Module 1: Development of National Consciousness

Lecture 1 : The Birth of a Filipino National Consciousness

— What makes us “Filipino”?
— What does it mean to be a “Filipino”?
— What unites us as a “nation”?

Nationalism
— Consciousness of an identity = one people
— Spirit that binds men together

Activity #! – Neo Discussion Thread

— What makes us Filipino?
— List Down things that makes us uniquely Filipino
— What unites us as a nation?
— Respond to two posts from your classmates and reply to those who will comment on yours.

The Philippine Experience: Foundations of our Indigenous Culture

— Developed religious and social norms, language, system of writing, literature, and political and judicial
system
— But the country was divided into small independent-political groups  barangays

Unification of the Country by Spain

— Most worthy legacy of Spanish colonization  unification under a highly centralized and bureaucratic
government
o Roman Catholicism
o Western system of writing and alphabet
— Native ingenuity  modified Hispanic and indigenous elements to suit local conditions

Spanish Colonization
— Spain: divide et impera (divide and rule)
— Notorious monopolistic restrictions and controls
— Abuse and oppression
— Common hardships and sorrows caused a growing latent sentiment for freedom and change

Regional Revolts
— Regional discrimination
o Pampango – Pangasinan - Ilocos uprisings (1600 – 1661)
o Diego Silang (1762 – 1763)
— Religious freedom
o Panay, tayabas and mountain province
— Friars usurpation of the lands of the natives
o Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite

Turbulence and Change 19th Century: Industrialization

— New Technology – chemistry, physics and engineering
— Fast economic progress – made the bourgeoisie even richer, more powerful and influential
o Bourgeosie – colonizers
o Proletariat – Natives
— Rizal’s Book List
o Le Socialismo Contemporain by E. De Levalye
o Compilation of theories of Karl Marx; Catholic Socialism etc.
o Rizal in Europe – exposed to the nationalistic spirit, internal reforms as well as national projects of
European states – esp. Germany

Turbulence and Change: Waning Role of the Catholic Church

— Once the most powerful institution
o Now the adversary of liberals and republican states
— Rise of “anti – clericalism”
o Breaking down Catholic Church power and control

Rizal’s European Exposure

— Filipinos: More aggressive in his struggle for his rights
o Economic Prosperity
o Emerging power of the Proletariat
o Democratic and nationalistic thoughts

New Breed of Native Middle Class

1) Bourgeois – Spanish
2) Middle Class – Natives / Filipino
3) Proletariat – Native / Filipino

The Response
— Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar
o 1st Filipino artist with a conscience
— Father Pedro Pelaez
o Exposed and criticized the rampant racial discrimination against the native clergy
— Father Jose A. Burgos
o Wrote that the friars were responsible for the backwardness of the country and the fanaticism of the
indio

Spanish Attempts to Initiate Reforms

— 1868
o Revolution to deposed Queen Isabela II of Spain
o Liberals came into power in Spain
— Liberals
o Appointed Governor General Carlos Ma. De La Torre
o Most active organizers of reform: Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, Fr. Jacinto Zamora
— Conservatives
o In Spain, liberals were deposed by the conservatives
o Gov. Rafael de Izquierdo – reinstated old practices undermining de la Torre’s reforms
The Growing Filipino Sentiment of Nationality
— Arrested liberal intellectuals including GOMBURZA
o Accused of “wanting to establish a republic conspiracy with the republic partisans in Spain”
o Sentenced to die via garrote
— Trigger a series of militant expressions of nationalist sentiments
The Propaganda Movement
Laying the Groundwork
— Unity of the Filipino intellectual class in Spain started a nationalistic campaign
— Gregorio Sanciano – El Progreso de Filipinas (1881)
o Economic reforms to improve political administration

The Unorganized Years: Unifying Forces

1) Graciano Lopez Jaena & Pedro De Govantes
2) Juan Luna & Feliz Resurrection Hidalgo – Exposicion de Bellas Artes (1884)
3) Noli Me Tangere (1887)
4) Marcelo H. Del Pilar – wrote a defense of Noli
5) Through literature – propagandists had an opportunity to reiterate issues and the urgent need for reforms

Revival of Activities in the Philippines

1) Propaganda work being propelled by Marcelo H. Del Pilar
2) Basilio Teodoro – published and edited Diariong Tagalog
3) Literature became the threshold for spreading national consciousness

