The 'regalian doctrine' and the 'doctrine of discovery'

First of 2 parts

IT is not difficult to see that open and unoccupied lands in the Philippines, especially in the provinces, are everywhere. And yet, it is a wonderment for an ordinary person how a vastly unoccupied land could have so many people having little to no land to call their own. However, the truth is that in the Philippines, there are actually no more lands that are not owned, and it is because of a doctrine that finds its roots from the time of the Dark Ages — the regalian doctrine.