solutions. These topics
of the include the mandated discussion on the Philippine constitution, policies on agrarian
Lesson reform, and taxation. It is hoped that these discussions will help us propose
recommendations or solutions to present-day problems based on our understanding of
root causes and how we anticipate future scenarios in the Philippine setting.

Learning Outcomes

Intended Students should be able to meet the following intended learning outcomes:
Learning ● Effectively communicate, using various techniques and genres, their historical
Outcomes analysis of a particular event or issue that led to constitutional reforms.
● Display the ability to work using online materials and other reference materials.

Targets/ At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Objectives ● To analyze social, political, economic, and cultural issues in the Philippines
using the lens of history.
● To recognize that the problems of today are consequences of decisions and
events that happened in the past.
● To understand several enduring issues in Philippine society through history.
● To propose recommendations or solutions to present-day problems based on
the understanding of the past and anticipation of the future through the study
of history.

Stu dent Learning Strategies

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Online Activities A. Online Discussion

(Synchronous/ via Google Meet
You will be directed
Asynchronous) to attend in a Four-
Hour class
discussion on the nature and types of educational technologies. To have
access to the Online Discussion, refer to this link: ____________________.

The online discussion will happen on September 7 and 14, 2020, from
7:00-9:00AM.

(For further instructions, refer to your Google Classroom and see the
schedule of activities for this module)

B. Learning Guide Questions:

1.
2. Why Republic Act No. 1425 is more popularly known as the Rizal Law?

Note: The insight that you will post on online discussion forum using Learning Management
System (LMS) will receive additional scores in class participation.

Offline Activities
(e-Learning/Self- Lecture Guide Social, Political, Economic, and Cultural Issues in Philippine
Paced) History
Lesson I Evolution of the Philippine Constitution
The constitution is defined as a set of fundamental principles or established
precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed, thus,
the word itself means to be a part of a whole, the coming together of distinct
entities into one group, with the same principles and ideals. These principles
define the nature and extent of government.
The Constitution of the Philippines, the supreme law of the Republic of the
Philippines, has been in effect since 1987. There were only three other
constitutions that have effectively governed the country, the 1935
Commonwealth Constitution, the 1973 Constitution, and the 1986 Freedom
Constitution. However, there were earlier constitutions attempted by Filipinos
in the struggle to break free from the colonial yoke.

1897: Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was the provisionary Constitution of the

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Philippine Republic during
the Philippine Revolution,
and was promulgated by
the Philippine
Revolutionary Government
on 1 November 1897. The
constitution, borrowed
from Cuba, was written by Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer in Spanish, and
later on, translated into Tagalog.
The organs of the government under the Constitution were: (1) the Supreme
Council, which was vested with the power of the Republic, headed by the
president and four department secretaries: the interior, foreign affairs,
treasury, and war; (2) the Consejo Supremo de Gracia Y Justicia (Supreme
Council of Grace and Justice), which was given the authority to make decisions
and affirm or disprove the sentences rendered by other courts and to dictate
rules for the administration of justice; and (3) the Asamblea de Representantes
(Assembly of Representatives), which was to be convened after the revolution
to create a new Constitution and to elect a new Council of Government and
Representatives of the people.
The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was never fully implemented, since a truce,
the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, was signed between the Spanish and the Philippine
Revolutionary Army.
Primary Source: Preamble of the Biak-na-Bato Constitution
The separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their
formation into an independent state with its own government called the
Philippine Republic has been the end sought by the Revolution in the existing
war, begun on the 24th of August, 1896; and, therefore, in its name and by the
power delegated by the Filipino people, interpreting faithfully their desires and
ambitions, we the representatives of the Revolution, in a meeting at Biak-na-
bato, November 1,1897, unanimously adopted the following articles for the
constitution of the State.
1899: Malolos Constitution
After the signing of the truce, the Filipino revolutionary leaders accepted a
payment from Spain and went to exile in Hong Kong. Upon the defeat of the
Spanish to the Americans in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, the United
States Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines. The newly
reformed Philippine revolutionary forces reverted to the control of Aguinaldo,
and the Philippine Declaration of Independence was issued on 12 June 1898,
together with several decrees that formed the First Philippine Republic. The
Malolos Congress was elected, which selected a commission to draw up a draft
constitution on 17 September 1898, which was composed of wealthy and
educated men.
The document they came up with, approved by the Congress on 29
November 1898, and promulgated by Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899, was titled

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
"The Political Constitution
of 1899" and written in
Spanish. The constitution
has 39 articles divided into
14 titles, with eight articles
of transitory provisions,
and a final additional
article. The document was patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812,
with influences from the charters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, and Guatemala, and the French Constitution of 1793. According to Felipe
Calderon, main author of the constitution, these countries were studied
because they shared similar social, political, ethnological, and governance
conditions with the Philippines. Prior constitutional projects in the Philippines
also influenced the Malolos Constitution, namely, the Kartilya and the
Sanggunian-Hukuman, the charter of laws and morals of the Katipunan written
by Emilio Jacinto in 1896; the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897 planned by
Isabelo Artacho; Mabini's Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic of
1898; the provisional constitution of Mariano Ponce in 1898 that followed the
Spanish constitutions; and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898.
Primary Source: Preamble of the Political Constitution of 1899
We, the Representatives of the Filipino People, lawfully convened, in order to
establish justice, provide for common defense, promote the general welfare
and insure the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator
of the Universe for the attainment of these ends, have voted, decreed, and
sanctioned the following political constitution.
As a direct challenge to colonial authorities of the Spanish empire, the
sovereignty was retroverted to the people, a legal principle underlying the
Philippine Revolution. The people delegated governmental functions to civil
servants while they retained actual sovereignty. The 27 articles of Title IV
detail the natural rights and popular sovereignty of Filipinos, the enumeration
of which does not imply the prohibition of any other rights not expressly
stated. Title HI, Article V also declares that the State recognizes the freedom
and equality of all beliefs, as well as the separation of Church and State. These
are direct reactions to features of the Spanish government in the Philippines,
where the friars were dominant agents of the state.

The form of government, according to Title II, Article 4 is to be popular,

representative, alternative, and responsible, and shall exercise three distinct
powers—legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative power was vested
in a unicameral body called the Assembly of Representatives, members of
which are elected for terms of four years. Secretaries of the government were
given seats in the assembly, which meet annually for a period of at least three
months. Bills could be introduced either by the president or by a member of the
assembly. Some powers not legislative in nature were also given to the body,
such as the right to select its own officers, right of censure and interpellation,

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
and the right of impeaching
the president, cabinet
members, the chief justice
of the Supreme Court, and
the solicitor-general. A
permanent commission of
seven, elected by the
assembly, and granted specific powers by the constitution, was to sit during the
intervals between sessions of the assembly.
Executive power was vested in the president, and elected by a constituent
assembly of the Assembly of Representatives and special representatives. The
president will serve a term of four years without re-election. There was no vice
president, and in case of a vacancy, a president was to be selected by the
constituent assembly.
The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the ongoing war.
The Philippines was effectively a territory of the United States upon the signing
of the Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States, transferring
sovereignty of the Philippines on 10 December 1898.

1935: The Commonwealth Constitution

It is worth mentioning that after the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was
subject to the power of the United States of America, effectively the new
colonizers of the country. From 1898 to 1901, the Philippines would be placed
under a military government until a civil government would be put into place.

