Datu

Datu is the title for chiefs, sovereign princes, and monarchs   in the Visayas and Mindanao Regions of the Philippines. Together with Lakan (Luzon), Apo in Central and Northern Luzon, Sultan  and Rajah, they are titles used for native royalty, and are still currently used in the Philippines. Depending upon the prestige of the sovereign prince, this title of Datu could be roughly equated to the European dukes, marquesses, counts, or barons. In big barangays, which had contacts with other southeast Asian cultures through trade, some Datus took the title Rajah or Sultan.

The word datu is akin to the Malay word Dato'  or Datuk, which are royal titles of the Malay people, and to the Fijian title of Ratu. It came into use in the Philippines during the pre-colonial period through the migrations of Malays to what is now the Philippine Archipelago. During the 11th century several exiled datus of the collapsing empire of Srivijaya led by Datu Puti made a mass migration to the central islands of the Philippines, fleeing from Rajah Makatunao of the island of Borneo. The Malays reached the island of Panay, which in ancient times was known as the island of "Aninipay". Purchasing the island from the Negrito chieftain Marikudo, they established a confederation of polities and named it the Confederation of Madja-as, centered in Aklan.

From Panay, they settled the surrounding islands of the Visayas, bringing along with them their culture, and social structure and system of government. 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.

Proofs of Filipino royalty and nobility (Dugong Bughaw) must be demonstrated only by blood descent, that is, one has to have Filipino blood in his veins, and must be a descendant of ancient Filipino royal or noble families.

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

The Muslim Societies of Mindanao
In the traditional structure of Muslim Filipino societies, Sultans were the highest authority followed by the datus, with their rule being sanctioned by the Qur'an. Datus were supported by their tribes. In return for tribute and labor, the datu provided aid in emergencies and advocacy in disputes with other communities and warfare through the Agamat and Maratabat laws.

During the Spanish colonization of the Archipelago, the Datus of Muslim Principalities in Mindanao gave a very strong and effective resistance to the Christianization of that southern Island, and were able to successfully defend their identity and Islamic faith. However, they have surrendered their sovereignty to the United States of America some years after the fall of the Spanish dominion in the Philippine Islands, and have eventually become part of the Republic upon the Country's independence in 1946.

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

There are 18 Lumad ethnolinguistic groups: Ata, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanen, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, T’boli, Teduray, and Ubo.

The Lumad Datus, on their part, have involved themselves in protecting their homeland forests from illegal loggers during the past decades. Some have joined the New People's Army (NPA), a communist rebel group in the Country, for this cause of their people. Others have resisted joining the Muslim and communist separatist movements.

A datu is still basic to the smooth functioning of the Lumad and Muslim Filipino societies today. They have continued to act as the community leaders in their respective tribes among a variety of Indigenous peoples in Mindanao. The Muslim tribes share with the Lumads and the Christians a homeland in Mindanao.

===Datu in Pre-colonial Principalities in the Visayas ===



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Maguinoo - principal in lineage or parentage.

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

Upon the Christianization of most parts of the Philippine Archipelago, the Datus (king) of the pre-Hispanic kingdoms and principalities retained their right to govern their territory under the Spanish Empire. King Philip II of Spain, in a law signed June 11, 1594, “It is not right that the Indian chiefs of Filipinas be in a worse condition after conversion; rather they should have such treatment that would gain their affection and keep them loyal, so that with the spiritual blessings that God has communicated to them by calling them to His true knowledge, the temporal blessings may be added and they may live contentedly and comfortably. Therefore, we order the governors of those islands to show them good treatment and entrust them, in our name, with the government of the Indians, of whom they were formerly lords. In all else the governors shall see that the chiefs are benefited justly, and the Indians shall pay them something as a recognition, as they did during the period of their paganism, provided it be without prejudice to the tributes that are to be paid us, or prejudicial to that which pertains to their encomenderos.” Felipe II, Ley de Junio 11, 1594 in Recapilación de leyes, lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. Also cf. Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands (1493-1898), Cleveland: The A.H. Clark Company, 1903, Vol. XVI, pp. 155-156.The original text in Spanish (Recapilación de leyes) says: ''No es justo, que los Indios Principales de Filipinas sean de peor condición, después de haberse convertido, ántes de les debe hacer tratamiento, que los aficione, y mantenga en felicidad, para que con los bienes espirituales, que Dios les ha comunicado llamándolos a su verdadero conocimiento, se junten los temporales, y vivan con gusto y conveniencia. Por lo qua mandamos a los Gobernadores de aquellas Islas, que les hagan buen tratamiento, y encomienden en nuestro nombre el gobierno de los Indios, de que eran Señores, y en todo lo demás procuren, que justamente se aprovechen haciéndoles los Indios algún reconocimiento en la forma que corría el tiempo de su Gentilidad, con que esto sin perjuicio de los tributos, que á Nos han de pagar, ni de lo que á sus Encomenderos''. Juan de Ariztia, ed., Recapilación de leyes, Madrid (1723), lib. vi, tit. VII, ley xvi. This reference can be found at the library of the Estudio Teologico Agustiniano de Valladolid in Spain. commanded the Spanish colonial officials in the Archipelago that these native royalties and nobilities be given the same respect, and privileges that they had enjoyed before their conversion. Their domains became self-ruled tributary barangays of the Spanish Empire.

