Governorship
One of his first political advocacy was to disestablish vast encomiendas of wealthy Spaniards in the Philippines. In 1576, he issued a decree forbidding all officials appointed by the Crown to own encomiendas that are initially for Indios. He also established the city of Nueva Cáceres, province of Camarines Sur, Bicol region, Island of Luzon, the largest of the some 7107 islands (under Spanish Administration till 1898, for some 350–370 years), Philippine Islands. A few years after, Spanish and Dominican prelate Domingo de Salazar requested to create monasteries for the Dominicans which was granted by Sande through King Philip II's royal decree.
During his time, the first Augustinian priests arrived to Manila on July 1, 1577 coming from Acapulco, Mexico. That same year, the Church of San Agustin was erected at the same city.
He also commissioned an expedition to Borneo in 1578 where the Sultan of Jolo became a vassal of Spain through a peace treaty signed at Río Grande de Mindanao. That same year, he attacked Borneo where the king of that sultanate (present day Brunei) became submissive to the Spanish officials of Manila. He also showed eagerness to conquer Moluccas from the Portuguese as well as China.
In 1579, he sent an expedition again, headed by Captain Gabriel de Ribera to Mindanao and Jolo to secure Moro submission to Spanish authority. He gone to the Rio Grande to find nothing but remnants of villages abandoned by the localities. He then established a fortress for the villages and go north to pacify rebelling Butuanons. Upon his return in Luzon, Ribera met some natives from Jolo with little tribute saying that they have nothing to give to the Spaniards since the Portuguese Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa recently attacked their settlements.
He denied the Franciscan fathers their burning wishes,after some 19,000 km. travel, 1579, to enter in China, to spread Catholicism, the Chinese being stupefied, when some of them disobeyed the Manila Spanish Civil Authorities and arrived to the highly controlled Portuguese trade city of Macao, and they found they did no carry weapons, money or goods to exchange but some religious lithurgical wares for their own use and pious books.
He also became an auditor in the Audiencia of Mexico.
Read more about this topic: Francisco De Sande