Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) BEAUTIFUL PHILIPPINES A Handbook of General Information MANILA BUREAU of PRINTING 1923 Prepared by the Philippine Commission of Independence Manila, P.I. CONTENTS Page Foreword 15 I. Historical Background 17 Discovery 17 The Spanish Rule--A Tale of Wars and Uprisings 17 Reforms in the 19th Century 18 Last Decades of Spanish Rule--The Coming of the Americans 19 Filipino-American War 20 The establishment of Civil Government 20 II. The Material Spain Found 21 Power of Propaganda to Misrepresent 21 Non-Christian Population 21 Literacy 22 Facts of Filipino Attainments in Pre-Spanish Days 22 Religion, Alphabet, and Books 23 Traders and Artisans 24 Able Agriculturists 24 Written and Unwritten Laws 24 The Code of Calantiao 25 Testimonies of Occidental Writers 26 Progress During the Spanish Rule 27 Schools and Colleges 27 Filipino Record Abroad 28 Opinions of Foreign Writers 28 Background on Which America Had Built 29 III. The First Philippine Republic 30 Causes of Earlier Revolutions 30 The Revolution of 1896 30 The Pact of Biac-na-Bato 30 The Republic 31 The Governmental Machinery Set Up 31 The Malolos Constitution--Its Salient Features 32 Comments of Foreigners 34 IV. Population of the Islands 37 A Homogeneous People 37 Total Population 38 Foreign Population 38 Comparative Population 38 V. Geographical Items of Interest 39 Number of Islands 39 Total Land Area 39 Bays and Straits 40 Mountains 40 Rivers 40 Lakes and Falls 40 Mineral Springs 41 Climate 41 Differences in Time 41 Comparative Areas 42 Rainfall 42 VI. The City of Manila 43 Entrance to Manila Bay--Corregidor and the Islands "El Fraile," and "El Carabao" 43 The City of Manila 43 The Walled City 44 Fort Santiago 44 Three Manilas 45 Costumes 46 The Shops 46 The Pasig River 46 Other Places of Interest 46 The Cathedral 47 The Ayuntamiento 47 University of Santo Tomas 47 The Dominican Church 48 Avenues 48 Bilibid Prison 49 Central Observatory 51 The Luneta 51 The Manila Hotel 52 The Museum 52 The Carnival Grounds 52 Dewey Boulevard 53 Clubs and Societies 54 Cemeteries 54 Monuments 54 Life in Manila 55 Vexing Conventionalities Absent 55 Competition Less Severe 56 VII. The Environs of Manila 58 Malacañang Palace 58 Santa Mesa 59 San Juan Heights and Bridge 59 The Reservoir 60 Mariquina Valley and Town 60 The Payatas Estate 61 Montalban Dam 61 Fort William McKinley 62 VIII. Other Cities 63 Baguio 63 The Zig-Zag 63 Camp John Hay 64 Trinidad Valley 64 The City of Cebu 65 Places of Historical Interest 66 The City of Iloilo 66 Description and Attractions 67 Zamboanga 67 The San Ramon Penal Colony 68 IX. The Provinces--Beauty Spots 69 Laguna Province--Pagsanjan Falls 71 Calamba 78 Los Baños Mineral Springs 78 College of Agriculture 79 Rizal Province 72 Antipolo--Virgin of Antipolo 73 Cavite Province 73 Zapote Bridge 74 The United States Naval and Radio Station 74 Kawit 75 Batangas Province 75 Historical Incidents 76 Attractions 76 Taal Volcano 76 Tayabas Province 78 Botocan Falls 78 Lucena and Atimonan 78 The Bicol Provinces 79 Sceneries 80 Historical Incidents 80 Peerless Mayon 81 Bulacan Province 82 Description and History 82 Attractions 83 Biac-na-Bato 83 Mineral Baths at Marilao 83 Malolos, the Seat of the Philippine Republic 83 Pampanga Province 83 Attractions 84 Tarlac Province 85 Medicinal Springs 85 Nueva Ecija Province--The Rice Granary of the Islands 85 The Government Agricultural School at Muñoz 86 Bataan Province 86 Attractions 86 Historical 86 Mariveles 87 Mount Mariveles 87 Zambales Province 88 Naval Station at Olongapo and Fortifications on Grande Island 88 Pangasinan--Second Largest Rice Producing Province 89 Salt Making and Industries 89 Historical Events 89 The Mountain Province and Sub-provinces 90 The Rice Terraces in Ifugao 91 Gold Mining and Household Industries 92 La Union and the Ilocos Provinces--Household Industries 92 Abra Province 94 The Cagayan Valley--The Tobacco Region 95 The Cagayan River 95 Isabela Province and the Town of Palanan 96 Nueva Vizcaya Province--The Salt Incrusted Mountain 96 Mindoro Province 96 Mineral Deposits 97 The Submarine Garden at Puerto Galera 97 Palawan Province 97 Iwahig Penal Colony 98 Culion Leper Colony 98 The Underground River 99 Romblon Province--Marble Deposits 99 The Visayas 99 Samar, the First Island Discovered by the Spaniards 99 Iloilo and Capiz--Beautiful Caves and Cliffs of White Coral Rock 100 Negros Island--The Principal Sugar Producing District 101 The Haciendas and the Sugar Centrals 101 The Silliman Institute at Dumaguete 101 The Volcano of Magaso 102 Cebu Province 102 San Miguel, the First Spanish Settlement 102 Bohol Province 103 The Rebellions of 1622 and 1744 103 Medicinal Springs and Caves 104 Leyte Province 104 Abundance of minerals 104 Limasawa--Where Mass Was First Celebrated in the Philippines 104 The Island of Mindanao 105 Origin of Name 105 Introduction of Islam 105 Province of Zamboanga 105 Cotabato Province 106 Increasing Christian Population 106 The Large Lakes in Cotabato Province 106 Mount Apo 106 Bukidnon Province, an Unsurpassed Region for Cattle 107 Beautiful Lake Lanao and the Maria Cristina Falls 107 Davao Province, the Finest Hemp Land in the Island 108 Agusan and Surigao Provinces--Minerals and Agricultural Products 108 The Sulu Archipelago 109 Description, Principal Ports and Industries 109 Introduction of Mohammedanism 110 The Sultan of Sulu and His Present Position 111 The Policy of Attraction Carried Out by the Insular Government 111 The Town of Jolo--Chinese Pier and Ariolas' Walk 112 The Language for the Tourist 113 Number of Filipinos Who speak, read and write English 113 X. Agricultural Products, Forests, Minerals, and Industries 115 Number of Hectares under Cultivation 115 Principal Undeveloped Regions 115 Percentage of Farms Owned by Filipinos 116 The Principal Crops--Rice, Hemp, Sugar, Tobacco, Coconut-- Export Figures 116 Prospective Agricultural Industries 127 Irrigation 128 Rural Credit Associations--Table 128 Forest Resources 130 Area 130 Only 1 per cent Private Ownership 131 Timber Output and Export 131 How Timber Tracts are Obtained 132 Sawmills 132 Minor Forest Products 132 Minerals--Gold, Silver, Iron, Manganese, Coal, and Statistical Data 132 Other Industries 135 Public Lands 143 Area 143 Modes of Acquisition 143 XI. The Trade of the Philippine Islands 147 Economic Position--Manila as a Trade Center 147 Trade Routes 147 Personnel of Philippine Commerce 149 America's