NOLI ME TANGERE
Week 13 | RIZL 211
A. Noli Me Tangere
 Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino
polymath and national hero José Rizal first
published in 1887 in Berlin. Early English
translations used titles like An Eagle Flight
(1900) and The Social Cancer (1912), but
more recent translations have been published
using the original Latin title.
 Though originally written in Spanish, it is
more commonly published and read in the
Philippines in either Filipino or English.
Together with its sequel, El Filibusterismo,
the reading of Noli is obligatory for junior
high school students throughout the
archipelago.
Plot Summary
 Having completed his studies in Europe,
young Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin
comes back to the Philippines after a 7-year
absence. In his honor, Don Santiago de los
Santos, a family friend commonly known as
Captain Tiago, threw a get-together party,
which was attended by friars and other
prominent figures. One of the guests, former
San Diego curate Fray Dámaso Vardolagas
belittled and slandered Ibarra. Ibarra brushed
off the insults and took no offense; he instead
politely excused himself and left the party
because of an allegedly important task.
 The next day, Ibarra visits María Clara, his
betrothed, the beautiful daughter of Captain
Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo. Their
long-standing love was clearly manifested in
this meeting, and María Clara cannot help but
reread the letters her sweetheart had written
her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra
left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a
Civil Guard, reveals to him the incidents
preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael
Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town.
 According to Guevara, Don Rafael was
unjustly accused of being a heretic, in
addition to being a subservient — an
allegation brought forth by Dámaso because
of Don Rafael's non-participation in the
Sacraments, such as Confession and Mass.
(docs)
Dámaso's animosity against Ibarra's father is
aggravated by another incident when Don
Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax
collector and a child fighting, and the
former's death was blamed on him, although
it was not deliberate. Suddenly, all of those
who thought ill of him surfaced with
additional complaints. He was imprisoned,
and just when the matter was almost settled,
he died of sickness in jail. Still not content
with what he had done, Dámaso arranged for
Don Rafael's corpse to be dug up from the
Catholic Church and brought to a Chinese
cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate
to allow a heretic a Catholic burial ground.
Unfortunately, it was raining and because of
the bothersome weight of the body, the
undertakers decide to throw the corpse into a
nearby lake.
 Revenge was not in Ibarra's plans, instead he
carried through his father's plan of putting up
a school, since he believed that education
would pave the way to his country's progress
(all over the novel the author refers to both
Spain and the Philippines as two different
countries as part of a same nation or family,
with Spain seen as the mother and the
Philippines as the daughter). During the
inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have
been killed in a sabotage had Elías — a
mysterious man who had warned Ibarra
earlier of a plot to assassinate him — not
saved him. Instead, the hired killer met an
unfortunate incident and died. The sequence
of events proved to be too traumatic for María
Clara who got seriously ill but was luckily
cured by the medicine Ibarra sent.
 After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a
luncheon during which Dámaso, gate-
crashing the luncheon, again insulted him.
Ibarra ignored the priest's insolence, but
when the latter slandered the memory of his
dead father, he was no longer able to restrain
himself and lunged at Dámaso, prepared to
stab him for his impudence. As a
consequence, Dámaso excommunicated
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Ibarra, taking this opportunity to persuade the
already-hesitant Tiago to forbid his daughter
from marrying Ibarra. The friar wished María
Clara to marry Linares, a Peninsular who had
just arrived from Spain.
 With the help of the Governor-General,
Ibarra's excommunication was nullified and
the Archbishop decided to accept him as a
member of the Church once again. But, as
fate would have it, some incident of which
Ibarra had known nothing about was blamed
on him, and he is wrongly arrested and
imprisoned. The accusation against him was
then overruled because during the litigation
that followed, nobody could testify that he
was indeed involved. Unfortunately, his letter
to María Clara somehow got into the hands of
the jury and is manipulated such that it then
became evidence against him by the parish
priest, Fray Salví. With Machiavellian
precision, Salví framed Ibarra and ruined his
life just so he could stop him from marrying
María Clara and making the latter his
concubine.
 Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiago's residence, a
party was being held to announce the
upcoming wedding of María Clara and
Linares. Ibarra, with the help of Elías, took
this opportunity to escape from prison.
Before leaving, Ibarra spoke to María Clara
and accused her of betraying him, thinking
that she gave the letter he wrote her to the
jury. María Clara explained that she would
never conspire against him, but that she was
forced to surrender Ibarra's letter to Father
Salvi, in exchange for the letters written by
her mother even before she, María Clara, was
born. The letters were from her mother, Pía
Alba, to Dámaso alluding to their unborn
child; and that María Clara was therefore not
Captain Tiago's biological daughter, but
Dámaso's.
 Afterwards, Ibarra and Elías fled by boat.
Elías instructed Ibarra to lie down, covering
him with grass to conceal his presence. As
luck would have it, they were spotted by their
(docs)
enemies. Elías, thinking he could outsmart
them, jumped into the water. The guards
rained shots on him, all the while not
knowing that they were aiming at the wrong
man.
 María Clara, thinking that Ibarra had been
killed in the shooting incident, was greatly
overcome with grief. Robbed of hope and
severely disillusioned, she asked Dámaso to
confine her into a nunnery. Dámaso
reluctantly agreed when she threatened to
take her own life, demanding, "The nunnery
or death!" Unbeknownst to her, Ibarra was
still alive and able to escape. It was Elías who
had taken the shots.
 It was Christmas Eve when Elías woke up in
the forest fatally wounded, as it is here where
he instructed Ibarra to meet him. Instead,
Elías found the altar boy Basilio cradling his
already-dead mother, Sisa. The latter lost her
mind when she learned that her two sons,
Crispín and Basilio, were chased out of the
convent by the sacristan mayor on suspicions
of stealing sacred objects. (The truth is that,
it was the sacristan mayor who stole the
objects and only pinned the blame on the two
boys. The said sacristan mayor actually killed
Crispín while interrogating him on the
supposed location of the sacred objects. It
was implied that the body was never found
and the incident was covered-up by Salví).
 Elías, convinced that he would die soon,
instructs Basilio to build a funeral pyre and
burn his and Sisa's bodies to ashes. He tells
Basilio that, if nobody reaches the place, he
come back later on and dig for he will find
gold. He also tells him (Basilio) to take the
gold he finds and go to school. In his dying
breath, he instructed Basilio to continue
dreaming about freedom for his motherland
with the words:
o “I shall die without seeing the dawn break
upon my homeland. You, who shall see it,
salute it! Do not forget those who have
fallen during the night.”
 Elías died thereafter.
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 In the epilogue, it was explained that Tiago
became addicted to opium and was seen to
frequent the opium house in Binondo to
satiate his addiction. María Clara became a
nun where Salví, who has lusted after her
from the beginning of the novel, regularly
used her to fulfill his lust. One stormy
evening, a beautiful crazy woman was seen at
the top of the convent crying and cursing the
heavens for the fate it has handed her. While
the woman was never identified, it is
suggested that the said woman was María
Clara.
Publication of the Noli
 Rizal finished the novel on December 1886.
At first, according to one of Rizal's
biographers, Rizal feared the novel might not
be printed, and that it would remain unread.
He was struggling with financial constraints
at the time and thought it would be hard to
pursue printing the novel. A financial aid
came from a friend named Máximo Viola
which helped him print his book at a fine
print media in Berlin named Berliner
Buchdruckerei-Actiengesellschaft. Rizal at
first, however, hesitated but Viola insisted
and ended up lending Rizal P300 for 2,000
copies; Noli was eventually printed in Berlin,
Germany. The printing was finished earlier
than the estimated five months. Viola arrived
in Berlin in December 1886, and by March
21, 1887, Rizal had sent a copy of the novel
to his friend Blumentritt.
 On August 21, 2007, a 480-page then-latest
English version of Noli Me Tangere was
released to major Australian book stores. The
Australian edition of the novel was published
by Penguin Books Classics, to represent the
publication's "commitment to publish the
major literary classics of the world”.
American writer Harold Augenbraum, who
first read the Noli in 1992, translated the
novel. A writer well-acquainted with
translating other Hispanophone literary
works, Augenbraum proposed to translate the
novel after being asked for his next
(docs)
assignment in the publishing company.
Intrigued by the novel and knowing more
about it, Penguin nixed their plan of adapting
existing English versions and instead
translated it on their own.
 This novel and its sequel, El Filibusterismo
(nicknamed El Fili), were banned in some
parts of the Philippines because of their
portrayal of corruption and abuse by the
country's Spanish government and clergy.
Copies of the book were smuggled in
nevertheless, and when Rizal returned to the
Philippines after completing medical studies,
he quickly ran afoul of the local government.
A few days after his arrival, Governor-
General Emilio Terrero summoned Rizal to
the Malacañang Palace and told him of the
charge that Noli Me Tangere contained
subversive statements. After a discussion, the
Governor General was appeased but still
unable to offer resistance against the pressure
of the Church against the book. The
persecution can be discerned from Rizal's
letter to Leitmeritz:
 “My book made a lot of noise; everywhere, I
am asked about it. They wanted to
anathematize me ('to excommunicate me')
because of it... I am considered a German spy,
an agent of Bismarck, they say I am a
Protestant, a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned
soul and evil. It is whispered that I want to
draw plans, that I have a foreign passport and
that I wander through the streets by night...”
 Rizal was exiled to Dapitan, and then later
arrested for "inciting rebellion" based largely
on his writings. Rizal was executed in Manila
on December 30, 1896 at the age of thirty-
five.
 Rizal depicted nationality by emphasizing the
qualities of Filipinos: the devotion of a
Filipina and her influence on a man's life, the
deep sense of gratitude, and the solid
common sense of the Filipinos under the
Spanish regime.
 The work was instrumental in creating a
unified Filipino national identity and
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 NOLI ME TANGERE
Week 13 | RIZL 211
consciousness, as many natives previously
identified with their respective regions. It
lampooned, caricatured and exposed various
elements in colonial society. Two characters
in particular have become classics in Filipino
culture: Maria Clara, who has become a
personification of the ideal Filipina woman,
loving and unwavering in her loyalty to her
spouse; and the priest Father Dámaso, who
reflects the covert fathering of illegitimate
children by members of the Spanish clergy.
 The book indirectly influenced a revolution,
even though the author actually advocated
direct representation to the Spanish
government and a larger role for the
Philippines within Spain's political affairs. In
1956, the Congress of the Philippines passed
the Republic Act 1425, more popularly
known as the Rizal Law, which requires all
levels of Philippine schools to teach the novel
as part of their curriculum. Noli Me Tangere
is being taught to third year secondary school
students, while its sequel El Filibusterismo is
being taught for fourth year secondary school
students. The novels are incorporated to their
study and survey of Philippine literature.
Major Characters
 Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin,
commonly referred to the novel as Ibarra or
Crisóstomo, is the protagonist in the story.
Son of a Filipino businessman, Don Rafael
Ibarra, he studied in Europe for seven years.
Ibarra is also María Clara's fiancé. Several
sources claim that Ibarra is also Rizal's
reflection: both studied in Europe and both
persons believe in the same ideas. Upon his
return, Ibarra requested the local government
of San Diego to construct a public school to
promote education in the town.
o In the sequel of Noli, El Filibusterismo,
Ibarra returned with different character
and name: he called himself as Simoun,
the English mestizo.
 María Clara de los Santos y Alba,
commonly referred to as María Clara, is
Ibarra's fiancée. She was raised by Capitán
(docs)
Tiago, San Diego's cabeza de barangay and is
the most beautiful and widely celebrated girl
in San Diego. In the later parts of the novel,
María Clara's identity was revealed as an
illegitimate daughter of Father Dámaso,
former parish curate of the town, and Doña
Pía Alba, wife of Capitán Tiago. In the end
she entered local covenant for nuns Beaterio
de Santa Clara. In the epilogue dealing with
the fate of the characters, Rizal stated that it
is unknown if María Clara is still living
within the walls of the covenant or she is
already dead.
o The character of María Clara was
patterned after Leonor Rivera, Rizal's
first cousin and childhood sweetheart.
