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agabin-mestizo-chap-7

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Agabin. Mestizo Chap. 7- Conquest & Penetration:
Birth of the Mestizo
Historical BG
-02/15/1898 – USS Maine exploded, killing many,
while docked at the Havan Harbor. Because of this—
Theodore Roosevelt (undersec of Navy) – blamed it on
the dirty treachery of the Spaniards(published in
newspapers, but later, a research team concluded that
the explosion was caused by a spontaneous fire in a
coal bunker aboard the ship).
-Roosevelt, in cooperation with Capt. Alfred Thayer &
Henry Cabot Lodge (the three were called the
‘triumvirate’) – manipulated Pres. William Mckinley
into declaring war with Spain. WHY?
(1)assist the Cuban rebels to win independence
(2)occupy the Phils. & crush the newly-born Phil.
Republic in the process.
->also aided by 2 American publishers—
William Randolph Hearst & Joseph Pulitzer – used their
papers to goad the American nation into war.
-Queen Maria Cristina of Spain sought conciliation,
because she knew they would lose—but for America:
-‘Remember the Maine/To hell w/ Spain!’
-April 1898 – war broke out
-05/01/1898 – Admiral Dewey proceeded to the Phils.,
& defeated the Spanish fleet after 2 hrs.
-Mckinley: Should I take or leave the Phils.? (he was
very indecisive, even in waging war)
-Reasons for pro-annexation:
(1)Phils. As a springboard for Commerce in Asia
(2)Phils as a field ripe for evangelical endeavour
(3)Advantage of projecting sea power in the Pacific
-Reason for Mckinley: ‘To educate the Filipinos, & uplift
& Christianize them, as our fellow men for whom Christ
died.’
-Leaders of USA: It’s America’s ‘Manifest Destiny’ to
expand westward.
-10/26/1898 – Mckinley instructed negotiators in
Paris that he wanted the whole Phils, not just crucial
parts of it.
-12/10/1898 – Treaty of Paris – granted:
(1)independence to Cuba
Enad 
(2)Made the Phils, Guam, & Puerto Rico possessions.
->legitimized American occupation in the Phils.
->marriage contract bet. Civil law & common
law system—union of convenience
-Phils became unincorporated territory & a military
gov’t., headed by Major General Wesley Merritt (a
veteran of the Indian Wars)
-Feb. 1899 – Phil-American War
->responsibility for governance transferred—
from State Department to War Department, headed by
Elihu Root (lawyer)
-Root: America would civilize the natives accdg. to the
constitutional standards of the US Constitution—
justifies expansionist policy of US as regards to the
Phils.
-Taft Commission: majority of natives are ignorant,
superstitious & credulous.
-US v. Dorr – Issue: WON the US Constitution followed
the American flag
Ruling of Phil. SC: Not all rights listed in the US
Constitution followed the flag into the Phils—not the
right to bear arms, at a time when the Americans were
pacifying Filipino freedom fighters; nor the right to
trial by jury.
-Illustrados – key to Taft’s policy of attraction; realized
that majority of Filipinos looked upon the elite for
leadership & inspiration.
-Illustrados relished their role as ‘little brown
brothers’. WHY? Political power & property rights
would be safeguarded under the US Constitution.
-Partido Federalista – formed by the Illustrados to lay
foundations of eventual statehood in the American
Union.
-1901 – Task of crafting legislation for the Phils was
given to Senator Spooner (saw the Phils as a bitter fruit
of war), authored the—
-Spooner Amendment – created the principal organ of
administration—the Philippine Commission.
-Military gov’t. ended, civil gov’t. instituted—chose
William Howard Taft (federal judge) as head of the 2nd
Phil. Commission.
Constitutionalism & Common Law Comes to the
Philippines
-Mckinley to Taft: Impose upon Phil gov’t. the
inviolable rule—no person shall be deprived of life,
liberty or property w/o due process of law.
->carried with it all the case law laid down by
US SC.
-US SC had jurisdiction over all judgments of Phil. SC in
cases in w/c the Organic Law, or any statute, treaty,
title, or privilege of the US was involved. WHY? So that
transplanted constitutional rights would be developed
along the lines laid out in the US.
-US administrators relied upon the Federal SC to
protect their interests in the colony—the court
demonstrated that it was not beyond politics in the use
of judicial review to protect interests.
-Insular cases – Protection of the Constitution could not
be automatically extended to the colonies. WHY? For
the protection of the economic centurions’ sectoral
business participation & trade expansion.
