Name: Casala, Marianne

Course and Section: BSM21

Subject: Mga Babasahin Hinggil Sa Kasaysayan Ng Pilipinas

Professor/Instructor: Mr. Jumel G. Estrañero

University: De La Salle University Dasmariñas

Are Filipinos really indolent by nature?

I. INTRODUCTION

A man in the Philippines is only an individual, he is not a member of a nation. With this remark,
Rizal attempted to explain why the Spanish colonization of the Philippines had not brought about the
prosperity of the Filipino people. According to Rizal, the Filipinos were not naturally lazy; rather, their
laziness was caused by the way the Spaniards (and, unfortunately, some Filipino elites) treated the people.
Rizal's admission that Spain preferred that the Filipinos remain ignorant over being educated, in my
opinion, was devastating. Rizal had always been appreciative of his mother country, but he was unable to
ignore the mistreatment and brutality of the Spanish in the Philippines.

II. BODY

A sociopolitical essay titled The Indolence of the Filipino was published in La Solidaridad in
Madrid in 1890. Jose Rizal wrote it as a response to the accusation of Indio or Malay indolence. He
acknowledges that there is indolence among Filipinos, but there are several possible reasons behind it. He
attributes its causes to elements like the environment and societal issues. He argues that the Filipinos are
not naturally lazy because they have been involved in business activities like agriculture and trading since
before the arrival of the Spaniards.
 Therefore, indolence has deeper-rooted causes, including abuse and discrimination, the inaction
of the government, rampant corruption and red tape, wrong doctrines of the church, and wrong examples
from some Spaniards who lead lives of indolence which ultimately led to the deterioration of Filipinos
values. The main reasons for indolence, according to Rizal, are the absence of national pride and unity
among Filipino locals, as well as the limited training and education they receive. According to Rizal, the
solution to Filipino laziness would be education and freedom.

Indolence is a choice and a social inheritance, not something that Filipinos are naturally drawn to.
It is not a fixed trait in a person to be lazy; rather, it is influenced by several factors and a person's own
decision whether to be lazy or not. However, we cannot ignore the fact that a large portion of Filipinos are
truly lazy. This is due to their tendency to be content with what they have rather than working hard to
achieve something better. In addition, there are inevitable factors, such as poverty, that have contributed to
the laziness of the Filipino population.

The brutality, unfairness, and terrible treatment that the early Filipinos endured at the hands of the
Spanish oppressors, exploiters, and manipulators was the reason why they were unable to work hard. How
could the Filipino "Indios" work more if they were viewed as subjects rather than free people? The
Spanish colonizers held the land and the businesses.

The failure of the early Filipinos to work really hard was explained by the cruelty, injustice, and
harsh treatment that they received from the Spanish oppressors, exploiters, and manipulators. How could
the Filipino “Indios” strive harder when they were considered subjects and not free men? The land and the
factories were owned by the Spanish colonizers. The managers and supervisors were all foreigners who
were ignorant of the culture and psychology of the Filipino working man. It is sad that our workers in the
same light that Capitan Tiago and Padre Damaso looked at and treated Crispin, Basilio, and Sisa. They
were Rizal's character depiction of Filipinos under foreign subjugation. No, the Filipinos are not Indolent.
They work very hard, on the contrary. I will stand firmly on the side that says that Filipinos are, in fact,
one of the most industrious, reliable, and passionate human capital that we can all be proud of.
 III. ANALYSIS

It is important to note that indolence in the Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a hereditary
one. There are witnesses to the fact that the Filipinos have not always been what they are all of the early
historians following the discovery of the Islands. Before Europeans arrived, the Malayan Filipinos
maintained an active trading, not only with one another but with all the nearby countries.

Dr. Hirth’s translation of a 13th-century Chinese document (Globus, Sept. 1889) discusses
China's purely commercial ties with the islands and highlights the initiative and honesty of the traders
from Luzon who transported Chinese goods throughout all the islands over the period of nine months
before going back to pay on time even for goods that the Chinese people had forgotten to give them.
Crude wax, cotton, pearls, tortoise shell, betel nuts, dry goods, and other items were among the exports
they made in exchange from the islands.

The lack of solidarity among Filipinos is another factor that may have contributed to this
indolence. The people lacked the ability to defend themselves against the aggressive attacks of the
government and other social forces because they lacked unity and oneness. Additionally, there wouldn't
be a voice or a leader to plant the seeds of advancement and nurture it so that it may be harvested in due
course. In such a state, the Philippines continued to be a lifeless, dead, merely existing, and non-living
nation. A man in the Philippines is an individual, not just a citizen of a nation, according to Rizal.

Not only the Philippines but also other countries can be called lazy depending on what criteria
such labels are based on. Humans cannot work without rest, and if that is lazy, then all humans are lazy. A
country robbed of its dignity cannot be blamed for its unwillingness to continue to build its foundation on
the backs of its people.
 IV. RECOMMENDATION.

This study is recommended to the following:

● Historians- use this study and the studies it references as a basis for future historical research.
● Future researchers – expand existing research on our history and keep learning more about it.

V. CONCLUSION AND WAY AHEAD

Rizal was trying to explain why the Filipinos had never prospered under Spanish Colonization.
According to Rizal, the Filipinos were not inherently lazy - their indolence was just brought about by the
treatment of the Spaniards (and some Filipino elites unfortunately) towards the natives.

In fact, foreign nations regard Filipinos as among the most diligent people on the planet. Filipinos
are among the nations that multinational corporations are most interested in hiring because of our work
ethic. One of the few clear examples of this is the fact that hundreds of Filipinos leave their families
behind every day to seek their fortune abroad in the hope of giving their children a brighter future.

They don't have a good reason or basis for saying that Filipinos are lazy. Filipinos are renowned
for their work ethic and commitment. It is more accurate to claim that the Philippines' backwardness is the
effect of Filipino laziness rather than the cause of it. The way the Spaniards treated the Filipinos led to
their laziness. They seized Filipino territory and made the people work indigently for their own soil.

Because it affects everyone, laziness is so pervasive that it has a word for it in every language.
Although degrees may vary, they are generally the same for all nationalities. Laziness is a human trait
rather than a Filipino one.
 VI. REFERENCES

Mendoza, D. (2021, July 21). The Indolence of the Filipino: The Reality of the Philippines as a Nation.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/indolence-filipino-reality-philippines-nation-dash-mendoza

The Indolence of the Filipino: Rizal, Jose: 9781482096637: Political Science: Amazon Canada. (n.d.).
https://www.amazon.ca/Indolence-Filipino-Jose-Rizal/dp/1482096633

The Indolence of the Filipinos: Summary and Analysis. (2011, August 27).
https://thelifeandworksofrizal.blogspot.com/2011/08/indolence-of-filipinos-summary-and.html

The Indolence of Filipino. (n.d.). ResearchGate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357218459_The_Indolence_of_Filipino

Rizal, J. (n.d.). The Indolence Of The Filipino.

https://web.seducoahuila.gob.mx/biblioweb/upload/the_indolence_of_the_filipino_by_jos%C3
83%C2%A9_rizal.pdf