 Don Santiago de los Santos, known by his
nickname Tiago and political title Capitán
Tiago is a Filipino businessman and the
cabeza de barangay or head of barangay of
the town of San Diego. He is also the known
father of María Clara.
o In the novel, it is said that Capitán Tiago
is the richest man in the region of
Binondo and he possessed real properties
in Pampanga and Laguna de Bay. He is
also said to be a good Catholic, friend of
the Spanish government and was
considered as a Spanish by colonialists.
Capitán Tiago never attended school, so
he became a domestic helper of a
Dominican friar who taught him informal
education. He married Pía Alba from
Santa Cruz.
 Dámaso Verdolagas, or Padre Dámaso is a
Franciscan friar and the former parish curate
of San Diego. He is best known as a notorious
character that speaks with harsh words and
has been a cruel priest during his stay in the
town. He is the real father of María Clara and
an enemy of Crisóstomo's father, Rafael
Ibarra. Later, he and María Clara had bitter
arguments whether she would marry Alfonso
Linares or go to a convent. At the end of the
novel, he is again re-assigned to a distant
town and is found dead one day.
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o In popular culture, when a priest was said
to be like Padre Dámaso, it means that he
is a cruel but respectable individual.
When one says a child is "Anak ni Padre
Damaso" (child of Padre Dámaso), it
means that the child's father's identity is
unknown.
 Elías is Ibarra's mysterious friend and ally.
Elías made his first appearance as a pilot
during a picnic of Ibarra and María Clara and
her friends. He wants to revolutionize the
country and to be freed from Spanish
oppression.
 Filosofo Tacio, known by his Filipinized
name Pilosopo Tasyo is another major
character in the story. Seeking for reforms
from the government, he expresses his ideals
in paper written in a cryptographic alphabet
similar from hieroglyphs and Coptic figures
hoping "that the future generations may be
able to decipher it" and realized the abuse and
oppression done by the conquerors.
o His full name is only known as Don
Anastacio. The educated inhabitants of
San Diego labeled him as Filosofo Tacio
(Tacio the Sage) while others called him
as Tacio el Loco (Insane Tacio) due to his
exceptional talent for reasoning.
 Doña Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña,
commonly known as Doña Victorina, is an
ambitious Filipina who classifies herself as
Spanish and mimics Spanish ladies by
putting on heavy make-up. The novel
narrates Doña Victorina's younger days: she
had lots of admirers, but she did not choose
any of them because nobody was a Spaniard.
Later on, she met and married Don Tiburcio
de Espadaña, an official of the customs
bureau who is about ten years her junior.
However, their marriage is childless.
o Her husband assumes the title of medical
doctor even though he never attended
medical school; using fake documents
and certificates, Tiburcio practices
illegal medicine. Tiburcio's usage of the
title Dr. consequently makes Victorina
(docs)
assume the title Dra. (doctora, female
doctor). Apparently, she uses the whole
name Doña Victorina de los Reyes de
Espadaña, with double de to emphasize
her marriage surname. She seems to feel
that this awkward titling makes her more
"sophisticated."
 Sisa, Crispín, and Basilio represent a
Filipino family persecuted by the Spanish
authorities. Narcisa or Sisa is the deranged
mother of Basilio and Crispín. Described as
beautiful and young, although she loves her
children very much, she cannot protect them
from the beatings of her husband, Pedro.
 Crispín is Sisa's 7-year-old son. An altar boy,
he was unjustly accused of stealing money
from the church. After failing to force Crispín
to return the money he allegedly stole, Father
Salví and the head sacristan killed him. It is
not directly stated that he was killed, but the
dream of Basilio suggests that Crispín died
during his encounter with Padre Salvi and his
minion.
 Basilio is Sisa's 10-year-old son. An acolyte
tasked to ring the church bells for the
Angelus, he faced the dread of losing his
younger brother and the descent of his mother
into insanity. At the end of the novel, Elías
wished Basilio to bury him by burning in
exchange of chest of gold located on his death
ground. He will later play a major role in El
Filibusterismo.
o Due to their tragic but endearing story,
these characters are often parodied in
modern Filipino popular culture.
 There are a number of secondary and minor
characters in Noli Me Tangere. Items
indicated inside the parenthesis are the
standard Filipinization of the Spanish names
in the novel.
 Padre Hernando de la Sibyla is a
Dominican friar. He is described as short and
has fair skin. He is instructed by an old priest
in his order to watch Crisóstomo Ibarra.
 Padre Bernardo Salví is the Franciscan
curate of San Diego, secretly harboring lust
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for María Clara. He is described to be very
thin and sickly. It is also hinted that his last
name, "Salvi" is the shorter form of "Salvi"
meaning Salvation, or "Salvi" is short for
"Salvaje" meaning bad hinting to the fact that
he is willing to kill an innocent child, Crispin,
just to get his money back, though there was
not enough evidence that it was Crispin who
has stolen his 2 onzas.
 El Alférez or Alperes is the chief of the
Guardia Civil; mortal enemy of the priests for
power in San Diego and husband of Doña
Consolacion.
 Doña Consolacíon is the wife of the Alférez,
nicknamed as la musa de los guardias civiles
(The muse of the Civil Guards) or la
Alféreza, was a former laundrywoman who
passes herself as a Peninsular; best
remembered for her abusive treatment of
Sisa.
 Don Tiburcio de Espadaña is a Spanish
Quack Doctor who is limp and submissive to
his wife, Doña Victorina.
 Teniente Guevara is a close friend of Don
Rafael Ibarra. He reveals to Crisóstomo how
Don Rafael Ibarra's death came about.
 Alfonso Linares is a distant nephew of
Tiburcio de Espanada, the would-be fiancé of
María Clara. Although he presented himself
as a practitioner of law, it was later revealed
that he, just like Don Tiburcio, is a fraud. He
later died due to given medications of Don
Tiburcio.
 Tía Isabel is Capitán Tiago's cousin, who
raised Maria Clara.
 Governor General (Gobernador Heneral)
is the Unnamed person in the novel, he is the
most powerful official in the Philippines. He
has great disdain for the friars and corrupt
officials, and sympathizes with Ibarra.
 Don Filipo Lino is the vice mayor of the
town of San Diego, leader of the liberals.
 Padre Manuel Martín is the linguist curate
of a nearby town who delivers the sermon
during San Diego's fiesta.
(docs)
 Don Rafael Ibarra is the father of
Crisóstomo Ibarra. Though he is the richest
man in San Diego, he is also the most
virtuous and generous.
 Doña Pía Alba is the wife of Capitan Tiago
and mother of María Clara, she died giving
birth to her daughter. In reality, she was raped
by Dámaso so she could bear a child.
 These characters were mentioned in the
novel, appeared once, mentioned many times
or have no major contribution to the
storyline.
 Don Pedro Y Barramendia is the great-
grandfather of Crisóstomo Ibarra who came
from the Basque area of Spain. He started the
misfortunes of Elias' family. His descendants
abbreviated their surname to Ibarra. He died
of unknown reasons, but was seen as a
decaying corpse on a Balite Tree.
 Don Saturnino Ibarra is the son of Don
Pedro, father of Don Rafael and grandfather
of Crisóstomo Ibarra. He was the one who
developed the town of San Diego. He was
described as a cruel man but was very clever.
 Sinang is Maria Clara's friend. Because
Crisóstomo Ibarra offered half of the school
he was building to Sinang, he gained Capitan
Basilio's support.
 Iday, Neneng and Victoria are Maria Clara's
other friends.
 Capitán Basilio is Sinang's father, leader of
the conservatives.
 Pedro is the abusive husband of Sisa who
loves cockfighting.
 Tandáng Pablo is the leader of the tulisanes
(bandits), whose family was destroyed
because of the Spaniards.
 El hombre amarillo (apparently means
"yellowish person", named as Taong
Madilaw) is one of Crisostomo Ibarra's
would-be assassins. He is not named in the
novel, and only described as such. In the
novel, he carved the cornerstone for Ibarra's
school. Instead of killing Ibarra, he was killed
by his cornerstone.
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Week 13 | RIZL 211

 Lucas is the brother of the taong madilaw. He
planned a revolution against the government
with Ibarra as the leader after he was turned
down by Ibarra. He was said to have a scar on
his left cheek. He would later be killed by the
Sakristan Mayor.
 Bruno and Tarsilo are a pair of brothers
whose father was killed by the Spaniards.
 Ñor Juan (Ñol Juan) is the appointed as
foreman of the school to be built by Ibarra
 Capitana Tika is Sinang's mother and wife
of Capitan Basilio.
 Albino - a former seminarian who joined the
picnic with Ibarra and María Clara. He was
later captured during the revolution.
 Capitana María Elena is a nationalist
woman who defends Ibarra of the memory of
his father.
 Capitán Tinong and Capitán Valentín are
other known people from the town of San
Diego.
 Sacristán Mayor is the one who governs the
altar boys and killed Crispín for his
accusation.

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Noli Me Tangere
 Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino
polymath and national hero Jose Rizal first
published in 1887 in Berlin.
 Early English translations used titles like An
Eagle Flight (1900) and The Social Cancer
(1912), but more recent translations have
been published using the original Latin title.
Plot Summary
 Having completed his studies in Europe,
young Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin
comes back to the Philippines after a 7-year
absence. In his honor, Don Santiago de los
Santos, a family friend commonly known as
Captain Tiago, threw a get-together party,
which was attended by friars and other
prominent figures. One of the guests, former
San Diego curate Fray Damaso and slandered
Ibarra. Ibarra brushed off the insults and took
no offense; he instead politely excused
himself and left the party because of an
allegedly important task.
o On pic: Crisostomo Ibarra
▪ He has a liberal mind.
▪ Outspoken and idealistic.
▪ He becomes very violent and impulsive
when he’s provoked.
▪ Patient and serious man.
▪ He symbolizes the idealism of the
privileged youth.
▪ Ibarra as Rizal’s reflection of himself.
 The next day, Ibarra visits Maria Clara, his
betrothed, the beautiful daughter of Captain
Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo. Their
long-standing love was clearly manifested in
this meeting, and Maria Clara cannot help but
reread the letters her sweetheart had written
her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra
left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevarra, a
Civil Guard, reveals to him the incidents
preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael
Ibarra, a rich haciendero of the town.
o On pic: Maria Clara
▪ Religious woman.
▪ She symbolizes the purity and
innocence of a sheltered native woman.
(ppt)
▪ She is portrayed as a faithful
sweetheart, a good friend and an
obedient daughter.
▪ She had childish simplicity.
▪ She gets easily nervous.
▪ Her character is related to Rizal’s
childhood sweetheart, Leonor Rivera.
 According to Guevara, Don Rafael was
unjustly accused of being a heretic, in
addition to being a subservient – an allegation
brought forth by Damaso because of Don
Rafael’s not participation in the Sacraments,
such as Confession and Mass.
 Damaso’s animosity against Ibarra’s father is
aggravated by another incident when Don
Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax
collector and a child fighting, and the
former’s death was blamed on him, although
it was not deliberate.
o On pic: Padre Damaso
▪ Talkative and cruel priest.
▪ He continually antagonizes Ibarra and
prevents his marriage to Maria Clara.
▪ He raped Doña Pia, Maria Clara’s
mother.
▪ He symbolizes the Spanish friars of
Rizal’s time.
