Spanish Insular Government
From the days of Legaspi the supreme rule in these Islands was usually
confided for indefinite periods to military men: but circumstances
frequently placed naval officers, magistrates, the Supreme Court,
and even ecclesiastics at the head of the local government. During the
last half century of Spanish rule the common practice was to appoint
a Lieut.-General as Governor, with the local rank of Captain-General
pending his three-years' term of office. An exception to this rule in
that period was made (1883-85) when Joaquin Jovellar, a Captain-General
and ex-War Minster in Spain, was specially empowered to establish some
notable reforms--the good policy of which was doubtful. Again, in 1897,
Fernando Primo de Rivera, Marquis de Estella, also a Captain-General
in Spain, held office in Manila under the exceptional circumstances
of the Tagalog Rebellion of 1896, in succession to Ramon Blanco,
Marquis de Pena Plata. Considering that Primo de Rivera, during his
previous Gov.-Generalship (1880-83), had won great popularity with
the Filipinos, he was deemed, in Madrid, to be the man most capable
of arresting the revolutionary movement. How far the confidence of
the Home Government was misplaced will be seen in Chapter xxii.
Soon after the conquest the Colony was divided and sub-divided into
provinces and military districts as they gradually yielded to the
Spanish sway. Such districts, called _Encomiendas_, [97] were then
farmed out to _Encomenderos_, who exercised little scruple in their
rigorous exactions from the natives. Some of the _Encomenderos_
acquired wealth during the terms of their holdings, whilst others
became victims to the revenge of their subjects. They must indeed
have been bold, enterprising men who, in those days, would have taken
charge of districts distant from the capital. It would appear that
their tenure was, in a certain sense, feudal, for they were frequently
called upon to aid the Central Government with vessels, men, and arms
against the attacks of common enemies. Against Mahometan incursions
necessity made them warriors,--if they were not so by taste,--civil
engineers to open communications with their districts, administrators,
judges, and all that represented social order. _Encomiendas_ were
sometimes given to Spaniards as rewards for high services rendered
to the commonwealth, [98] although favouritism or (in later years)
purchase-money more commonly secured the vacancies, and the holders
were quite expected to make fortunes in the manner they thought fit,
with due regard for the Royal Treasury (_vide_ p. 54).
The _Encomenderos_ were, in the course of time, superseded by
Judicial Governors, called _Alcaldes_, who received small salaries,
from L60 per annum and upwards, but were allowed to trade. The
right to trade--called "_indulto de comercio_"--was sold to the
_Alcalde-Governors_, except those of Tondo, [99] Zamboanga, Cavite,
Nueva Ecija, Islas Batanes and Antique, whose trading right was
included in the emoluments of office. The Government's object was
economy.
In 1840 Eusebio Mazorca wrote thus [100]:--"The salary paid to the
chiefs of provinces who enjoy the right of trade is more or less P300
per annum, and after deducting the amount paid for the trading right,
which in some provinces amounts to five-sixths of the whole--as in
Pangasinan; and in others to the whole of the salary--as in Caraga;
and discounting again the taxes, it is not possible to conceive how
the appointment can be so much sought after. There are candidates up
to the grade of brigadier who relinquish a P3,000 salary to pursue
their hopes and projects in governorship."
This system obtained for many years, and the abuses went on
increasing. The _Alcaldes_ practically monopolized the trade of their
districts, unduly taking advantage of their governmental position to
hinder the profitable traffic of the natives and bring it all into
their own hands. They tolerated no competition; they arbitrarily
fixed their own purchasing prices, and sold at current rates. Due to
the scarcity of silver in the interior, the natives often paid their
tribute to the Royal Treasury in produce,--chiefly rice,--which was
received into the Royal Granaries at a ruinously low valuation, and
accounted for to the State at its real value; the difference being the
illicit profit made by the _Alcalde_. Many of these functionaries
exercised their power most despotically in their own circuits,
disposing of the natives' labour and chattels without remuneration,
and not unfrequently, for their own ends, invoking the King's name,
which imbued the native with a feeling of awe, as if His Majesty were
some supernatural being.
In 1810 Tomas de Comyn wrote as follows:--"In order to be a chief
of a province in these Islands, no training or knowledge or special
services are necessary; all persons are fit and admissible.... It is
quite a common thing to see a barber or a Governor's lackey, a sailor
or a deserter, suddenly transformed into an Alcalde, Administrator,
and Captain of the forces of a populous province without any counsellor
but his rude understanding, or any guide but his passions." [101]
By Royal Decree of 1844 Government officials were thenceforth strictly
prohibited to trade, under pain of removal from office.