Consolidation of Propaganda Activities: Filipino Nationalists Formally Organized

— 1889 – La Solidaridad organized in Barcelona
o Galicano Apacible – President
o Graciano Lopez Jaena – Vice
o Manuel Santa Maria – Secretary
o Mariano Ponce – Treasurer
o Jose Ma Panganiban – Auditor
o Marcelo Del Pilar – Editor
o Jose Rizal – Honorary President
— Active Contributors
o Rizal – Dimas Alang and Laong Laan
o Del Pilar – Plaridel
o Lopez Jaena – Diego Laura
o Jose Ma Panganiban – JoMaPa
o Antonio Luna – Taga – Ilog
o Ferdinand Blumentritt

Reforms they worked for

— Equality – rights and dignity of the Filipinos would be guaranteed and respected through administrative and
economic reforms.
o Assimilation of the Philippines as a regular province of Spain and Philippine representation to the
Spanish Cortes
o Other reforms:
 Extension of peninsular laws to the Philippines
 Judicial reforms
 Integrity in administration
 Appointment of Filipino priests to administer parishes
 Free governmental participation

Propaganda Literature
— Writer / reformists through their prolific writings make their demand for reform clear and build the Filipino
image of hope, pride and dignity
o Mariano Ponce
 Biographer
 Historical essays stressed the importance of education, analyzed the grievances of his countrymen
o Jose Ma Panganiban
 Philosophical essays
o Antonio Luna
 Noche Buena
- Biographical sketch that depicted actual life in the Philippines
 La Maestra de mi Pueblo
- Defects of the educational system for women
 Todo por el Estomago
- Satirized the biased Spanish method of colonization and taxation policies
o Blumentritt
 “Critique of the Noli”
 Wrote: the Spanish national pride were hurt to know that an Indio had boldly exposed in his novel
the facts of friar’s abuses
 Rizal had spoken in the spirit of truth and honesty
o Marcelo H. Del Pilar
 La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas
- Main goal  expulsion of the friars to eliminate the obstacles to progress and happiness in the
Philippines
o Lopez Jaena
 Orator of the group
 Known works:
- Dasalan at Toksohan
- Long Live Spain, Long Live the King and Down with the Friars
- Sagot ng Espana sa Hibik ng Filipinas
o Jose Rizal
 Most scholarly of the group
 Wrote principal essays for La Solidaridad
 Published his annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
 Wrote El Filibusterismo when the propaganda movement was at its height

Disappointing reforms
— The propaganda movement yielded minor reforms
o Provincial reform of 1886
o Extension of the Spanish civil code to the Philippines
o Code of commerce
o Becerra law (right to organize city governments)

Problems of the Propagandists

— Time was running out
o Friars were tightening their grip
o Read at the risk of persecution, imprisonment or exile
— Financial difficulties
 o Rizal for frustrated – some talked a great deal but reluctant to help financially
o Spain deported propaganda supporters
— Widening rift among the propagandists
o Infighting
o Regionalist mindset

Rizal’s Attempts to Carry on the Propaganda in the Philippines

— July 3, 1892 – La Liga Filipina
— Short – lived  Rizal was exiled to Dapitan in 1892
— Objectives:
o Unification of the whole archipelago
o Mutual protection in every want and necessity
o Defense against all violence and injustice
o Encouragement of education, agriculture and commerce
o Study and application of all reforms
— Motto: “One Like All” – “The poor shall be supported in his right against any powerful person”

Death of the Reformists

— La Solidaridad folded up for lack of funds on November 15, 1895
— Graciano Lopez Jaena died of Tuberculosis Jan. 1896
— Marcelo H. Del Pilar died penniless July 1896
— Rizal was executed December 1896

Legacy
— The message conveyed by their literary works enraptured the Filipino’s sense of pride and gave them a hope
of redemption
— Through their writings  developed sense of identity and national consciousness

Lecture 2: rizal law and on being a hero

Rizal Law – Republic Act 1425
— The Philippines is looking forward to a better Filipino nation
— Rizal Law is perceived as contributing toward Filipino excellence – the essence of a BEST NATION
— Church made use of lobbyists as well as priests in opposing the Rizal bill
— Seminars were conducted across the countryside to oppose the bill.
— Fr. Jesus Cavanna commented that Rizal’s novels belonged to the past and it would be harmful to read them
because they “presented a false picture of the conditions of the country at the time”
o 333 pages of the Noli Me Tangere there were only 25 patriotic statements compared to 120 anti-Catholic
statements
— Compromise bill was filled
— Authored by Senator Jose Laurel and based on the proposals of Senators Roseller Lim and Emmanuel
Pelaez
— Enacted on June 12, 1956: R.A. 1425
— Allows students to seek exemption from reading Rizal’s work for religious reasons
— Requires the reading of unexpurgated versions of Rizal’s nov
— Provided funding of publication of Rizal’s works and distribution to the countryside
— Section 1
o Courses on the life, works and writings of Rizal –particularly Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
shall be included in the curricula of all schools
— Section 2
o Obligatory on all schools, colleges and universities to keep in their libraries an adequate number of Noli
and El Fili as well as Rizal’s other works and biography