 Suddenly, all of those who thought ill of him
surfaced with additional complaints. He was
imprisoned, and just when the matter was
almost settled, he died of sickness in jail. Still
not content with what he had done, Damaso
arranged for Don Rafael’s corpse to be dug
up from the Catholic Church and brought to
a Chinese cemetery, because he thought it
inappropriate to allow a heretic a Catholic
burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining
and because of the bothersome weight of the
body, the undertakers decide to throw the
corpse into a nearby lake.
o On pic: Don Rafael Ibarra
 Revenge was not in Ibarra’s plans, instead he
carried through his father’s plan of putting up
a school, since he believed that education
would pave the way to his country’s progress
(all over the novel the author refers to both
IYANOWEL 8
 NOLI ME TANGERE
Week 13 | RIZL 211
Spain and the Philippines as two different
countries as part of a same nation or family,
with Spain seen as the mother and the
Philippines as the daughter).
 During the inauguration of the school Ibarra
would have been killed in a sabotage had
Elias – a mysterious man who had warned
Ibarra earlier of a plot to assassinate him – not
saved him.
 Instead the hired killer met an unfortunate
incident and died.
 The sequence of events proved to be too
traumatic for Maria Clara who got seriously
ill but was luckily cured by the medicine
Ibarra sent.
 After the inauguration, Ibarra hosted a
luncheon during which Damaso, gate-
crashing the luncheon, again insulted him.
 Ibarra ignored the priest’s insolence, but
when the latter slandered the memory of his
dead father, he was no longer able to restrain
himself and lunged at Damaso, prepared to
stab him for his impudence.
 As a consequence, Damaso excommunicated
Ibarra, taking his opportunity to persuade the
already-hesitant Tiago to forbid his daughter
from marrying Ibarra.
 The friar wished Maria Clara to marry
Linares, a Peninsular who had just arrived
from Spain.
 With the help of the Governor-General,
Ibarra’s excommunication was nullified and
the Archbishop decided to accept him as a
member of the Church once again. But, as
fate would have it, some incident of which
Ibarra had known nothing about was blamed
on him, and he is wrongly arrested and
imprisoned. The accusation against him was
then overruled because during the litigation
that followed, nobody could testify that he
was indeed involved.
 Unfortunately, his letter to Maria Clara
somehow got into the hands of the jury and is
manipulated such that it then became
evidence against him by the parish priest,
Fray Salvi. With Machiavellian precision,
(ppt)
Salvi framed Ibarra and ruined his life just so
he could stop him from marrying Maria Clara
and making the latter his concubine.
o On pic: Fray Salvi
 Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiago’s residence, a
party was being held to announce the
upcoming wedding of Maria Clara and
Linares. Ibarra, with the help of Elias, took
this opportunity to escape from prison.
 Before leaving, Ibarra spoke to Maria Clara
and accused her of betraying him, thinking
that she gave the letter he wrote her to the
jury.
o On pic: Elias
 Maria Clara explained that she would never
conspire against him, but that she was forced
to surrender Ibarra’s letter to Father Salvi, in
exchange for the letters written by her mother
even before she, Maria Clara, was born.
 The letters were from her mother, Pia Alba,
to Damaso alluding to their unborn child; and
that Maria Clara was therefore not Captain
Tiago’s biological daughter, but Damaso’s.
o On pic: Pia Alba
 Afterwards, Ibarra and Elias fled by boat.
Elias instructed Ibarra to lie down, covering
him with grass to conceal his presence. As
luck would have it, they were spotted by their
enemies. Elias, thinking he could outsmart
them, jumped into the water. The guards
rained shots on him, all the while not
knowing that they were aiming at the wrong
man.
 Maria Clara, thinking that Ibarra had been
killed in the shooting incident, was greatly
overcome with grief.
 Robbed of hope and severely disillusioned,
she asked Damaso to confine her into a
nunnery. Damaso reluctantly agreed when
she threatened to take her own life,
demanding, “The nunnery or death!”
 Unbeknownst to her, Ibarra was still alive
and able to escape. It was Elias who had taken
the shots.
 It was Christmas Eve when Elias woke up in
the forest fatally wounded, as it is here where
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Week 13 | RIZL 211

he instructed Ibarra to meet him. Instead,  In the epilogue, it was explained that Tiago
Elias found the altar boy Basilio cradling his became addicted to opium and was seen to
already-dead mother, Sisa. The latter lost her frequent the opium house in Binondo to
mind when she learned that her two sons, satiate his addiction.
Crispin and Basilio, were chased out of the  Maria Clara became a nun where Salvi, who
convent by the sacristan mayor on suspicions has lusted after her from the beginning of the
of stealing sacred objects. novel, regularly used her to fulfil his lust.
 (The truth is that, it was the sacristan mayor  One stormy evening, a beautiful crazy
who stole the objects and only pinned the woman was seen at the top of the convent
blame on the two boys. The sacristan mayor crying and cursing the heavens for the fate it
actually killed Crispin while interrogating has handed her.
him on the supposed location of the sacred  While the woman was never identified, it is
objects. It was implied that the body was suggested that the said woman was Maria
never found and the incident was covered-up Clara.
by Salvi).
o On pic: Sisa
▪ Ang mapagmahal na ina nina Crispin at
Basilio.
▪ Sumasagisag ng pagdurusa ng Inang
Bayan.
▪ Ipinangalan siya pagkatapos sa
pangalan ng kapatid ni Jose Rizal,
Narcisa.
o On pic: Basilio
▪ Sampung taong gulang na
nakakatandang kapatid ni Crispin.
▪ Nakakatandang anak ni Sisa.
▪ Isang sacristan at taga-tugtog ng
kampana.
▪ Sinasagisag niya ang walang malay at
inosente sa lipunan.
 Elias, convinced that he would die soon,
instructs Basilio to build a funeral pyre and
burn his and Sisa’s bodies to ashes.
 He tells Basilio that, if nobody reaches the
place, he come back later on and dig for he
will find gold. He also tells him (Basilio) to
take the gold he finds and go to school.
 In his dying breath, he instructed Basilio to
continue dreaming about freedom for his
motherland with the words: “I shall die
without seeing the dawn break upon my
homeland. You, who shall see it, salute it! Do
not forget those who have fallen during the
night.”
 Elias died thereafter.

IYANOWEL 10
 THE INDOLENCE OF FILIPINOS
Week 13 | RIZL 211
The Indolence of the Filipinos: Summary and
Analysis
 La Indolencia de los Filipinos, more
popularly known in its English version, "The
Indolence of the Filipinos," is an
exploratory essay written by Philippine
national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, to explain the
alleged idleness of his people during the
Spanish colonization.
Summary
 The Indolence of the Filipinos is a study of
the causes why the people did not, as was
said, work hard during the Spanish regime.
Rizal pointed out that long before the coming
of the Spaniards, the Filipinos were
industrious and hardworking. The Spanish
reign brought about a decline in economic
activities because of certain causes:
o First, the establishment of the Galleon
Trade cut off all previous associations of
the Philippines with other countries in
Asia and the Middle East. As a result,
business was only conducted with Spain
through Mexico. Because of this, the
small businesses and handicraft
industries that flourished during the pre-
Spanish period gradually disappeared.
o Second, Spain also extinguished the
natives’ love of work because of the
implementation of forced labor. Because
of the wars between Spain and other
countries in Europe as well as the
Muslims in Mindanao, the Filipinos were
compelled to work in shipyards, roads,
and other public works, abandoning
agriculture, industry, and commerce.
o Third, Spain did not protect the people
against foreign invaders and pirates.
With no arms to defend themselves, the
natives were killed, their houses burned,
and their lands destroyed. As a result of
this, the Filipinos were forced to become
nomads, lost interest in cultivating their
lands or in rebuilding the industries that
were shut down, and simply became
submissive to the mercy of God.
(docs)
o Fourth, there was a crooked system of
education, if it was to be considered an
education. What was being taught in
the schools were repetitive prayers and
other things that could not be used by the
students to lead the country to progress.
There were no courses in Agriculture,
Industry, etc., which were badly needed
by the Philippines during those times.
o Fifth, the Spanish rulers were a bad
example to despise manual labor. The
officials reported to work at noon and left
early, all the while doing nothing in line
with their duties. The women were seen
constantly followed by servants who
dressed them and fanned them – personal
things which they ought to have done for
themselves.
o Sixth, gambling was established and
widely propagated during those times.
Almost every day there were cockfights,
and during feast days, the government
officials and friars were the first to
engage in all sorts of bets and gambles.
o Seventh, there was a crooked system of
religion. The friars taught the naïve
Filipinos that it was easier for a poor man
to enter heaven, and so they preferred not
to work and remain poor so that they
could easily enter heaven after they died.
o Lastly, the taxes were extremely high,
so much so that a huge portion of what
they earned went to the government or to
the friars. When the object of their labor
was removed and they were exploited,
they were reduced to inaction.
 Rizal admitted that the Filipinos did not work
so hard because they were wise enough to
adjust themselves to the warm, tropical
climate. “An hour’s work under that burning
sun, in the midst of pernicious influences
springing from nature in activity, is equal to
a day’s labor in a temperate climate.”
Analysis
 It is important to note that indolence in the
Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a
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Week 13 | RIZL 211

hereditary one. Truth is, before the Spaniards will to continue building its foundation upon
arrived on these lands, the natives were the backs of its people, especially when the
industriously conducting business with fruits of their labor do not so much as reach
China, Japan, Arabia, Malaysia, and other their lips. When we spend our entire lives
countries in the Middle East. The reasons for worshipping such a cruel and inhumane
this said indolence were clearly stated in the society, forced upon us by aliens who do not
essay, and were not based only on even know our motherland, we are destined
presumptions, but were grounded on fact to tire after a while. We are not fools, we are
taken from history. not puppets who simply do as we are
 Another thing that we might add that had commanded – we are human beings, who are
caused this indolence, is the lack of unity motivated by our will towards the
among the Filipino people. In the absence of accomplishment of our objectives, and who
unity and oneness, the people did not have the strive for the preservation of our race. When
power to fight the hostile attacks of the this fundamental aspect of our existence is
government and of the other forces of denied of us, who can blame us if we turn
society. There would also be no voice, no idle?
leader, to sow progress and to cultivate it, so
that it may be reaped in due time. In such a
condition, the Philippines remained a
country that was lifeless, dead, simply
existing and not living. As Rizal stated in
conclusion, “a man in the Philippines is an
individual; he is not merely a citizen of a
country.”
 It can clearly be deduced from the writing
that the cause of the indolence attributed to
our race is Spain: When the Filipinos wanted
to study and learn, there were no schools, and
if there were any, they lacked sufficient
resources and did not present more useful
knowledge; when the Filipinos wanted to
establish their businesses, there wasn’t
enough capital nor protection from the
government; when the Filipinos tried to
cultivate their lands and establish various
industries, they were made to pay enormous
taxes and were exploited by the foreign
rulers.
 It is not only the Philippines, but also other
countries, that may be called indolent,
depending on the criteria upon which such a
label is based. Man cannot work without
resting, and if in doing so he is considered
lazy, they we could say that all men are
indolent. One cannot blame a country that
was deprived of its dignity, to have lost its

IYANOWEL 12
 INDOLENCE OF FILIPINOS
Week 13 | RIZL 211
Indolence of the Filipinos:
Summary and Analysis
La Indolencia de los Filipinos
 Essay.
 Published in La Solidaridad.
 Madrid, Spain (July 15, 1890 – September
15, 1890).
Indolent
 Idle.
 Lazy.
 Little love for work.
 Lack of activity.
 La Indolencia de los Filipinos, more
popularly known in its English version, "The
Indolence of the Filipinos," is an exploratory
essay written by Philippine national hero Dr.
