From Four Nodes of History: The Human Rights Challenge in the Philippine Security Sector 1. What is the relevance and coverage of the Spanish legacy in the study of human rights? a) It was a period when there was no human rights to speak of. During this period, the Philippine military was not a protector of the people and did not adhere to human rights. HR violations were systemic. b) It covers the major developments, doctrines, experiences and lessons relevant to human rights that occurred during the Spanish empire (from 1521 to 1898), when the Philippine military became an apparatus of the Spanish colonial empire and served to put doctrines of colonization into police and military actions. 2. What was the situation in the archipelago prior to the coming of Spanish conquistadores? Bizarre homage to the conqueror: A shrine of what is [erroneously] believed to be remnants of Magellan’s cross can be found in the city of Cebu. 2 The local islanders and the rest of Southeast Asia came from a general racial stock and enjoyed the great civilizations of Asia.