LESSON TWO

“Birth of a Filipino National Consciousness”

Nationalism find its expression in various ways depending on the needs of the people. It
usually springs on from the consciousness of a national identity of being one people. It is that all
pervading spirit that binds together men of diverse castes and creeds, clans and color and units
them into one people, family, and nation with common aspirations and deals.
Foundations of Our Indigenous Culture

Archaeologists and historians who have been reconstructing our past to ascertain our
racial origin and the types of cultures that early migrants brought to the Philippines, have
hypothesized that: (1) our indigenous culture began to develop in the pre-historic and pre-
Christians eras; (2) these early cultures ranged from the crude Old Stone Age to the Metal Age
with organized community life; (3) the early settlers came from Borneo, Indo-China, South China
and other parts of Southeast Asia. Malays who started migrating at about 300 B.C to 200 B.C
brought here their technology that started the development of our indigenous culture These skills
were mining and smelting of iron tools, weapons, utensils and ornaments; irrigated agriculture;
cultivation of fruit, trees, spices, fiber, ornamental plants and other agricultural products; the use
of the carabao and the horse as work animals; the manufacture of ornamented pottery and glass
beads and art of weaving. The second group of Malays started to come at the beginning of the
Christian era and continued migrating through the 13th century. They introduced their syllabary
system of writing. The last of the group, the Muslim Malays, came in the latter half of the 14 th
century, and their migration continued to 15th century. The establishment of their settlements
marked the foundation of Islam in Mindanao and Sulu. Towards the end of the 9th century, our
country began to experience contacts with Arab, Chinese and Malay traders. All these pre-colonial
contacts accounts for the existence of a system of writing in the islands, the use of metal, the
prevalence of beasts of burden and absence of human sacrifices and cannibalism. The settlers
in their respective traditions had established an agricultural economy; maintained trade relations
with other Asian neighbors and developed religious and social norms, a language, a system of
writing, literature, and a political and judicial system in accordance with the standards of the
period. The country was divided into small independent political groups called barangay which
were constantly fighting for survival. Phelan attributes the survival of our indigenous culture thus:
This indigenous culture was deeply embedded in the islands. Hence the significant elements of
the old culture blended into the new society emerging under Spanish auspices. The Filipinos were
and still are tough and flexible, able to absorb new cultural influences without losing their own
identity. They survived the “shock” of their conquest with far less psychological and material
damage to themselves. Phelan analyzed the factors that sustained the native culture in its survival
and he considers the“inward cohesiveness of native Philippine society” as the most important.
Unification of the Country by Spain.

The more than three centuries of Spanish domination in the Philippines was one of the
longest in Southeast Asia by a west colonizer. Her most worthy legacy was the functional
unification of the widely-scattered people under a highly centralized and bureaucratic government.
Spain introduced a new concept of taxation and currency system. Roman Catholicism was the
state religion. Through Catholicism and a system of education, the Spanish language, western
system of writing and alphabet were formally introduced. The Spanish political system
encouraged law and order in the different self-governing communities in the islands. The Spanish
policy of divide et impera (divide and rule) successfully worked. The process of acculturation
and the government’s notorious monopolistic restrictions and control dominated the people’s

10
lives. Most of the government officials became agents of abuse and oppression. Initial
manifestations of the Filipino desire to be freed from Spanish rule came in the form of numerous
regional revolts. The most common causes of revolts were discontent and humiliation
brought about by racial discrimination and the wanton abuses of the officials in the
implementation of policies. The main abuses were the exploitation of manpower through
forced labor, the collection of taxes and tributes, and indulto para comerciar. Some of these
sporadic revolts were the Pampago-Pangasinan Ilocos uprisings (1660-1661) and the
Sumoroy (1649-1650) , Diego Silang (1762-1763), Palaris (1762-1764), Apolianario de la
Cruz (1840-1841) revolts and several others. The desire for religious freedom was another
cause of revolts. These kind of revolts occurred in Panay, Tayabas, and Mountain Province.
Other important causes of the people’s unrest were the friar’s usurpation of the lands of
natives through questionable land measurements. Agrarian unrest broke out in Batangas,
Laguna, Rizal and Cavite. All these revolts had failed because of sectional jealousies, the lack
of communication in the provinces and the absence of a national leadership. Moreover, hostility
and disunity among the Filipinos were augmented by the Spanish policy of divide and rule.
Challenge of the 19th Century

Meantime, economic and political developments that were to affect the Philippines either
directly or indirectly were shaping up in Europe. These developments were the advances of
industrialization, the wide acceptance of the concept of democracy, the spirit of liberalism and the
growing salutary effects of Nationalism.
The Challenge of Industrialization

Industrialization rapidly gained momentum in the second half of the 19th century. The use
of steel as the base metal of industry, the discovery of oil, gasoline, and electricity as basic
sources of power and industrial energy, and the invention of the internal combustion engine. Man
was able to apply the science of electricity to practical problems of lightning transportation,
communication and other forms of transmission and traction. Safer, faster and more comfortable
means of transportation such as railways and steamships were constructed. Engineering feats
like the construction of steel bridges and the Suez Canal opened shorter routes for commerce.
Telephone, telegraph and cable facilities enabled people to have better contacts for business and
trade. Closer communication between Philippines and Spain between Europe and Asia was now
feasible. Industrialism mechanized production that in turn increased the demand for raw
materials and markets for finished products. It encouraged free trade policies that hastened the
development of international commerce. The Philippines was eventually drawn into orbit of
international trade especially after 1834 when it was opened to foreign traders. This marked a
change in the economic and social life of those Filipinos who eventually came into contact with
the political and socio-economic developments in Europe. The industrial system created a fast
tempo of economic progress and made the bourgeoisie a rich, powerful and influential class in
western society. It brought about the emergence of a new social class, the proletariat or the
modern working class, that was largely illiterate and propertyless. The workers gained support of
socialist philosophers who clamored against the distress and the needs of the exploited workers.
Before 1848 socialism was expressed in various ways but they expounded a common cause:
“The equitable distribution of the fruits of production.” One of the socialist philosophers was Karl
Marx who brilliantly expounded the philosophy of socialism now known as Marxism which has
become the most influential concepts among labor circles. The publication of Communist
Manifesto in 1848, socialism “passed permanently” into the tradition of Western Civilization. Karl
Marx’s famous line “Working men of al countries unite!” served as a rallying point for labor.
The proletariat became more aware of their identity in the economic system. The workers began

11
to make demands from their employers. It resulted in the enactment of labor laws which stipulated
fixed working hours, universal education, better pay, old age pension, and better working
conditions. The Filipinos were aware of these matters. Juan Luna asked for Rizal’s advise on
what to red to be inspired to paint. In his letter, Luna informed Rizal that he was reading Le
Socialismo Contemporain by E de Levalye, which is a compilation of the theories of Karl Marx,
Lasalle, etc; Catholic socialism, the conservative, the evangelical, etc.
The Altered Position of the Catholic Church in the 19th Century.

The Catholic Church in Europe was a most powerful influential institution. The church has
been identified with the monarchy and aristocracy since the medieval era. The church therefore
was considered an adversary of the young Republican states and the recently unified countries.
The French viewed the church as a threat to their newly established republican state, and
Bismarck of Germany considered church as a threat to the unified people of German Empire. In
Spain, the liberals considered the church an enemy of reforms. In other countries sought to curtail
the church’s influence, to break down its political power, and to destroy its traditional control over
education. This movement was called “Anti-clericalism” Anti-clericalism gained strength in the
19th century not only for political reasons but also because of the materialistic preferences of the
people generated by economic prosperity. The Rerum called upon the states to help labor and
reiterated church support in the promotion of the welfare of labor but attacked Marxis. Rizal and
other Filipino leaders were exposed to the necessary intellectual background and the conceptual
framework to abstract their ideas of reforms in the Philippines. The economic prosperity, the
strengthening of the bourgeoisie, the emerging power of the proletariat; the democratic and
nationalistic thoughts of the great thinkers, and the flexibility of the church sent stimulating
undercurrents in the Philippines which the Filipinos welcomed and the Spaniards could no longer
ignore. Filipino now became aggressive in his struggle for his rights and activated its citizens into
a revolution of change and economic adjustments.
The Philippines is Drawn within the Orbit of the World trade
The beneficial effects of economic liberalism in Europe and the United States had finally
convinced Spain to abandon mercantilism and reluctantly open the Philippines to world trade.
Spain opened Philippine ports to foreign trade starting with Manila in 1834;-followed by Sual,
Iloilo, Zamboaga in 1855, Cebu in 1860, and Legaspi and Tacloban in 1873. These ports
became more accessible to European vessels. The presence of foreign traders and their
investments in the Philippines stimulated commercial life and agricultural production.The
introduction of agricultural machinery and increased banking facilities encouraged opening of new
farms. Improved methods of cultivation and preparation of crops increased the volume of exports.
The construction of better roads, railroads and bridges enhanced transportation and
communication. Steam navigation, telephones and telegraphs and even cables gave added
impetus to economic progress. These developments encouraged social mobility and interaction
among people thus facilitating closer understanding and unity.
The New Breed of Native Middle Class

These 19th century economic and social stimuli effected a marked improvement in the
standard of living of small group if indios and mestizos who were engaged in commercial
agriculture and trade. This group became the nucleus of a growing middle class. This time, the
Philippine education began to share the liberal currents in Europe with the implementation of
the Educational Reform decree of 1863 and Jesuits innovations at Ateneo. The decree
offered the establishment of public primary schools and a normal school to train teachers
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for the primary grades. The Jesuits opened a secondary school and meteorological observatory
subsidized by the government and had been influential in disseminating general primary
education. Contacts with the social and political developments in Europe and the regular flow of
liberal thoughts to the country was inevitable after the opening of Suez Canal. Literature on
democratic and nationalistic ideas found their way to the Philippines through traders, travelers,
scholars, government officials and political refugees from Spain. These liberal ideas included
equality before law; freedom of speech, the press, assembly and religion; protection of alienable
rights; representation in the lawmaking body; and sovereignty of people.
Initial Response to the Nineteenth Century Challenges

Even before the emergence of an active educated middle class which directly worked for
reforms, Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar (1788-1862) had already voiced his disgust in the
prevailing social order through his literary pieces, particularly Florante at Laura. In his numerous
literary works, Balagtas subtly portrayed the “social cancer” of his time and earned the distinction
of being the first Filipino artist with a social conscience. His now famous awit Florante at Laura,
voiced his censure of the government, his impatience with Spanish abuses, and his love for liberty.
His literary verse unmasked a corrupt government, a society ridden with vice where justice had
been defiled, virtue betrayed and truth stiffled. He envisioned the liberation of the country from
the despots and its ultimate unification. The first united move against racial discrimination was
made by the native clergy with their demand for the right to administer parishes (the question of
secularization). The first to champion the cause of the native clergy was a Spanish mestizo, Father
Pedro Pelaez, the ecclesiastical governor of the Philippines in 1862, who was influential in Manila
and Madrid. His broad idealism had convinced him that the fight for justice was not a matter of
blood and position but of sound values and principles. A brilliant educator, journalist and orator,
Father Pelaez used the pulpit and the press to expose and criticize the rampant racial
discrimination against the native clergy. He denounced the Spanish ecclesiastical authorities for
denying Filipino clergy the right to administer Philippine parishes and for depriving them on
holding positions in hierarchy. He appealed to Queen Isabela II of Spain for clerical equality while
he dispatched articles expounding his crusade to newspapers. Father Pelaez submitted
recommendations that were later to be embodied in the Educational Reform Decree of 1863.
Unfortunately, his fight for justice and racial equality ended abruptly with his death at a disastrous
earthquake that rocked the Philippines in 1863. Jose A. Burgos, a student of Father Pelaez
continued his unfinished mission. Father Burgos was a Spanish mestizo who openly and eagerly
worked for clerical equality. During the heated controversy over the secularization of parishes,
attacks were levied against the late Father Pelaez, against the policies of Archbishop Gregorio
Meliton Martinez, and against the qualifications of the Filipino clergy. These charges were
published in La Verdad, a newspaper in Madrid. The accusations ranged from the ignorance and
unreliability of the native clergy that made them unfit to administer the parishes, the injustices
committed against the Spanish friars by Archbishop Martinez, to questions on the loyalty of the
late Father Pelaez. Burgos much intense nationalism was expressed ion his defense of the much
maligned Filipino clergy. Father Burgos defended the liberal policies of Archbishop Martinez that
attempted to give Filipino secular priests every opportunity for better training. Since Father Burgos
believed that the superiority of a man depends on his education, he appealed to the noble people
of Spain to give the Filipino clergy a chance to show their ability to equal the white men.

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Futile Spanish Attempts to Initiate Reforms
Sensing the prevalent social discontent, political insecurity and the growing anti-Spanish
feelings in the Islands, Governors General Manuel Pavia (1854) and Carlos Ma de la Torre (1869-
1871) warned the Spanish government and suggested certain reforms. Governor Rafael de
Izquierdo (1871-1873) blamed higher education as the motivating factor of all these agitations.
He suggested the substitution of vocational instruction for university studies. He also sought to
prohibit any further ordination of Filipino priests thus suggested that all native troops be replaced
by Spanish soldiers. Fortunately for the Philippines, the Spanish government could not agree on
policies to counteract the surging rise of nationalistic sentiments. In 1868, the mutiny of the
Spanish fleet in Cadiz against the monarchy mounted to revolution which deposed Queen Isabela
II and a provisional government was set up by victorious liberals. That time, reforms occurred
such as the grant of universal suffrage and recognition of freedom of conscience, the press,
association and public assembly. The provisional government appointed General Carlos Ma de
la Torre as Governor General of the Philippines. As the official representative of the liberal
government in Spain De la Torre abolished the censorship of the press, fostered free political
discussions, and supported the secularization of parishes. His liberal attitude encourages the
educated Filipinos to form organizations that discussed and campaigned for political reforms and
secularization of parishes. The most active organizers were priests and laymen such as
Father Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora; Augusto Mendoza, Jose Ma
Basa, Antonio Ma Regidor and Joaquin Pardo de Tavera. Daring students at the conservative
University of Santo Tomas organized Juventud Escolar liberal (Liberal Young Students)
led by Felipe Buencamino. Some of known members were Paciano Rizal, Mariano Alejndrino,
Gregorio Sanciano, Basilio Teodoro and others who would be actively involved in the
Propaganda Movement of 1880’s and 1890’s. Students asked for appointment of better
professors, and expansion of education as in Spain, and the secularization of higher education.
The demands were legitimate but the Spanish government branded them as subversive and
ordered the arrest of Buencamino and even others who were not involved. Governor de la Torre
tried to curtail the abuses of alcaldes mayores and provincial military governors. Realizing the
urgent need for reforms, De la Torre formed a junta to study measures for the welfare of the
colony. Before he could implement the suggested reforms, however, the liberal regime in Spain
was deposed by the conservatives. Governor De la Torre was replaced by Governor Izquierdo
who echoed conservatis. Izquierdo restored strict censorship of the press, prohibited political
discussions, and put a stop to secularization of parishes. The political atmosphere was charged
with grave unrest. One example of unrest that erupted into violence was the Cavite Mutiny. On
January 20, 1872, 40 men of the marine infantry and 22 men of the artillery attacked Fort San
Felipe in Cavite. 150 native soldiers and workers at the arsenal later joined the mutineers. They
resented the governor’s policy of curtailing some of their privileges of exemption from forced labor
or paying heavy tribute to the government. Led by Sergeant La Madrid, the mutineers futilely
waited for the reinforcements from the Seventh Infantry guarding Cavite and sympathizers from
Manila.
Filipino Sentiment of Nationality Aroused.

