Before the arrival of the Spanish

colonizers in the Philippines in the 16th

century, the Barangays were well-
organized independent villages - and in
some cases, cosmopolitan sovereign
principalities, which functioned much like
a city-state.
The Barangay was the dominant
organizational pattern
among indigenous communities in
the Philippine archipelago.

The name barangay originated
from balangay, a Malay word meaning
"sailboat
The word Barangay in modern use refers
to the smallest administrative division in
the Philippines, also known by its former
Spanish adopted name, the barrio.

This modern context for the use of the
term barangay was adopted during the
administration of President Ferdinand
Marcos when he ordered the
replacement of the old barrios and
municipal councils.

This act was eventually codified under
the 1991 Local Government Code.
There are a number of distinctions
between the modern Barangay or Barrio,
and the city-states and independent
principalities encountered by the
Spanish when they first arrived in 1521
and established relatively permanent
settlements in 1574.
The most glaring difference would be
that the modern entity represents a
geographical entity, the pre-colonial
barangays represented loyalty to a
particular head (datu).
The Government of the Pre-Spanish
Filipino was patriarchal in form.
2 models:
a. Barangay which was a socio-quasi
political/administrative unit
b. Sultanate which was more elaborate
with a central authority

The unit of administration was the
barangay which was a settlement
consisting of 30-100 families
Most villages have only thirty-one
hundred houses and the population
varies from one hundred-five hundred
persons. When the Spaniards came, they
found communities with twenty to thirty
people only. They also encountered
large and prestigious principalities.
Theories, as well as local oral
traditions,say that the original
"barangays" were coastal settlements
formed as a result of the migration of
these Malayo-Polynesian people (who
came to the archipelago) by boat from
other places in Southeast Asia .
The early barangay were independent
from each other. Each was ruled by a
datu or raha who obtained his position
by:
a. inheritance, being the son of the datu
b. Wisdom




Datu is the title for chiefs,
sovereign princes, and
monarchs in the Visayas

and Mindanao Regions of
the Philippines.
Depending upon the
prestige of the sovereign
prince, this title of Datu
could be roughly equated
to the
European dukes,marquesse
s, counts, or barons.
In big barangays, which
had contacts with other
southeast Asian cultures
through trade, some Datus
took the
title Rajah or Sultan.
The datu had a wide powers, for he
exercised all the functions of government,
but he was not an absolute leader nor a
ruler. He was assisted by leaders who
advised him on important matters.
According to Renato Constantino(19750),
the two types of political leaders at that
time were the:
a. leader with clear administrative function
b. leader with undefined function and
position
Inter-baranganic relations consisted of
agreements for commerce and frienship
or alliance. Agreements were necessary
because wars between barangays
existed.
The causes of conflicts between
barangays, according to Loarca (in
Jocano, 1975) were:
a. When one goes to another village and
there is put to death without cause
b. When their wives are stolen from them
c. When they go in friendly manner to any
village and there under the guise of
friendship are wronged or maltreated.

National Government
Provincial Government
Municipal Government
Barrio Government
The Residencia and The Visita
Maura Law

On the national level, the King of Spain,
through his Council of the Indies (Consejo
de las Indias), governed through his sole
representative in the Philippines: the
Governor-General (Gobernador y Capitn
General).

With the seat of power in Intramuros,
Manila, the Governor-General was given
several duties: he headed the Supreme
Court (Royal Audiencia), was Commander-
in-chief of the army and navy, and was the
economic planner of the country.
On the provincial level, heading the pacified
provinces (alcaldia), was the provincial
governor (alcalde mayor). The unpacified
military zones (corregimiento), such as
Mariveles and Mindoro, were headed by
the corregidores.

The alcalde mayor was usually
an Insulares (Spaniard born in the Philippines).
In the 19th century, the Peninsulares began to
displace the Insulares which resulted in the
political unrests of 1872, notably the execution
of GOMBURZA, Novales Revolt and mutiny of
the Cavite fort under La Madrid.

The pueblo or town is headed by
the Gobernadorcillo or little governor.

Among his administrative duties were the
preparation of the tribute list (padron),
recruitment and distribution of men for
draft labor, communal public work and
military conscription (quinto), postal clerk
and judge in minor civil suits.
Barrio government (village or district)
rested on the barrio administrator
(cabeza de barangay). He was
responsible for peace and order and
recruited men for communal public
works.
The Residencia, dating back to the 5th
century and the Visita differed from
the residencia in that it was conducted
clandestinely by a visitador-general sent
from Spain and might occur anytime
within the officials term, without any
previous notice.
The legal foundation for municipal
governments in the country was laid with
the promulgation of the Maura Law on
May 19, 1893.

