Datu

For town in Nepal, see Datu, Nepal.
A pre-colonial couple belonging to the Datu or nobility as depicted in the Boxer Codex of the 16th century.

Datu is the title for chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs[1] in the Visayas[2] and Mindanao[3] regions of the Philippines. Together with Lakan (Luzon), Apo in Central and Northern Luzon,[4] Sultan and Rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still currently used especially in Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan.[5][6] Depending upon the prestige of the sovereign royal family, the title of Datu could be equated to Royal Princes, European dukes, marquesses and counts.[7] In big barangays, which had contacts with other southeast Asian cultures through trade, some Datus took the title Rajah or Sultan.[8]

The word datu is a cognate of the Malay terms Dato' or Datuk, which is one of many noble titles in Malaysia, and to the Fijian chiefly title of Ratu.

Proofs of Filipino royalty and nobility (Dugóng Bugháw) can be demonstrated only by clear blood descent from ancient native royal blood and in some cases adoption into a royal family.[9][10]

History

Datu in Moro and Lumad societies in Mindanao

A Map of Mindanao c. 1900, made by the US Army in the Philippines, showing the different indigenous tribes of Mindanao, and their respective Ancestral Domains and traditional homeland.

The Spaniards took possession of most of Luzon and the Visayas, converting the lowland population to Christianity. But although Spain eventually established footholds in northern and eastern Mindanao and the Zamboanga Peninsula, its armies failed to colonise the rest of Mindanao. This area was populated by Islamised peoples ("Moros" to the Spaniards) and by many non-Muslim indigenous groups now known as Lumad peoples.[11]

The Moro societies of Mindanao and Sulu

In the traditional structure of Moro societies, the sultans were the highest authority followed by the datus or rajah, with their rule being sanctioned by the Quran. Datus were supported by their tribes. In return for tribute and labor, the datu provided aid in emergencies and advocacy in disputes with other communities and warfare through the Agama and Maratabat laws. During the Spanish colonization of the Archipelago, the Datus of Moro Principalities in Mindanao and Sulu gave a very strong and effective resistance to the Catholicism of that southern Island, and were able to successfully defend their identity and Islamic faith for over 300 years.

The Lumad societies of Mindanao

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lumad peoples controlled an area that now covers 17 of Mindanao’s 24 provinces—but by the 1980 census they constituted less than 6% of the population of Mindanao and Sulu. Heavy migration to Mindanao of Visayans, who have been settling in the Island for centuries, spurred by government-sponsored resettlement programmes, turned the Lumads into minorities. The Bukidnon province population grew from 63,470 in 1948 to 194,368 in 1960 and 414,762 in 1970, with the proportion of indigenous Bukidnons falling from 64% to 33% to 14%.[11]

There are 18 Lumad ethnolinguistic groups: Ata people, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanon, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, Tboli, Teduray and Ubo.[11]

Lumad datus have involved themselves in protecting their homeland forests from illegal loggers during the past decades. Some have joined the New People's Army (NPA), a communist rebel group in the Country, for the cause of their people.[12] Others have resisted joining the Moro and Communist separatist movements.

A datu is still basic to the smooth functioning of Lumad and Moro societies today. They have continued to act as the community leaders in their respective tribes among a variety of Indigenous peoples in Mindanao. Moros, Lumads and Visayans now share with new settlers a homeland in Mindanao.[13]

Datu in pre-colonial principalities in the Visayas[14][15]

Kampilan are weapons used by Rajahs and Datus.

In more affluent and powerful territorial jurisdictions and principalities in Visayas, e.g., Panay,[16] Cebu and Leyte [17][18](which were never conquered by Spain but were accomplished as vassals by means of pacts, peace treaties, and reciprocal alliances),[19] the "Datu" Class was at the top of a divinely sanctioned and stable social order in a Sakop or Kinadatuan (Kadatuan in ancient Malay; Kedaton in Javanese; and Kedatuan in many parts of modern Southeast Asia), which is elsewhere commonly referred to also as barangay.[20] This social order was divided into three classes. The Kadatuan (members of the Visayan Datu Class) were compared by the Boxer Codex to the titled Lords (Señores de titulo) in Spain.[21] As Agalon or Amo (Lords),[22] the Datus enjoyed an ascribed right to respect, obedience, and support from their "Oripun" (Commoner) or followers belonging to the Third Order. These Datus had acquired rights to the same advantages from their legal "Timawa" or vassals (Second Order), who bind themselves to the Datu as his seafaring warriors. "Timawas" paid no tribute, and rendered no agricultural labor. They had a portion of the Datu's blood in their veins. The above-mentioned Boxer Codex calls these "Timawas": Knights and Hidalgos. The Spanish conquistador, Miguel de Loarca, described them as "free men, neither chiefs nor slaves". In the late 1600s, the Spanish Jesuit priest Fr. Francisco Ignatio Alcina, classified them as the third rank of nobility (nobleza).[23]