This local incident was magnified by the Spanish authorities into a “national rebellion” to
justify mass reprisals. The arrests of liberal intellectuals was immediately ordered. Among those
arrested were natives and mestizos who were most vocal in suggesting reforms during de la Torre
regime. All the prisoners- priests, laymen, businessmen, soldier’s were thrown into a common
prison cell to await trial. They were accused of “wanting to establish here a republic in conspiracy
with the republican partisans in Spain.” All were given hurried trials, and summary convictions
and punishments were meted out to all groups. The military groups sentenced the three priests

14
to die by garrote. The efforts of Archbishop Gregorio Meliton Martinez to save them proved
futile. The rest of the accused were either exiled to Marianas or were sentenced to imprisonment
and hard labor for eight to ten years. Father Burgos and Zamora’s claim to innocence was
unheeded. Eighty four year old Father Gomez said nothing in his defense for he knew it would be
useless to change the minds of those who condemned them even before the trial. Father Zamora,
dazed with shock quietl awaited his end. Father Burgos, cried out in protest; “But what crime have
I committed? Shall I die in this manner? Is there no justice on earth? This spontaneous show of
respect and sympathy for the victims was interpreted by the Spanish members of the crowd as a
signal for rebellion, they sought refuge in Intramuros. The authorities declared the Cavite affair a
closed incident. The vindictive fiasco made no distinction of social class or status for
imprisonment. Eventually a peaceful but vigorous campaign called the Propaganda Movement
was launched.
The Propaganda Movement

Laying the Groundwork

After eight years of relative peace and quiet, the historical drama now unfolds in Madrid (1880)
where intellectual and political ferment had been long in progress. Two young Doctor of Laws,
Pedro Paterno and Gregorio Sanciano, both chinese mestizos endowed with nationalist
sentiments. Their literary works seemed to have anticipated the dream of their compatriots and
set pattern of action and themes for the other nationalists to follow. These two intellectual were
soon joined by Graciano Lopez Jaena, Jose Rizal, Pedro de Govantes and Eduardo de Lete.
Dr. Paterno published his first literary work which was a collection of verses entitled
Sampaguitas (1880). He attempted to project to the public a Filipino national personality through
the works of a Filipino. Dr. Gregorio Sanciano wrote on a more serious theme: economic reforms
to improve political administration. His book E Progreso de Filipinas (1881), analyzed the
revenue system and concluded that the inequality of the Philippine tax structure had deterred the
economic growth of the Philippines. Dr. Sanciano also characterized the taxation system as
irregular, full of privileges, inequalities and injustices. He criticized the tribute system. He warned
that as in the age of barbarism “the tribute that was enforced by force ended also by force.”
Expanding Sanciano’s theory on taxation, he claimed that a citizen should contribute to support
the state according to his ability, but he should not be compelled to pay tribute and the like if he
owns nothing. He added that the “amount of taxes should be adjusted to the value of the property
of the citizen and for the more property he has the greater is the security service he needs.” He
also proposed the assimilation of the Philippines by Spain. He cited the tobacco monopoly and
analyzed its brutalizing consequences. He pointed out that trade had become unprofitable to the
indios. Further, the delays were caused by the petty exactions on trade by Spanish officials.The
tobacco monopoly was abolished and the cedula personal was required of both the Filipinos and
Spaniards. Forced labor services were reduced from 45 to 15 days and required of both Filipinos
and Spaniards except those who paid a certain amount of taxes. The works of Paterno and
Sanciano clearly summed up the ideas that were to recur in the political and intellectual activities
of the propagandists for the next 15 years. They asserted an image of dignity and identity as
members of the Spanish nation by working for their right to administrative and economic reforms
in order to correct existing prejudices and anomalies.
Unifying Forces During the Unorganized Years.

Spontaneous expressions of nationalistic sentiments with no formal organization to

coordinate and direct their activities characterized the early stages of the Propaganda Movement
in Spain. Social ferment in Spain favored the publication of liberal newspapers. The most

15
sympathetic to the cause of the Filipinos during the early years was Los Dos Mundos where
Graciano Lopez Jaena and Pedro de Govantes were staff members. They were the most
active during those early years. Events that served to bring them closer together were: the
announcement of the abolition of the tobacco monopoly in 1881; the victory of Juan Luna and
Felix Resurrection Hidalgo at the Exposicion de Bellas Artes in Madrid in 1884; the assault
made against the dignity of the Filipinos as a race by Pablo Feced (“Quioquiap”) in 1886; and
by the management of the Exposicion Filipinas in 1887; and lastly, their desire to publish their
own newspaper. The announcement of the abolition of tobacco monopoly was an occasion to
celebrate. Filipinos expressed their gratitude to the overseas Minister, Fernando de Leon Castillo.
The announcement meant the end of Spanish exploitation in tobacco production and distribution.
The occasion was followed early the next year with the forming of a organization called the
Circulo Hispano-Filipino led by Juan Atayde, a Spaniard born in the Philippines. It published
a short-lived newspaper, the Revista del Circulo Hispano-Filipino. By this time (1886) the spirit
of and pride of the young propagandists had been so stirred that they published a newspaper in
March 1887. As a propaganda newspaper, Espana en Filipinas advocated economic and
administrative reforms fro the Philippines, rebutted Quioquiap’s stinging articles; and strongly
argued against the,blatant exploitation of the Igorots and the Muslims at the Exposicion de
Filipinas in May 1887. The propagandists accused the Exposicion management of
misrepresenting the Filipinos and misleading the Spanish authorities so that reform would not be
granted. The Espana en Filipinas bowed out after one year and four months of voicing Filipino
sentiments and aspirations. While all these activities were in progress, Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere
was published in March 1887 which added fuel to heated arguments between the pro and anti-
propagandists. Father Salvador Font lashed at the book, claiming that it evoked memories of
Cavite and sought to overthrow “ the yoke of oppression” and he recommend that it should be
totally banned from importation, reprint and circulation in the Islands. Del Pilar wrote a defense of
the Noli emphasizing that Father Font was not qualified to criticize the book because the friar
himself admitted that the book offended him. Rizal wrote “to criticize for the betterment of the
Philippines, because he loved Spain.” Del Pilar observed that “if it is true that the state of affairs
is staining the brilliant history of Spanish institutions in the east, why should this man be
censured.” Del Pilar posed other questions, thus: If the observation is untrue, if the friar on the
contrary rises to the aid of the government, if he favors their projects, why are there so many
obstacles in the work of progress in the Philippines, so longed for by both rulers and subjects.
The attacks and the defense of the Noli gave the Philippines further publicity in the Spanish press
through the pamphlets issued by both sides. The propagandists had an opportunity to reiterate
issues and the urgent need for reforms.
Revival of Activities in the Philippines.

As the drive for reforms in Spain gained momentum, the nationalist-reformists in the
Philippines were busy with their own plans. The local strategy in organizing the propaganda work
was performed by Marcelo H. Del Pilar. Del Pilar exhorted the young men to join student
organizations. A lawyer by profession and a newspaperman-crusader by choice, Del Pilar
reached out to the masses in their own dialect. His duplos and essays which satirized local
conditions were widely circulated in Tagalog provinces. Assisted by Basilio Teodoro, he
published and edited the short-lived Diariong Tagalog (1882) censuring the friar’s despotism in
the Philippines. Anti-clericalism heavily influenced propaganda activities in the country. Del Pilar
secretly organized the Comite (Junta) de Propaganda. he small but active group used Manila and
Malolos as centers of their operations. Working closely with Del Pilar were his brother-in-law
Deodato Arelano, Pedro Serrano Laktaw, a Filipino priest Don Rafael Canlapan, Manuel
Crisostomo, Basilio Teodoro, Jose Ramos, Doroteo Cortes and Gregorio Santillan. Jose Ramos
took care of their distribution through his store La Gran Bretana. The subtle support extended by

16
liberal-minded Governor General Emilio Terrero (1885-88), acting Civil Governor of Manila, by
Benigno Quiroga, Director of Civil Administration, and by local Spanish officials such as Julio
Galindo, local Commander of the Civil Guard, and by Manuel Gomez Florio, Civil Governor of
Bulacan, boosted their morale and made them aggressive especially in their anti-friar moves.
Another incident that shows the unity of the natives involved a government project to open an
orphanage and a school or arts and trades by the Agustinian fathers. The anti-friar activities
reached a climax with the petition of 1888 led by Doroteo Cortes and Jose Ramos. The petition
accused the friars of various crimes and demanded the expulsion of the friars and the exile of the
Archbishop. Another example of agitation for the protection of Filipino rights was the Kalamba
agrarian petition of 1888. T protect themselves from arbitrary tax impositions and other forms of
vexation by the Dominica estate managers, the tenants petitioned the government that either their
agrarian relations with the Dominican estate be governed by a formal contract or that the lands
be sold to those who have made them tillable under government auspices and according to a
standard that may be fixed. The petitioners were sued by the estate managers and ejection
proceedings were initiated. The lower court and the Royal Audiencia decided against the
petitioners. Governor Valeriano Weyler, successors of Terrero , used force to suppress the
disturbances. Del Pilar was ordered arrested but he managed to slip out of the country before the
order was executed. Mariano Ponce continue his medical education in Spain in 1887. Having
been a student-reformist while in the Philippines, he found time for propaganda work in between
his studies and finally graduated in 1889. He led the group in pushing through the plan of
publishing their official organ which was to be called La Solidaridad.
Consolidation of Propaganda Activities: The Final Push for Reforms

Filipino Nationalists Formally Organized

Although they had carried on the crusade for reforms in Spain since 1880, the Filipino
nationalists did not have a formal organization to coordinate their activities until 1889. The La
Solidaridad society was organized in Barcelona on New Year’s Eve. The following officers were
chosen: Galicano Apacible, president; Graciano Lopez Jaena, vice president; Manuel Santa,
secretary; Mariano Ponce, treasurer; Jose Ma Panganiban, auditor; and Rizal, honorary
president. A few days later, another group in Madrid inaugurated the Association Hispano-
Filipina on 12 January 1889. The society was composed of Filipinos and Spaniards aimed at
working for specific reforms for our country. Its officers were Don Miguel Morayta, president;
Rivas Moreno, vice president; Donimador Gomez, secretary, and Antonio Luna, treasurer. Del
Pilar joined the group and the first issue of La Solidaridad came out in 15 of February, 1899. It
was financed mainly by Pablo Rianzares Bautista and some members of the Comite de
Propaganda in the Philippines. The paper was a modest fortnightly of 12-16 pages the size of a
current weekly magazine. The editorship was first offered to Rizal but he declined because of
being busy annotating Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de los Islas Filipinas and researching on
Philippine history. Lopez Jaena who was interested in editorship was finally selected. Its first
issue announced its aims: to spread and defend the ideals of democracy, and to work for and
promote progress in politics, science, arts and letters, commerce, agriculture and industry. Lopez
Jaena criticized the inefficiency of the Spanish two-party system, lamented the indifference of the
people to civic projects, and national responsibility and dealt with the problems of the government,
especially the rising prices of commodities. After nine months of publication, Del Pilar took over
the editorship and the editorial office was transferred to Madrid. Active contributors of La
Solidaridad were Mariano Ponce, Jose Ma Panganiban, Antonio Luna, Jose Rizal and
staunch supporter to the Filipino cause, Ferdinand Blumentritt. They used pen names to protect

17
their families in the Philippines from persecution. Rizal used Dimas Alang and Laong Laan; Del
Pilar, Plaridel; Lopez Jaena, Diego Laura; Jose Ma Panganiban, Jomapa; Antonio Luna,
Tga-ilog; Ponce, Naning, Tigbalang or Kalipulako. The paper was banned from the Philippines
but copies surreptitiously reached the country for the delightful reading of patriotic Filipinos.
Reforms They Worked for

Picking up from the nationalistic trend started by Fathers Pelaez and Burgos in the
Philippines from the idealism of Sanciano, Lopez Jaena and Pedro de Govantes in Spain, the
writer of Las Solidaridad shared the common theme to work for equality so that the rights and
dignity of the Filipinos would be guaranteed and respected. The reformists asked for the
assimilation of the Philippines as a regular province of Spain. The elevation of the Philippines
to a Spanish province would entitle us to all the rights and privileges of Spanish citizens.
Other reforms that they sought were: the extension of peninsular law to the Philippines,
judicial reforms, integrity in administration, Appointment of Filipino priests to administer
parishes, and free governmental participation. To promote economic development, they
also asked for freedom in trade and industry. Supplementing La Solidaridad were the play up
of news stories in the Spanish democratic press given by the liberal journalists. They
continued to expose, criticize and satirize the intolerable conditions in the Philippines caused by
inept and corrupt Spanish administration. Much publicized was the presentation to the Cortes of
a bill which provided for elected deputies to represent the Philippines. The first representation
was made in 1891 by Deputy Calvo Munoz, a former associate of Del Pilar in the Diarrong
Tagalog. Manuel Becerra supported the bill but discussion of the measure was postponed and
before the body could act on it the Sagasta government fell from power. Del Pilar appealed to
the Masonic lodges whose members secured 7,000 signatures for the petition asking for
parliamentary representation.
Glimpses of Propaganda Literature.

