NICOLE M.

NIALA BSED ENGLISH 2SE

GE 215
The Life and Works of Rizal

Prof. Kendi Arsitio

December 2021
 Module 3
WORKS OF RIZAL
Lesson 1
Rizal’s Annotation of Antonio Morgas’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas
Activity
The Historian In Me:
Find an old newspaper or history books. Choose one event in the Philippines, which
happened in the past 30 years. Find other documents (both primary and secondary
sources) and try to compare all the accounts. After doing this, you may ask your parents
or other elders in the household who know the chosen historical subject. Interview them
and see whose narratives corroborate. At the end of the process, you write the history of
the selected topic.
Event in the Philippine History:
Source: The Washington Post & The New York Times
IMELDA MARCOS CONVICTED OF CORRUPTION, SENTENCED by Robert H. Reid
on September 24, 1993
Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos was convicted on two criminal
corruption charges and sentenced to prison terms on 9-12 years on each account. The
convictions ended the first of many criminal trials pending for the widow of former
Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, who was accused of massive corruption during a
20-year rule that ended with his ouster seven years ago. At present, Imelda Marcos is the
target of 94 criminal and civil cases charging her with malfeasance, misappropriation and
theft during her family's years in power, which prosecutors say left her with an illicit fortune
estimated at $10 billion.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library
https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/48708
Biggest case of corruption - September 24, 1993
Former first lady, Imelda Marcos, was convicted for the first time of corruption and
sentenced to 24 years in prison. Few days earlier, the remains of former President Marcos
who died in 1989 in Hawaii was finally entombed at their family mausoleum in Batac,
Ilocos Sur.
History of the Biggest Case of Corruption in the Philippines
The Marcoses have been in power for so many years in the Philippines. The
country was under a dictatorship, however, Marcos partially restored democratic
government in 1981, and, in hopes of unseating him, a popular political opponent,
Benigno Aquino Jr., decided to return from exile in 1983. But when Aquino arrived, he
was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila’s main airport. Amid rising tensions, the
country plunged into its worst recession in history.
Marcos and his wife, Imelda, had gotten extremely wealthy by siphoning money
from public coffers during all of this. They amassed a museum-worthy art collection and
covered the walls of hundreds of luxury mansions with works by Cézanne, Manet,
Picasso, and Van Gogh. Imelda stocked her closets with designer shoes and wore pricey
jewelry, including a $5.5 million 70-carat light-blue diamond, which was worth at least 400
times her husband's official annual salary of $13,500. Meanwhile, regular Filipinos
struggled to find work in a country with an unemployment rate that had spiked to an
estimated 23% when the recession hit in 1984; import restrictions made basic products,
such as ballpoint pens and razor blades, elusive.
In 1986, a popular revolt, the EDSA People Power, forced the Marcoses from
power and exile in Hawaii, but President Corazon Aquino's successor government waited
more than five years before filing criminal charges to recover money allegedly stolen by
them, instead deferring to US prosecutors who charged the couple with racketeering.
However, Ferdinand Marcos died before the trial in 1989, and his wife was acquitted in
1990 by a federal court jury in Manhattan. She was allowed to return to the Philippines
the next year, where she ran for president unsuccessfully in May 1992.
On September 24 in the year 1993, the biggest corruption case in the Philippines,
former First Lady Imelda Marcos, for the first time, and former Transportation Minister
Jose Dans are convicted by the Sandiganbayan of two counts of graft and sentenced to
9–12 years in prison for each count, in connection with a lease between the Light Rail
Transit Authority and the Philippine General Hospital Foundation Inc. However, in 1998,
Marcos will be acquitted by the Supreme Court.
Analysis
1. How did you evaluate your chosen historical event?
I evaluated my chosen historical event through reading and interviewing different
sources of the information, primary and secondary, then compared what were the
information wherein it was a bit distorted and why was the information changed.
2. Why is it essential to evaluate history?
It is highly important to evaluate history because it is essential not only to an
individual but also to the society. It helps us understand the society we are living and by
examining the past, it helps us grapple with complex questions and dilemmas.
Application
Quiz: Answer the following question below:
1. Who is Antonio de Morga? Why did Rizal choose his works over other accounts about
the Philippines?
Antonio de Morga a Seville-born statesman who joined the Spanish government
in 1580. In 1593, he appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Spain's colony in the Philippines,
the second in Command next to the GovernorGeneral. In 1600, he assumed the position
of Oider, or judge in the Audiencia. In 1600, he led the Spanish troops against Dutch
invaders led by Oliver van Noort; but he lost in this battle. This defeat paved the way for
his relief in position and transfer to Mexico, he published his books Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas in 1609. Rizal choose his works over other accounts because Morga’s Sucesos
de las Islas Filipinas because he felt it was necessary to call upon the evidence of an
illustrious Spaniard who presided over the Philippines' fortunes at the beginning of her
new period and witnessed the final moments of our ancient nationality.
2. What are the contributions of Rizal’s annotation to Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las
Islas Filipinas?

• Rizal wanted to awaken the consciousness of the past and rectify what has been
falsified and slandered to be able to study the future.
• Rizal's scholarship was based on German historiography which utilizes modern
historical method;
• Rizal's research into the past was ruled as a basis for critiquing colonialism as well
as for defining (or Constructing) a Filipino national identity.
• Rizal made a stronger claim for viewing national identity within Asian. Pacific
perspective; and
• Rizal's work had impact on nationalist movement, particularly to Bonifacio's
Katipunan.
Reflection:
Reflect on the use of history to address current issues:

• What are the pros and cons of the Martial Law in Mindanao under the Duterte’s
Administration?
a) Pros
- The military presence is good especially when terror attack happens.
- Provides more rigid preconditions and limitations when it comes to the
declaration and stretch of a martial law.
- Martial law or the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus should not
exceed 60 days.
 - The suspension of the latter shall only be applied to "persons judicially
charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with
the invasion."
- The Legislative and the Judiciary has the power to override the the
said declaration of the Executive.
- It does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, civil courts, and
legislative assemblies.
- Bars the conferment of a military court over civilians when civil courts
are functional.
- Civil court shall charge the detained within 3 days or otherwise should
be released.
b) Cons
-
• Does history repeat itself?
Not totally, martial law was implemented once again but not to the whole
Philippines and not as gruesome like what happened during the Marcos Regime
that even innocent people were sentenced by the military’s jurisdiction.

• Is it the same with the Martial Law under the Marcos Regime?
No because the Martial Law in Marcos’ Regime was to keep him in power
meanwhile the Martial Law under Duterte was to fight the rebellion happening in
the Muslim areas of Mindanao. The same law but different goals.

Lesson 2
The Novels and Selected Essays of Rizal
Activity
I. Fill in the blanks below and then complete the Venn diagram of the characters in
Rizal’s two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

Noli Me Tangere
Donya Victorina, Don Tiburcio de
Espadana, Tano, Sisa, Crispin

Crisostomo Ibarra/Simoun
Basilio, Maria Clara, Kabesang
Tales, Paulita Gomez

Padre
Florentino,Makaraig,
Don Custodio, Juanito Palaez, Ben Zayb
El Filibusterismo
Five characters found in Noli Me Tangere but not in El Filibusterismo.
1. Donya Victorina
2. Don Tiburcio de Espadana
3. Tano
4. Sisa
5. Crispin
Five characters found in both Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
1. Crisostomo Ibarra/Simoun
2. Basilio
3. Maria Clara
4. Kabesang Tales/Telesforo de Dios
5. Paulita Gomez
Five characters found in El Filibusterismo but not in Noli Me Tangere
1. Padre Florentino
2. Makaraig
3. Don Custodio
4. Juanito Palaez
5. Ben Zayb
II. Select and Paste any works of Rizal (Poem, Essays, Sculpture, Paintings)
You may check in Project Gutenberg website for additional references about works of
Rizal.
Pair Mother of Pearl Painting by Jose Rizal

