Deceitful Paradigms

Noli me Tangere’s relevance to the present condition of the Philippine society would ever be true
as its tackled deeply rooted problems that are embedded in human behavior and psychology that can
withstand the test of time. It is of importance that one may understand and visualize the ever-brooding
social cancer Rizal has spoken of his time and reflect upon it on the current social landscape.
As Ibarra rides towards San Diego and passing through the street where he grew up, he noticed
how the Philippines is no longer the same as the one he grew up in. The environment and landscape can
no longer be considered Filipino as it now more aligned with that of the Spanish. The effect of colonialism
can be seen as he mentioned “The Botanical Garden drove away these agreeable recollections; the demon
of comparison brought before his mind the Botanical Gardens of Europe1.”The Filipino customs and
culture have slipped away in his time out from the country and have been replaced by Spanish customs
and culture instead of a cultural intermingling between the two. The Philippines does not remind Ibarra
of the Philippines anymore, but it reminds him of Europe and that is a troubling thought as it explores
how the country has lost its own identity. Doña Consolacion and Doña Victorina embodied and
represented the “colonial mentality” or Filipinos who are subjected to viewing foreign customs and
culture to be superior to that of local customs and culture. Doña Consolacion patronized Western
influence as “for one of the beautiful qualities of this lady was to try not to know Tagalog, or at least to
appear not to know it2.” Doña Victorina was described as “she had looked with disdain on her many
Filipino admirers, since her aspirations were toward another race3.” These women looked down upon
being a Filipino and wished and aspired to be someone they are not.
It has been more than a century since power in the country resided in the hands of the Europeans
and the Philippines have yet to let itself become organically Filipino. Western influence continues to
dictate and influence Filipino customs and culture, incorporating western customs as our own. Philippine
society is still being continuously shaped by Western influence particularly, the United States, as with the
dawn of globalization and internet connectivity the Philippines of a decade ago is no longer the same as
the one today. Currently, the beauty of places in the country is determined by how similar it is to that of
foreign countries4. Western standards have been embedded into our minds and is now irreversible to an
extent. The fact that it is uncommon to find Filipinos who have English as their first language instead of
Filipino5 makes me beg the question of why this is still happening. Colonial mentality will always be the
toxic tradition most Filipinos will always be guilty of and trying to alter that perspective is now a nearly
impossible task. The days of oppression and colonialism are over but why do we still let Western customs
and culture define our society?
Social isolation has been a reoccurring theme throughout the novel and is conveyed and
exemplified in different characters. Social isolation also became the ultimate fear of many of the
characters and that led them to give up their freedom in the name of conforming to society. Exercising
one’s freedom was an afterthought in the Philippine society depicted in the novel and it strips away the
essence of being a Filipino in his own homeland. It was the core problem that Rizal tried to address by
empowering Filipinos to realize the oppression they were under during the Spanish era and that they had
the right to be free, the right to be a Filipino.

1 José Rizal and Charles E. Derbyshire, The Social Cancer: a Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere (Quezon City: Giraffe,
1996), 214.
2 Ibid., 664.
3
Ibid., 707.
4 Kate Biol. “13 Amazing Places in the Philippines That Look Like Foreign Destinations.” TripZilla, June 22, 2017.