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.) The Datus of the Muslim territories 2.) The Datus of the Lumad Tribal territories 3.) The descendants of the Principalía

The rights of the present day Datus are protected by a special law in the Country, known as "The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997". "The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997." Sec. 2. Declaration of State Policies.- The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) hereunder enumerated within the framework of the Constitution: a) The State shall recognize and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs within the framework of national unity and development; b)The State shall protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social and cultural well being and shall recognize the applicability of customary laws governing property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral domain; c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national laws and policies; d) The State shall guarantee that members of the ICCs/IPs regardless of sex, shall equally enjoy the full measure of human rights and freedoms without distinctions or discrimination; e) The State shall take measures, with the participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned, to protect their rights and guarantee respect for their cultural integrity, and to ensure that members of the ICCs/IPs benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the population and f) The State recognizes its obligations to respond to the strong expression of the ICCs/IPs for cultural integrity by assuring maximum ICC/IP participation in the direction of education, health, as well as other services of ICCs/IPs, in order to render such services more responsive to the needs and desires of these communities. Towards these ends, the State shall institute and establish the necessary mechanisms to enforce and guarantee the realization of these rights, taking into consideration their customs, traditions, values, beliefs, their rights to their ancestral domains.......(http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8371.htm,

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

Heirs to the Rank of Datu in Christianized Parts of the Philippines
In Christianized parts of the Philippines, the descendants of the Principalía are the rightful claimants of the ancient sovereign royal and noble ranks (and their corresponding rights and privileges) of the pre-conquest kingdoms, principalities, and barangays of their ancestors. These descendants of the ancient Filipino ruling class are now among the landed aristocracy, intellectual elite, merchants, and politicians in the contemporary Filipino society. These people have had ancestors holding the titles of "Don" or "Dona" during the Spanish colonial period.

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

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

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

Prohibition of New Royal and Noble Titles in the Philippine Constitution
Article VI, Section 31 of the present Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines (1986), prohibits the granting of new titles of royalty or nobility. Titles of "Honorary Datu" conferred to certain foreigners and non-tribe members by local chieftains are only forms of local award or appreciation for some goods or services done to a local tribe or to the person of the chieftain, and has nothing to do with the creation of legitimate new titles of royalty or nobility. Any contrary claim is otherwise unconstitutional under the Philippine laws. However, an exception is granted by Philippine laws for members of indigenous tribes, in view of the local traditional social structure, through the IPRA Law. This special law allows among tribal members, i.e., natives, to be conferred with traditional leadership titles as specified under the Law's Implementing Rules and Guidelines (the Administrative Order No. 1 series of 1998 of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples specifically under Rule IV, Part I, Section 2, a-c), which read:

a) Right to Confer Leadership Titles. The ICCs/IPs concerned, in accordance with their customary laws and practices, shall have the sole right to vest titles of leadership such as, but not limited to, Bae, Datu, Baylan, Timuay, Likid and such other titles to their members.

b) Recognition of Leadership Titles. To forestall undue conferment of leadership titles and misrepresentations, the ICCs/IPs concerned, may, at their option, submit a list of their recognized traditional socio-political leaders with their corresponding titles to the NCIP. The NCIP through its field offices, shall conduct a field validation of said list and shall maintain a national directory thereof.

c) Issuance of Certificates of Tribal Membership. Only the recognized registered leaders are authorized to issue certificates of tribal membership to their members. Such certificates shall be confirmed by the NCIP based on its census and records and shall have effect only for the purpose for which it was issued.