->US Agricultural products were protected
from competition by Phil. Products—high tariffs for
Phil products, while US products entered the Phils
virtually duty-free.
->also paved the way for the law extending
Chinese exclusion laws to the Phils.
->justified denial of American citizenship to
Filipinos (Organic Act of 1902: all inhabitants of Phil.
Islands shall be deemed to be citizens of Phil. Islands
only.)
-Judiciary – expected to carry out colonial policy
->influence of American jurisprudence on laws
extended to the Phils by Congressional-edict & stare
decisis.
->majority of SC mems were American.
-Mckinley: Indispensable qualification for all positions
of trust & authority – absolute & unconditional loyalty
to the US; absolute & unhampered authority & power
to remove & punish any officer deviating from that
standard.
-Filipinos had own notions of law of the land/’due
process’ before the coming of the Americans – No
person shall be deprived temporarily/permanently of
his property or rights, or disturbed n his possession,
except by virtue of a judicial sentence. (Malolos Consti)
-The almost indiscriminate borrowing from American
models—Phil. SC interprets provisions of those laws in
line w/ American precedents.
Constitutional Law: Hegemony of Police Power
-Exigencies of asserting American authority & setting
up a civil gov’t—Phil. SC compelled to use common law
concepts in public law to assert colonial authority.
->subordinated property rights to police power
-SC affirmed supremacy of police power especially
where the property involved is invested w/ a social fxn.
->also declared police power rests upon
necessity & the right of self-protection
-Regulation of shipping & in the imposition of burdens
on shipowners—Excessive use of SC of common law
doctrines on businesses clothed w/ public interest.
->De Villata v. Stanley: gov’t. may require
shipping companies to carry mail free of charge. (4 yrs.
Later, reversed by US Court—law was invalid,
repugnant to the due process clause)
-SC began to veer away from established doctrines of
the common law, atleast in constitutional law, & began
judicial legislation.
Ascendancy of Substantive Due Process in Common
Law
-Political mood of the ‘20s in the US – affected course of
judicial thought.
-Change of administration on Washington.
-Pres. Harding & Pers. Coolidge: laissez faire as a plan
for dynamic action.
-Gov. Gen. of the Phils Leonard Wood: ‘Keeping the
gov’t out of business in order to encourage private
enterprise.’
->sold to private firms almost all gov’t corps.
*Phils at the time was known for its numerous gov’towned dev’t. & marketing corps.
-Constitutionalism was incongruous in an idyllic setting
of economic underdev’t.
->strongly
opposed
grant
of
Phil
jurisprudence—country did not have a stable gov’t.
(where public & private funds are abundant & readily
seek investment at moderate rates of interest)
-2nd Phil Commission – charged with the task of setting
up a new gov’t. created in the American image.
-Colonial gov’t partiality – federal taxes supposed to be
paid by US businessmen were not collected.
->vested w/ executive & legislative fxns.
-Judiciary: An all-Filipino legislative body might pass
laws destructive of property rights.
-Grant of legislative powers—influx of borrowed laws
& common law doctrines.
Enad 
->declared unconstitutional an Act & EO
regulating the price of rice (private property, as
opposed to wheat & flour commandeered by the US
gov’t. during WWII)
->declared unconstitutional the Women & Child
Labor Law that required employers to give maternity
leave pay to women employees (deprived liberty to
contract)
-Taft as US SC Chief Justice: declared aunconstitutional
the Chinese Bookkeeping Act—made unlawful for any
person engaged in commerce, industry or any other
activity for the purpose/profit to keep its account
books in any language other than English, Spanish, or
any local dialect. (Yu Cong Eng case)
Procedural Law: From Inquisitorial to Adversarial
-Codes of Procedure – promulgated as General Orders
of the military, ‘to cover omissions of the Spanish legal
sys.’
->GO 68: displaced Siete Partidas provisions on
marriage—secured liberty of marriage & civil
marriages.
-Codes of Civil Procedure – abrogated challenging of
judges, civil liability of judges, requiring public trials.
Code of Criminal Procedure – abolished inquisitorial
procedure, adopted accusatorial system.
(2)protect their property titles), but BECAUSE of
exigencies of colonial administration.
-Temporary expedience required retention
customary law of the indigenous Filipinos.
of
-After pacifying the Filipino revolutionaries—reversed
policy of legal pluralism & embarked on a policy of
assimilation.
