Peter Paul Brillantes

The Indolence of the Filipinos

By Jose Rizal

The Spanish colonialism has led to so many changes in our lives that can still be observed till
this day. Our culture, traditions, languages and even our values have all been altered throughout
the Spanish regime. They implemented systems that ruined the economic state of our country years
ago. Systems that cut off associations with other Asian countries. Forced labor was implemented,
putting pressure on the Filipinos to focus on more public works rather than our agriculture and
industry. The education system was filled with irrelevant and repetitive topics that weren’t
necessary considering the state of the country at the time. There was no focus on business and
industry within the education system meaning that the students would lack the knowledge and
skills to contribute to the country’s progression. Most of all was that Spain did not protect the
people from invasions. People were killed, properties were destroyed, and the will of the Filipinos
to continue their work like before was crushed.

I believe that Jose Rizal’s words were very true. The circumstances of the Spanish regime
have affected the mindset, virtues, and values of the Filipinos during that time. The government
and its crooked systems made it hard for Filipino to accomplish the work needed for the country’s
growth. Spain pushed them into working on unnecessary aspects of the country at the time. Lack
of care and protection for the people was also the main root for the indolence. The Filipinos lacked
freedom, they couldn’t focus on their own agriculture and industry because of the constant forced
labor by the Spaniards. The Philippines economy was declining yet there was nothing being done
or better yet, there was nothing that they could do as they lack the ability to go against Spain’s
control at the time. The people were not being protected either. Many live were lost and many of
the country’s most precious lands were destroyed. No more lands for agriculture, their houses were
destroyed, loved ones killed, all of this ruined the Filipino’s motivation to work and ultimately led
to the indolence that Jose Rizal referred to at the time.
 Though despite all the negatives that happened, Rizal still believed that the indolence was only
caused by Spain. I also believe this as Filipinos were not always like that. If we look at our
country’s history, before the Spanish colonization, the Filipinos were living peaceful and
successful lives. Trading with other Asian countries were already being done by our people and
they weren’t limited on who they could associate with either. In fact, before the Spaniards arrived,
the Philippines was thriving, the people were wealthy, and everyone was willingly working hard
to keep the economic state of the country high.

Overall, I agree with all the points that Jose Rizal made. Education was necessary to rebuild
what we had lost back then. The children were the hope of our future, they needed to be well
educated, they need to have the knowledge and ability to push our country in the right direction
once again. The most important points that I took notice to were the people’s rights and liberty.
The people needed safety and equality, they needed the freedom to work for the progression of the
country, and most of all, they needed protection against those who tried to terrorize the country
and destroy all their lives and efforts. If Spain had treated our country better, then our country
would have also cooperated more with them.