https://www.tripzilla.com/philippines-places-like-foreign-destinations/36266.
5
Ina Barrameda. “How The Philippines' Colonial History Lives On In The English Language.” BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed, May 8, 2018.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/inabarrameda/inglisera-philippines-american-colonialism.
 Tasyo was one of the characters in the novel that truly felt social isolation, but he did not let it
disempower him and force himself to be subjected to what society wants. He dared to be different, to be
liberal, and to speak up for what he believes in, but this was harmful to what society wants and he was
labeled as a lunatic. Tasyo warned Ibarra that ,“the people consider madmen those who do not think as
they do, so they hold me as such, which I appreciate, because the day in which they think I returned to
sanity, they will deprive me of the little liberty that I’ve purchased at the expense of the reputation of
being a sane individual6”, when Ibarra tried to ask for advice from him. People who do not conform with
society are often subjected to ostracism and are led astray and those who conform are rewarded by
society in exchange for their own freedom and self-identity. Sisa was another character who suffered from
social isolation as she went insane due to the anguish and grief dealt by the loss of her sons from her arms.
She was isolated and no one dared to help her with her mental illness, and it took a toll on her and that
led to her eventual demise. In her last moments she was unable to recognize her son, Basilio, further
emphasizing the effects of social isolation to her7. She was an individual who needed help to overcome
her mental illness but because she was seen as something that should be avoided, she spiraled down the
path of insanity. On the other side of the spectrum, Captain Tiago was part of the wealthy Filipinos who
did nothing but conform, obey and let themselves be a “slave” to the oppressive society in the fear of
social isolation and losing wealth and “power”. This was evident when Tiago willfully chooses to be in the
church’s side instead of the excommunicated Ibarra and his daughter, Maria Clara, in fear of also being
excommunicated8. He valued wealth and power over his own daughter and that is a perfect example of a
man allowing himself to be a “slave” to society in the name of belongingness. Tiago chose the wrong but
easier path rather than to fight for what is right and for his own daughter.
Social isolation is still very much evident in today’s Philippines as liberals and intellectuals are still
subjected to silence in their attempts to expose the government’s malpractices. Extrajudicial killings and
the violence incurred by the war on drugs of recent years have been casted under the shadow of silence
and those who speak up against it are condemned as proprietors of fake news. As recently as 2019,
acclaimed Philippine journalist Maria Ressa was arrested for allegedly violating a ban on foreign media
ownership and she has stated that “I’m being treated like a criminal when my only crime is to be an
independent journalist9.” Maria Ressa speaking up and getting arrested is an example of modern-day
social isolation to those who do not conform with the government’s ideals. Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio
David has also stated that “witnesses to drug killings are expected to be wary of some government
agencies because the accused are police themselves, and the cases can be embarrassing to the
government10”. The silence about these extrajudicial killings have been attributed to conforming to
society and the fear that surrounds an individual who decides to speak up. Most days when moving along
the streets of Manila, it would not be uncommon to see a schizophrenic or “mad man/woman” walking
around the streets, jaywalking, and possibly even naked11. These people need help from the right
authorities but most citizens who pass them by completely ignore or avoid them as if they are no longer
human. Social isolation to those who are deviant to society’s norms is still a common occurrence in
modern society as we tend to cast out those who do not conform. It is a human tendency to avoid what

6 José Rizal, The Social Cancer, 459.

maria-ressa-arrested-fraud/.
10
Aurelio, Julie M. “Bishop: Silence on EJKs Caused by Fear, Complicity.” Inquirer News Bishop Silence on EJKs caused by fear
complicity Comments. Inquirer.net, 2017. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/932590/bishop-silence-on-ejks-caused-by-fear-
complicity.
11 Coronel, Rissa. “The Top Mental Illness in the Philippines Is Also the Least Understood.” CNN, 2018.