Apart from news items a regular columns in la Solidaridad and the Spanish liberal press
favoring the cause of reforms in the Philippines, the reformists wrote historical and social essays
for their organ or for printing as pamphlets. They also wrote novels and novelettes to enhance
their motives. Mariano Ponce, managing editor and a regular contributor of La Solidaridad, was
the biographer, researcher and bibliographer of the movement. His biographies of great Filipinos
were serialized in La Solidaridad. His historical essays stressed the importance of education, and
analyzed the grievances of the country. The Filipino desire for freedom of the press was
consistently stressed in essays and speeches . Jose Ma Panganiban pointed out that a
government could better understand and interpret the aspirations of its people if freedom of the
press were granted. He also criticized the deficiencies of higher education in the Philippines. The
contributions of Antonio Luna to La Solidaridad were Noche Buena, a biographical sketch that
depicted actual life in the Philippines; La Maestra de mi Pueblo, which pointed out the defects of
the educational system for women; and a play called Todo por el Estomago, tat satirized the
biased Spanish method of colonization and taxation policies.Rizal ridiculed Father Font and did
not spare the friars in his pamphlet, Por Telefono. Other criticisms of the Noli were those of Father
Jose Rodriguez who published a series of eight pamphlets. These were refuted by Rizal’s satirical
pamphlet, La Vision del Fray Rodriguez. La Solidaridad’s issue of 31 March, 1890 published
another defense written by Father Vicente Garcia under the pen name of V Caraig. Blumentritt
also critique Noli, he presumed that Noli would be to the credit of Spanish Colonization. Blumentritt
summed up the cause of almost blind hatred of the Spaniards for the Noli: it hurt Spanish national
pride to know that an indio had boldly exposed in his novel representatives of the chosen race
who placed their personal interests above their honor before their duty towards the state. Rizal

18
spoken in the spirit of truth and honesty. The most compelling book of Del Pilar was the La
Soberania Monacal en Filipinas in which he set forth his basic reform in the Philippines: expulsion
of the friars to eliminate the obstacles to progress and happiness in the Philippines. Del Pilar
described friars in the Philippines as a privileged and powerful group whose powers interfered
with the political, economic, social life, and education of the people. In fact they were the arbiters
of Filipino misfortunes and their “impeccability” had become a “dogma”. Lopez Jaena was known
as the orator of the group. He utilized his eloquence and natural oratory held his audience
spellbound as he expounded on the necessity of granting reforms for the Filipinos. In his oratorical
homage to Luna for having painted “The Battle of Lepanto” that won first prize at the Barcelona
Exposition. He defended the Filipinos from insults and sarcastic remarks levied by unjust critics
who were unaware of the conditions in the Philippines. Referring to the genius, glories and
triumphs of Luna, Jaena confessed that he could not help but refer to the Philippines as “that
beautiful corner of the Orient.” In May 1891, Jaena reacted to a racially discriminatory policy of
the civil governor in Pangasinan where all the Filipinos were required to take off their hats
whenever they met a white Spaniard. His criticism wanted to emphasize the dignity and right of
an indio. Rizal, the most scholarly of the group. researched among the Filipiniana collection of
the British museum in London, He wrote his principal essays for La Solidaridad. His annotation of
Sucesos revealed the extent and painstaking researches he had made on the history of the
Philippines. He referred to well-known historians and writers such as Fathers Chirino and Colin,
and San Agustin, Vidal, Buzeta, De los Rios, Grau, and others. One is jolted back to 19th century
reality with Rizal’s annotation remarks: “The same cannot be said today. The government in print
and in words tried to educate the Filipinos but indeed… it foments ignorance placing education in
the hands of the friars who are accused by Spaniards, Filipinos and foreigners wanting the
brutalization of the country. “ Morga praised the natives as “very intelligent people.” Rizal
corroborated this by citing the same observations of two authors, the Jesuits Colin and Chirino,
who wrote separately praising native intelligence that merited the promoted of some clerks to
“official of the office of public accountants and secretaries of kingdom. To these claims Rizal
commented that even before the coming of the Spaniards, the natives had schools where they
learned to read and write in Tagalog in which all of them were skilled. Rizal laments that the child
loses two or three years in school reading and writing language he does not understand while
quite often neither does he read nor write correctly. Philippine culture may have defects as all
other cultures have but Spanish colonization had aggravated these. Rizal cited the ancient Filipino
treatment of their slaves compared to the inhuman Spanish treatment of the workers. Pedro
Alejandro Paterno was one of the pioneer Filipino propagandists who served the cause of the
movement with his historical researches.
Masonry and the Propaganda Movement.

Not satisfied with their research, journalistic, literary, and oratorical feats the
propagandists joined the brotherhood of Masons. The liberal ideas of the masons, their fearless
attacks on the government and the church, attracted the attention of the propagandists. On April
1 1889, Lopez Jaena organized the Lodge Revolucion in Barcelona to bring together all Filipino
masons, with its abolition a year later, the Lodge La Solidaridad was established in Madrid to
become the center of propaganda activities in Spain. Accordingly. On 6 January 1891, the Lodge
Nilad was secretly established in Manila by Pedro Serrano Laktaw. A year later, it was recognized
by the parent lodge Gran Oriente Espanol in Spain.

19
Counter Propaganda Moves

The exposes, satires and criticisms written against the Spaniards stimulated varied
reactions among which was sympathy for the Spanish authorities in the Philippines. Wenceslao
E Retana, one of the founders and editor of La Politica de Espana en Filipinas. Using the
pseudonym “Desenganos,” Retana attacked the propagandists personally. He described them as
incapable, ignorant, indolent, always craving for more rights, and never satisfied. In his two
volumes of Recuerdos de Filipinas, the Spanish writer remembered the Filipinos as childish and
culturally backward. Vicenter Barrantes wrote about the defects of the Philippine Theater in his El
Teatro Tagalo, which provokes Rizal and Blumentritt into endless discussions. Among the counter
propagandists, were the friars. Their newspaper was La Voz de Espana. Father Jose Rodriguez
wrote a series of tracts entitled Questiones de Sumo Interes -which attempted to discredit the
works of Rizal and other propagandists. Father Francisco Rivas published two pamphlets against
the reforms proposed by Minister of Colonies Segismundo Moret to liberalize the Spanish
administration and to secularize education in the Philippines. Father Miguel Lucio Bustamante, in
his Si Tandang Basiong Macunat, ridiculed the people for aspiring to learn the Spanish language
when they could hardly perform their manual tasks satisfactorily.
Disappointing reforms

The collective efforts of the propagandists and their sympathizers yielded minor reforms
such as the Provincial Reform of 1886, the extension of the Spanish Civil Code to the Philippines,
followed by the Code of Commerce, the passage of the Becerra Law providing for the right to
organize city governments, and the reforms in municipal administration embodied in the Maura
Law of 1883. The Maura Law was a fine piece of municipal legislation but it came three years
before the outbreak of the Revolution and was too late for implementation. Without a guarantee
of their human and civil rights, the Penal code, Civil code, and the Code of Commerce were
useless to the Filipinos. The provincial reform of 1886 came too late to correct the age-old defects
of the colonial system.
Problems of the Propagandists

The Filipino nationalists could not wait for Sprain to grant the reforms they wanted. Time
was running against them. Their inadequate financial resources, differences of opinions, and
personal problems began to weigh heavily. The propagandist’s financial difficulties forced Rizal
to comment that the majority talked a great deal but were reluctant to help finance the movement.
Dominador Gomez and Pablo Rianzares financed the La Solidaridad. The subscriptions of the
masons were insufficient. The government stepped up its surveillance and deported propaganda
supporters, making it difficult for them to send financial aid to Del Pilar and those who remained
with him to the last days of La Solidaridad. The widening rift among the propagandists was
aggravated by their personal problems, their depleted financial conditions, their homesickness
and concern for their families in the Philippines. The most ardent nationalists of the group- Rizal,
Del Pilar and Lopez Jaena were forced to stop their activities temporarily.
Rizal attempts to carry on the Propaganda in the Philippines.

Rizal came home with the hope of working for the reforms on Philippine soil. Shortly after
his arrival in Manila on 26 June 1892, he organized La Liga Filipina on 3 July 1892. Its objectives
according to constitution were: the unification of the whole archipelago into one compact; vigorous
and homogenous body; mutual protection in every want and necessity; defense against all the
violence and injustice; encouragement of education, agriculture and commerce; and the study

20
and application of reforms. Its motto: “One like all.” For administrative purposes, the League was
divided into three councils: Supreme Council, Provincial Council and Popular Council. Its
constitution defined the duties and rights of its members and officers, how it funds were to be
invested, and other general policies. Its constitution implied that the League was a national society
which required its members to assume a symbolic name- their real names known only to their
respective chiefs. The League required its members: to obey completely and promptly every order
emanating from the provincial council or chief, preserve the most absolute; Secrecy pertaining to
the decisions of the council; inform the League of whatever they learned that had reference to
Liga Filipina. The members were expected to work as one body, vigilant in the protection of their
rights and dignity, and united in fighting violence and injustice, especially the poor shall be
supported in his right against any powerful person. La Liga was shortlived because of the exile
of Rizal to Dapitan in 1892. Rizal’s last desperate attempt to carry on the Propaganda movement
in the Philippines had failed. La Solidaridad folded up for lack of funds on 15 November 1895.
Lopez Jaena died because of Tuberculosis two months later; Del Pilar died on the same
disease, poor and hungry on 4 July 1896 and Rizal was executed at the end of the same year.
The rest of the propagandists dispersed. However they did not labor in vain. Their work inflamed
the quiet hostility of the masses against the Spaniards. But when reforms did not come, their hope
turned into despair. Nineteenth century democratic and nationalistic ideals had so permeated
Philippine society that Filipino passions and turned to rebellion. Led by Andres Bonifacio, a small
band of determined and persevering men formed the nucleus of the Katipunan, a revolutionary
society that rekindled the people’s determination to fight for freedom and happiness. Political
Independence was recognized on 4 July 1946, half a century after the death of Jaena, Del Pilar,
and Rizal, and after Bonifacio inspired the Katipunan to rise in rebellion in the name of freedom.
We had at last realized emancipation.

Guide Questions:

Lesson 2
Birth of a Filipino National Consciousness

1. What factors should be present for a group of people to get together, organize, and form
a nation?

2. Now that you have identified the factors necessary for a people to form a nation, let us
review some historical experience of the Filipino:

a. What did the pre-colonial settlers contribute to the establishments of Filipino

identity?
b. What changes took place with the adoption of Spanish Institutions?
c. How did the Following leaders respond to the challenge of the 19th century
liberalism: Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar, Father Pedro Pelaez, and Father Jose
A. Burgos?
d. How did the Spanish government in the Philippines react to the liberal agitation in
the 19th century?
e. To what extent would you consider Carlos Ma de la Torre a liberal administrator of
19th century Philippines?
f. What themes and programs of reform did Dr. Gregorio Sancianco and Dr. Pedro
Paterno propose in 1880?

21
g. Why were the propaganda activities in the Philippines and Spain anti-friar in
nature?
h. Describe how the propagandists in Spain pushed through the final phase of their
peaceful fight for reforms?
i. Cite passages from propaganda literature expressing the urgent need for reforms,
pride in the country and people, and assertion of human rights.
j. Compile a list of reforms demanded by the propagandists. Which of these reforms
reached the Cortes? Explain the negative reaction to the forms.

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 LESSON THREE

“Development of Rizal’s Nationalism”

Birth, Ancestry, Childhood
Birth

Rizal was born on 19 June 1861, in Kalamba, Laguna. He was baptized Jose Rizal
Mecado.
Rizal’s Ancestor

Like most Filipinos, Rizal was of mixed racial origin. On his father’s side, he descended
from an industrious and intelligent Chinese merchant, Domingo Lamco, who married a Chinese
mestiza, Ines de la Rosa.From the Parian the family migrated to Binan and became tenants in
the Dominican estate. Lamco’s only son, Francisco, who was to be Rizal’s great grandfather, was
a keen-witted and young liberal man. The family adopted the surname “Mercado” to free the
younger generation from the prejudices that followed those with a Chinese name. Francisco
Mercado and his wife, Bernarda Monicha, a chinese mestiza , were blessed with two children:
Juan and Clemente. Juan married Cirila Alejandra, also a chinese mestiza. The couple had 14
children, one of whom was Francisco, Rizal’s father. Francisco Mercado and two of his sisters
moved to Kalamba. Starting as a pioneer tenant farmer at Dominican estate, he was promoted to
oversser with compensation, and was soon sub-leasing his additional allotments. His wife,
Teodeora Alonso, had a dry goods store. From these earnings, the fortunes of the Rizal family
were built. The family of Teodora Alonso Realonda was more progressive that the family of her
husband, In those days when professionals were scarce, the Alonso clan could be proud of a
number of lawyers, priests, engineers and government officials. Rizal’s maternal great
grandfather, Manuel de Quintos, a Chinese mestizo from Lingayen, Pangasinan, was lawyer. His
wife, Regina Ursua (Ochoa), was of Japanese ancestry. Their daughter Brigida married Lorenzo
Alberto Alfonso, an engineer. Lorenzo’s mother belonged to a professionally prominent family
from Baliuag, Bulacan. Lorenzo himself was wealthy and had a considerable investment in two
American companies. Hi wife Brigida was well-educated and a good mathematician. The couple
had five children, including Teodora who was to become Rizal’s mother.
Rizal’s Immediate Family

Rizal’s parents were more prosperous and more renowned than their forebears. The
industry of couple raised them to the privileged class, the principalia. Only a few families in Rizal’s
time could afford a big rectangular house of adobe and hardwood as the Mercados did. Rizal’s
father, Don Francisco Mercado, was born in Binan, Laguna. He studied Latin and Philosophy at
the College of San Jose in Manila. Rizal described him as a “model of fathers.” He was a man of
“solid shoulders, strong constitution, rather tall than short, of serious and reflective mien and with
prominent forehead and large dark eyes.” Dona Teodora Alonso, Rizal’s mother was born in
Meisik, Sta. Cruz, Manila. She came from distinguished and talented family. Dona Teodora was
a remarkable woman. Rizal always spoke of her with warmth and admiration. Both parents greatly
influenced Rizal and left their imprint on his character. “From his father he inherited a profound
sense of dignity and self-respect, seriousness and self-possession; and from his mother the
temperament of the poet and the dreamer and bravery for sacrifice. Don Francicso and Dona
Teodora were blessed with eleven children: two boys and nine girls. They were, in the order of
birth, Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Jose, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad,
and Soledad. Rizal’s only brother Paciano was a full ten years older than he. Like his father, he