Two acts of the United States Congress were passed that may be considered
to have qualities of constitutionahty. First was the Philippine Organic Act of
1902, the first organic law for the Philippine Islands that provided for the
creation of a popularly elected Philippine Assembly. The act specified that
legislative power would be vested in a bicameral legislature composed of the
Philippine Commission as the upper house and the Philippine Assembly as
lower house. Key provisions of the act included a bill of rights for Filipinos and
the appointment of two non-voting Fihpino Resident Commissioners of the
Philippines as representative to the United States House of Representatives.
The second act that functioned as a constitution was the Philippine Autonomy
Act of 1916, commonly referred to as "Jones Law," which modified the
structure of the Philippine government through the removal of the Philippine
Commission, replacing it with a Senate that served as the upper house and its
members elected by the Filipino voters, the first truly elected national
legislature. It was also this Act that explicitly declared the purpose of the
United States to end their sovereignty over the Philippines and recognize
Philippine independence as soon as a stable government can be established.
In 1932, with the efforts of the Filipino independence mission led by Sergio
Osmena and Manuel Roxas, the United States Congress passed the Hare-Hawes-
Cutting Act with the promise of granting Filipinos' independence. The biU was

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
opposed by then Senate
President Manuel L. Quezon
and consequently, rejected
by the Philippine Senate.
By 1934, another law,
the Tydings-McDuffie Act,
also known as the
Philippine Independence Act, was passed by the United States Congress that
provided authority and defined mechanisms for the establishment of a formal
constitution by a constitutional convention. The members of the convention
were elected and held their first meeting on 30 July 1934, with Claro M. Recto
unanimously elected as president.
The constitution was crafted to meet the approval of the United States
government, and to ensure that the United States would live up to its promise
to grant independence to the Philippines.
Primary Source: Preamble of the 1935 Commonwealth
The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to
establish a government that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop
the patrimony of the nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to
themselves and their posterity the ‘blessings, of independence under a regime
of Justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain and promulgate this constitution.
The constitution created the Commonwealth of the Philippines, an
administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946. It is a
transitional administration to prepare the country toward its full achievement
of independence. It originally provided for a unicameral National Assembly
with a president and vice president elected to a six-year term without re-
election. It was amended in 1940 to have a bicameral Congress composed of a
Senate and a House of Representatives, as well as the creation of an
independent electoral commission, and limited the term of office of the
president and vice president to four years, with one re-election. Rights to
suffrage were originally afforded to male citizens of the Philippines who are
twenty-one years of age or over and are able to read and write; this was later
on extended to women within two years after the adoption of the constitution.
While the dominant influence in the constitution was American, it also bears
traces of the Malolos Constitution, the German, Spanish, and Mexican
constitutions, constitutions of several South American countries, and the
unwritten English Constitution.
The draft of the constitution was approved by the constitutional convention
on 8 February 1935, and ratified by then U.S. President Franklin B. Roosevelt
on 25 March 1935. Elections were held in September 1935 and Manuel L.
Quezon was elected President of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth was briefly interrupted by the events of the World War
II, with the Japanese occupying the Philippines. Afterward, upon liberation, the
Philippines was declared an independent republic on 4 July 1946.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
1973: Constitutional
Authoritarianism
In 1965, Ferdinand E.
Marcos was elected
president, and in 1967,
Philippine Congress passed
a resolution calling for a
constitutional convention to change the 1935 Constitution. Marcos won the re-
election in 1969, in a bid boosted by campaign overspending and use of
government funds. Elections of the delegates to the constitutional convention
were held on 20 November 1970, and the convention began formally on 1 June
1971, with former President Carlos P. Garcia being elected as convention
president. Unfortunately, he died, and was succeeded by another former,
president, Diosdado Macapagal.
Before the convention finished its work, Martial Law was declared. Marcos
cited a growing communist insurgency as reason for the Martial Law, which
was provided for in the 1935 Constitution. Some delegates of the ongoing
constitutional convention were placed behind bars and others went into hiding
or were voluntary exiled. With Marcos as dictator, the direction of the
convention turned, with accounts that the president himself dictated some
provisions of the constitution, manipulating the document to be able to hold on
to power for as long as he could. On 29 November 1972, the convention
approved its proposed constitution.
The constitution was supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style
government, where legislative power was vested in a unicameral National
Assembly, with members being elected to a six-year term. The president was to
be elected as the symbolic and ceremonial head of state chosen from the
members of the National Assembly. The president would serve a six-year term
and could be re-elected to an unlimited number of terms. Executive power was
relegated to the Prime Minister, who was also the head of government and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces who was also to be elected from the
National Assembly.
President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 73 setting the date of the
plebiscite to ratify or reject the proposed constitution on 30 November 1973.
This plebiscite was postponed later on since Marcos feared that the public
might vote to reject the constitution. Instead of a plebiscite, Citizen Assemblies
were held, from 10-15 January 1973, where the citizens coining together and
voting by hand, decided on whether to ratify the constitution, suspend the
convening of the Interim National Assembly, continue Martial Law, or place of
moratorium on elections for a period of at least several years . The President,
on 17 January 1973, issued a proclamation announcing that the proposed
constitution had been ratified by an overwhelming vote of the members of the
highly irregular Citizens Assemblies.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
The constitution was
amended several times. In
1976, Citizen Assemblies,
once again, decided to allow
the continuation of Martial
Law, as well as approved
the amendments: an
Interim Batasang Pambansa to substitute for the Interim National Assembly,
the president to also become the Prime Minister and continue to exercise
legislative powers until Martial Law was lifted and authorized the President to
legislate on his own on an emergency basis. An overwhelming majority would
ratify further amendments succeeding. In 1980, the retirement age of members
of the judiciary was extended to 70 years. In 1981, the parliamentary system
was formally modified to a French-style, semi-presidential system where
executive power was restored to the president, who was, once again, to be
directly elected; an Executive Committee was to be created, composed of the
Prime Minister and 14 others, that served as the president's Cabinet; and some
electoral reforms were instituted. In 1984, the Executive Committee was
abolished and the position of the vice president was restored.
After all the amendments introduced, the 1973 Constitution was merely a
way for the President to keep executive powers, abolish the Senate, and by any
means, never acted as a parliamentary system, instead functioned as an
authoritarian presidential system, with all the real power concentrated in the
hands of the president, with the backing of the constitution.
The situation in the 1980s had been very turbulent. As Marcos amassed
power, discontent has also been burgeoning. The tide turned swiftly when in
August 1983, Benigno Aquino Jr., opposition leader and regarded as the most
credible alternative to President Marcos, was assassinated while under military
escort immediately after his return from exile in the United States. There was
widespread suspicion that the orders to assassinate Aquino came from the top
levels of the government and the military. This event caused the coming
together of the non-violent opposition against the Marcos authoritarian regime.
Marcos was then forced to hold snap elections a year early, and said elections
were marred by widespread fraud. Marcos declared himself winner despite
international condemnation and nationwide protests. A small group of military
rebels attempted to stage a coup, but failed; however, this triggered what came
to be known as the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, as people from all
walks of life spilled onto the streets. Under pressure from the United States of
America, who used to support Marcos and his Martial Law, the Marcos family
fled into exile. His opponent in the snap elections, Benigno Aquino Jr.'s widow,
Corazon Aquino, was installed as president on 25 February 1986.
1987: Constitution After Martial Law