Interpreting Rizal
Varying Interpretations of Rizal
— Wenceslao Retana (Vida’y Escrito de Rizal)
o Rizal was misunderstood by the Spanish government
— Austin Craig (Life, Lineage and Labors of Rizal
o The Spanish system is evil and corrupt, Rizal would have approved of the American system of
government
— Teodoro Agoncillo
o Rizal as a pacifist, questioned Rizal’s role in the revolution

Interpreting Heroism
— A person is considered a hero if her had a concept of nation and there under aspires and struggles for the
nation’s freedom.
— The person must be guided by the conviction of national identity, willing to sacrifice for the nation’s benefit

According to the National Heroes Committee:

Characteristics of a hero
1) The extent of the person’s sacrifices for the welfare of the country;
2) Motives and methods employed in the attainment of the ideal (welfare of the country);
3) Moral character of the person; and
4) The influence of the person to the age or epoch an the succeeding eras.

Lecture 3: veneration without understanding

Rizal – Introduction
— Does Rizal deserve to be our national hero?
— National Revolutions
o Represents the peak of achievement to which the minds of man return time and time again
o Rizal – not the leader of the revolution
o Was against Bonifacio and the revolution
o Was a reformist – wanted the Philippines to assimilate (be a province of Spain)

— Rizal & the Revolution Contradiction

o Need to analyze WHY Rizal took no part in the revolution
o The significance of this action and the significance of the revolution itself
o Role in national development

— An American – Sponsored Hero

o “With other American colonial officials and some conservative Filipinos, chose Rizal as a model hero
over other contestant –
o Aguinaldo too militant
o Bonifacio too radical
o Mabini unregenerate”
 Governor William Howard Taft, 1901
 During the American colonization:
 - Act No. 137 – re – named Morong province “Rizal
- Act No. 243 – erection of a monument in honor of Rizal at the Luneta
- Act No. 346 – anniversary of Rizal’s death as a day of observance
 Reasons for the enthusiastic American attitude toward Rizal:
- “Rizal never advocated independence, nor did he advocate armed resistance, to the
government…
- He urged reform from within by publicity, by public education and appeal to public education
and appeal to public conscience”
(a) William W. Cameron Forbes; Governor

— Man & His Times

o Rizal’s Realizations:
 Enlightenment = class consciousness
 Equality with the Spaniard = equality of opportunity

— Rizal: The Reformist

o Demands:
 Human Liberty
 Human dignity
o Evident in his writings: social commenter, an exposer of oppression
o Rizal’s contribution  recognition of the people as one, elevation of the Indio into Filipino

— The Concept of Filipino Nationhood

o Filipino Nationhood  Rizal helped developed
o “Filipino”  originally referred to the creoles (Spanish born in the Philippines) or the Espanoles –
Filipinos (Filipinos for short)
o Rizal  began to use the term “indio bravos”
 Transformed “indio” to a badge of honor

— The Limited Filipino

o Though Rizal was able to win for his countrymen the name Filipino  it was still as an Ilustrado that he
conceived the term
o Ilustrado orientation manifests itself in his novels:
 Hero, Ibarra, was Spanish mestizo
 Characters: Spaniards, Creole, the mestizo and the wealthy Chinese
o Rizal – was an ilustrado hero whose life’s mission correspond in a general way to the wishes and
aspirations of his class.
o Class Perspective  limited understanding of his countrymen
o NO CONTRADITION  died for his people YET rejected revolution
 Why? Rizal was acting from patriotic motives in both cases
o Why Reject the Revolution?
 As an Ilustrado he instinctively underestimated the power and talents of the people
 Did not equate liberty with independence
 Did not consider political independence as prerequisite for freedom

— Ilustrados & Indios

o Rizal and others chose Spain as the arena of their struggle instead of working among their people
o Ilustrado  Hispanized sector of our population
o Contrast to the Ilustrado approach  Bonifacio’s Katipunan
  Katipunan  revolutionary consciousness and revolutionary practice
o Ilustrados  purveyor of ideas which when seized upon by the indios become real weapons.

