Readings in Philippine History

Historical Development of
Tondo, Manila

Submitted by:
Krisha Lei G. Sanchez
Kierre Vincent Guballo
 PART ONE
NAME AND IDENTITY

I. Tondo, Manila

A. Present Official Name, Native Name and Changes in the name and their derivation

Numerous theories on the origin of the name "Tondo" have been put forward. Philippine National
Artist Nick Joaquin suggested that it might be a reference to high ground ("tundok"). French linguist Jean-
Paul Potet, however, has suggested that the River Mangrove, Aegiceras corniculatum, which at the time
was called "tundok" ("tinduk-tindukan" today), is the most likely origin of the name. It is variously also
referred to as Tundo, Tundun, Tundok, Tung-lio, Tundaan, Tunduh, Tunda,or Tong-Lao.

According to the earliest Tagalog dictionaries, large coastal settlements like Tondo and Maynila,
which were ultimately led by a Lakan or Rajah, were called "Bayan" in the Tagalog language. This term
(which is translated today as "country") was common among the various languages of the Philippine
archipelago, and eventually came to refer to the entire Philippines, alongside the word Bansa (or Bangsa,
meaning "nation").

The earliest firsthand Spanish accounts described it as a smaller "village", in comparison to the
fortified polity of Maynila. However, this term is no longer used in academic circles because it reflects the
strong hispanocentric bias of the Spanish colonizers.

B. Mythical Origin

Travelers from monarchical cultures who had contacts with Tondo (including the Chinese,
Portuguese and the Spanish) often initially mistakenly labelled it as the "Kingdom of Tondo". Lakandula
explained , there was "no single king over these lands", and that the leadership of Tondo and Maynila over
the Kapampangan polities did not include either territorial claim or absolute command. Early Augustinian
chronicler Pedro de San Buenaventura (1613, as cited by Junker, 1990 and Scott, 1994) later noted that
Tagalogs only applied the term Hari (King) to foreign monarchs, rather than their own leaders, but
historian Vicente L. Rafael notes that the label was nevertheless later adapted by the popular literature
of the Spanish colonial era because Spanish language writers of the time did not have the appropriate
words for describing the complex power relations on which Maritime Southeast Asian leadership
structures were built.

C. Historical Origin

Since at least the year 900, the thalassocracy centered in Manila Bay flourished via an active trade
with Chinese, Japanese, Malays, and various other peoples in East Asia. Tondo thrived as the capital and
the seat of power of this ancient kingdom, which was led by kings under the title “Lakan” and ruled a large
part of what is now known as Luzon from or possibly before 900 AD to 1571. During its existence, it grew
to become one of the most prominent and wealthy kingdom states in pre-colonial Philippines due to heavy
trade and connections with several neighboring nations such as China and Japan. In 900 AD, the lord-
minister Jayadewa presented a document of debt forgiveness to Lady Angkatan and her brother Bukah,
the children of Namwaran. This is described in the Philippine’s oldest known document, the Laguna
Copperplate Inscription.

PART TWO
THE PRE-SPANISH PERIOD

I. The People (Origin, Religions and Domestic and Social Life)

A. Origin

As with virtually all the lowland peoples of Maritime Southeast Asia, the Tagalog people who
established the settlement of Tondo were Austronesians. It is also believed that the people of Tondo were
related to Malay of Malay peninsula and Sumatra. Since at least the 3rd century, the people of Tondo had
developed a culture which is predominantly Hindu and Buddhist society. They are ruled by a Lakan, which
belongs to a caste of Maharlika, were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society in Luzon,
translated in Spanish as Hidalgos, and meaning freeman, libres or freedman. They belonged to the lower
nobility class similar to the Timawa of the Visayans. In modern Filipino, however, the term itself has
erroneously come to mean "royal nobility", which was actually restricted to the hereditary Maginoo class.

Scholarly analysis of the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which includes the first historical
mention of Tondo, suggests that Tondo was "culturally influenced" by the Hindu and Buddhist cultures of
Maritime Southeast Asia as early as the 9th century. The writing system used on the copperplate is the
Old Kawi, while the language used is a variety of Old Malay, with numerous loanwords from Sanskrit and
a few non-Malay vocabulary elements whose origin may be Old Javanese. Some contend it is between Old
Tagalog and Old Javanese.

B. Religions

Historical accounts, supported by archeological and linguistic evidence and by corroborated by

anthropological studies, show that the Tagalog people, including those in Tondo and Maynila, practiced a
set of Austronesian beliefs and practices which date back to the arrival of Austronesian peoples, although
various elements were later syncretistically adapted from Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Islam.