23
pursued college education in Manila. He was a second father to his younger brother Jose and
gave him wise counsel and advice. He joined General Aguinaldo’s revolutionary forces and rose
to the rank of major General. When peace was restored, he retired to his farm in Los Banos and
led a quiet life until his death in 1930. Three months before the execution of Rizal, Paciano was
arrested, threatened and tortured by the Spaniards in a futile attempt to force him to sign a
confession that his brother was the leader of the 1896 rebellion. He suffered extreme physical
pain but nothing could make him turn against his younger brother.
Early Manifestations of Innate Talents

Rizal learned his alphabet at the age of three. As a boy he took avid interest in reading
and literature because the family’s extensive library provided him with necessary incentives. He
loved to read books while his mother listened. In addition to reading, he also manifested skills
sculpture, sketching and painting. Dona Teodora encouraged him to express his thoughts and
sentiments in verse. He wrote his first poem, Sa Aking Mga Kabata (“To my fellow Children”),
when he was only eight years old. Rizal developed a curious ability to recognize things that were
worthwhile.One of his early memories was a fable of his mother, had related to him one evening.
She read the “Story of the Moth” from a Spanish reader called El Amigo de los Ninos . The impact
of the story impressed so much the young Rizal was the moth’s daring and its attraction to
dazzling light. Rizal would never forget the story because it would serve as a constant reminder
of the daring risks that he would take as a young idealist. The flame may singe but Rizal learned
later that one must suffer any consequence if one is to succeed. In his diary recorded year after,
he recounted the incident: “My mother finished the fable. I was not listening; all of my attention,
my mind, and all of my thoughts were concentrated on the fate of the moth, young, dead; Full of
illusions… The light seemed to be more beautiful, dazzling and attractive. I understood why the
moths flutter around lights… What preoccupied me most was the death of the moth, but at the
bottom of my heart, I didn’t blame it.” Rizal’s youthful observations left lasting impressions that
would shape his social and political ideas.
Formal Search for Knowledge

Hometown Education

Soon Rizal’s passion for knowledge superseded his home studies. At nine years, he was
sent by his parents to study in Binan. He concentrated on his studies and he excelled in all
subjects. Besides taking formal lessons in Latin and Spanish.
Ateneo Education: Refinement of Rizal’s Skills

On 10 June 1872, Rizal took entrance examination at San Juan de Letran College.
Passing all qualifying tests in Christian doctrine, reading and arithmetic entitled him to admission
at the Ateneo where he studied from 1872 to 1877. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, with
the highest honors, that entitled him to admission at any university. At the start of the classes at
Ateneo, Rizal was quiet and, being new, observed the activities of his class. He understood
Spanish but could not yet speak the language well. However, he became the top student of his
class. He was a consistent medalist and his grades in all subjects were excellent. At the Ateneo,
he discovered wisdom of books and its influences on his search for knowledge. He pursued
history, philosophy, science and the imaginative world of poetry. Rizal gradually gained
proficiency both in the art rhetoric and in the art of philosophical independent thinking. Rizal’s
formal lessons at the Ateneo refined his artistic sensibility, resulting in the further development of
his skills in writing and in sculpture. He expressed his ideals on the value education in later poems

24
while a student of the Ateneo. One poem, Por la Educacion Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through
education The country receives light) expressed the potential benefits that can be derived from
educating the citizenry. In another poem, Alianza Intima Entre la Religion y la Buena Educacion
(Intimate alliance between religion and good education); Rizal elucidated the concept that faith
and belief in truth and love of God are discovered in dedicated study and the cultivation of human
mind. The academic excellence of Rizal and his literary prowess qualified him for membership in
two exclusive societies at the Ateneo; the Academy of Spanish literature, and the Academy of
Natural Science. He also joined the Marian Congregation (Sodality of our Lady) and the
Apostleship of prayer.He later became the secretary of the Marian Congregation and the prefect
of the Academy of Spanish literature.
At the University of Santo Tomas: A crucial decision

After graduating from Ateneo, he enrolled in courses in philosophy and letters at the
University of Sto. Tomas. Before 21 years old, he completed the surveyor and expert assesor’s
course with a grade of excellent.He finally decided to take up medicine at University of Sto.Tomas
because he wanted to treat the failing eyesight of his mother. The academic freedom he had
enjoyed while at the Ateneo was dampened by prejudicial limitations at the university. His general
average was creditable but eh found the classroom inadequate for his academic curiosity.
Paciano advised him to go to Europe to broaden his perspective and to seek outlets for his talents,
Prodded by his growing sense of nationalism, Rizal had also thought of going to Europe to seek
more knowledge of western wisdom and opportunity. Paciano implied references to their previous
understanding that besides continuing his studies, Jose had an important mission-something that
he was most interested in and to which Paciano was also committed to find ways by which he
could help the Filipino cause.
Racial Discrimination inspired a lifetime research

His greatest resentment during his students days that motivated the years of research and
hard work was the pervading racial discrimination. While at the Ateneo, he observed and analyzed
the source of such discrimination. The Jesuit teachers treated students equally. Recognition was
achieved through skill. But outside the classroom, the Spanish boys were arrogant and insolent
towards their brown classmates. At times the Filipino boys were provoked into fights. Rizal felt
that such an attitude was an imitation of the harshness and hubris of their elders- the “miserable
indio” attitude all over again. In spite of his resentment Rizal did not seek to get even through
violence, although at time he was caught in fistfights over racial issues. He sought equality
through the mastery of mental skills. Rizal was second to no European and to no other student at
the Ateneo. He proved that despite the use of Spanish, the language of the white boys, as a
medium of instruction, a brown boy could equal them and still emerge the winner under the same
circumstances. Rizal joined a literary contest among mestizos and Filipinos sponsored by the
Liceo Artistico Literario de Manila in 1879.He submitted his poem A la Juventud Filipina (To the
Filipino youth) and won the first prize, a feather shaped silver pen with a gold ribbon, He also won
another first prize for his play El Consejo de los Dioses (The council of Gods). These two prize
winning works proved that an indio could write as well as a Spaniard, or even better. Rizal derived
a personal satisfaction from his education and he felt proud that he could prove himself equal, if
not superior, in intellectual acumen to the Spaniards. The oppressive racial discrimination at the
University of Santo Tomas gave Rizal an idea for his one-act-play, Junto Al Pasig. He had just
turned 19 when he wrote it for the Academia de Literatura Castellana of the Ateneo municipal. He
satirized the priest in the person of a devil who sought adoration, and he describes Spain s
impious and pictured her as the cause of the unhappiness of his once rich and happy country.

25
Education in Europe: Professional Skills Developed

Rizal left for Europe aboard the “Salvadora” in 3 May 1882 and arrived at Barcelona by
the middle of June. After a few months he moved to Madrid because medical education was
reportedly cheaper there. He enrolled at Central University of Madrid for the licentiate in medicine.
To further acquire wisdom and culture, he enrolled in philosophy in letters, he also took up lessons
in painting and sculpture at the Academia de Bella Artes de San Fernando as well as lessons in
French and German at the Ateneo de Madrid. By 21 June 1884, his assiduous devotion to his
studies yielded its first fruit. He completed the course for the licentiate in medicine with satisfactory
grades. The next year he proceeded to a doctorate in medicine but he did not submit his thesis.
The degree of Doctor of Medicine was conferred on him posthumously in 1961 during the
centenary of his birth. In 1885 he received his licentiate in philosophy and letters which entitled
him to a university professorship. He went to Paris for advanced studies in ophthalmology. He
worked as an assistant in the clinic of Dr. Louis de Weker, a leading French ophthalmologist. His
limited allowance and his desire to learn more about eye ailments prompted him to go to Germany
where the cost of living was cheaper. He practiced in a hospital of Heidelberg under the
supervision of the hospital director himself, Dr. Otto Becker, a renowned doctor. Rizal proceeded
to Berlin where he worked as an assistant in the clinics of Dr. Schultzer and Dr. Xavier
Galezowski, eminent German ophthalmologists.
THE RESOLUTE PROPAGANDIST

New Directions towards Accomplishing His Mission

Apart from his personal endeavors, Rizal proposed a book writing project to the Filipino
members of the Circulo Hispano-Filipino. The books would deal on various aspects of Philippine
life. As a man of ideals obsessed with freedom and liberty for the Filipino people, he felt
compassion for the helpless victims of tyranny. He envisioned that the Filipinos would one day
realize the significance of human dignity and that they would take positive action conditioned to
the ideal of nationhood and independence. Despite his many scholarly activities, he sought time
to finish the first half of Noli in Madrid. He continued writing in Paris where the immortal declaration
of the rights of man had been passed a century before. He finished the book in Germany where
scientific research and philosophy were free from church and state control. Running short of
funds, he found the cheapest book printer, the Berliner Buchdruckerei-Actien-Gesselschaft,
Setzerinnen-Schule de Lette Vereins in Berlin to print the book. He was charged 300.00 pesos
for 2,000 copies. His friend Maximo Viola offered to lend him the amount and the book was finally
released in March 1887.Before he went to Paris, he studied French very well enough to speak
and write French with the same facility ad ease that he had with Spanish. He enrolled to Madame
Lucille Cerdolle, a well-known teacher in Paris for further mastery of language. He mastered it so
well that he could translate Noli Me Tangere into French.
He also studied Hebrew to enable him to interpret the Bible in its original text and be better
prepared to defend any controversial religious issues that Noli Me Tangere might arouse. In fact,
he translated some passages from the Bible that he used in Noli. Rizal also studied English by
means of the German grammar and likewise studied Italian by means of English grammar. His
knowledge of German enabled him to understand the works of German writers on the Philippines
and to associate with German scholars. Rizal’s sojourn in Germany gave him the opportunity to
meet Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt who became his most cherished friend. They corresponded and
exchanged opinions on political, racial and social issues. Blumentritt guided Rizal in his research

26
on the Philippines at European libraries. Early in 1887, Rizal met Dr. Feodor Jagor whose works
had inspired him when he was still a student in Ateneo. Dr. Jagor invited him to attend a meeting
in Berlin of the geographic society, where he was introduced to Dr. Rudolf Virchow, a famous
scientist and statesman of intense democratic ideals. Dr. Virchow sponsored Rizal’s membership
to the Berlin Anthropological Society. As a member Rizal was asked by the society to deliver a
lecture on the Tagalog people and culture, for which he was warmly applauded. In Dresden, he
met Dr. A B Meyer, director of the Royal Saxony Ethnographical Insitute. Years before Rizal’s
departure for Europe, Dr. Meyer had visited the Philippines to make a study of the Filipino people.
He had written a book about the Igorots, a copy of which he gave Rizal. Later on, Rizal became
a member of the Geographical and Ethnological Society of Berlin. The organization was
composed of scholars of different nationalities. Membership was granted to an applicant only after
presentation of an original work. For this requirement, Rizal submitted Tagalische Verskunst (The
Tagalog art of Versification) written in German.
He also wrote an article Arts Poetica Tagala published in the Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie
(Journal of Ethnology). After reading accounts about the Philippines in German books, Rizal was
gratified to learn that foreigners who made scientific studies about; the Philippines had a higher
regard for the Filipinos than most of the Spanish writers who made conclusions were based on
unjust prejudices. He studied and translated Blumentritt’s Ethnography of the Island of Mindanao.
He planned to use some of its important data in geography book for schools he plan to publish
with. Using Blumentritt’s map, he corrected the 1852 map of Mindanao which he brought with him
in Europe. After reading Blumentritt’s book, he planned to study the Tirurays for a better
understanding of the primitive people in his country. He studied the ethnographical works of
Gaerlan Waitz and Ratzel and Wilkins and the historical publications of Lipper and Helwald. He
translated Waitz’s books. Anthropology of Primitive Peoples and General Ethnography. Rizal
pursued his course in practical ethnology and the study of race and differences. In his study of
the Etnography of a nation, Rizal always made his preliminary observations in the towns and
villages in towns. To complete his ideas and observations on racial differences and the alleged
superiority of the white man, he researched in psychology while he was at Leipzeg. His studies
took him to a historical and educational centers like museums, hospitals, aquariums, botanical
and zoological gardens, historical exhibits and libraries. His desire to share with his countrymen
ideals of freedom and patriotism in Schiller’s William Tell encouraged him to translate this work
in Tagalog. This is an intensely stirring human drama of the Swiss farmers fight against the
tyranny of their Austrian governors. The idea he expressed I his El Amor Patrio was similar to that
of Schiller’s; “Join your dearest Fatherland, hold it fast with all your hearts; here are the deep roots
of your strength.
Six-month sojourn in the Philippines

After publishing the Noli in March1887, Rizal decided to come home, with some misgivings
on the reaction to his plans an ideas. He arrived in Manila on 5 August 1887. By this time, Noli
had already aroused a great deal of discussion, speculations and apprehension. Despite the
protection of the liberal-minded Governor Emilio Tererro, Rizal’s activities had to be limited
because he received daily threats from his oppositors. He was not allowed by his parents to dine
in other houses. Governor Tererro assigned Jose Taviel de Andrade, a lieutenant of the guardia
civil, as Rizal’s personal escort. Meanwhile, the special committee that reviewed the Noli
recommend “the absolute prohibition of the importation, reproduction, and circulation of this
pernicious book.” The committee found the book “heretical, impious, and scandalous in its
religious aspect, and unpatriotic and subversive to public order.” As the controversy on his novel
raged. Rizal got involved in the Kalamba agrarian controversy. The bold expose Rizal made
infuriated friars and the town was again astir over land ownership disputes. Security for the Rizal

27
family became a problem and Rizal was advised to leave the country. He secretly departed on 3
February 1888 after a six-month stay. He traveled through Hongkong, Japan and United States,
always studying and observing. He deplored the racial discrimination against the Negroes in the
United States and noted the absence of true civil liberty.
Rizal become an Active Propagandist