Lecture 4: Development of rizal’s nationalism

Birth
— Born: June 19, 1861
— Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Alonso Realonda
— Calamba, Laguna

Family
— Rizal’s parents belonged to privileged class
— Father: Francisco “Lamco” Mercado
— Mother: Teodora Alonso Realonda
— 11 children – 2 boys and 9 girls
o Rizal’s only, eldest brother Paciano
o Joined Gen. Aguinaldo’s revolutionary forces
o Retired to his farm in Los Banos, died in 1930
Formal Search for Knowledge
Hometown & Ateneo Education
— Hometown: Studied Latin, Spanish, and painting
— Ateneo 1872 – 1877
o Bachelor of Arts degree, highest honors

Ateneo
— Wrote:
o “Por La Education Recibe Lustre La Patria”
o Alianza Intima Entre La Religion y la Buena Education
— Member of:
o Academy of Spanish literature
o Academy of Natural Sciences
o Marian Congregation

University of Santo Tomas

— Took up Medicine at UST – wanted to treat the failing eyesight of his mother
— Writings:
o A la juventud Filipina
o El sonejo de los dioses
o Junto al Pasig – satirized the priest as the devil

Experiences: Discrimination
— Looked down upon because he looked like an Indio (but belonged to the Principalia / Ilustrado class)
— Response: Equality through the mastery of mental skills

Education in Europe
— Studied Medicine at Central University of Madrid
— Studied French and German at Ateneo de Madrid
— Went to Germany for advanced study in ophthalmology
The Resolute Propagandist
Blumentritt
— Dr. Ferdinand Blumentritt
— Most cherished friend
— Wrote about political, racial and social issues
— Rizal studied and translated Blumentritt’s Ethnography of the Island of Mindanao

Noli Me Tangere
— Published by: Berliner – Buchdruckerei – Actien – Gesselschaft, Setzerinnen – Schule de Letter Vereins
— Maximo Viola lend him Php 300.00 for 2,000 copies
— Released in March 1887
— Church review:
o Heretical, impious, and scandalous in its religious aspect, and unpatriotic and subversive to public order

Rizal becomes an active propagandist

— Annotated “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas” written by Antonio de Morga
o Rizal: before Spaniards, Filipinos already had developed a culture
— Wrote the following while travelling:
o The philippines within a Century
o The Philippines of the Filipino People
o Letter to the Women of Malolos

El Filisbusterismo
— Published in September 1891 with the financial help of Valentin Ventura
— Strong indictment of Spanish colonialism and of native supporters and defenders of the system
— Society on the verge of a revolution

Rizal comes back home

— Why did he go back?
o To the Filipinos: “What does death matter if one dies for what one loves, for one’s country and loved
ones…”

Rizal: Arrested & Deported to Dapitan (July 6, 1892 – July 14, 1892)
— Accusations
o Leasflets
o Mocked friars
o Dedicated El Filibusterismo to GomBurZa
o Advocate separation from Spain
o De – catholize and de – nationalize the Philippines

Rizal in Exile
Practical Nationalism in Dapitan
— Practiced his profession: doctor, farmer, teacher, business – man, community development leader, engineer
and scientist
— Bought 16 hectares of land  houses, school and clinic

Rizal’s Reaction to the Katipunan

— June 21, 1896 – Dr. Pio Valenzuela
o Visited Rizal in Dapitan informing him of the founding of the Katipunan on July 1892
— Rizal’s instructions:
o Get the support of the rich and influential
o Appoint Antonio Luna to direct their military maneuvers
— Mentioned to Dr. Valenzuela that he has a pending application as a volunteer surgeon in the Spanish Army
fighting the Cuban revolution
— Real Reason: could study the war closely to find solutions to the brewing Philippine revolution
— July 1896 – set sail to Manila on board the steamer “Espana”
— Was blamed for the outbreak of the revolution in 1896 – brought back to Manila

Trial and Execution

— December 29, 1896
o Military court condemned Rizal for “founding illegal associations and promoting and inducing rebellion
o Rizal is a Machiavelliam cunning, soul of the rebellion
— December 30, 1896
o Verdict: Death
o Shot at sunrise the next day

