Lesson 1

• The Philippine government is democratic and capitalist
• Democratic


  Government of, for, and by the people; with a Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution; guaranteeing freedom and liberty
• Capitalist


  Free market with law of supply and demand and market forces (with some regulation); free enterprise where people can own and start businesses with capital as means of production
• The development and foundation of the Philippine government and politics can be understood through historical, colonial and neo-colonial, socio-cultural, economic, ideological, and constitutional factors
• The Philippines has been "liberated" 4 times in its history according to Renato Constantino: from the Spaniards, the Americans, the Japanese, and the Americans again
• Imperialism is a policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations
• Fascism is a philosophy or system of government that is marked by stringent social or economic control, a strong centralized government usually headed by a dictator, and often a policy of belligerent nationalism
• Baranganic Societies


  • Had some form of political, economic, cultural, social and communal organization; regulated conduct of people in a tribal state; barangays were the basic political and economic unit headed by a chieftain called rajah or datu
• Social structure of Baranganic Societies

  • Petty nobility (ruling class, accumulated land, administered in name of clan/community)
  • Maharlikas (intermediate class of freemen, had enough land for livelihood, rendered special service to rulers)
  • Timawas (serfs/slaves who shared crops with petty nobility or worked without definite share in harvest)
• Elements of Baranganic Societies


  • Judicial system (Code of Kalantiyaw, Muslim Laws)
  • Culture (written literature, art works, anito worship, Muslim faith areas)
  • Commerce (inter-island, trade relations with neighboring countries, barter system)
• The arrival of the Spaniards reinforced the proto-feudal structures in the Philippines and incorporated them into their colonial apparatus