Free from Spanish prosecution Rizal continued his fight to free his countrymen from
ignorance and exploitation. He wanted to vindicate his race from the insults levied by prejudiced
Spanish writers; he annotated Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas written by Antonio de Morga. Which
was an objective presentation of 16th century Philippine culture and civilization. Rizal showed that
even before the coming of the Spaniards the Filipinos already had a developed culture. Rizal
believed that Spanish government would not ban a historical account of events in the Philippines
written by a responsible Spaniard. By the time the annotated Sucesus got published in 1890, the
Propaganda Movement’s activities were in full swing. Rizal wanted the book to be read by
members of the Filipino intelligentsia to inspire them into working their reforms. They could draw
materials from it to refute prejudiced comments on the Filipinos. While he was annotating
Sucesus, he was also writing El Filibusterismo. Like a fearless knight of freedom he wielded his
pen as he travelled through Europe. He wrote “The Philippines Within a Century” and the “The
Indolence of the Filipino people” to answer the criticisms against the Filipinos and their culture. At
the same time, admitted their faults as in his “Letter to the Woman of Malolos”, and emphasized
the imperative need to enlighten the people. He finally completed the Fili manuscript in July 1891
while he was in Brussels. But penniless and suffering from privations he could not published the
book; until the financial assistance came from Valentin Ventura. Besides the government imposed
stringent rules on mail censorship to prevent financial aid from reaching the propagandists
through the mails. He had to shorten the book to match his dwindling financial resources. The Fili
finally came out in September of the same year. El Filibusterismo is a strong indictment of Spanish
Colonialism and of native supporters and defenders of the system. It portrayed a society on the
verge of a revolution. Rizal hastened to reassure his fellow reformists in a letter dated 2 April
1889, that such persecution would only serve to stir more discontent among the people. Rizal
knew that the Filipinos fight for their rights had commenced and there was no turning back. He
concluded his letter with these words “The fight has begun; he who wavers shall fall. Les us now
show the world and our enemies that we are not afraid of the friars threats.” He eventually learned
about the rustication of Paciano and his brothers-in-law to Mindoro, and the abandonment of the
family estate.
On 29 March 1891 he wrote to Dr. Blumentritt about the persecution of his family because
of his activities as a propagandist. He wanted to go home and seek vindication but his friends and
family advised him against it. Reunited with his family, he opened a clinix, practiced medicine and
started to write another book, while Paciano translated the Noli into Tagalog. His family objected
to his gong home but his fellow propagandists kept writing to him to help them. Meanwhile, the
appointment of new governor general in the Philippines encouraged Rizal to write a letter to the
new governor on 23 December 1891 offering his services “in helping heal the open wounds of
recent injustices,” to which he got no reply. Rizal planned La Liga Filipina and a Filipino community
in Borneo while still in Hongkong. He wrote Dr. Blumentritt that “If it is not possible for me to give
my country liberty, I should like to give it at least to these noble countrymen of mine in other lands.
That is why I am thinking of immigrating to Borneo.” He negotiated with the representatives of the
North Borneo Company for permission to establish a Filipino Colony. When he drafted the plan,
he presumed that the Filipino settlement would be a free and independent entity entering into an
agreement guaranteed the liberty of Filipino settlers, the security of their land. The right to retain
their citizenship, and the protection of their rights. Rizal envisioned a colony complete with cities,

28
towns, districts, schools, churches, and a governmental structure, determined by the people’s
own customs and laws.
Rizal Comes Home

The compulsion to come home took the better of Rizal. He knew he was taking a big risk
so he wrote two letters both dated 20 June 1892, addressed to his parents and to the people.
Together with his sister Lucia, he arrived in the Philippines on Sunday, 26 June 1892. The
following day, his friends and admirers took him for a visit to Malolos, San Fernando, Tarlac and
Bacolor, where he exhorted hos country men to join La Liga Filipina, The favorable reactions to
his efforts encouraged him to organize the league on 3 July 1892.

Rizal Is arrested and deported to Dapitan

On 6 July, Rizal was summoned to Malacanang Palace. He was confronted with the
charge of having brought with him from Hongkong leaflets entitled Pobre Frailes (Poor Friars).
This article is a satire by P. Jacinto against the rich Dominican friars who had violated their vow
of poverty. He was arrested and brought to the Royal Fortress of Santiago for detention. On 14
July he was notified that he would be exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao the evening of the same day.
He was summarily accused of dedicating his second novel, El Filibusterismo to the memory of
the three priests who had been proven traitors to the nation but whom he extolled as martyrs. He
was also accused of advocating separation from Spain as the only means of salvation for the
Philippines. The decree of deportation further charged Rizal with seeking to de-catholize , which
is equivalent to denationalize this Philippine land which will always be Spanish and as such,
always Catholic. Thus Rizal was accused , judged and condemned without a trial. The Spanish
administration had again demonstrated its conspiracy to bring out Rizal’s downfall. After an eight-
day confinement in Fort Santiago he was surreptitiously escorted under heavy guard to the
steamship Cebu for deportation to Dapitan in Mindanao.
The Nationalist Exile

Practical Nationalism in Dapitan

While in Dapitan, Rizal demonstrated how much a citizen could go to help his community.
He arrived on the night of 17 July 1892 and found a lonely and desolate town. Soon he was
practicing his profession as a doctor, farmer, teacher, businessman, community development
leader, engineer and scientist. He also found time to study the Malayan language and several
Philippine dialects. He continued his artistic pursuits in sculpture, painting, sketching and writing
poetry. Eventually he won the respect and admiration not only of the townspeople but also of the
military governor. Captain Ricardo Carcinero, the politico military governor gave Rizal a free rein
with his ingenuity to help improve the community and allowed him all the liberties except leaving
the place. Rizal purchased a parcel of land near the town plaza and 16 hectares of agricultural
land in Talisay where he built a house, a school and a clinic. His property totaled 70 hectares
where, with the help of his pupils, he planted coconuts, sugar canes, corn, coffee, cacao, ad fruit
trees of different varieties. While he charged his wealthy patients fees proportionate to their
capacity to pay, he rendered free medical services to the poor. Mr. George Taufer of Hongkong
used his savings to come for treatment by the renowned ophthalmologist. He was accompanied
by his adopted daughter Josephine Bracken. Rizal constructed small houses which he called
casitas de salud where his patients and their families stayed during the treatment period. Shortly,
before he left Dapitan, he already had plans of establishing a hospital. He applied some of his

29
modern educational ideas to a group of 16 selected boys whom he accommodated in a house
near his own. He gave the boys vocational and academic training to integrate their education
toward home and community development. Applying his knowledge as a land surveyor (perito
agrimensor), he planned new street layouts and constructed them through the cooperative labor
of the people. With a limited knowledge of engineering, he conceived the idea of providing the
town with a water system which was completed in 1895 through the help of his pupils and the
townspeople. Ever conscious of public welfare, Rizal, with the labor of the town residents, also
drained the marshes to minimize the dangers of Malaria. Recalling what he learned in Belgium
and Baden, Germany, he invented a wooden machine for making bricks. Rizal trained the local
fishermen in the use of net/new fishing gear and then taught them net weaving. Rizal and his
business partner, Ramon Carreon, ventured in the hemp and copra trade and into the fishing
business. He promoted the establishments of a Dapitan farmers cooperative association,
managed by the people themselves to improve farm products, promote cooperative marketing
and extend protection to its members

Rizal’s reaction to the Katipunan

On the eve of 21 june1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela visited Rizal in Dapitan to inform him about
the founding of the Katipunan on 7 July 1892 which aimed at the separation of the Philippines
from Spain by means of a revolution. Valenzuela stressed that he was sent to obtain Rizal’s
approval of the resolutions. Rizal considered the resolutions just and patriotic but when
Valenzuela informed him that the revolution might break out prematurely even without sufficient
arms, Rizal vigorously objected, stating that this would be veritable suicide. Rizal stressed that
the principal organizers should do everything possible to prevent the “premature flow of blood.
When the generals do not command, the soldiers stay still.”
Rizal understood the sentiments of his oppressed people. In fact he was aware of this possibility
when Spain refused to grant the reforms they were fighting for. Torn between his conviction and
his suffering people, he instructed Valenzuela to get the support of the rich and the influential
sectors of Manila for stronger unity. He also suggested that Antonio Luna be appointed to direct
their military maneuvers.
End of Rizal’s exile

In spite of the liberties extended to him by the Spanish government within the confines of
Dapitan, Rizal was not content because he was not a free man. Twice he wrote Governor General
Ramon Blanco: the first letter in 1894 sought his pardon, and the second in 1895 asked for his
release and a review of his case. If these were not possible, he volunteered to serve as a surgeon
in the Spanish army fighting the Cuban revolution. On 30 July 1896 the long waited answer of the
Governor to his request finally arrived. His request to go to Cuba was approved.
His Last Trip Home

On 3 September 1896, Rizal left for Barcelona on board the Isla de Panay, the captain of
the ship notified him that he was under arrest and was to be confined to his cabin. He had heard
rumors on board the ship that he was being blamed for the outbreak of the revolution in the
Philippines. On 6 October 1896 and after a few hours’stay at cell no 11 at Montjuich castle, he
was brought to the ss Colon bound for Manila which was carrying soldiers to fight the Filipino
Revolutionists. On 3 November 1896, the ss Colon reached Manila and Rizal was brought directly
to Fort Santiago under heavy guard.

30
THE TRIAL AND EXECUTION

On 29 December 1896, Rizal was formally notified of the court’s verdict: DEATH. He was
to shot at sunrise of the next day. The news of the verdict spread like wildfire. The verdict had
been reached and presided by a military court composed of six officers led by Colonel Jose
Tagores Arjona. Rizal was condemned for founding illegal associations and of promoting and
inducing rebellion, the first being the necessary means to the second, Rizal was defended by
Lieutenant Luis Taviel de Andrade, brother of his bodyguard in Kalamba in 1887-1888.
Preliminary Investigation

“Proofs” of Rizal’s guilt had been gathered by Captain Francisco de Olive and the
preliminary investigation was conducted by a special judge, Colonel Rafael Dominguez. On 20
November, the farcical preliminary investigation began. Rizal was made to classify persons as
friendly, not suspicious or hostile from a list of names. Then he was subjected to a continuous
two-day inquisitorial interrogation without benefit of counsel. He was not even allowed to confront
those who testified against him. The investigators had to trump up evidence from Rizal’s
correspondence, written six to eight years prior to the organization of La Liga Filipina. They
questioned him on his membership in the Masonic Lodges, on Dr. Valenzuela’s visit to Dapitan,
on his appointment as honorary president of the Katipunan, on the use of his picture to adorn the
secret room of the Katipuneros, and on the testimonies of apprehended Katipuneros. The
prefabricated evidences they dug up yielded nothing but flimsy deductions which could not
definitely prove that Rizal favored and plotted a rebellion. Desperate for more proofs of Rizal’s
guild, Captain Olive had Paciano tortured to unconsciousness. Paciano adamantly denied his
brother’s guilt and silently endured one torture after another. He matched his younger brother’s
courage in facing death and in defying Spanish tyranny. Paciano was paralyzed and speechless
for several days after the torture.
The Trial

Inconclusive as the evidences were, Judge Rafael Dominguez recommended a speedy

trial, which the governor and the Judge Advocate General Nicolas de la Pena approved.Alcocer
cited Rizal’s literary works, from his prize-winning poems to the novels and other publications
which supposedly showed his separatist tendency. Alcocer attempted to show that Rizal’s writings
were designed to incite anti-friar and Anti-Spanish feelings; that he planned to work through
masonic lodges so that the friars might be expelled from the Philippines; and that the centers of
his activities were Hongkong, Madrid and Manila. The prosecutor depicted Rizal as a dedicated
agitator of the native masses, and as a man lacking in sincerity, obsessed by an overwhelming
hatred for Spain, whose Machiavellian cunning directed the Supreme Council of the Katipunan.
He denounced Rizal as having resorted to excuses and evasions to escape punishments.
Consequently, Alcocer asked for Death Penalty. In case of pardon and unless all other penalties
were remitted with it, he asked the prisoner be absolutely and permanently deprived of civil rights
and subjected to police surveillance for life. He should also be compelled to pay an indemnity of
20,000 pesos. For the defense, Taviel de Andrade appealed to the fairness of the judges who
should not be carried away by the strong current of prejudice caused by the insurrection. Referring
to Rizal’s works, Taviel de Andrade argued that the prosecutor’s impression on Rizal’s writings
was a misconception and that Rizal only asked for the recognition of and respect for the rights of
the people. A person, he argued, could not be condemned for voicing the sentiments of his people.
Neither could he be condemned for organizing the La Liga Filipina because its aim was to unite
the people for the promotion of commerce, industry, agriculture, and the arts. Taviel de Andrade
bolstered the defense by citing the technicality of the Law: that Rizal’s guilt had not been proven

31
by the confession of the accused, by reliable witnesses, by expert testimony, by official
documents, by visual proof or even by definite and conclusive indications.Referring to the Liga,
Taviel de Andrade argued that the statutes of the organization which Rizal wrote did not show
any evidence of illegality. He also called the court’s attention to the fact that Rizal had not written
anything or discussed with anyone on any subject connected with politics since 1892.
Valenzuela’s visit to Dapitan should have been presented as an argument in Rizal’s favor, for
Rizal actually told Valenzuela that he disapproved of the uprising. He concluded that Rizal’s guilt
had not been proven legally; therefore, the accused should be acquitted and all his rights should
be restored in the name of justice. Rizal was given a chance to speak in his defense. He defended
himself in front of the judge. He asked the court to consider that the letters were written when his
family had been stripped of their two residential houses and their warehouses, as well as their
land and other properties , when he and his brothers-in-law were deported. Rizal reiterated his
counsel’s argument that he had nothing whatsoever to do with political affairs from 6 July 1892 to
1 June of the present year. To the testimony of one of the witnesses that Rizal sent letters to the
revolutionists via his family, he called the attention of the judges to the fact that not a single letter
had been presented in court as evidence. Rizal also argued that if he had known about the date
and time of the outbreak of the revolution he would have taken the necessary precautions to avoid
possible arrest. Death for Rizal was certain and he knew it. But he had to make his last stand in
the name of justice.
The Long Last Day

After the death sentence was read to Rizal on 23 December, he refused to sign the
notification, reiterating his innocence and strongly objecting to that part that referred to him as a
Chinese mestizo. His arguments were futile. He had to sign the document as required by law. He
had only 24 more hours to live. With the guard’s permission, he sent a note to his family: I should
like to see some of you before I die, though it may be very painful. Let the bravest come. I have
something important to say. In between these visits he managed to write his last letter to his
closest friend, Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt: “When you receive this letter, I shall be dead. I shall be
shot tomorrow at seven o’ clock, but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion. I am going to die with
a clear conscience. Farewell my best, my dearest friend, and never think ill of me.” On the same
day he also wrote a letter to his elder brother Paciano. By later afternoon his mother came,
accompanied by Maria, Trinidad, Narcisa, his niece Angelica, and little Mauricio, his favorite
nephew. When all the members of the family had left, Josephine came for e very brief visit. Not
much could be said between them. He loved her but fate had separated them. On the fist hour of
30 December 1896, Father Balaguer said Rizal confessed again. At Rizal’s request, Father
Balaguer said mass and he received Holy Communion. The report states that Josephine arrived
at five o’ clock. There were no lengthy formalities to the wedding ceremony. The overcautious
commanding officer stood between the couple while a guard watched Rizal closely during the
brief ceremony. Father Balaguer asked the couple to clasp each other’s hand. The commanding
officer refused to allow this act because of the regulation not to let any visitor to touch the prisoner.
But the priest insisted that this was an important part of the ceremony. Over the clasped hands of
Rizal and Josephine, Father Balaguer intoned the sacramental prayers and then pronounced
them man and wife. After the ceremony, Rizal gave Josephine his book, “Imitation of Christ.”
The Execution

Dressed in black from head to foot, Rizal walked out of his cell. He was flanked by Taviel
de Andrade and Fathers Vilaclara and Estanislao March. A bugler and a drummer led the
detachment of Filipino soldiers that escorted him to the Luneta de Bagumbayan. The firing squad
was composed of Filipinos who were members of the regular army. At the execution square he

32
was blessed and given the crucifix to kiss. The army doctor, Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo, felt his pulse
and found it normal and steady. Just before the order to fire was given, Rizal requested that he
be shot in the front for he was not a traitor. But the explicit orders were otherwise. His second
request, that his head be spared, was granted. The orders rang out and a volley of shots were
fired. As the bullets pierced him, Rizal tried to turn right about and fell.

