Spain reigned over the Philippines for 333 years, from 1565 to 1898.

since Spain was far

from the country, the Spanish ing ruled the !slands through the viceroy of "e#ico, which
was then another Spanish colony. $hen "e#ico regained its freedom in 18%1, the Spanish
ing ruled the Philippines through a governor general. & special government 'ody that
oversaw matters, pertaining to the colonies assisted the ing in this respect. (his 'ody
'ecame nown 'y many names. )ouncil of the !ndies *1565+183,-, .verseas )ouncil
*183,+1863-, and "inistry of the )olonies *1863/1898-. !t is implemented the decrees and
legal codes Spain promulgated although many of its provisions could not apply to condition
in the colonies. !t also e#ercised legislative and 0udicial powers.
The Political Structure
Spain esta'lished a centrali1ed colonial government in the Philippines that was composed of
a national government and the local governments that administered provinces, cities, towns
and municipalities. $ith the cooperation of the local governments the national government
maintained peace and order, collected ta#es and 'uilt schools and other pu'lic wors.
The Governor General
&s the 2ing3s representative and the highest+raning official in the Philippines, the governor
general saw to it that royal decrees and laws emanating from Spain were implemented in
the Philippines. 4e had the power to appoint and dismiss pu'lic officials, e#cept those
personally chosen 'y the 2ing. 4e also supervised all government officesand the collection
of ta#es.
(he governor general e#ercised certain legislative powers, as well. 4e issued proclamations
to facilitate the implementation of laws.
The Residencia
(his was a special 0udicial court that investigates the performance of a governor general
who was a'out to 'e replaced. (he residencia, of which the incoming governor general was
usually a mem'er, su'mitted a report of its findings to the 2ing.
The Visita
(he )ouncil of the !ndies in Spain sent a government official called the 5istador 6eneral to
o'serve conditions in the colony. (he 5isitador 6eneral reported his findings directly to the
2ing.
The Royal Audiencia
&part from its 0udicial functions, the 7oyal &udiencia served as an advisory 'ody to the
6overnor 6eneral and had the power to chec and a report on his a'uses. (he&udiencia also
audited the e#penditures of the colonial government and sent a yearly report to Spain. (he
&rch'ishop and other government officials could also report the a'uses of the colonial
government to 'e Spanish ing. 8espite all these checs, however, an a'usive governor
general often managed to escape stiff fines, suspension, or dismissal 'y simply 'ri'ing the
5isitador and other investigators.
The Provincial Government
(he Spaniards created local government units to facilitate the country9s administration.
(here were two types of local government units / the alcadia and the corregimiento. (he
alcadia, led 'y the alcalde mayor, governed the provinces that had 'een fully su'0ugated:
the corregimiento, headed 'y corregidor, governed the provinces that were not yet entirely
under Spanish control *mariveles and "indoro-. (he alcalde mayors represented the
Spanish ing and the governor general in their respective provinces. (hey managed the
day+to+day operations of the provincial government, implemented laws and supervised the
collection of ta#es. (hrough they were paid a small salary, they en0oyed privileges such as
the indulto de comercio, or the right to participate in the galleon trade.
The Municipal Government
;ach province was divided into several towns or pue'los headed 'y 6o'ernadordcillos,
whose main concerns were efficient governance and ta# collection. <our lieutenants aided
the 6overnardorcillo: the (eniente "ayor *chief lieutenant-, the (eniente de Policia *police
lieutenant-, the (eniente de Sementeras *lieutenant of the fields- and the (eniente de
6anados *lieutenant of the livestoc-.
The Encomienda System
Spain owed the coloni1ation of the Philippines to "iguel =ope1 de =ega1pi, who valiantly and
loyally served the Spanish crown. (o hasten the su'0ugation of the country, 2ing Philip
!! instructed =ega1pi to divide the Philippines into large territories called encomiendas, to 'e
left to the management of designated encomenderos.