Jose Rizal, to explain the alleged idleness of
his people during the Spanish colonization.
 The Indolence of the Filipinos is a study of
the causes why the people did not, as was
said, work hard during the Spanish regime.
Rizal pointed out that long before the coming
of the Spaniards, the Filipinos were
industrious and hardworking.
 The Spanish reign brought about a decline in
economic activities because of certain
causes:
o First, the establishment of the Galleon
Trade cut off all previous associations of
the Philippines with other countries in
Asia and the Middle East. As a result,
business was only conducted with Spain
through Mexico. Because of this, the
small businesses and handicraft
industries that flourished during the pre-
Spanish period gradually disappeared.
o Second, Spain also extinguished the
natives’ love of work because of the
implementation of forced labor. Because
of the wars between Spain and other
countries in Europe as well as the
Muslims in Mindanao, the Filipinos were
compelled to work in shipyards, roads,
and other public works, abandoning
agriculture, industry, and commerce.
(ppt)
o Third, Spain did not protect the people
against foreign invaders and pirates.
With no arms to defend themselves, the
natives were killed, their houses burned,
and their lands destroyed. As a result of
this, the Filipinos were forced to become
nomads, lost interest in cultivating their
lands or in rebuilding the industries that
were shut down, and simply became
submissive to the mercy of God.
o Fourth, there was a crooked system of
education, if it was to be considered an
education. What was being taught in the
schools were repetitive prayers and other
things that could not be used by the
students to lead the country to progress.
There were no courses in Agriculture,
Industry, etc., which were badly needed
by the Philippines during those times.
o Fifth, the Spanish rulers were a bad
example to despise manual labor. The
officials reported to work at noon and left
early, all the while doing nothing in line
with their duties. The women were seen
constantly followed by servants who
dressed them and fanned them – personal
things which they ought to have done for
themselves.
o Sixth, gambling was established and
widely propagated during those times.
Almost every day there were cockfights,
and during feast days, the government
officials and friars were the first to
engage in all sorts of bets and gambles.
o Seventh, there was a crooked system of
religion. The friars taught the naïve
Filipinos that it was easier for a poor man
to enter heaven, and so they preferred not
to work and remain poor so that they
could easily enter heaven after they died.
o Lastly, the taxes were extremely high, so
much so that a huge portion of what they
earned went to the government or to the
friars. When the object of their labor was
removed and they were exploited, they
were reduced to inaction.
IYANOWEL 13
 INDOLENCE OF FILIPINOS
Week 13 | RIZL 211
 Rizal admitted that the Filipinos did not work
so hard because they were wise enough to
adjust themselves to the warm, tropical
climate. “An hour’s work under that burning
sun, in the midst of pernicious influences
springing from nature in activity, is equal to
a day’s labor in a temperate climate.”
Causes of the Indolence of the Filipinos
1. Wars
 The inhabitants of the Philippines were
dragged to maintain the honor of Spain
(thousands and thousands of Filipinos were
sent but nothing was said if they ever returned
to their homes).
 Great diminution of the natives because the
governors got them as crews for the vessels
they sent out.
2. Pirate Attacks
 Devastation of the terrible pirates.
 Reduced more and more the number of
inhabitants of the Philippines.
 Burned down the towns, captured and
enslaved men.
 Disarmed and subjected to tributes so that
they were left without the means to defend
themselves.
3. Attitude of the Friars
 At that time, the friars advised their poor
parishioners:
o to stop work in the mines,
o to abandon their industries,
o to destroy their looms and pointing them
that heaven is their sole hope.
o The friars told them that it is easier for a
poor man to enter heaven than for a rich
man.
4. Lessening Encouragement to Labor
 Trade contact or relations between the
Borneans, Siamese, Cambodians and
Japanese nations were being cut off.
 The coast wide trade which was flourishing
before disappeared.
5. Miserly Return for One’s Labor
 Because of selfish, greedy, mean
Encomenderos who:
o Reduced many to slavery,
(ppt)
o Compelled Filipinos to work for their
benefit,
o Made them sell their products at an
insignificant price or for nothing or
cheated them with false measures
o Treated them like slaves.
6. Gambling
 The local word sugal (from the Spanish word
jugar, means to gamble) indicates that
gambling was unknown in the Philippines
before the Spaniards arrived.
 Balasa – from the Spanish word barajar, the
introduction of playing cards.
7. Fiestas
 Gave their contribution to large number of
fiestas, lengthy masses, novenae,
processions, rosaries.
 Filipinos were much less lazy before the
word miracle was introduced into their
language.
8. Curtailment of Individual Liberty
 Curtail means to cut off, to cut short.
 Individual liberty is being cut off.
 Accused of being a filibustero (rebel) or a
suspect.
 Lack of confidence in the future.
 Uncertainty of reaping the fruits of their
labor.
9. Apathy of the Government
 No encouragement, aid pertaining to
commerce or agriculture.
 The products coming from the Philippines
were burdened with imposts and duties and
have no free entry in the ports of the mother
country and the consumption of the products
are not encouraged.
 Due to the fraudulent (dishonest, deceitful)
manipulations of the Chinese, the Filipino
industries were dying.
10. Ownership of the Big Estates by the
Friars
 The best estates, the best tracts of land in
some provinces were in the hands of the
religious corporations.
 The friars have deceived many by making
them believe that those estates were
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Week 13 | RIZL 211

prospering because those were under their o Aristocratic lord who brought along with
supervision. him stamped papers, crucifixes, bulls and
11. Lack of Moral Support prayer books
 Absence of moral support.  AS A RESULT:
 Absence of help from the government. o The imitative people became clerks,
 Chemist (competitive examination). devout, prayer-loving, acquired ideas of
 Young man won a prize in a literary contest. luxurious and ostentatious living without
 Education of the Filipino. improving correspondingly their means
12. Deprivation of Human Dignity of subsistence.
 The students have to contend with the daily 16. Lack of National Sentiment
preaching that lowers human dignity,  (expression of emotional ideas, feelings,
gradually or brutally killing their self-respect. etc.).
 Priests who boldly declared that it is evil for  Scarcity of any opposition to the measures
the Filipinos to know Castilian, that the that are prejudicial to the people and the
Filipinos should not be separated from his absence of any initiative that will redound to
carabao, and that he should not have any their welfare.
further ambition.  Deprived of the right of association, therefore
13. Feeling of Inferiority they were weak and inert (inactive,
 Constant plucking (pulling, removing) of the unmotivated, passive).
soul.
o Deadens the energy.
o Paralyzes all tendency towards
advancement.
14. Vicious Dressing of the Intelligence and
Will
 “You can’t do more than old So and So!-
 Don’t aspire to be greater than the curate!
You belong to an inferior race! You haven’t
any energy.”
 They say this to the child; and as it is repeated
so often, it has inevitably engraved in his
mind and thence it seals and shapes all his
actions.
 Ridicules with cruel sarcasm.
15. Lack of an Ideal for a Good Worker
 The Filipinos’ spirits were transformed
according to the taste of the nation that
imposed upon them its God and its laws
 INSTEAD:
o Ideal and prototype tanned and muscular
laborer (who should have brought along
with him the useful iron implements and
the hoes to till the fields).
 BUT IT WAS AN:

IYANOWEL 15
 EL FILIBUSTERISMO
Week 14 | RIZL 211
El Filibusterismo
 El Filibusterismo (Spanish for "The
Filibustering"), also known by its English
alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the
second novel written by Philippine national
hero José Rizal.
 It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like
the first book was written in Spanish.
 It was first published in 1891 in Ghent,
Belgium.
Plot Summary
 Thirteen years after leaving the Philippines,
Crisostomo Ibarra returns as Simoun, a rich
jeweler sporting a beard and blue-tinted
glasses, and a confidant of the Captain-
General. Abandoning his idealism, he
becomes a cynical saboteur, seeking revenge
against the Spanish Philippine system
responsible for his misfortunes by plotting a
revolution.
 Simoun insinuates himself into Manila high
society and influences every decision of the
Captain-General to mismanage the country’s
affairs so that a revolution will break out. He
cynically sides with the upper classes,
encouraging them to commit abuses against
the masses to encourage the latter to revolt
against the oppressive Spanish colonial
regime.
 This time, he does not attempt to fight the
authorities through legal means, but through
violent revolution using the masses. Simoun
has reasons for instigating a revolution. First
is to rescue María Clara from the convent and
second, to get rid of ills and evils of
Philippine society.
 His true identity is discovered by a now
grown-up Basilio while visiting the grave of
his mother, Sisa, as Simoun was digging near
the grave site for his buried treasures. Simoun
spares Basilio’s life and asks him to join in
his planned revolution against the
government, egging him on by bringing up
the tragic misfortunes of the latter's family.
 Basilio declines the offer as he still hopes that
the country’s condition will improve.
(ppt)
 Basilio, at this point, is a graduating student
of medicine at the Ateneo Municipal de
Manila. After the death of his mother, Sisa,
and the disappearance of his younger brother,
Crispín, Basilio heeded the advice of the
dying boatman, Elías, and traveled to Manila
to study.
 Basilio was adopted by Captain Tiago after
María Clara entered the convent. With
Captain Tiago’s help, Basilio was able to go
to Colegio de San Juan de Letrán where, at
first, he is frowned upon by his peers and
teachers not only because of the color of his
skin but also because of his shabby
appearance.
 Captain Tiago’s confessor, Father Irene is
making Captain Tiago’s health worse by
giving him opium even as Basilio tries hard
to prevent Captain Tiago from smoking it. He
and other students want to establish a Spanish
language academy so that they can learn to
speak and write Spanish despite the
opposition from the Dominican friars of
the Universidad de Santo Tomás.
 With the help of a reluctant Father Irene as
their mediator and Don Custodio’s decision,
the academy is established; however they
will only serve as caretakers of the school not
as the teachers. Dejected and defeated, they
hold a mock celebration at a pancitería while
a spy for the friars witnesses the proceedings.
 Simoun, for his part, keeps in close contact
with the bandit group of Kabesang Tales, a
former cabeza de barangay who suffered
misfortunes at the hands of the friars. Once a
farmer owning a prosperous sugarcane
plantation and a cabeza de barangay
(barangay head), he was forced to give
everything to the greedy and unscrupulous
Spanish friars.
 His son, Tano, who became a civil guard, was
captured by bandits; his daughter Hulî had to
work as a maid to get enough ransom money
for his freedom; and his father, Tandang Selo,
suffered a stroke and became mute. Before
joining the bandits, Tales took Simoun’s
IYANOWEL 1
 EL FILIBUSTERISMO
Week 14 | RIZL 211
revolver while Simoun was staying at his
house for the night.
 As payment, Tales leaves a locket that once
belonged to María Clara. To further
strengthen the revolution, Simoun has
Quiroga, a Chinese man hoping to be
appointed consul to the Philippines, smuggle
weapons into the country using Quiroga’s
bazaar as a front.
 Simoun wishes to attack during a stage play
with all of his enemies in attendance. He,
however, abruptly aborts the attack when he
learns from Basilio that María Clara had died
earlier that day in the convent.
 A few days after the mock celebration by the
students, the people are agitated when
disturbing posters are found displayed around
the city. The authorities accuse the students
present at the pancitería of agitation and
disturbing peace and have them arrested.
 Basilio, although not present at the mock
celebration, is also arrested. Captain Tiago
dies after learning of the incident and as
stated in his will—forged by Irene, all his
possessions are given to the Church, leaving
nothing for Basilio. Basilio is left in prison as
the other students are released.