To maintain purity of bloodline, Datus marry only among their kind, often seeking high ranking brides in other Barangays, abducting them, or contracting brideprices in gold, slaves and jewelry. Meanwhile, the Datus keep their marriageable daughters secluded for protection and prestige.[24] These well-guarded and protected highborn women were called "Binokot",[25] the Datus of pure descent (four generations) were called "Potli nga Datu" or "Lubus nga Datu",[26] while a woman of noble lineage (especially the elderly) are addressed by the inhabitants of Panay as "Uray" (meaning: pure as gold), e.g., Uray Hilway, and by the inhabitants of Palawan as "Dang" -a contraction of "Dayang" which means princess in Sulu Archipelago.[27]

Datu in pre-colonial principalities in the Tagalog region

The different type of culture prevalent in Luzon gave a less stable and more complex social structure to the pre-colonial Tagalog barangays of Manila, Pampanga and Laguna. Enjoying a more extensive commerce than those in Visayas, having the influence of Bornean political contacts, and engaging in farming wet rice for a living, the Tagalogs were described by the Spanish Augustinian Friar Martin de Rada as more traders than warriors.[28]

The more complex social structure of the Tagalogs was less stable during the arrival of the Spaniards because it was still in a process of differentiating. A Jesuit priest Francisco Colin made an attempt to give an approximate comparison of it with the Visayan social structure in the middle of the seventeenth century. The term Datu or Lakan, or Apo refers to the chief, but the noble class (to which the Datu belonged, or could come from) was the Maginoo Class. One could be born a Maginoo, but could become a 'Datu by personal achievement. In the Visayas, if the Datu had the personality and economic means, he could retain and restrain competing peers, relatives, and offspring.[29]

The term Timawa came into use in the social structure of the Tagalogs within just twenty years after the coming of the Spaniards. The term, however, was being applied to former Alipin (Third Class) who have escaped bondage by payment, favor, or flight. The Tagalog Timawas did not have the military prominence of the Visayan Timawa. The warrior class in the Tagalog society was present only in Laguna, and they were called the Maharlika Class. At the early part of the Spanish regime, the number of their members who were coming to rent land from their Datus was increasing.[29]

Unlike the Visayan Datus, the Lakans and Apos of Luzon could call all non-Maginoo subjects to work in the Datu’s fields or do all sorts of other personal labor. In the Visayas, only the Oripuns were obliged to do that, and to pay tribute besides. The Tagalog who works in the Datu’s field did not pay him tribute, and could transfer their allegiance to another Datu.[29]

The Visayan Timawa neither paid tribute nor performed agricultural labor. In a sense, they were truly aristocrats. The Tagalog Maharlika did not only work in his Datu’s field, but could also be required to pay his own rent. Thus, all non-Maginoo formed a common economic class in some sense, though this class had no designation.[29]

In other parts of the Archipelago, even though the majority of these barangays were not large settlements, yet they had organized societies dominated by the same type of recognized aristocracy and Lordships (with birthright claim to allegiance from followers), as those found in more established, richer and more developed Principalities.[30]

One should take into consideration that the ideas of Principalities, Lordship, aristocratic rule, realms, and alliances in the Archipelago were not conceived and practiced in the same manner as it was in the West, at the time the people in this Islands had their first contact with Europeans.[31]

Since the culture of the Pre-colonial societies in the Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Luzon were largely influenced by Hindu and Buddhist cultures, the Datus who ruled these Principalities (such as Butuan Calinan, Ranau Gandamatu,Maguindanao Polangi, Cebu, Bohol Panay, Mindoro and Manila) also share the many customs of royalties and nobles in Southeast Asian territories (with Hindu and Buddhist cultures), especially in the way they used to dress and adorn themselves with gold and silk. The Boxer Codex bears testimony to this fact. The measure of the prince's possession of gold and slaves was proportionate to his greatness and nobility.[32] The first Westerners, who came to the Archipelago, observed that there was hardly any "Indian" who did not possess chains and other articles of gold.[33]

Datu during the Spanish period

Costume of a family belonging to Principalía during the 19th century. Picture taken from the exhibit in Villa Escudero Museum in San Pablo Laguna, Philippines.

The Datu Class (First Estate) of the four echelons of Filipino Society at the time of contact with the Europeans (as described by Fr. Juan de Plasencia- a pioneer Franciscan missionary in the Philippines), was referred to by the Spaniards as the Principalía. Loarca,[34] and the Canon Lawyer Antonio de Morga, who classified the Society into three estates (ruler, ruled, slave), also affirmed the usage of this term and also spoke about the preeminence of the Principales.[35] All members of this Datu class were Principales,[36] whether they ruled or not.[37] San Buenaventura's 1613 Dictionary of the Tagalog Language defines three terms that clarify the concept of this Principalía:[35]

1. Poón or Punò (chief, leader) - principal or head of a lineage.

2. Ginoó - a noble by lineage and parentage, family and descent.

3. Maginoo - principal in lineage or parentage.

The Spanish term Seňor (Lord) is equated with all these three terms, which are distinguished from the nouveau riche imitators scornfully called Maygintao (man with gold or Hidalgo by gold, and not by lineage).[38]

Upon the Christianization of most parts of the Philippine Archipelago, the Datus retained their right to govern their territory under the Spanish Empire.[39] King Philip II of Spain, in a law signed June 11, 1594,[40] commanded the Spanish colonial officials in the Archipelago that these native royalties and nobilities be given the same respect, and privileges that they had enjoyed before their conversion. Their domains became self-ruled tributary barangays of the Spanish Empire.