The fons honorum (source of honors) in the Philippine Republic is the Sovereign Filipino people who are all equal in dignity under a democratic form of government. The Philippine government grants State honors, through the Orders of Merit of the Republic, and through the system of awards and decorations of its Military  and Police Forces. These honors accorded by the Orders of Merit do not grant or create titles of royalty or nobility, in accordance to the provisions of the Democratic Constitution. The Philippines is a rare example of having orders and decorations that are considered of equal rank. This is a reflection of the particular circumstances surrounding the establishment of the various awards, each with its own purpose.

There are opinions that ancient Filipino royalties, who never relinquished their sovereign rights by voluntary means (according to opinions of some historians), of whom the sovereign powers over their territories (de facto sovereignty) passed on to the Spanish jura regalia through some disputed means, retain their "fons honorum" as part of their "de jure" sovereignty. According to many opinions, as long as the blood is alive in the veins of these royal houses, "de jure" sovereignty is alive as well—which means they can still bestow titles of nobility. However, the practical implications of this claim is unclear, e.g., in the case of usurpation of titles by other members of the bloodline. “There are not a few judgments, civil and criminal, albeit some very recent, all of which to accept traditional principles re-enunciated not long since. The issue is that of innate nobility—jure sanguinis—that looks into the prerogatives known as jus majestatis and jus honorum, and argues that the holder of such prerogatives is a subject of international law with the logical consequences of that situation. That is to say, a deposed sovereign may legitimately confer titles of nobility, with or without predicates, and the honorifics that pertain to his heraldic patrimony as head of his dynasty. The qualities that render a deposed Sovereign a subject of international law are undeniable, and in fact constitute an absolute personal right the subject may never divest himself of, and that needs no ratification or recognition from any other authority. A reigning Sovereign or Head of State may use the term recognition\ to demonstrate the existence of such a right, but the term is a mere declaration and not a constitutive act”. A notable example of this principle is that of the People's Republic of China, which for a considerable time was not recognized and therefore not admitted to the United Nations, but nonetheless continued to exercise its functions as a sovereign state through both its internal and external organs. “The prerogatives we are examining may be denied and a sovereign state within the limits of its own sphere of influence may prevent the exercise by a deposed Sovereign of his rights in the same way as it may paralyze the use of any right not provided in its own legislation. However such negating action does not go to the existence of such a right and bears only on its exercise. To sum up, therefore, the Italian judiciary, in those cases submitted to its jurisdiction, has confirmed the prerogatives jure sanguinis of a dethroned Sovereign without any vitiation of its effects, whereby in consequence it has explicitly recognized the right to confer titles of nobility and other honorifics relative to his dynastic heraldic patrimony. In particular it has defined the above-mentioned honorifics, among which are those non-national Orders mentioned in Article 7 of the (Italian) Law of the 3rd. March 1951, which prohibits private persons from conferring honors. As to titles of nobility, while their bestowal is legitimate, it must be observed that they receive no protection whatsoever from Italian law, which no longer recognizes statutory nobility, in accordance with the principles enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic. Thus, the concept of the usurpation of a nobiliary title falls outside of Italian legislation.” Cf. Professor Emilio Furno (Advocate in the Italian Supreme Court of Appeal), The Legitimacy of Non-National Orders in Rivista Penale, No.1, January 1961, pp. 46-70.

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

These sovereign authorities exercise the following sovereign rights and powers: “Ius Imperii” (the right to command and rule a territory or a juridical entity); “Ius Gladii” (the right to impose obedience through command and also control armies); “Ius Majestatis” (the right to be honored and respected according to one's title); and “Ius Honorum” (the right to award titles, merits and rights). Considering the theory of Jean Bodin (1530–1596), a French jurist and political philosopher, that "Sovereignty is one and indivisible, it cannot be delegated, sovereignty us irrevocable, sovereignty is perpetual, sovereignty is a supreme power", one can argue about the rights of deposed dynasties, also as "fons honorum". It can be said that their "Ius Honorum" depends on their rights as a family, and does not depend on the authority of the "de facto" government of a State. This is their "de jure" right. Even though it is not a "de facto" right, it is still a right.

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