Monopoly in Philippine Trade 150 Mediums of Trade 150 Trade with other Countries 151 Values of Imports and Exports, 1913 to 1922 152 Principal Articles Exported, 1921-1922 153 Principal Articles Imported, 1921-1922 154 Shipping 156 Entrances and Clearances of Vessels 156 Interisland Transportation 156 Table--Merchandise Carried by Foreign Vessels 157 Interisland Lines 158 Control Over Rates 158 Number and Tonnage of Vessels 159 XII. Structure of the Philippine Government 160 Resembles Federal and State Governments 160 Departures from American Standards 160 The Budget System 160 Parliamentary Responsibility 161 The Council of State, Advisory to the Governor General 161 The Governor-General, the Vice-Governor, and the Executive Departments 161 The Legislative Department 164 The Judiciary 165 Provincial and Municipal Government 165 Expenses of the Philippine Government 165 Financial Status 166 Statement of Receipts, Expenditures and Surplus 167 Budget Estimates, 1918-1923 168 Currency and Circulation 168 Electors 170 XIII. The Filipinos in Control 173 Filipinization 174 Proportion of Filipinos to Americans in the Government 174 Autonomy 174 Outstanding Achievements of the Filipinized Government 175 Reorganization of Departments 175 The Budget System Explained 177 Public Improvements 177 Agriculture and Taxation 178 Public Order 178 Education--System of Instruction 178 Number of Pupils 182 Number of Teachers 182 Number of School Buildings 182 Universities 182 Sanitation--the Philippine Health Service 183 Comparative Death Rate 184 Local Autonomy 184 Public Welfare--The Public Welfare Commissioner 185 Administration of Justice 186 Record of the Courts 186 Government Enterprises--Object 187 The National Bank 187 The Manila Railroad 188 The National Coal Co. 188 The National Development Co. 189 XIV. The Independence Movement 190 Uprisings during Spanish Régime 190 The Organized Movement 193 The Philippine Assembly of 1907 193 America's Policy and Promise to the Filipinos 194 Pronouncements of McKinley, Taft, Roosevelt, and Wilson 195 Jones Law, the Formal Pledge that Independence Will Be Granted 196 Executive Recommendation for the Fulfillment of America's Promise 197 Missions to the United States 197 The Commission of Independence and Its Purposes 198 The Declaration of Purposes 198 The First Mission 198 Letter of President Wilson 199 Statement of Secretary of War Baker 199 Hearing before Joint Committee of Congress 200 The Second Mission 200 The Memorial to President Harding 201 Reply of the President 205 Petition for a Constitutional Convention--Text 205 XV. Appendices--Tables of Statistics 207 Where to Go in Manila 207 List of Hotels 207 Garages and Stables 208 Steamship Agencies 208 Foreign Consulates 209 Cable Offices 211 List of Banks in the Philippines Doing Business in 1923 211 Chambers of Commerce 211 Cinematographs and Theatres 212 Clubs 212 Booksellers and Stationers 213 Embroideries 213 Philippine Hats 214 List of Churches Holding Services in English 215 Rates of Fare for Public Vehicles 215 Postal, Telegraph, and Cable Rates 216 Interisland Sailings 219 Values of foreign coins expressed in terms of Philippine money 220 Banking: Combined condition of all the commercial banks in the Philippine Islands, in pesos 221 Currency in Circulation 222 Table showing the assessed valuation of real property in the Philippine Islands (except the cities of Manila and Baguio) by provinces 223 Growth of the public school system 225 Private Schools 226 Annual Expenditures for Public Education 226 Total receipts, expenditures and accumulated surplus of the Philippine Government, 1901-1923, in pesos 227 Fire, marine, and miscellaneous insurance companies doing active business in the Philippine Islands, during year ending December 31, 1922 228 Americans and Filipinos in the Philippine Service on July 1, 1921 230 Newspapers and other publications in the Philippines, as per revision made up to June 18, 1923 230 List of sugar centrals in the Philippine Islands 234 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Facing page-- Bird's eye view of the Walled City and immediate environs 18 Panoramic view of Camp Keithley, Lanao, Mindanao 18 Plaza Benavides, with the statue of Benavides in the center 20 San Sebastian Church, Manila 21 Aglipayan Church, Azcarraga Street, Manila 44 The new Trade School, Manila 45 The Cathedral, Walled City, Manila 46 Philippine University cadets in formation in front of the Ayuntamiento, the central government building 47 Bureau of Printing Building 48 A section of Manila's commercial district 48 The Luneta Hotel, Manila 49 Central Railroad Station, Manila Railroad Company 50 A Modern thoroughfare, Taft Avenue, Manila 50 The Paco Railroad Depot, Manila 51 The Jones Bridge 51 The principal buildings of the Philippine University 52 The Polo Grounds 52 The Normal Hall--A dormitory for girls, Manila 53 Philippine Carnival Auditorium, 1922 53 The Rizal Monument, at the Luneta, Manila 54 The Legaspi and Urdaneta Monument facing the Luneta, Manila 55 The Carnival grounds, Manila 56 A view of Pier 5, Manila 56 The Luneta, during a Carnival parade 57 A public market, Manila 57 The Aquarium, Manila, exterior view 58 Exterior view of Malacañang Palace, Manila 58 A typical country scene 59 The Executive Offices, Malacañang Palace, Manila 59 The Mariquina Valley 60 Salt beds, Pangasinan 60 Exterior view of the Lingayen Provincial Building, Pangasinan 61 The Baguio zig-zig coiling upon itself 62 The Amphitheater, Baguio, Benguet 63 The States? No It's Baguio, Philippine Islands 64 The road to Baguio 65 The beautiful town of Pagsanjan, Laguna 70 Pagsanjan Falls, Laguna 71 Montalban Gorge 72 The monument to the "First Cry of Balintawak," 73 The Bamboo Organ, Las Piñas 74 An abaca plantation 75 The church at Taal, Batangas Province 76 Sample of bridges and provincial scenery 77 A Philippine Sugar Central. Calamba, Laguna Province 78 Sprouting coconuts, Pagsanjan, Laguna 79 Coconut groves, San Ramon Penal Farm, Zamboanga, Mindanao 79 The Sorsogon provincial government building and the Sorsogon jail 80 Mayon Volcano, Albay Province 81 The wonderful rice terraces at Ifugao, Mountain Province, Luzon 90 Rice terraces at Bontoc, Mountain Province 91 Boobies at Tubataja reef, Sulu 98 The subterranean river, Saint Paul's Bay, Palawan taken by flashlight 99 Magellan Monument, Mactan Island 102 Panoramic view of Dapitan where Rizal was exiled by the Spaniards 103 A view of Jolo, Sulu 