 A high official tries to intervene for the
release of Basilio but the Captain-General,
bearing grudges against the high official,
coerces him to tender his resignation. Julî,
Basilio’s girlfriend and the daughter of
Kabesang Tales, tries to ask Father
Camorra’s help upon the advice of an elder
woman. Instead of helping Julî, however, the
priest tries to rape her as he has long-hidden
desires for Julî.
 Julî, rather than submit to the will of the friar,
jumps over the balcony to her death. Basilio
is soon released with the help of Simoun.
Basilio, now a changed man, after hearing
about Julî's suicide, finally joins Simoun’s
revolution.
 Simoun then tells Basilio his plan at the
wedding of Paulita Gómez and Juanito,
Basilio’s hunch-backed classmate. His plan
(ppt)
was to conceal an explosive inside a
pomegranate-styled Kerosene lamp that
Simoun will give to the newlyweds as a gift
during the wedding reception.
 The reception will take place at the former
home of the late Captain Tiago, which was
now filled with explosives planted by
Simoun. According to Simoun, the lamp will
stay lighted for only 20 minutes before it
flickers;
 If someone attempts to turn the wick, it will
explode and kill everyone—important
members of civil society and the Church
hierarchy—inside the house. Basilio has a
change of heart and attempts to warn Isagani,
his friend and the former boyfriend of
Paulita.
 Simoun leaves the reception early as planned
and leaves a note behind:
o “Mene Thecel Phares.”
—Juan Crisostomo Ibarra
 Initially thinking that it was simply a bad
joke, Father Salví recognizes the handwriting
and confirms that it was indeed Ibarra’s. As
people begin to panic, the lamp flickers.
Father Irene tries to turn the wick up when
Isagani, due to his undying love for Paulita,
bursts in the room and throws the lamp into
the river, sabotaging Simoun's plans.
 He escapes by diving into the river as guards
chase after him. He later regrets his impulsive
action because he had contradicted his own
belief that he loved his nation more than
Paulita and that the explosion and revolution
could have fulfilled his ideals for Filipino
society.
 Simoun, now unmasked as the perpetrator of
the attempted arson and failed revolution,
becomes a fugitive. Wounded and exhausted
after he was shot by the pursuing Guardia
Civil, he seeks shelter at the home of Father
Florentino, Isagani’s uncle, and comes under
the care of Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña,
Doña Victorina's husband, who was also
hiding at the house.
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Week 14 | RIZL 211
 Simoun takes poison in order for him not to
be captured alive. Before he dies, he reveals
his real identity to Florentino while they
exchange thoughts about the failure of his
revolution and why God forsook him.
Florentino opines that God did not forsake
him and that his plans were not for the greater
good but for personal gain.
 Simoun, finally accepting Florentino’s
explanation, squeezes his hand and dies.
Florentino then takes Simoun’s remaining
jewels and throws them into the Pacific
Ocean with the corals hoping that they would
not be used by the greedy, and that when the
time came that it would be used for the
greater good, when the nation would be
finally deserving liberty for themselves, the
sea would reveal the treasures.
Characters of the El Filibusterismo
Simoun
 A powerful man who has a great influence
over the Kapitan Heneral. Using this, he
plans to destroy the Spaniards as his vendetta
for the sufferings of Crisostomo Ibarra.
Basilio
 The eldest of Sisa's two sons, now an aspiring
doctor whose medical education was being
financed by Capitan Tiago. He is now at the
point of graduation during the events in the
novel.
Isagani
 Poet and Basilio's best friend; portrayed as
emotional and reactive; Paulita Gómez'
boyfriend before being dumped for fellow
student Juanito Peláez.
Kabesang Tales
 Cabeza Telesforo Juan de Dios, a
former cabeza de barangay of Sagpang, a
barangay in San Diego's neighboring town
Tiani, who resurfaced as the feared Luzón
bandit Matanglawin.
Don Custodio
 Custodio de Salazar y Sánchez de
Monteredondo, a famous "journalist" who
was asked by the students about his decision
for the Academia de Castellano.
(ppt)
Paulita Gomez
 The girlfriend of Isagani and the niece of
Doña Victorina. In the end, she and Juanito
Peláez are wed, and she dumps Isagani.
Macaraig
 One of Isagani's classmates at the University
of Santo Tomas. He is a rich student and
serves as the leader of the students yearning
to build the Academia de Castellano.
Father Florentino
 Isagani's godfather, and a secular priest; was
engaged to be married, but chose to be a
priest after being pressured by his mother.
Juli/Huli
 Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of Basilio, and
the youngest daughter of Kabesang Tales. To
claim her father from the bandits, she had to
work as a maid under the supervision of
Hermana Penchang.
Juanito Pelaez
 The son of Don Timoteo Pelaez, a Spanish
businessman, he is also one of the members
of Macaraig's gang who wish to have the
Academia de Castellano built.
Doña Victorina
 Victorina delos Reyes de Espadaña, known
in Noli Me Tangere as Tiburcio de
Espadaña's cruel wife.
Father Camorra
 The parish priest of Tiani. He has been
desiring young women ever since. He nearly
raped Juli causing the latter to commit
suicide.
Ben-Zayb
 The pseudonym of Abraham Ibañez, a
journalist who believes he is the "only" one
thinking in the Philippines.
Placido Penitente
 A student of the University of Santo Tomas
who was very intelligent and wise but did not
want, if not only by his mother's plea, to
pursue his studies.
Hermana Penchang
 Sagpang's rich pusakal (gambler). She offers
Huli to be her maid so the latter can obtain
money to free Kabesang Tales.
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 EL FILIBUSTERISMO
Week 14 | RIZL 211
Tiburcio de Espadaña
 Don Tiburcio is Victorina de Espadaña's
lame husband. He is currently on hiding with
Father Florentino.
Father Irene
 Captain Tiago's spiritual adviser. Although
reluctant, he helped the students to establish
the Academia de Castellano after being
convinced by giving him a chestnut.
Quiroga
 A Chinese businessman who dreamed of
being a consul for his country in the
Philippines. He hid Simoun's weapons inside
his house.
Don Timoteo Pelaez
 Juanito's father. He is a rich-businessmen and
arranges a wedding for his son and Paulita.
He and Simoun became business partners.
Tandang Selo
 Father of Kabesang Tales. He raised the sick
and young Basilio after he left their house in
Noli Me Tangere.
Father Hernandez
 The priest-friend of Isagani. He promised to
Isagani that he and the other priests will give
in to the students' demands.
Sandoval
 The vice-leader of Macaraig's gang. A
Spanish classmate of Isagani.
Hermana Báli
 Another gambler in Tiani. She became Huli's
mother-figure and counselor; helped to
release Kabesang Tales from the hands of
bandits.
Pasta
 One of the great lawyers of mid-Hispanic
Manila, opposed the students' demands for a
Spanish language academy.
Father Millon
 The Physics teacher of the University of
Santo Tomas. He always becomes vindictive
with Placido and always taunts him during
class.
(ppt)
Tadeo
 Macaraig's classmate. He, along with the
other three members of their gang,
supposedly posted the posters.
Leeds
 Leeds
 Tano, an American who holds stage plays
starring decapitated heads; he is good friends
with Simoun.
Tano
 Kabesang Tale’s elder son after his older
sister, Lucia died in childhood.
Pepay
 Don Custodio's supposed "girlfriend". A
dancer, she is always agitated of her
boyfriend’s plans. She seems to be a close
friend of Macaraig.
Governador General
 The highest-ranking official in the
Philippines during the Spanish colonial
period.
Pecson
 Classmate who had no idea on the
happenings occurring around him. He
suggested that they held the mock celebration
at the panciteria.
Father Hernando de la Sibyla
 A Dominican friar introduced in Noli Me
Tangere, now the vice-rector of
the University of Santo Tomas.
Father Bernardo Salvi
 Former parish priest of San Diego, now the
director and chaplain of the Santa Clara
convent.
Captain Tiago
 Santiago delos Santos, although making a
cameo appearance, Captain Tiago is Maria
Clara's stepfather and the foster-father to
Basilio.
Maria Clara
 Introduced in Dr. Rizal's first novel "Noli Me
Tangere". She was once the girlfriend of
Crisostomo Ibarra but chose to became a nun
despite Father Damaso's (her real father)
arguments. She eventually committed
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Week 14 | RIZL 211

suicide, as witnessed by Basilio when he
visited the convent of Santa Clara.

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 THE PHILIPPINES A CENTURY HENCE (pdf)
Week 14
The Philippines A Century Hence
 “The Philippines a Century Hence” is an
essay written by Philippine national hero Jose
Rizal to forecast the future of the country
within a hundred years. Rizal felt that it was
time to remind Spain that the circumstances
that ushered in the French Revolution could
have a telling effect for her in the Philippines.
 This essay presents a radical prophesy of
Rizal of how the Philippines would be
through the century. Rizal presented a clear
idea of how our Motherland will end up
centuries later proposing that our country will
end up in either of the three ways:
o That the Philippines will remain to be a
colony of Spain but will be in good terms
with it’s captors.
o That the Philippines will try to cut the ties
of our Motherland from it’s captors
through violent means,
o And lastly that we will be colonized by
another country.
o This essay, published in La Solidaridad in
Madrid between September 30, 1889 and
February 1, 1890 starts by analyzing the
various causes of the miseries suffered by
the Filipino people:
 Spain’s implementation of her military
policies – because of such laws, the
Philippine population decreased
dramatically. Poverty became more rampant
than ever, and farmlands were left to wither.
The family as a unit of society was neglected,
and overall, every aspect of the life of the
Filipino was retarded.
 Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino
indigenous culture – when Spain came with
the sword and the cross, it began the gradual
destruction of the native Philippine culture.
Because of this, the Filipinos started losing
confidence in their past and their heritage,
became doubtful of their present lifestyle,
and eventually lost hope in the future and the
preservation of their race.
 Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish
colonizers – one of the most powerful forces
| RIZL 211
that influenced a culture of silence among the
natives were the Spanish friars. Because of
the use of force, the Filipinos learned to
submit themselves to the will of the
foreigners.
 Eventually, the natives realized that such
oppression in their society by foreign
colonizers must no longer be tolerated.
o Keeping the people uneducated and
ignorant had failed. National
consciousness had still awakened, and
great Filipino minds still emerged from
the rubble.
 Keeping he people impoverished also came
to no avail. On the contrary, living a life of
eternal destitution had allowed the Filipinos
to act on the desire for a change in their way
of life. They began to explore other horizons
through which they could move towards
progress.
 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 is
something Spain would not allow.
 Key Points in this essay or several issues
that concern our country:
o Abuse of human rights.
o Lack of freedom of speech.
o Lack of representation in the Spanish
Cortes.
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Annotations of Morga’s “Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas” and Other Writings
Rizal’s Annotations to Morga’s Sucesos de
las Islas Filipinas
 To The Filipinos: In Noli Me Tangere I
started to sketch the present state of our
native land. But the effect which my effort
produced made me realize that, before
attempting to unroll before your eyes the
other pictures which were to follow, it was
necessary first to post you on the past. So
only can you fairly judge the present and
estimate how much progress has been made
during the three centuries of Spanish rule.
 Like almost all of you, I was born and
brought up in ignorance of our country's past
and so, without knowledge or authority to
speak of what I neither saw nor have studied,
I deem it necessary to quote the testimony of
an illustrious Spaniard who in the beginning
of the new era controlled the destinies of the
Philippines and had personal knowledge of
our ancient nationality in its last days.
 It is then the shade of our ancestor's
civilization which the author will call before
you... If the work serves to awaken in you a
consciousness of our past, and to blot from
your memory or to rectify what has been
falsified or is calumny, then I shall not have
labored in vain. With this preparation, slight
though it be, we can all pass to the study of
the future.
