A.

LOCAL GOVERNANCE DURING THE PERIOD OF CONQUEST AND BEFORE:

1. Pre-conquest period
 Barangays – it came from the word balangay which means “sailboat” – used by the Malays to
migrate (Migration Theory)
 Barangay originally referred to a group of boats and their passengers who
migrated to the Philippines
 Each boat carried an entire family including relatives, friends and slaves
 After landing the group founded a village
 Later on, barangay came to mean a village constituted by these settlers.
 BARANGAY – Smallest form of community
 Ruled by a datu (other books call them Pangolo, Raja, Hadji Sultan Gat or Lakan)
 Datu – is the chieftain of the barangay and is the wealthiest person in the community
 Members of the community are: datu, timawa (Maharlika – less free), and alipin
(saguiguilid and namahaw)
 Datu – village leader by inheritance, wealth and /or physical prowess
 Lawmaker, judge and executive
 Usually he was assisted in village administration by a council of elderly
men (Maginoo), mostly chiefs who had retired due to infirmity or old age
 His authority, largely autocratic, was not used without consultation with
the village
 Functions of Barangay
 Preservation of peace and mutual protection from hostile inhabitants of other barangays
 There were occasional confederations of barangays, each governed by its own datu but
under the overall authority of the chief of the largest or most prosperous barangay

 the pre-Spanish barangays were the first political and social organizations of the Philippines
 It was a settlement of some 30 to 100 families and a government unit in itself
 The Philippines was said to be easily colonized because of the lack of a centralized
government; each barangay existed independently of the other and the powers that each datu
enjoyed were confined only to his own barangay. Spaniards took advantage of this situation.

SPANISH PERIOD

 During the early part of the Spanish regime, the barangay organization was retained.
 The datu remained its head but his powers were nominal, restricted by both lay and ecclesiastical
authorities.
 He became largely a figurehead to facilitate the barangay’s cooperation with the Spanish
administration (esp tax collection)
 The Spanish government used the datus to protect their country
 Datus became tax collectors, “mere executors of spanish Policy)
 Spanish administrators utilized local social institutions for the formation of a highly centralized;
autocratic colonial regime
 Barangays were consolidated into towns (pueblos)
 Later, the town was divided into barangays of about – families each
 Cabeza de Barangay – chief
o The position of the of the Barangay chief was hereditary and lifelong until in 1789 the
position was filled thru election
o Received no salary but was exempted from paying taxes and could appoint one or two
trustworthy assistants
o Main duties were collecting village taxes and maintaining law and order
 The barangay was later called barrio (ward or village) and the cabeza, Teniente del Barrio (Barrio
Lieutenant)
 SOCIAL STRUCTURE
o Principalia – noble class, composed of gobernadorcillo or cabeza de barangay, can be
elected for public office and allowed to vote
o Ilustrados – Spanish for erudite, Filipino educated class
o Native Intellectuals
 Indios – usually Malays
 Insulares – Spanish born in the Philippines
 Meztizos – mixed bloodline
 Peninsulares – Spaniards born in Spain
 PROVINCES (ALCALDIA)
o The Spaniards created local government units to facilitate the country’s administration
o Two Types:
 Alcaldia (fully subjugated) – led by the alcalde mayor assisted by a provincial council
(junta provincial)
 Corregimientos (unpacified military zones) – headed by corregidores
o Alcalde mayors and corregidores acted as:
 Judge
 Inspector of encomienda (a large estate controlled by the Spaniards)
 Chief of police
 Tribute collector
 Capitan-general of the province and even vice-regal patron
 Annual salary
 Before 1847 = P300-P2,000
 1847 and after = P1,500 to P1,600
 CITY GOVERNMENT (AYUNTAMIENTOS)
o Larger towns became cities called ayuntamiento
o Also headed by alcalde mayor
o Became center of trade and industry
o Had a city council called cabildo
o Composed of:
 Alcalde (mayor)
 Regidores (councilors)
 Alguacil mayor (police chief)
 Escribando (Secretary)
 PUEBLOS (TOWN OR MUNICIPALITY)
o Led by the gobernadorcillo (little governor)
o Each pueblo had a church, convent, municipal hall, court house, schools, and houses
o Had medium to large population
o Gobernadorcillo
 Supervised farm land and the livestock or animals in farms
 Supervised the local police force
 Was also called “Captain”
 He was assisted by 3 officials; called the tenientes de justicia
 Was allowed only one year in the position
 He was elected by the cabezas de barangay
 Also enjoyed certain privileges such as exemptions from personal, military and tax
duties
  MAURA LAW OF 1893
o May 19, 1893
o Named after the Minister of Colonies of Spain, Antonio Maura y Montaner
o The purpose of this law was to grant greater local autonomy to the provinces and
towns in Luzon and Visayas
o By decree of the Spanish Governor-General, the operation of the law was suspended due to
a brewing insurrection
o Until the Maura reforms in 1893, the elections were governed by the regulations of 1847
o Forms of corruption already existed, indigenous elites contested the power, compliance,
complicity, or protection of the religious orders and the Spanish colonial authorities
o The reforms were supposed to be a new attempt to rein in electoral abuses
o The cabeza de barangay was to be given a place on the town’s board of electors composed
of members designated by lost by the town principalia
o BOARD OF ELECTORS:
 Outgoing Gobernadorcillo
 6 Cabezas
 6 ex-gobernadorcillos
 All chosen by lot
o The board was to elect the five members of the municipal council and four lieutenants of
assisting him (teniente mayor, lieutenants of police, fields and livestock)
o “honorary and gratuitous and… obligatory”
o The Cabeza de Barangay was to be appointed for three years by the provincial governor
from a list of candidates submitted by the municipal council and the town board of electors.
 QUALIFICATIONS
 Filipino or Chinese Mestizo
 25 years of age or over
 Resident for two years in the pueblo where he has to exercise his powers
 Good reputation
 Could be reelected for an indefinite number of times, receive 50% of taxes collected
in his village, and had authority to require the services of one or two persons to
help him with his official duties.
o Though never implemented, this laid the foundation for American municipal administration
in the Philippines

