ORIA, MAYBELYN S.

GED0102 - SECTION 57

MODULE 2:

19TH CENTURY SETTING

PROLOGUE:

The following are my realizations upon reading the article:

1. The society that we live in today is greatly influenced by the prevalence of

Western imperialism during the 19th century. The culture, language, religion, and
the economic and political frameworks of the colonies, which include the
Philippines, were changed as they were forced to fit the mold set by the imperialist
countries. Even up to this day, imperialism still persists as we can see powerful
nations like the U.S. and China still have some sort of control over financial and
political matters around the world.

2. It seems like only the times have changed but the inequalities and injustices
experienced by the Filipinos during the 19th century are still present in this modern-
day age. Farmers and workers still experience oppression by their landlords and
employers. Poverty and unemployment rates still continue to rise. Our educational
and healthcare systems remain to be underfunded and deprioritized. On top of
these, corrupt officials still hold the highest positions in the government. This only
means that there is still a lot of remains to be done in order to end these systemic
problems.

3. Critical dissent and tactical opposition against tyrannical and abusive regimes
are important for a country to achieve genuine independence. We have seen how
other colonist asserted their independence from their colonizers such as in the
cases of Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, and many others rising above the Spanish
tyranny. We can mirror this scenario in our country through the attempt of the
Propaganda Movement by the ilustrados to expose the vile doings of the Spaniards
during the 19th century.

EPILOGUE:

1. What are the prevalent themes and situations during 19th century? Explain.

Wars and conflicts were prevalent during the 19 th century due to the invasion
of imperialist countries over smaller territories to expand their power and to gain
more resources for their own sake. Severe oppression and injustice within the
colonist were evident as imperialists view themselves as superior beings. With
these, everything was in disarray where there was unstable administration, human
rights violations, racism, misadministration of justice, forced labor, lack of
representation, feudalism, and abuse of power. These unfortunate situations have
greatly hampered Philippines from economically progressing.

2. Agree/Disagree: 19th century is a challenging period. Why/Why not?

I agree that 19th century is a challenging period especially if you are a citizen
of a country colonized by an evil imperialist nation. Being deprived of your rights
and civil liberties, killed because of your skin color, silenced and threatened when
you are criticizing the government, and just the mere experience of being subjected
to poverty on the hands of foreigners leeching off our country’s native resources
are just utterly terror and horrendous. Luckily today, even if we are still not free
from these injustices, at least we are generally experiencing a more humane way of
life.

3. Prove: 19th century Philippines have semblances to 21st century Philippines.

Corrupt officials are present in both 19 th and 21st century Philippines. Then
and now, there are still government officials who are accepting bribes, favoring
rich people over the poor, and supporting unjust and cruel policies all for the sake
of their selfish interests and maintaining a high stature in the society.

The issues on human rights violations in the 19 th century can also be seen in
recent actions by the present administration. From the Oplan Tokhang to the
closure of ABS-CBN to the crackdown on activists and other government critics,
we have seen how the government is desperate in persecuting individuals and
groups just to hide the horrifying skeletons in their closet.

Last example of a semblance of the 19th and the 21st century Philippines is
the misadministration of justice. There are judges in courts until today who receive
bribes from guilty perpetrators to evade conviction. Additionally, justice in our
country has seemed to be perpetually slow and costly. There are people who just
eventually give up due to the countless hearings, long litigations, and hefty
amounts of money spent. Hence, we hear the infamous line, “Justice delayed is
justice denied.”

4. Create a list of the pressing problems and challenges of the 19th century. Discuss.

 Frequent changes in Spanish administration - With the periodic

replacement of governors general ruling over our country, there were also
consequent shifts in the implemented policies. This has hindered Philippines
from achieving a progressive development because there was no consistency
 in the administration of policies given the short amount of time or transition
between officials which only averages around one year and three months.
 Corruption in all branches of the government - Our country was not
blessed to have good colonial officials. Most of the Spanish generals used
their position to make themselves richer and more powerful. This has made
the Filipinos even suffer more because of instances such as having to pay
higher taxes or rent, which are only geared towards lining the pockets of
these corrupt officials.
 Inequality and racism - The Spanish colonizers regarded Filipinos as
Indios which only means that they look at Filipinos as inferior to them
primarily because we are brown-skinned and flat-nosed. There are certain
privileges that are only enjoyed by the white-skinned Spaniards like having
lighter penalties in crimes enforced in the Spanish Penal Code. Even in
offices, schools, judicial courts, and other institutions, discrimination was
prevalent.
 Fralocracy - The Spanish government in the Philippines during the 19 th
century were ruled by friars through a façade of a normal civil government.
The friars technically have control over every aspect of the society and were
highly influential. One word that a friar will say that you are a traitor can get
you exiled immediately. Like the government officials, they were also
hungry for money and power and even on haciendas as they were considered
to be some of the richest landlords as well. This is why the friars became
major “antagonists” in Rizal’s novels particularly in the likes of Padre
Damaso and Padre Salvi.
 Forced labor or Polo - Instead of working on their farms and own
livelihoods, Filipino males of ages 16 to 60 years old were forced to render
 manual labor to do strenuous jobs like repairing public works and buildings.
Most of the time, they also do not receive their daily stipend from the Polo.

5. Find practical solutions or possible remedies to present day problems from

experiences in the 19th century setting.

On the corruption problem in our country today, I think the long-term

solution would really be a complete overhaul of the government’s structure to
ensure checks and balances across all three branches. But, if I were to cite a short-
term remedy, it would be the proposal of amendments to existing laws against
corruption which will ensure stricter implementation, more thorough
investigations, bigger penalties and longer jail time to officials who will be found
guilty.

Once the corruption issue has been effectively addressed, I think we will
have a smoother and a more reliable mechanism in solving other societal problems
such as poverty, unemployment, and inaccessibility of basic social services. If we
have a trustworthy administration, our country will be able to implement a
transparent and generous assistance program to impoverished communities,
provide more jobs to Filipinos because our government is market friendly and
focused on building national industries and allocate more budget towards basic
social services such as education and healthcare so we can ensure that they are
within the reach of even the poorest of our countrymen.

Ultimately, there are no easy solutions to these problems because we should

strive for a systemic change. The road will be tough but if we start with electing
good leaders, everything will be better.