History of the Philippines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The history of the Philippines is believed to have begun with the arrival of the first humans using rafts or boats at least 67,000 years ago as the 2007 discovery of Callao Man suggested. Negrito groups first inhabited the isles. Groups of Austronesians later migrated to the islands.

Scholars generally believe that these social groups eventually developed into various settlements or polities with varying degrees of economic specialization, social stratification, and political organization.^[5] Some of these settlements (mostly those located on major river deltas) achieved such a scale of social complexity that some scholars believe they should be considered early states.^[6] This includes the predecessors of modern-day population centers such as Maynila, Tondo, Pangasinan, Cebu, Panay, Bohol, Butuan, Cotabato, Lanao, and Sulu^[2] as well as some polities, such as Ma-i, whose possibly location are still the subject of debate among scholars.^[7]

These polities were either influenced by the Hindu-Buddhist^[8] Indian religion, language, culture, literature and philosophy from India through many campaigns from India including the South-East Asia campaign of Rajendra Chola I,^[9] Islam from Arabia or were Sinified tributary states allied to China. These small maritime states flourished from the 1st millennium.^[10][11] These kingdoms traded with what are now called China, India, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.^[12] The remainder of the settlements were independent barangays allied with one of the larger states.

The first recorded visit by Europeans is the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan. He sighted Samar Island on March 16, 1521 and landed the next day on Homonhon Island, now part of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.^[13] Spanish colonization began with the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi's expedition on February 13, 1565 from Mexico. He established the first permanent settlement in Cebu.^[14] Much of the archipelago came under Spanish rule, creating the first unified political structure known as the Philippines. Spanish colonial rule saw the introduction of Christianity, the code of law and the oldest modern university in Asia. The Philippines was ruled under the Mexico-based Viceroyalty of New Spain. After which, the colony was directly governed by Spain.

Spanish rule ended in 1898 with Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War. The Philippines then became a territory of the United States. U.S forces suppressed a Philippine Revolution led by Emilio Aguinaldo. The United States established the Insular Government to rule the Philippines. In 1907, the elected Philippine Assembly was set up with popular elections. The U.S. promised independence in the Jones Act.^[15] The Philippine Commonwealth was established in 1935, as a 10-year interim step prior to full independence. However, in 1942 during World War II, Japan occupied the Philippines. The U.S. military overpowered the Japanese in 1945. The Treaty of Manila in 1946 established an independent Philippine Republic.

Timeline

Prehistory

Docking station and entrance to the Tabon Cave Complex Site in Palawan, where one of the oldest human remains was located.

Discovery of stone tools and fossils of butchered animal remains in Rizal, Kalinga described in a 2018 article in Nature has pushed back evidence of early hominins in the country to as early as 709,000 years.^[16] Still, the earliest archeological evidence for man in the archipelago is the 67,000-year-old Callao Man of Cagayan and the Angono Petroglyphs in Rizal, both of whom appear to suggest the presence of human settlement prior to the arrival of the Negritos and Austronesian speaking people.

There are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos. F. Landa Jocano theorizes that the ancestors of the Filipinos evolved locally.^{[citation needed]} Wilhelm Solheim's Island Origin Theory^[22] postulates that the peopling of the archipelago transpired via trade networks originating in the Sundaland area around 48,000 to 5000 BC rather than by wide-scale migration. The Austronesian Expansion Theory states that Malayo-Polynesians coming from Taiwan began migrating to the Philippines around 4000 BC, displacing earlier arrivals.^[23][24]

The Negritos were early settlers, but their appearance in the Philippines has not been reliably dated.^[25] They were followed by speakers of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, a branch of the Austronesian language family, who began to arrive in successive waves beginning about 4000 BC, displacing the earlier arrivals.^[26][27] Before the expansion out of Taiwan, recent archaeological, linguistic and genetic evidence has linked Austronesian speakers in Insular Southeast Asia to cultures such as the Hemudu, its successor the Liangzhu^[28][29] and Dapenkeng in Neolithic China. During this neolithic period, a "jade culture" is said to have existed as evidenced by tens of thousands of exquisitely crafted jade artifacts found in the Philippines dated to 2000 BC.^[35][36] The jade is said to have originated nearby in Taiwan and is also found in many other areas in insular and mainland Southeast Asia. These artifacts are said to be evidence of long range communication between prehistoric Southeast Asian societies.^[37]
 

The Ifugao/Igorot people utilized terrace farming in the steep mountainous regions of northern Philippines over 2000 years ago.

By 1000 BC, the inhabitants of the Philippine archipelago had developed into four distinct kinds of peoples: tribal groups, such as the Aetas, Hanunoo, Ilongots and the Mangyan who depended on hunter-gathering and were concentrated in forests; warrior societies, such as the Isneg and Kalinga who practiced social ranking and ritualized warfare and roamed the plains; the petty plutocracy of the Ifugao Cordillera Highlanders, who occupied the mountain ranges of Luzon; and the harbor principalities of the estuarine civilizations that grew along rivers and seashores while participating in trans-island maritime trade.^[38] It was also during the first millennium BC that early metallurgy was said to have reached the archipelagos of maritime Southeast Asia via trade with India^[39][40]

Around 300–700 AD, the seafaring peoples of the islands traveling in balangays began to trade with the Indianized kingdoms in the Malay Archipelago and the nearby East Asian principalities, adopting influences from both Buddhism and Hinduism.^[41][42]

The Jade culture

Metal lingling-o earrings from Luzon.

Existence of a "Jade culture" in the Philippines is evidenced by tens of thousands of exquisitely crafted jade artifacts found at a site in Batangas province.^[35][36]

Jade artifacts are made from white and green nephrite and dating as far back as 2000–1500 BC, have been discovered at a number of archeological excavations in the Philippines since the 1930s. The artifacts have been both tools like adzes^[43] and chisels, and ornaments such as lingling-o earrings, bracelets and beads.

Nephrite, otherwise known as Jade, is a mineral widely used throughout Asia as ornaments or for decorative purposes. The oldest jade artefacts in Asia (6000 BC) were found in China where they were used as the primary hardstone of Chinese sculpturing. In 3000 BC, jade production in the Hongsan and Liangzhu cultures of China reached its peak. During this period, the knowledge of jade craftsmanship spread across the sea to Taiwan and eventually to the Philippines. The artefacts discovered in several sites in the Philippines were made from nephrite. Nephrite excavated in the Philippines were of two types: white nephrite and green nephrite.^[44]

The Sa Sa Huỳnh Culture

Asia in 200 BC, showing Sa Huỳnh cultures in southeast Asia

The Sa Huỳnh culture centred on present-day Vietnam, showed evidence of an extensive trade network. Sa Huỳnh beads were made from glass, carnelian, agate, olivine, zircon, gold and garnet; most of these materials were not local to the region, and were most likely imported. Han dynasty-style bronze mirrors were also found in Sa Sa Huỳnh sites.

Conversely, Sa Sa Huỳnh produced ear ornaments have been found in archaeological sites in Central Thailand, Taiwan (Orchid Island), and in the Philippines, in the Palawan, Tabon Caves. One of the great examples is the Kalanay Cave in Masbate; the artefacts on the site in one of the "Sa Huyun-Kalanay" pottery complex sites were dated 400BC–1500 AD. The Maitum Anthropomorphic Pottery in the Sarangani Province of southern Mindanao is c. 200 AD.^[45][46]

Timeline of Iron age

 

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details 

Prehistoric (or Proto-historic) Iron Age      Historic Iron Age

Pre-colonial period (900 AD to 1565)

s in the Philippine archipelago

Initial recorded history

Piloncitos, a type of gold nugget with Baybayin Ma characters. Used as one of the early currencies along with gold rings

During the period of the south Indian Pallava dynasty and the north Indian Gupta Empire, Indian culture spread to Southeast Asia and the Philippines which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms.^[47][48] The end of Philippine prehistory is 900,^[49] the date inscribed in the oldest Philippine document found so far, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription. From the details of the document, written in Kawi script, the bearer of a debt, Namwaran, along with his children Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are cleared of a debt by the ruler of Tondo. From the various Sanskrit terms and titles seen in the document, the culture and society of Manila Bay was that of a Hindu–Old Malay amalgamation, similar to the cultures of Java, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra at the time.
There are no other significant documents from this period of pre-Hispanic Philippine society and culture until the Doctrina Christiana of the late 16th century, written at the start of the Spanish period in both native Baybayin script and Spanish. Other artifacts with Kawi script and baybayin were found, such as an Ivory seal from Butuan dated to the early 11th century^[50] and the Calatagan pot with baybayin inscription, dated to the 13th century.^[51]
 

Tagalog royal couple belonging to the Maginoo class

In the years leading up to 1000, there were already several maritime societies existing in the islands but there was no unifying political state encompassing the entire Philippine archipelago. Instead, the region was dotted by numerous semi-autonomous barangays (settlements ranging in size from villages to city-states) under the sovereignty of competing thalassocracies ruled by datus, wangs, rajahs, sultans or lakans.^[52] or by upland agricultural societies ruled by "petty plutocrats". States such as the Kingdom of Maynila, the Kingdom of Taytay in Palawan (mentioned by Antonio Pigafetta to be where they resupplied when the remaining ships escaped Cebu after Magellan was slain), the Chieftaincy of Coron Island ruled by fierce warriors called Tagbanua as reported by Spanish missionaries mentioned by Nilo S. Ocampo,^[53] Namayan, the Kingdom of Tondo, the Sinitic wangdom of Pangasinan, the nation of Ma-i, the Kedatuans of Madja-as and Dapitan, the Indianized rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu and the sultanates of Maguindanao, Lanao and Sulu existed alongside the highland societies of the Ifugao and Mangyan.^{[54][55][56][57]} Some of these regions were part of the Malayan empires of Srivijaya, Majapahit and Brunei.^[58][59][60]

The Polity of Tondo

Since at least the year 900, this thalassocracy centered in Manila Bay flourished via an active trade with Chinese, Japanese, Malays, and various other peoples in Asia. Tondo thrived as the capital and the seat of power of this ancient kingdom, which was led by kings under the title "Lakan" which belongs to the caste of the Maharlika, who were the feudal warrior class in ancient Tagalog society. They ruled a large part of what is now known as Luzon from Ilocos to Bicol from possibly before 900 AD to 1571, becoming the largest pre-colonial Philippine state. The Spaniards called them Hidalgos.

The people of Tondo had developed a culture which is predominantly Hindu and Buddhist, they were also good agriculturists, and lived through farming and aquaculture. During its existence, it grew to become one of the most prominent and wealthy kingdom states in pre-colonial Philippines due to heavy trade and connections with several neighboring nations such as China and Japan.

The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, c. 900 CE. The oldest known historical record found in the Philippines, which indirectly refers to the polity of Tondo

Due to its very good relations with Japan, the Japanese called Tondo as Luzon, even a famous Japanese merchant, Luzon Sukezaemon, went as far as to change his surname from Naya to Luzon. In 900 AD, the lord-minister Jayadewa presented a document of debt forgiveness to Lady Angkatan and her brother Bukah, the children of Namwaran. This is described in the Philippines' oldest known document, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription.^[63]

Caboloan (Pangasinan)

Pangasinan or Feng-chia-hsi-lan in Chinese records, was a sovereign Prehispanic Philippine state, notable for having traded with the Kingdom of Ryukyu, Japan and was a tributary state to Ming Dynasty. The Chinese records of this kingdom began when the first tributary King (Wang in Chinese), Kamayin, sent an envoy offering gifts to the Chinese Emperor.^[64] The state occupies the current province of Pangasinan. It was locally known the Luyag na Kaboloan (also spelled Caboloan), with Binalatongan as its capital, existed in the fertile Agno River valley. It flourished around the same period, the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires arose in Indonesia which had extended their influence to much of the Malay Archipelago. Urduja, a legendary woman warrior, is believed to have ruled in Pangasinan around the 14th century. The Luyag na Kaboloan expanded the territory and influence of Pangasinan to what are now the neighboring provinces of Zambales, La Union, Tarlac, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, and Nueva Vizcaya. Pangasinan enjoyed full independence until the Spanish conquest.
In the sixteenth century Pangasinan was called the "Port of Japan" by the Spanish. The locals wore native apparel typical of other maritime Southeast Asian ethnic groups in addition to Japanese and Chinese silks. Even common people were clad in Chinese and Japanese cotton garments. They also blackened their teeth and were disgusted by the white teeth of foreigners, which were likened to that of animals. Also, used porcelain jars typical of Japanese and Chinese households. Japanese-style gunpowder weapons were also encountered in naval battles in the area.^[1] In exchange for these goods, traders from all over Asia would come to trade primarily for gold and slaves, but also for deerskins, civet and other local products. Other than a notably more extensive trade network with Japan and China, they were culturally similar to other Luzon groups to the south.

The Nation of Ma-i

Around 1225, the nation of Ma-i, a pre-Hispanic Philippine island-state centered in Mindoro,^[65] flourished as an entrepôt, attracting traders and shipping from the Kingdom of Ryukyu to the Empire of Japan.^[66] Chao Jukua, a customs inspector in Fukien province, China wrote the Zhufan Zhi ("Description of the Barbarous Peoples"^[67]), which described trade with this pre-colonial Philippine state. Its people were noted for their honesty and trustworthiness in trade.^[68]

The Kedatuan of Madja-as

Images from the Boxer Codex illustrating an ancient kadatuan or tumao (noble class) Visayan couple.

A royal couple of the Visayans.

During the 11th century several exiled datus of the collapsing empire of Srivijaya^[69] led by Datu Puti led a mass migration to the central islands of the Philippines, fleeing from Rajah Makatunao of the island of Borneo. Upon reaching the island of Panay and purchasing the island from Negrito chieftain Marikudo, they established a confederation of polities and named it the Kedatuan of Madja-as centered in Aklan and they settled the surrounding islands of the Visayas. This confederation reached its peak under Datu Padojinog. During his reign the confederations' hegemony extended over most of the islands of Visayas. Its people consistently made piratical attacks against Chinese imperial shipping.^[70]

The Rajahnate of Cebu

Trading at Port of Sugbu, Chinese, Anamese, Cambodian, Europeans and Arabs entered and traded at the Cebu Port. Gold, cotton, and slaves were bartered in exchange of silk, porcelain, beads, and other metals. Traders paid tribute to the Rajah of Cebu.

