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0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in GE9 – The Life and Works of Rizal Module No. 9

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. 9

CHAPTER IX:
THE PHILIPPINES A CENTURY HENCE
(“FILIPINAS DENTRO DE CIEN ANOS”)

MODULE OVERVIEW

Jose Rizal's "Filipinas Dentro De Cien Anos" (translated as "The Philippines within One Hundred Years"
or "The Philippines A Century Hence") was serialized on September 30, October 31, December 15,1889, and
February 15, 1890 in the fortnightly review La Solidaridad of Madrid. In the articles, Rizal estimated the future of
the Philippines in the span of a hundred years and foretold the catastrophic end of Spanish rule in Asia.

Forecasting the future of the Philippines within a hundred years, the essay reflected Rizal's feeling that
it was time to remind Spain that the conditions that ushered in the French Revolution could have a telling effect
for her on the Philippine islands. Collectively, the articles in many senses, supplemented Rizal's great novel Noli
Me Tangere and its sequel El Filibusterismo.

The essay also talked about the glorious past of the Philippines, recounted the deterioration of the
economy, and exposed the causes of the natives' sufferings under the cruel Spanish rule. In the essay, he
cautioned Spain as regards the imminent downfall of its domination. Part of the purpose in writing the essay was
to awaken the minds and the hearts of the Filipinos concerning the oppression of the Spaniards and
encouraging them to fight for their right.

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. Assess Rizal’s writings;

2. Appraise the value of understanding the past;
3. Frame arguments based on evidence.

LEARNING CONTENTS

Cause of Sufferings and Deterioration

In Rizal’s annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (also penned in 1889 to 1890), our
national hero through great efforts proved and discussed the glorious past of the Philippines. In “Philippines a
Century Hence,” he analyzed the deterioration of its economy and identified the causes of locals’ sufferings
under the cruel Spanish rule.

The essay, thus, gave the following as the various causes of the sorrows suffered by the Philippine natives (as
enumerated in “The Philippines a Century Hence: Summary and Analysis,” n.d.):

1) Spain's implementation of its military policies

Because of such decrees, the Philippine population decreased intensely. Poverty became
more widespread than ever as farmlands were left to wither. The people continued to suffer from hunger
and disease. The family as a unit of society was deserted, and generally, all facets of the life of the
natives became retarded.

2) Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino indigenous culture

The locals began forgetting who they were, what their valued beliefs, religion, songs, poetry,

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and the other forms of their cultural heritage were. When Spain came with the sword and the cross, it
started this slow but continuing damage of the native Philippine culture. Impoverished and retarded, the
people began losing their sense of self-worth and their confidence in their past and their heritage.
Spirit-broken, they became confused and hesitant in their current lifestyle, disgusted with themselves,
and ultimately lost hope in the future and the preservation of their race.

3) Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers

The essay attributed the passivity and submissiveness of our people to the manner of
governance by the colonists. The Spanish friars were one of the most powerful forces that influenced a
culture of silence and lethargy among the locals. Through their use of force and intimidation (unfairly
using God’s name), the natives learned to fanatically submit themselves to the whims and caprices of
the strangers.

The Inevitable

One of the main topics tackled by Rizal in the essay was whether Spain could indeed prevent the looming
progress of the Philippines. Despite the corruption and deterioration brought about by the colonizers to
Philippines, he was hopeful that the country's eventual improvement could not be hindered. For this, he made
the following points:

1) Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant failed. National consciousness had still awakened, and
great Filipino minds still emerged from the rubble.
2) Keeping the people impoverished also came to no avail. On the contrary, living a life of eternal
destitution allowed the Filipinos to act on the desire for a change in their way of life. They began to
explore some other horizons through which they could move toward progress.
3) Exterminating the people as an alternative to hindering progress did not work either. The Filipino race
was able to survive amidst wars and famine, and became even more numerous after such
catastrophes. To wipe out the nation altogether would require the sacrifice of thousands of Spanish
soldiers, and this was something Spain would not allow ("The Philippines a Century Hence: Summary
and Analysis," n.d.)

