The 1889 article

- Rizal was a member of La Solidaridad a Filipino reformist newspaper that aims to promote
Filipino dignity, interest, and introduced political reforms in the country albeit within the
colonial framework
( the goal of La Solidaridad was to promote equality for the Filipinos)
- He published one of his earliest articles for the said newspaper on March 15,
1889, titled Los Agricultures Filipinos or “The Filipino Farmers”
- In this article, he commended the intention of the Minister of the Colonies to encourage the
development of agriculture. And suggest that the colonial government should consult the
Filipino Tillers as they are the ones who till and manage the lands.
( In this article he also wrote about the problems faced by the farmers at that time and offers a
solution for it)
Problems encountered by the Landowners and farmers
- Other than natural calamities like floods and locusts, the policy of Forced
Labor or polo y Servicio has contributed to the poor harvests
- Polo y Servicio is a policy that requires native men, 16-60 years old to work for the
government projects like the construction of bridges and roads,
(which is an example of an abusive economic colonial institution that affected the
Filipino farmers. )
- And Rizal said that there was this case that a landlord has his hired farmworkers taken away
by colonial authorities to work for government projects required by the policy of forced
labor, which worsen the situation
- Farmers can no longer tend their fields once accused by a civil guard of violating certain
regulations because the accused are forced to clean the barracks
(and because of this no one is able to take care of the fields because they are busy cleaning the
barracks, and in order to free themselves from the abusers the landowners often resort to
bribery or other forms of favor)
- And those farms far away from the towns were confronted by the bandits.
- And Rizal narrated that bandits are hard to deal with because they cannot be bribed unlike
those civil guards, and if the landowner did successfully bribe the bandits, then the
landowner would be branded as an accomplice of the bandits which means certain torture
and later exile
Rizal Offers Solution to the problem caused by the robber bandits
- Farmers should wield a firearm
- Since authorities cannot protect them, farmers would need firearms to confront the bandits
- and as a peaceful and law-abiding farmer or landlord, he needs it to protect himself.
(And it should also be noted that Rizal is a pro-gun advocate)
- But getting a license for acquiring a firearm is really hard as the applicant has to obtain the
goodwill of the neighborhood, of the civil guard, and of the parish priest before the
application would be sent to the central government
in Manila.
(This ridiculous long bureaucratic process was further lengthened because it took many
months for the applicant to wait before the Manila government would act on the petition.)
After Rizal enumerated and discussed the defects and abuses of the colonial government, in
general, in relation to the problems encountered by farmers and landowners in the islands,
he asked the Ministry of the Colonies for solutions which he described as urgent:
“It would be necessary to correct this, Mr. Minister of the Colonies, lest some malicious mind
says that since the government there is helpless, it makes friends with bandits by handing
over to them the disarmed inhabitants; that it desires to cultivate lands by speeches, plans,
and agreements, a policy that should be enforced by tying the hands of the farmers and
forcing them to till the soil under the new system. Agriculture cannot be improved by this
method. What is needed is an aid to those who are engaged in it.”
( Bout silingon di ni Rizal nga dapat mag ubra na gid sang action para punggan ang mga tao nga
may masamang hangarin kay since daw wala man pulos ang government pwede nila nga i
hand over nalang ang mga unarmed farmers sa mga bandits. Kag ang policy nga gina forced
labor ang mga farmers sa pag ubra indi gid makabulig sa sitwasyon. Ang kinanglan is buligan
ang mga farmers ano kinahanglan nila para mag mayo ang sitwasyon)
Note that this article, The Filipino Farmers, does not mention serious agrarian related issues
like unjust land confiscation, unreasonable increases of rentals by hacienda owners imposed
against their tenants, and providing lands for the landless direct tillers. The notion of social
justice in relation to agrarian problems was not emphasized as the said article/essay merely
discussed matters that had prevented farmers from cultivating their lands, with a higher rate of
productivity, free from external circumstances like abuses of the civil guards and banditry
which were actually soluble.