Evolution of Philippine

Politics & Governance in

Pre-Colonial Era
 PRE-COLONIAL ERA

It is said that people deserve the kind of government they

have. In the case of the Filipino people, they went through
a lot of stages, both forceful and peaceful, in their quest for
political maturity and independence.

The pre-colonial era in Philippine history refers to the time

period before the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th
century. During this time, political power was
decentralized and was mostly held by chiefs or datu in their
respective territories or barangays.
 PRE-COLONIAL ERA

The Philippines had a complex system of politics and governance in

the pre-colonial era, long before the arrival of the Spanish
colonizers. The pre-colonial Philippines had a decentralized system
of government, with small communities or villages forming the
basic political unit. These communities were known as barangays.
Many of these pre-colonial societies also had complex systems of
hierarchy and social stratification, with members of the ruling class
enjoying privileges and status that were denied to commoners. This
was especially true in larger kingdoms like the Kingdom of Tondo
and the Sultanate of Sulu.
Barangay/s

The barangay was the Filipino’s earliest form

of government. It was an independent
settlement consisting of thirty to one hundred
families usually situated along a river bank or
at the mouth of a river spilling out to the sea.
The term barangay was derived from the
Malay word barangay or balangay, which
means sailboat. The barangays were used to
transport the early Filipinos and their cargoes
to the various sections of the Philippine
archipelago.
 PRE-COLONIAL ERA

Each barangay was ruled by a datu or village chief who was also
known as raha or rajah. Some datus were more powerful than
others and, consequently, were duly respected and exercise
tremendous influence. The political development of the
archipelago was such that there was no national or central
government yet. In other words, there was no datu strong enough
to consolidate considerable power and to unite the archipelago
into one nation
Datu –a filipino chieftain

The most prominent form of pre-

colonial governance in the Philippines
was the datu system. A datu was a high-
ranking member of the community who
held considerable wealth and influence.
The datu had a variety of
responsibilities, including acting as a
leader, mediator, judge, and protector.
 Datu

In early Philippine history, datus and a small group

of their close relatives formed the "apex stratum" of
the traditional three-tier social hierarchy of lowland
Philippine societies. Only a member of this
birthright aristocracy (called maginoo, nobleza,
maharlika, or timagua by various early chroniclers)
could become a datu; members of this elite could
hope to become a datu by demonstrating prowess in
war or exceptional leadership.
Datu

The political structure was often hierarchical

with the datu at the top, followed by his
family and then his close allies or maharlika.
Each barangay was independent and governed
by a datu who had the power to make laws,
judge disputes, and mobilize military forces
when necessary. In times of conflict, alliances
could be formed between different barangays
to help strengthen their position.
 PRE-COLONIAL JUSTICE

- Assisted by the elders of the barangay, the datu

legislated laws and acted as judge.

- All trials were held in public and litigants pleaded their

own case. At times, the datu would hold trial by ordeal
to resolve doubts.

- People believed that the gods would protect the innocent

and punish the guilty and that the result of the ordeals
was a revelation of the divine truth.
 PRE-COLONIAL JUSTICE

- Murder, adultery, theft, and insulting a woman

were considered great offenses and were punished
by enslaving the offender.

- If the value stolen was great, the offender and his

relatives were all fined. Failure to pay the fine
resulted in the enslavement of all member of the
family.
 Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial
practice by which the guilt or innocence
of the accused was determined by
subjecting them to a
painful, or at least an unpleasant,
usually dangerous experience.

TRIAL BY ORDEAL
 FORMS OF
TRIAL BY ORDEAL
Boiling Water Ordeal

Required the accused person to put

their hand into a pot of boiling water to
retrieve an object. Those who were
guilty would be burned by the boiling
water, but the innocent would not be
burned, thanks to divine intervention to
protect the wrongly accused.
Candle Ordeal

Suspects are given lighted

candles of the same sizes and
The owner of the candle that
died out first is considered to
be guilty.
Cold Water Ordeal

The more widely known trial by

ordeal is the ordeal by cold water where
the accused was dunked into
a pool of water. If they were
innocent they would sink, and
if they were guilty, they would
float.
Ordeal by Rice Chewing

If the rice came out easy enough and was

moist, the suspect was judged innocent. If the
Gods made the rice dry and it stuck to the
person’s mouth when they tried to spit it out,
they were accused of lying and judged guilty.

Suspects chew uncooked rice. Each of them

spat his saliva and the one whose saliva came
out the thickest was adjudged the culprit.
 The society was organized into social classes
based on birthright. Those of the noble class
or maginoo, were entitled to certain privileges and
responsibilities such as leading the community
in times of war or peace.
Below them were the timawa, or the free men who
owned land and worked to secure their family’s
livelihood. The rest of the society were composed
of the alipin, who were mostly slaves or
indentured servants.
The pre-colonial Filipinos had a unique system of governance, unlike those
of other civilizations. They valued consensus and almost always made a
collective decision. Solutions to problems were arrived at after a series of
discussions with the council. Their decentralized leadership fostered
independence among communities.

Overall, the pre-colonial Philippines had a unique and diverse system of

governance and politics. The decentralized nature of the system allowed
for a range of social and political advancements, while the datu system
provided social order and stability.
 According to Renato Constantino (1975), the datu was not an absolute
ruler. The scope of his authority was given limits by a traditional body of
customs and procedures. His usefulness to the community earned him
respect so that services were willingly rendered to him. He could be
replaced if, for some reasons, he was found incapable of leading the
community and his position was weakened. The subjects, on their part,
served the datu during wars and voyages. Moreover, they paid tributes or
buwis to their datu in the form of farm products.
 PRE-COLONIAL ERA

Despite these differences in political

structure and social hierarchy, many pre-
colonial societies in the Philippines
shared some common features. One of it
was the importance of religion in
governance, with many societies having
their own unique religious practices and
beliefs that were closely intertwined with
their political and social systems.
 The arrival of Spanish colonization in the
Philippines changed the political and social
order of the country but the pre-colonial
period shaped the way Filipinos view
governance and leadership today.