President Corazon Aquino's government had three options regarding the

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
constitution: revert to the
1935 Constitution, retain
the 1973 Constitution and
be granted the power to
make reforms, or start
anew and break from the
"vestiges of a disgraced
dictatorship." They decided to make a new constitution that, according to the
president herself, should be "truly reflective of the aspirations and ideals of the
Filipino people."
In March 1986, President Aquino proclaimed a transitional constitution to
last for a year while a Constitutional Commission drafted a permanent
constitution. This transitional constitution, called the Freedom Constitution,
maintained many provisions of the old one, including in rewritten form the
presidential right to rule by decree. In 1986, a constitutional convention was
created, composed of 48 members appointed by President Aquino from varied
backgrounds and representations. The convention drew up a permanent
constitution, largely restoring the setup abolished by Marcos in 1972, but with
new ways to keep the president in check, a reaction to the experience of
Marcos's rule. The new constitution was officially adopted on 2 February 1987.
The Constitution begins with a preamble and eighteen self-contained
articles. It established the Philippines as a "democratic republican State" where
"sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from
them." It allocates governmental powers among the executive, legislative, and
judicial branches of the government.
The Executive branch is headed by the president and his cabinet, whom he
appoints. The president is the head of the state and the chief executive, but his
power is limited by significant checks from the two other co-equal branches of
government, especially during times of emergency. This is put in place to
safeguard the country from the experience of martial law despotism during the
presidency of Marcos. In cases of national emergency, the president may still
declare martial law, but not longer than a period of sixty days. Congress,
through a majority vote, can revoke this decision, or extend it for a period that
they determine. The Supreme Court may also review the declaration of martial
law and decide if there were sufficient justifying facts for the act. The president
and the vice president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a single six-
year term.
The legislative power resides in a Congress divided into two Houses: the
Senate and the House of Representatives. The 24 senators are elected at large
by popular vote, and can serve no more than two consecutive six-year terms.
The House is composed of district representatives representing a particular
geographic area and makes up around 80% of the total number of
representatives. There are 234 legislative districts in the Philippines that elect
their representatives to serve three-year terms. The 1987 Constitution created

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
a party-list system to
provide spaces for the
participation of under-
represented community
sectors or groups. Party-list
representatives may fill up
not more than 20% of the
seats in the House.
Aside from the exclusive power of legislation, Congress may also declare
war, through a two-thirds vote in both upper and lower houses. The power of
legislation, however, is also subject to an executive check, as the president
retains the power to veto or stop a bill from becoming a law. Congress may only
override this power with a two-thirds vote in both houses.

The Philippine Court system is vested with the power of the judiciary, and is
composed of a Supreme Court and lower courts as created by law. The
Supreme Court is a 15-member court appointed by the president without the
need to be confirmed by Congress. The appointment the president makes,
however, is limited to a list of nominees provided by a constitutionally
specified Judicial and Bar Council. The Supreme Court Justices may hear, on
appeal, any cases dealing with the constitutionality of any law, treaty, or decree
of the government, cases where questions of jurisdiction or judicial error are
concerned, or cases where the penalty is sufficiently grave. It may also exercise
original jurisdiction over cases involving government or international officials.
The Supreme Court is also in charge of overseeing the functioning and
administration of the lower courts and their personnel.
The Constitution also established three independent Constitutional
Commissions, namely, the Civil Service Commission, a central agency in charge
of government personnel; the Commission on Elections, mandated to enforce
and administer all election laws and regulations; and the Commission on Audit,
which examines all funds, transactions, and property accounts of the
government and its agencies.
To further promote the ethical and lawful conduct of the government, the Office
of the Ombudsman was created to investigate complaints that pertain to public
corruption, unlawful behavior of public officials, and other public misconduct.
The Ombudsman can charge public officials before the Sandiganbayan, a
special court created for this purpose.

Changing the Constitution is a perennial issue that crops up, and

terms such as "Cha-Cha," "Con-Ass," and "Con-Con" are regularly thrown
around. Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution provides for three ways by
which the Constitution can be changed.
Congress (House of Representatives and the Senate) may convene as

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
a Constituent Assembly
(or Con-Ass) to propose
amendments to the
Constitution. It is not
clear, however, if
Congress is to vote as a
single body or separately. How the Congress convenes as a Con-Ass is
also not provided for in the Constitution.
Another method is through the Constitutional Convention (or Con-Con),
where Congress, upon a vote of two-thirds of all its members, calls for a
constitutional convention. They may also submit to the electorate the
question of calling a convention through a majority vote of all its
members. In a Con-Con, delegates will propose amendments or
revisions to the constitution, not Congress. The 1987 Constitution does
not provide for a method by which delegates to the Con-Con are chosen.
The third method is called the "People's Initiative" (or PI). In this
method, amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the
people upon a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered
voters. All legislative districts must be represented by at least 12% of
the registered votes therein. No amendment is allowed more than once
every five years since a successful PI. The 1987 Constitution directs the
Congress to enact a law to implement provisions of the PI, which has not
yet materialized.

Amendments or revision to the constitution shall be valid only when

ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a national referendum.

Only the House of Representatives can initiate the impeachment of the

president, members of the Supreme Court, and other constitutionally protected
public officials such as the Ombudsman. The Senate will then try the
impeachment case. This is another safeguard to promote moral and ethical
conduct in the government.

Attempts to Amend or Change the 1987 Constitution

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
The 1987 Constitution
provided for three methods
by which the Constitution
can be amended, all
requiring ratification by a
majority vote in a national
referendum. These
methods were Constituent Assembly, Constitutional Convention, and People's
Initiative. Using these modes, there were efforts to amend or change the 1987
Constitution, starting with the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos who succeeded
Corazon Aquino. The first attempt was in 1995, when then Secretary of
National Security Council Jose Almonte drafted a constitution, but it was
exposed to the media and it never prospered. The second effort happened in
1997, when a group called PIRMA hoped to gather signatures from voters to
change the constitution through a people's initiative. Many were against this,
including then Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who brought the issue to
court and won with the Supreme Court judging that a people's initiative cannot
push through without an enabling law.
The succeeding president, Joseph Ejercito, Estrada, formed a study
commission to investigate the issues surrounding charter change focusing on
the economic and judiciary provisions of the constitution. This effort was also
blocked by different entities. After President Estrada was replaced by another
People Power and succeeded by his Vice President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,
then House Speaker Jose de Venecia endorsed constitutional change through a
Constituent Assembly, which entails a two-thirds vote of the House to propose
amendments or revision to the Constitution. This initiative was also not
successful since the term of President Arroyo was mired in controversy and
scandal, including the possibility of Arroyo extending her term as president,
which the Constitution does not allow.
The administration of the succeeding President Benigno Aquino III had no
marked interest in charter change, except those emanating from different
members of Congress, including the Speaker of the House, Feliciano Belmonte
Jr., who attempted to introduce amendments to the Constitution that concern
economic provisions that aim toward liberalization. This effort did not see the
light of day.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Federalism in the
Philippines was supported
by President Duterte in
the 2016 presidential
elections, saying that it
will evenly distribute
wealth in the Philippines instead of concentrating it in Manila, the capital of the
country. As a form of government, a central governing authority and constituent
political units constitutionally share sovereignty. Applied to the Philippines, the
country will be broken into autonomous regions. Each region will be further
divided into local government units. The regions will have the primary
responsibility of industry development, public safety and instruction, education,
healthcare, transportation, and many more. Each region will also take charge of
their own finances, plans for development, and laws exclusive to their area. The
national government, on the other hand, will only handle matters of national
interest such as foreign policy and defense, among others. In this system, it is
possible for the central government and the regions to share certain powers.
Our current system is that of a unitary form, where administrative powers and
resources are concentrated in the national government. Mayors and governors
would have to rely on allocations provided to them through a proposed budget
that is also approved by the national government, a system prone to abuse.
There are many pros to a federal form of government. Each region may custom fit
solutions to problems brought about by their distinct geographic, cultural, social,
and economic contexts. Regions also have more power over their finances, since
they handle majority of their income and only contributes to a small portion to
the national government. They can choose to directly fund their own
development projects without asking for the national government's go signal. A
federal system could also promote specialization, since the national government
could focus on nationwide concerns while regional governments can take care of
administrative issues.
A federal form of government could also solve a lot of decade-old problems of the
country. It may be a solution to the conflict in Mindanao, since a separate
Bangsamoro region could be established for Muslim Mindanao. It could address
the inequality in wealth distribution and lessen the dependence to Metro Manila,
since regions can proceed with what they have to do without needing to consider
the situation in the capital.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

There are also cons to federalism. While it creates competition among regions, it
could also be a challenge to achieving unity in the country. There might be regions
which are not ready to govern themselves, or have lesser resources, which could
mire them deeper in poverty and make development uneven in the country. There
could be issues regarding overlaps in jurisdiction, since ambiguities may arise
where national ends and regional begins, or vice versa. As a proposed solution to
the conflict in Mindanao, we must also remember that the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has already been created, and the conflict still
continues. Federalism may not be enough for those who clamor separation.