Guide Questions:

Lesson 3
Development of Rizal’s Nationalism
1. What conditions and events influenced Rizal’s life? Prove this hypothesis: “Change uplifts
a man’s life.”

2. What things did Rizal do to prepare himself for his role as a nationalist leader? Do you
think you can learn from these things he did to prepare yourself for your role in
nationbulding?

3. Prove that :

- Rizal was an educator

- Rizal was a scientist
- Rizal was an internationalist
- Rizal was a researcher
- Rizal was a historian
- Rizal was a community development leader
- Rizal was an artist

4. Give your justification that “Rizal’s trial was a farce.”

33
 LESSON FOUR
“Nationalism in the Novels”
None of Rizal’s writing has had a more tremendous effect on the Filipino people than his
two novels that courageously criticized Philippine life during the 19th century- Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo. These works of fiction expressed the theme of Philippine Nationalism in a
most profound and dramatic manner to arouse the latent spirits of people. They are considered
the greatest Philippine social documents and the Congress of the Philippine passed Republic Act
1425 on 12 June 1956, making the reading of the two novels compulsory in all the country’s
colleges and universities. The profundity of these two novels has made Rizal known all over the
word as the foremost Asian Nationalist.
Rizal’s novels are more meaningfully studied as political satires for his reform propaganda.
With disarming honesty, Rizal wrote to free the human spirit from deterioration as depicted in the
historical situation from 1877 ton 1887. Rizal traced the delicate portrait of a people faced with
social problems and political enigmas. Many of the predicaments presented have contemporary
relevance. And the novels provide an inexhaustible source of inspiration for solutions to current
conditions and problems.
Noli Me Tangere literally means “touch me not”. It sketches a wound painful even to the
healer’s touch causing more agony than relief. The concerned healer reveals the actions that a
frustrated society resorts to in a moment of despair. Such despair could force the oppressed to
insurgence El Filibusterismo , the sequel, suggests. Rizal did not advocate revolution. But while
he spoke vehemently against it in his novels, he emphasized that a revolution would be the
inevitable alternative if no attempt were made by the Spanish government to introduce social and
political reforms and check the injustices committed against the natives. An enslaved people,
Rizal claimed, eventually would revolt to their oppressors. To the philosopher Rizal, freedom
meant liberty, and liberty meant the free exercise of a people’s right.
Rizal portrayed in his novels the miserable plight of the Filipino masses in an effort to
convince the Spanish authorities that there was an urgent need for reforms in the society, in the
government, and in the catholic church in the Philippines in the government, and in the catholic
church in the Philippines. Thus, while the novels are sincere denunciations of the abuse and
excesses of authority committed by the friars and the civil administrators, there are also an honest
exposure of the weaknesses and defects of the Filipinos. “There are no tyrants where there are
no slaves” he often said.
The plots of the Novels
Noli Me Tangere is a story is the story of Juan Crisostomo Ibarra. Scion of a wealthy
family, who returns home to San Diego from his seven- year education in the German section of
sophisticated Switzerland. During his absence, his father Don Rafael Ibarra was imprisoned for
the accidental death of a Spanish tax-collector. Don Rafael died in prison and he was denied a
Christian burial by Father Damaso, San Diego’s parish priest, because he had stopped going to
confession long before his death, and was a subscriber to liberal publications.
Ibarra establishes a school, patterned after the progressive schools he had known in
Europe. His project, though enthusiastically endorsed by the townspeople, is met with skepticism
by the old scholar Tasio who years before had attempted to do the same thing but he failed. The
new parish priest, Father Salvi, also looks at the school disapprovingly for he sees it as a
dangerous threat to his authorities over the natives. During the laying of the school’s cornerstone,
an attempt is made on Ibarra’s life but he is saved by Elias, the mysterious boatman whom je had
earlier rescued from the death during a picnic at the lake. The friars constantly harass and

34
persecute Ibarra at San Diego. At one gathering, the vilification hurdled against his dead father
almost provoked Ibarra to kill Father Damaso, but his hand is stayed by his fiancee’ Maria Clara.
He is excommunicated by the friar and later absolved by the Archbishop.
Finally, a false rebellion is plotted and through forged documents, Ibarra is implicated
as its leader. Ibarra is imprisoned and later rescued once again by Elias who hides him in a banca
covered with zacate and rows him under a barrage of gunfire. Elias is wounded and eventually
die, they quietly buried Elias in the woods belonging to his family; then he flees the country,
leaving the impression that he had died from the civil guard’s bullets. The distraught Maria Clara
is urged by Father Damaso to marry the Spaniard Alfonso Linares. She refuses and enters the
nunnery of the Poor Clares instead.
El Filibusterismo picks up the threads of the narratives whereNoli leaves off. With
the return of Ibarra, under an assumed name Simoun. On board the dingy steamer, Tabo , enroute
to San Diego on the Pasig river, he is the subject of the conversations on the lower deck, as well
as the center of attention on the upper deck. The thirteen years away from his country has
transformed him into an exotic looking, mysterious personality. He radiates great influence and
he becomes the indispensable consultant and closest friend of the Governor General.
No one suspects that Simoun, the affluent jeweler, is the fugitive Ibarra. Only Basilio, son
of the demented Sisa of Noli Me Tangere , comes to know the secret. Now a young an
pursuing a medical career, Basilio stumbles o Simouns’ secret on a Christmas day visit to his
mother’s grave in the woods of the Ibarras. Simoun tries to win Basilio to his side as he explains
his plans. He has returned to overthrow the government and avenge the injustices he suffered.
Twice Simoun attempts to ignite the fires of rebellion but he fails. On the first occasion,
the news of Maria Clara’s death reaches him just as he is about to give the signal for coordinated
attack on the city. He had planned this revolution so that in the ensuing confusion he would be
able to rescue Maria Clara from the Nunnery.But now she is dead. In his numbness, he forgets
that his followers await his signal. Panic ensures and they break out in disorganized rampage.
His second attempt is thwarted by Isagani, the young poet, who snatches the lamp Simoun sends
as a wedding gift to Isagani’s former sweetheart who marries another suitor.
The lamp contained a homemade bomb which was times to blow up when all the invited
high officials and friars were seated at the wedding feast. Meanwhile, a parchment prophesying
doom is passed around among the wedding guests and Simoun is pinpointed as the instigator of
the scheme. The signature identifies Simoun as Ibarra. Simoun flees with his box of jewels.
Hunted by the law and wounded, he seeks sanctuary in the house of a native priest, Father
Florentino. To escape his pursuers, he take poison and dies in despair.

The Characters
In Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, the essence of Rizal’s nationalism is best
understood through a study of the characters.
Ibarra-Simoun: The main protagonist in the Noli is Juan Cirsostomo Ibarra y Magsalin,
first shown as a well-mannered young man recently arrived sometime in 1880’s from his studies
in Switzerland, Germany Italy and Spain. His maternal surname symbolizes the translated
Filipino. His paternity goes back to the Pelayos and Elcanos of Northhern Spain. An Elcano was
companion to Magellan. His grandmother was a taciturn in Basque, Don Saturnino, a conqueror
of the soil: his father was the well-loved Don Rafael., who was fascinated by the native camisa

35
and indigenous culture while subscribing to Madrid publications. Upon his return to the
Philippines. Ibarra is easily the talk of the town.
Don Rafael is publicly acknowledged as one of the most honorable and honest men in
the Philippines. Even the friars, such as Father Sybila, are willing to accede some credit: The
young Ibarra is sensible enough; he doesn’t seem stupid; I think he is all right. Indeed Ibarra is
gracious and respectful but sensitive and quick to strike anyone who would malign the good name
of his dead father.
In the Fili, Ibarra reappears as Simoun, an influential jeweler. His contrasting appearance
is an ingenious disguise. He is tall, lean, sinewy and very deeply tanned: who dressed in the
English fashion and wore a pith helmet. His most striking gesture was his long hair, completely
white, which set off a black goatee.
Elias: Ibarra’s mysterious friend Elias appears in an almost deux ex machina fashion
every time Ibarra is in trouble. His robust appearance is marred by great sad eyes and a stern
mouth, long unkempt black hair that falls to his strong neck, and a coarse dark shirt that reveals
powerful sinewy arms. Elias is no ordinary renegade. His family misfortunes had forced him to
brigandry. Elia’s grandfather had been a book keeper in the employ of Don Pedro Eibarramendia.
When a fire razed the district where Don Pedro lived, the bookkeeper was blamed. He was
publicly flogged and dragged through the streets by a horse, in effect executed through total
ostracism and humiliation. His wife, I despair for the family’s needs, turned to prostitution.
In time, the older son Balat had become a dreaded tulisan , while the younger brother
stayed in the woods with their mother. Balat eventually caught and his body was quartered. His
trunk was buried. The younger brother then fled to Tyabas to start a new life but misfortune
followed him all the way. He soon fell in love with the daughter of the wealthy man, but before
they could marry, his lineage was discovered. The woman, however, gave birth to twins, Elias
and his sister, and die soon after. Their father was tortured in prison and left for dead. The children
were then raised by their wealthy grandfather who sent them to good schools leaving them a large
legacy. Soon, Elias sister, bereft of her bethrothed, disappeared; she was found dead with a
dagger pierced in her breast. Elias feeling abandoned and desolate, became an outlaw. As such
he could freely comb the hills and towns in search of the descendants of the man who caused his
family misfortunes.
Tasio: The spirit of nationalism is also reflected in Don Anastacio, the scholar. Tasio is
the fool to the majority who are apathetic to his unorthodox ideas and bizarre behavior. Because
he had brains, his mother decided that his security lay in priesthood and not in an academic
career. He gave up his studies for love, but was widowed and orphaned in less than a year. In
the story, he reacts coldly to Ibarra’s own plans for a tow school, but offered true symphaty and
sensible advice. Upon Ibarra’s arrest and imprisonment, Tasio’s efforts to testify Ibarra’s
innocence prove futile. However, he was found dead at the foot of the stairs of his house.
Maria Clara: Ibarra’ fiancee is Maria Clara de los Santos, daughter of Dons Pia Alba de
los Santos and Father Damaso. Maria Clara provided continuity and motivation to the story. She
is Ibarra’s inspiration in the planning and execution of his projects in two novels. The odyssey of
her locket is used by Rizal as a literary device to link incidents in the development of the plot.
Much later, in the Fili , the locket is given to Basilio by the leper as payment for medical treatment.
Basilio lovingly offers it to his sweetheart Juli, who hesitantly allows her father Matanglawin
(Cabesang Tales) to use it as payment to Simoun for arms and ammunitions. Simoun is quietly
overjoyed at obtaining the locket as a memento of lost love.