Analysis
I. Review the different characters in both novels. Compare and contrast the
character, plot, and theme of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo based on the
summary provided.
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are the most renowned novels of our
national hero, Jose Rizal. Both novels have similarities and differences as well. Aside
from they are written by the same author, they both talk about how Spaniards abused the
Filipinos, the abuse of the church of their power and the discrimination on Filipinos. Both
Noli and El Fili have an anti-clerical, even anti-Catholic tone of them. However, they are
different in many cases, Noli is a like a love story or a romantic novel, dedicated to our
motherland, meanwhile, El Fili is a political novel associated with revenge and anger and
is said to be dedicated to the GOMBURZA. Noli shows throughtfulness and is discursive
and dialectal, it showed a softspoken, patient, compassionate, and idealistic Crisostomo
Ibarra while the Ibarra in El Fili showed an angry and vengeful disguised as a wealthy
jeweller named Simoun. Thus, its like Noli is the reformist side of Rizal while El Fili was
his revolutionist side.
II. Make an interpretation and reflection of the chosen works of Rizal.
I chose the painting Pair Mother of Pearl by Rizal because we can barely see a
painting in a shell. The paint is rare. It was his gift to Leonor Valenzuela, one of his love
interests. A tall girl from Pangasinan whom he sent the love notes written with invisible
ink. For me, it’s a very sweet gesture. As a woman who grew up in a modern society
wherein love letters are mostly seen as obsolete, this is probably a this is probably the
thing that would make me fall, how much more if it was a painting in a shell. Mother of
pearl is commonly believed to attract prosperity and is often used in mystical work and
lore to heighten intuition, psychic sensitivity and imagination. It is believed that mother-
of-pearl shell offers soothing, motherly protection from negative energy and love. I
believed Rizal gave it to Leonor as a gift to protect her from anything negative and to bring
prosperity into her life no matter what happens between the two of them. Rizal really is a
romantic guy by doing such things to Leonor. Sadly, they did not end up with each other
but I believe it was one of the most memorable times in the life of Leonor.

Application
1. Write an essay to answer the following: (5pts each)
a. What is freedom
b. How is the lack of freedom portrayed in the novel
c. How is the situation in the novel different from the present time?

(see next page for essays)

a. What is freedom
Freedom in the Eyes of a Young Woman

According to many dictionaries, freedom means having the power or right to act,
speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. It is the absence of subjection
from any foreign domination or despotic government. It is the state of not being
imprisoned or enslaved. That is true, it is really what freedom means and I agree to it. We
have been fighting for our freedom for so many years in the past. Our ancestors spent
days in suffering just to give us the freedom we are experiencing today. However, is that
really the meaning of freedom? Or are we really free?

As a young girl who grew up in a modern society, freedom for most people
nowadays means many things. Freedom can mean being able to do what is right.
Freedom can mean having the opportunity to vote or the right of suffrage. Freedom to
choose whom to vote that best represent one’s views. Freedom to a person can mean
freedom of speech: the ability to freely voice personal opinions or perspectives. Others
may understand freedom in a financial context, where people seek to free themselves of
financial debt, outstanding credit and burdensome loans.

However, in my eyes, freedom is much more complex than a voter’s ballot, huge
amount of money, and speeches. It is much more complicated than being able to do what
you want to do. Freedom means unity, understanding one another in order to achieve
peace. If the government and the people are not unified, the country is in big chaos. Like
what happened in the reign of the Marcoses. There has been a huge fight between the
executive position and there was misunderstanding everywhere because both parties do
not listen to each other.

Yes, we have different meanings of freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of

expression, freedom of every person to worship their chosen God, freedom from want
and etc. And if we want to live in a society where these freedoms are protected and where
the opportunity to exercise freedom is assured, we have to rely on some form of
governance that hears its people and as people of the state, we should also give trust to
our government. This is freedom in the eyes of a young woman in this modern society.
b. How is the lack of freedom portrayed in the novel
Lack of Freedom in Rizal’s Novels

Rizal’s novels are both instrumental in awakening the spirit of Filipino nationalism.

Both novels also paved the way for the Philippine revolution that brought about the

downfall of the Spanish rule in the Philippines. It depicts the actual condition of our country

during the Spanish regime in our motherland.

In his two novels lack of freedom and justice was very evident. Don Rafael Ibarra

died in prison without due process based on gossip, Don Crisostomo Ibarra is the same,

he became a fugitive based on gossip, Sisa was arrested without due process, and

Crispin was maltreated by a friar, became a slave as payment for debt. Most of these

people did was punished based only on gossip rather than substantial evidence. Where

is the justice in that?

Lack of freedom was heightened when women was not allowed to study at

universities, they are not allowed to engage in professional work and work freely with

men. Only the families who belongs to the Ilustrados were allowed to be educated. The

Filipinos were enslaved by them, paying high taxes that cost them too much than their

income. Filipinos were also discriminated by calling them Indios. The novel conveyed the

plight of the vanquished and the Filipinos' pathetic suffering from the hands of the abusive

colonizers.
c. How is the situation in the novel different from the present time?
Novel’s Era and the Present Time

I think there has been a tremendous change between Rizal’s era depicted in the

books and the present time. Aside from what we wear and the technologies progressing,

as of now, women are able to study in lower and higher education. No exemptions even

the poor can go to school because it not a privilege anymore, but a right. Another thing is

that the priests do not have the same authority in the administration of the colony. Friars

in the novel’s era supervised the election of the gobernadorcillo and cabeza and serves

as mediators to quelled insurrections. Today, the government has the full power of these

things.