In the year 1850 there were 34 Provinces, and two Political Military
Commandancies. Until June, 1886, the offices of provincial Civil
Governor and Chief Judge of that province were vested in the same
person--the _Alcalde Mayor_. This created a strange anomaly, for an
appeal against an edict of the Governor had to be made to himself
as Judge. Then if it were taken to the central authority in Manila,
it was sent back for "information" to the Judge-Governor, without
independent inquiry being made in the first instance; hence protest
against his acts was fruitless.
During the Regency of Queen Maria Christina, this curious arrangement
was abolished by a Decree dated in Madrid, February 26, 1886, to take
effect on June 1 following.
Eighteen Civil Governorships were created, and _Alcaldes'_ functions
were confined to their judgeships; moreover, the Civil Governor was
assisted by a Secretary, so that two new official posts were created
in each of these provinces.
The Archipelago, including Sulu, was divided into 19 Civil Provincial
Governments, four Military General Divisions, 43 Military Provincial
Districts, and four Provincial Governments under Naval Officers,
forming a total of 70 Divisions and Sub-Divisions.
COST OF SPANISH ADMINISTRATION
P. cts.
The Gov.-General received a salary of 40,000 00
The Central Government Office, called "_Gobierno
General_," with its Staff of Officials and all
expenses 43,708 00
The General Government Centre was assisted in the
General Administration of the Islands by two other
Governing Bodies, namely:
The General Direction of Civil Administration 29,277 34
The Administrative Council 28,502 00
The Chief of the General Direction received a salary of P12,000, with
an allowance for official visits to the Provinces of P500 per annum.
The Council was composed of three Members, each at a salary of P4,700,
besides a Secretary and officials.
Seventy divisions and sub-divisions as follows, viz.:--
CIVIL GOVERNMENTS
Manila Pce
Salary of Civil Governor P5,000 Total Cost. 20,248 00
Alday, Batangas, Bulacan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur,
La Laguna, Pampanga, Pangasinan.
Eight First-Class Govts.:
Salary of each Civil Gov. P4,500
Total cost of each Govt. P8,900
Eight First-Class Govts. cost 71,200 00
Bataan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Mindoro,
Nueva Eclia, Tayabas, Zambales.
Seven Second-Class Govts.:
Salary of each Civil Gov. P4,000
Total cost of each Govt. P7,660
Seven Second-Class Govts. cost 53,620 00
Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya
Three Third-Class Govts.:
Salary of each Civil Gov. P3,500
Total cost of each Govt. P6,700
Three Third-Class Govts. cost 20,100 00
MILITARY GENERAL GOVERNMENTS
Under a Brig.-Gen. and Staff
Gen. Division of S. Visayas 10,975 00
Gen. Division of N. Visayas 10,975 00
Gen. Division of Mindanao 17,825 00
Gen. Division of Cavite 6,596 66
MILITARY PROVINCES AND DISTRICTS
Under a Colonel and Staff
Sulu 7,240 00
Yloilo 4,410 00
Cottabato 5,426 00
Under a Lieut.-Colonel and Staff
East Carolines and Pelew Islands 4,900 00
West Carolines and Pelew Islands 5,970 00
Cebu 3,500 00
Capiz 3,500 00
Misamis 4,816 66
Ladrone Islands 4,975 00
Under a Major and Staff
Zamboanga 3,856 66
Surigao 4,356 66
Davao 4,156 66
Dapitan 2,692 00
Zucuran 2,692 00
La Union, Antique, Samar, Leyte, El Abra, Bojol,
Tarlac, Negros, Morong
Each under a Major:--
Nine Districts @ P3,040
27,360 00
Batanes, Calamianes, Romblun, Benguet, Lepanto,
Burias, Infante, Principe, Bontoc, Concepcion:
Each under a Captain:--
Ten Districts @ P1,980 19,800 00
Cagayan (Mindanao)--Biling, Nueva Vizcaya, Sasangani
(Palauan)
Each under a Captain:--
Five Districts @ P1,792 8,960 00
Siassi, Bongao, Tatoan
Each under a Captain:--
Three Districts @ P2,032 6,096 00
Escalante, [102] under a Lieutenant 1,525 00
Masbate, under a Cavalry Sub-Lieutenant 1,450 00
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS UNDER NAVAL OFFICERS, OFFICERS IN CHARGE OF
NAVAL STATIONS AS EX-OFFICIO GOVERNORS
Corregidor 3,821 00
Balabac 3,960 00
Isabela de Basilan 5,276 66
Palauan (Puerta Princesa) 6,910 00
Total cost of General Government of the Islands 500,677 96
Deduct--
Officers' Pay, etc., included in Army Estimates P145,179 96
Officers' Pay, etc., included in Navy Estimates 14,640 00
159,819 96
P340,858 00
The Spanish Government intended, in due course, to establish
Civil Government throughout the Islands. A Civil Governor was the
representative of the Gov.-General, whose orders and decrees he had to