The Tagalogs did not have a specific name for this set of religious beliefs and practices, although
later scholars and popular writers refer to it as Anitism, or, less accurately, using the general term
"animism." The Tagalog belief system was more or less anchored on the idea that the world is inhabited
by spirits and supernatural entities, both good and bad, and that respect must be accorded to them
through worship. According to the early Spanish missionary-ethnographers, the Tagalog people believed
in a creator-god named Bathala, whom they referred to both as maylicha (creator; lit. "actor of creation")
and maycapal (lord, or almighty; lit. "actor of power"). Because the Tagalogs did not have a collective
word to describe all these spirits together, Spanish missionaries eventually decided to call them "anito,"
since they were the subject of the Tagalog's act of pag-aanito (worship).
 Islamization was a slow process characterized by with the steady conversion of the citizenry of
Tondo and Manila which created Muslim domains. The Bruneians installed the Muslim rajahs, Rajah
Salalila and Rajah Matanda in the south (now the Intramuros district) and the Buddhist-Hindu settlement
was ruled under Lakan Dula in northern Tundun (now in modern Tondo). Islamization of Luzon began in
the 16th century when traders from Brunei settled in the Manila area and married locals while maintaining
kinship and trade links with Brunei and thus other Muslim centres in Southeast Asia. The Muslims were
called "Moros" by the Spanish who assumed they occupied the whole coast. There is no evidence that
Islam had become a major political or religious force in the region, with Father Diego de Herrera recording
that the Moros lived only in some villages and were Muslim in name only.

C. Domestic and Social Life

Politically, Tondo was made up of several social groupings, traditionally referred to by historians
as Barangays, which were led by Datus. These Datus in turn recognised the leadership of the most senior
among them as a sort of "Paramount datu" called a Lakan over the Bayan. In the middle to late 16th
century, its Lakan was held in high regard within the alliance group which was formed by the various
Manila Bay area polities, which included Tondo, Maynila, and various polities in Bulacan and Pampanga.
Extrapolating from available data, demographer-historian Linda A. Newson has estimated that Tondo may
have had a population of roughly 43,000 when the Spanish first arrived in 1570.

Culturally, the Tagalog people of Tondo had a rich Austronesian (specifically Malayo-Polynesian)
culture, with its own expressions of language and writing, religion, art, and music dating back to the
earliest peoples of the archipelago. This culture was later influenced by its trading relations with the rest
of Maritime Southeast Asia. Particularly significant were its relations with Ming dynasty, Malaysia, Brunei,
and the Majapahit empire, which served as the main conduit for significant Indian cultural influence,
despite the Philippine archipelago's geographical location outside the Indian cultural zone.

These Austronesians had a rich, complex culture, with its own expressions of language and writing,
religion, art, and music. This Austronesian culture was already in place before the cultural influences of
China, the Indonesian thassalocracies of Srivijaya and Majapahit, and Brunei, and eventually, the western
colonial powers. The core elements of this Austronesian culture also persisted despite the introduction of
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and, later, Christianity. Elements of these belief systems were syncretistically
adapted by the Tagalogs to enrich their already-existing worldviews, elements of which still persist today
in the syncretistic forms known as Folk Catholicism and Folk Islam.

These Austronesian cultures are defined by their languages, and by a number of key technologies
including the cultural prominence of boats, the construction of thatched houses on piles, the cultivation
of tubers and rice, and a characteristic social organization typically led by a "big man" or "man of power".

The pre-colonial Tagalog barangays of Manila, Pampanga and Laguna had a more complex social
structure than the cultures of the Visayas, enjoying a more extensive commerce through their Bornean
political contacts, and engaging in farming wet rice for a living. The Tagalogs were thus described by the
Spanish Augustinian friar Martin de Rada as more traders than warriors.
D. Industries

Specialized industries in the Tagalog and Kapampangan regions, including Tondo and Maynila,
included agriculture, textile weaving, basketry, metallurgy, hunting, among others. The social
stratification which gave birth to the Maginoo class created a demand for prestige products including
ceramics, textiles, and precious stones. This demand, in turn, served as the impetus for both internal and
external trade.

Junker describes coastal polities of Tondo and Maynila's size as "administrative and commercial
centers functioning as important nodes in networks of external and internal trade." While the basic model
for the movement of trade goods in early Philippine history saw coastal settlements at the mouth of large
rivers (in this case, the Pasig river delta) controlling the flow of goods to and from settlements further
upriver (in this case, the upland polities on the Laguna Lake coast), Tondo and Maynila had trade
arrangements which allowed them to control trade throughout the rest of the archipelago. Scott observes
that while the port of Tondo had the monopoly on arriving Chinese merchant ships, it was Manila's fleet
of trading vessels which in turn retailed them to settlements throughout the rest of the archipelago, so
much so that Manyila's ships came to be known as "Chinese" (sinina). The Chinese migrations to Malaya
and the Philippines shore began in the 7th century and reached their peak after 1644 owing to the Manchu
conquest of China. These Chinese immigrants settled in Manila, Pasig included, and in the other ports,
which were annually visited by their trade junks, they have cargoes of silk, tea, ceramics, and their
precious jade stones. According to William Henry Scott (1982), when ships from China came to Manila bay,
Lakandula would remove the sails and rudders of their ships until they paid him duties and anchorage
fees, and then he would then buy up all their goods himself, paying half its value immediately and then
paying the other half upon their return the following year. In the interim, these goods would be traded
throughout the rest of the archipelago. The end result was that other locals were not able to buy anything
from the Chinese directly, but from Tondo and Maynila, who made a tidy profit as a result.

Tondo also developed trading links with Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Malay Peninsula, Indochina, China,
Japan, India and Arabia. A thalassocracy had emerged based on international trade. Trade among the early
Filipinos and with traders from the neighboring islands was conducted through Barter. The inconvenience
of barter later led to the use of some objects as medium of exchange. Gold, which was plentiful in many
parts of the islands, invariably found its way into these objects that included the Piloncitos, small bead-
like gold nuggets/bits considered by the local numismatists as the earliest coin of ancient Filipinos, and
gold barter rings.

The people of Tondo engaged in agriculture making a living through farming, rice planting and
aquaculture (especially in lowland areas). A report during the time of Miguel López de Legazpi noted of
the great abundance of rice, fowls, wine as well as great numbers of carabaos, deer, wild boar and goat
husbandry in Luzon. In addition, there were also great quantities of cotton and colored clothes, wax, wine,
honey and date palms produced by the native peoples, rice, cotton, swine, fowls, wax and honey abound.
Rice was the staple food of the Tagalog and Kapampangan polities, and its ready availability in Luzon
despite variations in annual rainfall was one of the reasons Legaspi wanted to locate his colonial
headquarters on Manila bay. Scott's study of early Tagalog lexicons revealed that the Tagalogs had words
for at least 22 different varieties of rice. In most other places in the archipelago, rootcrops served as an
alternate staple in seasons when rice was not readily available. These were also available in Luzon, but
they were desired more as vegetables, rather than as a staple. Ubi, Tugi, Gabi and a local root crop which
the Spanish called Kamoti (apparently not the same as the sweet potato, sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas)
were farmed in swiddens, while "Laksa" and "Nami" grew wild. Sweet potatoes (now called Camote) were
later introduced by the Spanish.

Duck culture was also practiced by the Tagalogs, particularly those around Pateros and where
Taguig City stands today. This resembled the Chinese methods of artificial incubation of eggs and the
knowledge of every phase of a duck's life. This tradition is carried on until modern times of making balut.

E. Intellectual Life

An Indigenous form of communication was already in existence evidenced by writings on barks

and bamboos. News were also announced by an umalokohan or the town crier. Literature was already
developing: forms included sabi, (maxim), bugtong (riddle), darangan (epic poetry), kumintang (war songs),
and hudhud (wedding song).

People knew how to make an advance weapon. A lantaka (rentaka in Malay), a type of bronze
cannon mounted on merchant vessels travelling the waterways of the Malay Archipelago. Its use was
greatest in precolonial Southeast Asia, especially in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Aside from
wielding swords and spears, they also knew how to make and fire guns and cannons. Rajah Sulayman, in
particular, was said to have owned a huge 17-feet-long iron cannon. They also construct a huge fortresses
and body armor.

PART THREE
THE SPANISH PERIOD

I. Changes and Progress

Eventually, Roman Catholic missions, parishes and schools were established by nearly every
religious order to come to the Philippines. Manila (Tondo) became a replica of a European medieval city.
There were churches, palaces and city halls built in the Spanish baroque style. Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish
is one of the first structures built by the Spaniards in Luzon, was accepted by the Provincial Chapter on
May 3, 1572. In fact, the feast day of Sto. Niño in Tondo is celebrated in the third Sunday of January. The
fiesta in Tondo has the biggest participation in Manila, not only because Tondo is the most populous
district in the city and poorest but perhaps because of the many anecdotes connected with the Sto. Niño
of Tondo. Its parish priest Fr. Enrique Santos, of the Sto. Niño Parish, said the celebrations of 2008 started
"with the traditional procession of devotees dancing on the street while carrying images of the Child Jesus;
a pagoda carrying an old image of Sto. Niño from Spain will lead the parade with 20 smaller boats
accompanying it; the parish in Tondo houses the image of Sto. Niño made of ivory that was brought to
the country by Augustinian priests from Acapulco, Mexico in the late 1570s."
 Tondo, Binondo, Sta. Cruz, and Quiapo bustled with commerce. These places were home to the
merchants, carpenters, blacksmiths, carriage makers, masons, and other artisans. The Spanish colonial
strategy was to undermine the native oral tradition by substituting for it the story of the Passion of Christ.
The church authorities adopted a policy of spreading the Church doctrines by communicating to the native
(pejoratively called Indio) in his own language. Doctrina Christiana (1593), the first book to be printed in
the Philippines, was a prayerbook written in Spanish with an accompanying Tagalog translation. It was,
however, for the exclusive use of the missionaries who invariably read them aloud to the unlettered Indio
catechumens (Medina), who were to rely mainly on their memory. But the task of translating religious
instructional materials obliged the Spanish missionaries to take a most practical step, that of employing
native speakers as translators. Eventually, the native translator learned to read and write both in Spanish
and his native language.

