Mary Rose F. Fontela Prof.

Wilfredo Perez
II-BPED Ge/Riz Crs

SUMMARY OF EL FILIBUSTERISMO

El Filibusterismo Summary Crisostomo Ibarra is back and as Simoun. During the period in between the story
line of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo which is 13 years, Ibarra left the Philippines and became a
wealthy jeweler. He came back to the Philippines as Senor Simoun, disguised with a beard. He seems to have
long abandoned his once vision of ending the despotism of Spain with words and peace. He becomes hungry
for vengeance for all the misfortune our country has suffered under the tyranny of the Spaniards . And near the
end of the novel, when he discovers that his lover, Maria Clara, died in the convent, he becomes all the more
furious. Simoun is a confidant of the Captain-General. He encourages the government to make bad decisions
and to abuse their power so that it would spark a revolution among the masses. Basilio, now all grown up, is at
first reluctant to join in on Simoun’s idea but ends up being part of the plan. Simoun started planning uprisings
and stashed guns in the shop of an ally. At the wedding reception of newlyweds (the bride being the ex-
girlfriend of one of the friends of Basillo—Isagani), Simoun tells Basilio that his plan was to conceal an
explosive which contains nitroglycerin 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. Simoun leaves the
reception early and leaves a note with the words: “Mene Thecel Phares” which means “the future is
predetermined” and is generally implied that a bad event is going to happen. Simoun signed it with his real
name “Juan Crisostomo Ibarra”. The people at the reception were shocked because Ibarra is supposedly dead.
One of the priests who knew Ibarra before the ending of Noli Me Tangere confirmed to the people that it was
the writing of Ibarra. The lamp started to dim… Outside the house, Basilio was about to walk away because he
knew the lamp was going to explode anytime soon when he saw Isagani, the still heart-broken ex-boyfriend of
the bride whose reception was still going on in the house of Capitan Tiago. Isagani said that he just wanted to
congratulate the newly-weds. Basilio who then feared for the safety of his friend told him about the plan of
Simoun. Isagani ran to the house. A priest was about to fix the lamp but once Isagani got in, he found the lamp
and threw it out the window into the river outside the residence. Since the guards were chasing Isagani, he
himself jumped out of the window into the river as well. There was an uprising planned by Simoun during the
time of the reception. The band got caught and confessed that Simoun lead them. Ibarra was now wanted both
as himself and as Simoun. Days passed and a good priest found Simoun walking along the shore, wounded
and weak. The noble priest tended to Simoun while the latter explained that he is Ibarra and that he was
greatly saddened and angry due to the failure of the revolution and that he was questioning God as to why he
was the one who is suffering and not the ones who have forsaken the people of the Philippines. The priest
explains that all punishments will come in due time. Ibarra died as he weakly held the hand of the priest. The
latter blessed the former and threw away all the remaining jewels of Ibarra in the hopes that they may always
be used for good.