The Filipino royals and nobles formed part of the exclusive, and elite ruling class, called the Principalía (Noble Class) of the Philippines. The Principalía was the class that constituted a birthright aristocracy with claims to respect, obedience, and support from those of subordinate status.[38]

With the recognition of the Spanish monarchs came the privilege of being addressed as Don or Doña.[41] - a mark of esteem and distinction in Europe reserved for a person of noble or royal status during the colonial period. Other honors and high regard were also accorded to the Christianized Datus by the Spanish Empire. For example, the Gobernadorcillos (elected leader of the Cabezas de Barangay or the Christianized Datus) and Filipino officials of justice received the greatest consideration from the Spanish Crown officials. The colonial officials were under obligation to show them the honor corresponding to their respective duties. They were allowed to sit in the houses of the Spanish Provincial Governors, and in any other places. They were not left to remain standing. It was not permitted for Spanish Parish Priests to treat these Filipino nobles with less consideration.[42]

The Gobernadorcillos exercised the command of the towns. They were Port Captains in coastal towns.[43] Their office corresponds to that of the alcaldes and municipal judges of the Iberian Peninsula. They performed at once the functions of judges and even of notaries with defined powers.[44] They also had the rights and powers to elect assistants and several lieutenants and alguaciles, proportionate in number to the inhabitants of the town.[44]

By the end of the 16th century, any claim to Filipino royalty, nobility, or hidalguía had disappeared into a homogenized, hispanized and Christianized nobility - the Principalía.[45] This remant of the pre-colonial royal and noble families continued to rule their traditional domain until the end of the Spanish Regime. However, there were cases when succession in leadership was also done through election of new leaders (Cabezas de Barangay), especially in provinces near the central colonial government in Manila where the ancient ruling families lost their prestige and role. Perhaps proximity to the central power diminished their significance. However, in distant territories, where the central authority had less control and where order could be maintained without using coercive measures, hereditary succession was still enforced until Spain lost the Archipelago to the Americans. These distant territories remained Patriarchal societies, where people retained great respect for the Principalía.[46]

The Principalía was larger and more influential than the pre-conquest Indigenous nobility. It helped create and perpetuate an oligarchic system in the Spanish colony for more than three hundred years.[47][48] The Spanish colonial government's prohibition for foreigners to own land in the Philippines contributed to the evolution of this form of oligarchy. In some provinces of the Philippines, many Spaniards and foreign merchants intermarried with the rich and landed Malayo-Polynesian local nobilities. From these unions, a new cultural group was formed, the Mestizo class.[49] Their descendants emerged later to become an influential part of the government, and the Principalía. .[50]

Present day Datus

The present day claimants of the title and rank of Datu are of three types. The two types are found in Mindanao, and the third type are those that live in the Christianized parts of the Philippines. They are:

1.) The Datus of the Muslim territories 2.) The Datus of the Lumad Tribal territories 3.) The descendants of the Principalía e.g. The royal datus of the Cuyunon Tribe of Palawan

The rights of the present day Datus are protected by a special law in the Country, known as "The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997".[51]

Present day Datus of Mindanao

In some indigenous Lumad and Muslim societies in Mindanao, titular Datus of ancient royal and noble families still exist. Some of them are active government officials of the Republic of the Philippines, while continuing their cultural and tribal roles as community leaders of their people. Some, although do not have official duties in the Republic, exercise some leadership roles in their tribes. Still others are claimants to these titles.

Heirs to the rank of Datu in the Catholic parts of the Philippines

In the Christian parts of the Philippines, descendants of the Principalía are the rightful claimants of the ancient sovereign royal and noble ranks (and their corresponding rights and privileges) of the pre-conquest kingdoms, principalities, and barangays of their ancestors. These descendants of the ancient ruling class are now among the landed aristocracy, intellectual elite, merchants, and politicians in the contemporary Filipino society. These people have had ancestors holding the titles of "Don" or "Doña" (which has also been used by Spanish royalties and nobilities) during the Spanish colonial period, as a compromise by the Spanish Crown to their previous indigenous titles.[41][52]

Honorary Datus

The title of "Honorary Datu" has also been conferred to certain foreigners and non-tribe members by the heads of local tribes and Principalities of ancient origin. During the colonial period, some of these titles carried with them immense legal privileges. For example, on 22 January 1878, Sultan Jamalul A'Lam of Sulu appointed the Baron de Overbeck (an Austrian who was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Consul-General in Hong Kong) as Datu Bendahara and as Rajah of Sandakan, with the fullest power of life and death over all the inhabitants.[53] At present, arrangements such as this can not carry similar legal bearing under the Philippine laws.

The various tribes and claimants to the royal titles of certain indigenous peoples in the Philippines have their own particular or personal customs in conferring local honorary titles, which correspond to the specific and traditional social structures of some indigenous peoples in the Country.[54][55]

(N.B. In unhispanized, unchristianized and unislamized parts of the Philippines, there exist other structures of society, which do not have hierarchical classes.)[15][56]

Modern legal prohibitions

A 1926 photograph of Bagobo (Manobo) warriors in full war regalia. The Bagobo are one of several Lumad tribes in Mindanao.