 Governor Antonio de Morga was not only the
first to write but also the first to publish a
Philippine history. This statement has regard
to the concise and concrete form in which our
author has treated the matter. Father Chirino's
work, printed at Rome in 1604, is rather a
chronicle of the Missions than a history of the
Philippines; still it contains a great deal of
valuable material on usages and customs. The
worthy Jesuit in fact admits that he
abandoned writing a political history because
Morga had already done so, so one must infer
that he had seen the work in manuscript
before leaving the Islands.
| RIZL 211
o By the Christian religion, Doctor Morga
appears to mean the Roman Catholic
which by fire and sword he would
preserve in its purity in the Philippines.
Nevertheless, in other lands, notably in
Flanders, these means were ineffective to
keep the church unchanged, or to
maintain its supremacy, or even to hold
its subjects.
o Great kingdoms were indeed discovered
and conquered in the remote and
unknown parts of the world by Spanish
ships but to the Spaniards who sailed in
them we may add Portuguese, Italians,
French, Greeks, and even Africans and
Polynesians. The expeditions captained
by Columbus and Magellan, one a
Genoese Italian and the other a
Portuguese, as well as those that came
after them, although Spanish fleets, still
were manned by many nationalities and
in them went negroes, Moluccans, and
even men from the Philippines and the
Marianas Islands.
o Three centuries ago, it was the custom to
write as intolerantly as Morga does, but
nowadays it would be called a bit
presumptuous. No one has a monopoly of
the true God nor is there any nation or
religion that can claim, or at any rate
prove, that to it has been given the
exclusive right to the Creator of all things
or sole knowledge of His real being.
o The conversions by the Spaniards were
not as general as their historians claim.
The missionaries only succeeded in
converting a part of the people of the
Philippines. Still there are Mohamedans,
the Moros, in the southern islands, and
negritos, igorots and other heathens yet
occupy the greater part territorially of the
archipelago. Then the islands which the
Spaniards early held but soon lost are
non-Christian-Formosa, Borneo, and the
Moluccas. And if there are Christians in
the Carolines, that is due to Protestants,
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whom neither the Roman Catholics of
Morga's day nor many Catholics in our
own day consider Christians.
o It is not the fact that the Filipinos were
unprotected before the coming of the
Spaniards. Morga himself says, further on
in telling of the pirate raids from the
south, that previous to the Spanish
domination the islands had arms and
defended themselves. But after the
natives were disarmed the pirates pillaged
them with impunity, coming at times
when they were unprotected by the
government, which was the reason for
many of the insurrections.
o The civilization of the Pre-Spanish
Filipinos in regard to the duties of life for
that age was well advanced, as the Morga
history shows in its eighth chapter.
o The islands came under Spanish
sovereignty and control through
compacts, treaties of friendship and
alliances for reciprocity. By virtue of the
last arrangement, according to some
historians, Magellan lost his life on
Mactan and the soldiers of Legaspi
fought under the banner of King Tupas of
Cebu.
o The term "conquest" is admissible but for
a part of the islands and then only in its
broadest sense. Cebu, Panay, Luzon
Mindoro and some others cannot be said
to have been conquered.
o The discovery, conquest and conversion
cost Spanish blood but still more Filipino
blood. It will be seen later on in Morga
that with the Spaniards and on behalf of
Spain there were always more Filipinos
fighting than Spaniards.
o Morga shows that the ancient Filipinos
had army and navy with artillery and
other implements of warfare. Their prized
krises and kampilans for their
magnificent temper are worthy of
admiration and some of them are richly
damascened. Their coats of mail and
| RIZL 211
helmets, of which there are specimens in
various European museums, attest their
great advancement in this industry.
o Morga's expression that the Spaniards
"brought war to the gates of the Filipinos"
is in marked contrast with the word used
by subsequent historians whenever
recording Spain's possessing herself of a
province, that she pacified it. Perhaps "to
make peace" then meant the same as "to
stir up war."
▪ Magellan's transferring from the
service of his own king to employment
under the King of Spain, according to
historic documents, was because the
Portuguese King had refused to grant
him the raise in salary which he asked.
o Now it is known that Magellan was
mistaken when he represented to the King
of Spain that the Molucca Islands were
within the limits assigned by the Pope to
the Spaniards. But through this error and
the inaccuracy of the nautical instruments
of that time, the Philippines did not fall
into the hands of the Portuguese.
o Cebu, which Morga calls "The City of the
Most Holy Name of Jesus," was at first
called "The village of San Miguel."
o The image of the Holy Child of Cebu,
which many religious writers believed
was brought to Cebu by the angels, was
in fact given by the worthy Italian
chronicler of Magellan's expedition, the
Chevalier Pigafetta, to the Cebuano
queen.
o The expedition of Villalobos,
intermediate between Magellan's and
Legaspi's, gave the name "Philipina" to
one of the southern islands, Tendaya,
now perhaps Leyte, and this name later
was extended to the whole archipelago.
o Of the native Manila rulers at the coming
of the Spaniards, Raja Soliman was called
"Rahang mura", or young king, in
distinction from the old king, "Rahang
matanda". Historians have confused these
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personages. The native fort at the mouth
of the Pasig river, which Morga speaks of
as equipped with brass lantakas and
artillery of larger caliber, had its ramparts
reinforced with thick hardwood posts
such as the Tagalogs used for their houses
and called "harigues", or "haligui".
o Morga has evidently confused the pacific
coming of Legaspi with the attack of
Goiti and Salcedo, as to date. According
to other historians it was in 1570 that
Manila was burned, and with it a great
plant for manufacturing artillery. Goiti
did not take possession of the city but
withdrew to Cavite and afterwards to
Panay, which makes one suspicious of his
alleged victory. As to the day of the date,
the Spaniards then, having come
following the course of the sun, were
some sixteen hours later than Europe.
This condition continued till the end of
the year 1844, when the 31st of
December was by special arrangement
among the authorities dropped from the
calendar for that year. Accordingly,
Legaspi did not arrive in Manila on the
19th but on the 20th of May and
consequently it was not on the festival of
Santa Potenciana but on San Baudelio's
day. The same mistake was made with
reference to the other early events still
wrongly commemorated, like San
Andres' day for the repulse of the Chinese
corsair Li Ma-hong.
o Though not mentioned by Morga, the
Cebuans aided the Spaniards in their
expedition against Manila, for which
reason they were long exempted from
tribute.
o The southern islands, the Bisayas, were
also called "The land of the Painted
People" (or Pintados, in Spanish) because
the natives had their bodies decorated
with tracings made with fire, somewhat
like tattooing.
| RIZL 211
o The Spaniards retained the native name
for the new capital of the archipelago, a
little changed, however, for the Tagalogs
had called their city "Maynila."
o When Morga says that the lands were
"entrusted" (given as encomiendas) to
those who had "pacified" them, he means
"divided up among." The word "entrust,"
like "pacify," later came to have a sort of
ironical signification. To entrust a
province was then as if it were said that it
was turned over to sack, abandoned to the
cruelty and covetousness of the
encomendero, to judge from the way this
gentry misbehaved.
o Legaspi's grandson, Salcedo, called the
Hernando Cortez of the Philippines, was
the "conqueror's" intelligent right arm
and the hero of the "conquest." His
honesty and fine qualities, talent and
personal bravery, all won the admiration
of the Filipinos. Because of him they
yielded to their enemies, making peace
and friendship with the Spaniards. He it
was who saved Manila from Li Ma-hong.
He died at the early age of twenty-seven
and is the only encomendero recorded to
have left the great part of his possessions
to the Indians of his encomienda. Vigan
was his encomienda and the Ilokanos
there were his heirs.
o The expedition which followed the
Chinese corsair Li Ma-Hong, after his
unsuccessful attack upon Manila, to
Pangasinan province, with the Spaniards
of whom Morga tells, had in it 1,500
friendly Indians from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte
and Panay, besides the many others
serving as laborers and crews of the ships.
Former Raja Lakandula, of Tondo, with
his sons and his kinsmen went, too, with
200 more Bisayans and they were joined
by other Filipinos in Pangasinan.
o If discovery and occupation justify
annexation, then Borneo ought to belong
to Spain. In the Spanish expedition to
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replace on its throne a Sirela or Malaela,
as he is variously called, who had been
driven out by his brother, more than
fifteen hundred Filipino bowmen from
the provinces of Pangasinan, Cagayan,
and the Bisayas participated.
o It is notable how strictly the earlier
Spanish governors were held to account.
Some stayed in Manila as prisoners, one,
Governor Corcuera, passing five years
with Fort Santiago as his prison.
o In the fruitless expedition against the
Portuguese in the island of Ternate, in the
Molucca group, which was abandoned
because of the prevalence of beriberi
among the troops, there went 1,500
Filipino soldiers from the more warlike
provinces, principally Cagayan and
Pampanga.
o The "pacification" of Cagayan was
accomplished by taking advantage of the
jealousies among its people, particularly
the rivalry between two brothers who
were chiefs. An early historian asserts
that without this fortunate circumstance,
for the Spaniards, it would have been
impossible to subjugate them.
o Captain Gabriel de Rivera, a Spanish
commander who had gained fame in a
raid on Borneo and the Malacca coast,
was the first envoy from the Philippines
to take up with the King of Spain the
needs of the archipelago.
o The early conspiracy of the Manila and
Pampanga former chiefs was revealed to
the Spaniards by a Filipina, the wife of a
soldier, and many concerned lost their
lives.
o The artillery cast for the new stone fort in
Manila, says Morga, was by the hand of
an ancient Filipino. That is, he knew how
to cast cannon even before the coming of
the Spaniards, hence he was
distinguished as 4"ancient." In this
difficult art of ironworking, as in so many
others, the modern or present-day
| RIZL 211
Filipinos are not so far advanced as were
their ancestors.
o When the English freebooter Cavendish
captured the Mexican galleon Santa Ana,
with 122,000 gold pesos, a great quantity
of rich textiles-silks, satins and damask,
musk perfume, and stores of provisions,
he took 150 prisoners. All these because
of their brave defense were put ashore
with ample supplies, except two Japanese
lads, three Filipinos, a Portuguese and a
skilled Spanish pilot whom he kept as
guides in his further voyaging.
o From the earliest Spanish days, ships
were built in the islands, which might be
considered evidence of native culture.
Nowadays this industry is reduced to
small craft, scows and coasters.
o The Jesuit, Father Alonso Sanchez, who
visited the papal court at Rome and the
Spanish King at Madrid, had a mission
much like that of deputies now, but of
even greater importance since he came to
be a sort of counsellor or representative to
the absolute monarch of that epoch. One
wonders why the Philippines could have
a representative then but may not have
one now.
o In the time of Governor Gomez Perez
Dasmariňas, Manila was guarded against
further damage such as was suffered from
Li Ma-Hong by the construction of a
massive stone wall around it. This was
accomplished "without expense to the
royal treasury." The same governor, in
like manner, also fortified the point at the
entrance to the river where had been the
ancient native fort of wood, and he gave
it the name Fort Santiago.
o The early cathedral of wood which was
burned through carelessness at the time of
the funeral of Governor Dasmariňas'
predecessor, Governor Ronquillo, was
made, according to the Jesuit historian
Chirino, with hardwood pillars around
which two men could not reach, and in
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harmony with this massiveness was all
the woodwork above and below. It may
be surmised from these how hard workers
were the Filipinos of that time.
o A stone house for the bishop was built
before starting on the governor-general's
residence. This precedence is interesting
for those who uphold the civil power.