->1905 – US abrogated treaty w/ Sultan of Sulu.
1914 – imposed uniform law that disregarded
Muslim Customary Law
-Custom Law – it was not a matter of recognition, but
the Us’ failure to penetrate the areas inhabited by the
ethnic communities (mountains, Muslims could restrict
them).
->Western personal law failed to penetrate
ancestral domains.
-Fear of disturbing land titles owned by Spanish friars
& elites—big factor in deciding to protect existing
property rights.
->Treaty of Paris provision: the cession of the
Phils to US cannot in any respect impair the
property/rights w/c by law belong to the peaceful
possession of property of all kinds…by ecclesiastical..or
any other association. (proposed by the Vatican)
-Phil Commission – sole legislative organ of the colonial
gov’t, passed 1800 laws from 1900-1907, including:
Municipal Code, Provincial Gov’t. Act, Manila Charter,
Special Provincial Gov’t. Act, Township Gov’t. Act, Gov’t.
Reorganization Act, Civil Service Law, Election Law,
Charter of Baguio City, Organic Act for Mindanao &
Sulu, Organization of Courts, Code of Civil Procedure.
-Taft re-entrenched a feudal oligarchy by catering to
the Hispanic elite, enabling them to re-establish &
improve upon their privileged position in the Phils, by
enlisting them as PARTNERS IN GOV’T.
-Example of twists & turns of rules of procedure arising
from inquisitorial to accusatorial: admission of illegally
obtained evidence—admissibleunconstitutional
Criminal Law: Lone Survivor in Public Law
Retention of Private Law & Custom Law
-Pre-existing privae laws in the Phils were left alone,
except for certain aspects thought to be in conflict w/
American notions of democracy & republicanism.
->amendments were instituted w/ respect to
marriage law (GO 68 allowing civil marriages), laws
governing associations, adoption, absence, &
prescription
->WHY? Not because of the political
demands/remonstrances of the Spanish (No. of
Spaniards who remained were politically negligible,
them being members of religious orders who only
wanted to: (1)continue their evangelical mission,
Enad 
->Phil Commission passed a law—Spanish
could be the official language of all courts until 1919—
modified to include English.
-Spanish-imposed penal code was not superseded, but
altered. WHY?
(1)to render it consistent w/ political & civil rights
enumerated in the organic laws;
(2)serve the purpose of the new sovereign.
->most of the crimes against the fundamental
laws of the state (Book 2, Title 2) had been
abrogated/modified.
->Phil Commission passed:
(1)Treason, Insurrection, & Sedition Law Act
#292
(2)Libel Law Act #277
(3)Law on Perjury Act #1697
(4)Customs Administrative Act #1180
-The basis of the old penal code, the Spanish Penal
Code of 1870 (based on the French Penal Code of 1810)
belongs to the classical school.
->based on Roman law concept, ‘free will’ =
men are rational & calculation beings, who act w/
reference to the principles of pleasure & pain.
->punishment is proportional to: (1)nature;
(2)gravity of offense.
->incongruous w/ US’ perception of the indios
(poor, childish-minded apes), but consistent w/ US’
policy of ‘civilizing the Filipinos w/ a “Krag” (rifle)’
-Phil SC used DANGEROUS TENDENCY TEST to:
(1)determine seditious nature of speech;
(2)convict accused persons under the Treason &
Sedition Law
The Judicial System Follows the Flag
-1899, Maj. Gen. Elwell Otis:
(1)prescribed municipal elections, so that local
officials would cooperate in the pacification campaign;
(2)renovated the Judiciary—put native magistrates in
TCs, created SC (placed Cayetano Arellano as CJ)
-US: common-law principles > existing civil law system:
(1)appointing a majority of US judges in Phil SC & in
all inferior courts;
(2)importation of US statutes
-Stare decisis – adopted on colonization (1899)
->Organic Law of Phils: decisions by Phil SC
might be reviewed by certiorari by the Federal SC.
Statutory Interpretation
-On interpretation of provisions of a statute—
techniques & guidelines followed in common-law
courts are employed.
->concepts on equity (US common-law)
Retention of Civil Code Provisions on Persons &
Property
-Us retained Spanish-imposed CC of 1889 (based on the
Code of Napoleon), subject to the principles &
institutions recognized in the US constitution.