Article VI, Section 31 of the 1987 Constitution explicitly forbids the creation, granting, and use of new royal or noble titles.[57] Titles of "Honorary Datu" conferred by various ethnic groups to certain foreigners and non-tribe members by local chieftains are only forms of local award or appreciation for some goods or services done to a local tribe or to the person of the chieftain, and are not legally binding. Any contrary claim is otherwise unconstitutional under Philippine law, but exceptions are granted to some members of indigenous tribes, as traditional social structures are protected by the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997. This special law allows among tribal members to be conferred with traditional leadership titles as specified under the Law's Implementing rules and guidelines (Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 1998 of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples specifically under Rule IV, Part I, Section 2, a-c), which read:

a) Right to Confer Leadership Titles. The ICCs/IPs concerned, in accordance with their customary laws and practices, shall have the sole right to vest titles of leadership such as, but not limited to, Bae, Datu, Baylan, Timuay, Likid and such other titles to their members.
b) Recognition of Leadership Titles. To forestall undue conferment of leadership titles and misrepresentations, the ICCs/IPs concerned, may, at their option, submit a list of their recognized traditional socio-political leaders with their corresponding titles to the NCIP. The NCIP through its field offices, shall conduct a field validation of said list and shall maintain a national directory thereof.
c) Issuance of Certificates of Tribal Membership. Only the recognized registered leaders are authorized to issue certificates of tribal membership to their members. Such certificates shall be confirmed by the NCIP based on its census and records and shall have effect only for the purpose for which it was issued.

The fons honorum (source of honour) in the modern Philippine state is the sovereign Filipino people, who are equal in dignity under a democratic form of government.[57] The Philippine government grants state honours and decorations, and through the system of awards and decorations of its Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police. These honours do not grant or create titles of royalty or nobility, in accordance with the Constitution.

Deducing from the theory of Jean Bodin (1530–1596), a French jurist and political philosopher, it could be said that ancient Filipino royalties, who never relinquished their sovereign rights by voluntary means (according to opinions of some historians), of whom the sovereign powers over their territories (de facto sovereignty) passed on to the Spanish jura regalia through some disputed means, retain their "fons honorum" as part of their "de jure" sovereignty. Therefore, as long as the blood is alive in the veins of these royal houses, "de jure" sovereignty is alive as well—which means they can still bestow titles of nobility. However, the practical implications of this claim is unclear, e.g., in the case of usurpation of titles by other members of the bloodline.[58][59]

Heads of Dynasties (even the deposed ones) belong to one of the three kinds of sovereignty that has been existing in human society. The other two are: Heads of States (of all forms of government, e. g., monarchy, republican, communist, etc.), and Traditional Heads of the Church (both Roman Catholic and Orthodox). The authority that emanates from this last type is transmitted through an authentic Apostolic Succession,[60] i.e., direct lineage of ordination and succession of Office from the Apostles (from St. Peter, in case of the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church - the Pope).[61][62]

These sovereign authorities exercise the following sovereign rights and powers: “Ius Imperii” (the right to command and rule a territory or a juridical entity); “Ius Gladii” (the right to impose obedience through command and also control armies); “Ius Majestatis” (the right to be honored and respected according to one's title); and “Ius Honorum” (the right to award titles, merits and rights). Considering the theory of Jean Bodin, that "Sovereignty is one and indivisible, it cannot be delegated, sovereignty us irrevocable, sovereignty is perpetual, sovereignty is a supreme power", one can argue about the rights of deposed dynasties, also as "fons honorum". It can be said that their "Ius Honorum" depends on their rights as a family, and does not depend on the authority of the "de facto" government of a State. This is their "de jure" right. Even though it is not a "de facto" right, it is still a right. [60]

But again, in case of conflict of norms on "fons honorum" in actual situations, the legislations of the "de facto" sovereign authority have precedence. All others are abrogated, unless otherwise recognized under the terms of such de facto authority.[63]

This is the view to reconsider when we study the sovereignty based political impact of this 1986 law of the Republic of the Philippines, to the long established Sultanate of Sulu, the Sultanate of Maguindanao and the various kadatuan communities of the Lumad in Mindanao and Sulu.[64]