The Rajahnate of Cebu was a classical Philippine state which used to exist on Cebu island prior to the arrival of the Spanish. It was founded by Sri Lumay otherwise known as Rajamuda Lumaya, a minor prince of the Hindu Chola dynasty which happened to occupy Sumatra-Indonesia. He was sent by the maharajah to establish a base for expeditionary forces to subdue the local kingdoms but he rebelled and established his own independent Rajahnate instead. This rajahnate warred against the 'magalos' (Slave traders) of Maguindanao and had an alliance with the Rajahnate of Butuan and Indianized Kutai in South Borneo, before it was weakened by the insurrection of Datu Lapu-Lapu.^[71]

The Rajahnate of Butuan

By year 1011, Rajah Sri Bata Shaja, the monarch of the Indianized Rajahnate of Butuan, a maritime-state famous for its goldwork^[72] sent a trade envoy under ambassador Likan-shieh to the Chinese Imperial Court demanding equal diplomatic status with other states.^[73] The request being approved, it opened up direct commercial links with the Rajahnate of Butuan and the Chinese Empire thereby diminishing the monopoly on Chinese trade previously enjoyed by their rivals, Tondo and the Champa civilization.^[74] Evidence of the existence of this rajahnate is given by the Butuan Silver Paleograph.^[75]

The Sultanate of Sulu

The official flag of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu under the guidance of Ampun Sultan Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram of Sulu.

In 1380, Karim ul' Makdum and Shari'ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab trader born in Johore, arrived in Sulu from Malacca and established the Sultanate of Sulu by converting its previous ruler, the Hindu king, Rajah Baguinda, to Islam and then marrying his daughter. This sultanate eventually gained great wealth due to its diving for fine pearls.^[76]

The Sultanate of Maguindanao

The bust of Sultan Muhammad Kudarat of Maguindanao at Rizal Park.

The Sultanate of Maguindanao rose to prominence at the end of the 15th century, Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan of Johor introduced Islam in the island of Mindanao and he subsequently married Paramisuli, an Iranun Princess

from Mindanao, and established the Sultanate of Maguindanao.^[77] It ruled most parts of Mindanao and continued to exist prior to the Spanish colonization until the 19th century. The Sultanate also traded and maintained good relations with the Chinese, Dutch, and the British.^[78][79]

The Sultanate of Lanao

The Sultanates of Lanao in Mindanao, Philippines were founded in the 16th century through the influence of Shariff Kabungsuan, who was enthroned as first Sultan of Maguindanao in 1520. Islam was introduced to the area by Muslim missionaries and traders from the Middle East, Indian and Malay regions who propagated Islam to Sulu and Maguindanao. Unlike in Sulu and Maguindanao, the Sultanate system in Lanao was uniquely decentralized. The area was divided into Four Principalities of Lanao or the Pat a Pangampong a Ranao which are composed of a number of royal houses (Sapolo ago Nem a Panoroganan or The Sixteen (16) Royal Houses) with specific territorial jurisdictions within mainland Mindanao. This decentralized structure of royal power in Lanao was adopted by the founders, and maintained up to the present day, in recognition of the shared power and prestige of the ruling clans in the area, emphasizing the values of unity of the nation (kaiisaisa o bangsa), patronage (kaseselai) and fraternity (kapapagaria). By the 16th century, Islam had spread to other parts of the Visayas and Luzon.

The Bruneian Empire and the expansion of Islam

Prior to the usage of the Arabic style merged with Modernist style common in mosque architecture in the Philippines today, the mosques of the Philippines used to be the vernacular hut-style and Pagoda-style, which were common until the late 19th century.

During the reign of Sultan Bolkiah in 1485 to 1521, the Islamized Bruneian Empire decided to break the Dynasty of Tondo's monopoly in the China trade by attacking Tondo and defeating Rajah Gambang and then establishing the State of Selurong (Kingdom of Maynila) as a Bruneian satellite-state.^[3][80] A new dynasty under the Islamized Rajah Salalila^[81] was also established to challenge the House of Lakandula in Tondo.^[82] In addition to establishing the satellite state of Manila, Sultan Bolkiah also married Laila Mecana, the daughter of Sulu Sultan Amir Ul-Ombra to expand Brunei's influence in both Luzon and Mindanao. Furthermore, Islam was further strengthened by the arrival to the Philippines of traders and proselytizers from Malaysia and Indonesia.^[83]

Concurrent with the spread of Islam in the Philippine archipelago, was the rise of the Lucoes who were the people of Luzon. They rose to prominence by participating in trading ventures and military campaigns in Myanmar, Malacca and East Timor^[84][85][86] where they were employed as traders and mercenaries.^[87][88][89]

Around 1563 AD, at the closing stages of the precolonial era, the Kedatuan of Dapitan in Bohol achieved prominence and it was known to a later Spanish missionary, Alcina, as the "Venice of the Visayas", because it was a wealthy, wooden and floating city-state in the Visayas. However, this kedatuan was eventually attacked and destroyed by soldiers from the Sultanate of Ternate, a state made up of Muslim Papuan people. The survivors of the destruction, led by their datu, Pagbuaya, migrated to northern Mindanao and established a new Dapitan there. Eventually, in vengeance against the Muslims and Portuguese allied to the Ternateans, they aided the Spanish in the conquest of Muslim Manila and in the Spanish expeditions to capture Portuguese Ternate. There was also a simmering territorial conflict between the Polity of Tondo and the Bruneian vassal-state, the Islamic Rajahnate of Maynila, to which the ruler of Maynila, Rajah Matanda, sought military assistance against Tondo from his relatives at the Sultanate of Brunei.^[90] The Hindu Rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu also endured slave raids from, and waged wars against the Sultanate of Maguindanao.^[91] Simultaneous with these slave-raids, was the rebellion of Datu Lapu-Lapu of Mactan against Rajah Humabon of Cebu.^[92] The sparse population and the multiple states competing over the limited territory and people of the islands simplified Spanish colonization by allowing its conquistadors to effectively employ a strategy of divide and conquer for rapid conquest.

Spanish settlement and rule (1565–1898)

Early Spanish expeditions and conquests

Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521.

Parts of the Philippine Islands were known to Europeans before the 1521 Spanish expedition around the world led by Portuguese-born Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan (the Portuguese conquered Malacca City in 1511 and reached Maluku Islands in 1512 ). Magellan landed on the island called Homonhon, claiming the islands he saw for Spain, and naming them Islas de San Lázaro.^[93] He established friendly relations with some of the local leaders especially with Rajah Humabon and converted some of them to Roman Catholicism.^[93] In the Philippines, they explored many islands including the island of Mactan. However, Magellan was killed during the Battle of Mactan against the local datu, Lapu-Lapu.

Old Spanish Chart of the Philippine Islands

Over the next several decades, other Spanish expeditions were dispatched to the islands. In 1543, Ruy López de Villalobos led an expedition to the islands and gave the name Las Islas Filipinas (after Philip II of Spain) to the islands of Samar and Leyte.^[94] The name was then extended to the entire archipelago later on in the Spanish era.

A late 17th-century manuscript by Gaspar de San Agustin from the Archive of the Indies, depicting López de Legazpi's conquest of the Philippines

European colonization began in earnest when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first European settlements in Cebu. Beginning with just five ships and five hundred men accompanied by Augustinian monks, and further strengthened in 1567 by two hundred soldiers, he was able to repel the Portuguese and create the foundations for the colonization of the Archipelago. In 1571, the Spanish, their Latin-American recruits and their Visayan allies attacked and occupied the kingdom of Tondo as well as Maynila, a vassal-state of the Brunei Sultanate, establishing Manila as the capital of the Spanish East Indies.

Monument in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu in the Philippines.

Legazpi built a fort in Maynila and made overtures of friendship to Lakan Dula, Lakan of Tondo, who accepted. However, Maynila's former ruler, the Muslim rajah, Rajah Sulayman, who was a vassal to the Sultan of Brunei, refused to submit to Legazpi, but failed to get the support of Lakan Dula or of the Pampangan and Pangasinan settlements to the north. When Tarik Sulayman and a force of Kapampangan and Tagalog Muslim warriors attacked the Spaniards in the battle of Bankusay, he was finally defeated and killed.

In 1578, the Castilian War erupted between the Christian Spaniards and Muslim Bruneians over control of the Philippine archipelago. On one side, the newly Christianized Non-Muslim Visayans of the Kedatuan of Madja-as and Rajahnate of Cebu, plus the Rajahnate of Butuan (which were from northern Mindanao), as well as the remnants of the Kedatuan of Dapitan had previously waged war against the Sultanate of Sulu and Kingdom of Maynila, then joined the Spanish in the war against the Bruneian Empire and its allies, the Bruneian puppet-state of Maynila and Sulu which had dynastic links with Brunei. The Spanish and its Visayan allies assaulted Brunei and seized its capital, Kota Batu. This was achieved as a result in part of the assistance rendered to them by two noblemen, Pengiran Seri Lela and Pengiran Seri Ratna. The former had traveled to Manila to offer Brunei as a tributary of Spain for help to recover the throne usurped by his brother, Saiful Rijal.^[97] The Spanish agreed that if they succeeded in conquering Brunei, Pengiran Seri Lela would indeed become the Sultan, while Pengiran Seri Ratna would be the new Bendahara. In March 1578, the Spanish fleet, led by De Sande himself, acting as Capitán General, started their journey towards Brunei. The expedition consisted of 400 Spaniards, 1,500 Filipino natives and 300 Borneans.^[98] The campaign was one of many, which also included action in Mindanao and Sulu.

Miguel López de Legazpi

The Spanish succeeded in invading the capital on April 16, 1578, with the help of Pengiran Seri Lela and Pengiran Seri Ratna. Sultan Saiful Rijal and Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Abdul Kahar were forced to flee to Meragang then to Jerudong. In Jerudong, they made plans to chase the conquering army away from Brunei. The Spanish suffered heavy losses due to a cholera or dysentery outbreak.^[101][102] They were so weakened by the illness that they decided to abandon Brunei to return to Manila on June 26, 1578, after just 72 days. Before doing so, they burned the mosque, a high structure with a five-tier roof.^[103]

Pengiran Seri Lela died in August–September 1578, probably from the same illness that had afflicted his Spanish allies, although there was suspicion he could have been poisoned by the ruling Sultan. Seri Lela's daughter, the Bruneian princess, left with the Spanish and went on to marry a Christian Tagalog, named Agustín de Legazpi of Tondo and had children in the Philippines.^[104]

In 1587, Magat Salamat, one of the children of Lakan Dula, along with Lakan Dula's nephew and lords of the neighboring areas of Tondo, Pandacan, Marikina, Candaba, Navotas and Bulacan, were executed when the Tondo Conspiracy of 1587–1588 failed^[105] in which a planned grand alliance with the Japanese Christian-captain, Gayo, and Brunei's Sultan, would have restored the old aristocracy. Its failure resulted in the hanging of Agustín de Legaspi and the execution of Magat Salamat (the crown-prince of Tondo).^[106] Thereafter, some of the conspirators were exiled to Guam or Guerrero, Mexico.

Spanish power was further consolidated after Miguel López de Legazpi's complete assimilation of Madja-as, his subjugation of Rajah Tupas, the Rajah of Cebu and Juan de Salcedo's conquest of the provinces of Zambales, La Union, Ilocos, the coast of Cagayan, and the ransacking of the Chinese warlord Limahong's pirate kingdom in Pangasinan.

The Spanish also invaded Northern Taiwan and Ternate in Indonesia, using Filipino warriors, before they were driven out by the Dutch.^[107]

The Spanish and the Moros of the sultanates of Maguindanao, Lanao and Sulu also waged many wars over hundreds of years in the Spanish-Moro conflict, not until the 19th century did Spain succeed in defeating the Sulu Sultanate and taking Mindanao under nominal suzerainty.

The Spanish considered their war with the Muslims in Southeast Asia an extension of the Reconquista, a centuries-long campaign to retake and rechristianize the Spanish homeland which was invaded by the Muslims of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Spanish expeditions into the Philippines were also part of a larger Ibero-Islamic world conflict^[108] that included a rivalry with the Ottoman Caliphate which had a center of operations at its nearby vassal, the Sultanate of Aceh.^[109]

Spanish settlement during the 16th and 17th centuries

The sketch of the Plaza de Roma Manila by Fernando Brambila, a member of the Malaspina Expedition during their stop in Manila in 1792.

 

Bahay na bato, a typical Filipino urban house during the colonial era

The "Memoria de las Encomiendas en las Islas" of 1591, just twenty years after the conquest of Luzon, reveals a remarkable progress in the work of colonization and the spread of Christianity.^[110] A cathedral was built in the city of Manila with an episcopal palace, Augustinian, Dominican and Franciscan monasteries and a Jesuit house. The king maintained a hospital for the Spanish settlers and there was another hospital for the natives run by the Franciscans. In order to defend the settlements the Spaniards established in the Philippines, a network of military fortresses called "Presidios" were constructed and officered by the Spaniards, and sentried by Latin-Americans and Filipinos, across the archipelago, to protect it from foreign nations such as the Portuguese, British and Dutch as well as raiding Muslims and Wokou.^[111] The Manila garrison was composed of roughly four hundred Spanish soldiers and the area of Intramuros as well as its surroundings, were initially settled by 1200 Spanish families.^[112] In Cebu City, at the Visayas, the settlement received a total of 2,100 soldier-settlers from New Spain.^[113] At the immediate south of Manila, Mexicans were present at Ermita^[114] and at Cavite^{[115][116][117]} where they were stationed as sentries. In addition, men conscripted from Peru, were also sent to settle Zamboanga City in Mindanao, to wage war upon Muslim pirates.^[118] There were also communities of Spanish-Mestizos that developed in Iloilo,^[119] Negros^[120] and Vigan.^[121] Interactions between native Filipinos and immigrant Spaniards, Latin-Americans and their Spanish-Mestizo descendants eventually caused the formation of a new language, Chavacano, a creole of Mexican Spanish. Meanwhile, in the suburb of Tondo, there was a convent run by Franciscan friars and another by the Dominicans that offered Christian education to the Chinese converted to Christianity. The same report reveals that in and around Manila were collected 9,410 tributes, indicating a population of about 30,640 who were under the instruction of thirteen missionaries (ministers of doctrine), apart from the monks in monasteries. In the former province of Pampanga the population estimate was 74,700 and 28 missionaries. In Pangasinan 2,400 people with eight missionaries. In Cagayan and islands Babuyanes 96,000 people but no missionaries. In La Laguna 48,400 people with 27 missionaries. In Bicol and Camarines Catanduanes islands 86,640 people with fifteen missionaries. Based on the tribute counts, the total founding population of Spanish-Philippines was 667,612 people,^[122] of which: 20,000 were Chinese migrant traders,^[123] 16,500 were Latino soldier-colonists sent from Peru and Mexico,^[124] 3,000 were Japanese residents,^[125] and 600 were pure Spaniards from Europe,^[126] there was also a large but unknown number of Indian Filipinos, the rest were Malays and Negritos. They were under the care of 140 missionaries, of which 79 were Augustinians, nine Dominicans and 42 Franciscans.^[127]

Maria Clara gown

The fragmented and sparsely populated^[128] nature of the islands made it easy for Spanish colonization. The Spanish then brought political unification to most of the Philippine archipelago via the conquest of the various small maritime states although they were unable to fully incorporate parts of the sultanates of Mindanao and the areas where the ethnic groups and highland plutocracy of the animist Ifugao of Northern Luzon were established. The Spanish introduced elements of western civilization such as the code of law, western printing and the Gregorian calendar alongside new food resources such as maize, pineapple and chocolate from Latin America.^[129]

Plaza Santo Tomas in Intramuros, Manila; where the Santo Domingo Church, Colegio de Santa Rosa and the original University of Santo Tomas were built during the Spanish era.

