CAMILA JOY B.

PORLARES BSA 3J
LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL OCTOBER 18, 2021

UNJUST POWER

Filipinos, in the 19th century, were the unfortunate victims of unjust, biased
and deteriorating power of Spaniards. They were deprived of their rights and were
subjected to a feudalistic and master slave relationship with the Spaniards. It sparked a
new realization to not only Rizal, but many Filipinos: that under a colonial rule, liberal
concepts of equality, meritocracy, and human dignity could no longer thrive. According
to Sicat (2019), among Rizal’s sibling, he was the only child to go to Spain to study and
sacrificed his life to reclaim our independence and right in our country.

Corrupt colonial officials was the most abundant cause of Filipinos’ misery
in the Spaniards colonization. In line with this, three secular priests, Jose Burgos,
Mariano Gomes de los Angeles, and Jacinto Zamora, recognized as the GOMBURZA
were publicly executed at the Bagumbayan ordered by Gen. Rafael de Izquierdo.
According to Passion (2021), the priests published propaganda materials that
highlighted the friars' abuses and long protested about the Spanish friars' preferential
treatment of secular Filipino clergy. Despite uncertain evidence, the priests were
sentenced to death by garrote for allegedly encouraging the insurrection in Cavite. This
was a pivotal moment in Philippine history, one that was acknowledged by numerous
figures of the time. The situation pushed Rizal and viewed the situation as an
opportunity to write his second novel and tell this tragic story of how unjust and unfair
the Filipinos were treated.

To conclude this paper, the possibility of freedom loomed in the distant

when we open our eyes that oppression exists and battle for our independence.
Fighting along with the implementation of the Rizal Law was the right thing to do to put
and imagine ourselves in Rizal’s shoes, how Filipinos life were in the 19 th century.
Referrence/s:

Sicat, G. P. (2019, January 5). Jose Rizal’s ideals and ideas. Retrieved from
https://econ.upd.edu.ph/perse/?p=7208
Pasion, FK. L. (2021, February 2021) Remembering the GOMBURZA: In
Anticipation of the 150th Anniversary of their Martyrdom in 2022.
Retrieved from https://nhcp.gov.ph/remembering-the-gomburza-in-
anticipation-of-the-150th-anniversary-of-their-martyrdom-in-2022/