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ë Governor General
Fernando Primo de
Rivera enriched
himself by accepting
bribes from casinos in
Manila.
ë Governor General
Camilo de Polavieja
was widely detested
by the Filipinos for
executing Jose Rizal.
Corrupt colonial officials
ë Corruption in the
colonial government
was made worse by
the checks adopted by
Spain that proved to
be ineffective.
ë Abuses multiplied
because higher officials
were indifferent to
anomalies.
3. Absence of Philippine
representation in Spanish Cortes
Absence of Philippine representation
in the Spanish Cortes
ë The Philippines experienced
its first period of
representation in the Cortes
from 1810-1813.
ë This period was fruitful
because the representatives
succeeded in forming an
active part in the framing of
Spain’s first democratic
Constitution and in the
abolition of the galleon
trade.
ë However, the
succeeding delegates
were less fruitful in their
parliamentary work.
ë In 1837, representation
of the overseas
colonies, including the
Philippines, in the
Spanish Cortes was
abolished.
ë Since then, the Philippine ë Many Filipino patriots
condition worsened pleaded for the
because there was no restoration of Philippine
means by which the representation in the
Filipinos could expose the
anomalies of colonial Cortes but Spain
officials. ignored their plea.
4. Denial of basic human
rights to Filipinos
Denial of human rights to Filipinos
ë Filipino reformists,
particularly Rizal,
denounced the
friars as the
enemies of liberal
reforms and
modern progress in
the Philippines.
8. Forced labor
Forced labor
ë Known as the “polo”, it
was the compulsory
labor imposed by the
Spanish colonial
authorities on Filipino
and Chinese mestizo
males in the construction
of churches, schools,
hospitals, building and
repair of roads and
bridges, building of ships
and other public works.
ë The polista or worker
had to work for 40 days a
year. But due to
widespread resistance, it
was reduced to 15 days
in 1884.
ë To be excluded from the
polo, one must pay the
exemption fee called
falla, which only the
well-to-do Filipinos could
afford.
ë Filipinos hate the forced labor because of
abuses associated with it and the many
negative effects the forced labor generated:
– Upsetting of village economy as labor drafts
coincided with planting/harvesting seasons
– Forced separation from the family and
relocation to different places; and
– Decimation of the male population
9. Heavy taxation
Heavy taxation
ë Spanish friars
became the richest
landlords.
ë Another hated
symbol of Spanish
tyranny was the
Guardia Civil
(Constabulary),
which was created
for the purpose of
maintaining
internal peace and
order in the
Philippines.
ë The guardia civil became infamous
for their rampant abuses, such as
maltreating innocent people, looting
their carabaos and other valuable
belongings, and raping helpless
women.
The Guardia Civil
ë Absence of academic
freedom
☝ Books read were
censored;
☝ Rampant student unrests
proving the defective
educational system;
☝ Students were denied
freedom to assert their
rights and voiced out
their complaints.
Serious problems in education
ë Friar-control over
education
☝ The friars thwarted
whatever noble
intention Spain had for
improving the
educational system.
☝ They opposed the
implementation of the
Moret Decree which
intended to secularize
higher education in the
colony.
ë Opposition of the friars
against the teaching of
Spanish language
☝ Although the Spanish
language was introduced, it
was not used as the lingua
franca of the colony
because friars considered
uneducated Filipino who
knew Spanish a future
filibustero.
☝ Spaniards refused to teach
and promote their language
for fear that a Filipino who
knew the Castilian
language would become
better educated.
☝ The Filipinos must be kept
in the dark so that they
would remain isolated from
the intellectual ferment of
the times.
The Philippine educational system