publish and execute at his own discretion. He could not absent himself
from his province without permission. He had to maintain order, veto
petitions for arms' licences, hold under his orders and dispose of the
Civil Guard, Carabineers, and local guards. He could suspend the pay
for ten days of any subordinate official who failed to do his duty,
or he could temporarily suspend him in his functions with justifiable
cause, and propose to the Gov.-General his definite removal. He had to
preside at all municipal elections; to bring delinquents to justice;
to decree the detention on suspicion of any individual, and place him
at the disposal of the chief judge within three days after his capture;
to dictate orders for the government of the towns and villages; to
explain to the petty-governors the true interpretation of the law
and regulations affecting their districts.
The Governor was chief of police, and could impose fines up to P50
without the intervention of judicial authority; and in the event of the
mulcted person being unable to pay, he could order his imprisonment
at the rate of one day's detention for each half-peso of the fine;
it was provided, however, that the imprisonment could not exceed
30 days in any case. He had to preside at the ballot for military
conscription, but he could delegate this duty to his Secretary, or,
failing him, to the Administrator. Where no harbour-master had been
appointed, the Civil Governor acted as such. He had the care of the
primary instruction; and it was his duty specially to see that the
native scholars were taught the Spanish language. Land concessions,
improvements tending to increase the wealth of the province, permits
for felling timber, and the collection of excise taxes were all
under his care. He had also to furnish statistics relating to the
labour poll-tax; draw up the provincial budget; render provincial
and municipal accounts, etc., all of which had to be counter-signed
under the word _Intervine_ by the Secretary. He was provincial
postmaster-general, chief of telegraph service, prisons, charities,
board of health, public works, woods and forests, mines, agriculture
and industry. Under no circumstances could he dispose of the public
funds, which were in the care of the Administrator and Interventor, and
he was not entitled to any percentages (as _Alcalde-Governors_ formerly
were), or any emoluments whatsoever further than his fixed salary.
A Governor had to be a Spaniard over 30 years of age. It is curious to
note, from its political significance, that among the many classes of
persons eligible for a Civil Governorship were those who had been
Members of the Spanish Parliament or Senate during one complete
session.
Upon the whole, a Provincial Governor passed life very comfortably
if he did not go out of his way to oppress his subjects and create
discord. His tranquillity, nevertheless, was always dependent upon his
maintaining a good understanding with the priesthood of his district,
and his conformity with the demands of the friars. If he had the
misfortune to cross their path, it brought him a world of woe, and
finally his downfall. There have been Provincial Governors who in
reality held their posts by clerical influence, whilst others who
exercised a more independent spirit--who set aside Church interests
to serve those of the State, with which they were intrusted--fell
victims to sacerdotal intrigue; for the subordinates of the hierarchy
had power to overthrow as well as to support those who were appointed
to their districts. Few improvements appear to have been made in the
provinces by the initiative of the local Governors, nor did they
seem to take any special interest in commercial and agricultural
advancement. This lack of interest was somewhat excusable and
comprehensible, however, seeing that after they were appointed, and
even though they governed well within the strict limitations of their
office, they were constantly expecting that a ministerial change or the
fall of a single minister might remove them from their posts, or that
the undermining influence of favouritism might succeed in accomplishing
their withdrawal. It was natural, therefore, that they should have
been indifferent about the fostering of new agricultural enterprises,
of opening tracks for bringing down timber, of facilitating trade,
or of in any way stimulating the development of the resources of a
province when the probability existed that they would never have the
personal satisfaction of seeing the result of their efforts.
