What is the ancient Filipino alphabet called?

Baybayin is one of the precolonial writing systems used by early Filipinos. The term “baybayin” comes from the Tagalog root word baybay, which means “to spell.”

For many years the script was incorrectly referred to as “alibata,” based on the arrangement of another alphabet system – Arabic, in which the first letters are called alif, ba, and ta.

When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippine archipelago, they observed that most of the natives, not just the elite, could read and write. The script was used not only to record but also to write poetry, incantations, and letters.