‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 Sandico in Malolos was listed as one of six students excelling in the category (one of seven) “Notions of Geography in General and Spain and the Philip- pines.”*" Among Sandico’s students were Antonio Bautista, later aide-de-camp of Aguinaldo; Nicolas Buendia, later governor of Bulacan and senator of the National Assembly; and Damaso Caluag, leader during the Revolution and carly American period. Aside from running these schools, Sandico was also giving lessons in Spanish secretly to adults, specifically, the Women of Malolos, as mentioned above, without permission from the authorities. In order to formalize and legitimize this arrangement, Sandico and his close friend Graciano T. Reyes, licensed teacher of primary instruction and native of Malolos, proposed to the provin- cial governor of Bulacan sometime in 1888, the opening of night schools for adults of both sexes, at no expense to the government. Probably upon advice of the friar curate Felipe Garcia who saw in it another move of the antifriar re- formists, the proposal was turned down by the government “because it w: thought that the school would be a threat to no less than the integrity of But Sandico and the Women of Malolos refused to be discouraged. Soon enough, they found another chance to push for the schoo! for adults when the new governor-general visited Malolos on December 12, 1888. This time they would make sure that the friar curate would nor place an obstacle between them and the highest secular official of the land. Weyler, the Letter, the School After the fateful demonstration of March 1, 1888, Emilio Terrero ended his term as governor-general and promptly returned to the Peninsula, with Jose Centeno close at his heels. In the interim, Gen. Antonio Molto took over Terrero’s office until the arrival of the new appointee. Finally, on June 5, 1888, the new governor-general, Valeriano Weyler, newly arrived from Spain, was formally sworn in at the Salon de Actos of the Ayuntamiento in Intramuros.”” Initially, the reformists welcomed Weyler’s appointment because he was known to be a liberal in Spain. Prompely, the liberals in government went to work on policies for the new administration. Acting on a proposal made by Director of Civil Administration Benigno Quiroga, Weyler promulgated the Decree of July 31, 1888, to all provincial governors, asking them for individual reports on the exact state of schools in 169‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS their respective jurisdictions. He wanted to know the kinds of school buildings being used (rented or owned by the town, suitable or not), the furniture (sources and listing), textbooks, number of children enrolled according co what they are taught, lise of children who attend writing class (how many can actually write with a pen), and the types of teachers (Spanish or native; if Spanish, knowl- edge of local dialect; if native, knowledge of Spanish). Most important of all, Weyler wanted to find out “if in all schools they endeavor to teach Spanish and in what way, identifying in this regard and with crue clarity the methods which the teacher employs to attain such an end.” Although the decree was similar to other decrees issued by his predeces- sors, Weyler’s order was well received by the liberals in the country, such as the writers of La Opinion who “invoked the patriotism of the nation to contribute to the teaching of Spanish and pointed out practical suggestions for the realiza- tion of such a noble purpose.”®* In fact, Weyler would be lauded by Retana five years after his term as the only governor-gencral who took steps to improve the conditions of teachers, and succeeded in opening 106 schools during his term (1888-1891). According to Retana, “in no other period did primary instruction prosper more, intellectually and materially, than during the term of Mr. Weyler.”® Subsequent decrees that he issued would seem to prove this allegation. The Dectee of January 16, 1889, issued after he did an ocular in- spection of schools, provided for a more efficient way of supplying school textbooks and materials to schools.” The Decree of February 4, 1889, detailed how schools should be divided according to what they teach, and what text- books should be used for what subjects. It also stipulated the hours for attendance, and prohibited the use of books in the native languages for teach- ing because children should use only textbooks written in Spanish. In ending, the Edict stated that Weyler would “punish abandonment just as he will re- ward diligence,” and that he exhorts all teachers to apply themselves to their work because “on them depends, in great measure, the future of this archi- pelago, the instruction of the youth being the basis of morality, culture, and prosperity of the towns.”** Eager to see for himself the actual state of the country, Weyler visited government buildings and schools in almost all parts of the archipelago.” In the cabecera of Bulacan on December 11, 1888, he visited the church and convento, before going out to visit the school. From Bulacan he decided to go to Malolos the next day. Because of this, the leaders of the reformists—Teodoro 170lings srces they ually owl- all, and hich ces bute liza- ana ove his ary n of this iled ext- for ch- ree beir hi- and ‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 Sandico, Vicente Gatmaytan, Graciano Reyes, and Manuel Crisostcomo—de- cided to make preparations for his welcome that very night, especially since the town leaders would not follow orders from the Acting Gobernadorcillo Pedro Castro. In the early morning of December 12, the reformists decorated the streets of Malolos with Spanish flags, with the biggest adorning the houses of Gatmaytan, Crisostomo, and Reyes in order to underscore “their Hispanism.” ‘Ac 9:10 am., Weyler was already on the border of Bulacan and Malolos, ac- companied by the civil governor, the curate of Bulacan, a doctor, and others. Ie was there that Gatmaytan welcomed him and joined his party as it travelled co Malolos. Gatmaytan observed that as Weyler passed the houses with the largest flags he would execute a salute, prompting people to joke that he was saluting the houses of Masons. At 10 a.m. he arrived in Malolos and went straight to the church where a Te Deum was sung to welcome him, In the convento, after the pompous welcome speech of the Gobernadorcillo Castro, Weyler gave his own remarks, where he announced that his duty as governor-general was t0 work for the progress of the country; especially in che areas of education, com- merce, and agriculture. He asked everyone to work together so that the goals of Spain and the king may be achieved. Then he gave orders to the local offi cials to tell the townspeople that in two hours, he would be receiving in the convento anyone who might want to see him or would want to present their complaints to him. He then picked up his cane and har, left the convento with his retinue and visited the school for boys. He asked the children a question in multiplication but not one could answer. He scolded the teacher and gave the local inspector of schools (the friar curate Felipe Garcia) a sharp look. Then he inspected the school for girls. Here the students fared better because the school borrowed some of Sandico’ students. Then he headed for the Tribunal on Pariancillo, looked at its hall and came down. As he was boarding his carriage, he saw a pile of garbage in front of the Chinaman’s [store?] and fined the gobernadorcillo Mexican $25 for negligence. He then proceeded to the Tri- bunal of Barasoain, inspecting the jal first. Because it smelled, he also fined the gobernadorcillo of Barasoain, this time Mexican $50. He looked in on the new church (built in 1885) and the school, and then proceeded to Santa Isabel. From here he returned to the Malolos convento to have lunch. Meanwhile, as soon as Sandico heard that the liberal and proeducation Weyler would be holding an audience with the townspeole, he rushed home, prepared a letter in Spanish, and requested the barkada of women, whom he 171‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS had been teaching, to sign and present the letter to Weyler. Twenty of these women affixed their signatures to the letter. After lunch, twenty-one women trooped to the convento, and right on cue (itis said that someone in the convento had given them the signal to go up), went up the staits just as Weyler, after taking a short rest, was preparing to go down. The women, “some not very young anymore,” greeted Weyler; then quickly, Iding (Alberta Uitangcoy) pre- sented the letter co the governor-general with, according to La Solidaridad later, “a boldness seldom found in Filipino women, but with much dignity and respect." After receiving the letter, Weyler could not decide what to do, so the women followed him around, pressing him for an answer. Weyler was forced to open the letter right there and then. And he read: His Excellency, the Governor-General of the Philippines. Your Excellency: We, the undersigned women and others, do hereby present and petition with due respect to Your Excellency the fol- lowing: Desirous of knowing the rich Spanish language, stimulated and grateful for your generous spirit in spreading in the country the knowledge of the Castillan language and unable ro learn it in the schools of Manila—some because of the pressing circumstances in which they find themselves and others because their domestic ; duties prevent them from studying during the day, we humbly re- quest Your Excellency that we be granted a night school in the home of an old relative of ours where we shall attend classes accompanied by our mothers to receive lessons in Spanish grammar under a Latin professor who will be paid by us. This professor has given proof of his ability to teach Spanish in a shore ti ¢. Progress has been ob- served among his private pupils while on the other hand, without any desire to offend them in their work, we must say that the other teachers of the town have not obtained until now positive results. Tc is a favor that we are sure we shall obtain from your well-known, generosity. May God keep your precious life many years." The letter was signed by twenty women, namely, Alberta S, Uitangcoy (then 23 years of age), the sisters Teresa (21) and Maria (19) Tantoco, Basilia V. Tantoco (23); Rufina T. Reyes (19); the sisters Leoncia $, Reyes (24) and 172 s th th rr & ci M m F bi th “ th tcVV and THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 Olympia S. A. Reyes (12); the sisters Elisea (15) and Juana (14) Reyes; the sisters Eugenia (17) and Aurea (16) Tanchangco; Anastacia M. Tiongson (14); the sisters Basilia (28), Paz (24), Aleja (23), Mercedes (19) and Agapita (18) Tiongson; and the sisters Filomena (23) , Cecilia (21), and Feliciana (19) Tiongson.' ‘When the friars Felipe Garcia, Patricio Martin, and others saw the del- egation handing the letter to Weyles, they bombarded the individual women with questions, asking them repeatedly: “What is in the letter?” and “What are you asking for?” To all the questions, the women kepr answering: “Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!” Because of their relentless bullying, the friars received words and gestures from the women that made it clear ro Weyler thac the forty-three- year old Fray Felipe Garcia and che other friars were no longer respected in Malolos. After reading the letter, Weyler assured the women that he would give a reply soon, He then left for Paombong, Barasoain, Quingua, Baliwag, and San Rafael.'* But the approval of the governor-general did not come easy. In fact, the request of the women was initially “denied,” most probably because of the rea- sons given by the friar curate Felipe Garcia in his secret report to Weyler, But the women did not give up. With the help of the reformist Doroteo Cortes and the Macstra Guadalupe Reyes, the women continued to agitate for the school, traveling between Malolos and Manila in order to lobby for it and pressure the governor-general to grant their request and for the government to give finan- cial support to the school. In this endeavor, the reformists and progressives of Malolos lent their valuable support to the women. A believer in education and a donor to Sandico's school, Rufina Tanjosoy-Santos was one of those who gave money co pay for the trip, the food, and the accommodation of the women when they presented their request co the government in Manila." Permission was eventually granted to the women some time after Agustin Fernandez took over from Felipe Garcia as parish priest on February 20, 1889, but certain conditions had to be met. First, the women would have to spend for theic own schooling because the government did not agree to support the school, obviously to discourage it. Second, the teacher would have to be Guadalupe “Upeng” Reyes, not Teodoro Sandico, who by then had been blacklisted. by the friar curate as one of the “troublemakers” in Malolos. Third, the classes had to be held in the daytime, not at night, pethaps because the authorities were only too conscious of the fact that nocturnal political meetings, masquerading 173‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS as parties or monte sessions, had become more frequent in the town since De- cember 1888." Although they did not get everything they asked for, the women pro- ceeded to open their school in the house of one of their group, Rufina T. Reyes, first cousin of Elisea and Juana, Classes were held probably on the second floor of the house in Pariancillo, next to the capilla of the barrio and to the houses of all the Tiongson women and within walking distance of all the others. (This house on A. Tiongson, now M. Crisostomo Street, was demolished in 1932 by Rufina’ sister Segunda T. Reyes and her husband Francisco Gatchalian, who then built a new house for themselves toward the back of the lot. In 1979, Scgunda’s house was replaced by another one built by its new owner Cesar B. ‘Tantoco.)"" Ever ready to help her fellow women, Rufina T. Santos spent for the lodging and furniture of the head teacher, Upeng Reyes, and her assistants, as well as for the textbooks, writing materials, oil for lamps, and other teaching necessities." To be sure, Sandico and the other reformists must have done everything in order to get the school going, especially since it had become an international issue by chis time. There is no record on what courses were actually taught and how they were taught by Guadalupe Reyes to the women. But she probably followed the way Sandico had already been teaching Spanish to them secretly, even before the letter was written, In all likelihood, she also adopted the curriculum al- ready put together by Sandico and Graciano Reyes in preparation for the schools for adults that they had asked for but were denied. The curriculum included: The teaching of Spanish with the conversational method Elementary Spanish grammar Principles and exercises in Arithmetic Writing Elementary Geography Some facts about Spanish history in general . Athletics" Attendance in classes was probably not limited to the twenty women but must have included their close relatives and the other ladies they referred to in their letter as “and many others.” Among the ewenty were a few who already knew how to read, write, and speak Spanish because they had attended a colegio 174owe THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 in Manila. These were Alberta Uitangcoy, Eugenia and Aurea Tanchangco who had already attended the Colegio de la Concordia, and Basilia Tantoco. ‘Aurea enjoyed the reputation of being the “brightest” among the women.'"" However, all the ladies must have been assiduous students, especially since the discussions in class were not limited to academic subjects but included political issues of the day. It was in this school that the women tead the first issue of La Solidaridad (February 15, 1889), where Lopez Jaena wrote a long article about their school, reproducing their letter and eight of the signatures, and praising their courage and determination; and a subsequent issuc (March 15, 1889) of the same paper, where Fernando Canon published a sonnet dedicated to them. Most of all, it was in the school where the women read and discussed Jose Rizal’s handwritten letter to them that arrived sometime in March 1889, and made copies of it for themselves and for dissemination. But the school was not to last. Arbitrarily, Sandico was accused in late April 1889 by the Church authorities of spreading teachings against morality and of eating meat on days of abstinence during the Holy Week of 1889.""" Soon after and no doubt because of the complaints filed against Sandico by the friar curates of Malolos, the Dominican friar Gregorio Echevarria, Rector of the University of Santo Tomas, sent a letter dated May 10, 1889, to the Direc- tor General of Civil Administration Benigno Quiroga saying: ‘Through declarations done in complete and absolute confidence to me, I have come ro know that the professor of Latinity of the town of Malolos, province of Bulacan, D. Teodoro Sandico, is not fulfill ing his duties, propagating bad teachings among the citizens of said town, and attending meetings where people speak ill of Spain and our Christian religion and other faults that injure teaching; because of which the office of the Rector informs Your Superior Office that, im accordance with Article 12, title 2 of the Regulations for Schools of Latinity, the closure of said school may be ordered and the title of said teacher be withdrawn; so that the fathers of families, as the cited arti the government recognizes and authorizes le says, may have complete confidence in the schools that The letter was officially received by the Civil Administration office ac 11am. of May 10, 1889. After he got a copy of it, probably from Quiroga’s 175THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS office itself, Pedro Serrano requested Sandico’s father in Pandacan co im- mediately travel to Malolos to inform Sandico about the letter so he could warn the individuals “whose houses he frequents,” perhaps in anticipation of another house search by the Guardia Civil. Sandico’s father gor to Malolos thar evening." not wait for the authorities to arrest him. He did not even care to defend and exonerate himself. Instead, in the early morning of May 11, he left Malolos and went into hiding, Two days later, in the morning of May 13, the Gobernadorcillo Castro and the Alferez Carlos Pefiuelos closed down Sandico’s school of primary and secondary instruction. By this time, Sandico was making arrangements for his departure, On May 17, one week afer the lercer of closure was issued, Sandico, under an assumed name, boarded the boat for Hong Kong, en route to Spain, With Sandico gone and the authori- ties tightening their control on his associates in Malolos, the school of the women had to close. With Sandico’s sudden departure ended the “desire to teach the Filipino women.”"* Once in receipt of the document of closure, Sandico did Reactions: Aspersions and Accolades Although the school operated for only three months (February-May 1889) and the whole issue of a school for women lasted for only six months (Decem- ber 12, 1888, when the letter was written, to May 17, 1889, the date the leccer-writer had to escape), the effects of the letter and the school were tre- mendous and far-reaching. As Epifanio de los Santos pur it, the school “gave rise to a flutter of excitement in the Philippines and Spain, precipitated the publication of La Solidaridad, and resulted in a debate which gave no peace to the press of both Spanish and Filipino writers."" ‘As may be expected, the profriar elements received the news in the same way that the friar curate Felipe Garcia and other friar curates of Bulacan did— with utter disapproval and anger. According to Daniel Tantoco, Fray Felipe Garcia mee with the women sometime after the departure of Weyler and scolded them for giving a letter ro Weyler without his knowledge. He also told them that he was against their petition.""® Echoing Fray Garcia, the profriar newspa- per Eco Franciscano and La Defensa wrote endless variations on the themes “the Philippines are going to perdition” and “the dislike for the friar will be the ruination of the Philippine Islands.”""” 176THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 But the progressives, both Spanish and Filipino, received the news of the school with euphoric jubilation, seeing in this not only an example but a justi- fication of their fight for the teaching of Spanish in the archipelago. In order to reinforce the plan for the school, Minister of Colonies Manuel Becerra (Del Pilar’ friend) issued a letter of instruction, dated January 29, 1889, in Madrid (published in the Gacera de Madrid on February 3, 1889), to Governor-Gen- eral Weyler in Manila. Among others, the letter said that in order to achieve Spain's goal of assimilating the Philippines, the natives must learn the Spanish language that will be the key to their development and, to acl must strictly enforce the order of September 13, 1883, making instruction in Spanish obligatory in all schools."* (It is possible that this letter may have pro- vided the necessary push for Weyler to approve the school.) The school was lauded by several newspapers. In its January 1, 1889 issue, La Opinion editorialized chat “the conduct of the Malolos women is wor- thy of praise and assuredly this act will be imitated soon by other towns.” In addition to this, Del Pilar mentions che compliments from other newspapers and letters received by the editorial staff of La Solidaridad from Madrid, France, England, Austria, and other places. These expressed their admiration of and praise for the women for what they had done, recognizing their action as a sign that now “the consciousness of dignity has begun to awaken in the beautiful and sacred half of the town of Malolos.” But by far the most effusive encomium was written by Graciano Lopez Jaena in the column Ecos de Uleramar.”* The founding editor of La Solidaridad praised the women because their good intentions triumphed against the “Ma- of those who tried co impede progress in the Spanish And then, rather patronizingly, he said, “a petition— ve this, Weyler chiavellian intrigu. land of the Orient. and a petition by women—was enough to annihilate the obstructionist plan intended to frustrate the establishment of such a school.” Lopez Jaena contin- ued, “The proponents of the status quo in the Philippines try by whatever means they have within their reach to hold the Filipino women down in the deep abyss of ignorance, now exciting their imagination with fantastic stories and superstitions which only encourage hypnoti: cultivating and educating her heart in incomprehensible fears without foun- dation, and training it to make conscience a slave to those ideals.” Knowing how powerful the friars were, Lopez Jacna could not “stop praising, admiring and applauding the noble courage, the beautiful tenacity and fairness with id and lethargic fantasies, 177‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS which the charming young women of Malolos presented themselves to the high official of the archipelago.” And, remembering perhaps Becerra’s letter to Weyler and anticipating the reaction of the friars to Weyler’s approval of the school, Lopez Jaena volunteered his opinion that “the high official upon deciding the establishment of a night school in Malolos . . . has done noch- ing more than fulfill his patriotic duty by executing the law and the sacted mandates of the old monarchy of Aragon and Castille, cast purposely into oblivion by those who should have fulfilled them, namely, the plan to teach the natives Spanish and to attract them to civilized life: in short, to hispanize the natives in the lands conquered by Spain.” As for the women, they only wanted to learn the beautiful language of the mother country so that, Lopez Jaena warned, “to see another purpose in this act . . . other than the noble aspirations of becoming hispanized . . . is to imagine giants for windmills as the knight of Mancha did.” This desire, Lopez Jaena suggested, “deserves not only applause but something more—our devoted support.” The column concluded: By ignoring calumnies and by being ever firm in their ardent desire for progress and education shall the women of the Philippines ob- tain the results of their beautiful and patriotic plans. For the rest, we would like to send a thought to the charming young ladies: that when tomorrow comes and they become mothers, they might not forget thac they owed their advancement to this country [Spain] May they never forget that their sacred duty as Spanish mothers and as Spanish women is to infuse in the tender heatts of their chil- dren undying love for Spain." Right after the article of Lopez Jaena was published in La Solidaridsd, ‘Marcelo H. del Pilar wrote from Barcelona to Jose Rizal in Madrid, on Febru- ary 17, 1889, asking him to read Lopez. Jaena’s column in La Solidaridad. Del Pilar observed that the “attitude of the women of Malolos reveals that there the campaign of our allies continues. These young ladies,” he explained, “are from the elite class of the town, respected for their honorable reputation and daugh- ters of maginoos.” If Rizal could, therefore, write them a letter in Tagalog, this would be a great boost to their associates in Malolos and in Manila. As it was, the women’s action had already reverberated in the neighboring prov- 178 BEBE TOR ZR ae PRE the the an an set fri allo the letter of the upon noth acred into fh the re the only Lopez noble ills as erves Juma ‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 inces, “Because of the propaganda of these ladies who preach by word and by action, the idea is now spreading in the provinces thar it is dishonorable for a man and for a woman to associate with the friar, and this is producing great results.” Responding to Del Pilar’s request with alacrity and enthusiasm, Rizal penned his “Letter to the Young Women of Malolos’ on February 22, 1889, only five days after Del Pilar informed him of the women's letter. Apologizing for his Tagalog (which he said was rusty because he had not been able to use it in conversation with anyone for some time), Rizal requested Del Pilar to cor- rect his letter and then to send it to the women, asking him to take care that the original—the only copy he had—would not fall into the hands of the friars.'* Not as formally organized as his other essays but much more spontaneous and. heartfelt, Rizal’s letter used the petition of the Women of Malolos for a school imagining, and prescribing, a new paradigm of as his point of departure f the Filipino woman, Rizal admitted that when he wrote the Noli, he thought that most Filipinas tended to be servile to the wishes of the friars. But the letter of the Women of Malolos now convinced him that he was wrong; that, in fact, there now existed women who understood that religiousness was not to be equated with “endless prayers, big rosaries, and grimy scapularies” but with “spotless conduct, firm intention and upright judgment; and that prudence is not blind acquiescence to the friar but obeying only that which is reasonable and just." Emphasizing the use of reason, Rizal stated that “God, the primal source of all wisdom, does not demand that man, created in his image and likeness, should allow himself to be deceived and hoodwinked, but wants us to use and lec shine the light of reason with which he has mercifully endowed us.” Ie was, therefore, not presumptuous for humans to use their faculty of reason. Rather, presumptuous was the person who imposed his thoughts and will on others as though he were God.'” ‘According to Rizal, if a woman failed to develop her mind and merely contented herself with mumbled prayers, awit, novenas, and miracles and amused herself with playing pangguingue and confessing the same sins over and over again, she would be capable of raising nothing but acolytes, priests servants, and cockfighters. If all she learned to do was to kneel and kiss the friars hands, her sons would be no better than abject slaves who would follow all che whims of the priests and give them all the money they wanted." 179‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS Rizal observed that it was insane to give “alms to God” because God did not need them and they only served to enrich the friars. It was terrible chat people refused to give succor to the poor and hungry but wasted hard-earned money on masses, scapularies, belts, rosaries, “which are nothing but schemes for making money and a detriment to the soul.” For a price, friars would re- voke prohibitions, such as marrying close relatives or eating meat. Women should be good mothers and a good mother was not one created by the friar. Rather she was one who brought up her children in the image of the rue God, one who “awakens and prepares the will of her children towards all that is honorable. ... All that is sincere and firm of purpose, clear judgment, clear procedure, honesty in act and deed, love for the fellowman and respect for God.” No honor or prosperity could come if children were raised by moth- ers who were slavish and ignorant. In fact, Asia was backward because its women “are ignorant, are slaves; while Europe and America are powerful because there the women are free and well-educated.”™ “The goal of Rizal and others in Europe was to bring to the Filipino women “the light that illuminates your equals here in Europe.” Their dream was to “restore the honor of women’” so that she would be loved “not only because of her beauty and her amiable character, but also on account of her fortitude of mind and loftiness of purpose. . ..” The Filipino maiden should be “the pride of her country and command respect,” the latter because Spaniards and friars returning to Spain from the Philippines usually disparaged the Filipina as com- plaisane and ignorant, and many spread evil gossip that her morals are loose, “as though all Spanish women were as pure as the Virgin Mary. Moreover, according to Rizal, the Filipino woman should not be the cause for men to become cowards and accept dishonor. Instead they should “open their children’s eyes so that they may jealously guard their honor, love their fellowmen and their native land, and do cheir duty.” A young maiden should “require of her lover a noble and honored name, a manly heart offering protec~ tion to her weakness, and a high spirit incapable of being satisfied with engendering slaves.” Similarly, a married woman “must aid her husband, in- spire him with courage, share his perils, refrain from causing him worry and sweeten his moments of affliction. ‘As a model for the Filipino women, Rizal proposed the mothers of Sparta who raised their sons to believe “man was not born to live for himself alone, but for his native land.” For the mothers of Sparta, what was important was that 180id at ed ae - =r ‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 Sparta should win the war even if it should mean the death of their sons. Be- cause of this, all Greece admired the women of Sparta. Once a lady told a Spartan woman, “Of all women, only you Spartans have power over the men.” The Spartan woman replied, “Quite natural, of all women only we give birth to men.”"9 In ending, Rizal summarized the points that he would want the Women of Malolos, and presumably all Filipino women, to think about: First of all, that the tyranny of some is possible only through cowardice and negligence on the part of others. Second. What makes one contemptible is lack of dignity and abject fear of him who holds one in contempt. Third. Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is the blind man who allows himself to be guided by the thought of another is like the beast being led by a halter. Fourth. He who loves his independence must first aid his fel- lowmen. . . . The isolated rib of the buri palm is easily broken, but not so the broom made of the ribs of the palm bound together. Fifth. If the Filipina will not change her mode of being, let her rear no more children, let her merely give birth to them. She must cease to be mistress of the house, otherwise she will unconsciously betray husband, child, native land, and all Sixth. All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave, nor did he endow him with intelli gence to have him hoodwinked Seventh. Consider well what kind of religion they are teach- ing you... and then compare that religion with the pure religion of Christ and see whether that pretended observance of the life of Christ does not remind you of the fat milk cow or the fattened pig, which is encouraged to grow fat not through love of the animal, but for grossly mercenary motives." | must have fele strongly about the letter of the women for him to answer so promptly Del Pilar’s request, and, later, for him to integrate their story into the plot of his novel El Filibusterismo. Rizal’s biographer Leon Ma. Guerrero observes that “many of the incidents and characters [of the novel] are 181‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS taken from the society of the times. The young intellectuals’ project for an academy of the Spanish language, which causes such a stir in official circles and eventually leads to the arrest of its principal proponen the identical proposal of the young women of Malolos, Cabesang Tales is inspired by the Calamba incidents, and the autocratic gover: nor-general and the progressive high official are patterned after We Quiroga, respectively." is obviously based on just as the story o° ler and Rizal’ letter must have created a sensation in Malolos, especially since it would have arrived after or about the same time as the first issue of La Solidaridad that featured the letter of the women, Moreover, this letter was written especially for them by one who by then was already a recognized figure of protest, a brilliant student, a famous doctor, the brave author of the Noli, and respected leader of the Filipino reformists in Spain. In spite of Rizal's criti. cism of the typical Filipino woman, the letter was received warmly in Malolos. Such is the opinion of Epifanio de los Santos: The severe criticism in this leter was directed not alone against the masters of the situation, but against certain customs of his own coun- "ry women, for the purpose, of course, of correcting them, and not in order to make a show of them and give them scandalous public- ity. So it was understood by the girls of Malolos who, far from feeling offended . . . read it in their meetings, caused it to circulate, made copies of it, and kept it as carefully as precious gold." Little did the women suspect that their letter would engender a great compliment from someone as revered as Rizal of, for that matter, from another respected reformist in Spain. The latter was Fernando Canon, then about to finish a degree in electrical engineering in Spain, and already famous as an excellent player of che guitar and the kudyapi, a champion chess player, and master of fencing and shooting. An intrepid reformist, he had smuggled copies of the Noli into the Philippines through his Spanish gilfiend, later wife, Teresita Battle. A very close friend of Marcelo H. del Pilar with whom he worked in La Solidaridad, Canon was also a poet and a champion of women’ rights. Both these persua sions are perceived in the sonnet he dedicated to the Women of Malolos in the March 15, 1889 issue of La Solidaridad. This sonnet in dithyrambic verses was composed on February 28, 1889, in Paris under the pseudonym “Kuitib.” 182 also it niece of Ms mode apolo etly s throu whor wife, | to vir matte educa their conse Noliand Lon y of and THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS Bless ye illustrious maids of the Orient Gleaming rays of dreamed glory Who tured fearful doubts intensifying Our patient suffering into hopes of victory. Fear not the foolish curser The wicked detractor of your past; Gold though covered with dross ‘When exposed to flame comes out brighter than ever. Inspire the defenders of the nation Lend your charm to their valor In seeking the splendors of progress And invoking memories of greatness Fomene the common ardor— The outburst of love, courage and grandeur.'”” Both Canon and Rizal were moved to write their sonnet and letter, respectively, because of Marcelo H. del Pilar. The latter, for his part, was also inspired by the Women of Malolos to write a personal epistle to his niece Josefa Gatmaytan, Less famous than Rizal’s missive, Del Pilar’s letter of March 13, 1889, set up the proposal of the Women of Malolos as a model for the women of his own native Bulacan. ‘Written four and a half months after he left the Philippines, the letter apologized for Del Pilar’s hasty departure that did not allow him to prop- crly say farewell to his town mates. Now he proposed to make amends through this letter that he has addressed to the young women of Bulacan, whom he believed could regenerate the family because, as daughter, sister, wife, or mother, the woman was the one who could guide man on the road to virtue of to the altar of perversity and cowardice.'* Because of their influence, the women should be educated and in this matter the Women of Malolos had shown the way for the attainment of education. These women would succeed even if evil used force to defeat their aspirations, because they had shown the world that there was now a consciousness of dignity among the people. Even the wise author of the Noli wrore them a letter from London, of which it would be best for Josefa 183‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS to get a copy because it was the mos portant legacy to leave to the future generation. Reflecting on this in solitude and remembering all the women that he knew in Bulacan—Pascuala and Socorro Caingal, Agustina and Magdalena Pagya, Eugenia Fernando, the Enriquezes, and others, Del Pilar could not un- derstand why a town like Bulacan should be inferior to Malolos. Malolos could surpass Bulacan in material wealth, in clothes and bagatelles; but in the desire for knowledge, in the endeavors of the mind, he saw no reason why, before the town of the Basilia Tiongsons, Bulacan should be reduced to being the town of the hermanas Ysca and Veronica and their ilk. Del Pilar explained that vircue was not to be equated with reciting ejacu- lations, striking one’s breast, and other external gestures; rather, virtue lay in perfecting the intelligence that God gave co each person. And in this, education played an important role because “an intelligence wi cation is like a beacon without light, which far from guiding the navigator, facilitates his shipwreck." He hoped that Socorro, a native of Bulacan who had been assigned to teach in her native town, would have the time to educate the adults. Del Pilar chen underscored the importance of learning Spanish, which he said was not a luxury but a necessity: Older people would testify that they would have been spared many sighs of despair if they only knew Spanish. Del Pilar counseled his niece: Learn Spanish and teach this to your children so that they will not curse their past. Furthermore, show your love for Bulacan by contributing to it through your education. Finally, Del Pilar urged everyone to unite and forget their grudges, and to sacrifice selFlove for the good of all so thae the future might be great. He asked the women to influence their fathers and brothers so that they could help to develop education. For * creator.”'*? jout edu- e cultivated mind is the sanctuary of the ‘Confrontations with the Friars Although the letter of the Women of Malolos was written by Sandico and it ‘was upon Sandico’ invitation that they gathered to sign and deliver the letter, it cannot be said that the women were merely manipulated by Sandico or the other reformists. The events in Malolos since 1885, involving many of their 184el at ‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 relatives, must have politicized them enough, but that politicalization matured into personal conviction and resolute action. Their bravery is exemplified in the confrontation berween the Augustinian friar curate, the forty-three-year- old Agustin Fernandez, and the Tiongson sisters led by Cecilia (Ylia) and Filomena (Mena), then about twenty-two and cwenty-four years old, respec- tively, as reported, albeit nor in full, by Pedro Serrano to Del Pilar in Serrano’ letter of May 24, 1889. The following incident happened after the women had already received Rizal’s letter and the first issues of La Solidaridad and in Spanish under Guadalupe Reyes for over one and a after attending classes half months. After the departure of Fray Felipe Garcia, the new friar curate of Malolos, Fray Agustin Femandez, former parish priest of neighboring Paombong, cook over the parish of Malolos on February 20, 1889, and launched a “policy of attraction” to neutralize che antifriar elements and bring back good relations between them and the Church, In pursuit of chis policy, the curate had finally allowed the opening of the school requested by the women. In line with the same policy the cura after Leng, sent a messenger o invite Ylia (Cecilia Tiongson) and her sisters to visit him in the Malolos convento. They refused to come Because of this, the Gobernadorcillo Pedro Castro himself went to Ylia’s house in Pariancillo to convince her to accommodate the friars invitation, but he left “with his tail between his legs” because Ylia told him that she could not imagine that a gobernadorcillo would take on the job of “soliciting women for the parish priest.” After a few days, the cura himself came to the Tiongson house (a ten-minute walk away from the convento). There he found all the sis- ters—Cecilia, Feliciana, and probably also Agustina and Vicenta—except for Filomena, the eldest, who was in the house of her Tio Anton (Antonio Tiongson) right across the street from her own. When Mena found out that the cura was in her house, she took a knife (batavia), crossed the street to her house, and joined her sisters. All through the conversation, Mena held on to the knife, pretending ro clean her nails with it. For four hours, from 8 in the morning to 12 noon, the sisters (ie., the two eldest) engaged the friar in animated con- versation, ‘with the friar defending Catholic ideas, and the sisters the Chris- tian.” In such a lengthy exchange of polemics, the friar allegedly could only answer “Siva nga,” or “That is so,” to the sisters’ cogent and aggressive argu- ments. Serrano recorded excerpts of the exchanges between the friar and the two ladies.’THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS Curate: Why is it that I do not see you coming to church often? Ylia/Mena: That, Among, is not necessary; what we and our friends are trying to do is to pray and do good works with discretion, so that the left hand will not know what the right hand is doing, as Christ himself preaches, Curate: Yes, that is so. But you do not come to confession. Ylia/Mena: [twas our custom, Among, to go to confession frequently. ‘There are many who can tell you that we hardly left the church. Because of this, our finances went awry, we got into debr, and ‘our properties had to be pawned. But from the time that we cut down on our confessions and our visits to the church, we recov- cred, we paid back our debts, and now there remain only a few of our properties that still need to be redeemed, and we ate at peace. Besides the Holy Church itself, in consideration ofall this, does not demand from her children more than an annual confession. Curate: I heard that you eat meat on Holy Thursday? Ylia/Mena: Perhaps, some gossips may have told you that, but gos- sip has it, too, that at the dinner of the apostles [the reenactment of the Last Supper at the convento on Holy Thursday], while the latter were eating fish, you were eating meat. Curate: Well, not really... People tell me that you do not like the curate, that is why you do not visit the convento. Ylia/Mena: Among, we really were not raised to go in and out of the convento. Here [in our town], the woman who spends time in the convento, whether she is unmarried, married or wid- owed, is out to lose her honor, if she has not already lost it. Such women are immediately ostracized by those who value their honor, because a woman who associates with chem could be contaminated by their sickness. Curate: Well, why is it thar in Paombong, they even sew for me, etc? Ylia/Mena: Well, Paombong is really one town, and Malolos is an- other, Among. Curate: Yes, that is so. At 12 noon, Fray Fernandez left the house of the Tiongson sisters, most probably in the same manner as his gobernadorcillo—with his tal beween his leg. 186ost = THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 But courage and valor were not the monopoly of the group that com- posed the Women of Malolos. Other women of the rown displayed the same traits on different occasions and for different purposes. In the same letter where he recorded the conversation between the cura and the Tiongson sisters, Pedro Serrano narrated the confrontation between another Malolefia, Maria Rojas, and the sacristan mayor of the church. Maria was the daughter of a prominent citizen of the town, Bernabe de Rojas, who became affluent ftom his involve- ment in the tobacco monopoly and other businesses.'* In Jose Bautista’ report to the governor of Bulacan, dated October 20, 1881, Bernabe was placed in category one because of his rural and other properties." One day, in early 1889, Maria Rojas entered the church after taking @ bath—with her newly washed hair down and loose. Upon secing such Sjnreligiousness,” the sacristan mayor accosted her and ordered her to gather her hair up in a bun (magpuséd). Maria flacly refused. The sacristan repeated the order, as an order coming from the friar curate himself. Maria then turned to the troublesome sacristan and told him to tell his curate that she would not gather her hair up for as long as all the wooden virgins of the church were wweating their hair loose like her. And if he wanted her to do as the cura or- dered, she would like to see the virgins in church obey the cura orders first However, even if the virgins did that, she nonetheless would not gather her hair in a bun if it were still wet, as hers still was. Probably intrigued by the woman's spunk, the curate himself came to talk co her. There and then the cura declared the position of teacher of Malolos vacant, and offered it to her if she would care to take it. She said no, she would not, because she had no academic title for thar, and even if she did, she would not even give ita try, because it was not her custom to go up and down the stairs of the convento [ie., give in to the desires of the friar], which one had to do if one wanted to be a teacher." ‘A similar attitude toward the friar curate, but accompanied by a very physical reaction, i sen in the case of Nieves Martinez, a teacher from Pampanga who was assigned co the escuela de niftas in Malolos. The cura took a liking to her and once, when she was about to go home after mass, the cura called her and, when she was in front of him, pinched her nose. Quickly she slapped his hand away and, without losing her dignity and composure, reprimanded the friar for what he did and put him to shame. To avenge himself, the cura took her out of her position as macstra de nifas. Later, when Nieves wanted to marry 187‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS Juan Tantoco (brother of Basilia), the curate would not allow it. So the ewo go: married eventually in the mountains, in the rites of the Katipunan.” Sometimes the confrontations were of a violent nature. In his letter to Del Pilar, dated November 28, 1894, Apolinario Mabini reported a story, which he said he was not in a pos n to verify then. The story goes: In Santa Isabel, Bulacan, an event took place lately, news of which was circulated here among our friends. The parish priest of that own visited the municipal school for gitls and, because of his bra- zen and discourteous behavior, of which only our friars are capable, a fight berween him and the two girls ensued. The girls came out with bruised heads; whereas, the parish priest shreds, ran down the streets, giving a show of nakedness never ex- pected even by Christ himself, I am not presently in a position to guarantee this news." his garments rorn to In at least one instance, the ladies of Malolos boycotted the church and the curate. On August 27, 1895, Retana, writing about the spirit of dissent in Malolos that culminated in the exile of the eight gentlemen of Malolos, re- ferred to a form of protest, which the all probability the women, engaged in. To show their displeasure with the cura, the native moth- ers refused to bring their babies to be baptized in the church of Malolos for the duration of two whole months." Such a decision constituted an act of protest tizens of Malolos, i against the friar curate and an act of defiance aimed at reducing his earnings from one of the most lucrative sacraments, Baptism. Brilliantly conceived, it hit the friar where it hurt most—his deep pockets. But by far the most ri of the friar curate is that of Loreto Lucero, daughter of Antonio Lucero of Santa Isabel and Simeona Estrella of Malolos, whose family was known for their wealth. In Santa Isabel, the family was respected because they had, for three generations at least, fought against various forms of injustice. In 1842, ing and tragic of all the stories of female defiance Loreto’ ancestor Santiago ran for gobernadorcillo of Malolos and came out as the leading candidate in the elections held in Malolos under the auspices of the alcalde mayor of Bulacan, But the friar curate Francisco Miro and the alcalde preferred Estanisiao Cristobal, so a reelection was called. But when Lucero came out on top again, the alcalde nullified the results on che grounds that the 188f : . ‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 electors chose six instead of three nominees. Lucero and his associates protested the nullification in separate complaints and brought the matter to court when the alealde appointed Cristobal anyway. The case dragged on for two years, with Lucero being thrown into jail in 1844, To celebrate his release from jail, Lucero held a parade and a party right in front of the Malolos Church. Finally, Lucero ran again for gobernadorcillo and was allowed to hold office for only a few months.” Santiago's descendant Antonio Lucero followed his ancestor's footsteps and became gobernadorcillo of Santa Isabel (after ic was separated from Malolos in 1859) in 1875-1877, 1881-1883, 1885-1887, and 1895." Judging from the number of times he was elected, Antonio seems to have been acknow!- 5-1887, he had a canal dug out connecting Santa Isabel co the main river of Malolos to edged as a good leader because of his progressive projects. In 188 allow boats carrying commercial products to go in and out of Santa Isabel."* However, he did not finish his last term as gobernadorcillo because of an inci- dent involving his daughter Loreto, Loreto was, by profession, a teacher, of the category On May 26, 1893, she applied for the position of niftas of Pamarauan, a coastal barrio of Malolos, and on June 6, 1893, was “maestra proprietaria.” naestra de la escuela de appointed to the position with the monthly salary of P8.'*' Sometime in 1894, after the departure of the friar curate Heriberto Garcia, the new friar curate niago Perez came to the house of the Luceros on one of his usual visits. Ie pened that Loreto’ parents were away then and only the houschold help was in the house. Taking advantage of the situation and in the course of the conversation with Loreto, Perez used words that the lady found salacious malaswa). There and then, Loreto pummelled the friar with blows and drove him out of her house. Not content with this, Loreto filed a complaint against the friar in court, something unheard of then for a woman to do, especially against the Spanish friar who epitomized colonial power. Setting aside con- ly, she accused Perex of what would now be called verbal sexual harassment—to our knowl- cerns about what people would say against her and her far edge, the very first case of this nature ever filed against the omnipotent friar. And to the surpri help of liberal elements in the secular bureaucracy.’ As “punishment,” the of everyone, Loreto won the case, pethaps because of the friar was transferred to another town and replaced by Fray Angel Fernandez, sometime in 1895. But the victory of the Luceros turned phyrric soon enough. 189‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS Antonio Lucero began his fourth two-year term as gobernadorcillo in January 1895. But the term ended abruptly nine months later when he was arrested by the Guardia Civil in October 1895 and was made to walk all the way to the cabecera, Bulacan, where he was imprisoned—on the grounds that he was an associate of the eight gentlemen of Malolos who had already been arrested in May 1895 and exiled the following month to Mindanao and Sulu. People suspected, however, that the arrest was an act of vengeance to punish him and his family for bringing the friar ro court, and for winning the case against a Spaniard—and a friar yet. Harassment of the family must have started a little earlier than the actual arrest of Capitan Anton, however, because on September 30, 1895, Loreto wrote a letter to her superiors asking that she be allowed to give up her position as maestra of the escuela de nifias in Pamarauan because of ill health. It is pos- sible that the court proceedings had taken a toll on her health or she was using her health as a reason to stop teaching because she and her family were already being harassed. On October 9, 1891, the civil governor of Bulacan wrote the director general of Civil Administration stating that “in view of her abandon- ment (of the school], her lack of interest and her unfavorable records,” Loreto Lucero would be suspended from her job and her salary stopped effective October 2, 1895. Believing that there was still insufficient ground for the sus- pension, however, the director general of Civil Administration in a letter of October 24, 1895, advised the civil governor that he should first identify the faults committed by Lucero before the director general could actually order her suspension." Whatever the outcome of the case, it had become irrelevant to Loreto by then because of the arrest and imprisonment of her father in the cabecera. Bur worse was still to come. On November 25, 1895, Antonio Lucero was transferred from Bulacan to the Bilibid Prison in Manila as a prelude to his exile. Bur the capitan, much weakened by his long incarceration, fell ill. He was brought to the San Juan de Dios Hospital, but it was too late. He died on December 11, 1895. No doubt it was partly because of these family tragedies that Loreto and her siblings were politicized, leading them to play an active role in the struggle for liberation both against Spain and against America. Loreto’ brother Simplicio was killed in the batcle of La Loma against the advancing Ameri- can troops in early 1899, while che lawyer Santiago Lucero, namesake of his ancestor, was exiled together with Father Gregorio Crisostomo to Nueva 190in che hat en ish ase ‘THE WOMEN OF MALOLOS, 1860-1920 Ecija for supporting the activities against the U.S. after the American take- over of Malolos. Loreto herself continued her social involvement, be- coming one of thirty-one founding members of the Santa Isabel barrio committee of the Malolos local committee of the Asociacion Femenista de Filipinas in 1906." ‘The Revolution against Spain and the Philippine-American Was, 1896-1901 By the time the Revolution against Spain erupted in August 1896, the Women of Malolos and their relatives, like many other citizens of Malolos, had already been politicized by the many confrontations of the reformists with the friar curates of Malolos on the issues of the tax list, and the guidelines for the burial of cholera victims, and the elections for municipal positions, among others; by the classes that they attended under Teodoro Sandico and Guadalupe Reyes; by their struggle to establish a schoo! for adults in Malolos and the subsequent closure of the school: by the hasty departure for Spain of Marcelo H. del Pilar in October 1888 and of Sandico in May 1889; by the arrest and exile of the cight gentlemen of Malolos in 1895; by their personal confrontations with the authoritarian and morally bankrupt friar; and by est relatives in the reform movement and in the Katipunan itself. ing to Daniel Tantoco, cousin of Basilia, Maria, and Teresa Tantoco and of Elisea and Juana T. Reyes, the Women of Malolos and other ladies of the town contributed to the Revolution in different ways. After the outbreak of the Revolution in Manila, the women helped the revolutionaries under Isidoro Torres who were then gathering in Masukol, Paombong, by preparing food— rice cooked in heart-shaped banana-leaf wrapping, sugar, dried fish, and dried meat—and sending these to the revolutionaries in tampipi or bakwang of bam- boo or in sacks through trusted couriers (oftentimes their houseboys or maids). The same procedure was followed for all the battles where the revolutionaries the involvement of their clos- Accor of Malolos were involved, in places where food could be sent by road or river Sometimes, money was sent to buy food and other necessities." Some of the women also acted as lookouts or messengers during meet- ings. As couriers, they invented many imaginative ways of carrying or sending messages. For example, Basilia Tantoco stitched notes in small pieces of paper Other ladies carried them inside and in front of the camisa or tucked them inside the bun of their hair inside the aporo (wide lining of sinamay) of her say 191