II. Changes and Retrogression

Whatever records our ancestors left were either burned by the Spaniards friars in the belief that
they were works of the devil or were written on materials that easily perished, like the barks of trees,
dried leaves and bamboo cylinders which could not have remained undestroyed even if efforts were made
to preserve them.

During pre-colonial times, women shared equal footing with men in society. They were allowed
to divorce, own and inherit property, and even lead their respective barangays or territories. In matters
of family, the women were for all intents and purposes the working heads, possessing the power of the
purse and the sole right to name their children. They could dictate the terms of their marriage and even
retain their maiden names if they chose to do so. During this time, people also traced their heritage to
both their father and mother. In fact, it could be said that Philippines was largely matriarchal, with the
opinions of women holding great weight in matters of politics and religion (they also headed the rituals
as the babaylans). As a show of respect, men were even required to walk behind their wives. This largely
progressive society that elevated women to such a high pedestal took a serious blow when the Spanish
came. Eager to impose their patriarchal system, the Spanish relegated women to the homes, demonized
the babaylans as satanic, and ingrained into our forefathers’ heads that women should be like Maria
Clara—demure, self-effacing, and powerless. Aside from allowing divorce, women back then also had a
say in how many children they wanted. Sexuality was not as suppressed, and no premium was given to
virginity before marriage. Although polygamy was practiced, men were expected to do so only if they
could support and love each of his wives equally. Homosexuals were also largely tolerated, seeing as how
some of the babaylans were actually men in drag.

The relationship of the ruler to his subjects was very simple back then: In return for his protection,
the people pay tribute and serve him both in times of war and peace. Conversely, if the ruler became
corrupt or incompetent, then the people had a right to remove him. Although the datus technically came
from the upper classes, he could be removed from his position by the lower classes if they found him
wanting of his duties. Also, anyone (including women) could become the datu based on their merits such
as bravery, wisdom, and leadership ability.
 The Filipinos had already established trading and diplomatic relations with countries as far away
as the Middle East. In lieu of cash, they exchanged precious minerals, manufactured goods, etc. with Arabs,
Indians, Chinese, and several other nationalities. During this time period, many foreigners permanently
settled here after marveling at the beauty of the country and its people. Out of the foreigners, it was the
Chinese who were amazed at the Filipinos the most, especially when it came to their extraordinary
honesty. Chinese traders often wrote about the Filipinos’ sincerity and said they were one of their most
trusted clientele since they did not steal their goods and always paid their debts. In fact, some Chinese—
out of confidence—were known to simply leave their items on the beaches to be picked up by the Filipinos
and traded inland. When they returned, the Filipinos would give them back their bartered items without
anything missing.

Life in precolonial Philippines was governed by a set of statutes, both unwritten and written, and
contained provisions with regards to civil and criminal laws. Usually, it was the Datu and the village elders
who promulgated such laws, which were then announced and explained to the people by a town crier
called the umalohokan. The Datu and the elders also acted as de facto courts in case of disputes between
individuals of their village. In case of inter-barangay disputes, a local board composed of elders from
different barangays would usually act as an arbiter.

III. Historical Events

Spanish colonizers first arrived in the Philippines in 1521, the Spanish only reached the Manila Bay
area and its settlements. 1571 marked the last resistance by locals to the occupation and colonization by
the Spanish Empire of Manila in the Battle of Bankusay Channel. Tarik Sulayman, the chief of Macabebes,
refused to ally with the Spanish and decided to mount an attack at the Bankusay Channel on Spanish
forces, led by Miguel López de Legazpi. Sulayman's forces were defeated, and he was killed. The Spanish
victory in Bankusay and Legaspi's alliance with Lakandula of the Kingdom of Tondo, enabled the Spaniards
to establish themselves throughout the city and its neighboring towns. The defeat at Bangkusay marked
the end of rebellion against the Spanish among the Pasig river settlements, and Lakandula's Tondo
surrendered its sovereignty, submitting to the authority of the new Spanish capital, Manila, and soon
several Christian missions were established.