Furthermore, the most common difference is that we are not ruled by any foreign

country now, we are now free from the Spaniards hold, we have our own republic and we

have our own constitution. All thanks to the heroes who fought for our freedom. People

who committed crimes will now be based on evidences and will be charged after due

process, substantial evidence rather than gossip.

We can now express ourselves and our ideals because we are free from the fear

of punishment from Spaniards just as long as we set our limitations and we do not violate

any law in the 1987 Constitution – the Philippines’ supreme law.

2. How did Rizal propose to empower women?

Rizal empowered women through his writings. His letter to the women of Malolos

made an impact to the role of women in nation building. It was written in 1889 at the

request of Marcelo H. Del Pilar to encourage women in Malolos in their attempt to

establish a night school. Even though he was depicted as a womanizer, Rizal recognized

the value of women in the society. These women wanted to learn Spanish to be able to

participate in social discourse since it was the language used in politics. Spanish friars

during that time prohibited this attempt to learn to maintain control over women. The

women got what they wanted but it was short-lived as Sandico was falsely accused of

disseminating anti-government ideas in his school.

In his letter he highlighted that education is truly a prerequisite for them to be

empowered in the society. Also, women as mothers they should be educated so they

could teach their children, since they will become the first teachers of their children. He

even used a Spartan woman as an example. Finally, Rizal stated the importance of high

standards in finding a partner. Women must not settle for less, and they must find partners

who were equally patriotic, noble, and manly.

He mentioned the importance of education for women not only in his letter to the

women of Malolos but also in some other letters that he sent to his family especially to

his sisters. For Rizal, education is important so one could use it to free his country.
Lesson 3
Lesson Title: Rizal and the Philippine Revolution of 1896 and the Concept of
Being a “Filipino” and Filipino Nationalism

Activity
Using any possible resources (books, internet, etc.), look for one certain issue in our
country(present or recent) which you think is still relatable to revolution. Create a two
paragraphs report about it and write it on a clean piece of paper.
Reference: https://climate-diplomacy.org/case-studies/land-conflict-philippines
https://www.fao.org/3/y5026e/y5026e0d.htm
Land Issues in the Philippines
I believe the issue that is relatable to the Philippine revolution is the land problems
in the Philippines. Some revolts during the Spanish colonialism stemmed from land
problems and this was largely the cause of the insurrections that transpired in the
agricultural provinces of Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna. The agrarian system
has been characterised by a growing concentration of land ownership since the 16th
century. The colonial system promoted large agricultural properties and discarded small-
scale agriculture, disrupting the livelihoods of native farmers (Corpuz, 1992; Kahl, 2006).
As of now, the Philippines still have these issues. Because of the slow distribution
of agricultural, particularly private, land has also hampered the rural and agricultural land
markets. Constraints include the lack of finance because of the huge fiscal deficit but also
the inefficient financial structure of the agrarian reform programme. There is a mismatch
between the mode of compensation to landowners and the payment of beneficiaries.
Landowners receive a cash payment equivalent to 25 - 35 percent of the total value of
land and the balance is paid in government bonds with a maturity of ten years. On the
other hand, beneficiaries amortize the loan for a period of 30 years. Thus, if we look at it
in a bigger picture, it might end up in a revolution again. The government should hear the
cries of the farmers of the Philippines and help them sell their crops as well instead of
importing rice from other countries.
Analysis
1. Why did you choose such issue?
I chose land issues in the Philippines because my great grandmother
and great grandfather are farmers. They live in Davao de Oro and when I
came visited their town during my great grandmother’s wake, I heard my
relatives talking as to how low their rice harvest was sold at a very low price
 and that most people nowadays buy imported rice than the local rice. This
is an issue that connect to the revolution in the past and this is the current
issue I think should be addressed as much as possible since It’s been there
for a very long time.
2. How did it affect you as a Filipino?
As a Filipino, I am saddened by the fact that the issue has been there
for a long time and many farmers are struggling because their hard work
costs very less due to the imported rice. Imported rice are much more
expensive than local rice because it is said to be much softer. Philippines
belongs in the 3rd world country and I believe if we minimized importing rice
and buying our own rice instead then we could do better and helped rice
farmers as well than just neglecting the local rice wherein we could save
more. I am crestfallen to the situation of our farmers today.
Application
Using the spaces provided below, answer the following questions in two to three (3-5)
sentences only.