Some Governors with whom I am personally acquainted have, in spite of
all discouragement, studied the wants of their provinces, but to no
purpose. Their estimates for road-making and mending, bridge-building,
and public works generally were shelved in Manila, whilst the local
funds (_Fondos locales_), which ought to have been expended in the
localities where they were collected, were seized by the authorities
in the capital and applied to other purposes.
An annual statement of one province will be sufficient, as an example,
to illustrate the nature of this local tax:--
LOCAL FUNDS [103]--ALBAY PROVINCE
Provincial Revenue
P. cts. P. cts.
Stamps on Weights and Measures 2,490 00
Billiard Tax and Live Stock credentials 496 00
90% of fines for shirking forced labour 1,500 00
Tax in lieu of forced labour 85,209 00
Vehicle tax 4,000 00
93,695 00
Municipal Revenue
Tax paid by sellers in the public
market-place 7,050 00
Tax on slaughter of animals for food 12,098 00
Tax on local sales of hemp 40 00
90% of the Municipal fines and tax on
Chinese 554 00
10% on tithes paid and house-property
tax 380 00
10% on Industrial licences 5,710 00
10% on Alcohol licences 2,525 00
28,357 00
======== ==
P122,052 00
In the same year this province contributed to the common funds of
the Treasury a further sum of P133,009.
There was in each town another local tax called _Caja de Comunidad,_
contributed to by the townspeople to provide against any urgent
necessity of the community, but it found its way to Manila and was
misappropriated, like the _Fondos locales_.
There was not a peso at the disposal of the Provincial Governor for
local improvements. If a bridge broke down so it remained for years,
whilst thousands of travellers had to wade through the river unless
a raft were put there at the expense of the very poorest people by
order of the petty-governor of the nearest village. The "Tribunal,"
which served the double purpose of Town Hall and Dak Bungalow for
wayfarers, was often a hut of bamboo and palm-leaves, whilst others,
which had been decent buildings generations gone by, lapsed into
a wretched state of dilapidation. In some villages there was no
Tribunal at all, and the official business had to be transacted in
the municipal Governor's house. I first visited Calamba (La Laguna)
in 1880, and for 14 years, to my knowledge, the headmen had to meet
in a sugar-store in lieu of a Tribunal. In San Jose de Buenavista,
the capital town of Antique Province, the Town Hall was commenced in
good style and left half finished during 15 years. Either some one
for pity's sake, or the headmen for their own convenience, went to
the expense of thatching over half the unfinished structure, which
was therefore saved from entire ruin, whilst all but the stone walls
of the other half rotted away. So it continued until 1887, when the
Government authorized a partial restoration of this building.
As to the roads connecting the villages, quite 20 per cent. of them
serve only for travellers on foot, on horse or on buffalo back at
any time, and in the wet season certainly 60 per cent, of all the
Philippine highways are in too bad a state for any kind of passenger
conveyance to pass with safety. In the wet season, many times I
have made a sea journey in a prahu, simply because the highroad near
the coast had become a mud-track, for want of macadamized stone and
drainage, and only serviceable for transport by buffalo. In the dry
season the sun mended the roads, and the traffic over the baked clods
reduced them more or less to dust, so that vehicles could pass. Private
property-owners expended much time and money in the preservation of
public roads, although a curious law existed prohibiting repairs to
highways by non-official persons.
Every male adult inhabitant (with certain specified exceptions) had to
give the State fifteen days' labour per annum, or redeem that labour
by payment. Of course thousands of the most needy class preferred to
give their fifteen days. This labour and the redemption-money were
only theoretically employed in local improvements. This system was
reformed in 1884 (_vide_ p. 224).
The Budget for 1888 showed the trivial sum of P120,000 to be used
in road-making and mending in the whole Archipelago. It provided
for a Chief Inspector of Public Works with a salary of P6,500,
aided by a staff composed of 48 technical and 82 non-technical
subordinates. As a matter of fact, the Provincial and District
Governors often received intimation not to encourage the employment
of labour for local improvements, but to press the labouring-class
to pay the redemption-tax to swell the central coffers, regardless
of the corresponding misery, discomfort, and loss to trade in the
interior. But labour at the Governor's disposal was not alone
sufficient. There was no fund from which to defray the cost of
materials; or, if these could be found without payment, some one must
pay for the transport by buffaloes and carts and find the implements
for the labourers' use. How could hands alone repair a bridge which
had rotted away? To cut a log of wood for the public service would
have necessitated communications with the Inspection of Woods and
Forests and other centres and many months' delay.