https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/06/13/schizophrenia.html.
is different and I myself am guilty of being a proprietor of a lighter form of social isolation towards certain
people. Isolation has a great impact on both the personal level and societal level as it embodies how
society treats those who are different, and it disempowers its citizens to speak up for what they believe
in. It becomes a mild form of oppression and allows people of power to control society to their own liking.
People in power always have the tendency to use the power granted to them for selfish reasons
and allow them to use the power for unfair advantages against society. This is exemplified by the friars or
curates in the novel. In chapter four, Padre Damaso showed signs of his capability to abuse his power
against Don Rafael as he did not hold back in calling Don Rafael a heretic and filibuster because he refused
to confess12. Damaso does not appreciate his power being challenged by a non-religious man and this led
to him even order someone to exhume Don Rafael’s grave and throw the body into the river. Ibarra was
also viewed by Damaso as a threat as he tried everything in his power in attempt to sabotage Ibarra’s plan
of setting up a school. The friar also viewed himself as a higher being than the king and that he is exempted
from punishment for his immoral actions. The friars also utilized excommunication as a tool they can use
to threaten people to obey their orders. In chapter 20, it was proven that the government and the people
do not have the right to argue against what the curate wished to do as in the words of the gobernadorcillo,
““The curate must be obeyed”13. Other characters not only the friars have exemplified abuse of power in
the novel, as Dona Consolacion was also using her power over Sisa as she maltreats her to enforce her
dominance over the madwoman14.
Currently, abuse of power is still evident in society but are now more frequent with corporations
and companies. In the case of contractualization and rights of workers, it has been reported that there
are at least 7 million Filipinos suffering from unfair labor practices15. These are usually done by large
companies such as Jollibee, PLDT, and Philippine Airlines16 to lessen expense and gain more profit. Another
way that corporations abuse their power over society is by capitalizing on data more specifically private
data of consumers. Facebook, the most popular social media platform in the world, was accused of leaking
users’ private data without consent for the benefit of third-party organizations17. Abuse of power is still
evident in today’s society; it is just exemplified in different ways compared to the novel. Corporations are
now the ones who hold power in society, and they have been manipulating and exploiting society for the
sake of profit.
It is quite a shame that social issues presented in the novel are still evident and present in today’s
modern society. It embodies how we truly are as Filipinos and how we are generally as human beings in
society. I deem these paradigms of colonial mentality, social isolation, and abuse of power to be very
deceitful against others. These paradigms mislead us to seeing what it means to truly be a Filipino, and to
be humane. By believing and allowing these paradigms to shape our society, it made us look down on
others and on ourselves. They are deceitful to us and to everyone around us as they lead us to believe
that this is the norm to be followed and we just agree and let it dictate how our society works.
Disempowering the different, the frail, and the marginalized, is that how we want our society to work?

190522 Arvel John J. Bansil

12 José Rizal, The Social Cancer, 149.

https://www.rappler.com/views/imho/226656-contractualization-workers-rights.
16 Carag, Kristan. “DOLE Releases Initial List of Companies Involved in ENDO; Topping the List Is Jollibee.” DZRH News, 2018.

http://dzrhnews.com.ph/dole-releases-initial-list-companies-involved-endo-jollibee-tops-list/.
17 Lapowsky, Issie. “How Cambridge Analytica Sparked the Great Privacy Awakening.” Wired. Conde Nast, March 18, 2019.

https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-facebook-privacy-awakening/.
References:
José Rizal, and Charles E. Derbyshire. The Social Cancer: a Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere
from the Spanish of Jose Rizal by Charles E. Derbyshire. Quezon City: Giraffe, 1996.
Kate Biol. “13 Amazing Places in the Philippines That Look Like Foreign Destinations.” TripZilla, June 22,
2017. https://www.tripzilla.com/philippines-places-like-foreign-destinations/36266.
Barrameda, Ina. “How The Philippines' Colonial History Lives On In The English Language.” BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed, May 8, 2018. https://www.buzzfeed.com/inabarrameda/inglisera-philippines-
american-colonialism.
Gunia, Amy. “Philippines Journalist Maria Ressa Arrested Again.” Time. Time, 2019.
https://time.com/5561018/philippines-maria-ressa-arrested-fraud/.
Aurelio, Julie M. “Bishop: Silence on EJKs Caused by Fear, Complicity.” Inquirer News Bishop Silence on
EJKs caused by fear complicity Comments. Inquirer.net, 2017.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/932590/bishop-silence-on-ejks-caused-by-fear-complicity.
Coronel, Rissa. “The Top Mental Illness in the Philippines Is Also the Least Understood.” CNN, 2018.
https://cnnphilippines.com/life/culture/2018/06/13/schizophrenia.html.
Abenir, Mark Anthony. “[OPINION] Contractualization and the Rights of Workers.” Rappler, 2019.
https://www.rappler.com/views/imho/226656-contractualization-workers-rights.
Carag, Kristan. “DOLE Releases Initial List of Companies Involved in ENDO; Topping the List Is Jollibee.”
DZRH News, 2018. http://dzrhnews.com.ph/dole-releases-initial-list-companies-involved-endo-
jollibee-tops-list/.
Lapowsky, Issie. “How Cambridge Analytica Sparked the Great Privacy Awakening.” Wired. Conde Nast,
March 18, 2019. https://www.wired.com/story/cambridge-analytica-facebook-privacy-
awakening/.