c
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Y
Y
Y
 Y YY


   


The Philippines is an archipelago. An archipelago is a body of water studded with islands. The Philippine
Archipelago was delineated in the Treaty of Paris (1898), as amended by the Treaty of Washington
(1899) and the Treaty of Great Britain (1930).

Archipelagic doctrine- enunciates the concept that a state comprising an archipelago shall be treated as
a national unit so that the waters around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago,
irrespective of their breadth or dimensions, for part of the internal waters of the state.

ART.1 Sec.1. The national territory of the Philippines comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the
islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories embraced therein, and all other territories
over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of the terrestrial, fluvial and areal
domains, including it territorial see, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine
areas, The waters around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago regardless of their
breadth or dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the state.


  


Filipino is a term used to denote the Spanish meztizos during the Spanish colonization, but it has come
to denote all of the citizens of the Philippines. The Philippines has an estimated population of 92, 226,
600 as of July 2009. It͛s official national language is Filipino, although English is also used officially for the
purposes of communication and instruction. About 80% of the Filipinos are Roman Catholic, but there is
a national principle of liberty and freedom on the practice of religion in the Philippines.

  c

Barangay- a Malay word for a boat that came to be used to denote an communal settlement. The
Filipinos were organized into these small political units. It consists of 30-100 families. Kinship were lead
by the datu (sultanates are led by the sultans, and rajahnates are led by the rajahs).

Social Order/Divisions:

1.Y [obles (royalties)

2.Y Freemen (Maharlika)
3.Y Slaves (aliping sanguigilid and aliping namamahay)

Internal and interbarangay behaviors were defined by some costumary laws. And since they have their
own alphabet, they also have written laws, which are strictly enforced under threat of heavy penalties
like slavery and death. Conflict resolution is well institutionalized where the chieftain played a
prominent role with the advice of the ͞maginoos͟ or council of elders. Governmental powers are fused
under the chieftain but in the process of governance, the wisdom of the maginoos is always consulted.
In may concerns like war, alliance making, and ritual sacrifices to appease angry spirits, collective
leadership and consultative decision-making were practiced.

Under costumary laws, early Filipino women enjoyed a degree of equality with their male counterparts.
They could manage their own livelihood; they could own and inherit property; they could even succeed
into chieftainship. Thus, among early Filipinos, leadership is not a monopoly of men. Even in battles,
women join their men, and in some instances, they took the lead. Filipino men do not take the
leadership of women as affront to their masculinity. This is a part the general attitude of men that places
high regard to their women.

Most of the early Filipinos are animists. They believe on spirits and the existence of the soul. The
concept of spirits is the foundation of Filipinos͛ abiding respect with their elders and ancestors. Thus, a
common ancestor is a unifying factor being invoked during the settlement of inter-family desputes.

Two centuries before the coming of the Spaniards, the sultanate system of government was introduced
in Sulu and in Mindanao by Arab traders. Under the sultanate system, the independent barangays were
integrated to form a centralized political system. The main characteristics of the sultanate system
include the following:

áY *ighly centralized, with the sultan as the Chief Executive

áY Islam is the common religion for the subjects of the sultanate
áY There is a distinct group of religious leaders who takes care of religious maters and who are
consulted by the sultan on administrative and religious affairs.
áY Unity is fostered by the sense of brotherhood in Islam; laws are based on the *oly Quran,
hence, viewed as God-given and the sultan is the implementer of laws.

Islam was brought in the Sulu Archipelago in the 14th century by Makhdum Karim, an Arab trader,
and to Mindanao island by Rajah Kabungsuwan, a Malaccan nobleman. From then onwards, Muslim
princes carried on expeditions to propagate Islam. While Islam is easily displaced over the years
among the peoples in Luzon, and the Visayas, it retained a foothold in the central parts of Mindanao
and the Sulu Archipelago.

Sources:
Aguja et. al., A Course Guide in Philippine Politics and Governance, 2010
1987 Philippine Constitution
About, http://www.about.com/precolonialphilippines, June 26, 2010
CIA, http://www.cia.gov.us, June 26, 2010

„
  
  

You can only go as far as you can push, so keep pushing. But 
 . God bless with the exam!

Ô