Others

{meaning of Datu in Meranau Olowan}

See also

References

  1. ↑ For more information about the social system of the Indigenous Philippine society before the Spanish colonization see Barangay in Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624: Los nobles de un barangay eran los más ricos ó los más fuertes, formándose por este sistema los dattos ó maguinoos, principes á quienes heredaban los hijos mayores, las hijas á falta de éstos, ó los parientes más próximos si no tenían descendencia directa; pero siempre teniendo en cuenta las condiciones de fuerza ó de dinero.
  2. ↑ “También fundó convento el Padre Fray Martin de Rada en Araut- que ahora se llama el convento de Dumangas- con la advocación de nuestro Padre San Agustín...Está fundado este pueblo casi a los fines del río de Halaur, que naciendo en unos altos montes en el centro de esta isla (Panay)...Es el pueblo muy hermoso, ameno y muy lleno de palmares de cocos. Antiguamente era el emporio y corte de la más lucida nobleza de toda aquella isla...Hay en dicho pueblo algunos buenos cristianos...Las visitas que tiene son ocho: tres en el monte, dos en el río y tres en el mar...Las que están al mar son: Santa Ana de Anilao, San Juan Evangelista de Bobog, y otra visita más en el monte, entitulada Santa Rosa de Hapitan.” Gaspar de San Agustin, O.S.A., Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565-1615), Manuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas: Madrid 1975, pp. 374-375.
  3. ↑ In Mindanao, there have been several Sultanates. The Sultanate of Maguindanao, Sultanate of Sulu, and Confederation of Sultanates in Lanao are among those more known in history. Cf. http://www.royalsocietydignitariesgroup.org/royal-house-of-sultan-council.php
  4. ↑ The Olongapo Story, July 28, 1953 - Bamboo Breeze - Vol.6, No.3
  5. ↑ Por otra parte, mientras en las Indias la cultura precolombiana había alcanzado un alto nivel, en Filipinas la civilización isleña continuaba manifestándose en sus estados más primitivos. Sin embargo, esas sociedades primitivas, independientes totalmente las unas de las otras, estaban en cierta manera estructuradas y se apreciaba en ellas una organización jerárquica embrionaria y local, pero era digna de ser atendida. Precisamente en esa organización local es, como siempre, de donde nace la nobleza. El indio aborigen, jefe de tribu, es reconocido como noble y las pruebas irrefutables de su nobleza se encuentran principalmente en las Hojas de Servicios de los militares de origen filipino que abrazaron la carrera de las Armas, cuando para hacerlo necesariamente era preciso demostrar el origen nobiliario del individuo. de Caidenas y Vicent, Vicente, Las Pruebas de Nobleza y Genealogia en Filipinas y Los Archivios en Donde se Pueden Encontrar Antecedentes de Ellas in Heraldica, Genealogia y Nobleza en los Editoriales de Hidalguia, (1953-1993: 40 años de un pensamiento). Madrid: 1993, HIDALGUIA, p. 232.
  6. ↑ The title is also being used in ethnic Minangkabau Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Cf. Dato and Datuk.
  7. ↑ "There were no kings or lords throughout these islands who ruled over them as in the manner of our kingdoms and provinces; but in every island, and in each province of it, many chiefs were recognized by the natives themselves. Some were more powerful than others, and each one had his followers and subjects, by districts and families; and these obeyed and respected the chief. Some chiefs had friendship and communication with others, and at times wars and quarrels. These principalities and lordships were inherited in the male line and by succession of father and son and their descendants. If these were lacking, then their brothers and collateral relatives succeeded... When any of these chiefs was more courageous than others in war and upon other occasions, such a one enjoyed more followers and men; and the others were under his leadership, even if they were chiefs. These latter retained to themselves the lordship and particular government of their own following, which is called barangay among them. They had datos and other special leaders [mandadores] who attended to the interests of the barangay." Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  8. ↑ Examples of Datus who took the title Rajah were Rajah Soliman, Rajah Matanda, and Rajah Humabon. Cf. Landa Jocano, Filipino Prehistory, Manila: 2001, p.160.
  9. ↑ Cf. Vicente de Cadenas y Vicent, "Las Pruebas de Nobleza y Genealogia en Filipinas y Los Archivios en Donde se Pueden Encontrar Antecedentes de Ellas" in "Heraldica, Genealogia y Nobleza en los Editoriales de «Hidalguia»", Madrid: 1993, Graficas Ariás Montano, S.A.-MONTOLES, pp. 232-235.
  10. ↑ By the end of the 16th century, any claim to Filipino royalty, nobility, or hidalguía had disappeared into a homogenized, hispanized, and Christianized nobility - the Principalía. Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 117-118. Cf. Also this article's section on Datu during the Spanish Regime and also the section on Prohibition of New Royal and Noble Titles in the Philippine Constitution.
  11. 1 2 3 Mindanao Land of Promise (archived from the original on 2008-10-28)
  12. ↑ "Lumad chieftain abandons rebel movement in Agusan". Manila Bulletin. 22 April 2009.
  13. ↑ Chieftains
  14. ↑ Historians classify four types of unhispanized societies in the Philippines, some of which still survive in remote and isolated parts of the Country:
    • Classless societies
    • Warrior societies, characterized by a distinct warrior class, in which membership is won by personal achievement, entails privilege, duty, and prescribed norms of conduct, and is requisite for community leadership
    • Petty plutocracies dominated socially and politically by a recognized class of rich men who attain membership through birthright, property, and by performing specified ceremonies. They are "petty" because their authority is localized, being extended by neither absentee landlordism nor territorial subjugation
    • Principalities: Scott's book mostly mentions examples in Mindanao, however, this form of society was predominant on the plains of the Visayan Islands and Luzon, during the pre-conquest era. Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 139.
  15. 1 2 Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 127-147.