Education played a major role in the socio-economic transformation of the archipelago. The oldest universities, colleges, and vocational schools and the first modern public education system in Asia were all created during the Spanish colonial period, and by the time Spain was replaced by the United States as the colonial power, Filipinos were among the most educated subjects in all of Asia.^[130] The Jesuits founded the Colegio de Manila in 1590, which later became the Universidad de San Ignacio, a royal and pontifical university. They also founded the Colegio de San Ildefonso on August 1, 1595. After the expulsion of the Society of Jesus in 1768, the management of the Jesuit schools passed to other parties. On April 28, 1611, through the initiative of Bishop Miguel de Benavides, the University of Santo Tomas was founded in Manila. The Jesuits also founded the Colegio de San José (1601) and took over the Escuela Municipal, later to be called the Ateneo de Manila University (1859). All institutions offered courses included not only religious topics but also science subjects such as physics, chemistry, natural history and mathematics. The University of Santo Tomás, for example, started by teaching theology, philosophy and humanities and during the 18th century, the Faculty of Jurisprudence and Canonical Law, together with the schools of medicine and pharmacy were opened.

Wife of José Rizal, wearing Maria Clara gown

Outside the tertiary institutions, the efforts of missionaries were in no way limited to religious instruction but also geared towards promoting social and economic advancement of the islands. They cultivated into the natives their innate^{[citation needed]} taste for music and taught Spanish language to children.^[131] They also introduced advances in rice agriculture, brought from America maize and cocoa and developed the farming of indigo, coffee and sugar cane. The only commercial plant introduced by a government agency was the plant of tobacco. Church and state were inseparably linked in Spanish policy, with the state assuming responsibility for religious establishments.^[132] One of Spain's objectives in colonizing the Philippines was the conversion of the local population to Roman Catholicism. The work of conversion was facilitated by the disunity and insignificance of other organized religions, except for Islam, which was still predominant in the southwest.^[132] The pageantry of the church had a wide appeal, reinforced by the incorporation of indigenous social customs into religious observances. The eventual outcome was a new Roman Catholic majority, from which the Muslims of western Mindanao and the upland tribal and animistic peoples of Luzon remained detached and alienated from (Ethnic groups such as the Ifugaos of the Cordillera region and the Mangyans of Mindoro).

At the lower levels of administration, the Spanish built on traditional village organization by co-opting local leaders. This system of indirect rule helped create an indigenous upper class, called the principalía, who had local wealth, high status, and other privileges. This perpetuated an oligarchic system of local control. Among the most significant changes under Spanish rule was that the indigenous idea of communal use and ownership of land was replaced with the concept of private ownership and the conferring of titles on members of the principalía.^[132]

Around 1608 William Adams, an English navigator contacted the interim governor of the Philippines, Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco on behalf of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who wished to establish direct trade contacts with New Spain. Friendly letters were exchanged, officially starting relations between Japan and New Spain. From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was governed as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico, via the Royal Audiencia of Manila, and administered directly from Spain from 1821 after the Mexican revolution,^[133] until 1898.

The Manila galleons which linked Manila to Acapulco traveled once or twice a year between the 16th and 19th centuries. The Spanish military fought off various indigenous revolts and several external colonial challenges, especially from the British, Chinese pirates, Dutch, and Portuguese. Roman Catholic missionaries converted most of the lowland inhabitants to Christianity and founded schools, universities, and hospitals. In 1863 a Spanish decree introduced education, establishing public schooling in Spanish.^[134]

Manila Cathedral

 

Coat of arms of Manila were at the corners of the Cross of Burgundy in the Spanish-Filipino battle standard.

In 1646, a series of five naval actions known as the Battles of La Naval de Manila was fought between the forces of Spain and the Dutch Republic, as part of the Eighty Years' War. Although the Spanish forces consisted of just two Manila galleons and a galley with crews composed mainly of Filipino volunteers, against three separate Dutch squadrons, totaling eighteen ships, the Dutch squadrons were severely defeated in all fronts by the Spanish-Filipino forces, forcing the Dutch to abandon their plans for an invasion of the Philippines.

Spanish rule during the 18th century

Colonial income derived mainly from entrepôt trade: The Manila Galleons sailing from the port of Manila to the port of Acapulco on the west coast of Mexico brought shipments of silver bullion, and minted coin that were exchanged for return cargoes of Asian, and Pacific products. A total of 110 Manila galleons set sail in the 250 years of the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade (1565 to 1815). There was no direct trade with Spain until 1766.^[132]

Fort Santiago Postern of Our Lady of Solitude, Manila, through which on 5 October 1762, Lieutenant Governor Simón de Anda y Salazar escaped the British bombardment during the conquest of Manila.

The Philippines was never profitable as a colony during Spanish rule, and the long war against the Dutch in the 17th century together with the intermittent conflict with the Muslims in the South nearly bankrupted the colonial treasury.^[132] The Royal Fiscal of Manila wrote a letter to King Charles III of Spain, in which he advises to abandon the colony.

The Philippines survived on an annual subsidy paid by the Spanish Crown, and the 200-year-old fortifications at Manila had not been improved much since first built by the early Spanish colonizers.^[135] This was one of the circumstances that made possible the brief British occupation of Manila between 1762 and 1764.

British invasion (1762–1764)

Britain declared war against Spain on January 4, 1762 and on September 24, 1762 a force of British Army regulars and British East India Company soldiers, supported by the ships and men of the East Indies Squadron of the British Royal Navy, sailed into Manila Bay from Madras, India.^[136] Manila was besieged and fell to the British on October 4, 1762.
Outside of Manila, the Spanish leader Simón de Anda y Salazar organized a militia of 10 000 of mostly from Pampanga to resist British rule. Anda y Salazar established his headquarters first in Bulacan, then in Bacolor.^[137] After a number of skirmishes and failed attempts to support uprisings, the British command admitted to the War Secretary in London that the Spanish were "in full possession of the country".^[138] The occupation of Manila ended in April 1764 as agreed to in the peace negotiations for the Seven Years' War in Europe. The Spanish then persecuted the Binondo Chinese community for its role in aiding the British.^[139] An unknown number of Indian soldiers known as sepoys, who came with the British, deserted and settled in nearby Cainta, Rizal, which explains the uniquely Indian features of generations of Cainta residents.^[140]

Spanish rule in the second part of the 18th century

The Cross of Burgundy served as the flag of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (1535–1821)

 

Colonial houses of the Philippines

In 1766 direct communication was established with Spain and trade with Europe through a national ship based on Spain. Those expeditions were administered since 1785 by the Real Compañía Filipina, which was granted a monopoly of trade between Spain and the islands that lasted until 1834, when the company was terminated by the Spanish crown due to poor management and financial losses.^{[citation needed]}

In 1781, Governor-General José Basco y Vargas established the Economic Society of the Friends of the Country.^[141] The Philippines was administered from the Viceroyalty of New Spain until the independence to Mexico in 1821 necessitated the direct rule from Spain of the Philippines from that year.

Spanish rule during the 19th century

José Rizal

The Philippines was included in the vast territory of the Kingdom of Spain, in the first constitution of Spain promulgated in Cadiz in 1812. It was never a colony as modern-day historical literature would say, but an overseas region in Asia {Spanish Constitution 1812}. The Spanish Constitution of 1870 provides for the first autonomous community for "Archipelago Filipino" where all provinces in the Philippine Islands will be given the semi-independent home rule program.

During the 19th century Spain invested heavily in education and infrastructure. Through the Education Decree of December 20, 1863, Queen Isabella II of Spain decreed the establishment of a free public school system that used Spanish as the language of instruction, leading to increasing numbers of educated Filipinos.^[142] Additionally, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cut travel time to Spain, which facilitated the rise of the ilustrados, an enlightened class of Spanish-Filipinos that had been able to enroll in Spanish and European universities. The Philippines has contributed one Prime Minister to Spain, Marcelo Azcarraga, who was born in the Bicol Peninsula in the Philippine Islands, Spain.

Holy Rosary Minor Seminary

A great number of infrastructure projects were undertaken during the 19th century that put the Philippine economy and standard of living ahead of most of its Asian neighbors and even many European countries at that time. Among them were a railway system for Luzon, a tramcar network for Manila, and Asia's first steel suspension bridge Puente Claveria, later called Puente Colgante.^[143]

On August 1, 1851 the Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II was established to attend the needs of the rapid economic boom, that had greatly increased its pace since the 1800s as a result of a new economy based on a rational exploitation of the agricultural resources of the islands. The increase in textile fiber crops such as abacá, oil products derived from the coconut, indigo, that was growing in demand, etc., generated an increase in money supply that led to the creation of the bank. Banco Español-Filipino was also granted the power to print a Philippine-specific currency (the Philippine peso) for the first time (before 1851, many currencies were used, mostly the pieces of eight).

Spanish Manila was seen in the 19th century as a model of colonial governance that effectively put the interests of the original inhabitants of the islands before those of the colonial power. As John Crawfurd put it in its History of the Indian Archipelago, in all of Asia the "Philippines alone did improve in civilization, wealth, and populousness under the colonial rule" of a foreign power.^[144] John Bowring, Governor General of British Hong Kong from 1856 to 1860, wrote after his trip to Manila:

Escolta, Manila in 1899

"Credit is certainly due to Spain for having bettered the condition of a people who, though comparatively highly civilized, yet being continually distracted by petty wars, had sunk into a disordered and uncultivated state.

The inhabitants of these beautiful Islands upon the whole, may well be considered to have lived as comfortably during the last hundred years, protected from all external enemies and governed by mild laws vis-a-vis those from any other tropical country under native or European sway, owing in some measure, to the frequently discussed peculiar (Spanish) circumstances which protect the interests of the natives."^[145]

In The Inhabitants of the Philippines, Frederick Henry Sawyer wrote:

Santa Lucia Gate, Intramuros, Manila

"Until an inept bureaucracy was substituted for the old paternal rule, and the revenue quadrupled by increased taxation, the Filipinos were as happy a community as could be found in any colony. The population greatly multiplied; they lived in competence, if not in affluence; cultivation was extended, and the exports steadily increased. [...] Let us be just; what British, French, or Dutch colony, populated by natives can compare with the Philippines as they were until 1895?."^[146]

The first official census in the Philippines was carried out in 1878. The colony's population as of December 31, 1877, was recorded at 5,567,685 persons.^[147] This was followed by the 1887 census that yielded a count of 6,984,727,^[148] while that of 1898 yielded 7,832,719 inhabitants.^[149]

The estimated GDP per capita for the Philippines in 1900, the year Spain left, was $1,033.00. That made it the second-richest place in all of Asia, just a little behind Japan ($1,135.00), and far ahead of China ($652.00) and India ($625.00).^[150]

In 2006, the Civil Code of Spain provided that the acquisition of nationalities of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal and those of the Sephardic Jews originally from Spain, does not bear the loss of their Spanish nationalities of origin that paved the way for easier route of Spanish Nationality reacquisition by the people of the Philippines. A similar law in the Philippines was enacted later in 1963 that provides "Natural born citizens of the Philippines who acquired the citizenship of one of the Iberian countries, Ibero-American Countries and United Kingdom will not lose their natural born citizen status."^{[This quote needs a citation]}

Philippine Revolution

Andrés Bonifacio, father of the Philippine Revolution.

Revolutionary sentiments arose in 1872 after three Filipino priests, Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, known as Gomburza, were accused of sedition by colonial authorities and executed by garote. This would inspire the Propaganda Movement in Spain, organized by Marcelo H. del Pilar, José Rizal, Graciano López Jaena, and Mariano Ponce, that clamored for adequate representation to the Spanish Cortes and later for independence. José Rizal, the most celebrated intellectual and radical ilustrado of the era, wrote the novels "Noli Me Tángere", and "El filibusterismo", which greatly inspired the movement for independence.^[151] The Katipunan, a secret society whose primary purpose was that of overthrowing Spanish rule in the Philippines, was founded by Andrés Bonifacio who became its Supremo (leader).

An early flag of the Filipino revolutionaries.

The Philippine Revolution began in 1896. Rizal was wrongly implicated in the outbreak of the revolution and executed for treason in 1896. The Katipunan in Cavite split into two groups, Magdiwang, led by Mariano Álvarez (a relative of Bonifacio's by marriage), and Magdalo, led by Emilio Aguinaldo. Leadership conflicts between Bonifacio and Aguinaldo culminated in the execution or assassination of the former by the latter's soldiers. Aguinaldo agreed to a truce with the Pact of Biak-na-Bato and Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries were exiled to Hong Kong. Not all the revolutionary generals complied with the agreement. One, General Francisco Makabulos, established a Central Executive Committee to serve as the interim government until a more suitable one was created. Armed conflicts resumed, this time coming from almost every province in Spanish-governed Philippines.

Revolutionaries gather during the Malolos Congress of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines.

In 1898, as conflicts continued in the Philippines, the USS Maine, having been sent to Cuba because of U.S. concerns for the safety of its citizens during an ongoing Cuban revolution, exploded and sank in Havana harbor. This event precipitated the Spanish–American War.^[152] After Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish squadron at Manila, a German squadron arrived in Manila and engaged in maneuvers which Dewey, seeing this as obstruction of his blockade, offered war—after which the Germans backed down.^[153] The German Emperor expected an American defeat, with Spain left in a sufficiently weak position for the revolutionaries to capture Manila—leaving the Philippines ripe for German picking.^[154]

The U.S. invited Aguinaldo to return to the Philippines in the hope he would rally Filipinos against the Spanish colonial government. Aguinaldo arrived on May 19, 1898, via transport provided by Dewey. On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines in Kawit, Cavite. Aguinaldo proclaimed a Revolutionary Government of the Philippines on June 23. By the time U.S. land forces arrived, the Filipinos had taken control of the entire island of Luzon except for Spanish capitol in the walled city of Intramuros. In the Battle of Manila, on August 13, 1898, the United States captured the city from the Spanish. This battle marked an end of Filipino-American collaboration, as Filipino forces were prevented from entering the captured city of Manila, an action deeply resented by the Filipinos.^[155] On January 23, 1899, the First Philippine Republic was proclaimed under Asia's first democratic constitution, with Aguinaldo as its President.^[151]

Spain and the United States had sent commissioners to Paris to draw up the terms of the Treaty of Paris to end the Spanish–American War. The Filipino representative, Felipe Agoncillo, had been excluded from sessions as Aguinaldo's government was not recognized by the family of nations.^[155] Although there was substantial domestic opposition, the United States decided to annex the Philippines. In addition to Guam and Puerto Rico, Spain was forced in the negotiations cede the Philippines to the U.S. in exchange for US$20,000,000.00.^[156] U.S. President McKinley justified the annexation of the Philippines by saying that it was "a gift from the gods" and that since "they were unfit for self-government, … there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them",^[157][158] in spite of the Philippines having been already Christianized by the Spanish over the course of several centuries. The First Philippine Republic resisted the U.S. occupation, resulting in the Philippine–American War (1899–1913).

American rule (1898–1946)

1898 political cartoon showing U.S. President McKinley with a native child. Here, returning the Philippines to Spain is compared to throwing the child off a cliff.

Filipinos initially saw their relationship with the United States as that of two nations joined in a common struggle against Spain.^[159] However, the United States later distanced itself from the interests of the Filipino insurgents. Emilio Aguinaldo was unhappy that the United States would not commit to paper a statement of support for Philippine independence.^[160] Relations deteriorated and tensions heightened as it became clear that the Americans were in the islands to stay.^[160]

Philippine–American War

Filipino casualties on the first day of war

Hostilities broke out on February 4, 1899, after two American privates on patrol killed three Filipino soldiers in San Juan, a Manila suburb.^[161] This incident sparked the Philippine–American War, which would cost far more money and take far more lives than the Spanish–American War.^[151] Some 126,000 American soldiers would be committed to the conflict; 4,234 Americans died, as did 12,000–20,000 Philippine Republican Army soldiers who were part of a nationwide guerrilla movement of indeterminate numbers.^[161]

The general population, caught between Americans and rebels, suffered significantly. At least 200,000 Filipino civilians lost their lives as an indirect result of the war mostly as a result of the cholera epidemic at the war's end that took between 150,000 and 200,000 lives.^[162] Atrocities were committed by both sides.^[161]

American troops guarding the bridge over the River Pasig on the afternoon of the surrender. From Harper's Pictorial History of the War with Spain, Vol. II, published by Harper and Brothers in 1899.

 

President Emilio Aguinaldo boarding the USS Vicksburg after his capture by American forces.

The poorly equipped Filipino troops were easily overpowered by American troops in open combat, but they were formidable opponents in guerrilla warfare.^[161] Malolos, the revolutionary capital, was captured on March 31, 1899. Aguinaldo and his government escaped, however, establishing a new capital at San Isidro, Nueva Ecija. On June 5, 1899, Antonio Luna, Aguinaldo's most capable military commander, was killed by Aguinaldo's guards in an apparent assassination while visiting Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija to meet with Aguinaldo.^[163] With his best commander dead and his troops suffering continued defeats as American forces pushed into northern Luzon, Aguinaldo dissolved the regular army on November 13 and ordered the establishment of decentralized guerrilla commands in each of several military zones.^[164] Another key general, Gregorio del Pilar, was killed on December 2, 1899 in the Battle of Tirad Pass—a rear guard action to delay the Americans while Aguinaldo made good his escape through the mountains.

Aguinaldo was captured at Palanan, Isabela on March 23, 1901 and was brought to Manila. Convinced of the futility of further resistance, he swore allegiance to the United States and issued a proclamation calling on his compatriots to lay down their arms, officially bringing an end to the war.^[161] However, sporadic insurgent resistance continued in various parts of the Philippines, especially in the Muslim south, until 1913.^[165]

Flag of the United States, 1896–1908.

In 1900, President McKinley sent the Taft Commission, to the Philippines, with a mandate to legislate laws and re-engineer the political system.^[166] On July 1, 1901, William Howard Taft, the head of the commission, was inaugurated as Civil Governor, with limited executive powers.^[167] The authority of the Military Governor was continued in those areas where the insurrection persisted.^[168] The Taft Commission passed laws to set up the fundamentals of the new government, including a judicial system, civil service, and local government. A Philippine Constabulary was organized to deal with the remnants of the insurgent movement and gradually assume the responsibilities of the United States Army.^[169]

The Tagalog, Negros and Zamboanga Cantonal Republics

During the First Philippine Republic, three other insurgent republics were briefly formed: the Tagalog Republic in Luzon, under Macario Sakay,^[170] the Negros Republic in the Visayas under Aniceto Lacson, and the Republic of Zamboanga in Mindanao under Mariano Arquiza.^[171]

Insular Government (1901–1935)

William Howard Taft addressing the audience at the Philippine Assembly.

 

Manuel Luis Quezon, (center), with representatives from the Philippine Independence Mission

The Philippine Organic Act was the basic law for the Insular Government, so called because civil administration was under the authority of the U.S. Bureau of Insular Affairs. This government saw its mission as one of tutelage, preparing the Philippines for eventual independence.^[172] On July 4, 1902 the office of military governor was abolished and full executive power passed from Adna Chaffee, the last military governor, to Taft, who became the first U.S. Governor-General of the Philippines.^[173] United States policies towards the Philippines shifted with changing administrations.^[151] During the early years of territorial administration, the Americans were reluctant to delegate authority to the Filipinos, but an elected Philippine Assembly was inaugurated in 1907, as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the appointive Philippine Commission becoming the upper house.

Philippines was a major target for the progressive reformers. A 1907 report to Secretary of War Taft provided a summary of what the American civil administration had achieved. It included, in addition to the rapid building of a public school system based on English teaching, and boasted about such modernizing achievements as:

steel and concrete wharves at the newly renovated Port of Manila; dredging the River Pasig,; streamlining of the Insular Government; accurate, intelligible accounting; the construction of a telegraph and cable communications network; the establishment of a postal savings bank; large-scale road-and bridge-building; impartial and incorrupt policing; well-financed civil engineering; the conservation of old Spanish architecture; large public parks; a bidding process for the right to build railways; Corporation law; and a coastal and geological survey.^[174]

In 1903 the American reformers in the Philippines passed two major land acts designed to turn landless peasants into owners of their farms. By 1905 the law was clearly a failure. Reformers such as Taft believed landownership would turn unruly agrarians into loyal subjects. The social structure in rural Philippines was highly traditional and highly unequal. Drastic changes in land ownership posed a major challenge to local elites, who would not accept it, nor would their peasant clients. The American reformers blamed peasant resistance to landownership for the law’s failure and argued that large plantations and sharecropping was the Philippines’ best path to development.^[175]

Elite Filipina women played a major role in the reform movement, especially on health issues. They specialized on such urgent needs as infant care and maternal and child health, the distribution of pure milk and teaching new mothers about children's health. The most prominent organizations were the La Protección de la Infancia, and the National Federation of Women's Clubs.^[176]
 

Tranvia in Manila during American Era

When Democrat Woodrow Wilson became U.S. president in 1913, new policies were launched designed to gradually lead to Philippine independence. In 1902 U.S. law established Filipinos citizenship in the Philippine Islands; unlike Hawaii in 1898 and Puerto Rico in 1918, they did not become citizens of the United States. The Jones Law of 1916 became the new basic law, promised eventual independence. It provide for the election of both houses of the legislature.

Manila, Philippines, ca.1900s

In socio-economic terms, the Philippines made solid progress in this period. Foreign trade had amounted to 62 million pesos in 1895, 13% of which was with the United States. By 1920, it had increased to 601 million pesos, 66% of which was with the United States.^[177] A health care system was established which, by 1930, reduced the mortality rate from all causes, including various tropical diseases, to a level similar to that of the United States itself. The practices of slavery, piracy and headhunting were suppressed but not entirely extinguished.

A new educational system was established with English as the medium of instruction, eventually becoming a lingua franca of the Islands. The 1920s saw alternating periods of cooperation and confrontation with American governors-general, depending on how intent the incumbent was on exercising his powers vis-à-vis the Philippine legislature. Members to the elected legislature lobbied for immediate and complete independence from the United States. Several independence missions were sent to Washington, D.C. A civil service was formed and was gradually taken over by Filipinos, who had effectively gained control by 1918.

Philippine politics during the American territorial era was dominated by the Nacionalista Party, which was founded in 1907. Although the party's platform called for "immediate independence", their policy toward the Americans was highly accommodating.^[178] Within the political establishment, the call for independence was spearheaded by Manuel L. Quezon, who served continuously as Senate president from 1916 until 1935.

World War I gave the Philippines the opportunity to pledge assistance to the US war effort. This took the form of an offer to supply a division of troops, as well as providing funding for the construction of two warships. A locally recruited national guard was created and significant numbers of Filipinos volunteered for service in the US Navy and army.^[179]

Frank Murphy was the last Governor-General of the Philippines (1933–35), and the first U.S. High Commissioner of the Philippines (1935–36). The change in form was more than symbolic: it was intended as a manifestation of the transition to independence.

Commonwealth

Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon with United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.

 

Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon

 

With Manila's Filipino Hispanic roots, Daniel Burnham developed the Urban planning of Manila through the City Beautiful Movement; Neo-Classical architecture of Paris through Manila's Government buildings, Canals of Venice through the Esteros of Manila, Sunset view of Naples through Manila Bay and Winding River of Paris through Pasig River. a fine example of the Burnham plan is the Manila Central Post Office and Jones Bridge Manila circa 1930s.

The Great Depression in the early thirties hastened the progress of the Philippines towards independence. In the United States it was mainly the sugar industry and labor unions that had a stake in loosening the U.S. ties to the Philippines since they could not compete with the Philippine cheap sugar (and other commodities) which could freely enter the U.S. market. Therefore, they agitated in favor of granting independence to the Philippines so that its cheap products and labor could be shut out of the United States.^[180] In 1933, the United States Congress passed the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act as a Philippine Independence Act over President Herbert Hoover's veto.^[181] Though the bill had been drafted with the aid of a commission from the Philippines, it was opposed by Philippine Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, partially because of provisions leaving the United States in control of naval bases. Under his influence, the Philippine legislature rejected the bill.^[182] The following year, a revised act known as the Tydings–McDuffie Act was finally passed. The act provided for the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with transition to full independence after a ten-year period. The commonwealth would have its own constitution and be self-governing, though foreign policy would be the responsibility of the United States, and certain legislation required approval of the United States president.^[182] The Act stipulated that the date of independence would be on July 4 following the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Commonwealth.

A Constitutional Convention was convened in Manila on July 30, 1934. On February 8, 1935, the 1935 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines was approved by the convention by a vote of 177 to 1. The constitution was approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 23, 1935 and ratified by popular vote on May 14, 1935.^[183][184]

On September 17, 1935,^[185] presidential elections were held. Candidates included former president Emilio Aguinaldo, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente leader Gregorio Aglipay, and others. Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña of the Nacionalista Party were proclaimed the winners, winning the seats of president and vice-president, respectively.^[186]

The Commonwealth Government was inaugurated on the morning of November 15, 1935, in ceremonies held on the steps of the Legislative Building in Manila. The event was attended by a crowd of around 300,000 people.^[185] Under the Tydings–McDuffie Act this meant that the date of full independence for the Philippines was set for July 4, 1946, a timetable which was followed after the passage of almost eleven very eventful years.

World War II and Japanese occupation

As many as 10,000 American and FIlipino soldiers died in the Bataan Death March

Military

Japanese Army Tankettes in Manila, Philippines 1942

Japan launched a surprise attack on the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on the morning of December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground troops on Luzon. The defending Philippine and United States troops were under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Under the pressure of superior numbers, the defending forces withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay.

Colonel Nobuhiko Jimbo and Manuel Roxas began and ended the conflict on opposite sides.

On January 2, 1942, General MacArthur declared the capital city, Manila, an open city to prevent its destruction.^[187] The Philippine defense continued until the final surrender of United States-Philippine forces on the Bataan Peninsula in April 1942 and on Corregidor in May of the same year. Most of the 80,000 prisoners of war captured by the Japanese at Bataan were forced to undertake the infamous Bataan Death March to a prison camp 105 kilometers to the north. About 10,000 Filipinos and 1,200 Americans died before reaching their destination.^[188] President Quezon and Osmeña had accompanied the troops to Corregidor and later left for the United States, where they set up a government in exile.^[189] MacArthur was ordered to Australia, where he started to plan for a return to the Philippines.

The Japanese military authorities immediately began organizing a new government structure in the Philippines and established the Philippine Executive Commission. They initially organized a Council of State, through which they directed civil affairs until October 1943, when they declared the Philippines an independent republic. The Japanese-sponsored republic headed by President José P. Laurel proved to be unpopular to the pro-colonial Filipinos, but very popular to the pro-Asiatic independence Filipinos.

Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by large-scale underground guerrilla activity. The American-aligned Philippine Army, as well as remnants of the U.S. Army Forces Far East,^[190][191] continued to fight the Japanese and pro-Japanese paramilitary forces in a guerrilla war and was considered an auxiliary unit of the United States Army.^[192] Their effectiveness was such that by the end of the war, Japan controlled only twelve of the forty-eight provinces.^[193] One element of resistance in the Central Luzon area was furnished by the Hukbalahap, which armed some 30,000 people and extended their control over much of Luzon.^[193]
 

Leyte Landing of General Douglas MacArthur to liberate the Philippines from the Empire of Japan

The occupation of the Philippines by Japan ended at the war's conclusion. At the eve of the liberation of the Philippines, the Allied forces and the Japanese Empire waged the largest naval battle in history, by gross tonnage in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.^[196] The American army had been fighting the Philippines Campaign since October 1944, when MacArthur's Sixth United States Army landed on Leyte. Landings in other parts of the country had followed, and the Allies, with the Philippine Commonwealth troops, pushed toward Manila. However, fighting continued until Japan's formal surrender on September 2, 1945. Approximately 10,000 U.S. soldiers were missing in action in the Philippines when the war ended, more than in any other country in the Pacific or European Theaters. The Philippines suffered great loss of life and tremendous physical destruction, especially during the Battle of Manila. An estimated 1 million Filipinos had been killed, a large portion during the final months of the war, and Manila had been extensively damaged, mainly due to excessive use of artillery by the American forces.^[193]
 

Battle of Manila

 

General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrender

Home front

As in most occupied countries, crime, looting, corruption, and black markets were endemic. Japan in 1943 proposed independence on new terms, and some collaborators went along with the plan, but Japan was clearly losing the war and nothing became of it.^[197]

With a view of building up the economic base of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Japanese Army envisioned using the islands as a source of agricultural products needed by its industry. For example, Japan had a surplus of sugar from Taiwan but, a severe shortage of cotton, so they tried to grow cotton on sugar lands with disastrous results. They lacked the seeds, pesticides, and technical skills to grow cotton. Jobless farm workers flocked to the cities, where there was minimal relief and few jobs. The Japanese Army also tried using cane sugar for fuel, castor beans and copra for oil, derris for quinine, cotton for uniforms, and abaca (hemp) for rope. The plans were very difficult to implement in the face of limited skills, collapsed international markets, bad weather, and transportation shortages. The program was a failure that gave very little help to Japanese industry, and diverted resources needed for food production.

The Flag of the United States of America is lowered while the Flag of the Philippines is raised during the Independence Day ceremonies on July 4, 1946

Living conditions were bad throughout the Philippines during the war. Transportation between the islands was difficult because of lack of fuel. Food was in very short supply, due to inflation.^[198]

Postcolonial Philippines and the Third Republic (1946–1965)

Manuel Roxas, President from 1946 until 1948.

Administration of Manuel Roxas (1946–1948)

Elections were held in April 1946, with Manuel Roxas becoming the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. The United States ceded its sovereignty over the Philippines on July 4, 1946, as scheduled.^[151][199] However, the Philippine economy remained highly dependent on United States markets—more dependent, according to United States high commissioner Paul McNutt, than any single U.S. state was dependent on the rest of the country.^[200] The Philippine Trade Act, passed as a precondition for receiving war rehabilitation grants from the United States,^[201] exacerbated the dependency with provisions further tying the economies of the two countries. A military assistance pact was signed in 1947 granting the United States a 99-year lease on designated military bases in the country.

Elpidio Quirino, president from 1948 until 1953.

Administration of Elpidio Quirino (1948–1953)

Victoria Quirino-Gonzalez was the second daughter of Philippine President Elpidio Quirino. Since her father was a widower, she served as First Lady of the Philippines, becoming the youngest bearer of the title at the age of 16.

The Roxas administration granted general amnesty to those who had collaborated with the Japanese in World War II, except for those who had committed violent crimes. Roxas died suddenly of a heart attack in April 1948, and the vice president, Elpidio Quirino, was elevated to the presidency. He ran for president in his own right in 1949, defeating José P. Laurel and winning a four-year term.

World War II had left the Philippines demoralized and severely damaged. The task of reconstruction was complicated by the activities of the Communist-supported Hukbalahap guerrillas (known as "Huks"), who had evolved into a violent resistance force against the new Philippine government. Government policy towards the Huks alternated between gestures of negotiation and harsh suppression. Secretary of Defense Ramon Magsaysay initiated a campaign to defeat the insurgents militarily and at the same time win popular support for the government. The Huk movement had waned in the early 1950s, finally ending with the unconditional surrender of Huk leader Luis Taruc in May 1954.

Administration of Ramon Magsaysay (1953–1957)

President and Mrs. Magsaysay with Eleanor Roosevelt at the Malacañan Palace.

Supported by the United States, Magsaysay was elected president in 1953 on a populist platform. He promised sweeping economic reform, and made progress in land reform by promoting the resettlement of poor people in the Catholic north into traditionally Muslim areas. Though this relieved population pressure in the north, it heightened religious hostilities.^[202] Nevertheless, he was extremely popular with the common people, and his death in an airplane crash in March 1957 dealt a serious blow to national morale.^[203]

Administration of Carlos P. Garcia (1957–1961)

Carlos P. Garcia, president of the Philippines from 1957 until 1961.

Carlos P. Garcia succeeded to the presidency after Magsaysay's death, and was elected to a four-year term in the election of November that same year. His administration emphasized the nationalist theme of "Filipino first", arguing that the Filipino people should be given the chances to improve the country's economy.^[204] Garcia successfully negotiated for the United States' relinquishment of large military land reservations. However, his administration lost popularity on issues of government corruption as his term advanced.^[205]

Administration of Diosdado Macapagal (1961–1965)

President-elect Diosdado Macapagal departs his mother-in-law's home, his family in tow, for the Malacañang Palace on the day of his inauguration.

In the presidential elections held on November 14, 1961, Vice President Diosdado Macapagal defeated re-electionist President Carlos P. Garcia and Emmanuel Pelaez as a Vice President. President Macapagal was the President of the Philippines that changed the independence day of the Philippines from July 4 to June 12.

Land Reform Code

The Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA 3844) was a major Philippine land reform law enacted in 1963 under President Diosdado Macapagal.^[206]

The code declared that it was State policy

1. To establish owner-cultivatorship and the economic family-size farm as the basis of Philippine agriculture and, as a consequence, divert landlord capital in agriculture to industrial development;
2. To achieve a dignified existence for the small farmers free from pernicious institutional restraints and practices;
3. To create a truly viable social and economic structure in agriculture conducive to greater productivity and higher farm incomes;
4. To apply all labor laws equally and without discrimination to both industrial and agricultural wage earners;
5. To provide a more vigorous and systematic land resettlement program and public land distribution; and
6. To make the small farmers more independent, self-reliant and responsible citizens, and a source of genuine strength in our democratic society.

and, in pursuance of those policies, established the following

1. An agricultural leasehold system to replace all existing share tenancy systems in agriculture;
2. A declaration of rights for agricultural labor;
3. An authority for the acquisition and equitable distribution of agricultural land;
4. An institution to finance the acquisition and distribution of agricultural land;
5. A machinery to extend credit and similar assistance to agriculture;
6. A machinery to provide marketing, management, and other technical services to agriculture;
7. A unified administration for formulating and implementing projects of land reform;
8. An expanded program of land capability survey, classification, and registration; and
9. A judicial system to decide issues arising under this Code and other related laws and regulations.

Maphilindo

Maphilindo was a proposed nonpolitical confederation of Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It was based on concepts developed during the Commonwealth government in the Philippines by Wenceslao Vinzons and by Eduardo L. Martelino in his 1959 book Someday, Malaysia".^[207]
In July 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal of the Philippines convened a summit meeting in Manila. Maphilindo was proposed as a realization of José Rizal's dream of bringing together the Malay peoples. However, this was perceived as a tactic on the parts of Jakarta and Manila to delay or prevent the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. The plan failed when Indonesian President Sukarno adopted his plan of Konfrontasi with Malaysia.^[208]

Marcos era

The leaders of the SEATO nations in front of the Congress Building in Manila, hosted by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on October 24, 1966. (L-R:) Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky (South Vietnam), Prime Minister Harold Holt (Australia), President Park Chung-hee (South Korea), President Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines), Prime Minister Keith Holyoake (New Zealand), Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (South Vietnam), Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn (Thailand), President Lyndon B. Johnson (United States)

 

Imelda Marcos

Macapagal ran for re-election in 1965, but was defeated by his former party-mate, Senate President Ferdinand Marcos, who had switched to the Nacionalista Party. Early in his presidency, Marcos initiated ambitious public works projects and intensified tax collection which brought the country economic prosperity throughout the 1970s. His administration built more roads (including a substantial portion of the Pan-Philippine Highway) than all his predecessors combined, and more schools than any previous administration.^[209] Marcos was re-elected president in 1969, becoming the first president of the Philippines to achieve a second term. Opponents of Marcos, however, blocked the necessary legislation to further implement his expansive agenda. Because of this, optimism faded early in his second term and economic growth slowed.^[210] Crime and civil disobedience increased. The Communist Party of the Philippines formed the New People's Army in response to his shaky hold over the nation and the Moro National Liberation Front continued to fight for an independent Muslim nation in Mindanao. An explosion during the proclamation rally of the senatorial slate of the Liberal Party on August 21, 1971 prompted Marcos to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, which he restored on January 11, 1972 after public protests.

Martial law

Banda Kawayan Pilipinas performing c. 1970's

Amidst the rising wave of lawlessness and the conveniently timed threat of a looming Communist insurgency, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972 by virtue of Proclamation No. 1081. The Nacionalista president, ruling by decree, curtailed press freedom and other civil liberties, abolished Congress, closed down major media establishments, ordered the arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists, including his staunchest critics: senators Benigno Aquino, Jr., Jovito Salonga and Jose Diokno.^[211] The declaration of martial law was initially well received, given the social turmoil the Philippines was experiencing.^[212] Crime rates plunged dramatically after a curfew was implemented.^[213] Many political opponents were forced to go into exile.^{[citation needed]} Corazon C. Aquino, the Wife of Benigno Aquino, Jr. replaced Marcos by an Election on 1986.

A constitutional convention, which had been called for in 1970 to replace the colonial 1935 Constitution, continued the work of framing a new constitution after the declaration of martial law. The new constitution went into effect in early 1973, changing the form of government from presidential to parliamentary and allowing Marcos to stay in power beyond 1973. Marcos claimed that martial law was the prelude to creating a "New Society" based on new social and political values.^[214] The economy during the 1970s was robust, with budgetary and trade surpluses. The Gross National Product rose from P55 billion in 1972 to P193 billion in 1980. Tourism rose, contributing to the economy's growth.

Fourth Republic

Manila circa 1980s

Marcos officially lifted martial law on January 17, 1981. However, he retained much of the government's power for arrest and detention. Corruption and nepotism as well as civil unrest contributed to a serious decline in economic growth and development under Marcos, whose own health faced obstacles due to lupus. The political opposition decided to boycotted the 1981 presidential elections, which pitted Marcos against retired general Alejo Santos, in protest over his control over the results.^[211] Marcos won by a margin of over 16 million votes, which constitutionally allowed him to have another six-year term. Finance Minister Cesar Virata was eventually appointed to succeed Marcos as Prime Minister.^[215]

In 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated at the Manila International Airport upon his return to the Philippines after a long period of exile. This coalesced popular dissatisfaction with Marcos and began a succession of events, including pressure from the United States, that culminated in a snap presidential election in February 1986.^[216] The opposition united under Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino. The official election canvasser, the Commission on Elections (Comelec), declared Marcos the winner of the election. However, there was a large discrepancy between the Comelec results and that of Namfrel, an accredited poll watcher. The allegedly fraudulent result was rejected by Corazon Aquino and her supporters. International observers, including a U.S. delegation, denounced the official results.^[216] General Fidel Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile withdrew their support for Marcos. A peaceful civilian-military uprising, now popularly called the People Power Revolution, forced Marcos into exile and installed Corazon Aquino as president on February 25, 1986.

Fifth Republic (1986–present)

Administration of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (1986–1992)

Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991.

Corazon Aquino immediately formed a revolutionary government to normalize the situation, and provided for a transitional "Freedom Constitution".^[217] A new permanent constitution was ratified and enacted in February 1987.^[218]

The constitution crippled presidential power to declare martial law, proposed the creation of autonomous regions in the Cordilleras and Muslim Mindanao, and restored the presidential form of government and the bicameral Congress.^[219]

Progress was made in revitalizing democratic institutions and respect for civil liberties, but Aquino's administration was also viewed as weak and fractious, and a return to full political stability and economic development was hampered by several attempted coups staged by disaffected members of the Philippine military.^[220]

Economic growth was additionally hampered by a series of natural disasters, including the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo that left 700 dead and 200,000 homeless.^[221]

During the Aquino presidency, Manila witnessed six unsuccessful coup attempts, the most serious occurring in December 1989.^[222]

In 1991, the Philippine Senate rejected a treaty that would have allowed a 10-year extension of the U.S. military bases in the country. The United States turned over Clark Air Base in Pampanga to the government in November, and Subic Bay Naval Base in Zambales in December 1992, ending almost a century of U.S. military presence in the Philippines.

Administration of Fidel Valdez Ramos (1992–1998)

In the 1992 elections, Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos, endorsed by Aquino, won the presidency with just 23.6% of the vote in a field of seven candidates. Early in his administration, Ramos declared "national reconciliation" his highest priority and worked at building a coalition to overcome the divisiveness of the Aquino years.^[219]

He legalized the Communist Party and laid the groundwork for talks with communist insurgents, Muslim separatists, and military rebels, attempting to convince them to cease their armed activities against the government. In June 1994, Ramos signed into law a general conditional amnesty covering all rebel groups, and Philippine military and police personnel accused of crimes committed while fighting the insurgents.

In October 1995, the government signed an agreement bringing the military insurgency to an end. A peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a major separatist group fighting for an independent homeland in Mindanao, was signed in 1996, ending the 24-year-old struggle. However, an MNLF splinter group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front continued the armed struggle for an Islamic state.

Efforts by Ramos supporters to gain passage of an amendment that would allow him to run for a second term were met with large-scale protests, leading Ramos to declare he would not seek re-election.^[223]

On his Presidency the death penalty was revived in the light of the Rape-slay case of Eileen Sarmienta and Allan Gomez in 1993 and the first person to be executed was Leo Echegaray in 1999.

Administration of Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998–2001)

President Joseph Estrada

Joseph Estrada, a former movie actor who had served as Ramos' vice president, was elected president by a landslide victory in 1998. His election campaign pledged to help the poor and develop the country's agricultural sector. He enjoyed widespread popularity, particularly among the poor.^[224] Estrada assumed office amid the Asian Financial Crisis. The economy did, however, recover from a low −0.6% growth in 1998 to a moderate growth of 3.4% by 1999.^{[225][226][227][228][229][230]}

Like his predecessor there was a similar attempt to change the 1987 constitution. The process is termed as CONCORD or Constitutional Correction for Development. Unlike Charter change under Ramos and Arroyo the CONCORD proposal, according to its proponents, would only amend the 'restrictive' economic provisions of the constitution that is considered as impeding the entry of more foreign investments in the Philippines. However it was not successful in amending the constitution.

After the worsening secessionist movement in Midanao in April 2000, President Estrada declared an "all-out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).^[231][232] The government later captured 46 MILF camps including the MILF's headquarters', Camp Abubakar.^{[231][233][234]}

In October 2000, however, Estrada was accused of having accepted millions of pesos in payoffs from illegal gambling businesses. He was impeached by the House of Representatives, but his impeachment trial in the Senate broke down when the senate voted to block examination of the president's bank records.

Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila

In response, massive street protests erupted demanding Estrada's resignation. Faced with street protests, cabinet resignations, and a withdrawal of support from the armed forces, Estrada was forced from office on January 20, 2001.

Administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001–2010)

Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the daughter of President Diosdado Macapagal) was sworn in as Estrada's successor on the day of his departure. Her accession to power was further legitimized by the mid-term congressional and local elections held four months later, when her coalition won an overwhelming victory.^[235]

Arroyo's initial term in office was marked by fractious coalition politics as well as a military mutiny in Manila in July 2003 that led her to declare a month-long nationwide state of rebellion.^[235] Later on in December 2002 she said would not run in May 10, 2004 presidential election, but she reversed herself in October 2003 and decided to join the race anyway.^[235]

She was re-elected and sworn in for her own six-year term as president on June 30, 2004. In 2005, a tape of a wiretapped conversation surfaced bearing the voice of Arroyo apparently asking an election official if her margin of victory could be maintained.^[236] The tape sparked protests calling for Arroyo's resignation.^[236] Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to an election official, but denied allegations of fraud and refused to step down.^[236] Attempts to impeach the president failed later that year.

Halfway through her second term, Arroyo unsuccessfully attempted to push for an overhaul of the constitution to transform the present presidential-bicameral republic into a federal parliamentary-unicameral form of government, which critics describe would be a move that would allow her to stay in power as Prime Minister.^[237]

Numerous other scandals (such as the Maguindanao massacre, wherein 58 people were killed, and the unsuccessful NBN-ZTE Broadband Deal) took place in the dawn of her administration. She formally ended her term as president in 2010 (wherein she was succeeded by Senator Benigno Aquino III) and ran for a seat in congress the same year (becoming the second president after Jose P. Laurel to run for lower office following the presidency).

Administration of Benigno Simeon Aquino III (2010–2016)

Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Leyte

Benigno Aquino III began his presidency on June 30, 2010, the fifteenth President of the Philippines. He is a bachelor and the son of former Philippines president Corazon C. Aquino. His administration claimed to be focused on major reforms that would bring greater transparency, reduced poverty, reduced corruption, and a booming market which will give birth to a newly industrialized nation.

Just as with his predecessor, however, Aquino's administration has been marked with a mix of success and scandal since his inauguration, beginning with the 2010 Manila hostage crisis that caused deeply strained relations between Manila and Hong Kong for a time (affecting major events such as Wikimania 2013).

The Sultanate of Panay, founded in 2011, was recognized by the Lanao Advisory Council in 2012.

Tensions regarding Sabah due to the Sultanate of Sulu's claim gradually rose during the early years of his administration. Standoffs in Sabah between The Sultanate of Sulu's Royal Army and the Malaysian forces struck in 2013.

In 2012, the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed to create the Bangsamoro Government in Mindanao. In response, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) was assembled by religious extremists with the goal of seceding from the Philippines.

The economy performed well at 7.2% GDP growth, the second fastest in Asia.

In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) struck the country, leading to massive rehabilitation efforts by foreign world powers sending aid, inevitably devolving into chaos following the revelations that the administration and that the government had not been properly handing out the aid packages and preference for political maneuvering over the safety of the people, leading to mass deterioration of food and medical supplies.

Okada Manila

In 2014, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was finally signed after 17 years of negotiation with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a move that is expected to bring peace in Mindanao and the Sulu.

On April 28, 2014, when United States President Barack Obama visited the Philippines, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, between the United States of America and the Philippines, was signed. From January 15 to 19, 2015, Pope Francis stayed in the Philippines for a series of publicity tours and paid visits to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

On January 25, 2015, 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) were killed during an encounter between MILF and BIFF in Mamasapano, Maguindanao putting efforts to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law into law in an impasse.

Under his presidency, the Philippines has had controversial clashes with the People's Republic of China on a number of issues (such as the standoff in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and the dispute over the Spratly islands). This resulted in the proceedings of the Philippines to file a sovereignty case against China in a global arbitration tribunal. Later on in 2014, the Aquino Administration then filed a memorial to the Arbitration Tribunal in The Hague which challenged Beijing's claim in the South China Sea after Chinese ships were accused of harassing a small Philippine vessel carrying goods for stationed military personnel in the South Thomas Shoal where an old Philippine ship had been stationed for many years.

Under his presidency, for aiming to enhance the educational system in the country, Aquino III signed the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, commonly known as K–12 program on May 15, 2013.

On December 20, 2015, Pia Wurtzbach won the Miss Universe 2015, making her the third Filipino to win the Miss Universe title following Gloria Diaz in 1969 and Margarita Moran in 1973.

On January 12, 2016, the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement paving the way for the return of United States Armed Forces bases into the country.

On March 23, 2016, Diwata-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS), becoming the country's first micro-satellite and the first satellite to be built and designed by Filipinos.

Administration of Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016–present)

Rodrigo Duterte, current President of the Philippines.

Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP–Laban won the 2016 presidential election, garnering 39.01% or 16,601,997 of the total votes, becoming the first Mindanaoan to become president. On the other hand, Camarines Sur 3rd District representative Leni Robredo won with the second narrowest margin in history, against Senator Bongbong Marcos.^[238] On 30 May, the Congress had proclaimed Rodrigo Duterte, despite his absence, as president-elect and Leni Robredo as vice president-elect.^[239] On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines in its case against China's claims in the South China Sea.^[240] Duterte's presidency began following his inauguration on June 30, 2016 at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in Manila, which was attended by more than 627 guests.^[241] On August 1, 2016, the Duterte administration launched a 24-hour complaint office accessible to the public through a nationwide hotline, 8888, and changed the nationwide emergency telephone number from 117 to 911.^[242][243] After winning the Presidency, Duterte launched an intensified anti-drug campaign to fulfill a campaign promise of wiping out criminality in six months.^[244] By March 2017, the death toll for the Philippine Drug War passed 8,000 people, with 2,679 killed in legitimate police operations and the rest the government claims to be homicide cases.^{[245][246][247]} On November 8, 2016, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled in favor of the burial of the late president Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, the country's official cemetery for heroes, provoking protests from thousands of millennials, Marcos-regime human rights victims, and relatives of people who were tortured, killed, or were still missing due to martial rule. The burial of the late president was a campaign promise of President Rodrigo Duterte, who was supported by voters in Ilocos Norte, the home province of Marcos.^[248] In November 18, 2016, the remains of Ferdinand Marcos was secretly buried by the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the family and friends of Ferdinand Marcos, despite the Supreme Court order being non-executory due to protocol. Later in the afternoon, the event was made public.^[249] On May 23, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 216 declaring a 60-day martial law in Mindanao following clashes between government forces and the Maute group in Marawi.

Science and technology in the Philippines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Building at UP Diliman.

Science and technology in the Philippines represents the wide scientific and technological advances the Philippines has made. The main managing agency responsible for science and technology (S&T) is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The science department have consulting agencies for Forestry, Agriculture and Aquaculture, Metal Industry, Nuclear Research, Food and Nutrition, Health, Meteorological and the Volcanology and Seismology.

Numerous national scientists have contributed in different fields of science including Fe del Mundo in the field of Pediatrics, Eduardo Quisumbing in the field of Plant taxonomy, Gavino Trono in the field of tropical marine Phycology, and Maria Orosa in the field of Food technology.

History

Pre-Spanish Period

The Banaue Rice Terraces

Even before the colonization by the Spaniards in the Philippine islands, the natives of the archipelago already had practices linked to science and technology. Filipinos were already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants and the methods of extracting medicine from herbs. They already had an alphabet, number system, a weighing and measuring system and a calendar. Filipinos were already engaged in farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving. The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering by pre-Spanish era Filipinos.^[2]

Spanish Colonial Period

The colonization of the Philippines contributed to growth of science and technology in the archipelago. The Spanish introduced formal education and founded scientific institution. During the early years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Parish schools were established where religion, reading, writing, arithmetic and music was taught. Sanitation and more advanced methods of agriculture was taught to the natives. Later the Spanish established colleges and universities in the archipelago including the University of Santo Tomas.^[2]

The study of medicine in the Philippines was given priority in the Spanish era, especially in the later years. The Spanish also contributed to the field of engineering in the islands by constructing government buildings, churches, roads, bridges and forts.^[2] Biology is given focus. Contributors to science in the archipelago during the 19th century were botanists, Fr. Ignacio Mercado., Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera and Dr. Leon Ma Guerrero, chemist Anaclento del Rosario, and medicine scholars Dr. Manuel Guerrero, Dr, Jose Montes and Dr. Elrodario Mercado.^[3]

The Galleon Trade have accounted in the Philippine colonial economy. Trade was given more focus by the Spaniard colonial authorities due to the prospects of big profits. Agriculture and industrial development on the other hand were relatively neglected.^[3] The opening of the Suez Canal saw the influx of European visitors to the Spanish colony and some Filipinos were able to study in Europe who were probably influenced by the rapid development of scientific ideals brought by the Age of Enlightenment.^[3]

American Period and Post-Commonwealth era

Angel Alcala is a national scientist noted for his work in marine and aquatic biology.

The progress of science and technology in the Philippines continued under American rule of the islands. On July 1, 1901 The Philippine Commission established the Bureau of Government Laboratories which was placed under the Department of Interior. The Bureau replaced the Laboratorio Municipal, which was established under the Spanish colonial era. The Bureau dealt with the study of tropical diseases and laboratory projects. On October 26, 1905, the Bureau of Government Laboratories was replaced by the Bureau of Science and on December 8, 1933, the National Research Council of the Philippines was established.^[2] The Bureau of Science became the primary research center of the Philippines until World War II.^[4]

Science during the American period was inclined towards agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine and pharmacy. Not much focus was given on the development of industrial technology due to free trade policy with the United States which nurtured an economy geared towards agriculture and trade.^[4]

In 1946 the Bureau of Science was replaced by the Institute of Science. In a report by the US Economic Survey to the Philippines in 1950, there is a lack of basic information which were necessities to the country's industries, lack of support of experimental work and minimal budget for scientific research and low salaries of scientists employed by the government. In 1958, during the regime of President Carlos P. Garcia, the Philippine Congress passed the Science Act of 1958 which established the National Science Development Board.^[4]

Marcos Era and Martial Law

During Ferdinand Marcos' presidency, the importance given to science grew. In the amended 1973 Philippine Constitution, Article XV, Section 9 (1), he declared that the "advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development."^[5] In his two terms of presidency and during Martial Law, he enacted many laws promoting science and technology.

In his Second State of the Nation Address on January 23, 1967, he declared that science was necessary for the development programs, and thus, directed the Department of Education to revitalize the science courses in public high schools. The Department of Education, with the National Science Development Board (NSDB), is organizing a project to provide selected high schools with science teaching equipment over a four-year period.^[6]

In his Third State of the Nation Address on January 22, 1968, he recognized that technology was the leading factor in economic development, and channeled additional funds to support projects in applied sciences and science education.^[7]

In his Fourth State of the Nation Address on January 27, 1969, he gave a big part of the war damage fund to private universities to encourage them to create courses in science and technology and to research. He stated that he planned a project to have medical interns do a tour of duty in provincial hospitals to arouse their social conscious and reduce the "brain drain." On April 6, 1968, he proclaimed 35 hectares in Bicutan, Taguig, Rizal as the site of the Philippine Science Community. The government also conducted seminars for public and private high school and college science teachers, training programs and scholarships for graduate and undergraduate science scholars, and workshops on fisheries and oceanography.^[8]

In his Fifth State of the Nation Address on January 26, 1970, he emphasized that the upgrading of science curricula and teaching equipment is crucial to the science development program. He added the Philippine Coconut Research Institute to the NSDB to modernize the coconut industry. The NSDB also established the Philippine Textile Research Institute. The Philippine Atomic Energy Commission of the NSDB explored the uses of atomic energy for economic development. Marcos assisted 107 institutions in undertaking nuclear energy work by sending scientists to study nuclear science and technology abroad, and providing basic training to 482 scientists, doctors, engineers, and technicians.^[9]

In his Seventh State of the Nation Address on January 24, 1972, he spoke about his major development projects in reforming sectors of education. Such projects included research and development schools, technical institutes, science education centers, and agricultural colleges and vocational high schools.^[10]

In 1972, he created the National Grains Authority to provide for the development of the rice and corn industry to fully harness it for the economy of the country. (Presidential Decree No. 4, s. 1972)^[11] He established the Philippine Council for Agricultural Research to support the progressive development of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries for the nation. It was attached to the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources for administrative purposes.^[12] He provided further support for the promotion of scientific research and invention with Presidential Decree No. 49, s. 1972. This decree contains details on the protection of intellectual property for the creator or publisher of the work.^[13] He established the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) under the Department of National Defense to provide environmental protection and to utilize scientific knowledge to ensure the safety of the people. (Presidential Decree No. 78, s. 1972)^[14]

In 1973, he created the Philippine National Oil Company to promote industrial and economic development through effective and efficient use of energy sources. (Presidential Decree No. 334, s. 1973)^[15]

In 1976, he enacted a law under Presidential Decree No. 1003-A, s. 1976 to establish the National Academy of Science and Technology, which is composed of scientists with "innovative achievement in the basic and applied sciences," to serve as a reservoir of scientific and technological expertise for the country.^[16]

In 1978, he created a Task Force on the formulation of a national action program on science and technology to assess policies and programs of science and technology. (Executive Order No. 512, s. 1978)^[17] In his Fourteenth State of the Nation Address on July 23, 1979, he said that the government invested funds and time in organizations for scientific research, such as the NSDB, the Philippine Council for Agricultural Research and Resources, the Plant Breeding Institute, the International Rice Research Institute, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Bureau of Forest Products. While these projects have had breakthroughs, the market machinery did not adapt and invest in this technology due to the high-risk front-end costs.^[18]

In 1979, he constituted the Health Sciences Center created by R.A. No. 5163 as an autonomous member within the University of the Philippines System to improve the internal organization and unity of leadership within its units. (Executive Order No. 519, s. 1979)^[19]

In 1980, he created the National Committee on Geological Sciences to advise government and private entities on matters concerning development in geological sciences. (Executive Order No. 625, s. 1980)^[20]

In 1982, he reorganized the National Science Development Board and its agencies into a National Science and Technology Authority to provide central direction and coordination of scientific and technological research and development. (Executive Order No. 784, s. 1982)^[21] He granted salary increases to the people with teaching positions in the Philippine Science High School due to their necessity in the advancement of national science. (Executive Order No. 810, s. 1982).^[22] He enacted a law on the completion of the National Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Complex at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños. (Executive Order No. 840, s. 1982)^[23]

In 1986, he established the Mindanao and Visayas campuses of the Philippine Science High School to encourage careers in science and technology and to be more accessible to the talented students in the Mindanao and Visayas areas. (Executive Order No. 1090, s. 1986)^[24]

Fifth Republic

Filipina food technologist Maria Y. Orosa (1893–1945) is credited with inventing banana ketchup.^[25][26]

In 1986, during Corazon Aquino's presidency, the National Science and Technology Authority was replaced by the Department of Science and Technology, giving science and technology a representation in the cabinet. Under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for the years 1987-1992, science and technology's role in economic recovery and sustained economic growth was highlighted. During Corazon Aquino's State of the Nation Address in 1990, she said that science and technology development shall be one of the top three priorities of the government towards an economic recovery.^[4]

On August 8, 1988, Corazon Aquino created the Presidential Task Force for Science and Technology which came up with the first Science and Technology Master Plan or STMP. The goal of STMP was for the Philippines to achieve newly industrialized country status by the year 2000.^[4] The Congress did not put much priority in handling bills related to science and technology. The Senate Committee on Science and Technology was one of the committees that handles the least amount of bills for deliberation.^[4]

Former DOST Secretary Ceferin Follosco reported that the budget allocation for science and technology was increased to 1.054 billion pesos in 1989 from the previous year's 464 million pesos. However, due to the Asian financial crisis, budget allocation for the years 1990 and 1991 were trimmed down to 920 and 854 million pesos respectively. Budget allocation were increased to 1.7 billion pesos in 1992.^[4]

During her term, President Corazon Aquino encouraged scientists and inventors to bring the Philippines to its former position as second to only Japan in the field of science and technology. One of the goals of her administration was to achieve the status as being an industrialized country by 2000. She urged that the private research sector form a stronger bond between public research to help jump-start the progress in the area of Philippine Research and Development.^[27]

Ironically, it was during President Corazon Aquino’s term and the reorganization of Philippine bureaucracy that Executive Order No.128 abolished R.A. No. 3859, also known as the “Philippine Inventors Incentive Act.” This Philippine Inventors Commission was under the Science Development board. It gave assistance to Filipino inventors through giving financial aid, patent application assistance, legal assistance, and to help inventors market their products domestically and abroad.^[28] Despite the abolishment of the Philippine Inventors Commission, her administration gave rise to new avenues for the government to aid the progress of Science and Technology in the country.

R.A. 6655 or the Free Public Secondary Education Act of 1988 opened doors to free education up to the secondary level, implemented in the education system together with this was the “Science for the Masses Program” which aimed at scientific and technological literacy among Filipinos. The Aquino administration recognized the importance of science and technology in the development of the Philippines into a newly industrialized country. Funding for the science and technology sector was tripled from 464 million in 1986 to 1.7 billion in 1992. The Science and Technology Master Plan was formulated which aimed at the modernization of the production sector, upgrading research activities, and development of infrastructure for science and technological purposes. A Research and Development Plan was also formulated to examine and determine which areas of research needed attention and must be given priority. The criteria for identifying the program to be pursued were, development of local materials, probability of success, potential of product in the export market, and the its strategic nature. The grants for the research and development programs was included in the Omnibus Investment Law.[1]

There were noticeable improvements regarding science and technology as stated in President Fidel Ramos' State of the Nation Address. In his third SONA, there was a significant increase in personnel specializing in the science and technology field. At 1998, the Philippines was estimated to have around 3,000 competent scientists and engineers. Adding to the increase of scientists would be the result of the two newly built Philippine Science High Schools in Visayas and Mindanao which promotes further development of young kids through advance S&T curriculum.^[29] The government provided 3,500 scholarships for students who were taking up professions related to S&T. Schools were becoming more modernized and updated with the addition of high-tech equipment for student improvement and teachers were getting training programs to benefit themselves and their students. Health care services were promoted through local programs such as "Doctors to the Barrio Program." The health care programs were innovative and effective as shown by the change in life expectancy from 67.5 years in 1992 to 69.1 years in 1995.^[30]

Priority for S&T personnel increased when Magna Carta for Science and Technology Personnel (Republic Act No. 8439) was established. The award was published in order to give incentives and rewards for people who have been influential in the field of S&T. In the sixth SONA, education was one of the primary story-lines wherein programs such as National Program for Gifted Filipino Children in Science and Technology and enactment of a law creating a nationwide system of high schools specializing in the field of science and engineering.^[31]

Fidel V. Ramos believes that science and technology was one of the means wherein the Philippines could attain the status of new industrialized country (NIC). During his term, he was able to establish programs that were significant to the field of S&T. In 1993, Science and Technology Agenda for National Development (STAND) was established. Among its priorities were: (1) exporting winners identified by the DTI; (2) domestic needs identified by the President's Council for Countryside Development; (3) support industries and (4) coconut industry development. Congress, during his term, was able to enact laws that were significant for the field. Among were: (1) Magna Carta for Science and Technology Personnel (Republic Act No. 8439); (2) Science and Technology Scholarship Law of 1994 (Republic Act No. 7687) and (3) Inventors and Inventions Incentives Act (Republic Act No. 7459). The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293) was enacted during Ramos' term. The law provides industrial property rights, copyrights and related rights, and technology transfer arrangements.^[32]

In President Joseph Estrada's term, two major legislations that he signed were Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 (Republic Act No. 8749^[33]) which was designed to protect and preserve the environment and ensure the sustainable development of its natural resources, and Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8792)^[34] which outlaws computer hacking and provides opportunities for new businesses emerging from the Internet-driven New Economy. Aside from these, in his first State of the Nation Address, President Estrada launched a full-scale program based on cost-effective irrigation technologies. He also announced that Dole-outs are out, which meant basic health care, basic nutrition, and useful education for those who want, but cannot afford it. Lastly, he said that they would speed up the program to establish one science high school in every province.^[35] It was in his second State of the Nation Address that President Estrada announced the passage of the Clean Air Act, and the decision to pursue the 15-year modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.^[36] His last State of the Nation Address pushed for the advancement of industries and schools into the Internet age, as well as the announcement of the passage of the e-Commerce Act.^[37]
In the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the science and technology sector of the Philippines was dubbed as the "golden age" of science and technology by then secretary Estrella Albastro ^[3]. Numerous laws and projects that concerns both the environment and science to push technology as a tool to increase the country's economic level. This is to help increase the productivity from Science, Technology and Innovations (STI) and help benefit the poor people. Moreover, the term "Filipinnovation" was the coined term used in helping the Philippines to be an innovation hub in Asia.^[4]

The STI was developed further by strengthening the schools and education system such as the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), which focuses in science, technology and mathematics in their curriculum. This helps schools produce get more involve in this sector. Private sectors were also encouraged to participate in developing the schools through organizing events and sponsorships. Future Filipino scientists and innovators can be produced through this system^[4]

Helping the environment was one of the focus in developing technology in the Philippines. One of the more known laws to be passed by her administration was the R.A. 9367 or the "Biofuels" act. This act promotes the development and usage of biofuels throughout the country. This potentially enables a cheaper alternative to gasoline as a medium in producing energy. Also, this benefits the environment since it boasts a cleaner emission compared to regular fuel. Yet, setbacks such as lack of raw materials is holding the full implementation of the laws since importing the necessary materials are imported more.^[5] On one had, drought-free rice was also highly encouraged to by used during her term. This enables farmers to produce rice despite the environmental hazards that slows or stops the production.^[3]

In an effort to improve the efficiency of both land and water, the government imposes Republic Act 10601 which improves the Agriculture and Fisheries Sector through Mechanization (AFMech). RA 10601 covers research, development, and extension (RDE), promotion, distribution, supply, assembling, manufacturing, regulation, use, operation, maintenance and project implementation of agricultural and fisheries machinery and equipment (Section 4).^[38]

In 2014, President Aquino conferred four new National Scientist for their contribution in the Scientific field,^[39] Academicians Gavino C. Trono, Angel C. Alcala, Ramon C. Barba, and Edgardo D. Gomez was honored in their respective fields. Trono's contribution helped a lot of families in the coastal populations through the extensives studies he made on seaweed species. On the other hand, Alcala served as the pioneer scientist and advocate of coral reefs aside from his contribution in the fields of systematics, secology and herpetology. Barba's contribution changes the seasonal supply of fresh fruits to an all year round availability of mangoes through his studies on the induction of flowering of mango and micropropagation of important crop species. Lastly, Gomez steered the national-scale assessment of damage coral reefs which led a national conservation.

Science and Technology Fields

Life Sciences

Life Sciences is a very broad field, it encompasses numerous specializations. It is commonly defined by sciences that pertain to living organisms like microorganisms, plants, animals, and most importantly human beings. Some of the well-known fields in the Life Sciences are zoology, botany, biology, microbiology, biotechnology, and biomedical technologies.

In the Philippines, the various fields of the Life Sciences is under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). This government office is responsible for the coordination and funding of different researches by Filipino scientists and inventors, which can potentially help the progress of science and technology in the Philippines. There are different agencies under DOST which cater to specialized fields, these are the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research Development (PCAARRD). The Secretary of Science and Technology is appointed by the president of the Republic of the Philippines, and this position has no fixed term. The incumbent Secretary of Science and Technology is Mario G. Montejo, a professor of the University of the Philippines Diliman, he was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III on June 29, 2010.

Botany and Biology

Botany and biology are two of the highly sought-after research topics in the Philippines, given its rich biodiversity in flora and fauna.

Eucheuma denticulatum is a species of red alga that naturally exists in the country.

Several Filipino scientist have pioneered in the field of biology. Eduardo Quisumbing, a biologist who graduated MS in Botany at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 1921, and Ph.D. in Plant Taxonomy, Systematics and Morphology at the University of Chicago in 1923. He conducted research on taxonomic and morphological papers deal with orchids^[40] and authored the book Medicinal Plants of the Philippines.^[41] The species of Saccolabium quisumbingii was named after him. Dioscoro L. Umali, is an agriculturist that was dubbed as the Father of Philippine Plant Breeding due to the programs he conducted that are related to rainfed and upland agriculture, social forestry, and environmental preservation.^[42] Marine biologist helped improve the knowledge on aquatic resources like Angel Alcala, a biologist who was recognized for his research on amphibians and reptiles diversity and marine biodiversity in the country and served as consultant on marine and aquatic projects under the United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and others,^[43] Gavino Trono, a biologist who was dubbed as the Father of Kappaphycus farming for his contributions to the study of tropical marine phycology, focusing on seaweed biodiversity, established the largest phycological herbarium in the country – the G.T. Velasquez Herbarium in the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute, and authored a book that was considered as the most authoritative books in the country on the seaweed flora titled Field guide and atlas of the seaweed resources of the Philippines.^[44]

Biotechnology

The Philippines Biofuel Act of 2006, RA 0376 mandates an increase of the minimum 5% bioethanol blend (E5) in gasoline to 10% ethanol blend (E10). In 2011, 600 million liters of gasoline was consumed by car owners in the Philippines, if the 10% bioethanol blend would be followed, this would be equivalent to 1 million metric tons of sugar.

Ethanol is an alcohol produced from fermenting carbohydrates in plants. Bioethanol can be produced mainly from three different kinds of raw materials, namely simple sugars, starch, and lignocellulosic biomass. Since the prices of the raw materials are very volatile and can easily change, lignocellulosic biomass has been extensively studied due to its cheap price and abundance in agricultural countries like the Philippines. Some of the top sources of lignocellulosic biomass are forest residues, municipal solid wastes, and agricultural wastes like sugarcane baggase, nipa sap, rice straws, etc.^[45]

Numerous studies have been done by Filipino scientists on what raw material should be used to achieve an efficient and cost-effective bioethanol production. Studies on nipa sap showed that molasses is still more advantageous to use, as for the same amount of bioethanol produced, a greater amount of nipa sap was needed compared to molasses.^[46] A study by Tan et al.reports on corn as being viable for bioethanol production, and could give a yield of around 0.37 Liters per kilogram of corn used.^[47] Other studies showed that sugarcane juice produced approximately 70 Liters per ton of sugar, but using sugracane juice as the primary feedstock for bioethanol production, would be problematic, as this would mean that it would be competing with the sugar production in the country. These problems have pushed Filipino scientists today, to continue searching for alternatives to sugarcane. One of the most promising fields is the study of lignocellulosic agricultural wastes, as they are abundant and very cheap.

A study by Del Rosario in 1982 identified sweet sorghum as a possible source of ethanol, it is a very adaptive crop which can withstand drought and grow in the low-lands as well as in the high lands.^[48] A study by the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) showed that the production costs for sweet sorghum is higher than sugarcane by 4.28%, but this is balanced out by the grain yield of 1 ton per hectare. In 2007, the University of Philippines-Los Banos, together with the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and ICRISAT conducted studies on sweet sorghum as feedstock for bioethanol production.

In 2013 the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) announced that the country may start producing its first sweet sorghum-based bioethanol. The Philippine National Oil Co. -Alternative Fuels Corp and the San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. are discussing on creating a 1,000 hectare sweet sorghum plantation solely for the purpose of using the produce as feedstock for bioethanol production.^[49]

Engineering

Engineering is the field of science that applies both science and math to solve problems. It concerns the use of technology in practical ways that can advance the human condition. Some of the fields of engineering include mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, and industrial engineering.^[50]

In the Philippines, many organizations and research institutes for engineering were established, such as the National Engineering Center and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers.

The National Engineering Center (NEC) was first established on January 27, 1978 as the research arm of the University of the Philippines College of Engineering. It absorbed the UP Industrial Research Service Center, the National Hydraulic Research Center, the Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry, the Transport Training Center, and the Building Research Service.^[51]

The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) was the result of the merging of two separate civil engineer organizations, the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE) and the Philippine Association of Civil Engineers (PACE), on December 11, 1973. It was given accreditation by the Professional Regulation Commission on August 13, 1975 as the only official recognized organization of civil engineers in the Philippines.^[52] It was established to advance the knowledge and research and to maintain high ethical standards of civil engineering.^[53]

The University of the Philippines also established the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) to contribute to scholarly research and training in the field of transportation. They advocate sustainable transport, integrated transport system, road safety, and institutional development.^[54] They release advisories and feature studies by both undergraduate and graduate students on transportation. For example, the NCTS website links to downloads of Emer T. Quezon's research into the effects of flyover construction on traffic flow in Nagtahan and R. Magsaysay Boulevard intersection in 1994,^[55] as well as the research of Franklyn T. Amistad and Jose Regin F. Regidor, Dr. Eng. researched into ways to improve traffic management and congestion in Vigan without sacrificing its legacy as a World Heritage Site.^[56]

Ricardo G. Sigua is a professor who contributed to engineering research in the Philippines. Sigua, a professor at the Institute of Civil Engineering in the University of the Philippines, Diliman, wrote a book called The Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering due to the scarcity of textbooks on the traffic engineering relevant to the Philippine context. His book covers topics such as traffic management and regulations, traffic flow, traffic studies, intersection design and control, geometric design of highways, road safety, traffic accident analysis, travel demand forecasting, the origin-destination table (OD Matrix), and the intelligent transportation system.^[57]

Agriculture and Aquaculture

Agriculture is the field in science wherein it concerns with the different techniques of land cultivation, crop and livestock raising, or otherwise, farming.^[58] The Department of Agriculture (Philippines) (DA) is a government agency responsible for the development of the Philippine's agriculture by generating policies, investments, and support services which are significant in the local and export-oriented trade.^[59] In the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), Chapter 4: Competitive and Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries Sector, both agriculture and fisheries sector provides the needs and raw materials for the market and surplus labor to the industry and service sectors. The focus for improvement would be to generate more opportunities of employments and increased income for the farmers which would encourage participation from them. Development of the agricultural sector is critical in maintaining an affordable price for food especially for the poor which, then, could be translated to inclusive growth and poverty reduction.^[59] Proceso J. Alcala is a former district representative and the recently appointed DA secretary by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010. He is considered the 'Father of Organic Agriculture' because of his work in the Organic Agricultural Act of 2010 (RA 10068).^[60]

Developments regarding the research and technology of Philippine agriculture are currently in the works. Most of the researches are inclined in solving the problem of increasing hunger in the country by creating a more efficient and cheaper process of yielding produce. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international research consortium, including the Philippines, which serves to improve the rice production and quality through biotechnology and research. One of their ongoing research involves changing the normal C3 carbon fixation mechanism of rice into a supercharged photosynthetic mechanism, C4 carbon fixation. Converting rice from a C3 plant into a C4 plant would be beneficial because the latter can efficiently produce more yield than the former in a given and limited amount of resources (land, water, and fertilizer) which bodes well to the Philippines' situation.^[61] IRRI have made calculations which shows that converting rice into a C4 plant would increase the yield at around 30-50%, demonstrating a double water-use efficiency, and providing more at less fertilizer usage.^[61] Other rice varieties have been developed to increase efficiency without sacrificing the quality too much. PSB Rc26H (Magat), PSB Rc72H (Mestizo), and PSB Rc76H (Panay) are some of the rice hybrids developed but only Mestizo is currently available for planting. The texture and taste quality of Mestizo is comparable to the normal grain, IR64.^[62]

Overall records and statistics about Philippine agricultural growth is provided by the CountrySTAT Philippines. In 2014, gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 6.13%. The gross value added (GVA) in agriculture and fishing went up by 1.60% and this accounted for 10% of the GDP increase. There was an increase in the production of livestock rated at 1.01%. Gross outputs of the following livestock showed an increase at different rates: hog, cattle, carabao, goat, chicken, duck, and other products such as chicken eggs and dairy. There was an increase in the prices of different produce such as crops, fruits, and livestock and a decrease in the prices of vegetables. Food and other non-alcoholic beverage had an increase of 6.68%. Earnings from exports increased by 5.78% and top earners were from coconut oil and banana. Expenditures for imports increased by 19.86% and the highest spending were from wheat and milk products. The labor force totaled to 40.05 million and 11.21 million were employed in the agriculture sector which was around 30% of the national employment.

Metal Industry

This industry deals with the creation and innovation of metallic and steel products. The metal/steel industry have shown remarkable technological dynamism over the centuries and with the growing product innovation, there have been a great significance on the steels' economic and political influence.^[63] The Philippines have become part of the growing revolution of the industry. The Metal Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) is a government agency under the Department of Science and Technology that supports the local metals and engineering industry through support services enhancing the industry's competitive advantage. The agency's mission would consist of providing both public and private sectors with professional management and technical expertise, quality control, research and development, technology transfer, and business advisory services.^[64]

MIRDC have been cooperating with different organizations to create technology for various improvements and purposes. The Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) System and the Road Train were unveiled to the public during the annual Lantern Parade in the University of the Philippines Diliman. It was a collaboration between UP Diliman and MIRDC for the purpose of faster travel time for students in UP and the public. It had two stations, one located along C.P. Garcia and the other one is along the University Avenue.^[65] The Hand Tractor was from the works of both MIRDC and Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech). The concept of the equipment is a transplanter-attached hand tractor and harvester-attached hand tractor wherein rice transplanting and harvesting implements are readily available from the tractor. Farmers would benefit from this because of the reduced cost and more utilization of hand tractor.^[66]

Statistics of recent steel and steel-related industry developments were published by the Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) with 2001 as the reference year. The industry totaled to 1,895 establishment which is 29.6% of the manufacturing firms. Of all the establishments, 403 or 21.3% of the steel industries were from intermediate steel sector and 1,246 were from manufacturing industries. The steel industry was able to contribute 369,985 worker to the manufacturing sector. Total compensation paid by the steel industry reached to P47.9 billion which was about 41.2% of the total salaries and employers' contributions SSS/GSIS. The total expenses made by the industry was valued at P692.6 billion which accounted for 48.8% of the costs made by the manufacturing establishments. The total output of the industry was estimated at P832 billion which accounted for 46.3% of the manufacturing output valued at P1,795.8 billion.^[67]

Food and Nutrition

Food science or nutritional science is the field of science studying the nature of foods and the natural changes in them resulting from handling and processing.^[68] It is the science concerned with food and nourishment and the role of nutrients in health. In the Philippines, food and nutrition research investigates the ideal diet for Filipinos to solve the problem of malnutrition and the current state of nutrition.

The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) is the principal research arm of the Philippine government in food and nutrition. It was first created in 1947 as the Institute of Nutrition to serve as a clearing-house of data and information regarding nutrition.^[69] In 1949, it was authorized to conduct research in the applied science of food, as well.^[70] The FNRI was reorganized in Executive Order No. 128, s. 1987 to redefine its mandate to research food and nutrition in order to research and identify solutions to malnutrition problems, develop programs, projects, and policies to address malnutrition, and disseminate these findings.^[71] In accordance with these functions, the Food Composition Laboratory was established. Now known as the Food Analytical Service Laboratory (FASL), it is the pioneering laboratory researching into the food and nutrient composition of Philippine foods. Their services include chemical testing, microbiological testing, physico-chemical testing, and research and consultancy services.^[72] FNRI also develops simple recipes for small scale and household use, especially for the consumption by infants and children. They provide the nutritional information, properties and even market potential.^[73]

Aside from the FNRI, Philippine scientists have been researching into food science. Patricia T. Arroyo, Ph.D., an assistant professor and chairman of the Department of Fisheries Technology of the University of the Philippines, Diliman wrote The Science of Philippine Foods as a reference for students of food chemistry and food technology to be used instead of foreign books. This book is a compilation of scattered literature about Philippine foods and contains information about the structure, composition, methods in preparation, standards of quality, preservation, and experiments about various food such as eggs, rice, red meat, poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, fats, oils, milk, milk products, wheat, flour, and sugar.^[74]

Maria Ligaya T. Braganza, Ed.D, the Dean of the School of Food Science and Technology at the Philippine Women's University conducts applied researches on food and product development.^[75] One of her studies investigates the use of banana flour as a wheat flour extender in pan de sal and doughnuts.^[76]

Ame P. Garong, a museum researcher at the National Museum of the Philippines, published Ancient Filipino Diet: Reconstructing Diet from Human Remains Excavated in the Philippines based on her doctoral dissertation. Using isotope analysis, she reconstructed the diet from the archaeological human remains from different burial sites in the Philippines. Based on the bone, hair, muscle samples and plant and animal tissues, Garong traced the diet of ancient Filipinos. Filipinos in the pre-colonial and early colonial past ate mostly aquatic resources (such as marine fish, freshwater shellfish, and coral reef resources). Some samples showed that the ancient Filipinos practiced prolonged breast feeding.^[77]

Health

One aspect of healthcare is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases; the other pertains to provisions for medical care for people in the community. In the Philippines, healthcare is under the Department of Health (DOH). This government office is responsible for organizing public healthcare and making sure that all Filipino citizens have access to quality health services. This office is also responsible for supervising and funding researches pertaining to new medicines and medical devices. The DOH has different bureaus, all of which have different areas of specialization, these are the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology, Bureau of Health Facilities and Services, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, Bureau of Local Health Development, Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance, and Food and Drug Administration. The DOH has a budget of Php 87.6 billion for the year 2015. The Secretary of Health is nominated by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the incumbent Secretary of Health is Janette Garin; she was appointed last February 17, 2015.

The DOH has recently implemented the Philippines eHealth Strategic Framework and Plan (2013-2017). This focuses on the application of Information and Communications Technologies for healthcare. It draws up a long-term strategic plan for the development and implementation of eHealth services in the Philippines. It looks into realizing a national electronic public-health information systems, if this is reached, it can greatly improve the surveillance and response to health emergencies, it can also impact researches of epidemiological nature, greatly speeding up the process as sampling would be very convenient already. Another program recently started by the DOH is the Universal Health Care high Impact Five (UHC-Hi-5), which focuses on the regional operations and its convergence in high priority poverty program areas. Its goal is for tangible outputs within a 15-month period of its implementation.

Anti-cancer research

Soybean is a very sought-after crop, as its by products are used to generate bioethanol, and most importantly it is linked with cancer research. During the past decade, soybean has been extensively studied due to its 43-amino acid polypeptide called Lunasin. The anti-cancer properties of Lunasin was first discovered by Dr Alfredo Galvez and Dr. Benito de Lumen, both Filipino doctors, when they were enhancing the nutritional properties of soy protein. Dr. Galvez observed mitotic disruptive properties of Lunasin in mammalian cancer cells, he saw that it prevented normal cells from turning into cancerous cells. This eventually lead to more research about its anti-cancer properties. In 2005, Dr. de Lumen conducted an experiment on Lunasin using skin cancer mouse models, he discovered that Lunasin internalizes in mammals within minutes of exogenous application, it eventually ends up in the nucleus wherein it inhibits the acetylation of core histones. Dr de Lumen observed that in spite of Lunasin’s anti-cancer properties, it does not inhibit the growth of normal mammalian cell lines.^[78]

A very recent study on Lunasin showed that at certain doses, it reduced non-small cell lung cancer tumor volume by 63%, it also showed a capability of inhibiting non-small cell lung cancer cells by suppressing the cell-cycle dependent phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein.^[79] More studies of Lunasin also showed that it possesses antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and a cholesterol regulating role; all of which makes it a very good potential source of dietary supplements.^[80] All of these researches would have not been at the level of where it is now, if not for the Filipino doctors who first discovered Lunasin.

Social sciences

Encarnacion Alzona, the first Filipina to get a Doctor of Philosophy.

Notable Filipino scientist have been contributors in the field of social science in the country. Raul V. Fabella was an academic, economist and scientist that graduated in Seminario Mayor-Recoletos (Bachelor of Philosophy; 1970); the University of the Philippines School of Economics (Master of Arts; 1975); and Yale University (Doctor of Philosophy; 1982). He had written articles in both theoretical and applied fields: political economy and rent-seeking; the theory of teams; regulation; international economics; and mathematical economics and was associated with the concepts of "Olson ratio" in rent-seeking, egalitarian Nash bargaining solutions, and debt-adjusted real effective exchange rate.^[81][82] Teodoro Agoncillo, a 20th-century Filipino historian, and received the national scientist award for his contributions in the field of history. He graduated from the University of the Philippines (Bachelor of Philosophy; 1934) and finished his Master of Arts degree in the same university in 1935. He also wrote books regarding the Philippine History like History of the Filipino People.^[83] Encarnacion Alzona, a pioneering Filipino historian, educator and suffragist became the first filipina to obtain a Doctor of Philosophy. She got her degree in history and a master's degree from the University of the Philippines and later obtained another master's degree in history from Radcliffe College in 1920, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1923. She was an advocate of women suffrage in the Philippines and authored the book The Filipino Woman: Her Social, Economic and Political Status (1565-1933).^[84] that stated a stable account for women despite their lack in political and social rights.^[85]

Forestry

Forestry is the field of science that practice planting, managing and taking care of trees. The governing body for the Philippine forestry is the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). This department started way back in 1863, when the Spanish Royal Decree established the Inspeccion General de Montes. This was transformed into the Department of Interior in 1901. Then when the government reorganized, it became the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. During 1987, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was formally established. Under this department, the Forest Management Bureau was the sector that focuses on preserving the forest and the harvesting of its resources.^[86]

The Philippines have an actual forest cover at 6.5 million hectares (ha) or 24% of the total land area. A lot of Filipinos rely on these resources for their survival. The country's goal is to have a sustainable forest-based industry that can contribute to the socio-economic development and support the disadvantaged sectors of society. Several projects have been started by the Forest Products Research and Development and Institute (FPRDI) to accomplish this goal. It starts with the identification of the nation's tree species. and subsequently developing the products-based industry of wood and lumber. The Institute also covers the sustainable creation of furnishings using wood, bamboo, rattan and vines.

Institutions

An IRRI researcher studying rice DNA under ultraviolet light.

International Research Organizations

• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
• Irrigated Rice Research Consortium (IRRC)
• Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC)

National Government Research Institutions, Bureaus and Attached Agencies

Department of Science and Technology (DOST)

• Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI)
• Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI)
• Forest Products Research Development Institute (FPRDI)
• Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI)
• Metal Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC)
• Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI)
• Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI)

Department of Agriculture (DA)

• Bureau of Agricultural Research
• National Fisheries Research and Development Institute
• Philippine Carabao Center
• Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization
• Philippine Rice Research Institute

Department of Energy (DOE)

• Energy Research and Testing Laboratory

Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)

• Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau
• Environmental Research and Laboratory Services Division, Environmental Management Bureau

National Academic, Research and Professional Societies

Basic Science

• Crop Science Society of the Philippines
• Transportation Science Society of the Philippines
• Philippine Physics Society
• Samahang Pisika ng Pilipinas
• Integrated Chemists of the Philippines
• Kapisanang Kimika ng Pilipinas
• Philippine Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Philippine Society for Cell Biology
• Mathematical Society of the Philippines
• Computing Society of the Philippines
• Geological Society of the Philippines
• Ecological Society of the Philippines
• Philippine Association of Entomologists
• Philippine Horticultural Society
• Philippine Association of Marine Science
• Philippine Astronomical Society
• Philippine Meteorological Society
• Philippine Corrosion Society
• Philippine Society for Developmental Biology
• Philippine Society for Microbiology

Applied Sciences

• Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers
• Geodetic Engineers of the Philippines
• Society of Metallurgical Engineers of the Philippines
• Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers
• Philippine Society of Sanitary Engineers
• Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines, Inc.
• Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, Inc.
• Society of Aerospace Engineers of the Philippines
• Philippine Society of Agricultural Engineers
• Philippine Society of Mining Engineers

Science Education in the Philippines

High School Education

Philippine Science High School System

The Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System is a specialized high school program in the Philippines under the Department of Science and Technology. It offers scholarships to students that are gifted in science and mathematics. High school students are bound by law to major in pure and applied science, mathematics or engineering. PSHS have 12 regional campuses in addition to the main campus. PSHS follows the K-12 basic education program of the government.^[87]

Regional Science High School System

The Regional Science High School (RSHS) System is a specialized high school program in the Philippines under the Department of Education. RSHS have regional campuses and follows the K-12 basic education program of the government.

Tertiary Education

Various universities offers science courses that encompasses the different fields of science.