110 The Cebu wharf 110 Moro weapons 111 A cigar factory in Manila 124 Makers of Manila cigars 125 A lumber yard. Kolambugan, Mindanao 130 View of San Jose Estate sugar mill. San Jose, Mindoro 131 Girls Embroidery, Paco Intermediate School, Manila 136-137 The Council of State in session 160 The Members of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands 161 The Gilbert Steel Bridge, Laoag, Ilocos Norte 176 ILLUSTRATED MAPS Map of the Philippine Islands 12 Trade routes of the Philippine Islands 146 Map of the City of Manila 234 "And the earth possesses no scenes more beautiful than those to be found in this verdant and blooming archipelago * * * this magnificent rosary of glowing islands, that Nature has hung above the heaving bosom of the warm Pacific * * * with the vast variety of attractive scenery, mountain and plain, lake and stream, everywhere rich with glossy leafage, clustered growths of bamboo and palm, fields of yellow cane and verdant coffee-groves." "Views of lands and sea and sky, beautiful, gorgeous, awe-inspiring; of historic spots and buildings, monuments, ruins * * * of peoples familiar and strange; of industries modern to the minute, or old, as old as the Pharaohs, the patient work of potter and weaver, of craftsman, artisan, woodman, fisherman, husbandman; of peoples primitive and cultured--races and nations, distinct, assimilated and assimilating foreigners--foreigners whose descendants a few generations later will be Filipinos--the Filipino Nation that is to be, in that wonderland, the Philippines." "Lived ever a man or a people on an island, however insignificant and bleak and bare, without feeling for it pride and love? Call to mind poem and song, picture and tale; the history of island races. "Behold, then, the Philippines: thousands of islands, great and small beautiful, bountiful beneath a benignant sky. Seek to know how Truth paints them, and understand and sympathize with their people's fervid desire to call them their very own." FOREWORD It is vital for the Filipinos that foreigners visiting the Philippines acquire accurate information about the Islands and their people. The Philippines are not generally known abroad, much less are the Filipinos as a people, their degree of civilization and culture, their form of government, their institutions. Hence, the need for a publication such as this setting forth reliable items of information about the islands. This booklet is a compendium of facts, not fancies--facts pertaining to the country known as the Philippines and to the people known as the Filipino people. They are facts that can be verified from authentic sources. The booklet is primarily intended for tourists, but to all other foreigners seeking information on things Philippine, the booklet will also be of invaluable help. It not only indicates the places of interest throughout the archipelago but also gives a description of the islands in general, of their people, history and government. Tangible evidences of the readiness of the Filipinos for nationality are described. The history of the whole nationalistic movement is given. The Filipinos to-day are in control of their own government. They have had practical autonomy since 1916. The only remaining link between Washington and the Philippines is the Governor-General who is an American appointed by the President of the United States representing his country in the islands, and is the chief executive thereof. The islands produce great quantities of sugar, hemp, copra, rice, corn and tobacco. They are capable of producing besides, and are actually beginning to produce, rubber, coffee, various food and medicinal products, and a multitude of raw materials for every purpose. There are also many hardwoods appropriate for elegant furniture in a variety of natural colors not yet seen in any market. There are mines of gold, copper and coal in operation. There are said to be creditable iron and oil deposits. There are plenty of wonderful harbors for ships of heavy tonnage. The country is peaceful, the most peaceful perhaps in the world. A courteous and hospitable people greet the foreigner wherever he goes. I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND [Discovery] The Philippines were discovered by Magellan in 1521. That discovery occasioned the first circumnavigation of the globe. Long before the discovery, however, the Islands were already known in the Orient, for they had commercial relations with China as early as the 13th century and with Japan, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Moluccas. It is erroneous to suppose that the culture of the Filipinos dated only from the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. Long before that time they had already acquired a fair degree of culture. They had systems of writing similar to the Phoenician alphabetical arrangement. They had calendars and a system of weights and measures. They tilled their lands and maintained village governments. They had laws based on traditions and customs handed down from generation to generation, and as early as 1433, or 88 years previous to the arrival of Magellan, there existed a Penal Code known as the Code of Calantiao. [The Spanish Rule--A Tale of Wars and Uprisings] The history of the Islands from the beginning of Spanish rule to the middle of the 19th century was a long tale of wars and uprisings. The Portuguese disputed Spain's right to the Islands, and between 1566 and 1570 made three attempts to dislodge the Spaniards. The Dutch during the first half of the 17th century repeatedly appeared in Philippine waters and made attacks on the Spaniards. The British unexpectedly swooped down on Manila in 1762, and the Archbishop who was acting as governor speedily capitulated, the City of Manila falling into British hands until the treaty of Paris in 1763 when it was again restored to Spain. The Chinese residents added to all these difficulties by revolting from time to time. But the most persistent trouble-makers were the Filipinos themselves who repeatedly revolted because of alleged injustices committed upon them. Between the years 1645 and 1665 alone there occurred five uprisings against the Spanish Government. Other revolts, no less serious, took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. The rebellion of Dagohoy, for example, took place at this time, spreading throughout practically the whole Island of Bohol and continuing for a period of eighty years. There were in all about a hundred uprisings, big and small, during the Spanish régime. That of 1872 was especially noted for its magnitude and the determination shown by the revolutionists. It was put down with the execution of three secular priests--Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora--ever since reckoned among the popular heroes of the country. From that time plotting against the corrupt civil government and the autocratic religious corporations never really ceased; and in 1892 Andres Bonifacio organized a secret society known as the Katipunan, which preached hatred against Spain because of the abuses of the friars and of the authorities, and demanded freedom from foreign yoke. [Reforms in the 19th century] The dawn of the 19th century, however, was marked by significant changes for the better. During the periods of 1810 and 1813, 1820 to 1823, and 1830 to 1837, as a result of the nationalistic and liberal struggles Spain was experiencing, the Cortes was revived and representatives from different parts of the monarchy--the colonies included--were given seats therein. This ushered in a period of constitutional and representative government for the Filipinos. Moreover, by 1830, Spain's commercial policy of trade exclusiveness for the colonies was abandoned. A few years later, Manila was thrown open to foreign trade and a freer and more liberal economic system adopted. In this way, the foundation for subsequent political and economic progress was laid. From the beginning of Spanish domination, there existed scores of schools and colleges which were mostly conducted by the religious orders. These schools and colleges offered various courses and graduated numerous priests, lawyers, physicians, pharmacists, and teachers. Increase in the number of professional graduates made possible the rise of an intellectual class in the seventies and eighties. To this group of men, Burgos and Paterno, leaders of the liberal movement of 1870; Dr. Rizal, the Filipino hero; M. H. del Pilar, a prominent propagandist; and Mabini, the brain of the Revolution, belonged--men who, in attainment and culture, can adorn the halls of any nation. Many of the prominent leaders of today also had their training in those schools--Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña, T. Pardo de Tavera, Victorino Mapa, Florentino Torres, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Juan Sumulong, Rafael Palma, and many others who have held high positions in the government during the first years of American sovereignty. [Last Decades of Spanish Rule--The Coming of the Americans] The last decades of Spanish rule were marked by several reforms, but these reforms were altogether too conservative and came too late. Consequently there was much discontent and the Filipinos, in August, 1896, following the teachings of the Katipunan, rose in revolt and sought to declare themselves independent of Spain. The revolution extended throughout the archipelago. It was halted by the Pact of Biac-na-Bato in December, 1897, only to be resumed early in the year following, under the very eyes and later with the help of the Americans, who appeared on the scene on May 1, 1898. The Filipinos succeeded in wresting from Spain every foot of Philippine territory except Manila which was surrendered to the Americans on August 13, after simultaneous attacks by American and Filipino forces. Soon afterwards the first republic in the Far East based on a constitutional and representative government was established by the Filipinos. It had received the commendation of several foreigners among whom were the late Senator Hoar and John Barrett, ex-Director of the Pan-American Union. [Filipino-American War] The downfall of the republic came as a result of the Filipino-American war which broke out through a misunderstanding between America and the Philippines and which lasted for three years. With the superior forces of the United States it was naturally a one-sided struggle, but it nevertheless showed once more the determination of the Filipino people to have an independent national existence. They wanted no less than an untrammeled republic free from any foreign control. They asked that of the United States. But no definite assurance was given that they would ultimately be freed. Had such assurances been given them the Filipino-American war would have been avoided. [The Establishment of civil government] American civil government was established in the Islands in 1901 and 1902. Under this government the Philippines made remarkably rapid strides along the road of progress. But the most significant stride is perhaps the development of Philippine home rule, For it should be known that today, with few exceptions, notably those of the American Chief Executive and the American Vice-Governor, who is also Secretary of Public Instruction, the Philippine government is run by the Filipinos themselves. II. THE MATERIAL SPAIN FOUND [Power of Propaganda to Misrepresent Conditions] So powerful is propaganda in misrepresenting actual conditions that the Philippines used to mean, and often still means, a mere fringe of civilization, or something similar to it, where the Spaniards had planted and the Americans had watered, but within all was still savagery and primeval ways. An exhibition of an Igorot village at the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904 probably spread in America more of the notion of the Philippines as an untamed wilderness than tons of statistics could correct. These, then, were the people America had undertaken to govern--wild, naked creatures, beside whom the North American Indian was a gentleman and a scholar! Indeed, a long time must elapse before you can reduce these to suspenders and beefsteaks. A long time? Why, centuries and centuries! [Non-Christian population] Again, to the assiduous readers of press dispatches, the typical Filipino has come to mean the fierce Mohammedan Moro; although, there are in the Islands less than 400,000 Mohammedans of all kinds, whether fierce or urbane. Still others have concluded that the wild-eyed nomad of the mountains, the man with the bow and arrow, with no religion at all, must be the determining factor of the situation because there are so many of his kind; and yet the census reveals the total number of persons in all the Islands that do not profess either Christianity, Mohammedanism, or Buddhism as only 102,000. [Literacy] So, too, the ignorance of the Filipinos has always