The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the progeny of the tribunal established by Act No. 136 of the Philippine Commission on June 11, 1901. There is no umbilical cord joining the Supreme Court to the Real Audiencia de Manila set up by the Spaniards or the Audiencia Territorial de Manila constituted by Major General Elwell Otis. These audiencias, however, serve as backdrops and proper perspectives in retelling the history of the present Supreme Court.
The Judicial System of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos
When the Spanish colonizers first arrived in the Philippine archipelago, they found the indigenous Filipinos without any written laws. Mainly, the laws enforced were derived from customs, usages and tradition. These laws were believed to be God-given and were orally transmitted from generation to generation.
A remarkable feature of these customs and traditions was that they were found to be very similar to one another notwithstanding that they were observed in widely dispersed islands of the archipelago. There were no judges and lawyers who were trained formally in the law, although there were elders who devoted time to the study of the customs, usages and traditions of their tribes to qualify them as consultants or advisers on these matters.
The unit of government of the indigenous Filipinos was the barangay, which was a family-based community of 30 to 100 families, occupying a pook (“locality” or “area”) Headed by a chieftain called a datu who exercised all functions of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—a barangay was not only a political but also a social and economic organization. In the exercise of his judicial authority, the datu acted as a judge (hukom) in settling disputes and deciding cases in his barangay.
The Judicial System Under the Spanish Regime
During the early Spanish occupation, King Philip II established the Real Audiencia de Manila which was given not only judicial but legislative, executive, advisory, and administrative functions as well. Composed of the incumbent governor general as the presidente (presiding officer), four oidores (equivalent to associate justices), an asesor (legal adviser), an alguacil mayor (chief constable), among other officials, the Real Audiencia de Manila was both a trial and appellate court. It had exclusive original, concurrent original and exclusive appellate jurisdictions.
Initially, the Audiencia was given a non-judicial role in the colonial administration, to deal with unforeseen problems within the territory that arose from time to time—it was given the power to supervise certain phases of ecclesiastical affairs as well as regulatory functions, such as fixing of prices at which merchants could sell their commodities. Likewise, the Audiencia had executive functions, like the allotment of lands to the settlers of newly established pueblos. However, by 1861, the Audiencia had ceased to perform these executive and administrative functions and had been restricted to the administration of justice.
When the Audiencia Territorial de Cebu was established in 1886, the name of the Real Audiencia de Manila was changed to Audiencia Territorial de Manila.
The Judicial System During the American Occupation
As expected, the subsequent occupation by the Americans of the Philippine Islands in the late 1890s after Spain’s defeat in the Spanish-American War paved the way for considerable changes in the control, disposition, and governance of the Islands.
The judicial system established during the regime of the military government functioned as an instrument of the executive—not of the judiciary—as an independent and separate branch of government.
Secretary of State John Hay, on May 12, 1899, proposed a plan for a colonial government of the Philippine Islands which would give Filipinos the largest measure of self-government. The plan contemplated an independent judiciary manned by judges chosen from qualified locals and Americans.
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The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the progeny of the tribunal established by Act No. 136 of the Philippine Commission on June 11, 1901. There is no umbilical cord joining the Supreme Court to the Real Audiencia de Manila set up by the Spaniards or the Audiencia Territorial de Manila constituted by Major General Elwell Otis. These audiencias, however, serve as backdrops and proper perspectives in retelling the history of the present Supreme Court.
The Judicial System of the Pre-Spanish Filipinos
When the Spanish colonizers first arrived in the Philippine archipelago, they found the indigenous Filipinos without any written laws. Mainly, the laws enforced were derived from customs, usages and tradition. These laws were believed to be God-given and were orally transmitted from generation to generation.
A remarkable feature of these customs and traditions was that they were found to be very similar to one another notwithstanding that they were observed in widely dispersed islands of the archipelago. There were no judges and lawyers who were trained formally in the law, although there were elders who devoted time to the study of the customs, usages and traditions of their tribes to qualify them as consultants or advisers on these matters.
The unit of government of the indigenous Filipinos was the barangay, which was a family-based community of 30 to 100 families, occupying a pook (“locality” or “area”) Headed by a chieftain called a datu who exercised all functions of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—a barangay was not only a political but also a social and economic organization. In the exercise of his judicial authority, the datu acted as a judge (hukom) in settling disputes and deciding cases in his barangay.
The Judicial System Under the Spanish Regime
During the early Spanish occupation, King Philip II established the Real Audiencia de Manila which was given not only judicial but legislative, executive, advisory, and administrative functions as well. Composed of the incumbent governor general as the presidente (presiding officer), four oidores (equivalent to associate justices), an asesor (legal adviser), an alguacil mayor (chief constable), among other officials, the Real Audiencia de Manila was both a trial and appellate court. It had exclusive original, concurrent original and exclusive appellate jurisdictions.
Initially, the Audiencia was given a non-judicial role in the colonial administration, to deal with unforeseen problems within the territory that arose from time to time—it was given the power to supervise certain phases of ecclesiastical affairs as well as regulatory functions, such as fixing of prices at which merchants could sell their commodities. Likewise, the Audiencia had executive functions, like the allotment of lands to the settlers of newly established pueblos. However, by 1861, the Audiencia had ceased to perform these executive and administrative functions and had been restricted to the administration of justice.
When the Audiencia Territorial de Cebu was established in 1886, the name of the Real Audiencia de Manila was changed to Audiencia Territorial de Manila.
The Judicial System During the American Occupation
As expected, the subsequent occupation by the Americans of the Philippine Islands in the late 1890s after Spain’s defeat in the Spanish-American War paved the way for considerable changes in the control, disposition, and governance of the Islands.
The judicial system established during the regime of the military government functioned as an instrument of the executive—not of the judiciary—as an independent and separate branch of government.
Secretary of State John Hay, on May 12, 1899, proposed a plan for a colonial government of the Philippine Islands which would give Filipinos the largest measure of self-government. The plan contemplated an independent judiciary manned by judges chosen from qualified locals and Americans.