Philippines: Pre-Colonial History

Historical Antecedents in the Philippines

Pre-Colonial Period

Culture and Traditions

• Early Filipinos practiced animism, believing objects, places, and creatures possess spiritual qualities
• This belief is the earliest and most primitive, associating the world with spirits called diwata instead of deities
• Early Filipinos relied on these spirits, attributing natural phenomena to their actions, which hindered the observation of natural phenomena

Writing System

• Filipinos knew how to read and write in their own system, mainly for messages and letters
• They did not develop a written literary tradition, which would have facilitated knowledge accumulation for science and technology development
• Baybayin was the early Filipino script

Social Organization

• Barangays were geographically scattered, self-sufficient, and autonomous communities before the Spanish
• They were subsistence economies, producing for themselves, except for traders

Craftsmanship

• For about 40,000 years, simple tools/weapons of stone flakes were made
• Sawing, drilling, and polishing hard stones techniques developed
• Stone Age inhabitants formed settlements in major Philippine islands
• By 3,000 B.C., adzes ornaments of seashells and pottery designs were in production
• Metal tools and implements (copper, gold, bronze, and iron) used
• The Iron Age lasted from the second/third century B.C. to the tenth century A.D.
• Excavations revealed iron slags, suggesting iron extraction, smelting, and refining

Transportation

• Filipinos built boats for coastal trade, with highly developed technology by the tenth century A.D.
• Caracoa was a refined warship noted by the Spanish
• By the tenth century A.D., Butuan traded with Champa (Vietnam), and Ma-i (Mindoro) with China
• Chinese records indicate regular trade relations between the 2 countries from the tenth to fifteenth centuries

Agriculture

• Early Filipinos grew rice, cotton, and other vegetables and domesticated swine, goats, and fowls
• Lowland rice was cultivated in diked fields, with terraced fields utilizing spring water in mountain regions

Settlement

• Groups of Filipinos were divided by settlement: coastal areas and mountain settlements
• Coastal settlements (Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, Southern Mindanao, Sulu) had more sophisticated technology via foreign trade
• Mountain settlements remained as hunters, trading forest products with the lowlands

Tools and Products

• Filipinos raised swine, goats, and fowls; made wine, vinegar, and salt; wove cloth; produced beeswax and honey; grew rice, vegetables, and cotton
• Gold mining occurred in Panay, Mindoro, and Bicol
• Beeswax, used to construct hives, was historically used in creating statues, bronze preservation, and even treating burns and wounds
• Tools found in Raja Soliman's Manila house indicated sophistication
• Copper (table display), porcelain jars (food storage), iron (Lantaka warfare), and handwoven blankets

Spanish Regime

Education

• Spain issued decrees to establish a school system, but they were ineffective
• Primary instruction was religious in nature
• Higher education was provided by religious orders in urban centers like Manila
• The Jesuits founded Colegio de San Ildefonso (1595) in Cebu City; Colegio de San Ignacio (1595), Colegio de San Jose (1601), Ateneo de Manila (1859) in Manila
• Dominicans had the Colegio de San Juan de Letran (1640) in Manila
• Access to these schools was limited to the elite
• Bachiller en Artes offered in the 19th century included science
• Higher education aimed for priesthood or clerical positions
• Technical/vocational schools established in the late nineteenth century
• Few Filipinos could study in Europe (Jose Rizal, Jose Alejandrino, Graciano Apacible, Antonio Luna)

Reduccion System

• Barangays were organized into fewer, compact towns around church bells
• Cabezas de barangay (Teniente del Barrio) appointed
• King Philip II decreed the native nobility retain honors
• Head of town, Gobernadorcillo/Capitan Municipal, was elected from their ranks

Agriculture

• Manila School of Agriculture was created in 1887 but opened in 1889 to provide education to skilled farmers and promote development
• Agricultural stations established in parts of the Philippines
• School was financed by the government but directed by priests
• Limited development occurred due to dependence on the Galleon/Manila-Acapulco trade (1565-1813)
• This trade relied on Chinese goods exchanged for Mexican silver
• Manila prospered as the Orient entrepot
• Filipinos hardly benefited; trade was limited to Spanish inhabitants
• Chinese profited most, acting as packers, middlemen, and retailers
• Spanish preoccupation with the Manila Galleon led to agriculture and industry neglect

American Regime

Education

• Science and technology advanced rapidly
• Extensive public education system
• Scholarships for higher education in science and engineering
• Science research agencies were organized
• Establishment of science based public services
• All Filipino children were given the right to education
• The Department of Public Instruction provided free primary education to Filipinos utilizing English
• The Philippine Normal School (PNS), later Philippine Normal University (PNU), trained teachers in order to establish teaching standards or norms
• The Americans established the University of the Philippines in Manila
• The Private School Act (Act No. 2076) recognized private schools as educational, not commercial, institutions
• The Office of Private Education improved private schools' educational machinery
• The National Research Council of the Philippine Islands (NRCP) was established in 1933 to promote scientific research dividing policies into: social sciences, humanities, education, internal policies and governance, physics, engineering, industrial research, earth/space sciences, mathematics; medical, chemical/pharmaceutical science; biological sciences, agriculture, and forestry
• Education primarily promoted the development of science and technology in the Philippines

Economy

• The country remained an exporter of crops and raw materials to the U.S. and an importer of U.S. manufactured products due to the free trade relations
• Lacked the opportunity to produce higher value goods
• Abundant natural resources were traded tax-free to the United States during this time
• This halted industrialization

Commonwealth Period

• Marked the beginning of transformation to a politically independent nation
• Several government corporations were brought forth
• National Economic and Development Authority was responsible for economic development and planning
• National Power Corporation was mandated to provide electricity to all parts of the Philippines by 2025
• Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority promotes the growth of the fiber industry
• Goal was economic self-reliance but never attained due to foreign trade policies being controlled by Americans with Japanese troops creating further chaos

Period Since Independence

• Rise of learning institutions such as the Department of Education and Culture (now, DepEd) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
• DepEd creates policies for the welfare of Filipino students in basic education
• DOST was established to meet the increasing demands for S&T intervention in national development:
• To meet the increasing demands for intervention of science and technology in national development
• Pursuing the local capability for technological self-reliance
• Encouraging greater private sector participation in S&T development

Existing Programs Supported by the Philippine Government

• The Department of Science and Technology provides funding, scholarships, science schools, Balik Scientist Program, and K-12 program
• Funding provides grants for basic researches to increase scientific knowledge
• Undergraduate and graduate scholarships are granted to deserving Filipino students on priority fields
• The DOST supports the establishment of more branches of the Philippine Science High School
• Balik Scientist Program contracts science experts (Filipinos or of Filipino descent) to return to work in the Philippines
• The K-12 program provides students with mastery of skills and concepts to prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship