What Every Filipino Should Know About The Bandala
Loading ...This short article is one of the aspects that every Filipino should learn from the History of the Philippines. It shows the cruelty of the Spaniards during their stay in the Philippines. Philippine History is full of sacrifices caused by the Spanish cruelty.
The Bandala
Aside from the polo and the tribute, the Filipinos, as subjects of Spain, had to comply with the bandala—the compulsory sale to the government of rice, sugar, hemp, and other farm products. The word bandala, according to the friar-linguists Juan de Noceda and Pedro de San Lucar, was a Tagalog term which meant ‘purchase.’
In the name of the kind, the Spanish authorities acquired rice and other agricultural products from the provinces and seldom paid for them. This was a gross violation of the king’s decrees which authorized the government to buy supplies from the people at reasonalbe prices. The Filipino farmers greatly suffered from the bandala. Pampanga, among all the provinces, suffered most from it.
In 1660 the Spanish authorities owed the Pampangos about P200,000 for the rice taken from them by the government for many years When the government further refused to pay, the province exploded in a violent revolt under the leadership of Maniago, a brave Pampango rebel.