Any effort to shift the system of government also entails costs, and it would
not be cheap. It would cost billions to dismantle the current system and
would take a long time before the system normalizes and irons out its
kinks.

In an upsurge of populism, President Rodrigo Duterte won the 2016

presidential elections in a campaign centering on law and order, proposing to
reduce crime by killing tens of thousands of criminals. He is also a known
advocate of federalism, a compound mode of government combining a central
or federal government with regional governments in a single political system.
This advocacy is in part an influence of his background, being a local leader in
Mindanao that has been mired in poverty and violence for decades. On 7
December 2016, President Duterte signed an executive order creating a
consultative committee to review the 1987 Constitution.
Policies on Agrarian Reform
Agrarian reform is essentially the rectification of the whole system of
agriculture, an important aspect of the Philippine economy because nearly half
of the population is employed in the agricultural sector, and most citizens live
in rural areas. Agrarian reform is centered on the relationship between
production and the distribution of land among farmers. It is also focused on the
political and economic class character of the relations of production and
distribution in farming and related enterprises, and how these connect to the
wider class structure. Through genuine and comprehensive agrarian reform,
the Philippines would be able to gain more from its agricultural potential and

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
uplift the Filipinos in the
agricultural sector, who
have been, for the longest
time, suffering in poverty
and discontent.
In our attempt to
understand the
development of agrarian reform in the Philippines, we turn our attention to our
country's history, especially our colonial past, where we could find the root of
the agrarian woes the country has experienced up to this very day.
Landownership in the Philippines under Spain
When the Spaniards colonized the country, they brought with them a system
of pueblo agriculture, where rural communities, often dispersed and scattered
in nature, were organized into a pueblo and given land to cultivate.
Families were not allowed to own their land—the King of Spain owned the
land, and Filipinos were assigned to these lands to cultivate them, and they
paid their colonial tributes to the Spanish authorities in the form of agricultural
products.
Later on, through the Law of the Indies, the Spanish crown awarded tracts of
land to;
1. religious orders;
2. repartamientos for Spanish military as reward for their service; and
3. Spanish encomenderos, those mandated to manage the encomienda or the
lands given to them, where Filipinos worked and paid their tributes to the
encomendero. Filipinos were not given the right to own land, and only worked
in them so that they might have a share of the crops and pay tribute. The
encomienda system was an unfair and abusive system as ''compras y vandalas"
became the norm for the Filipino farmers working the land—they were made
to sell their products at a very low price or surrender their products to the
encomenderos, who resold this at a profit. Filipinos in the encomienda were
also required to render services to their encomenderos that were unrelated to
farming.
From this encomienda system, the hacienda system developed in the
beginning of the nineteenth century as the Spanish government implemented
policies that would fast track the entry of the colony into the capitalist world.
The economy was tied to the world market as the Philippines became an
exporter of raw materials and importer of goods. Agricultural exports were
demanded and the hacienda system was developed as a new form of
ownership. In the 1860s, Spain enacted a law ordering landholders to register
their landholdings, and only those who knew benefitted from this. Lands were
claimed and registered in other people's names, and many peasant families
who were "assigned" to the land in the earlier days of colonization were driven
out or forced to come under the power of these people who claimed rights to
the land because they held a title.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
This is the primary
reason why revolts in the
Philippines were often
agrarian in nature. Before
the colonization, Filipinos
had communal ownership
of land. The system
introduced by the Spaniards became a bitter source of hatred and discontent
for the Filipinos. Religious orders, the biggest landowners in the Philippines,
also became a main source of abuse and exploitation for the Filipinos,
increasing the rent paid by the Filipinos on a whim.
Filipinos fought the Philippine Revolution in a confluence of motivations, but
the greatest desire for freedom would be the necessity of owning land. Upon
the end of the Philippine Revolution, the revolutionary government would
declare all large landed estates, especially the confiscated friar lands as
government property. However, the first Philippine republic was short-lived.
The entrance of the Americans would signal a new era of colonialism and
imperialism in the Philippines.

Landownership in the Philippines under the Americans

The Americans were aware that the main cause of social unrest in the
Philippines was landlessness, and they attempted to put an end to the
deplorable conditions of the tenant farmers by passing several land policies to
increase the small landholders and distribute ownership to a bigger number of
Filipino tenants and farmers. The Philippine Bill of 1902 provided regulations
on the disposal of public lands. A private individual may own 16 hectares of
land while corporate landholders may have 1,024 hectares. Americans were
also given rights to own agricultural lands in the country. The Philippine
Commission also enacted Act No. 496 or the Land Registration Act, which
introduced the Torrens system to address the absence of earlier records of
issued land titles and conduct accurate land surveys. In 1903, the homestead
program was introduced, allowing a tenant to enter into an agricultural
business by acquiring a farm of at least 16 hectares. This program, however,
was limited to areas in Northern Luzon and Mindanao, where colonial
penetration had been difficult for Americans, a problem they inherited from the
Spaniards.
Landownership did not improve during the American period; in fact, it even
worsened, because there was no limit to the size of landholdings people could
possess and the accessibility of possession was limited to those who could
afford to buy, register, and acquire fixed property titles. Not all friar lands
acquired by the Americans were given to landless peasant farmers. Some lands
were sold or leased to American and Filipino business interest. This early land
reform program was also implemented without support mechanisms—if a
landless peasant farmer received land, he only received land, nothing more.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Many were forced to return
to tenancy and wealthy
Filipino hacienderos
purchased or forcefully
took over lands from
farmers who could not
afford to pay their debts.
The system introduced by the Americans enabled more lands to be placed
under tenancy, which led to widespread peasant uprisings, such as the Colorum
and Sakdal Uprising in Luzon. Peasants and workers found refuge from
millenarian movements that gave them hope that change could still happen
through militancy.

The Sakdal (or Sakdalista) Uprising was a peasant rebellion in Central

Luzon that lasted for two days. May 2-3, 1935. It was easily crushed by
government forces then, but this historical event tells of the social
inequality brought about by issues in land ownership and tenancy in the
country.
The Filipino word sakdal means "to accuse," which is the title of the
newspaper helmed by Benigno Ramos. He rallied support from Manila and
nearby provinces through the publication, which led to the establishment of
the Partido Sakdahsta in 1933. They demanded reforms from the
government, such as the abohtion of taxes and "equal or common"
ownership of land, among others. They also opposed the dominant
Nacionalista Party's acceptance of gradual independence from the United
States, and instead demanded immediate severance of ties with America.
For a new party with a smaU clout, they did well in the 1934 general
elections, scoring three seats in the House of Representatives and several
local posts. This encouraged them to attempt an uprising in 1935. Upon
being crushed, Ramos fled to Tokyo and the Partido Sakdalista collapsed.

During the years of the Commonwealth government, the situation further

worsened as peasant uprisings increased and landlord-tenant relationship
became more and more disparate. President Quezon laid down a social justice
program focused on the purchase of haciendas, which were to be divided and
sold to tenants. His administration also created the National Rice and Corn
Corporation (NARIC) to assign public defenders to assist peasants in court
battles for their rights to the land, and the Court of Industrial Relations to

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
exercise jurisdiction over
disagreements arising from
landowner-tenant
relationship. The
homestead program also
continued through the
National Land Settlement
Administration (NLSA). Efforts toward agrarian reform by the Commonwealth
failed because of many problems such as budget allocation for the settlement
program and widespread peasant uprisings. World War 11 put a halt to all
interventions to solve these problems as the Japanese occupied the country.