(o show his gratitude to his con>uistadors, the 2ing made them the first encomenderos in
the colony. &s the 2ing9s representatives in their respective encomiendas, the encomenderos
had the right to collect ta#es. 4owever, the encomiendas were not there to own. (he
encomenderos were only territorial overseers who had the duty to: 1- protect the people in
the encomienda? *%- maintain peace and order? *3- promote education and
health programs? and *@- help the missionaries propagate )hristianity.Continue to The
Galleon Trade.

The Philippine Commonwealth Era

(he )ommonwealth era is the 1A year transitional period in Philippine history from 1935 to
19@5 in preparation for independence from the Bnited States as provided for under the
Philippine !ndependence &ct or more popularly nown as the (ydings+"c8uffie =aw. (he
)ommonwealth era was interrupted when the Capanese occupied the Philippines in Canuary
%, 19@%. (he )ommonwealth government, lead 'y "anuel =. Due1on and Sergio S.
.smeEa went into e#ile in the B.S., Due1on died of tu'erculosis while in e#ile and .smeEa
too over as president. &t the same time, the Capanese forces installed a puppet
government in "anila headed 'y Cose P. =aurel as president. (his government is nown as
the Second Philippine 7epu'lic. .n .cto'er %A, 19@@, the &llied forces led 'y6en. 8ouglas
"ac&rthur landed on the island of =eyte to li'erate the Philippines from the Capanese. Capan
formally surrendered in Septem'er %, 19@5.

&fter li'eration, the )ommonwealth government was restored. )ongress convened in its
first regular session on Culy 9, 19@5. !t was the first time the people9s representatives have
assem'led since their election on Fovem'er 11, 19@1. "anuel 7o#as was elected Senate
President, and ;lpidio Duirino was chosen President Pro (empore. Cose Gulueta was speaer
of the house, while Prospero Sanidad 'ecame speaer pro (empore. (he first law of this
congress, enacted as commonwealth act 6,%, organi1ed the central 'an of the
Philippines.(he commonwealth deal also tacled the issue of colla'oration. !n Septem'er
19@5 the counter intelligence corps presented the people who were accused of having
colla'orated with, or given aid to, the Capanese. !ncluded were prominent <ilipinos who had
'een active in the puppet government that the Capanese had 'een esta'lished. H& Peoples
)ourtI was created to investigate and decide on the issue.
&midst this sad state of affairs, the third commonwealth elections were held on &pril %3,
19@6. Sergio .smeEa and "anuel 7o#as vied for the Presidency. 7o#as won thus 'ecoming
the last president of the Philippine )ommonwealth. (he )ommonwealth era formally ended
when the Bnited States granted independence to the Philippines, as scheduled on Culy @,
19@6.

!mportant legislations and events during the &merican period that made the Philippines a
commonwealth of the Bnited States:

The Philippine Bill of !"# $ Cooper Act
Bnited States )ongressman 4enry &llen )ooper sponsored the Philippine Jill of 19A%, also
nown as the )ooper &ct. (he 'ill proposed the creation and administration of a civil
government in the Philippines. President (heodore 7oosevelt signed it into law in Culy %,
19A%.

4ere are some of the more important provisions of the )ooper &ct:

K 7atification of all changes introduced in the Philippine government 'y the president of the
B.S., such as the esta'lishment of the Philippine )ommission, the office of the civil governor
and the Supreme court
K ;#tension of the &merican Jill of 7ights to the <ilipinos e#cept the right of trial 'y 0ury
K )reation of 'icameral legislative 'ody, with the Philippine )ommission as the upper house
and a still+to+'e+elected Philippine &ssem'ly as the =ower 4ouse
K 7etention of the e#ecutive powers of the civil governor, who was also president of the
Philippine )ommission
K 8esignation of the Philippine )ommission as the legislating authority for non+)hristian
tri'es
K 7etention of the Cudicial powers of the Supreme court and other lower courts
K &ppointment of two <ilipino resident commissioners who would represent the Philippines in
the BS )ongress 'ut would not en0oy voting rights
K )onservation of Philippine natural resources

(he 'ill contained 3 provisions that had to 'e fulfilled first 'efore the Philippine &ssem'ly
could 'e esta'lishing these were the:

K )omplete restoration of peace and order in the Philippines
K &ccomplishment of a Fationwide census
K (wo years of peace and order after the pu'lication of the census

The Philippine Assem%ly
(he assem'ly was inaugurated on .cto'er 16, 19A, at the "anila 6rand .pera 4ouse, with
BS secretary of $ar $illiam 4oward (aft as guest of honor. Sergio .smeEa was elected
Speaer while "anuel Due1on was elected "a0ority <loor leader. (he 7ecognition of the
Philippine &ssem'ly paved the way for the esta'lishment of the 'icameral Philippine
=egislature. (he &ssem'ly functioned as the lower 4ouse, while the Philippine )ommission
served as the upper house.

Resident Commissioners
Jenito =egarda and Pa'lo .campo were the first commissioners. .ther <ilipinos who
occupied this position included "anuel Due1on, Caime de 5eyra, (eodoro Langco, !saro
6a'aldon, and )amilo .sias.

The &ones 'aw
(o further train the <ilipinos in the art of government, the B.S. )ongress enacted the Cones
=aw on &ugust %9, 1916. !t was the first official document that clearly promised the
Philippine independence, as stated in its pream'le, as soon as a sta'le government was
esta'lished. (he Cones =aw or the Philippine &utonomy act, 7eplace the Philippine 'ill of
19A% as the framewor of the Philippine government. !t provide for the creation of the
e#ecutive powers. (he vice governor general, assisted 'y his )a'inet, would e#ercise
e#ecutive powers. (he vice governor would act concurrently as the Secretary of ;ducation.

Creation of the Council of State
Bpon the recommendation of "anuel =. Due1on and Sergio .smeEa, 6overnor
6eneral <rancis Jurton 4arrison issued an e#ecutive order on .cto'er 16, 1981, creating
the first )ouncil of State in the Philippines. !t was the )ouncil9s duty to advise the governor
general on matters such as the creation of policies for administering government offices.

(he )ouncil held meetings once a wee and whenever the governor general called for one.
!t was composed of the governor general, the department secretaries, the speaer of the
=ower 4ouse, and the Senate president. 8uring 4arrison9s term, the e#ecutive and
legislative 'ranches of government wored harmoniously with each other.

The (s$Ro) Mission
.ne delegation, however, that met with partial success was the .s+7o# "ission, so called
'ecause it was headed 'y Sergio .smeEa and "anuel 7o#as. (he .s+7o# group went to the
Bnited States in 1931 and was a'le to influence the B.S. )ongress to pass a pro+
independence 'ill 'y 7epresentative Jutter 4are, Senator 4enry 4awes, and Senator Jronso
)utting. (he 4are+4awes+)utting =aw provided for a 1A+year transition period 'efore
the Bnited States would recogni1e Philippine independence. B.S.President 4er'ert
4oover did not sign the 'ill? 'ut 'oth 4ouses of )ongress ratified it. $hen the .s+7o#
"ission presented the 4are+4awes+)utting =aw to the Philippine =egislature, it was re0ected
'y a the &merican 4igh )ommissioner representing the BS president in the country and the
Philippine Senate, specifically the provision that gave the B.S. president the right to
maintain land and other properties reserved for military use. "anuel Due1on was tased to
head another independence mission to the united States.

The Tydin*s$Mc+uffie 'aw
!n 8ecem'er 1933, "anuel =. Due1on returned to the Philippines from the Bnited States
with a slightly amended version of the 4are+4awes+)utting 'ill authored 'y Senator "illiard
(ydings and representative "c8uffie. President <ranlin 8elano 7oosevelt, the new B.S.
president, signed it into law on "arch %@, 193@. (he (ydings+"c8uffie &ct *officially the
Philippine !ndependence &ct of the Bnited States )ongress? Pu'lic =aw ,3+1%,- or more
popularly nown as the (he (ydings+"c8uffie =aw provided for the esta'lishment of the
)ommonwealth government for a period of ten years preparatory to the granting of
!ndependence. See the full text of the Tydings-McDuffie Law or)ontinue to Japanese
Occupation, llied Li!eration.