Pre Spanish Era

Introduction of Reporters and their topics (Romel)
I. Introduction (Joffer)
The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,107 islands (about 2,000 of which are

inhabited), with a land area of 115,600 sq m, has a population of 76.5 m.
Some 87 major dialects are spoken all over the islands. English and
Filipino are the official languages with English as the language of
instruction in higher education. According to the 2000 census, the
functional literacy rate is 83.8%. Agriculture constitutes the largest single
sector of the economy. The country has a total labour force of 64.5%. The
Philippine legal system is aptly described as a blend of customary usage,
and Roman (civil law) and Anglo-American (common law) systems. The
civil law operates in areas such as family relations, property, succession,
contract and criminal law while statutes and principles of common law
origin are evident in such areas as constitutional law, procedure,
corporation law, negotiable instruments, taxation, insurance, labour
relations, banking and currency. In some Southern parts of the islands,
Islamic law is observed. This particular legal system is the result of the
immigration of Muslim Malays in the fourteenth century and the subsequent
colonization of the islands by Spain and the United States.
II. Historical Background Philippine legal history may be categorized

(Arman)
According to the various periods in the political history of the country: the
pre-Spanish period (pre 1521); the Spanish regime (1521-1898); the
Philippine Republic of 1898; the American regime (1898-1935); the
Commonwealth era (1935-1946); the Japanese occupation (1941-1944);
the Period of the Republic (1946-1972); the Martial Law Period (1972-
1986); and the continuation of the Republic.
III. Pre-Spanish Period Historians (Emily) have shown conclusively that

the early Filipinos lived in numerous independent communities called
barangays under various native rules which were largely customary and
unwritten. Evidence points to the existence of two codes, namely, the
Maragtas Code issued by Datu Sumakwel of Panay Island some time
between 1200 and 1212 AD and the Penal Code of Kalantiao issued 2 by a
datu of that name in 1433. However, there are some historians who
question the existence of these codes. These customary laws dealt with
subjects such as family relations, inheritance, divorce, usury, partnerships,
loans, property rights, barter and sale, and crime and punishment. The
penal law distinguished between felonies and misdemeanors, recognized a
distinction between principal and accomplice in matters of criminal liability,
and had an idea of the existence of qualifying and mitigating
circumstances, as well as recidivism as an aggravating circumstance.1 Like
many ancient societies, trial by ordeal was practiced in the barangay.
IV.
The Code of Maragtas (Bala-od Maragtas) (Fe,Francis, Gerard)
CEBUPEDIA - Clarence Paul Oaminal - The Freeman

April 11, 2018 | 12:00am
The book "Glimpses in History of Early Cebu" written by Lina Quimat in
1980 tells of a code written by a Cebuano and not by several datus from
Borneo, contrary to what has been said by others to us. It said that the
original manuscript containing the code had been given by its author to
Fray Roman Andres, and the owner hid under an assumed name of one Fr.
Oripiano Rodriguez, OSA, of Cebu. Here are the rules of the Code:
1.) Great penalty shall be imposed on laziness. Land shall be cultivated

and planted.
2.) A lazy person shall be arrested and sold as a slave to work in the fields.
3.) When a slave becomes industrious and an able worker, the purchase
money shall be returned to his purchaser and the slave shall be freed to fill
his own land.
4.) When a man, after gaining his freedom, again becomes lazy and
improvident he shall be rearrested and thrown into the deepest forest to
keep him from associating with his own people.
5.) Theft and reaping plants grown and cultivated by others shall be
severely punished and the person found guilty shall have his fingers cut.
6.) Marriage to as many as three women may be permitted in the beginning

in order to increase the population. Afterwards only those who can support
many wives and children may be permitted more than one wife.
7.) Poor persons shall not have more than two children. Children of the
poor in excess of two in number, shall be killed or thrown to swift river.
8.) The authorities shall arrest a man who dishonors a woman, runs away
and does not marry her.
9.) If the man is not found, the illegitimate child shall be killed and they shall
both be buried in one grave.
10.) Parents shall no longer take of their children who beget illegitimate
children.
The Maragtas Code is proof of the advanced civilization of the Bisayans.

Morals were high, industry was encouraged. Gregorio Zaide agreed in his
book, that the Code of Maragtas was promulgated in 1212. The original
manuscript which was given to the custody of the Order of Saint Augustine
and changed hands is missing and may the search be made upon orders of
the national and local government of a national treasure.
V. Code of Kalantiao (Marivic, Oonika)
Purported pre-Spanish Philippine penal code claimed to have been written

in 1433 and discovered on the island of Panay in 1614. Later research cast
doubt on the code’s “discoverer,” José E. Marco, as a peddler of historical
frauds.
Marco was a prolific writer on the history of the Philippines, although his
work was rife with errors and outright fabrications. Nevertheless,
throughout the 20th century many scholars in both the Philippines and
the United States accepted Marco’s precolonial “source materials” at face
value. Chief among these was the Code of Kalantiyaw, which listed 18
orders for the proper punishment of certain moral and social
transgressions. Depending on the gravity of the offense, punishment
ranged from a light fine to being cut to pieces and thrown to crocodiles. As
early as the 1960s, historians began to question the validity of the code, but
many Filipinos continued to regard it as an important legal document.
Nonetheless, in 2004 the National Historical Institute (now the National
Historical Commission of the Philippines) declared the Code of Kalantiyaw
to be a hoax perpetrated in the early 20th century.
VI. A BRIEF LEGAL HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE EDUCATION (Karen)
Before the time Philippines suffered subjugation under the powers of