been believed to be appalling and a bulwark of darkness not to be overcome in generations, if ever; and yet the census reveals the percentage of literacy in the entire Islands at 49.2 per cent. The percentage compares favorably with the literacy of many of the small independent nations of the world at present. The facts are these, as regards the Filipinos even in Pre-Spanish days: [Facts of Filipino Attainments in Pre-Spanish Days] The Spaniards found that the inhabitants of the Islands built and lived in planned houses, had a machinery of government of their own, maintained a system of jurisprudence, in many cases dwelt in ordered cities and towns and practised the arts familiar to the most advanced peoples of their times. Gunpowder they knew and used before 1300, when it had not yet been introduced in Europe; and they made firearms that astonished the Spaniards. At the siege of Manila, 1570, the natives defended their city with cannon, and the conquerors found within the walls the factory where these guns had been forged, as well equipped and ordered as any abroad. The Islanders were expert in other metal-working, skilful ship-builders, able carpenters. Copper they had worked; but bronze, of which their great guns were made, they imported from China. Some of their art in silver-work excites admiration even now, for their beautiful design and fine workmanship. They wove cloths of cotton, hemp, and other fibers. They were, in fact, inheritors of two great cultural infiltrations upon what original culture the Malays had two thousand years before: on one side, was the influence of the Hindus and on the other the civilization of the Chinese, and to these had been added, years before the Spaniards came, stray gleams of information transmitted roundabout from Europe. [Religion, alphabet, and books] All this is inconsistent with the fanciful theory of the head-hunter and the wild man of the woods, but is nevertheless the incontestable record. Heathen they were called, but they had a religion, and a code of morals, not at all contemptible. They were natural musicians, possessed a variety of musical instruments, and had native orchestras. They were fond of poetry and and honored their poets. They had also a written alphabet and they wrote books. Every settled town had a temple and most temples had collections of books. They were written in the native characters on palm leaves and bamboo, and stored with the native priests. The subjects were historical and legendary, folk-lore tales, statutes, deeds of heroism and poems. The Spanish enthusiasts burned these books as anti-Christian and thereby destroyed documents priceless to succeeding ages, the few that escaped the flames testifying poignantly to the great loss. A small collection of them was recently discovered in a cave in the Island of Negros and ethnologists have hopes of others that may have escaped the sharp eyes of the destructors. Professor Beyer, whose investigations of early Filipino life and history have been so extensive, has come upon other evidence of early Filipino letters, including an epic poem of considerable length; but this exists now only in the memories of the reciters. The four-thousand-odd lines of it that Professor Beyer has translated show a rare gift of versification and imagery. Of the written alphabets in use before the coming of the Spaniards, fourteen were of Malay origin, one was Arabic, and one Hebrew. Of the Malayan alphabets many were structurally alike, so that a learned Visayan must have been able to make out Tagalog words and a Pampangan to spell Ilocano. We are not to imagine that every Filipino could read the written speech; there were in the Islands at that time, as in India, Spain, England, and elsewhere, the educated and the uneducated. But it seems likely that the percentage of literacy in the Philippines, about the year 1500, let us say, was as large as in Spain, larger than in India and compared favorably with the percentage in other places. [Traders and artisans] The inhabitants were able traders as well as skilful artisans. Manila was one of the great commercial centers of the East and long had been so; it was not a mere collection of fishermen's huts. When the inhabitants of England were wearing skins, painting their bodies, and gashing their flesh in religious frenzies, the Filipinos were already conducting commercial marts in which were offered silks, brocades, cotton and other cloths, household furniture, precious stones, gold and gold dust, jewelry, wheat from Japan, weapons, works of art and of utility in many metals, cultivated fruits, domesticated animals, earthenware, and a variety of agricultural products from their rich volcanic soil. [Able Agriculturists] The people understood how to make agricultural implements which, if crude by present standards, were nevertheless serviceable. They knew how to make machines, to hull and separate rice, to express oil from coconuts, and to weave their cloths. They worked out their own problems of irrigation and in their own way. The huge rice terraces in some parts of Luzon were and still are the wonder of all beholders. "I know of no more impressive examples of primitive engineering," says Dean C. Worcester, "than the terraced mountain-sides of Nueva Vizcaya beside which the terraced hills of Japan sink into insignificance." WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN LAWS.--The people had both written and unwritten laws. They were made and promulgated by the chiefs after consultation with the elders, and were "observed with so great exactness that it was not considered possible to break them in any circumstance." The laws covered many of the subjects which are common in modern times. A few of the most striking points were: Respect of parents and elders, carried to so great a degree that not even the name of one's father could pass the lips, in the same way as the Hebrews regarded the name of God. Even after reaching manhood and even after marriage, the son was under a strict obligation to obey his father and mother. Marriage had reached the stage of mutual consent. Marriage ceremonies approaching the religious were elaborate, according to rank. Husband and wife were equal socially and in the control of their property. Property was acquired principally by occupation, but also by gift, purchase, and succession. Wills were sometimes made. Contracts were strictly fulfilled. The Chinese writer, Wang Ta-yuan; in a book of 1349 says: "The natives and the traders having agreed on prices, they let the former carry off the goods and later on they bring the amount of native products agreed upon. The traders trust them, for they never fail to keep their bargains." In fact, non-performance of a contract was severely punished. Partnerships were formed and the respective obligations of the partners enforced. The Code of Calantiao.