Morga's mention of the scant output of
large artillery from the Manila cannon
works because of lack of master
foundrymen shows that after the death of
the Filipino Panday Pira there were not
Spaniards skilled enough to take his
place, nor were his sons as expert as he.
o It is worthy of note that China, Japan and
Cambodia at this time-maintained
relation with the Philippines. But in our
day, it has been more than a century since
the natives of the latter two countries
have come here. The causes which ended
the relationship may be found in the
interference by the religious orders with
the institutions of those lands.
o For Governor Dasmariñas' expedition to
conquer Ternate, in the Moluccan group,
two Jesuits there gave secret information.
In his 200 ships, besides 900 Spaniards,
there must have been Filipinos for one
chronicler speaks of Indians, as the
Spaniards called the natives of the
Philippines, who lost their lives and
others who were made captives when the
Chinese rowers mutinied. It was the
custom then always to have a thousand or
more native bowmen and besides the
crew were almost all Filipinos, for the
most part Bisayans.
o The historian Argensola, in telling of four
special galleys for Dasmariñas'
expedition, says that they were manned
by an expedient which was generally
considered rather harsh. It was ordered
that there be bought enough of the Indians
who were slaves of the former Indian
chiefs, or principales, to form these
| RIZL 211
crews, and the price, that which had been
customary in pre-Spanish times, was to
be advanced by the encomenderos who
later would be reimbursed from the royal
treasury. In spite of this promised
compensation, the measures still seemed
severe since those Filipinos were not
correct in calling their dependents slaves.
The masters treated these, and loved
them, like sons rather, for they seated
them at their own tables an gave them
their own daughters in marriage.
o Morga says that the 250 Chinese oarsmen
who manned Governor Dasmariñas’
swift galley were under pay and had the
special favor of not being chained to their
benches. According to him it was
covetousness of the wealth aboard that
led them to revolt and kill the governor.
But the historian Gaspar de San Agustin
states that the reason for the revolt was
the governor's abusive language and his
threatening the rowers. Both these
authors' allegations may have
contributed, but more important was the
fact that there was no law to compel these
Chinamen to row in the galleys. They had
come to Manila to engage in commerce
or to work in trades or to follow
professions. Still the incident contradicts
the reputation for enduring everything
which they have had. The Filipinos have
been much more long-suffering than the
Chinese since, in spite of having been
obliged to row on more than one
occasion, they never mutinied.
o It is difficult to excuse the missionaries'
disregard of the laws of nations and the
usages of honorable politics in their
interference in Cambodia on the ground
that it was to spread the Faith. Religion
had a broad field awaiting it then in the
Philippines where more than nine-tenths
of the natives were infidels. That even
now there are to be found here so many
tribes and settlements of non-Christians
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takes away much of the prestige of that
religious zeal which in the easy life in
towns of wealth, liberal and fond of
display, grows lethargic. Truth is that the
ancient activity was scarcely for the Faith
alone, because the missionaries had to go
to islands rich in spices and gold though
there were at hand Mohamedans and
Jews in Spain and Africa, Indians by the
million in the Americas, and more
millions of protestants, schismatic and
heretics peopled, and still people, over
six-sevenths of Europe. All of these
doubtless would have accepted the Light
and the true religion if the friars, under
pretext of preaching to them, had not
abused their hospitality and if behind the
name Religion had not lurked the
unnamed Domination.
o In the attempt made by Rodriguez de
Figueroa to conquer Mindanao according
to his contract with the King of Spain,
there was fighting along the Rio Grande
with the people called the Buhahayenes.
Their general, according to Argensola,
was the celebrated Silonga, later
distinguished for many deeds in raids on
the Bisayas and adjacent islands. Chirino
relates an anecdote of his coolness under
fire once during a truce for a marriage
among Mindanao "principalia." Young
Spaniards out of bravado fired at his feet
but he passed on as if unconscious of the
bullets.
o Argensola has preserved the name of the
Filipino who killed Rodriguez de
Figueroa. It was Ubal. Two days
previously he had given a banquet,
slaying for it a beef animal of his own,
and then made the promise which he kept,
to do away with the leader of the Spanish
invaders. A Jesuit writer calls him a
traitor though the justification for that
term of reproach is not apparent. The
Buhahayen people were in their own
country, and had neither offended nor
| RIZL 211
declared war upon the Spaniards. They
had to defend their homes against a
powerful invader, with superior forces,
many of whom were, by reason of their
armor, invulnerable so far as rude Indians
were concerned. Yet these same Indians
were defenseless against the balls from
their muskets. By the Jesuit's line of
reasoning, the heroic Spanish peasantry
in their war for independence would have
been a people even more treacherous. It
was not Ubal's fault that he was not seen
and, as it was wartime, it would have been
the height of folly, in view of the
immense disparity of arms, to have first
called out to this preoccupied opponent,
and then been killed himself.
o The muskets used by the Buhahayens
were probably some that had belonged to
Figueroa's soldiers who had died in battle.
Though the Philippines had lantakas and
other artillery, muskets were unknown till
the Spaniards came.
o That the Spaniards used the word
"discover" very carelessly may be seen
from an admiral's turning in a report of
his "discovery" of the Solomon Islands
though he noted that the islands had been
discovered before.
o Death has always been the first sign of
European civilization on its introduction
in the Pacific Ocean. God grant that it
may not be the last, though to judge by
statistics the civilized islands are losing
their populations at a terrible rate.
Magellan himself inaugurated his arrival
in the Marianas islands by burning more
than forty houses, many small craft and
seven people because one of his boats had
been stolen. Yet to the simple savages the
act had nothing wrong in it but was done
with the same naturalness that civilized
people hunt, fish, and subjugate people
that are weak or ill-armed.
o The Spanish historians of the Philippines
never overlook any opportunity, be it
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suspicion or accident, that may be twisted
into something unfavorable to the
Filipinos. They seem to forget that in
almost every case the reason for the
rupture has been some act of those who
were pretending to civilize helpless
peoples by force of arms and at the cost
of their native land. What would these
same writers have said if the crimes
committed by the Spaniards, the
Portuguese and the Dutch in their
colonies had been committed by the
islanders?
o The Japanese were not in error when they
suspected the Spanish and Portuguese
religious propaganda to have political
motives back of the missionary activities.
Witness the Moluccas where Spanish
missionaries served as spies; Cambodia,
which it was sought to conquer under
cloak of converting; and many other
nations, among them the Filipinos, where
the sacrament of baptism made of the
inhabitants not only subjects of the King
of Spain but also slaves of the
encomenderos, and as well slaves of the
churches and convents. What would
Japan have been now had not its emperors
uprooted Catholicism? A missionary
record of 1625 sets forth that the King of
Spain had arranged with certain members
of Philippine religious orders that, under
guise of preaching the faith and making
Christians, they should win over the
Japanese and oblige them to make
themselves of the Spanish party, and
finally it told of a plan whereby the King
of Spain should become also King of
Japan. In corroboration of this may be
cited the claims that Japan fell within the
Pope's demarcation lines for Spanish
expansion and so there was complaint of
missionaries other than Spanish there.
Therefore, it was not for religion that they
were converting the infidels!
| RIZL 211
o The raid by Datus Sali and Silonga of
Mindanao, in 1599 with 50 sailing vessels
and 3,000 warriors, against the capital of
Panay, is the first act of piracy by the
inhabitants of the South which is
recorded in Philippine history. I say "by
the inhabitants of the South" because
earlier there had been other acts of piracy,
the earliest being that of Magellan's
expedition when it seized the shipping of
friendly islands and even of those whom
they did not know, extorting for them
heavy ransoms. It will be remembered
that these Moro piracies continued for
more than two centuries, during which
the indomitable sons of the South made
captives and carried fire and sword not
only in neighboring islands but into
Manila Bay to Malate, to the very gates
of the capital, and not once a year merely
but at times repeating their raids five and
six times in a single season. Yet the
government was unable to repel them or
to defend the people whom it had
disarmed and left without protection.
Estimating that the cost to the islands was
but 800 victims a year, still the total
would be more than 200,000 persons sold
into slavery or killed, all sacrificed
together with so many other things to the
prestige of that empty title, Spanish
sovereignty.
o Still the Spaniards say that the Filipinos
have contributed nothing to Mother
Spain, and that it is the islands which owe
everything. It may be so, but what about
the enormous sum of gold which was
taken from the islands in the early years
of Spanish rule, of the tributes collected
by the encomenderos, of the nine million
dollars yearly collected to pay the
military, expenses of the employees,
diplomatic agents, corporations and the
like, charged to the Philippines, with
salaries paid out of the Philippine
treasury not only for those who come to
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the Philippines but also for those who
leave, to some who never have been and
never will be in the islands, as well as to
others who have nothing to do with them.
Yet all of this is as nothing in comparison
with so many captives gone, such a great
number of soldiers killed in expeditions,
islands depopulated, their inhabitants
sold as slaves by the Spaniards
themselves, the death of industry, the
demoralization of the Filipinos, and so
forth, and so forth. Enormous indeed
would the benefits which that sacred
civilization brought to the archipelago
have to be in order to counterbalance so
heavy a-cost.
o While Japan was preparing to invade the
Philippines, these islands were sending
expeditions to Tonquin and Cambodia,
leaving the homeland helpless even
against the undisciplined hordes from the
South, so obsessed were the Spaniards
with the idea of making conquests.
o In the alleged victory of Morga over the
Dutch ships, the latter found upon the
bodies of five Spaniards, who lost their
lives in that combat, little silver boxes
filled with prayers and invocations to the
saints. Here would seem to be the origin
of the anting-anting of the modern
tulisanes, which are also of a religious
character.
o In Morga's time, the Philippines exported
silk to Japan whence now comes the best
quality of that merchandise.
o Morga's views upon the failure of
Governor Pedro de Acuna’s ambitious
expedition against the Moros unhappily
still apply for the same conditions yet
exist. For fear of uprisings and loss of
Spain's sovereignty over the islands, the
inhabitants were disarmed, leaving them
exposed to the harassing of a powerful
and dreaded enemy. Even now, though
the use of steam vessels has put an end to
piracy from outside, the same fatal
| RIZL 211
system still is followed. The peaceful
countryfolk are deprived of arms and thus
made unable to defend themselves
against the bandits, or tulisanes, which
the government cannot restrain. It is an
encouragement to banditry thus to make
easy its getting booty.
o Hernando de los Rios blames these
Moluccan wars for the fact that at first the
Philippines were a source of expense to
Spain instead of profitable in spite of the
tremendous sacrifices of the Filipinos,
their practically gratuitous labor in
building and equipping the galleons, and
despite, too, the tribute, tariffs and other
imposts and monopolies. These wars to
gain the Moluccas, which soon were lost
forever with the little that had been so
laboriously obtained, were a heavy drain
upon the Philippines. They depopulated
the country and bankrupted the treasury,
with not the slightest compensating
benefit. True also is it that it was to gain
the Moluccas that Spain kept the
Philippines, the desire for the rich spice
islands being one of the most powerful
arguments when, because of their
expense to him, the King thought of
withdrawing and abandoning them.
o Among the Filipinos who aided the
government when the Manila Chinese
revolted, Argensola says there were 4,000
Pampangans "armed after the way of their
land, with bows and arrows, short lances,
shields, and broad and long daggers."
Some Spanish writers say that the
Japanese volunteers and the Filipinos
showed themselves cruel in slaughtering
the Chinese refugees. This may very well
have been so, considering the hatred and
rancor then existing, but those in
command set the example.
o The loss of two Mexican galleons in 1603
called forth no comment from the
religious chroniclers who were
accustomed to see the avenging hand of
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God in the misfortunes and accidents of
their enemies. Yet there were repeated
shipwrecks of the vessels that carried
from the Philippines wealth which
encomenderos had extorted from the
Filipinos, using force, or making their
own laws, and, when not using these open
means, cheating by the weights and
measures.
o The Filipino chiefs who at their own
expense went with the Spanish expedition
against Ternate, in the Moluccas, in 1605,
were Don Guillermo Palaot, maestro de
campo, and Captains Francisco Palaot,
Juan Lit, Luis Lont, and Agustin Lont.