The system of controlling the action of one public servant by
appointing another under him to supervise his work has always found
favour in Spain, and was adopted in this Colony. There were a great
many Government employments of the kind which were merely sinecures. In
many cases the pay was small, it is true, but the labour was often of
proportionately smaller value than that pay. With very few exceptions,
all the Government Offices in Manila were closed to the public
during half the ordinary working-day,--the afternoon,--and many of
the Civil Service officials made their appearance at their desks
about ten o'clock in the morning, retiring shortly after mid-day,
when they had smoked their habitual number of cigarettes.
The crowd of office-seekers were indifferent to the fact that
the true source of national vigour is the spirit of individual
self-dependence. Constant clamour for Government employment tends
only to enfeeble individual effort, and destroys the stimulus, or
what is of greater worth, the necessity of acting for one's self. The
Spaniard (except the Basque and the Catalonian) looks to the Government
for active and direct aid, as if the Public Treasury were a natural
spring at the waters of which all temporal calamities could be washed
away--all material wants supplied. He will tell you with pride rather
than with abashment that he is an _empleado_--a State dependent.
National progress is but the aggregate of personal individual
activity rightly directed, and a nation weakens as a whole as its
component parts become dormant, or as the majority rely upon the
efforts of the few. The spirit of Caesarism--"all for the people and
nothing by them"--must tend not only to political slavery, but to a
reduction in commercial prosperity, national power, and international
influence. The Spaniards have indeed proved this fact. The best laws
were never intended to provide for the people, but to regulate the
conditions on which they could provide for themselves. The consumers
of public wealth in Spain are far too numerous in proportion to the
producers; hence not only is the State constantly pressed for funds,
but the busy bees who form the nucleus of the nation's vitality are
heavily taxed to provide for the dependent office-seeking drones. It
is the fatal delusion that liberty and national welfare depend solely
upon good government, instead of good government depending upon united
and co-operative individual exertion, that has brought the Spanish
nation to its present state of deplorable impotence.
The Government itself is but the official counterpart of the
governed. By the aid of servile speculators, a man in political
circles struggles to come to the front--to hold a portfolio in the
ministry--if it only be for a session, when his pension for life is
assured on his retirement. Merit and ability have little weight, and
the proteges of the outgoing minister must make room for those of the
next lucky ministerial pension-seeker, and so on successively. This
Colony therefore became a lucrative hunting-ground at the disposal
of the Madrid Cabinet wherein to satisfy the craving demands of their
numerous partisans and friends. They were sent out with a salary and to
make what they could,--at their own risk, of course,--like the country
lad who was sent up to London with the injunction from his father,
"Make money, honestly if you can, but make it."
From the Conquest up to 1844, when trading by officials was abolished,
it was a matter of little public concern how Government servants made
fortunes. Only when the jealousy of one urged him to denounce another
was any inquiry instituted so long as the official was careful not to
embezzle or commit a direct fraud on the _Real Haber_ (the Treasury
funds). When the _Real Haber_ was once covered, then all that could
be got out of the Colony was for the benefit of the officials, great
and small. In 1840, Eusebio Mazorca wrote as follows: [104]--"Each
chief of a province is a real sultan, and when he has terminated his
administration, all that is talked of in the capital is the thousands
of pesos clear gain which he made in his Government."
Eusebio Mazorca further states: [105]--"The Governor receives payment
of the tribute in rice-paddy, which he credits to the native at two
reales in silver per caban. Then he pays this sum into the Royal
Treasury in money, and sells the rice-paddy for private account at
the current rate of six, eight or more reales in silver per caban,
and this simple operation brings him 200 to 300 per cent. profit."
The same writer adds:--"Now quite recently the Interventor of Zamboanga
is accused by the Governor of that place of having made some P15,000
to P16,000 solely by using false measures ... The same Interventor to
whom I refer, is said to have made a fortune of P50,000 to P60,000,
whilst his salary as second official in the Audit Department [106]
is P540 per annum." According to Zuniga, the salary of a professor
of law with the rank of magistrate was P800 per annum.
Up to June, 1886, the provincial taxes being in the custody of the
Administrator, the Judicial Governor had a percentage assigned to him
to induce him to control the Administrator's work. The Administrator
himself had percentages, and the accounts of these two functionaries
were checked by a third individual styled the "Interventor," whose
duties appeared to be to intervene in the casting-up of his superiors'
figures. He was forbidden to reside with the Administrator. After
the above date the payment of all these percentages ceased.