2. Revolutionary Period (Philippine Revolution 1896-1898)

 Importance of local governments was recognized by General Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario
Mabini in their program of government for the First Philippine Republic
 Filipino Leaders knew that “if a strong and enduring Filipino nation was to be established, it
must be able to maintain itself in all emergencies, and the whole political fabric must be well
founded on an efficient system of local governments.
 The Malolos Constitution provided a separate article on local government (Title XI, Article 82)
 Local Autonomy was made explicit in the introductory portion which stipulated that “the
organization and powers of the provincial and municipal assemblies shall be governed
by their respective laws.”
 Malolos Constitution – also called as Political Constitution of 1899 – constitution of the
First Philippine Republic written by Felipe Calderon y Roca and Felipe Buencamino as an
alternative to a pair of proposals to the Malolos Congress by Apolinario Mabini and
Pedro Paterno.
3. The American Epoch (1898-1946)

 When the US the US assumed administration of Philippines in 1898, slight changes were made
in the local government.
 Towns were renamed municipalities
 The barrio continued as a subdivision with the barrio lieutenant as its chief administrative
officers
 President McKinley’s Second Philippine Commission members were “to devote their attention…
to the establishment of municipal governments in which the natives of the islands, both in the
cities and in the rural communities, shall be afforded the opportunity to manage their own local
affairs to the fullest extent they are capable.
 They changed their minds on enforcing local autonomy.
 The Commission finally decided to restrict local autonomy believing the best method to teach
Filipinos self-government was by American supervision of local political parties.
 The municipal and provincial codes were said to be virtually duplications of the Maura Law
 Municipal officials made their own decisions concerning local affairs but were subject to
revision or annulment by the central government in Manila
 Americans maintained a highly centralized politico-administrative structure – for security
considerations

DECEMBER 31, 1916

o Act. No. 2657 also known as Administrative Code 1917

o Book III
o Government of Provinces and Other Political Divisions
o Provincial Law
o Municipal Law
o Township Law

MARCH 10, 1917

o Act No. 2711

o Revised Administrative Code of 1917
o Section 2219-1/2
o Establishment of Rural Council
o Each Barrio has a barrio lieutenant and shall have four councilmen who shall be
appointed in the same manner as the barrio lieutenants
o Powers and duties of the rural council:
o Represent the barrio or portion of barrio where it was located
o Hold monthly sessions
o Make its own rules of procedure to be approved by the barrio’s municipal councilor
before they took effect
o Provide for the dissemination of the town crier of new laws and Municipal
ordinances the council considered important
o Organize, at least three times a year, public lectures on citizenship
o Cooperate with the government for the success of measures of general interest
NOVEMBER 13, 1931

o Philippine Legislature passed Act No. 3861 creating the rural council under the
administration of Gov. Dwight Davies
o Provided for the organization of a council composed of a Barrio Lieutenant and such
number of Vice-Barrio Lieutenants as there were sitios to assist the former in the
discharge of his duties.
 Before WWII (1939-1945), the Barrio lieutenant was the main representation of municipal
government in the villages
 His effectiveness depended largely on his party affiliation and kinship with key municipal and
provincial officials
 Often, the real leader of the barrio in local affairs was not appointed B.L.

The Americans contributed very little, if at all, to the development of local autonomy. In f act,
national-local relationship reverted to the strong centralism that characterized the Spanish colonial
regime.

The Commission’s blueprint for town organization provided for a President to be elected viva
voce by residents of the town with the approval of the Commanding Officer.