different sovereigns and during the time when societies were not governed
by laws yet but by men still, children were provided practical and vocational
training by their parents, relatives, tribal tutors and leaders. There were no
schools or academic activities. Everything was basically and purely see-
and- do, try- and - fail (Goh, 2007) Probably, the closest thing to theoretical
learning that time was the passing through oral traditions and ceremonies
of stories, songs, poetry, and dances. These pieces of information were
passed from one generation to another. This system of education was not
restrained by any statute or code but fueled by instinct and curiosity. Early
Filipino ancestors valued education very much. Filipino men and women
know how to read and write using their own native alphabet called alibata/
alifbata.
VII. PRE- HISPANIC TIMES FACTS (Kevin) early Filipinos lived in

Barangay (Balangay) independent economically, socially, and politically it
has its own territory for planting, hunting, ang fishing it is made up of cluster
of families it is small, it does not have standing army, police force and
judiciary Functions of Barangay to maintain its existence as a community
by resisting outside enemies to preserve peace and order within its own
territory through mediation Distinct Characteristics of Barangay
1. Both the society and families were considered hierarchy Datu- Chief
Timawa- Freemen Maharlika- Noble Alipin- Slave
2. The lesson of bloody conflicts taught the early Filipinos to prefer

friendly arbitration as a means of settling differences.
3. Family, not the individual, was the subject of the law- striking feature
VIII. DATU (Sample – Vidia)
• Datu = Executive, Legislative and Judiciary
• Aided by elders in promulgating and administering laws, as well as

settling disputes.
• Filipinos already had their own laws and justice system that are found
similar to one another despite the independency of Barangays.
• Promulgated laws among Barangays were decided by a datu together

with a group of elders through a confederation, which was initiated by the
superior datu.
• Datu as the judge or hukom;
• Elders as the jurors;
• Trials under civil or criminal cases are held in public.
• Civil disputes usually accompanied by a payment of fine in gold.
• Criminal cases are usually punished by enslavement or death penalty

through hanging.
IX. Administration of Justice in Pre-Spanish Period (Wenggay, Yves)
Civil Disputes
Criminal Cases
• Complaints arises from a mere suspicion of a freeman to a particular

person in the village, which will be brought before the village Chief.
• An oath shall also be sworn upon testifying.

• The litigants, plaintiff, and the defendant will state their assertions and
present their witnesses;
• Equal number of witnesses = split the amount they claimed in the suit;
• unequal number of witnesses = greater number of witnesses will win the

case;
• and the defendant will be either cleared from the case or pay for the full
amount.
• The judges and the successful litigant was also paid the same way as the
witnesses does. • If the Court was in doubt of whom among the litigants
shall be held guilty, it will resort to trial by ordeal especially in criminal
cases where they believed that God supervises the innocent, thus, He shall
protect him and punish the guilty.
An example of a “hot water ordeal” in the Ifugao culture, early 20th century.
Source: Ifugao Law (In American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 15, No.
1)
• To avoid warfare, a trial among villages was mediated by a chief of a

higher rank in order to reach an agreement. • Otherwise, a feast will be
held and whomever extravagantly hosted it shall be declared as the most
honorable
• The dispute will be settled if both parties accepted the judgement, if not,
warfare could be the result.

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Introduction of Reporters and their topics (Romel)

The Philippines, an archipelago of 7,107 islands (about 2,000 of which are

II. Historical Background Philippine legal history may be categorized

III. Pre-Spanish Period Historians (Emily) have shown conclusively that

The Code of Maragtas (Bala-od Maragtas) (Fe,Francis, Gerard)

CEBUPEDIA - Clarence Paul Oaminal - The Freeman

1.) Great penalty shall be imposed on laziness. Land shall be cultivated

6.) Marriage to as many as three women may be permitted in the beginning

The Maragtas Code is proof of the advanced civilization of the Bisayans.

V. Code of Kalantiao (Marivic, Oonika)

Purported pre-Spanish Philippine penal code claimed to have been written

VI. A BRIEF LEGAL HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE EDUCATION (Karen)

Before the time Philippines suffered subjugation under the powers of

VII. PRE- HISPANIC TIMES FACTS (Kevin) early Filipinos lived in

2. The lesson of bloody conflicts taught the early Filipinos to prefer

VIII. DATU (Sample – Vidia)

• Datu = Executive, Legislative and Judiciary

• Aided by elders in promulgating and administering laws, as well as

• Promulgated laws among Barangays were decided by a datu together

• Datu as the judge or hukom;

• Elders as the jurors;

• Trials under civil or criminal cases are held in public.

• Civil disputes usually accompanied by a payment of fine in gold.

• Criminal cases are usually punished by enslavement or death penalty

IX. Administration of Justice in Pre-Spanish Period (Wenggay, Yves)

• Complaints arises from a mere suspicion of a freeman to a particular

• An oath shall also be sworn upon testifying.

• unequal number of witnesses = greater number of witnesses will win the

• To avoid warfare, a trial among villages was mediated by a chief of a

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