--The penal law was the most extensive. Penalties were severe, altho compared with present laws, they appear cruel and illogical. However, they compared favorably with Greek and Roman laws as well as with the contemporary Spanish and English criminal laws. Calantiao, the third chief of Panay, had, in 1433, promulgated a penal code. It ran as follows: "Ye shall not kill; neither shall ye steal; neither shall ye do harm to the aged; lest ye incur the danger of death. All those who infringe this order shall be condemned to death by being drowned with stones in the river, or in boiling water. "Ye shall obey. Let all your debts with the headmen (principales) be met punctually. He who does not obey shall receive for the first offense one hundred lashes. If the debt is large, he shall be condemned to thrust his hand thrice into boiling water. For the second offense, he shall be condemned to be beaten to death. "Observe and obey ye: let no one disturb the quiet of graves. When passing by the caves and trees where they are, give respect to them. "Ye shall obey: he who makes exchange for food, let it be always done in accordance with his word. He who does not comply, shall be beaten for one hour, he who repeats the offense shall be exposed for one day among ants. "They shall be burned: Those who by their strength or cunning have mocked at and escaped punishment; or who have killed young boys; or try to steal away the women of agorangs (rich men). "Those shall be killed who profane sites where idols are kept, and sites where are buried the sacred things of their diuatas (spirits) and headmen." [Testimonies of Occidental Writers] All which bespeak a culture of no mean order, and occidental writers themselves have given it the credit that it deserves, as shown by the following testimonies: "They had already reached a considerable degree of civilization at the time of the Spanish conquest."--Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt. "The inhabitants of these Islands were by no means savages, entirely unreclaimed from barbarism, before the Spanish advent in the sixteenth century. They had a culture of their own."--John Foreman. "The inhabitants of the Philippines possessed a culture of their own prior to the coming of the Spaniards to the Islands. Those along the coasts were the most advanced in civilization. Their material wealth was considerable. The chief occupations were agriculture, fishing, weaving, some manufacturing, and trade both inter-island and with the mainland, generally in the form of barter. They were expert navigators. They used standard weights and measures. The year was divided into twelve lunar months. They had a peculiar phonetic alphabet, wrote upon leaves, and had a primitive literature. The majority of the people are said to have been able to read and write."--Justice George A. Malcolm. "The inhabitants practise various kinds of industry; they weave matting of extraordinary fineness and of the brightest colors, straw hats, cigar-cases and baskets; they manufacture cloth and tissues of every sort from leaves of the aguana, make cambric of a texture much finer than that of France; and they also manufacture coarse strong cloth for sails, etc.; and ropes and cables of all dimensions; they tan and dress leather and skins to perfection; they manufacture coarse earthenware and forge and polish arms of various kinds; they build ships of heavy tonnage and also light and neat boats, and at Manila they frame and finish off beautiful carriages; they are also very clever workers in gold and silver and copper; and the Indian (Filipino) women are especially expert in needlework and in all kinds of embroidery." (Twenty years in the Philippines, pp. 304, 307.) PROGRESS DURING SPANISH RULE.--The Spanish rule in the Philippines lasted 350 years. The Spanish Crown meant well, but the way her policies were translated into deeds was all but desirable. The best men could not be induced to go to Manila. The Church wielded tremendous power, and at times was more powerful than the government itself. Each village was under the rule of a priest. Character was stifled; progress was deliberately discouraged; independence of thought stamped out. It would be doing Spain a great injustice, however, if no credit whatever is given her rule in the Philippine Islands. She introduced Christianity into the Islands and unequivocably converted the inhabitants to the creed, thus setting up the only Christian country in this part of the globe with a Christian outlook on life; in the women, particularly, the tenets of Christianity instilled dignity and it freed them from Hindu and Mohammedan degradations. [Schools and Colleges] Efforts were also taken to teach the people the rudiments of education. Access was thus given to the splendid tongue of Castile, and, thru that, to all the glories and traditions of Latin civilization. As early as 1866, for a population of 4,000,000 people, there were 841 schools for boys and 833 for girls. In 1892, six years before the coming of the Americans, there were 2,137 schools. There were also colleges and universities where professional training was given. The colleges were: University of Santo Tomas, Manila, established in 1611 (twenty-five years older than Harvard); San Juan de Letran, Municipal Athenaeum, Normal School, College of San Jose, the Nautical School, the School of Commercial Accounting, the Academy of Painting and Drawing, and many other private schools, fourteen of which were in Manila. There were also seminaries in Manila, Nueva Segovia, Cebu, Jaro, and Nueva Caceres, where all branches of secondary instruction were taught in addition to those prescribed for the priesthood. Many of the prominent Filipinos in Philippine history, as stated above, including the national hero, Jose Rizal, had their first instructions in these schools established by Spain. [Filipino Record Abroad] A number of the ambitious students were sent by their parents to complete their education in Spain, France, England, Belgium, and Germany. Groups of these young men took part in