The rule of the Spanish conquerers of the "City of Soliman" was full of dangers, since the people
were opposed to foreign sovereignty. Consequently, the city was frequently the scene of serious
disturbances. The Chinese, angered by the loss of free trade, the commercial restrictions placed by the
untrusting Spanish upon them, and the laws forcing them to pay tribute to Spain, made several efforts to
destroy the Spaniards.

The first of these Chinese revolts occurred in 1574, when a force of some 3,000 men and 62
Chinese warships under the command of Limahong attacked the city. This attenpt proved fruitless, the
Chinese being defeated with heavy losses. As a safeguard against similar uprisings later, the Chinese
residents and merchants of Manila were confined to a separate district, called "Parian de Alcaceria."

However, this precaution was not totally effective, for at various times in the following century,
the Chinese rose in revolt. In 1602, they set fire to Quiapo and Tondo, and for a time threatened to capture
Intramuros. In 1662, they again revolted, while in 1686, a conspiracy led by Tingco plotted to kill all the
Spaniards. It is no surprise, then, to learn that at various times during the Spanish era, the Chinese were
expelled (or decrees were made to that effect) from Manila and from the entire country. Later
reconciliations nearly always permitted the continuation of the Chinese community in the city, however.

After the Spaniards conquered Tundun in 1571 they established the Province of Tondo with the
city of Manila as its center, the province covered much territories in Northern Luzon particularly
Pampanga, Bulacan and Rizal (formerly called Morong) In census conducted by Miguel de Loarca in 1583
Tondo was reported to have spoken the same language as the natives of the province of Pampanga.
Institute of National Language commissioner Jose Villa Panganiban also wrote that the dividing line
between Kapampangan and Tagalog was the Pasig River, and that Tondo therefore originally spoke
Kapampangan, although Fray Isacio Rodriquez's Historia dela Provincia del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus de
Filipinas stated that Provincia de Tagalos which is Tondo covers all the territories of the future Archdiocese
of Manila. Prior to the establishment of the Province of Bulacan in 1578 Malolos and Calumpit were also
included in the territory of Tondo as its visitas. In 1800, the Province of Tondo was renamed to Province
of Manila.

IV. Historical Personages

A. Lakan Dula of Tundun

Lakan Dula was a native muslim king of Tundun (a large area covering most of what is now
present-day Metro Manila), when the Spanish colonization of the Philippine Islands had begun. He ruled
a community of Muslim people who lived north of the Pasig River. Lakan Dula was one of three Muslim
chieftains in the Manila during the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors led by Martín de Goiti, and Juan
de Salcedo in 1570. Lakan is his official title meaning King and later baptized Lakan Carlos Dula (it was
found later by the National Historical Commission that he was not actually baptized and did not changed
his name), was the Lakan paramount ruler of the pre-colonial Philippine Kingdom of Tondo when the
Spaniards first conquered the lands of the Pasig River delta in the 1570's. His father is Rajah Salalila
(Sulayman I) and his mother is Ysmeria. His beloved wife is Mutya and they are blessed with several
children. His grandparents are Dayang (Lady) Kalangitan and Gat (Lord) Lontok and his brother is Rajah
Matanda (Sulayman II). Rajah Mura or Muda (Sulayman III) and Lakan Banao Dula led a revolt known as
the Sulayman Revolt of 1574 in the villages of Navotas, taking advantage of the confusion brought about
by the attacks of Chinese pirate Limahong. This is also often referred to as the "Manila revolt" but is
sometimes referred to as the "Sulayman Revolt" and the "Lakan Dula Revolt."

B. Andres Bonifacio

Andres Bonifacio, also known as Supremo, the revolutionary leader of KKK (Kataas-taasanm
Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan), was born and raised in Tondo, Manila. Tondo has
become synonymous with many things but foremost of which is the name of Andres Bonifacio, a true son
of Tondo. Some historians consider him to be the rightful first President of the Philippines instead of
Aguinaldo. Some historians have also opined that Bonifacio share or even take the place of José Rizal as
the (foremost) Philippine national hero.
 PART FOUR
PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION

I. The Overthrow of the Spaniards

Tondo was one of the first provinces to declare rebellion against Spain. By the 19th century, the
Philippines was ruled from Madrid as Mexico had revolted and became independent in 1821. The opening
of the Suez Canal and the flow of liberal ideas and the resolute refusal of reforms by the abusive Spanish
administration led to growing dissatisfaction on the part of educated and wealthy Filipinos whose national
sense had been inspired by the suppression of the Cavite Mutiny and the execution of Filipino secular
priests, Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora in 1872. Jose Rizal (1861-1896), a Filipino
ilustrado, published two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, that indirectly fanned the flames
of the revolution. By January 1892, plans were made to assemble a secret organization of Filipinos, led by
Andres Bonifacio of Tondo, whose goal was independence from Spain. The organization, the
Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan, was formally founded on July 7, 1982
at Tondo, Manila, upon Rizal’s exile to Dapitan.