Post-War Interventions toward Agrarian Reform

Rehabilitation and rebuilding after the war were focused on providing
solutions to the problems of the past. The administration of President Roxas
passed Republic Act No. 34 to establish a 70-30 sharing arrangement between
tenant and landlord, respectively, which reduced the interest of landowners'
loans to tenants at six percent or less. The government also attempted to
redistribute hacienda lands, falling prey to the woes of similar attempts since
no support was given to small farmers who were given lands.
Under the term of President Elpidio Quirino, the Land Settlement
Development Corporation (LASEDECO) was established to accelerate and
expand the resettlement program for peasants. This agency later on became
the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) under
the administration of President Ramon Magsaysay.
Magsaysay saw the importance of pursuing genuine land reform program
and convinced the Congress, majority of which were landed elites, to pass
legislation to improve the land reform situation. Republic Act No. 1199 or the
Agricultural Tenancy Act was passed to govern the relationship between
landholders and tenant farmers, protecting the tenurial rights of tenants and
enforced tenancy practices. Through this law, the Court of Agricultural
Relations was created in 1955 to improve tenancy security, fix land rentals of
tenanted farms, and resolve land disputes filed by the landowners and peasant
organizations. The Agricultural Tenancy Commission was also established to
administer problems created by tenancy. The Agricultural Credit and
Cooperative Financing Administration (ACCFA) was also created mainly to
provide warehouse facilities and assist farmers in marketing their products.
The administration spearheaded the establishment of the Agricultural and
Industrial Bank to provide easier terms in applying for homestead and other
farmlands.
NARRA accelerated the government's resettlement program and distribution

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
of agricultural lands to
landless tenants and
farmers. It also aimed to
convince members of the
Huks, a movement of rebels
in Central Luzon, to resettle
in areas where they could
restart their lives as peaceful citizens.

Despite a more vigorous effort toward agrarian reform, the situation for the
farmers remained dire since the government lacked funds and provided
inadequate support services for the programs. The landed elite did not fully
cooperate and they criticized the programs.
A major stride in land reform during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal
through the Agricultural Land Reform Code (Republic Act No. 3844).

Primary Source: Declaration of Policy under RA No, 3844 or Agricultural

Land Reform Code
Source: Section 2. Declaration of Policy – It is the policy of the State:

1. To establish owner-cultivatorship and the economic family-size arm as

the basis of Philippine agriculture and, as a consequence, divert landlord
capital in agriculture to industrial development;
2. To achieve a dignified existence for the small farmers free from
pernicious institutional restraints and practices;
3. To create a truly viable social and economic structure in agriculture
conducive to greater productivity and higher farm incomes;
4. To apply all labor laws equally and without discrimination to both
industrial and agricultural wage earners;
5. To provide a more vigorous and systematic land resettlement program
and public land distribution; and
6. To make the small farmers more independent, self-reliant and
responsible citizens, and a source of genuine strength in our democratic
society.
This Code abolished share tenancy in the Philippines and prescribed a
program to convert tenant-farmers to lessees and later on owner-cultivators. It
also aimed to free tenants from tenancy and emphasize owner cultivatorship
and farmer independence, equity, productivity improvement, and public land
distribution. Despite being one of the most comprehensive pieces of land
reform legislation ever passed in the Philippines, Congress not make any effort
to come up with a separate bill to fund its implementation despite the fact that
it proved beneficial in the provinces where it was pilot tested.
Agrarian Reform Efforts under Marcos
President Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, enabling essentially wipe out

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
the landlord-dominated
Congress. "technocrats," he
was able to expand
executive power to start a
fundamental restructuring"
of government, including its
efforts in solving structural
problems of the countryside. Presidential Decree No. 27 or the Code of
Agrarian Reform of the Philippines became the core of agrarian reform during
Marcos regime.

Primary Source: Presidential Decree No. 27, 21 October 1972

This shall apply to tenant farmers of private agricultural lands private devoted
to rice and corn under a system of sharecrop or lease-tenancy, whether
classified as landed estate or not;
The tenant farmer, whether in land classified as landed estate or shall be
deemed owner of a portion constituting a family size a five (5) hectares if not
irrigated and three (3) hectares if irrigate , In all cases, the landowner may
retain an area of not more than seven (7) hectares if such landowner is
cultivating such area or will now cultivate it;
For the purpose of determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the
tenant-farmer pursuant to this Decree, the value of the land shall be equivalent
to two and one-half (2 1/2) times the average harvest of three normal crop
years immediately preceding the promulgation of this Decree;
The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of six (6) per centum per
annum, shall be paid by the tenant in fifteen (15) years of fifteen (15) equal
annual amortizations;

In case of default, the amortization due shall be paid by the farmers’

cooperative in which the defaulting tenant-farmer is a member, with the
cooperative having a right of recourse against him;
The government shall guaranty such amortizations with shares of stock in
government-owned and government-controlled corporations;
No title to the land owned by the tenant-farmers under this Decree shall be
actually issued to a tenant-farmer unless and until the tenant- farmer has
become full-pledge e member of a duly recognized farmer's cooperative;
Title to land acquired pursuant to this Decree or the Land Reform Program of
the Government shall not be transferable except by hereditary succession or to
the Government in accordance with the provisions of this Decree, the Code of
Agrarian Reforms and other existing laws and regulations;
The Department of Agrarian Reform through its secretary is hereby
empowered to promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this
Decree.

“Operations Land Transfer” on lands occupied by tenants of more than

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
seven hectares on rice and
corn lands commenced, and
through legal compulsion
and an improved delivery
of support services to small
farmers, agrarian reform
seemed to be finally
achievable. Under the rice self-sufficiency program “Masagana 99”, farmers
were able to borrow from banks and purchase three-hectares plots of lands
and agricultural inputs. However, the landlord class still found ways to
circumvent the law. Because only rice lands were the focus of agrarian reform,
some landlords only needed to change crops to be exempted to the program,
such as coconut and sugar lands. Lands worked by wage labor were exempt
from the program, so the landed elite only had to evict their tenants and hired
workers instead. Landlessness increased, which made it all more difficult for
the program to succeed because landless peasants were excluded from the
program. Many other methods were employed by the elite to find a way to
maintain their power and dominance, which were worsened by the corruption
of Marcos and his cronies who were also involved in the agricultural sector.

Post-1986 Agrarian Reform

The overthrow of Marcos and the 1987 Constitution resulted in a renewed

interest and attention to agrarian reform as President Corazon Aquino
envisioned agrarian reform to be the centerpiece of her administration's social
legislation, which proved difficult because her background betrayed her—she
came from a family of a wealthy and landed clan that owned the Hacienda
Luisita.
On 22 July 1987, Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive
Order 229, which outlined her land reform program. In 1988, the Congress
passed Republic Act No. 6657 of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law
(CARL), which introduced the program with the same name (Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program or CARP). R enabled the redistribution of
agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners, who were paid in
exchange by the government through just compensation and allowed them to
retain not more than five hectares. Corporate landowners were, however,
allowed under law to voluntarily divest a proportion of then capital stock,
equity, or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries
instead of turning over their land to the government.
CARP was limited because it accomplished very little during the
administration of Aquino. It only accomplished 22.5% of land distribution in six
years owing to the fact that Congress, dominated by the landed elite, was
unwilling to fund the high compensation costs of the program. It was also
mired in controversy, since Aquino seemingly bowed down to the pressure of
her relatives by allowing the stock redistribution option. Hacienda Luisita