1. What were the main arguments of Renato Constantino when he criticized Rizal? What
were the arguments of Floro Quibuyen to counter the narratives of Constantino?
Constantino;s arguments was that Rizal was a reformer who despised the
revolution and that he became a hero largely through American sponsorship.
Furthermore, his reputation overshadows the revolution, and his class origin as an
ilustrado. Floro Quibuyen showed evidence to refute this dogma, the most well-known
and unmistakably obvious of which are Pio Valenzuela's memoirs and Rizal's poetry, the
Ultimo Adios. Quibuyen has given Valenzuela's two contradictory memoirs, one
portraying Rizal as a stalwart anti-revolutionary and the other portraying him as a smart
pro-revolutionary who even offered important counsel to the Katipunan. Additionally,
Quibuyen said that Rizal going back to the Philippines rather than staying in Europe is
already another evidence of his revolutionary stance. Another evidence that Quibuyen
presented in showing that Rizal was a revolutionary was Josephine Bracken, he told the
story of Rizal’s last meeting with her, along with Rizal’s sister, in Dapitan when he gave
them his Mi Ultimo Adios.
2. How did the Filipino Revolutionists perceive the cult of Rizal? Why was he considered
the Tagalog Christ?
As of now Rizalist groups have differing views on the divinity of Rizal. Some believe
that he is God himself, some belied that Rizal was the second son of God, the
reincarnation of Christ commonly known as Tagalog Christ and that he is the epitome of
sacrifice and his death by firing squad was a re-enactment of the passion and death of
Christ. This was due to the different generated meaning of Rizal’s persona based on the
information the masses gathered and heard. Their lack of knowledge about Rizal’s works
which are written in Spanish, and his un-ilustrado acts made him more important in the
revolution participated by religious Filipinos. Rizal as the Tagalog Christ somehow implies
that he has laid out the foundation that society needs; he has sacrificed his life; and we
are on our way to redeeming Paradise.

3. What was Rizal’s notion of national sentiment?

Adapted from Rizal's Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos y Filipinas dentro de cien
Anos, "national" means "collective" rather than "individual," and it alludes to the "common
good" rather than personal benefit. He mentioned another concept in Filipinas dentro de
cien Anos: "the spirit or soul of the people" (el espiritu nacional). This might be translated
as "the sense of solidarity formed by the understanding of a common misery and a
common abasement." Thus, Rizal's national emotion was about arming the collective
people with awareness of the colonial system's ills, while rejecting evil and promoting the
common good.
4. What does being a Filipino mean for Rizal?
For Rizal, being a Filipino by blood was not enough. A person who has love for the
country, concern for the common good, and realizes the collective sufferings of Filipinos-
that is to say a “Filipino by heart”-can be considered a Filipino. For example, is Rizal’s
Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, whom he loved so much was a “Filipino” for him.
Thus, being a Filipino has to be proven, it is not something that one has when born; but
rather it is a project.

Module Assessment
1. Considering Rizal’s concept of “Filipino.” that being a Filipino has to be proven. How
can you prove that you are a Filipino not just by blood but also in thoughts, words, and
actions?

(essay in the next page)

 Why am I a Filipino
By Nicole Niala

According to Rizal, being a Filipino is not given the day you were born. Being a

Filipino is something that you acquire through the years that developed your values and

love for your country. Being a Filipino means having concern for common good, and one

that realizes the collective sufferings of Filipinos, thus being a Filipino is not by blood,

race, or mind, but by heart. Being a Filipino is a project. Well, being a Filipino is a project

in a sense that you need to work on yourself, your behavior, values and aspirations. Being

a Filipino means being able to look out for your countrymen as well, not just yourself.

I believe that as of today, I am a true Filipino. I am a Filipino not only because my

ancestors are born in this country and consist Filipino blood, but I am a Filipino because

I act like one. I am a Filipino in thought, actions, and words. I am not just doing things for

my own good but I also think of what I can do for the many may it be Filipinos or not, as

long as they need help and I could help. I think and act like Filipino, I buy local products

instead of imported things, this does not just help me save but it also shows nationalism

and patriotism to our dear country.

I have been working with my own project since I was a little kid and I believe I

have achieved my goal and I can proudly call myself a true Filipino now.