The Philippine Revolution began on August 23, 1896 (recent scholarship by Jim Richardson, among
others, suggests it erupted on August 24), upon the discovery of the Katipunan by Mariano Gil, a Spanish
Augustinian curate, on August 19. This resulted in open revolution. The entire Province of Manila,
including seven other provinces—Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Pampanga, Morong, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija—
were declared under martial law and in a state of war by the Spanish Governor-General Ramon Blanco on
August 30, 1896.

Finally, on June 12, 1898, the Proclamation of Independence was issued, the national flag and
anthem solemnly presented to the people, and a dictatorial government by General Aguinaldo was
established. In the proclamation, the Province of Manila was listed as one of the eight provinces that
revolted against the Spanish that was represented in the eight rays of the sun on the Philippine flag.

PART FIVE
AMERICAN PERIOD

I. The Filipino American War

Following the surrender of the Spanish, the Americans immediately turned their attention to
keeping General Aguinaldo’s men out of Manila. Filipino forces, who had been told to stay in the suburbs
and out of the battle, were furious at being barred from entering the city.

Tensions grew between the Filipino and the American forces. On February 4, 1899, at 8:00 p.m.,
U.S. Pvt. William Grayson and Pvt. Orville Miller of Company D of Nebraska Volunteers patrolled the area
between Barrio Santol and Blockhouse 7 (now corner of Sociego and Silencio streets, in Sta. Mesa) within
the Province of Manila. Three Filipinos appeared and Grayson shouted at them to stop their advance. The
Filipinos, not understanding English, continued. Grayson then fired at them, killing Filipino corporal
Anastacio Felix of the 4th Company of the Morong Battalion under Captain Serapio Narvaez. An exchange
of fire ensued along the American lines at Sta. Mesa, beginning the Philippine-American War.

By 10:00 p.m., anticipating the conflict, the Americans were fighting two miles north and west of
Pasig River. On February 5, they pushed northward to Caloocan to block the main road to Malolos, the
capital of the First Republic. This effectively established American control over the Province of Manila. On
February 22, 1899, President Emilio Aguinaldo led an attack on Manila by burning the wealthy districts of
Sta. Cruz, Tondo and Malate. Fire spread to Escolta but was averted. Ultimately the plan failed for lack of
coordination and firepower.

II. Historical Events and Social Progress

In 1911, under the American colonial regime, there was a major reorganization of political
divisions, and the province of Tondo was dissolved, and its towns given to the provinces of Rizal and
Bulacan. Today, Tondo just exists as a district in the City of Manila.

On July 31, 1901, the Second Philippine Commission (known as the Taft Commission, appointed
by U.S. President William McKinley) passed Act No. 183, also known as the City Charter of Manila, or the
Manila Charter, which patterned the city government after the District of Columbia in the United States.
It also absorbed the suburbs to create a larger City of Manila. The districts of the new Manila were Paco,
Malate, Ermita, Intramuros (in the pre-war period, identified by the initials “W.C.” or “Walled City”), San
Miguel, Sampaloc, Quiapo, Santa Cruz, Binondo, San Nicolas, and Tondo; Santa Ana and Pandacan were
added in 1902.

Spanish influence in the city was still prevalent, from the Catholic churches and schools. But Santa
Claus, Christmas trees in houses and Christmas presents were adapted by the Filipinos to the Americans.
American period characterized by the expansion of public education, advances in health care and the
introduction of democratic government.

Manila became a city with American enclaves and one whose official civic and social architecture
adopted American influences. Meanwhile, Filipinos still aspired for independence. What they fought for
in the battlefield in the Philippine-American War, they took on in politics, as Americans opened elections
for local government positions to Filipinos. Afterward came a gradual expansion of national legislative
representation, beginning with the Philippine Assembly (or Lower House) in 1907, which regularly
assembled in the Ayuntamiento building in Intramuros.

Manila went on to become the cosmopolitan capital of the country when the Commonwealth of
the Philippines was inaugurated on November 15, 1935, with Senate President Manuel L. Quezon elected
as President. The Commonwealth, the ten-year transitional government to independence, was the
culmination of efforts to secure a definitive timetable for the withdrawal of American sovereignty over
the Philippines.