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
reorganized itself into a
corporation and distributed
stocks to farmers.
Under the term of
President Ramos, CARP
implementation was
speeded in order to meet
the ten-year time frame, despite limitations and constrain in funding, logistics,
and participation of involved sectors. By 1996* The Department of Agrarian
Reform (DAR) distributed only 58.25% of the total area target to be covered by
the program. To address the lacking funding and the dwindling time for the
implementation of CARP) Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8532 in 1998 to
amend CARL and extend the program to another ten years.
CARPER and the Future of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines
The new deadline of CARP expired in 2008, leaving 1.2 million farmer
beneficiaries and 1.6 million hectares of agricultural land to be distributed to
farmers. In 2009, President Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9700 or the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER),
the amendatory law that extended the deadline to five more years. Section 30
of the law also mandates that any case and/or proceeding involving the
implementation of the provisions of CARP, as amended, which may remain
pending on 30 June 2014 shall be allowed to proceed to its finality and
executed even beyond such date.
From 2009 to 2014, CARPER has distributed a total of 1 million hectares of
land to 900,000 farmer beneficiaries. After 27 years of land reform and two
Aquino administrations, 500,000 hectares of lands remain undistributed. The
DAR and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are
the government agencies mandated to fulfill CARP and CARPER, but even the
combined effort and resources of the two agencies have proved incapable of
fully achieving the goal of agrarian reform in the Philippines. The same
problems have plagued its implementation: the powerful landed elite and the
ineffectual bureaucracy of the Philippine government. Until these two
challenges are surmounted, genuine agrarian reform in the Philippines remains
but a dream to Filipino farmers who have" been fighting for their right to
landownership for centuries.
Evolution of Philippine Taxation

In today’s world, taxation is a reality that all citizens must contend with for
the primary reason that governments raise revenue from the people they
govern to be able to function fully. In exchange for the taxes that people pay,
the government promises to improve the citizens' lives through good
governance. Taxation, as a government mechanism to raise funds, developed
and evolved through time, and in the context of the Philippines, we must
understand that it came with our colonial experience.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Taxation in Spanish
Philippines
The Philippines may
have abundant natural resources even before the encroachment of the
Spaniards, but our ancestors were mainly involved in
a subsistence economy, and while the payment of tribute or taxes (buhis/
buwis/handug) or the obligation to provide labor services to the datus in some
early Filipino communities in the Philippines may resemble taxation, it is
essentially different from the contemporary meaning of the concept.
The arrival of the Spaniards altered this subsistence system because they
imposed the payment of tributos (tributes) from the Filipinos, similar to what
had been practiced in all colonies in America. The purpose is to generate
resources to finance the maintenance of the islands, such as salaries of
government officials and expenses of the clergy. The difficulty faced by the
Spaniards in revenue collection through the tribute was the dispersed nature of
the settlements, which they solved by introducing the system of reduccion by
creating pueblos, where Filipinos were gathered and awarded plots of land to
till. Later on, the settlements will be handled by encomenderos who received
rewards from the Spanish crown for their services. Exempted horn payment of
tributos were the principales: alcaldes, gobernadores, cabezas de barangay,
soldiers, and members of the civil guard, government officials, and vagrants.
The Filipinos who were once satisfied with agricultural production for
subsistence had to increase production to meet the demands of payments and a
more intensive agricultural system had to be introduced. Later on, half of the
tribute was paid in cash and the rest with produce. This finance the conquest of
the Philippines.
Toward the end of the sixteenth century, the Manila-Acapulco trade was
established through the galleons, a way by which the Spaniards could make
sure that European presence would be sustained. Once a year the galleon
would be loaded up with merchandise from Asia and sent to e Spain (Mexico),
and back. This improved the economy of the Philippines and reinforced the
control of the Spaniards all over the country. Tax collection was still very poor
and subsidy from the Spain would be needed through the situado real
delivered from the Mexican treasury to the Philippines through the galleons.
This subsidy stopped as Mexico became independent in 1820.

In 1884, the payment of tribute was put to a stop and was replaced by a poll
tax collected through a certificate of identification called the cedula personal.
This is required from every resident and must be carried while traveling.
Unlike the tribute, the payment of cedulas is by person not by family. Payment

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
of the cedula is progressive
and according to income
categories. This system,
however, was a heavy
burden for the peasants
and was easy for the
wealthy. But because of
this, revenue collection greatly increased and became the main source of
government income. The Chinese in the Philippines were also made to pay
their discriminatory cedula which was bigger than what the Filipinos paid.
Two direct taxes were added in 1878 and imposed on urban incomes.
Urbana is a tax on the annual rental value of an urban real estate and industria
is a tax on salaries, dividends, and profits. These taxes were universal and
affected all kinds of economic activity except agriculture, which was exempt to
encourage growth.
Indirect taxes such as customs duties were imposed on exports and imports
to further raise revenue, especially during the nineteenth century when
economic growth increased exponentially. There were no excise taxes collected
by the Spaniards throughout the years of colonialism.
The colonial government also gained income from monopolies’ such as the
sale of stamped paper, manufacture and sale of liquor, cockpits, and opium, but
the biggest of the state monopolies was tobacco, which began in 1781 and
halted in 1882. Only certain areas were assigned to cultivate tobacco, which the
government purchased at a price dictated ta the growers. This monopoly made
it possible for the colony to create a surplus of income that made it self-
sufficient without the need for the situado real and even contributed to the
Treasury of Spain.
Forced labor was a character of Spanish colonial taxation in the Philippines
and was required from the Filipinos. It proved useful in defending the territory
of the colony and augmenting the labor required by woodcutting and
shipbuilding especially during the time of the galleon trade. Through the polo
system, male Filipinos were obliged to serve, a burden that resulted in an
increase in death rate and flight to the mountains, which led to a decrease in
population in the seventeenth century. This changed later on, as polos and
servicios became lighter, and was organized at the municipal level, labor
provided was used in public works, such as the building of roads and bridges.
Some were made to serve the municipal office or as night guards.
Males were required to provide labor for 40 days a year (reduced to 15 days
a year in 1884). They may opt out by paying the fallas of three pesos per
annum, which was usually lost to corruption because it was collected at at the
municipal level and were known as caidas or droppings. The polos would be
called prestacion’ personal (personal services) by the second half of the 19 th
century.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
Taxation in the
Philippines during the
Spanish colonial period was
characterized by the heavy
burden placed on the
Filipinos, and the
corruption of the
principales, or the former datus and local elites who were co-opted by the
Spaniards to subjugate and control the natives on their behalf. The principales
who were given positions such as cabezas de barangay or alcaldes in the local
government were able to enrich themselves by pocketing tributos and/or fallas
while the peasants were left to be abused. Taxation appeared progressive but
the disparity between the less taxed principales and the heavily taxed peasants
made the rich richer and the poor poorer.
Primary Source: Mariano Herbosa Writes to Rizal About Taxes
Source: Mariano Herbosa to Jose Rizal, Calamba, 29 August 1886,
Letters Between Rizal and Family Members (Manila: National Heroes
Commission, 1964), 239-241.
The tax! With regard to your question on this, the answer is very long, as it is
the cause of the prevailing misery here, what I can write you will be only one-
half of the story and even Dumas, senior, cannot exhaust the subject.
Nevertheless, I'll try to write what I can, though I may not be able to give a
complete story, you may at least know half of it.
Here, there are many kinds of taxes. What they call irrigated Riceland, even if it
has no water, must pay a tax of 50 cavanes of palay (unhasked rice) and land
with six cavanes of seed pay 5 pesos in cash. The land they call dry land that is
planted to sugar cane, maize, and others pay different rates. Even if the agreed
amount is 30 pesos for land with six cavanes of seed, if they see that the harvest
is good, they increase the tax, but they don't decrease it, if the harvest is poor.
There is land whose tax is 25 pesos or 20 pesos, according to custom.
The most troublesome are the residential lots in the town. There is no fixed
rule that is followed, only their whim. Hence, even if it is only one span in size,
if a stone wall is added, 50 pesos must be paid, the lowest being 20 pesos. But a
nipa or cogon house pays only one peso for an area of ten fathoms square.
Another feature of this system is that on the day you accept the conditions, the
contract will be written which cannot be changed for four years, but the tax is
increased every year For these reasons, for two years now the payment of tax
is confused and little by little the fear of the residents here of the word “vacant”
is being dispelled, which our ancestors had feared so much. The result is
bargaining, like they do in buying fish. It is advisable to offer a low figure and
payment can be postponed, unlike before when people were very much afraid
to pay after May.
I'm looking for a receipt to send you, but I cannot find any, because we don't get
a receipt every time we pay. Anyway it is value-less as it does not state the