  16. ↑ During the early part of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines the Spanish Augustinian Friar, Gaspar de San Agustín, O.S.A., describes Iloilo and Panay as one of the most populated islands in the archipelago and the most fertile of all the islands of the Philippines. He also talks about Iloilo, particularly the ancient settlement of Halaur, as site of a progressive trading post and a court of illustrious nobilities. The friar says: Es la isla de Panay muy parecida a la de Sicilia, así por su forma triangular come por su fertilidad y abundancia de bastimentos... Es la isla más poblada, después de Manila y Mindanao, y una de las mayores, por bojear más de cien leguas. En fertilidad y abundancia es en todas la primera... El otro corre al oeste con el nombre de Alaguer [Halaur], desembocando en el mar a dos leguas de distancia de Dumangas...Es el pueblo muy hermoso, ameno y muy lleno de palmares de cocos. Antiguamente era el emporio y corte de la más lucida nobleza de toda aquella isla...Mamuel Merino, O.S.A., ed., Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas (1565-1615), Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1975, pp. 374-376.
  17. ↑ The encomienda of 1604 shows that many coastal barangays in Panay, Leyte , Bohol and Cebu were flourishing trading centers. Some of these barangays had large populations. In Panay, some barangays had 20,000 inhabitants; in Leyte (Baybay) 15,000 inhabitants; and in Cebu, 3,500 residents. There were smaller barangays with less number of people. But these were generally inland communities; or if they were coastal, they were not located in areas good for business pursuits. Cf. F. Landa Jocano, Filipino Prehistory: Rediscovering Precolonial Heritage (1998), pp. 157-158, 164
  18. ↑ Leyte and Cebu, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Pasig, Laguna, and Cagayan River were flourishing trading centers. Some of these barangays had large populations. In Panay, some barangays had 20,000 inhabitants; in Leyte (Baybay), 15,000 inhabitants; in Cebu, 3,500 residents; in Vitis (Pampanga), 7,000 inhabitants; Pangsinan, 4,000 residents. There were smaller barangays with less number of people. But these were generally inland communities; or if they were coastal, they were not located in areas good for business pursuits. Cf. F. Landa Jocano, Filipino Prehistory: Rediscovering Precolonial Heritage (1998), pp. 157-158, 164
  19. ↑ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 4. Also cf. Antonio Morga, Sucessos de las Islas Filipinas, 2nd ed., Paris: 1890, p. xxxiii.
  20. ↑ The word "sakop" means "jurisdiction", and "Kinadatuan" refers to the realm of the Datu - his principality.
  21. ↑ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 102 and 112
  22. ↑ In Panay, even at present, the landed descendants of the Principales are still referred to as Agalon or Amo by their tenants. However, the tenants are no longer called Oripon (in Karay-a, i.e., the Ilonggo sub-dialect) or Olipun (in Sinâ, i.e., Ilonggo spoken in the lowlands and cities). Instead, the tenants are now commonly referred to as Tinawo (subjects)
  23. ↑ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 112- 118.
  24. ↑ http://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/pssr/article/viewFile/1274/1630 Seclusion and Veiling of Women: A Historical and Cultural Approach
  25. ↑ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXIX, pp. 290-291.
  26. ↑ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 113.
  27. ↑ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXIX, p. 292.
  28. ↑ Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 124-125.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 125.
  30. ↑ The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  31. ↑ "There were no kings or lords throughout these islands who ruled over them as in the manner of our kingdoms and provinces; but in every island, and in each province of it, many chiefs were recognized by the natives themselves. Some were more powerful than others, and each one had his followers and subjects, by districts and families; and these obeyed and respected the chief. Some chiefs had friendship and communication with others, and at times wars and quarrels. These principalities and lordships were inherited in the male line and by succession of father and son and their descendants. If these were lacking, then their brothers and collateral relatives succeeded... When any of these chiefs was more courageous than others in war and upon other occasions, such a one enjoyed more followers and men; and the others were under his leadership, even if they were chiefs. These latter retained to themselves the lordship and particular government of their own following, which is called barangay among them. They had datos and other special leaders [mandadores] who attended to the interests of the barangay." Antonio de Morga, The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Philippine Islands, Vols. 1 and 2, Chapter VIII.
  32. ↑ Cf. Report of the Franciscan Fray Letona to Fray Diego Zapata, high Official of the Franciscan Order and of the Inquisition in Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXIX, p. 281.
  33. ↑ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1905, Vol. XXXVI, p. 201.
  34. ↑ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. V, p. 155.
  35. 1 2 Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 99.
  36. ↑ Tous les descendants de ces chefs étaient regardés comme nobles et exempts des corvées et autres services auxquels étaient assujettis les roturiers que l on appelait "timaguas". Les femmes étaient nobles comme les hommes.J. Mallat, Les Philippines, histoire, geographie, moeurs, agriculture, industrie et commerce des Colonies espagnoles dans l'oceanie, Paris: 1846, p. 53.
  37. ↑ The Real Academia Espaňola defines Principal as a "person or thing that holds first place in value or importance, and is given precedence and preference before others". This Spanish term best describes the Datu class of the society in the Archipelago, which the Europeans came in contact with. Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 99.
  38. 1 2 Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 100.
  39. ↑ L'institution des chefs de barangay a été empruntée aux Indiens chez qui on l a trouvée établie lors de la conquête des Philippines; ils formaient, à cette époque une espèce de noblesse héréditaire. L'hérédité leur a été conservée aujourd hui: quand une de ces places devient vacante, la nomination du successeur est faite par le surintendant des finances dans les pueblos qui environnent la capitale, et, dans les provinces éloignées, par l alcalde, sur la proposition du gobernadorcillo et la présentation des autres membres du barangay; il en est de même pour les nouvelles créations que nécessite de temps à autre l augmentation de la population. Le cabeza, sa femme et l aîné de ses enfants sont exempts du tributo; après trois ans de service bien fait, on leur accorde le titre de "don" et celui de "pasado"; et ils demeurent exempts de tout service personnel; ils peuvent être élus gobernadorcillos. Les votes sont pris au scrutin secret et la moindre infraction aux règlements entraîne la nullité de l'élection. J. Mallat, Les Philippines, histoire, geographie, moeurs, agriculture, industrie et commerce des Colonies espagnoles dans l'oceanie, Paris: 1846, p. 356.
  40. ↑ “It is not right that the Indian chiefs of Filipinas be in a worse condition after conversion; rather they should have such treatment that would gain their affection and keep them loyal, so that with the spiritual blessings that God has communicated to them by calling them to His true knowledge, the temporal blessings may be added and they may live contentedly and comfortably. Therefore, we order the governors of those islands to show them good treatment and entrust them, in our name, with the government of the Indians, of whom they were formerly lords. In all else the governors shall see that the chiefs are benefited justly, and the Indians shall pay them something as a recognition, as they did during the period of their paganism, provided it be without prejudice to the tributes that are to be paid us, or prejudicial to that which pertains to their encomenderos.” Felipe II, Ley de Junio 11, 1594 in Recapilación de leyes, lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. Also cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVI, pp. 155-156.The original text in Spanish (Recapilación de leyes) says: No es justo, que los Indios Principales de Filipinas sean de peor condición, después de haberse convertido, ántes de les debe hacer tratamiento, que los aficione, y mantenga en felicidad, para que con los bienes espirituales, que Dios les ha comunicado llamándolos a su verdadero conocimiento, se junten los temporales, y vivan con gusto y conveniencia. Por lo qua mandamos a los Gobernadores de aquellas Islas, que les hagan buen tratamiento, y encomienden en nuestro nombre el gobierno de los Indios, de que eran Señores, y en todo lo demás procuren, que justamente se aprovechen haciéndoles los Indios algún reconocimiento en la forma que corría el tiempo de su Gentilidad, con que esto sin perjuicio de los tributos, que á Nos han de pagar, ni de lo que á sus Encomenderos. Juan de Ariztia, ed., Recapilación de leyes, Madrid (1723), lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. This reference can be found at the library of the Estudio Teologico Agustiniano de Valladolid in Spain.
  41. 1 2 Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XL, p. 218.
  42. ↑ Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XXVII, pp. 296-297.
  43. ↑ Gobernadorcillo in Encyclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Américana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S.A.,1991, Vol. XLVII, p. 410
  44. 1 2 Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, p. 329.
  45. ↑ William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, pp. 117-118.
  46. ↑ Esta institucion (Cabecería de Barangay), mucho más antigua que la sujecion de las islas al Gobierno, ha merecido siempre las mayores atencion. En un principio eran las cabecerías hereditarias, y constituian la verdadera hidalguía del país; mas del dia, si bien en algunas provincias todavía se tramiten por sucesion hereditaria, las hay tambien eleccion, particularmente en las provincias más inmediatas á Manila, en donde han perdido su prestigio y son una verdadera carga. En las provincias distantes todavía se hacen respetar, y allí es precisamente en donde la autoridad tiene ménos que hacer, y el órden se conserva sin necesidad de medidas coercitivas; porque todavía existe en ellas el gobierno patriarcal, por el gran respeto que la plebe conserva aún á lo que llaman aquí principalía. Juan Ferrando, O.P. , Historia de los PP Domenicanos en las Islas Filipinas y en sus Misiones del Japon, China, Tung-kin y Formosa, Madrid: 1870, p. 61. (N.B. Padre Ferrando was a Spanish Dominican Friar. He was former Rector and Chancellor of the Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila.)
  47. ↑ Cf. footnote n.3.
  48. ↑ Cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVII, p. 331; Ibid., Vol. XL, p. 218.
  49. ↑ Cf. also Encomienda; Hacienda.
  50. ↑ Cf. The Impact of Spanish Rule in the Philippines in www.seasite.niu.edu.
  51. ↑ "The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997." Sec. 2. Declaration of State Policies.- The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) hereunder enumerated within the framework of the Constitution: a) The State shall recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs within the framework of national unity and development; b)The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social and cultural well being and shall recognize the applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain; c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national laws and policies; d) The State shall guarantee that members of the ICCs/IPs regardless of sex, shall equally enjoy the full measure of human rights and freedoms without distinctions or discrimination; e) The State shall take measures, with the participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned, to protect their rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity, and to ensure that members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the population and f) The State recognizes its obligations to respond to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP participation in the direction of education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs, in order to render such services more responsive to the needs and desires of these communities. Towards these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, their rights to their ancestral domains.......(http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8371.htm,