The Long Last Day

— Wrote his last letter to Blumentritt:
o “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”
— To his sisters, niece and nephew
o Angelica – handkerchief
o Mauricio – belt and watch with chain
o Narcisa – Wicker chair
o Trinidad – alcohol burner but whispered “There is something in it”
o Maria – confided to her that he would marry Josephine
— Wrote to his father:
o Forgive me the sorrow with which I repay the anxieties and toil you underwent to give me an education.
I did not want this nor did I expect it. Farewell, father, farewell.”
— Unfinished note to his mother began:
o “To my very dear mother Sra Da Teodora Alfonso. At 6 in the morning of December 30, 1896”
— December 30, 1896
o Gave his book “Imitation of Christ” to Josephine Bracken with the dedication “To my dear and unhappy
wife, 30 December 1896”

Lecture 4: Rizal’s Retraction Letter

— The Jesuit priest, Father Vicente Balaguer, the eyewitness to the event said that Rizal accepted a shorter
retraction document prepared by the superior of the Jesuit Society in the Philippines.
— Fr. Vicente Balaguer, missionary pastor in Dapitan. Balaguer was in Manila when Rizal was in his detention
cell in Fort Santiago.
o “ I was the one who assisted Rizal most of that sad day’s hours. I argued with him and demolished his
arguments. Better than anyone else I can form an idea of what passed through his soul and what Rizal
had been and what he had in mind. I presented to him the formula of retraction, and in my presence he
wrote it word for word, revising a few words after some discussion. In my presence he signed it, and I
 kept and presented it to Your Reverence, who in turn gave it to His Grace, Archbishop
Nozaleda(Archbishop of Manila in 1889-1904)."

Basis for Rizal’s Retraction:

1) According to Professor Austin Crag:
- “Spanish law had established civil marriage in the Philippines, but the local government had not
provided any way for people to avail themselves of the right…”
2) Josephine Bracken is not in good terms with Rizal’s family.

Father Balaguer as an eyewitness

— In verifying the final contrition of a criminal, according to Canon Law, a single witness is enough
— According to Father Balaguer, he served as an eyewitness to Rizal’s retraction.

Fr. Balaguer on Rizal

— “For some month previously I had been in contact with Dr. Rizal since I was the missionary pastor in
Dapitan where he has been exiled. Following instructions I had received from Superiors, I tried to treat him
with the greatest respect and affection, to which he reciprocated with affection confidence in me.”
— “He boarded the boat for Manila in September 1896 to proceed to Cuba as a medical officer. I went to
Manila in December when Rizal, back from Spain, was in prison and sentenced to death. When he
summoned the Jesuit Fathers (this is clear and cannot be denied), he received them with affability. He asked
if any of his former teachers were around.”
— “He received me with open arms. Since I liked him very much, I was ready to do whatever I could with
divine grace to save his soul. He asked to make his confession. But I had to remind him that I believed he
was not properly disposed to receive the sacraments of the church.”

Did Rizal Retract?

— “He (Rizal) retracted. He died as a Catholic, and a proof that he died as a Catholic, and a proof that he died
as a Catholic was, he was buried inside the sacred grounds of Paco Cemetery, who compared to Apolinario
Mabini, a revolutionary and free mason who was buried in a Chinese cemetery.” (Augusto De Viana, UST)
— On the issue of Rizal being a ficke-minded person:
o De Viana answered, (b) “Will, that may be true, but that is human character. Rizal was not a perfect
person.”
— Will the issue invalidate Rizal’s works and contribution to the country? No

Lecture 4: Women in Rizal’s Life

Pepe Rizal: The Romantic Patriot
— Written by Danny Yson
— Contains details of research into Rizal’s diaries, memoirs and letters
— Rizal had “flirted and could have had amorous relations with no less than 18 women”

Segunda Katigbak
Leonor Rivera
— Nationality: Filipino
— Relationship Status: Forsaken Love Affair
— Rizal’s Age: 18
— Third Party: Orang Valenzuela
— How they met: Childhood playmates
— Wingman: Jose (Chenggoy) Cecilio
— Greatest obstacle: Leonor’s parents Antonio and Silvestra Rivera, destroyed all of Rizal’s letters.
— Her role in Rizal’s literature: Model for Maria Clara, heroine of both Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
— Code name: La Cuestion del Oriente
— Pet Name: Taimis
— Trivia: Leonor Rivera didn’t know Rizal made a pact with his brother Paciano never to get married
— How it ended: After Rizal left for Europe, they never met again. Leonor married Englishman Henry Kipping
— Rizal on Leonor: “Can I forget you? Your memory has always kept me company; it has saved me from
dangers along the way…”