the various liberal movements of nineteenth century Europe. They wrote and spoke in behalf of liberal institutions for the Islands, in terms that would have cost them their lives in the Philippines; in fact, Rizal was put to death upon his return to his native land. Several of these young Filipinos even rose to eminence in the public service, a right which was denied them at home except in a few cases in the minor judiciary. In the eighties and nineties, a group of them of which Rizal, Juan Luna, Resurrección Hidalgo, M. H. del Pilar, Lopez Jaena, Pedro A. Paterno, and Dr. Pardo de Tavera were the leading spirits--made a deep impression in the literary and artistic circles of Madrid, Paris, and Berlin. A newspaper was founded by them in Madrid to further their political views. Although proscribed in the Philippines, their books and articles were circulated secretly in the Islands and helped to arouse the people and to consolidate the growing unrest. Opinions of Foreign Authors.--On Spain's achievements in the Philippines, foreign authors have been considerate. The famous French explorer of the Pacific, for example, La Perouse, who was in Manila in 1787, wrote: "Three million people inhabit these different islands, and that of Luzon contains nearly a third of them. These people seem to me no way inferior to those of Europe; they cultivate the soil with intelligence, they are carpenters, cabinet-makers, smiths, jewelers, weavers masons, etc. I have gone through their villages and I have found them kind, hospitable, and affable." ("Voyage de la Perouse autour du Monde," Paris, 1787, II, p. 347.) "Almost every other country of the (Malay or Indian) Archipelago is, at this day, in point of wealth, power, and civilization, in a worse state than when Europeans connected themselves with them three centuries back. The Philippines alone have improved in civilization, wealth, and populousness. ("History of the Indian Archipelago," by John Crawford, F. R. S. Edinburgh, 1820, Vol. ii, pp. 447, 488.) The Austrian professor, Ferdinand Blumentritt, wrote in La Solidaridad of October 15, 1899, to this effect: "If the general condition of the civilization of the Tagalos, Pampangos, Bicols, Bisayans, Ilocanos, Cagayanes, and Sambales is compared to the European constitutional countries of Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria, and Greece, the Spanish-Filipino civilization of the said Indian districts is greater and of larger extent than of those countries." And the foremost American scholar on the Philippines, gives the following résumé of the results of the Spanish administration: "The Spaniards did influence the Filipinos profoundly, and on the whole for the better. There were ways, indeed, in which their record as a colonizing power in the Philippines stands today unique in all the world for its benevolent achievement and its substantial accomplishment of net progress. We do not need to gloss over the defects of Spain; we do not need to condone the backward and halting policy which at last turned the Filipinos against Spanish rule, nor to regret the final outcome of events, in order to do Spain justice. But we must do full justice to her actual achievements, if not as ruler, at any rate as teacher and missionary, in order to put the Filipinos of today in their proper category." (Le Roy: "Philippine Life in Town and Country," 1905, pp. 6, 7.) [The Background on Which America Had Built] It was on all that cultural background--the native and the Spaniard--that America had built. Without belittling what she, alone, has done for the Filipinos since 1898 it hardly can be disputed that the rapid progress towards modern democracy in the Islands has been due mainly to the materials she found there. This fact has made her task a great deal easier, and is the reason why even the early military governors thought best to preserve the old municipal institutions with very slight changes. III. THE FIRST PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC The earlier revolutions against Spain were actuated by well-defined causes. They have been summarized as follows: [Causes of Earlier Revolutions] (1) Denial of freedom of speech and press; (2) desire for Filipino representation; (3) proceedings by which a man was condemned without being heard; (4) violation of domicile and correspondence on mere secret denunciations; (5) agitation for the secularization of parishes; (6) political and civil equality for Filipinos and Spaniards; (7) desire for promulgation of the Spanish Constitution in the Philippines; and (7) the martyrdom of Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora, and later of Rizal. [The Revolution of 1896] The revolution of 1896, however, had an additional cause which was dominant in the minds of the leaders. It was "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity." In the words of General Aguinaldo in a manifesto, "We aspire to the glory of obtaining the Liberty, Independence, and Honor of the Country." [The Pact of Biac-na-Bato] This revolution was halted in 1897 by the Pact of Biac-na-Bato, which was signed between the Revolutionists and the Spanish authorities. There were three outstanding stipulations in the pact: First, that the Filipino leaders should leave the country for the time being. Second, that liberal and sweeping reforms would be introduced without delay. Third, that the sum of $800,000 would be paid the Filipinos in two instalments, as evidence of good faith. The Filipinos complied with their part of the agreement; Aguinaldo and his followers went to Hongkong. But the Spaniards did not comply with theirs; only $400,000 was paid to the revolutionists and no reforms were introduced. [The Republic] Accordingly, Aguinaldo and his companions returned to the Islands and renewed the struggle. On June 12, 1898 at Kawit, Cavite, they proclaimed the Independence of the Philippines from Spain. Soon afterwards a Philippine Republic was ratified, with General Aguinaldo as President. The capital was established at Malolos about 30 miles from Manila. There an elective Congress sat regularly, passed laws, levied taxes, administered revenues, kept in motion the machinery of justice, directed a military organization, carried on efficient war and constantly appealed to the patriotism of the people. [Governmental Machinery Set Up] A complete governmental machinery was set up. The government was declared to be "popular, representative, and responsible." Church