 President
 Establishment of a police force
 Collection of taxes
 Enforcement of regulations on market and sanitation
 Establishment of schools
 Provision for lighting facilities

4. The Commonwealth
 The forms and patterns of local government during the American civil administration remained
essentially the same during the Commonwealth period
 NOTABLE CHANGE – transfer of central supervision from the Executive Bureau to the
Department of the Interior
 Department of the Interior
 President-Emilio Aguinaldo
 Secretary-Gen. Pascual Alvarez
 Article XV Biak-na-Bato Consitution (Biak-na-Bato Republic with Isabelo Artacho as
Secretary) defined the powers and function of Department of the Interior
 Statistics
 Roads and Bridges
 Agriculture
 Public Information
 Public Order
 President Quezon, the central figure of the government during this period, even argued against
autonomy of cities, hinting under that unitary system of government which exists in the
Philippines, the national chief , executives does and should control all local offices.
B. The Governance During the period of Independence and After

a. The Third Republic

 Third Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated on July 4, 1946, marks the fulfillment of the long
struggle for independence that began with the Philippine Revolution on August 23, 1896. And
which was formalized on June 12, 1898 with the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at Kawit,
Cavite.
 The national government was supreme and local governments were merely its political and
administrative subdivisions. Most of the formal and real powers are vested and exercised by the
national government. Local units, however possessed a certain degree of autonomy.
 Philippine Presidents during the Third Republic
Manuel Roxas (1946-1948)
Elpidio Quirino (1948-1953)
Ramon Magsaysay (1953-1957)
Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1961)
Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965)
Ferdinand Marcos (1965-1986)
 During Marcos’s authoritarian years (1972-86), a Ministry of Local Government was
instituted to invigorate provincial, municipal, and barangay governments. But Marcos’s real
purpose was to establish lines of authority that bypassed provincial governments and ran
straight to Malacañang. All local officials were beholden to Marcos, who could appoint or
remove any provincial governor or town Mayor

JUNE 19, 1959 – RA 2259

- An Act Making Elective the Officer of Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and councilors in Chartered
Cities Regulating the Election in such cities and Fixing salaries and Tenure of such
Offices
RA 2264
- An Act Amending the Laws Governing Local Governments by Increasing Their
Autonomy and Reorganizing Provincial Governments

JUNE 20, 1959 - RA 2370

- An Act Granting Autonomy to barrios of the Philippines Otherwise know as the

“Barrio Charter Act”
- Important Innovations:
 Voting, office holding and the Barrio Assembly
 The Barrio Council’s taxing powers
 The Barrio Council’s legislative powers
 The Barrio Council member’s tenure of office
 The removal or suspension of Barrio Council members
 Barrio Council members’ compensation
 Has built-in tax reform system
 People evade taxes because they have not learned to associate taxes with
public services
 Critics saw the flaws in the taxation provision
 Note: The taxation powers of the Barrio Council are not very extensive, and are
unrealistic in light of rural conditions.
JUNE 22, 1963 – RA 3950

- An Act to Amend and Revise RA 2370 Otherwise known as “The Barrio Charter”

SEPTEMBER 12, 1967 – RA 5185

- An Act granting Further Autonomous Powers to Local Governments
- Decentralization Act of 1967

JUNE 21, 1969 – RA 5676

- An Act Clarifying the Scope and Applicability of Republic Act Number 3590,
Amending for the Purpose Section Twenty-Six Thereof
- Retroactive effect as of June 22, 1963

APRIL 8, 1974 – Presidential Decree No. 431

- Prescribing a System of Permanent and Continuing Registration of Members of
Barangays, providing a Procedure for the Creation of Barangay in Areas Where
There are None and for the Elections of Officials Thereof

APRIL 8, 1974 – Presidential Decree No. 557

- Declaring All Barrios in the Philippines as Barangays, and for Other Purposes

JUNE 11, 1978 – Presidential Decree No. 1508

- Establishing a System of Amicably Settling Disputes at the Barangay Level
- Katarungang Pambarangay

b. Martial Law and After

 After the People’s Power Revolution, the new Aquino government decided to replace all the
local officials who had served Marcos. Corazon Aquino delegated this task to her political ally,
Aquilino Pimentel.
 Pimentel named officers in charge of local governments all across nation.
 Local Officials elected in 1988 were to serve until June 1992, under the transitory clauses of
the new constitution. Thereafter, terms of office were to be three years, with a three-term
limit.

c. The Fourth Republic (1981-1986)

 Batas Pambasa Bilang 337 February 10, 1983 Local Government Code of 1983
 1986 Freedom Constitution March 25, 1986

d. The Provisional Government of the 1986 and the Fifth Republic

 The 1987 Constitution of the republic of the Philippines
 October 10, 1991 RA 7160 Local Government Code of 1991
- It is considered the most radical and far reaching policy that addressed the
decades-old problem of a highly centralized politico-administrative system with most
significant political and administrative decisions concentrated in Manila
 Local Government units in all geopolitical levels to enjoy local autonomy granted to them
 Continuous capacity development programs are given to LGUs in order to enhance the
services delivered to their constituents
 NGAs issue policies as well as enhancement of programs being implemented.