But for the peculations by Government officials from the highest
circles downwards, the inhabitants of the Colony would doubtless
have been a million or so richer per annum. One frequently heard
of officials leaving for Spain with sums far exceeding the total
emoluments they had received during their term of office. Some
provincial employees acquired a pernicious habit of annexing what
was not theirs by all manner of pretexts. To cite some instances:
I knew a Governor of Negros Island who seldom saw a native pass the
Government House with a good horse without begging it of him; thus,
under fear of his avenging a refusal, his subjects furnished him
little by little with a large stud, which he sold before he left,
much to their disgust.
In another provincial capital there happened to be a native headman
imprudently vain enough to carry a walking-stick with a chased
gold-knob handle studded with brilliants. It took the fancy of the
Spanish Governor, who repeatedly expressed his admiration of it, hoping
that the headman would make him a present of it. At length, when the
Governor was relieved of his post, he called together the headmen to
take formal leave of them, and at the close of a flattering speech, he
said he would willingly hand over his official-stick as a remembrance
of his command. In the hubbub of applause which followed, he added,
"and I will retain a souvenir of my loyal subordinates." Suiting the
action to the word, he snatched the coveted stick out of the hand
of the owner and kept it. A Gov.-General in my time enriched himself
by peculation to such an extent that he was at his wits' end to know
how to remit his ill-gotten gains clandestinely. Finally, he resolved
to send an army Captain over to Hong-Kong with P35,000 to purchase a
draft on Europe for him. The Captain went there, but he never returned.
There were about 725 towns and 23 missions in the Colony. Each town
was locally governed by a native--in some cases a Spanish or Chinese
half-caste--who was styled the petty-governor or _Gobernadorcillo_,
whilst his popular title was that of _Capitan_. This service was
compulsory. The elections of _Gobernadorcillos_ and their subordinates
took place every two years, the term of office counting from the July 1
following such elections. In the few towns where the _Gobernadorcillos_
were able to make considerable sums, the appointment was eagerly
sought for, but as a rule it was considered an onerous task, and I
know several who have paid bribes to the officials to rid them of it,
under the pretext of ill-health, legal incapacity, and so on. The
_Gobernadorcillo_ was supported by what was pompously termed a
"ministry," composed of two lieutenants of the town, lieutenants of
the wards, the chiefs of police, of plantations, and of live-stock.
The _Gobernadorcillo_ was nominally the delegate and practically the
servant of his immediate chief, the Provincial Governor. He was the
arbiter of local petty questions, and endeavoured to adjust them,
but when they assumed a legal aspect, they were remitted to the local
Justice of the Peace, who was directly subordinate to the Provincial
Chief Judge. He was also responsible to the Administrator for the
collection of taxes--to the Chief of the Civil Guard for the capture
of criminals, and to the priest of his parish for the interests of
the Church. His responsibility for the taxes to be collected sometimes
brought him imprisonment, unless he succeeded in throwing the burden
on the actual collectors--the _Cabezas de Barangay_.
The _Gobernadorcillo_ was often put to considerable expense in the
course of his two years, in entertaining and supplying the wants of
officials passing through. To cover this outlay, the loss of his own
time, the salaries of writers in the Town Hall, presents to his Spanish
chiefs to secure their goodwill, and other calls upon his private
income, he naturally had to exact funds from the townspeople. Legally,
he could receive, if he chose (but few did), the munificent salary of
P2 per month, and an allowance for clerks equal to about one-fifth
of what he had to pay them. Some of these _Gobernadorcillos_ were
well-to-do planters, and were anxious for the office, even if it
cost them money, on account of the local prestige which the title of
"Capitan" gave them, but others were often so poor that if they had
not pilfered, this compulsory service would have ruined them. However,
a smart _Gobernadorcillo_ was rarely out of pocket by his service. One
of the greatest hardships of his office was that he often had to
abandon his plantation or other livelihood to go to the provincial
capital at his own expense whenever he was cited there. Many of them
who did not speak or understand Spanish had to pay and be at the
mercy of a Secretary (_Directorcillo_), who was also a native.