  52. ↑ Cf. Barangay in Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europea-Americana, Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., 1991, Vol. VII, p.624. The article says: Los nobles de un barangay eran los más ricos ó los más fuertes, formándose por este sistema los dattos ó maguinoos, principes á quienes heredaban los hijos mayores, las hijas á falta de éstos, ó los parientes más próximos si no tenían descendencia directa; pero siempre teniendo en cuenta las condiciones de fuerza ó de dinero...Los vassalos plebeyos tenían que remar en los barcos del maguinoo, cultivar sus campos y pelear en la guerra. Los siervos, que formaban el término medio entre los esclavos y los hombres libres, podían tener propriedad individual, mujer, campos, casa y esclavos; pero los tagalos debían pagar una cantidad en polvo de oro equivalente á una parte de sus cosechas, los de los barangayes bisayas estaban obligados á trabajar en las tieras del señor cinco días al mes, pagarle un tributo anual en arroz y hacerle un presente en las fiestas. Durante la dominación española, el cacique, jefe de un barangay, ejercía funciones judiciales y administrativas. A los tres años tenía el tratamiento de don y se reconocía capacidad para ser gobernadorcillo, con facultades para nombrarse un auxiliar llamado primogenito, siendo hereditario el cargo de jefe. It should also be noted that the more popular and official term used to refer to the leaders of the district or to the cacique during the Spanish period was Cabeza de Barangay.
  53. ↑ Commission from Sultan of Sulu appointing Baron de Overbeck (an Austrian who was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire's Consul-General in Hong Kong) Dato Bendahara and Rajah of Sandakan. Dated 22nd of January 1878, The National Archives (United Kingdom).
  54. ↑ Sultanate of Sulu
  55. ↑ Welcome to the official website of the Royal House of Sulu
  56. ↑ Historians classify four types of unhispanized societies in the Philippines, some of which still survive in remote and isolated parts of the Country: 1.) Classless societies; 2.) Warrior societies, characterized by a distinct warrior class, in which membership is won by personal achievement, entails privilege, duty and prescribed norms of conduct, and is requisite for community leadership; 3.) Petty Plutocracies, which are dominated socially and politically by a recognized class of rich men who attain membership through birthright, property and the performance of specified ceremonies. They are "petty" because their authority is localized, being extended by neither absentee landlordism nor territorial subjugation; and 4.) Principalities. Although in his book, Scot mentioned mostly examples found in Mindanao, however, this form of society was predominant on ths plains of Visayan Islands, as well as in Luzon, during the pre-conquest era. Cf. William Henry Scott, Cracks in the Parchment Curtain, Quezon City: 1998, p. 139.
  57. 1 2 Philippine Constitution - Preamble
  58. ↑ “There are not a few judgments, civil and criminal, albeit some very recent, all of which to accept traditional principles re-enunciated not long since. The issue is that of innate nobility—jure sanguinis—that looks into the prerogatives known as jus majestatis and jus honorum, and argues that the holder of such prerogatives is a subject of international law with the logical consequences of that situation. That is to say, a deposed sovereign may legitimately confer titles of nobility, with or without predicates, and the honorifics that pertain to his heraldic patrimony as head of his dynasty. The qualities that render a deposed Sovereign a subject of international law are undeniable, and in fact constitute an absolute personal right the subject may never divest himself of, and that needs no ratification or recognition from any other authority. A reigning Sovereign or Head of State may use the term recognition\ to demonstrate the existence of such a right, but the term is a mere declaration and not a constitutive act”. A notable example of this principle is that of the People's Republic of China, which for a considerable time was not recognized and therefore not admitted to the United Nations, but nonetheless continued to exercise its functions as a sovereign state through both its internal and external organs. “The prerogatives we are examining may be denied and a sovereign state within the limits of its own sphere of influence may prevent the exercise by a deposed Sovereign of his rights in the same way as it may paralyze the use of any right not provided in its own legislation. However such negating action does not go to the existence of such a right and bears only on its exercise. To sum up, therefore, the Italian judiciary, in those cases submitted to its jurisdiction, has confirmed the prerogatives jure sanguinis of a dethroned Sovereign without any vitiation of its effects, whereby in consequence it has explicitly recognized the right to confer titles of nobility and other honorifics relative to his dynastic heraldic patrimony. In particular it has defined the above-mentioned honorifics, among which are those non-national Orders mentioned in Article 7 of the (Italian) Law of the 3rd. March 1951, which prohibits private persons from conferring honors. As to titles of nobility, while their bestowal is legitimate, it must be observed that they receive no protection whatsoever from Italian law, which no longer recognizes statutory nobility, in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic. Thus, the concept of the usurpation of a nobiliary title falls outside of Italian legislation.” Cf. Professor Emilio Furno (Advocate in the Italian Supreme Court of Appeal), The Legitimacy of Non-National Orders in Rivista Penale, No.1, January 1961, pp. 46-70.
  59. ↑ Nobiliary Law
  60. 1 2 Cf. also Paulo Bonavides, Political Sciences (Ciência Política), p. 126.
  61. ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2012 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2012 ISBN 978-88-209-8722-0), p. 12.
  62. ↑ Cf. Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, n. 8.
  63. ↑ Also cf. Professor Emilio Furno (Advocate in the Italian Supreme Court of Appeal), The Legitimacy of Non-National Orders in Rivista Penale, No.1, January 1961, pp. 46-70.
  64. ↑ http://www.acpp.org/uappeals/bground/mindanao.html

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