Rizal, thus, concluded that Spain had no means to stop the progress of the Philippines. What the colonist had
to do was to change its colonial policies so that they would be suitable for the needs of the Philippine society and
to the increasing nationalism of its people.

Rizal’s Prophecies

Rizal expressed in the essay his confident prediction that something would awaken the hearts and open the
minds of the Filipino people as regards their plight. He "prophesied" the Philippine people's revolution against
Spain, winning their independence, but later the Americans would come as the new colonizer.

Eventually, the natives did recognize that the harassment and cruelty in their society by foreign colonizers
must no longer be tolerated. The natives, thus, though lacking arms and enough training, valiantly waged war
against the colonizers. Even the not-so-predictable element of Rizal's "prophecy” true—the Americans in 1898
wrestled with Spain to win the Philippines, and in due course took over the country Relatively, theirs was a reign
of liberty and democracy.

Some years after Rizal's death, the Philippines attained its long-awaited liberation and independence. Again,
this appeared to be the fulfillment of what he had written in the essay: "History does not record in its annals any
lasting domination by one people over another, of different races, of diverse usages and customs, of opposite
and divergent ideas. One of the two had to yield and succumb.”

Feodor Jagor’s Influence

Rizal's reference to America as a probable factor in the Philippines' future is said to be based upon the forecast
of the German traveler Feodor Jagor. In 1860, Jagor spent some months on the Islands and later published his
observations, supplemented by ten years of further study in European museums and libraries, as Travels in the
Philippines.

Rizal had read the Spanish version of Jagor's book while a student at the Ateneo de Manila from a copy

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supplied by his brother Paciano. Jagor's prophecy is said to furnish the explanation to Rizal's public life. His
ethnologist who influenced Rizal policy of preparing his countrymen for commercial in his predictions of
Philippine's and industrial competition seemed to have had its future inspiration in this reading done when he
was a youth.

While in Berlin, Rizal met Professor Jagor, and so the renowned geographer and his youthful but bright
admirer became fast friends, often discoursing on how the development of events was bringing true the fortune
for the Philippines. Proper knowledge of Philippine's history and keen acquaintance with its then situation had
enabled Jagor and Rizal, both trained observers, to somewhat foretell the country's future.

The Essay's Relevance Today

One way to properly interpret many of Rizal's writings is to consider the hint he provided in his Noli Me
Tangere: "I do not write for this generation. I am writing for other ages. If this could read me, they would burn my
books, the work of my whole life. On the other hand, the generation which interprets these writings will be an
educated generation; they will understand me and say: Not all were asleep in the night-time of our grandparents
(by the Philosopher Tasio).”

Indeed, his essays like -The Philippines a Century Hence" are as relevant today as they were when they were
written over a century ago. As if talking to us through the essay, Rizal appeared to be counseling us to focus on
strengthening the most important backbone of our country: our values, outlooks, and all the views that have
shaped our sense of national identity.

The essay, moreover, serves to remind us that we, Filipinos, are historically resolute and determined. In fact,
all those efforts by the colonizers to keep us uneducated and impoverished had failed. Nationalism eventually
thrived and the country became independent after four centuries of tyrannical Spanish rule and five decades
under the Americans.

Challenges to the Filipinos

However, there are questions on whether we are really independent today. Are we really free when our
economy is dominantly controlled by an elite oligarchy, and there are huge social and income disparities
between a small favored economic and political elite and the rest of the Filipino population? In fact, Rizal himself
also forewarned about this when he wrote in the El Filibusterismo, “Why independence if the slaves today
become the tyrants of tomorrow?"

Moreover, there are some flaws in our character that can get into the way of attaining what Rizal envisioned
about our country. These include attitudes, like the lack of appreciation of the significance of adhering to the rule
of law and upholding high standards of excellence. Advocating mediocrity as signposted by puwede na and
bahala na attitudes, is very unbecoming of what Rizal visualized in his essay.