When any question arose of general interest to the townspeople (such
as a serious innovation in the existing law, or the annual feasts,
or the anticipated arrival of a very big official, etc.) the headmen
(_principalia_) were cited to the Town Hall. They were also expected
to assemble there every Sunday and Great Feast Days (three-cross Saint
days in the Calendar), to march thence in procession to the church
to hear Mass, under certain penalties if they failed to attend. Each
one carried his stick of authority; and the official dress was a
short Eton jacket of black cloth over the shirt, the tail of which
hung outside the trousers. Some _Gobernadorcillos_, imbued with a
sense of the importance and solemnity of office, ordered a band to
play lively dance music at the head of the _cortege_ to and from the
church. After Mass they repaired to the convent, and on bended knee
kissed the priest's hand. Town affairs were then discussed. Some
present were chided, others were commended by their spiritual dictator.
In nearly every town the people were, and still are, divided into
parties holding divergent views on town affairs, each group being ready
to give the other a "stab in the back" when the opportunity offers,
and not unfrequently these differences seriously affect the social
relations of the individual members.
For the direct collection of taxes each township was sub-divided into
groups of forty or fifty families called _Barangays_: each group had
to pay taxes to its respective head, styled _Cabeza de Barangay_,
who was responsible to the petty-governor, who in turn made the
payment to the Provincial Administrator for remission to the Treasury
(_Intendencia_) in Manila. This _Barangay chiefdom_ system took its
origin from that established by the natives themselves prior to the
Spanish conquest, and in some parts of the Colony the original title
of _datto_ was still applied to the chief. This position, hereditary
among themselves, continued to be so for many years under Spanish
rule, and was then considered an honourable distinction because it
gave the heads of certain families a birthright importance in their
class. Later on they were chosen, like all the other native local
authorities, every two years, but if they had anything to lose, they
were invariably re-elected. In order to be ranked among the headmen
of the town (the _principalia_), a _Barangay chief_ had to serve for
ten years in that capacity unless he were, meanwhile, elected to a
higher rank, such as lieutenant or _gobernadorcillo_. Everybody,
therefore, shirked the repugnant obligations of a chiefdom, for
the Government rarely recognized any bad debts in the collection of
the taxes, until the chief had been made bankrupt and his goods and
chattels sold to make good the sums which he could not collect from
his group, whether it arose from their poverty, death, or from their
having absconded. I have been present at auction sales of live-stock
seized to supply taxes to the Government, which admitted no excuses
or explanations. Many _Barangay chiefs_ went to prison through
their inability or refusal to pay others' debts. On the other hand,
there were among them some profligate characters who misappropriated
the collected taxes, but the Government had really little right to
complain, for the labour of tax-gathering was a _forced service_
without remuneration for expenses or loss of time incurred.
In many towns, villages, and hamlets there were posts of the Civil
Guard established for the arrest of criminals and the maintenance of
public order; moreover, there was in each town a body of guards called
_Cuadrilleros_ for the defence of the town and the apprehension of
bandits and criminals within the jurisdiction of the town only. The
town and the wards together furnished these local guards, whose
social position was one of the humblest and least enviable. There
were frequent cases of _Cuadrilleros_ passing over to a band of
brigands. Some years ago the whole muster belonging to the town of
Mauban (Tayabas) suddenly took to the mountains; on the other hand,
many often rendered valuable aid to society, but their doubtful
reliability vastly diminished their public utility.
From the time Philippine administration was first organized up to
the year 1884, all the subdued natives paid tribute. Latterly it
was fixed at one peso and ten cents per annum, and those who did not
choose to work for the Government during forty days in the year, paid
also a poll-tax (_fallas_) of P3 per annum. But, as a matter of fact,
thousands were declared as workers who never did work, and whilst
roads were in an abominable condition and public works abandoned,
not much secret was made of the fact that a great portion of the
poll-tax never reached the Treasury. These pilferings were known
to the Spanish local authorities as _caidas_ or droppings; and in a
certain province I met at table a provincial chief judge, the nephew
of a general, and other persons who openly discussed the value of
the different Provincial Governments (before 1884) in Luzon Island,
on the basis of so much for salary and so much for fees and _caidas_.