36
 Father Damaso Verdolagas: The former parish priest of San Diego, a Franciscan, is
easily the antihero in Noli. His verbosity is matched only by his arresting manner. He is depicted
as an uncouth, bigoted, power- mad ingrate, the personification of depraved evil among the friars.
He had been in the country for 23 years and served as curate of San Diego for 20 years. There
he had come to know most of the townspeople. He exploited them apparently for the interest of
his church and his King, but actually for his own personal gain and convenience. He had no
respect for any authority except for his religious superior But his toughness was mellowed when
he sought the welfare of Maria Clara. His love and concern for his daughter seemed to be the inly
good in this Franciscan priest.
The Undesirables
These are the characters that portray the pervading social cancers in the novels of Rizal.
The most harmless looking among them erodes the society with their base intentions and nobody
takes them seriously.
The pretentious Chines half-breed Don Santiago de los Santos leads the group. He is
an entertaining character and it is equally challenging to uncover, beneath the naughty sarcasm,
the cancers for which his type is responsible. Capitan Tiago was one of the richest property-
owners in Binondo, Pamapanga and in the lakeside town of San Diego. He had come to his
fortune and social title by marrying Dona Pia Alba, a prominent good- looking mestiza who was
very astute in the sugar, coffee and indigo business as well as in the management of farm lands.
Santiago does not consider himself a native, Father Damaso remarks about him. For
Capitan Tiago tries to imitate the Europeans in dress and in manners. About his religiosity,
Capitan Tiago had never addressed himself to God in his prayers, not even in his greatest
difficulties; he was rich and he lets his money pray for him. Capitan Tiago withdraws to the haven
of Opium. In the Fili, this addiction causes his death.
The other undesirables are the Espadanas. Dona Victorina is another native who tries to
act more Spanish than the Spaniards. She is the most illiterate and unintelligent. She speaks
little Spanish but nonetheless she considers herself superior to most people because of her
pretenses in Spanish affinity. She claims to be 32 years at 45, and disdains her many Filipino
suitors for a Spanish husband. At the time of the story in the Noli, she is married to Don Tiburcio
de Espadana.The husband is a lame and bald man who stutters and sprays saliva when he talks.
A native of Extremedura, Spain, he had come to Philippines as a customs official.
In the Noli, through his wife’s machinations, he passes for a Doctor of Medicine who treats
only patients of quality. Hi only qualifications were his work experience as an attendant in the
hospital of San Carlos in Madrid and his citizenship. In the Fili, Don Tiburcio is the Philippine
Uslysses, hoping from tow to town, with his Calypso in pince-nez Dona Victorina in hot pursuit.
The reader finds them both ridiculous but serious parodies of the Filipino without identity, the
Spaniard without dignity; apparently harmless creatures.
The Supporting Characters
Other symptoms of the social cancer are indicted among the victims of poverty and
ignorance. These are Sisa, driven by her sufferings to insanity, and her sons, Basilio who survives
the family travails and pursues a medical career in the Fili, supporting himself through servitude
to vigilance over the Opium addict C. Tiago.
Crispin, who becomes a fatal target of the blows of the parish taker. The victims of
injustice are equally pathetic figures. Cabesang Tales is driven to outlawry by circumstances that
reveal the roots of agrarian malaise in the country. His son, Tano is so good, so honest and is

37
conscripted into military service in the Carolines where he is so alienated and confused by
physical and moral distress that he comes home in a state of shock. He does not recognize the
dumb old man who is his own grandfather Selo , whom he shoots in a clash with some bandits.
Tano’s sister Juli, beloved of Basilio, is the innocent and hardworking rustic who sacrifices her
honor and her life for her family and beloved.
The nameless and countless defeatists are typified by the fanatic tertiary sisters, Rufa,
Sipa and Juana whose examples prefigure the “split- level Christianity of contemporary Filipinos.
A frivolous sense of Values is displayed by Paulita Gomez, niece of Dona Victorina and
sweetheart of Isagani, who marries the more affluent Juanito Pelaez. Another character is Senor
Pasta whose pretenses to learning have made him voluble in evasive argument.
Along with Father Damaso in interfering with the public welfare are Father Bernardo Salvi,
ecclesiastical governor of the archdiocese and incumbent curate of San Diego, and Fathers
Hernando de la Sybila and Camorra. The Dominican Father Fernandez lends a fair ear to his
students; he is Isagani’s classical exception to the majority of uncaring, illogical friar-teachers.
Isagani, nephew of Father Florentino and young poet trained in Ateneo, is a symbol of the
liberated Filipino youth whose unselfish devotion urges him to save the faithless Paulita.
Rizal’s ultimate spokesman in the Fili is Father Florentino. He is a distinguished native
priest whose serious countenance evinced the tranquility of a soul strengthened by study and
meditation. He is Rizal’s portrait of the ideal shepherd of God’s flock.
Expressions of Nationalism among the Characters
In the early part of Noli, the principal character Ibarra elucidates Rizal’s political sentiment
that Spain and the Philippines were two parts of one nation and that loyalty to one was loyalty to
the other. One was patrica grande, the other was patria chica, today is recognized as nationalism
and regionalism.
Ibarra states in a toast that is reminiscent of Rizal’s brindis speech of 1884, “Gentlemen,
in spite of everything, I give you Spain and the Philippines” (Noli, p. 19). This sentiment for one’s
country is based in the knowledge of the country’s tradition and culture. Thus, Ibarra explained to
a young Spaniard at the bienvenida party: “Before visiting any of those countries, I would try to
study its history, its Exodus, so to speak, and after that I found everything understandable; I saw
that in all cases the prosperity or unhappiness of nations is in direct proportion to their liberties
and their problems, and by that token, to the sacrifices or selfishness of their ancestors.” (Noli, pp
18-19)
Later as he reflects on the country’s ills and the possibility of rebellion he says: “No, in
spite of everything, my country comes first- first the Philippines, daughter of Spain- first Mother
Spain. What was destined, what was unavoidable, cannot stain the honour of the Motherland.
(Noli, p 47) Conversing with the Governor General, Ibarra honestly declares: “Sir, my
greatest desire is the happiness of my country, a happiness which I would wish to be due to the
motherland and to the efforts of my fellow citizens, one united to the others with eternal ties of
common ideals and common interests; What I ask can only be given by the government after
many years of continuous work and the correct measures of reforms.” (Noli, p237)
In Simoun, Rizal provides a philosophy of patriotism; “However perfect humanity ay
become, patriotism will always be a virtue in oppressed peoples because it will always mean love
of justice, freedom and self-respect… A man is great not because he goes ahead of his
generation, which is in any case impossible, but because he guesses what it wants; - the intellect
may think that genuises are ahead of their time, but they only appear so to those who look at
them from afar or who mistake the rearguard for a whole generation.

38
 Elias’ enkindled love for country is shown in his sympathy for the poor and the oppressed
who are the victims of Spanish repression in the Islands. He is the spokesperson of Ibarra about
the abuses committed on them by the friars and the civil authorities. Towards the end of Noli, as
both he and Ibarra are being hunted by the authorities, Ibarra invites Elias to leave the country.
Elias refuse and insists: “Impossible. It is true that I cannot live or be happy in my country, but I
can suffer and die in it, and perhaps for it; that is always something. Let the misfortunes of my
country be my own; and since our hearts do not beat faster to the same name, at least our
common unhappiness may unite me with them. I shall weep with them over our sorrows, and let
the same misfortunes oppress all our hearts.” (Noli, p 386)
Isagani on the other hand, nurses a sentimental desire to die for his country: “Ah, he too
would like to die, to become nothing, to leave his country a glorious name, to die for her, defending
her against foreign invaders, and let the sun afterwards shine on his dead body, an immovable
sentinel on the rocks of the seal! (Fili, pp195-96)
Contrasted to this patriotic fervor is Senor Pasta’s reply to Isagani when the young poet
asked the lawyer to work for the students’ cause on the question of the academy for the Spanish
language: “O yes, I yield to no one in my love of country and in my progressive ideas, but… I
cannot commit myself. I do not know whether or not you realize my position’ it is very delicate…
I have many interests… I must act within the limits of strict prudence… It would be most
embarrassing.” ( Fili, p 116)
Decadence in the Social Order
Rizal’s concept of nationalism is not only expressed explicitly in the patriotic dialogue of
the characters, but also largely reflected in the portrayal of a Philippine society that needed social
reforms. The town of San Diego was typically rural, inhabited by petty, plutant people. “In San
Diego no less than in Rome, there were continuous quarrels, foe each authority wanted to be the
sole master and found the other superflous.” (Noli, p. 56) The mayor’s office “had cost him five
thousand pesos and many humiliations, although, considering the income, it was cheap at that
(Noli, pp 55)
The dingy steamer Tabo was typical of the country, something like a triumph over
progress, a steamship that was not quite a steamship. Changeless, defective but an indisputable
fact, which, when it wanted to look modern, was perfectly happy with a new coat of paint. No
doubt that the ship was genuinely Filipino! With a little good will, it could even be taken;- for the
Ship of State itself built under the supervision of Most Reverent and Illustrious personages.” (Fili,
p 1)
The placement of the steamer’s passengers suggests the positions of the oppressed and
the oppressors in a colonial hierarchy. It also reveals the kind of discrimination that Rizal knew so
well in his college days. Accordingly, Below decks could be seen brown faces and black hair;
natives, Chinese, half-breeds, jammed in among baggage and cargo, while above them on the
upper deck, under the awning that protected them from the sun, a handful is passengers dressed
in European styles, friars and officials, were seated vin comfortable armchairs, smoking huge
cigars;- and admiring the view, without taking the slightest notice of the efforts of the skipper and
the crew to negotiate the difficulties of the passage. (Fili, p 2)
The abuses of these ‘upper deck passengers’ are exposed by Rizal as the true “social
cancer” But this social cancer is conditioned by foreign factors of which the local authorities wash
their hands. Simoun satirically remarks: “Beer is a good thing. I have heard Father Camorra say
that the lack of energy in this country is due to the fact that its inhabitants drink so much water.”
(Fili, p 25)

39
 “The trouble is not that there are bandits in the mountains and in uninhabited places, “
Simoun continues (p 76) “The trouble lies with bandits in the towns and cities , cynically alluding
to both religious and civil authorities, whether peninsular or local of origin, who viciously exploited
the natives. Decadence pervaded in the morass of bias and in the misguided innate of virtue of
family practices and values.
Ibarra pinpoints the parochial view of the people as an urgent reason for further education.
In his letter to Maria Clara, he quoted his father’s legacy: “You must learn something about life in
order to serve your country. But you cannot learn it here; if you stay with me, under my care,
sharing my worries from day to day, you will never be able to take in a long view; and when I’m
gone, you will be like that plant describe by our poet Baltazar, grown in water, withering the
moment it is not tended, shriveled by a touch of sun.” (Noli, p 42) While the fragile Sisa, it was
simply a matter of ignoring the problem until it resolved itself.
Ibarra laments the presence of bad officials, abetted by inert people: “There are officials
who are useless, even bad, if you will, but there are also good ones, and if the latter can do
nothing, it is because they are faced with an inert mass, the people, who take scant interest in the
matters which concern them. However, I did not come here to argue with you on this point; I came
to ask your advice. You say I should bow my head before grotesque idols.” (Noli, p 159)
As Simoun, he is irked by the absence of Initiative. To Basilio he demonstrates:
“Resignation is not always a virtue; it is a crime when it encourages oppression. There are no
tyrants where there are no slaves. Man is by nature so evil that he always abuses his powers
when he is not resisted.” (Fili, p 54)
The Abuses of the Religious Authorities
Rizal further depicts the corruption of the clergy in the characters of Father Damaso, Salvi,
Sibyla and Camorra. The friar was generally regarded as the chief moral, political, and civil
authority in the town, supported by his order, feared by the government; high, powerful,
consulted, listened to, believed and obeyed always by all. (Noli, p 98) Tasio noted to Ibarra: “The
lowest lay- brother is more powerful than the government with all its soldiers.” (Noli, p156)
Father Damaso regarded the indios with contemp. He called them lazy, vicicous, and
ungrateful, even when he was royally entertained at their homes. He despised their aspirations
for enlightenment: “You know what the native’s like. Let him learn a few letters and he passes
himself as a doctor; all these chaps go off to Europe without having learned to wipe their noses.”
(Noli, p 220) He orders the schoolmaster of San Diego to stop teaching Spanish to his pupils.
This opposition to the education of the masses is supported by many if his colleagues.
Father Salvi secretly lies to foil Ibarra’s school project, and Fathers Irene, Sibyla and Camorra
argue strongly against the students petition for the establishment of the academy for the Spanish
language. The friars were guilty of the bribery and corruption. The friars also enriched themselves
not only by exhorting excessive fees for church services (200 pesos for Father Damaso’s sermon
on the feast of San Juan), but also by unjust acquisition of landed estates.

Corruption in the Civil Government

The civil government perpetuated anomalies with its own defective organization which
was largely dependent on the authority of the friars and with the appointment of the weak officials
who had no training at all in government administration. As Tasio points out: “ The government
itself sees nothing, hears nothing, and decides nothing except what the parish priest or the head

40
of a religious Order makes it see, hear, and decide. It is convinced that it rests o them alone; that
is stands because they support it; that it lives because they allow it to live; and that the day they
are gone; it will fall like a discarded puppet. It is only an arm, the convent is the head.” (Noli, p
157)
Isagani laments the situation to Senor Pasta: “Governments have been made for the good
of the peoples, and to fulfill their purposes properly, they must; follow the wishes of the citizens
who best know what they need.” (Fili, p 177)
Regarding the presence of corrupt officials in the government, the concerned Lieutenant
Guevara tells Ibarra: “The continual changes in the administration, demoralization in high places;
favoritism, combined with the cheaper fares and shorter trip out here since the Suez Canal was
opened, are to blame for everything; the worst elements of the good Peninsula come here, and if
a good man comes, he is soon corrupted by the present conditions of the country.” (Noli, p 22)
The majority of Peninsular Spaniards sent to the Philippines resembled Tiburcio de
Espadana, the customs official in the Noli who could not even speak Spanish correctly. The
corrupt Governor General in the Fili bribed his way into his appointment using Simoun’s money.
His excessive lack of administrative ability is shown in his dependence on Simoun, whose
Machiavellian designs and ridiculous decisions distorted his sense of values. He pays more
attention to trivial matters than to the pressing needs of the country.
The civil government ignored the basic needs of the people. It discouraged freedom of the
pres. It entrusted the matter of educating the natives to the friars who discouraged the learning of
the natives. It often showed a mal-administration of justice, which decisions constantly tipped to
favor the Spaniards.
The Civil Guards
One of the government agencies, the guardia civil, particularly stands out in its cruel
treatment of the natives. Rizal’s novel described the illegal searches an planned robberies
committed by the guards in the guise of law enforcement, as well as the terrible tortures suffered
by the people. Elias observes that the guardia civil lorded over the towns for fifteen years, yet
outlaws abounded, robberies continued and the perpetuators were never caught. Crime existed
and the real culprits went about freely, while the peaceful inhabitants cringed in terror.
“Ask any honest citizen if he looks upon the constabulary (guardia civil) as a good thing,
as a means of protection furnished by the government and not as an imposition, a despotism
whose excesses are more harmful than the depredations of the outlaws… One impositions of the
forces of law and order.” (Noli, pp 308-309)
The Defective Educational System
Another deplorable aspect of the colonial government was the poor administration and
ineffective supervision of the educational system in the country. The importance of school system
was acknowledged. At the laying of the cornerstone of Ibarra’s school, the governor proclaimed:
“Residents of San Diego, we have the honour to preside over a ceremony whose importance to
you will understand without our telling you. This s the foundation of a school; and the school is
the foundation of the society, the book on which is written the future of nations. Show us the
schools of a nation and we shall tell you what kind of a nation it is.” (Noli, p 202)
Ibarra complemented: “I want my country’s good, that is why I am building the
schoolhouse, but I seek it through; education, through progress. We cannot find our way without
the light of knowledge.” (Noli, p 320) The town situation is pitiful. In San Diego, before Ibarra’s

41
return, there was no school building. The schoolmaster in Noli had to use a portion of the ground
floor of the parish house as a schoolroom. Under these circumstances, not much learning was
accomplished . The schoolmaster was limited by the curriculum prescribed by the parish priest
and cautioned against teaching the pupils the Spanish language. Added to his difficulties was the
prejudice against educating the people. Out of 200 children listed only 25 come regularly.
Teachers had no prestige: “The children lose their respect for their teacher when they see
him badly used, and unable to assert his rights. If the teacher is to be listened to, if his authority
is to be beyond question, he needs prestige, a good name, moral authority, a certain freedom.”
(Noli, p 97)
Teachers were downgraded: “Neither learning nor zeal are expected from a schoolmaster;
only resignation, self- abasement, and pasitivity.” (Noli, p 98)
At the college level, it was a farce. A very discouraging atmosphere is shown in the physics
class described in Fili.
 Students could not touch any laboratory equipment, they can gaze but can’t touch.
 No laboratory experiments were conducted;
 And class recitation was often a farce
The professor invariably required his students to recite the day’s assignment by heart and
word for word. The human phonographs went to work, some well, others badly, some stuttering,
others helped by friendly promptings. Whoever accomplished a flawless recitation gained a good
mark; whoever made three mistakes, a zero.” (Fili, p 96)
“Basilio passed his oral examination by answering the only question they asked him like
a machine, without pausing for breath, and the examining board approved his performance amid
great laughter.” (Fili, p 42) The college teachers were very often insulting; they eve stooped to
make fun of the students’ names, And all the students felt at the end of the session that each one
of them had lost one more hours of his life and with it a measure of his dignity and self-respect.