Named after its author, Don Antonio
Maura, the Spanish Minister of
Colonies at the time, the law
reorganized town governments in the
Philippines with the aim of making them
more effective and autonomous.

The political system of the Philippines
occurs within an organized framework of
a presidential, representative, and
democratic republic with the president
as both the head of state and the head
of government within a pluriform multi-
party system.
Vice President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo was sworn in as the new president
of the Philippines on 20 January 2001. Her
assumption of power resulted from a
peaceful demonstration of People
Power, which forced the resignation of
Pres. Joseph Estrada over charges of
corruption and cronyism
This is the second time in postwar
Philippine politics that a president has
been replaced through populist action.

The first time was in February 1986, when
Corazon Aquino became president after
a mass outpouring of popular support for
her against Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.
Although formal institution exist providing
a mechanism for change government, it
appears that when these institutions
impede what people perceive a good
governance, they are willing to explore
other avenues.

From the time when the Philippines
declared itself a sovereign state in 1898,
the nation has had Four major
constitutions:
1. The 1899 constitution which established
the first republic in Asia
2. The 1935 constitution, which served as
the basic law during the period of self-
government while the Philippines was
still under American rule and after it
became independent in 1946


3. The 1973 constitution, which allowed
Ferdinand Marcos to continue to hold
office as president
4. The 1987 constitution, upon which the
present government is based, which
essentially restored institutions and
processes dismantled by Marcos during
his regime.

The 1987 constitution describes the
Philippine political system as republican
and democratic. It is a unitary system in that
power resides in a central authority.
The formal political structure of the
Philippines is patterned on that of the
United States, in which the president wields
executive power, Congress formulates laws,
and an independent judiciary insures that
laws are uniformly upheld.

3 separate and sovereign yet
interdependent branches:

Executive branch
Legislative branch
Judicial branch

The executive branch consists of the
President and his Cabinet. The Senate and
the House of Representatives make up the
bicameral legislature. The Supreme Court
heads the systems of courts under the
judicial branch.
The president of the Filipino political system
is elected by popular vote for a term of 6
years. He cannot run for re-election unless
he becomes president through
constitutional succession and has served for
no more than 4 years as president.

The executive is the part of government that
has sole authority and responsibility for the
daily administration of the country. The
executive branch executes or enforces the
law. The division of power into separate
branches of government is central to the idea
of the separation of powers.
The separation of powers system is designed to
distribute authority among several branches
an attempt to preserve individual liberty in
response to tyrannical leadership throughout
history.
The executive officer is not supposed to
make laws (the role of the legislature) or
interpret them (the role of the judiciary).
The role of the executive is to enforce the
law as written by the legislature and
interpreted by the judicial system.
The executive can be the source of
certain types of law, including decree or
executive order. Executive bureaucracies
are commonly the source of regulations.

The bicameral Congress consists of the
Senate or 'Senado' serving as the upper
house with 24 senators, one-half elected
every three years by popular vote to
serve a term of six-years and the House
of Representatives or 'Kapulungan Ng
Mga Kinatawan' serving as the lower
house with 250 members elected by
popular vote to serve three-year term.

The legislative branch consists of
Congress and the fifty state legislatures.
At both state and federal levels,
legislatures are made up of popularly
elected representatives, who propose
laws that are sensitive to the needs and
interests of their local constituents. After
a law is proposed as a bill, it is sent to
appropriate committees for several
stages of discussion, research, and
modification. It is then debated in both
legislative houses.

If the law is passed, it is still subject to
further modification and final vote by
both houses. Under the system of
checks and balances, the president
can refuse to sign the bill into law
(through the veto power). The
legislature can then vote to override
the veto. Other checks and balances
include legislative powers to impeach
public officials, confirm appointments
to the executive and judicial branches,
and vote on appropriations.
The Supreme Court heads the judicial
branch of the government of Philippines
with the Chief Justice as its presiding
officer and fourteen other associate
justices.
They are appointed by the President
from nominations presented by the
Judicial and Bar Council.
The judicial branch of government is
made up of the court system. The
Supreme Court is the highest court in
the land. Article III of the Constitution
established this Court and all other
Federal courts were created by
Congress. Courts decide arguments
about the meaning of laws, how they
are applied, and whether they break
the rules of the Constitution.
Local government is exercised by local
government units from the provinces, cities,
municipalities and barangays.
While the most regions do not have political
power, and exist merely for administration
purposes, autonomous regions have expanded
powers more than the other local government
units.
While local government units enjoy autonomy,
much of their budget is derived from
allocations from the national government,
putting their true autonomy in doubt.



Reporters:
Bangcong, Ivannafryle
Palma, Sandy Rose
Zamora, April Jean