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
amount paid; it only says
that the tax for that year
was paid, without stating
whether it is five centavos,
twenty-five centavos, one
hundred, or one thousand
pesos. The residents who
ask or get the said receipt accept it with closed eyes. The receipt has no
signature in the place where the amount paid ought to be, although it bears
their name. Until now I cannot comprehend why some are signed and others
are not. This is more or less what is happening here in the payment of the land
tax and it has been so for many years since I can remember.
Besides this, the taxes on the plants in the fields that are far from the town, like
the land in Pansol, are various. The tax on the palay is separate om the tax on
maize, mongo, or garlic. There is no limit to this tax, or t ey fix it themselves.
Since July no one buys sugar and since June locusts are all over the town and
they are destroying palay and sugar cane, which is what we regret here. The
governor gave 50 pesos to pay the catchers of locusts, but when they took them
to the town hall they were paid only 25cents a cavan and a half; and it seems
that the locust are not decreasing. According to the guess of the residents here
remain locusts have been caught in this town. Many still remain. Though the
governor has not sent any more money, the people had not stopped catching
them. '

Taxation Under the Americans

The Americans who acquired the Philippines aimed to make the economy
self-sufficient by running the government with smallest possible sum of
revenue and create surplus in the budget. From 1898 to 1903, the Americans
followed the Spanish system of taxation with some modifications, nothing that
the system introduced by the Spaniards were outdated and regressive. The
military government suspended the contracts for the sale of opium, lottery, and
mint charges for coinage of money. Later on, the urbana would be replaced by
tax was levied on both urban and rural real estates.

The problem with land tax was that land titling in the rural area was very
disorderly, the appraising of land values was influenced by political and
familial factors and the introduction of a taxation system on agricultural land
faced objections from the landed elite. Tax evasion was prevalent, especially
among the elites.

The Internal Revenue Law of 1904 was passed as a reaction to the problems of
collecting land tax. It prescribed ten major sources of revenue:

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

1. Licensed taxes on
firms dealing in
alcoholic beverages
and tobacco
2. excise taxes on
alcoholic beverages
and tobacco products,
3. taxes on banks and bankers,
4. document stamp taxes,
5. the cedula,
6. taxes on insurance and insurance companies,
7. taxes on forest products
8. mining concessions,
9. taxes on business and manufacturing, and
10. Occupational licenses.'
The cedula went through changes in the new law as the rate was fixed per
adult male, which resulted in a great decline in revenues. In 1907, some
provinces were authorized to double the fee for the cedula to support the
construction and maintenance of roads. The industria tax was levied on the
business community and became a highly complex system that assigned a
certain tax to an industrial or commercial activity according to then
profitability. The new act also imposed a percentage tax on sales payable
quarterly.
In 1913, the Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act was passed, resulting in a
reduction in the revenue of the government as export taxes levied on sugar,
tobacco, hemp, and copra were lifted. To make up for the loss, then Governor
General Francis Burton Harrison urged that tax receipts be increase to make up
for the loss. Minor changes were made to the 1904 “Revenue Act such as the
imposition of taxes on mines, petroleum products, and dealers of petroleum
products and tobacco.
New sources of taxes were introduced later on. In 1914, an income tax was
introduced; in 1919, an inheritance tax was created; and in 1932 a national
lottery was established to create more revenue for the government However,
these new creations were not enough to increase government revenues.
Taxation during the Commonwealth Period
New measures and legislation were introduced to make the taxation system
appear more equitable during the Commonwealth. Income tax rates were
increased in 1936, adding a surtax rate on individual net incomes in excess of
10,000 pesos. Income tax rates of corporations were also increased. In 1937,

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
the cedula tax was
abolished, which appeared
to be a progressive move;
but in 1940, a residence tax
was imposed on every
citizen aged 18 years old
and on every corporation.
In 1939, the Commonwealth government drafted the National Internal
Revenue Code, introducing major changes in the new tax system, as follows:
1. The normal tax of three percent and the surtax on income was replaced
by a single tax at a progressive rate.
2. Personal exemptions were reduced.
3. Corporation income tax was slightly increased by introducing taxes on
inherited estates or gifts donated in the name of dead persons.
4. The cumulative sales tax was replaced by a single turnover tax of 10%
on luxuries.
5. Taxes on liquors, cigarettes, forestry products, and mining were
increased.
6. Dividends were made taxable.
The introduced tax structure was an improvement of the earlier system
introduced by the Americans, but still remained inequitable. The lower class
still felt the bulk of the burden of taxation, while the upper class, the landed
elite or the people in political positions, were able to maneuver the situation
that would benefit them more. The agriculture sector was still taxed low to
promote growth, but there was no incentive for industrial investment to take
root and develop.
Finally, a common character of taxation during the American occupation in
the Philippines was not used to diversify the economy or direct economic
development as some sectors still carried the disproportionate share of the tax
burden.
As World War II reached the Philippine shores, economic activity was put to
a stop and the Philippines bowed to a new set of administrators, the Japanese.
The Japanese military administration in the Philippines during World War II
immediately continued the system of tax collection introduced during the
Commonwealth, but exempted the articles belonging to the Japanese armed
forces. Foreign trade fell and the main sources of taxation came from
amusements, manufactures, professions, and business licenses. As the war
raged, tax collection was a difficult task and additional incomes of the
government were derived from the sales of the National Sweepstakes and sale

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
of government bonds.
The expenditure of the
Japanese military
government grew greatly,
and they issued military
notes in order to cover the
costs of the war.

Fiscal Policy from 1946 to Present

The impact of the war on the Philippine economy was effectively disparate,
as Manila, the capital, was razed to the ground while the rest of the Philippines
was relatively untouched. But the highly agriculture- based economy was
disrupted. The United States may have declared the Philippines independent,
but as the country needed rehabilitation funds from the United States, the
dependency of the Philippines to the Americans was an opportunity to be taken
advantage of by the former colonial administrators. The economic situation
was so problematic that by 1949, there was a severe lack of funds in many
aspects of governance, such as the military and education sectors. No efforts
were made to improve tax collection and the United States advised the
adoption of direct taxation. The administration of President Manuel Roxas
declined the proposal because it did not want to alienate its allies in Congress.
The impetus for economic growth came during the time of President Elpidio
Quirino through the implementation of import and exchange controls that led
to import substitution development. This policy allowed for the expansion of a
viable manufacturing sector that reduced economic dependence on imports.
New tax measures were also passed, which included higher corporate tax rates
that increased government revenues tax revenue in 1953 increased twofold
compared to 1948, the year when Quirino first assumed presidency.
While the succeeding presidencies of Magsaysay, Garcia, and Macapagal
promised to study the tax structure and policy of the country (through the
creation of a Tax Commission in 1959 by means of Republic Act No. 2211 to
make way for a more robust and efficient tax collection scheme, post war fiscal
policy remained regressive, characterized by the overburdening of the lowest
classes while the landed elite who held business interests Congress to ensure
that taxes would not be levied to them who belonged to the higher classes of

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
society. The period of the
post-war republic also saw
a rise in corruption. From
1959 to 1968, Congress did
not pass any tax legislation
despite important changes
and the vested interests of Filipino businessmen in Congress would manifest in
many instances such as the rejection of taxes on imports. Indirection taxation
still contributed to three quarters of tax revenues and the Omnibus Tax Law of
1969 did not increase the ratio of income tax to general tax revenue. Collection
of taxes remained poor, tax structures was still problematic, and much of public
funds were lost to corruption, which left the government incapable of funding
projects geared toward development,

