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PRIOR to Spain's arrival, our islands were populated by indigenous settlements and villages called barangay, headed by local chieftains, a datu, assisted by a council of elders — maginoo, or local nobility — who helped in decision-making and governance. The people under this system were the maharlika (generally the warrior class) and the commoners known as timawa — freemen, who had limited rights and were obligated to provide labor and resources to the datu in exchange for protection and security.

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