III. Historical Personages

A. Asiong Salonga

Nicasio "Asiong" Rodriguez Salonga (nicknamed the "Hitler" or "Hito" of Tondo) was an infamous
Filipino gangster whose notorious life had been portrayed in several movie versions. Asiong was
considered one of the Philippines' Public Enemy where he reigned and dominated the Manila's then-
known mob district, Tondo, for several years. Asiong as a gang leader had solid loyal 12 members of his
group, with 4 hideouts in Manila (Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo & Pier). Salonga's name had been linked to
several illegal possession of firearms, murder, selling of firearms, homicide, collection of sum of money
from businessmen, and other unknown nefarious cases from which somehow he had always managed to
squirm out of arrest. Despite this reputation, Salonga was still considered a hero by many local residents,
and thus earning him a nickname the "Robin Hood of Tondo". Asiong was recognized by many in Metro
Manila due to the frequent appearances of his name in the headlines of the journal news. The only record
of Salonga in the Supreme Court was dated March 28, 1946, which was concerned with his arrest without
warrant on January 10 of the same year.

PART SIX
JAPANESE OCCUPATION

I. Japanese Invasion

During the 1930s, Japan began a campaign of imperial expansion in the western Pacific. They
wanted to gain power over their neighbors and also to oust American and European influences from the
region.

President Manuel L. Quezon was in Baguio, recovering from an illness, when Executive Secretary
Jorge Vargas informed him of the Imperial Japanese forces’ attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The next
handful of days would be marked by the first volley of attacks by Japanese troops. Japanese planes would
repeatedly bomb Nichols Field, destroying vital American aircraft on the ground, and the Cavite Navy Yard,
heavily damaging the American naval fleet stationed in the Philippines. In Manila, there was widespread
paranoia and panic. Evacuation centers were full, while droves of people moved to the provinces.

On December 24, 1941, the USAFFE High Command and the Commonwealth War Cabinet
withdrew to Corregidor Island. On December 26, 1941, in an effort to spare further damage to the City of
Manila and its civilians, Manila was declared an Open City by Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur. All military
installations were ordered removed, as local police was left to maintain order. This was ignored by the
Japanese as they still dropped bombs in the city, causing fire and damage. Military units moved to Bataan
and the government moved to Corregidor in the last ditch effort to defend Manila Bay while waiting for
reinforcements that would never come.

On January 1, 1942, from Corregidor, President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order 400, s.
1942, creating the City of Greater Manila, a precursor to Metropolitan Manila. The Greater Manila
encompassed the following cities: City of Manila, the Quezon City, and all the territory comprised in the
municipalities of Caloocan, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasay, and Parañaque. The mayors of these
cities became assistant mayors of the Greater Manila, with their jurisdiction remaining on their respective
cities. This was done in the light of the impending Japanese invasion. Meanwhile, there was a breakdown
of peace and order, as looting, accumulation of garbage, and food shortage were experienced by the city
population. The next day, the Imperial Japanese forces occupied the city without resistance, establishing
the Japanese Military Administration over Manila and other occupied provinces on the same day.

The Battle of the Philippines was one of America’s greatest military defeats. It was also one of the
most successful acts of resistance to Japanese expansion in the early war. It held up Japanese forces while
the Americans regrouped from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and while MacArthur prepared a new
base of operations in Australia.

II. Historical Events and Developments

The City of Manila would remain under Japanese control until the 1945 Battle of Manila, waged
from February 3 to March 3, 1945, which decimated much of the city. The battle, fought by the combined
forces of the Filipino guerrillas and the U.S. army, against the Imperial Japanese forces, razed the city to
the ground. At least one hundred thousand men, women, and children perished. Architectural heritage
was reduced to rubble, thus making Manila the second most devastated Allied capital of World War II,
after Warsaw, Poland.

III. Historical Personages

A. General Tomoyuki Yamashita

General Yamashita was considered a war criminal for his crimes in Manila. Evidence suggests that
General Yamashita was unaware of the crimes committed by Japanese troops in Manila, and that he
ultimately did not have control over those troops who committed the atrocities. The morale of his troops
was low, and many of the orders he gave were disobeyed. Yamashita had a sense of guilt and failure as a
commanding general over the troops under his command. In the end, he took responsibility for the crimes
that his troops committed under his command. A group of American military lawyers attempted to defend
General Yamashita by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the appeal failed because the appeal was
5 to 2. As a result, Yamashita was sentenced to death by hanging. He was hanged on February 23, 1946 in
Manila.

B. Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur was an American five-star general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army.
He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific
theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign,
which made him and his father Arthur MacArthur Jr. the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He
was one of only five to rise to the rank of General of the Army in the US Army, and the only one conferred
the rank of field marshal in the Philippine Army.