Under the Marcos authoritarian regime, the tax system remained regressive.
During the latter part of the Marcos's years (1981-1985), the tax system was
still heavily dependent on indirect taxes, which made up 70% of total tax
collection. The tax system also remained unresponsive. Taxes grew at an
average annual rate of 15% and generated a low tax yield. Tax effort, defined as
the ratio between the share of the actual tax collection in gross domestic
product and predictable taxable capacity, was at a low 10.7%.
As Corazon Aquino took the helm of the government after the EDSA
Revolution, she reformed the tax system through the 1986 Tax Reform
Program. The aim was to improve the responsiveness of the tax system,
promote equity by ensuring that similarly situated individuals and firms bear
the same tax burden, promote growth by withdrawing or modifying taxes that
reduce incentives to work or produce, and improve tax administration by
simplifying the tax system and promoting tax compliance.
A major reform in the tax system introduced under the term of Aquino was
the introduction of the value-added tax (VAT), with the following features:
1. uniform rate of 10% on sale of domestic and imported goods and
services and zero percent on exports and foreign-currency denominated
sales;
2. ten (10) percent in lieu of varied rates applicable to fixed taxes (60
nominal rates), advance sales tax, tax on original sale, subsequent sales
tax, compensating tax, miller's tax, contractor's tax, broker's tax, film
lessors and distributor's tax, excise tax on solvents and matches, and
excise tax on processed videotapes;
3. two percent tax on entities with annual sales or receipts of less than

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
5,200,000;
4. adoption of tax
credit method of
calculating tax by
subtracting tax on
inputs from tax on
gross sales;
5. exemption of the sale of basic commodities such as agriculture and
marine food products in their original state, price-regulated petroleum
products and fertilizers; and
6. additional 20% tax on non-essential articles such jewelry, perfumes,
toilet waters, yacht, and other vessels for pleasure and sports.

The VAT law was signed in 1986 and put to effects in 1988. While it was a
reliable source of revenue for the government, new tax laws would reduce its
reliability as legislated exceptions grew.
Along with tax reform came the administrative reforms, such as the
restructuring of the Department of Finance and its attached agency, the Bureau
of Internal Revenue (BIR) through the Executive Order 127. Tax collection and
tax audits were intensified; computerization was introduced; and corruption
was relatively reduced, which improved the trust in the BIR in general. As a
result of the tax reform of the Aquino administration, both tax and revenue
effort rose, increasing from 10.7% in 1985 to 15.4% in 1992.
Greater political stability during the administration of Fidel Ramos in 1992
allowed for continued economic growth. The Ramos administration ventured
into its own tax reform program in 1997 through the Comprehensive Tax
Reform Program, which was implemented to (1) make the tax system broad-
based, simple, and with reasonable tax rates; (2) minimize tax avoidance
allowed by' existing flaws and loopholes in the system; (3) encourage
payments by increasing tax exemptions levels, lowering the highest tax rates,
and simplifying procedure; and (4) rationalize the grant of tax incentives,
which was estimated to be worth 531.7 billion pesos in 1994.
The VAT base was also broadened in 1997 to include services, through
Republic Act 7716. The features of the improved VAT law were as follows:
1. Restored the VAT exemptions for all cooperatives (agricultural, electric,
credit or multipurpose, and others) provided that the share capital of
each member does not exceed 515,000 pesos.
2. Expanded the coverage of the term "simple processes" by including

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
broiling and
roasting, effectively
narrowing the tax
base for food
products.
3. Expanded the
coverage of the term "original state" by including molasses.

4. Exempted from the VAT are the following:

● Importation of meat
● Sale or importation of coal and natural gas in whatever form or
state
● Educational services rendered by private educational institutions
duly accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)

● House and lot and other residential dwellings valued at 51

million and below, subject to adjustment using the Consumer
Price Index (CPI)

● Lease of residential units with monthly rental per unit of not

more than 58,000, subject to adjustment using CPI
● Sale, importation, printing, or publication of books and any
newspaper
The succeeding term of President Joseph Estrada in 1998 was too short to
constitute any change in the tax system. Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo was swept to power through another EDSA Revolution. As president,
she undertook increased government spending without adjusting tax
collections. This resulted in large deficits from 2002 to 2004. The government
had to look for additional sources of revenue, and in 2005, the Expanded Value-
Added Tax (E-VAT) was signed into law as Republic Act 9337. This expanded
the VAT base, subjecting to VAT energy products such as coal and petroleum
products and electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. Select
professional services were also taxed. In February 2006, the VAT tax rate was
also increased from 10% to 12%.
As President Benigno Aquino III succeeded President Arroyo in 2010, he
promised that no new taxes would be imposed and additional revenue would
have to come from adjusting existing taxes. The administration ventured
intothe adjustment of excise tax on liquor and cigarettes or the Sin Tax Reform,
motivations for which was primarily fiscal, public health, and social order-
related considerations. Republic Act 10351 was passed, and government

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
revenues from alcohol and
tobacco excise taxes
increased. Collections from
tobacco and alcohol in 2015
made up 1.1% of the Gross
Domestic Product an the
improvement in tax collection resulted in the Philippines receiving a credit
rating upgrade into investment grade status. The Sin Tax Reform was an
exemplar on how tax reform could impact social services as it allowed for the
increase of the Department of Health budget (triple in 2015) and free health
insurance premiums for the poor people enrolled in PhilHealth increased (from
55.2 million in 2012 to 515.4 million in 2015).

Engaging Activities
A. Do you think Rizal portrays education as the solution to oppression? Why or
why not?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

B. How does the Katipunan understand/make sense of the following?

1. State and Government
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Leadership
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

C. How do Rizalista groups view Jose Rizal and other national heroes?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________

D. Describe Rizal’s ancestry that might have contributed to his life and education.
___________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
______

All
Performance Tasks

PT 1: Lesson Understanding

Answer briefly the following

1. Read the following excerpts from the statements of the legislators who supported and opposed the
passage of the Rizal Law in 1956. Then answer the questions that follow.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

A. What was the major argument raised by

Sen. Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo
against the passage of Rizal Bill?
B. Are there points of convergence between
the supporters and opposers of the
Rizal Bill based on these statements

PT 2: Lesson Understanding

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
PT 3: Lesson Understanding
Choose two of the Rizalista groups that were
discussed. On a separate sheet of paper, create
a Venn diagram showing the beliefs and
practices that are similar and different between
the two groups. Afterwards, rate yourself
according to the rubrics that follow.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson54/detectiverubric.pdf

PT 3: Lesson
Understanding
Divide yourselves
into groups. As a group, pick
one aspect of Rizal’s life
(e.g., family, early education,
etc.) Research further on this
aspect of Rizal’s life and create
and infographic. Present your
infographic in class.

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Un d erstanding
Directed Assess

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Learning Resources

The Life and Works OF Jose’ Rizal/ Rodalyn Wani-Obias/ Aaron Abel Mallari/ Janet Reguindin-
Estella
Engaging Jose’ Rizal / Alfonso C. Balbin Jr./ Milo Severino N. Distor/ Gabriel Paul K. Pinas/
Christine Jay P. Zamoranos
https://int.search.tb.ask.com/search/AJimage.jhtml?enc=0&n=783a0c17&p2=%5ECQF
%5Exdm419%5ETTAB02%5Ebh&pg=AJimage&pn=1&ptb=0E8F2863-2341-4406-9CB0-
80A2F5676F5E&qs=&searchfor=jose+rizal+exile+in+bagumbayan&si=SFT_7504&ss=sub&st=s
b&tpr=sbt
http://www.bantayog.org/malay-paula-carolina-s/

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History

 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

LSPU SELF-PACED LEARNING MODULE: Readings in Philippine History