The plight of the Filipinos

Eight million Filipinos had become the victims of human indignities. Rizal did not spare
them from censure. There was abject misery among the poor: “Sugar prices were low, the rice
harvest had been lost, half the work animals had died, rentals and taxes were rising no one; knew
why or what for, while more and more abuses by the Constabulary discouraged merrymaking in
the towns.” (Fili, p 37)
The people were continuously exploited and harassed by the authorities such as the
despondent Sisa, whose sons are falsely accused of stealing the parish priest’ money. The
younger of the two, Crispin, is beaten to death by the sacristan mayor. The family of Cabesang
Tales suffered poverty and oppression and is driven to outlawry as Sisa becomes insane. It was
futile to complain against the excesses of authority.
The most effective constraint was the threat of Filibusterismo, or subversion, the serious
charge for a non-conformist attitude of mind, as an overt attempt to overthrow an established
order of society.” (Fili, p XIV) Rizal did not wholly blame the religious and civil authorities for this
sordid state of affairs. The people themselves, by their timidity, fear and cowardice had shackled
their minds and debased their souls. They gradually allowed the Spaniards to enslave them.

42
 Don Filipino impatiently admits that the friars are always right because we always start by
admitting they are right. (Noli, pp 223-24) The Mayor concludes, “the friars are rich and united;
we are divided and poor.” Tasio advised Ibarra, “to fight alone against the world is not courage
but foolhardiness.” (Noli, p 161) Taking prudence as synonymous to fear , they chose to be silent
and left things as they were. Tasio had earlier dampened Ibarra’s idealism with brutal frankness.
“The reforms which come from above are annulled below by the vices of all, by, for
example, the get-rich-quick madness, and the ignorance of the people who let everything pass.
Abuses cannot be corrected by royal decree if zealous authorities do not watch over its execution,
and while freedom of speech against the excesses of petty tyrants is not granted.” (Noli, p 158)
Rizal criticized the unspoken embarrassment of the natives for their own ancestry so that
the search for a national identity was a superficial imitation of European manners and mode of
dressing. Capitan Tiago, who does not think of himself as native and Dona Victorina de Espadana
personify this colonial mentality.
Some other characters, like Capitan Tiago, sacrifice their self-respect by catering to the
friars’ whims. The people despaired, and turned to hatred and crime. Father Florentino clarifies
this degeneration to Simoun: “The glory saving a country cannot be given to one who has
contributed to its ruin. You believed that what crime and iniquity had stained and deformed, more
crime and more iniquity could cleanse and redeem. This was error. Hate only creates monsters;
crime, criminals; only love can work wonders, only virtue can redeem. If our country is some day
to be free, it will not be through vice and crime, it will not be through the corruption of its sons,
some deceived, others bribed; redemption presupposes virtue; virtue, sacrifice, and sacrifice,
love!” (Fili, p 295)
The Urgency of needed Reforms
Eventually the people would rise from there lethargy, Tasio predicts. In a conversation
with Ibarra, Tasio says: “The people do not complain because they have no voice; they do not
move because they are in stupor; and you may say that they do not suffer because you have not
seen how their hearts bleed. But some day you will see and hear! Then woe unto those who draw
their strength from ignorance and fanaticism, who take their pleasure in fraud, and who work
under cover of night, confident that all are asleep! When the light; of day reveals the monstrous
creatures of night, the reaction will be terrifying. Al the forces stifled for centuries, the poison
distilled drop by drop, all the repressed emotions, will come to light in a great explosion.” (Noli, pp
157-58)
Through the delineation of the characters, Rizal, expounded on what he expected from
Spain and he aroused a moral sensitiveness in his beloved people. Speaking for the masses,
Elias pleads that the Spaniards institute “radical reforms in the armed forces, in the clergy, in the
administration of justice, that is to say; a more paternal approach from the government.” (Noli, p
50)
When Ibarra asks, “reforms? In what sense?” Elias answers, “For example, more respect
for human dignity, greater security for individuals, less strength in the armed forces, less privileges
for an organization which so easily abuses them.” (Noli, p 307)
Elias proposed reforms in the administration of justice. Much change was necessary about
a system that upheld rental for untitled islands and arbitrary increase of rent accompanied by the
threat of expulsion if the tenant did not comply with the landlord’s demands. Regarding the state
of the religious orders, Elias claims that the people do not really ask for their removal but only for
the reforms required by new circumstances and necessities. (Noli, p 313)

43
 Let the friars pay more attention to their religious mission in teaching the true Faith rather
than encouraging superstition; and fanaticism by giving greater importance to mundane practices.
Let them stop enriching themselves at the people’s expense.The friars should also attend their
obligation of constantly improving the young morally and physically, of guiding them to happiness,
of creating an honest; prosperous, intelligent, virtuous, noble and loyal people,” instead of
obstructing education, Isagani admonishes. (Fili, p 218)
There was need for the government to institute reforms in the faulty educational system.
Assigning the educational system to the friars was a blunder: “When it is a matter of giving a
whole people; moral sustenance, a matter of nourishing the youth, a people’s best part destined
to be the whole, the government not only does not call for a competitive tenders but awards the
power precisely to that organization which prides itself in not wanting education or any form of
progress.” (Fili, p 219)
There was a need for qualified teachers, effective methods of instruction, an enriched
curriculum, adequate educational facilities, and encouragement of students. As Isagani pointed
out to Father Fernandez, “when we have real professors, you shall have real students.” (Fili, p
224)
Such encouragement could lead to something laudable, a spiritual, intellectual freedom
and renewal, according to a priest martyr: “Do not forget that if wisdom is the patrimony of all men,
only those of good heart can inherit it; I have tried to transmit to you what I in turn received from
my teachers, adding that to that legacy as much as I was able in handling it; on to the next
generation. You must go to countries that are very rich. They come here seeking gold; you go to
their countries in search of the treasures that we lack. But remember all that glitters is not gold.”
(Noli, p 46)
Rizal implies that the natives, on the other hand, should prove that they are worthy of the
reforms. They should understand that reform measures would contribute to the common good
and that a sense of social consciousness would prepare them for freedom and happiness. This
preparation would start with the reorientation of the masses attitude towards education. The
masses should be taught that education is not only for a few, but for all. “Freedom is to man what
education is the mind,” says Isagani. (Fili, p 220)
Building up agricultural manpower was a means of to self-reliance, as Isagani says: “I see
nothing wrong in training these farmers and peasants, in giving them at least the skills that will
enable them to improve themselves and to improve their work, that will allow them to understand
many things which now they do not.” (Fili, p 120)
The enlightened native would then eradicate superstition, developed a cultured sense of
values, improve their economic lives, make their homes comfortable, and consequently, enjoy the
true happiness they deserve. They would eventually study science and bring about technological
advancement in the country. The masses must develop the idea of human dignity and free
themselves from the fetters of deterioration and greed. Rizal’s belief in the integrity of the Filipinos
is a renewal of strength and an awareness that the Filipino will survive by his very endurance.
And through Simoun, Rizal advised that the people look beyond their oppression to establishment
of a sovereign nation. “Take the lead in forming your own individuality, try to lay the foundations
of a Filipino nation… and develop and independent , not a colonial mentality.” (Fili, p 51)
“As long as a people keep its own language, it keeps a pledge of liberty, just as a man is
free as long as he can think for himself. Language is a people’s way of thinking. Fortunately your
independence is secure. Human passions watch over it. (Fili, p 50)

44
Symbolism of Maria Clara and Sisa
Among the characters of Noli Me Tangere , two women, Maria Clara and Sisa, represent
the enduring sacrifices of Filipino womanhood and the nation itself. Maria Clara, the main female
character of Noli, is portrayed by Rizal as the fruit of an illicit love affair between Spanish
Franciscan friar, Father Damaso and a native woman, Pia Alba.
In Rizal’s mind, the unhappy state of the Philippines which is Maria Clara symbolizes was
the product of the exploitation of the; Spanish rulers and the failure of the people. In chapter 63
of Noli, Father Damaso sternly disapproves of the marriage of Ibarra to Maria Clara. Ibarra
symbolized the liberalism that was sweeping the Philippines as a result of stimulating influences
from European sources. Rizal injected womanly qualities into the symbol that was Maria Clara.
He molded her into something like Leonor Rivera, his real life sweetheart. She was the typical,
although not the ideal, Filipino woman. Thus, she is shown as young convent-bred woman shy
and awkward in spite of her innate charms.
Maria Clara was not Rizal’s ideal woman who would possess not only the modesty and
gentleness of Leonor Rivera but also the intellectual acumen of the German frnaulein. This
distinction between the typical and ideal is important in understanding and interpreting the
character and symbolism of Maria Clara. Maria Clara is the image of the Philippines with her
virtues and inconsistencies, a symbol made more human by characteristics of the typical 19th
century Filipino.
Sisa is described as another symbolic character. From this eloquent description, Sisa is
the Philippines. Her features are beautiful, but are made uncomely by later sorrow and suffering.
She represents the Motherland, as well as Rizal’s own mother and all Filipino women. Sisa is
highly sensitive, especially to slurs against her character, as when she was referred to as the
“mother of the thieves.” This is the typical Filipino, submissive to all miseries, yet refusing any
degradation to honor!
Sisa in fact is self-effacing and courageous. She could not assert her essential ideas but
she held on to her martyrdom. Perhaps this its because of acceptance of the fate of her sons.
She wanted to save them from oppression and suffer any humiliation for their sake.
The Response to the Novels
The message conveyed by the novels made Rizal famous overnight. There was a deluge
of both favorable and unfavorable response to his eye-openers. Rizal’s interpretation of the social
and malaise caused the popular feeling of animosity towards the Spaniards. The idealism and
fortitude of Ibarra and Elias, the Maria Clara type of beauty, the antiheroic friar, the meaning of
the cover design- all of these features were acclaimed by his readers.Their ambivalent message
seemed to incite revolution while serving as a grave warning. It kindled varied reactions among
the readers. Within weeks of the publication and distribution of Noli, Rizal began receiving tributes
from friends in Europe.
Commendations came from such European scholars as Doctors, Adolph B. Meyer,
Friedrich Ratzel, Feodor Jagor, and Ferdinand Blumentritt. The Filipino painter par excellence
Felix Resurrection Hidalgo wrote: “I admire your courage saying plainly what you think and the
inspiration reflected in your work which makes one fell the palpitation of the heart of a man who
loves his country. At Rizal’s expression that his mission has ended, Marcelo H. Del Pilar retorted:
“ Rizal has no right yet to die. His name constitutes the purest and most immaculate standard of
sacrosanct aspirations and Plaridel and his men are no other than mere volunteers who serve
under that standard.” From other quarters , too, came words of caution and advice against the

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author’s return to the Philippines where it was believed , he would be imprisoned and eventually
put to death for his brutal frankness against the ruling powers of Spain.
In the Philippines, the Spanish friars reacted to the novels with maddening anger and
alarm. The committee of Dominican priests from the University of Santo Tomas which the
archbishop assigned to pass the judgment on the Noli found it to be heretical, scandalous, and
subversive. The strongest objections were raised by the Augustinian Salvador Font, whose report
was used as the basis for Governor Tererro’s order prohibiting the circulation of the novel, and
Father Jose Rodriguez, prior to Guadalupe, who wrote a pamphlet attacking the Noli
simultaneously.
In the Philippine, the effect of the novels on the masses was enthusiastic. Tomas Arejola
testified: “Your moral influence on us is indisputable… The tact and persuasiveness of a Rizal is
necessary in order that what we want to do for the common welfare of our motherland should
conform to our desires.” For the first time, the Filipinos were seeing themselves and their
problem’s in a truthful awareness. The people’s perception grasped the message of a patriotic
nationalism that was to become the inspiration for a future blessed with freedom and happiness.
In due course, a copy of the Fili came into the hands of Andres Bonifacio who interpreted
the message as a call to armed uprising. The rest is history and a fight for emancipation. Rizal
had feared that his novels would not be read by his people. But he wrote Ponce that the Noli had
been written for the Filipinos. Ferdinand Blumentritt defined the role of Rizal in his country’s future:
“You can become for your people one of those great men who will exert a definite influence on
their spiritual development.

Guide Question:

Lesson 4
Nationalism in the Novels

1. Make a list of statements dealing with nationalism from the Noli and the Fili and be able
to explain these in your own word.

2. List the causes and symptoms of the social cancer as depicted (a) in the words and actions
of the characters, and (b) in the political and social context in which the cancer thrived.
Tabulate the data collected for each novel, so that the conclusions derived from this study
would be supported by actual citations from the novel.

3. The characters that Rizal portrayed in his two novels are very much alive in our presents
society. Who are the present conterparts of these characters?
a. Ibarra
b. Simoun
c. Elias
d. Maria Clara
e. Doña Victorina
f. Kapitan Tiago
g. Basilio

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