Note 12 — Chapter V · The Filipino People Before the Arrival of the Spaniards.

These data are largely taken from the account of the customs of the Tagálog prepared by Friar Juan de Plasencia, in 1589, at the request of Dr. Santiago de Vera, the governor and president of the Audiencia. Although there are references to it by the early historians of the Philippines, this little code did not see the light until a few years ago, when a manuscript copy was discovered in the convent of the Franciscans at Manila, by Dr. Pardo de Tavera, and was by him published. It treats of slave-holding, penalties for crime, inheritances, adoption, dowry, and marriage. (Las Costumbres de los Tagálog en Filipinas, segun el Padre Plasencia, by T. H. Pardo de Tavera. Madrid, 1892.)