and state were made separate, and, profiting by the experience of the past, freedom of religious worship was expressly recognized in the Constitution. The powers of government were made to reside in three distinct entities--the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, to be entirely separate. It was declared that no two of these powers should be vested in a single person or corporation, nor can the legislative power be conferred on a single individual alone. The government was recognized throughout the islands and had the wholehearted support of the entire population. At the time America insisted in imposing her sovereignty and authority not only were the Filipinos in military control of the country; they were administering its political affairs as well. This they did from the establishment of the Republic until the autumn of 1899. "Up to that time," writes Albert G. Robinson, of the New York Evening Post, "the territory occupied by the forces of the United States in the Island of Luzon was confined to a very limited area in the vicinity of Manila, with a filamentary extension northward for some fifty or sixty miles along the Manila-Dagupan railway. Very much the same condition obtained on the other islands. One thing is certain: although greatly disturbed by the conditions of war, this territory was under some form of governmental administration." THE MALOLOS CONSTITUTION.--The fundamental law that had been prepared and adopted by the independent government has since then been known as the "Malolos Constitution." This Philippine Magna Carta embodied the advanced thought of the times and was replete with sound principles. It had all the requisites of a "fundamental law of the land"--an enumeration of individual rights, the organization of the state and of the government, provisions pertaining to the public welfare (such as education, appropriation, the militia, local government, impeachment, etc.) and provisions for constitutional revisions. [Salient Features] The Parliamentary System of government was adopted as best suited to the needs of the archipelago. Sovereignty was to reside in the people through their duly elected representatives. The aim throughout was to adopt a government and a social order essentially democratic, without those privileges of caste or classes which were the determinant causes of the revolution. The popular assembly was to be the directing power. The following progressive principles were enunciated: (1) That no one should be tried in courts created by private laws or by special tribunals; (2) that throughout the republic there should not be more than one kind of court for all citizens both in civil, criminal, and military actions; (3) that no person or corporation should be given emoluments that were not as compensation for public service fixed by law; (4) there shall be no primogeniture nor should decorations and titles of nobility be accepted; (5) that every Filipino citizen shall enjoy the right of meeting, association, petition, and liberty of the press; (6) freedom of religious worship throughout the land and inviolability of domicile, correspondence, and property; (7) the right of habeas corpus; (8) gratuitous and compulsory public instruction; (9) taxes to be in proportion to the income of the taxpayers. The legislative power was vested in an unicameral assembly. The representatives elected by the people were to be representatives of the entire nation and could not bind themselves to specific mandates from their constituents. The President of the republic and the Assembly were to initiate laws. Impeachment of high officials of the government was unhesitatingly made a part of the fundamental law. Even the President of the republic could be impeached in cases of high treason. A permanent commission was created to take the place of the assembly during recess, the motive behind its creation being that legislative bodies should be permanent because the popular will works continually and consequently should be continually represented in the governmental machinery. The permanent commission was to be composed of seven members elected by the assembly from among its members. Its powers were: (1) To declare if a certain official of the government should be impeached; (2) to convene the assembly to an extraordinary session in cases in which it should constitute itself into a tribunal of justice to consider impeachments; (3) to resolve all pending questions with a view to bringing them before the assembly for consideration; (4) to convoke the assembly to special sessions whenever these are necessary; (5) to substitute the assembly in its power regarding the. constitution with the exception that the permanent commission can not pass laws. The executive power was vested in the President of the Republic who exercised it through his secretaries. The President of the Republic was elected by the constituent assembly by an absolute majority of votes. His term of office was four years but might be reëlected. The powers of the President were expressly enumerated. The secretaries of departments constituted the Cabinet, presided over by the President. There were seven departments--foreign relations; interior; finance; war and navy; public instruction; communications and public works; agriculture, industry, and commerce. Ministerial responsibility was established so that whenever a cabinet had lost the confidence of the majority of the assembly its members were morally bound to resign. The judicial power was vested in a supreme court and in such other tribunals as might be created by law. The judiciary was made absolutely independent of the legislative and executive departments. The chief justice and the attorney-general were appointed by the Assembly with the concurrence of the President and of the cabinet. Provinces and municipalities were given administrative autonomy. The central government intervened in their acts only when they over-stepped their powers to the prejudice of general or individual interests. A Constituent Assembly was to be convened in case of an election of the President of the Republic and whenever there were proposed changes in the constitution. In either of these two cases the regular assembly was dissolved by the President and the Constituent Assembly convoked. The constituent assembly was to be
{'title': 'Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General Information', 'source': 'Project Gutenberg', 'lang': 'en'}