They had with them 400 Tagalogs and
Kapampangans. The leaders bore
themselves bravely for Argensola writes
that in the assault on Ternate, "No officer,
Spaniard or Indian, went unscathed."
o The Cebuanos drew a pattern on the skin
before starting in to tattoo. The Bisayan
usage then was the same procedure that
the Japanese today follow.
o Ancient traditions ascribe the origin of
the Malay Filipinos to the island of
Sumatra. These traditions were almost
completely lost as well as the mythology
and the genealogies of which the early
historians tell, thanks to the zeal of the
missionaries in eradicating all national
remembrances as heathen or idolatrous.
The study of ethnology is restoring this
somewhat.
o The chiefs used to wear upper garments,
usually of Indian fine gauze according to
Colin, of red color, a shade for which they
had the same fondness that the Romans
had. The barbarous tribes in Mindanao
still have the same taste.
o The "easy virtue" of the native women
that historians note is not solely
attributable to the simplicity with which
they obeyed their natural instincts but
much more due to a religious belief of
which Father Chirino tells. It was that in
| RIZL 211
the journey after death to "Kalualhatian,"
the abode of the spirit, there was a
dangerous river to cross that had no
bridge other than a very narrow strip of
wood over which a woman could not pass
unless she had a husband or lover to
extend a hand to assist her. Furthermore,
the religious annals of the early missions
are filled with countless instances where
native maidens chose death rather than
sacrifice their chastity to the threats and
violence of encomenderos and Spanish
soldiers. As to the mercenary social evil,
that is worldwide and there is no nation
that can 'throw the first stone' at any other.
For the rest, today the Philippines has no
reason to blush in comparing its
womankind with the women of the most
chaste nation in the world.
o Morga's remark that the Filipinos like fish
better when it is commencing to turn bad
is another of those prejudices which
Spaniards like all other nations, have. In
matters of food, each is nauseated with
what he is unaccustomed to or doesn't
know is eatable. The English, for
example, find their gorge rising when
they see a Spaniard eating snails, while in
turn the Spanish find roast beef English-
style repugnant and can't understand the
relish of other Europeans for beefsteak a
la Tartar which to them is simply raw
meat. The Chinaman, who likes shark's
meat, cannot bear Roquefort cheese, and
these examples might be indefinitely
extended. The Filipinos' favorite fish dish
is the bagoong and whoever has tried to
eat it knows that it is not considered
improved when tainted. It neither is, nor
ought to be, decayed.
o Colin says the ancient Filipinos had
minstrels who had memorized songs
telling their genealogies and of the deeds
ascribed to their deities. These were
chanted on voyages in cadence with the
rowing, or at festivals, or funerals, or
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wherever there happened to be any
considerable gatherings. It is regrettable
that these chants have not been preserved
as from them it would have been possible
to learn much of the Filipinos' past and
possibly of the history of neighboring
islands.
o The cannon foundry mentioned by Morga
as in the walled city was probably on the
site of the Tagalog one which was
destroyed by fire on the first coming of
the Spaniards. That established in 1584
was in Lamayan, that is, Santa Ana now,
and was transferred to the old site in
1590. It continued to work until 1805.
According to Gaspar San Agustin, the
cannon which the pre-Spanish Filipinos
cast were "as great as those of Malaga,"
Spain's foundry. The Filipino plant was
burned with all that was in it save a dozen
large cannons and some smaller pieces
which the Spanish invaders took back
with them to Panay. The rest of their
artillery equipment had been thrown by
the Manilans, then Moros, into the sea
when they recognized their defeat.
o Malate, better Maalat, was where the
Tagalog aristocracy lived after they were
dispossessed by the Spaniards of their old
homes in what is now the walled city of
Manila. Among the Malate residents
were the families of Raja Matanda and
Raja Soliman. The men had various
positions in Manila and some were
employed in government work nearby.
"They were very courteous and well-
mannered," says San Agustin. "The
women were very expert in lacemaking,
so much so that they were not at all
behind the women of Flanders."
o Morga's statement that there was not a
province or town of the Filipinos that
resisted conversion or did not want it may
have been true of the civilized natives.
But the contrary was the fact among the
mountain tribes. We have the testimony
| RIZL 211
of several Dominican and Augustinian
missionaries that it was impossible to go
anywhere to make conversions without
other Filipinos along and a guard of
soldiers. "Otherwise, says Gaspar de San
Agustin, there would have been no fruit
of the Evangelic Doctrine gathered, for
the infidels wanted to kill the Friars who
came to preach to them." An example of
this method of conversion given by the
same writer was a trip to the mountains
by two Friars who had a numerous escort
of Pampangans. The escort's leader was
Don Agustin Sonson who had a
reputation for daring and carried fire and
sword into the country, killing many,
including the chief, Kabadi.
o "The Spaniards, says Morga, were
accustomed to hold as slaves such natives
as they bought and others that they took
in the forays in the conquest or
pacification of the islands."
Consequently, in this respect the
"pacifiers" introduced no moral
improvement. We even do not know if in
their wars the Filipinos used to make
slaves of each other, though that would
not have been strange, for the chroniclers
tell of captives returned to their own
people. The practice of the Southern
pirates almost proves this, although in
these piratical wars the Spaniards were
the first aggressors and gave them their
character.
 Source: Rizal's Life and Minor Writings, pp.
310-331, Austin Craig, 1929, Translations
were made by Mr. Chas. E. Derbyshire for
the author.
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 BAYANI & KABAYANIHAN; DR. JOSE RIZAL & PH NATIONALISM (docs)
Week 16
Jose Rizal and the Philippine Nationalism –
Bayani and Kabayanihan
 A national hero of the Philippines is a
Filipino who has been recognized as a
national hero for his or her role in the history
of the Philippines. Loosely, the term may
refer to all Filipino historical figures
recognized as heroes, but the term more
strictly refers to those officially designated as
such. In 1995 the Philippine National Heroes
Committee officially recommended several
people for the designation, but this was not
acted upon. As of 2007, no one had ever been
officially recognized as a Philippine national
hero.
 The reformist writer José Rizal, today
generally considered the greatest Filipino
hero and often given as the Philippine
national hero, has never been explicitly
proclaimed as the (or even a) national hero by
the Philippine government. Besides Rizal, the
only other Filipinos currently given implied
recognition as national hero such as
revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio. While other
historical figures are commemorated in
public municipal or provincial holidays,
Rizal and Bonifacio are commemorated in
public nationwide (national) holidays and
thus are implied to be national heroes.
Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Philippine National Hero
 Dr. José Rizal, the national hero of the
Philippines, is not only admired for
possessing intellectual brilliance but also for
taking a stand and resisting the Spanish
colonial government. While his death
sparked a revolution to overthrow the
tyranny, Rizal will always be remembered for
his compassion towards the Filipino people
and the country.
 Rizal had been very vocal against the Spanish
government, but in a peaceful and
progressive manner. For him, “the pen was
mightier than the sword.” And through his
writings, he exposed the corruption and
wrongdoings of government officials as well
as the Spanish friars.
| RIZL 211
 While in Barcelona, Rizal contributed essays,
poems, allegories, and editorials to the
Spanish newspaper, La Solidaridad. Most of
his writings, both in his essays and editorials,
centered on individual rights and freedom,
specifically for the Filipino people. As part of
his reforms, he even called for the inclusion
of the Philippines to become a province of
Spain.
 But, among his best works, two novels stood
out from the rest – Noli Me Tángere (Touch
Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Reign of
the Greed).
 In both novels, Rizal harshly criticized the
Spanish colonial rule in the country and
exposed the ills of Philippine society at the
time. And because he wrote about the
injustices and brutalities of the Spaniards in
the country, the authorities banned Filipinos
from reading the controversial books. Yet
they were not able to ban it completely. As
more Filipinos read the books, their eyes
opened to the truth that they were suffering
unspeakable abuses at the hands of the friars.
These two novels by Rizal, now considered
his literary masterpieces, are said to have
indirectly sparked the Philippine Revolution.
 Upon his return to the Philippines, Rizal
formed a progressive organization called the
La Liga Filipina. This civic movement
advocated social reforms through legal
means. Now Rizal was considered even more
of a threat by the Spanish authorities
(alongside his novels and essays), which
ultimately led to his exile in Dapitan in
northern Mindanao.
 This however did not stop him from
continuing his plans for reform. While in
Dapitan, Rizal built a school, hospital, and
water system. He also taught farming and
worked on agricultural projects such as using
abaca to make ropes.
 In 1896, Rizal was granted leave by then
Governor-General Blanco, after volunteering
to travel to Cuba to serve as doctor to yellow
fever victims. But at that time, the Katipunan
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 BAYANI & KABAYANIHAN; DR. JOSE RIZAL & PH NATIONALISM (docs)
Week 16
had a full-blown revolution and Rizal was
accused of being associated with the secret
militant society. On his way to Cuba, he was
arrested in Barcelona and sent back to Manila
to stand for trial before the court martial.
Rizal was charged with sedition, conspiracy,
and rebellion – and therefore, sentenced to
death by firing squad.
 Days before his execution, Rizal bid farewell
to his motherland and countrymen through
one of his final letters, entitled Mi Último
Adiós or My Last Farewell. Dr. José Rizal
was executed on the morning of December
30, 1896, in what was then called
Bagumbayan (now referred to as Luneta).
Upon hearing the command to shoot him, he
faced the squad and uttered in his final breath:
“Consummatum est” (It is finished).
According to historical accounts, only one
bullet ended the life of the Filipino martyr
and hero.
 After his death, the Philippine Revolution
continued until 1898. And with the assistance
of the United States, the Philippines declared
its independence from Spain on June 12,
1898. This was the time that the Philippine
flag was waved at General Emilio
Aguinaldo’s residence in Kawit, Cavite.
 Today, Dr. Rizal’s brilliance, compassion,
courage, and patriotism are greatly
remembered and recognized by the Filipino
people. His two novels are continuously
being analyzed by students and professionals.
 Colleges and universities in the Philippines
even require their students to take a subject
which centers around the life and works of
Rizal. Every year, the Filipinos celebrate
Rizal Day – December 30 each year – to
commemorate his life and works. Filipinos
look back at how his founding of La Liga
Filipina and his two novels had an effect on
the early beginnings of the Philippine
Revolution. The people also recognize his
advocacy to achieve liberty through peaceful
means rather than violent revolution.
| RIZL 211
 In honor of Rizal, memorials and statues of
the national hero can be found not only within
the Philippines, but in selected cities around
the world. A road in the Chanakyapuri area
of New Delhi (India) and in Medan,
Indonesia is named after him. The José Rizal
Bridge and Rizal Park in the city of Seattle
are also dedicated to the late hero.
 Within the Philippines, there are streets,
towns/cities, a university (Rizal University),
and a province named after him. Three
species have also been named after Rizal –
the Draco rizali (a small lizard, known as a
flying dragon), Apogania rizali (a very rare
kind of beetle with five horns) and the
Rhacophorus rizali (a peculiar frog species).
 To commemorate what he did for the
country, the Philippines built a memorial
park for him – now referred to as Rizal Park,
found in Manila. There lies a monument
which contains a standing bronze sculpture of
Rizal, an obelisk, and a stone base said to
contain his remains. The monument stands
near the place where he fell during his
execution in Luneta.
 Source:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/ar
ticles/the-life-and-legacy-of-jose-rizal-the-
philippines-national-hero/
IYANOWEL 2