-Title I (Citizenship) – repealed
Enad 
Title II (Status of Natural & Juridical Persons) –
modified by Code of Civil Procedure & the Corporation
Law
Title IV (Marriage) – modified by Gen. Merritt in the
form of GO 68
Title V (Paternity & Filiation);
Title VII (Parental Authority);
Title VIII (Absence);
Title IX (Guardianship);
Title X (Family Council);
Title XI (Emancipation on Majority Age)
->Repealed/modified by Code of Civil
Procedure
Book 2 & 3 on law of property: concepts of property,
ownership, possession, usufruct, wills, inheritance,
intestate succession, & executors – slightly modified by
Code of Civil Procedure
Book 4: laws on partition, obligations, contracts,
purchase & sale, lease, labor, carriers, partnership,
agency, loan, deposit, bailments, insurance, gambling,
arbitration, pledge, mortgage, preference of credit &
prescription – repealed/modified by Code of Civ. Prod.
-Most significant changes on rovisions on all core
activities of a business civilization – property,
obligations,
contracts,
business
orgs.,
credit
transactions, transportation, banking & insurance.
-The law had to follow the dominant ideology of the
colonizer—US principles & institutions.
->Interest in land. Spain: political importance
US: economic (sugar estates,
mining interests, Luzon trading w/ China)
-1912, Phil. Society (composed of US bankers,
businessmen, etc.) – lobbied to block moves for
independence of the colony.
-Land laws had to be modified from civilian roots.
WHY? To be more consistent w/ the ruling ideas of a
business civilization.
->Civilian
classification
(1)movables (2)immovables
of
property:
Anglo-American system: (1)property rights in
land (2)property rights in movables
->alsorecognizes difference bet. Property &
subject matter of property (foundation for exchange,
sale or alienation of such)
-US: intended to create a Filipino society in their own
image, with Americans as ruling elite. HOW?
(1)improved the economy;
(2)constructed the infrastructure of a modern
civilization;
(3)expanded the markets;
(4)exploited natural resources of the islands;
(5)stimulated
initiatives;
private
enterprise
through
gov’t.
(6)evolved patterns of trade & commerce that
retarded economic dev’t. of the islands;
(7)monopolized importations & opening u exportations
to the mother country (through Payne-Aldrich Act of
1909, Underwood-Simmons Act of 1913)
->concept of trusts – family trusts
->principle of promissory extoppel – fused to
the concept of ‘causa’ in contracts
Commercial Law
-Commerical Law of any country is always reshaped by
the ideology of the dominant economy.
-Phil. Commission, and later, Phil. Nat’l. Assembly,
borrowed wholesale American laws on: corporations;
negotiable instruments; securities, insurance, banking,
transportation, trademarks & copyright; unfair
competition; chattel mortgage; insolvency &
bankruptcy; bulk sales.
-The following Acts superseded the Code of Commerce
of Spain & other existing mercantile laws:
~Corporation Law 1459
->created a dependent economy lorded over by
the Americans, w/ the ilustrados & mestizos as the
‘little brown brothers’ (ruling class cultivated by Taft)
~Bankruptcy Act 1956
Obligations & Contracts
~Warehouse Receipts Law 2137
-Notable common-law doctrines accepted & blended
into the civil law sys.: field of tort of proximate cause;
negligence & contributory negligence; last clear chance;
vicarious liability; sovereign immunity; moral
damages; loss of profits; speculative profits; mitigation
of damages
~Public Utilities Act C.A. 146
-Principles of estoppels are adopted insofar as they are
not in conflict w/ other codes.
~Irrigation Act 2153
-Follow common-law rule: Equity will not aid a plaintiff
whose unexcused delay, if the suit were allowed, would
be prejudicial to the defendant.
-Contracts: SC held that American law’s ‘consideration’
& civil law’s ‘causa’ have equivalent effects.
->’consideration’ is narrower, consist in some
benefit to the promissory or in some detriment to the
promisee; ‘causa’ is the essential reason of the contract
-1950 CC – adopted the rule on ‘discharge by breach’ in
contracts, especially in sales of goods.
-Example of hybridization: concept of a judicious pater
familias (Roman law) & common-law concept of the
reasonable man.
->Code of Civ Prod (1902) modifying some
concepts in the civil law of succession – ‘heir’
->concepts of surety & guaranty – Spanish code,
incorporated under ‘fianza’
->forced heirship & free testation
Enad 
~Negotiable Instruments Act 2031
~Insurance Law 2427
~Usury Law 2655
~Salvage Law 2616
->foundation of a capitalist economy that forms
the core of a business civilization.
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