However, although the tribute and _fallas_ system worked as well as any
other would under the circumstances, for some reason, best known to the
authorities, it was abolished. In lieu thereof a scheme was proposed,
obliging _every civilized inhabitant_ of the Philippines, excepting
only public servants, the clergy, and a few others, _to work for
fifteen days per annum without the right of redeeming this obligation
by payment_. Indeed, the decree to that effect was actually received
in Manila from the Home Government, but it was so palpably ludicrous
that the Gov.-General did not give it effect. He had sufficient common
sense to foresee in its application the extinction of all European
prestige and moral influence over the natives if Spanish and foreign
gentlemen of good family were seen sweeping the streets, lighting the
lamps, road-mending, guiding buffalo-carts loaded with stones, and so
on. This measure, therefore, regarded by some as a practical joke,
by others as the conception of a lunatic theorist--was withdrawn,
or at least allowed to lapse.
Nevertheless, those in power were bent on reform, and the Peninsular
system of a document of identity (_Cedula personal_), which works
well amongst Europeans, was then adopted for all civilized classes
and nationalities above the age of 18 years without exception, its
possession being compulsory. The amount paid for this document, which
was of nine classes, [107] from P25 value downwards, varied according
to the income of the holder or the cost of his trading-licences. Any
person holding this document of a value under P3 1/2 was subject to
fifteen days' forced labour per annum, or to pay 50 cents for each
day he failed to work. The holder of a document of P3 1/2 or over
paid also P1 1/2 "Municipal Tax" in lieu of labour. The "_Cedula_"
thenceforth served as a passport for travelling within the Archipelago,
to be exhibited at any time on demand by the proper authority. No
legal document was valid unless the interested parties had produced
their _Cedulas_, the details of which were inscribed in the legal
instrument. No petitions would be noticed, and very few transactions
could be made in the Government offices without the presentation of
this identification document. The decree relating to this reform,
like most ambiguous Spanish edicts, set forth that any person was at
liberty to take a higher-valued _Cedula_ than that corresponding to
his position, without the right of any official to ask the reason
why. This clause was prejudicial to the public welfare, because it
enabled thousands of able-bodied natives to evade labour for public
improvements of imperative necessity in the provinces. The public
labour question was indeed altogether a farce, and simply afforded
a pretext for levying a tax.
It would appear that whilst the total amount of taxation in Spanish
times was not burdensome, the fiscal system was obviously defective.
The (American) Insular Government has continued the issue of the
_Cedula_ on a reasonable plan which bears hard on no one. Forced
labour is abolished; government work is paid for out of the taxes;
and the uniform cost of the _Cedula_ is one peso for every male
between the ages of 18 and 60 years.
In 1890 certain reforms were introduced into the townships, most
of which were raised to the dignity of Municipalities. The titles
of _Gobernadorcillo_ and _Directorcillo_ (the words themselves in
Spanish bear a sound of contempt) were changed to _Capitan Municipal_
and _Secretario_ respectively (Municipal Captain and Secretary) with
nominally extended powers. For instance, the Municipal Captains were
empowered to disburse for public works, without appeal to Manila,
a few hundred pesos in the year (to be drawn, in some cases, from
empty public coffers, or private purses). The functions of the local
Justices of the Peace were amplified and abused to such a degree
that these officials became more the originators of strife than
the guardians of peace. The old-established obligation to supply
travellers, on payment therefor, with certain necessaries of life
and means of transport was abolished.
Hitherto it had been the custom for a traveller on arriving at a town
without knowing any one there, or without letters of introduction,
to alight (by right) at the Tribunal, or Town Hall. Each such
establishment had, or ought to have had, a tariff of necessary
provisions and the means of travelling to the next town (such
as ponies, gigs, hammocks, sedan-chairs, etc., according to the
particular conditions of the locality). Each _Barangay_ or _Cabezeria_
furnished one _Cuadrillero_ (_vide_ pp. 223, 224) for the service
of the Tribunal, so that the supply of baggage-carriers, bearers,
etc., which one needed could not be refused on payment. The native
official in charge of this service to travellers, and in control of the
_Cuadrilleros_, was styled the _Alguacil_. Hence the Tribunal served
the double purpose of Town Hall and casual ward for wayfarers. There
were all sorts of Tribunales, from the well-built stone and wood
house to the poverty-stricken bamboo shanty where one had to pass
the night on the floor or on the table.
By decree of Gov.-General Weyler (1888-91) dated October 17, 1888,
which came into force on January 1, 1889, the obligation of the
Tribunal officials to supply provisions to travelling civilians had
been already abolished, although, under both reforms, civilians could
continue to take refuge at the Tribunal as theretofore. Notwithstanding
the reform of 1890, until the American advent the European traveller
found it no more difficult than before to procure _en route_ the
requisite means for provincial travelling.