The challenges posed by the essay to the present Filipino families, and especially to the government, include
instilling national discipline and true love of country; exercising full control of our national sovereignty; assisting
citizens connect with their communities; employing available communication means (the Internet and mobile
technologies) to connect groups, to inform and educate, to enable Filipinos to discover the common ties we
share; meeting challenges of founding a more peaceful and stable social order; forming a common bond with
our brothers and sisters in marginalized communities; and developing innovations that would improve dialogue
and close gaps between our fellow citizens the world outside; and preventing chaos and the spread oy
malicious and destructive propagandas.

Ultimately, Rizal's "The Philippines a Century Hence" legacy is its timeless national message that establishing
a fairer, better society requires reminding the Filipino people that our hope for survival relies on each of us
taking responsibility.

Other Related Writings

Jose Rizal composed several other brilliant writings, which also helped to awaken the Filipino patriotism and
paved the way for Philippine Revolution. The following are his two other timeless writings:

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"Sobre La Indolencia De Los Filipinos" (The Indolence of the Filipinos)

This logical essay is a proof of the national hero's historical scholarship. The essay rationally countered the
accusations by Spaniards that Philippine natives were indolent (lazy) during the Spanish reign. It was published
in La Solidaridad in five consecutive issues on July (15 and 31), August (1 and 31) and September 1. 1890.

In the articles, Rizal argued that Filipinos were innately hardworking prior to the rule of the Spaniards. What
brought the decrease in the productive activities of the natives was actually the Spanish colonization. Rizal
explained the alleged Filipino indolence by pointing to these factors:

1) The Galleon Trade destroyed the previous links of the Philippines with the other countries in Asia and
the Middle East, thereby eradicating small local businesses and handicraft industries;
2) The Spanish forced labor compelled the Filipinos to work in roads, and some other public works. thus
abandoning their agricultural farms and industries;
3) Many Filipinos became landless and wanderers because Spain did not defend them against pirates and
foreign invaders;
4) The system of education offered by the colonizers was impractical as it was mainly about repetitive
prayers and had nothing to do with agricultural and industrial technology;
5) The Spaniards were a bad example as negligent officials would come in late and leave their offices
early and Spanish women were always followed by servants;
6) Gambling, like cockfights, was established, promoted, and explicitly practiced by Spanish government
officials and friars themselves, especially during feast days;
7) The crooked system of religion discouraged the natives from working hard by teaching them that it was
easier for a poor man to enter heaven; and
8) The very high taxes were discouraging as a big part of natives' earnings would only go to the officials
and friars.

Moreover, Rizal explained that Filipinos were just wise in their level of work under a tropical climate. He
explained, "violent work is not a good thing in tropical countries as it is would be parallel to death, destruction,
annihilation." Rizal, thus, concluded that natives' supposed indolence was an end-product of the Spanish
colonization.

"Letter To The Young Women of Malolos"

Originally written in Tagalog, this famous letter directly addressing to the women of Malolos, Bulacan was
written by Rizal as a response to Marcelo H. Del Pilar's request.

Rizal was greatly impressed by the bravery of the 20 young women of Malolos who planned to establish a
school where they could learn Spanish despite the opposition- of Felipe Garcia, Spanish parish priest of
Malolos. The letter expressed Rizal's yearning that women be granted the same chances given to men in terms
of education. In the olden days, young women were not educated because of the principle that they would soon
be wives and their primary career would be to take care of the home and children. Rizal, however, advocated
women's right to education.

Below are some of the points mentioned by Rizal in his letter to the young women of Malolos:

1) The priests in the country that time did not embody the true spirit of Christianity;
2) Private judgment should be used;
3) Mothers should be an epitome of an ideal woman who teaches her children to love God, country, and
fellowmen;
4) Mothers should rear children in the service of the state and set standards of behavior for men around
them;
5) Filipino women must be noble, decent, and dignified, and they should be submissive, tender, and loving
to their respective husband; and
6) Young women must edify themselves, live the real Christian way with good morals and manners, and
should be intelligent in their choice of a lifetime partner.

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REFERENCES

Rizal, Jose. "The Philippines a century hence" Can be accessed through:

http://www.archive.org/stream/philippinescentu00riza/phi lippinescentu00riza_djvu.txt

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