IV. Return of U.S. Forces

 The Battle of Manila (3 February – 3 March 1945) was a major battle of the Philippine campaign
of 1944-45, during the Second World War. It was fought by American and Filipino forces against Japanese
troops in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The month-long battle, which resulted in the death of
over 100,000 civilians and the complete devastation of the city, was the scene of the worst urban fighting
in the Pacific theater. Japanese troops took their anger and frustration out on the civilians in the city.
Violent mutilations, rapes, and massacres occurred in schools, hospitals and convents, including San Juan
de Dios Hospital, Santa Rosa College, Santo Domingo Church, Manila Cathedral, Paco Church, St. Paul's
Convent, and St. Vincent de Paul Church. The battle ended the almost three years of Japanese military
occupation in the Philippines (1942–1945). The city's capture was marked as General Douglas MacArthur's
key to victory in the campaign of reconquest. It is the last of the many battles fought within Manila's
history. On July 4, 1946, a year after the end of the war, the Philippine flag was hoisted signalling the
recognition of Philippine independence.

V. End of war

Civil government was finally restored and turned over by Field Marshal MacArthur to President
Sergio Osmeña on February 27, 1945, in a solemn ceremony at the Malacañan Palace.

After the war, Manila undertook the painstaking task of restoration, as important government
buildings were slowly rebuilt. Manila’s status also changed after the war. On July 17, 1948, President
Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 333, which moved the capital from Manila to Quezon City, as was
originally planned by President Quezon.

PART SEVEN
THE THIRD REPUBLIC

I. The Third Republic

In 1949, Manila’s mayoralty, which was previously by presidential appointment, became elective
by virtue of Republic Act No. 409. The first mayoral election of Manila was held in 1951, with Arsenio
Lacson, congressman of the 2nd district, winning the polls. A symbolic focal point of democracy became
Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, the country’s foremost public square in the post-war years. A plaza fronting the
Quiapo Church, and located no more than a kilometer from Malacañan Palace, Plaza Miranda became the
largest venue from which rallyists could be physically close to the residence of the country’s chief
executive, whether in loyal support or oppositionist denunciation, providing a political forum of Philippine
democracy. The plaza eventually lost its prominence beginning with the bombing of 1971.

On November 7, 1975, President Ferdinand E. Marcos established Metropolitan Manila by virtue

of Presidential Decree No. 824, s. 1975. It was created on the precedent of the creation of the Provincia
de Manila and the City of Greater Manila. Metro Manila covers the cities of Manila, Quezon City (the
nation’s capital at the time), Pasay, Caloocan, Makati (formerly San Pedro de Macati), Mandaluyong, San
Juan, Las Piñas, Malabon, Navotas, Pasig, Pateros, Parañaque, Marikina, Muntinlupa, and Taguig and
Valenzuela.
 A year later, the seat of the national government was moved from Quezon City to “Manila and
the area prescribed as Metropolitan Manila” through Presidential Decree No. 940, which was signed on
May 29,1976.

Today, Manila remains the capital city of the Philippines, but the administrative and political
centers of the national government are spread throughout Metro Manila with the executive (Malacañan
Palace) and the judiciary (Supreme Court) both in Manila while the legislative branch is located in two
separate locations: The House of Representatives in Quezon City and the Senate in Pasay City.

PART EIGHT
THE PEOPLE IN GENERAL

I. Population

Tondo is one of the districts of the Philippines' capital city of Manila. Tondo is located in the
northwest portion of the city and is primarily residential-industrial in nature. Due to urbanization as well
as the Lina Law which favors squatters over land owners resulted to Tondo to being one of the most
densely populated areas in the world at 69,000 inhabitants per square kilometer (180,000/sq mi).

II. Characteristics

A. Physical Characteristics

Tondo hosts the Manila North Harbor Port, the northern half of the Port of Manila, the primary
seaport serving Metro Manila and surrounding areas. The area also hosted Smokey Mountain, a landfill
which served Metro Manila and employed thousands of people from around 1960 until its closure in the
late 1990s. The dumpsite served as a symbol of poverty even at least two decades since its closure. The
main terminal of the Philippine National Railways is located at the Tutuban district, which is close to the
birthplace of Andres Bonifacio. This is now converted to a mall (Tutuban Center).

B. Good and Bad Characteristics

Tondo has developed a reputation for criminality and poverty. In 2010, Manila records state that
Tondo has the highest criminal rate in the whole city with the most common crime being pick pocketing.
One of the reason is because it once was the location of the major Procter and Gamble plant in the
Philippines at Vitas Street—now closed and dismantled.

Unknown to most people, whose only idea of Tondo are its slums, the old Smokey Mountain
dumpsite and tales of its gangsters, Tondo is more than all of that. It is the birthplace of the country’s
greatest kings, poets, artists, and rebels. It is the cradle of Tagalog culture and of the Philippine resistance
against colonial oppression.
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