RIZAL LESSON 9:

INTRODUCTION

The second and last novel completed by José Rizal (though he left behind the unfinished manuscript of a
third one), El Filibusterismo is a sequel to Noli Me Tangere. A dark, brooding, at times satirical novel of
revenge, unfulfilled love, and tragedy, the Fili (as it is popularly referred to) still has as its protagonist
Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra. Thirteen years older, his idealism and youthful dreams shattered, and taking
advantage of the belief that he died at the end of Noli Me Tangere, he is disguised as Simoun, an
enormously wealthy and mysterious jeweler who has gained the confidence of the colony’s governor-
general.
 
A number of other characters from the Noli reappear, among them: Basilio, whose mother and younger
brother Crispin met tragic ends; Father Salví, the devious former curate of San Diego responsible for
Crispin’s death, and who had lusted after Ibarra’s love, María Clara; the idealistic schoolmaster from San
Diego; Captain Tiago, the wealthy widower and legal father of María Clara; and Doña Victorina de
Espadaña and her Spanish husband, the faux doctor Tiburcio, now hiding from her with the indio priest
Father Florentino at his remote parish on the Pacific coast.
 DISCUSSION

On the upper deck of the steamship Tabo, presumably in 1894, the passengers discuss its slow pace as it
sails along Pasig River on the way to Laguna Lake. Meanwhile on the lower deck, the students Basilio
and Isagani discuss their plans to establish an academy that teaches Spanish to Capitan Basilio, who
expresses his doubts that their plan will be approved by the governor-general. Back on the upper deck,
the passengers tell legends about the lake, including the tale of Crisostomo Ibarra.
 
The narration then shifts to the tale of Cabesang Tales; a religious order laid claim to his land and taxed
him for it, which he tried to oppose but ended up losing against. With Tales captured by bandits, his
daughter Juli borrows money from Hermana Penchang to ransom him and works as her servant in
exchange.
Arriving at San Diego on Christmas Eve, Basilio learns of Tales' abduction, and makes his way to his
mother's grave. He recalls the events from thirteen years prior; it is also explained that he studied with
the help of his foster father Capitan Tiago and plans to marry his sweetheart Juli. As Basilio is about to
leave, he runs into the jeweler Simoun, who turns out to be Crisostomo Ibarra in disguise. Simoun
attempts to recruit Basilio into his plans for revolution, but Basilio refuses.
On Christmas Day, Juli starts her work as Hermana Penchang's servant; her grandfather Selo discovers
he has become dumb. As people gossip about the misfortune of Selo and his family, Tales returns and
entertains Simoun at his house as he sells jewelry to clients. He exchanges Juli's locket, which originally
belonged to Maria Clara, for Simoun's revolver and becomes a bandit, killing the friar administrator
stealing his land as well as the new tenant and his wife.
On the last day of December, the governor-general and his advisers, as well as some friars, take a rest in
Los Baños. The governor-general asks their opinion on the students' plans for a Spanish academy; met
with disparate opinions, no decision is made.
In Manila, the student Placido Pentitente goes to school; his sycophant friend Juanito Pelaez speaks with
him on the way. In his class in physics, Placido gets in an argument with his professor Padre Millon and
walks out in anger. At the students' dormitory, the wealthy Makaraig announces that the decision to
establish the Spanish academy has been passed to a commission headed by Don Custodio. The students
devise plans to convince him, as well as the lawyer Señor Pasta, to approve the plan.
Isagani then approaches Señor Pasta, only for him to refuse for fear of angering the friars. At his house,
the Chinese businessman Quiroga entertains guests for dinner. Simoun asks him to store rifles in his
warehouse in exchange for absolving part of his debt to him. The guests then leave Quiroga's house to
attend the Quiapo Fair; at the American Mr. Leeds' show, the supposed Sphinx tells a story similar to that
of Ibarra's and calls out Padre Salvi, causing him to faint.
Later on, Placido meets with Simoun and learns of his plans to instigate a revolution and rescue Maria
Clara from the nunnery. As Don Custodio puzzles over his decision, people of Manila go to Teatro de
Variadades to watch Les Cloches de Corneville. During the performance, the students learn of Don
Custodio's decision.
At Capitan Tiago's house, Basilio is visited by Simoun; the man attempts to recruit him once again, only
to become distraught when Basilio informs him that Maria Clara has died. In Malecon, Isagani meets
with his sweetheart Paulita Gomez and tells her about his dreams for reform; Paulita dismisses them as
being idealistic and unattainable.
The students later organize a banquet to order Don Custodio's decision; Don Custodio has decided that
the academy be supervised by a Dominican order and that the students merely collect contributions.
Basilio later goes to the hospital and learns that seditious posters have been seen, with the student
organization being implicated. As he goes to Makaraig's house to ask for a loan, he is ultimately arrested
as well. Meanwhile, Isagani and Padre Fernandez argue regarding the friars' education of the students.
As gossip spreads regarding the students' imprisonment, Capitan Tiago dies and his will is executed by
Padre Irene, who has forged it and distributed his properties, which were meant for Basilio, to the Sta.
Clara convent and other religious corporations Back in San Diego, Juli learns of Basilio's imprisonment
and is reluctantly convinced to seek the help of Padre Camorra; she then kills herself when the priest
assaults her. As a high official attempts to convince the governor-general to release Basilio, whom he
believes to be innocent, the governor-general refuses. Later on, the students Pecson, Tadeo, and Juanito,
are freed from prison but suspended from their classes; it is revealed that Juanito is to marry Paulita.
 Basilio is released from prison, having learned of Juli's death, and joins Simoun in his revolution,
learning that the man plans to place a dynamite-laden lamp at an important gathering as a signal for the
attack. As Basilio walks along the streets later on, he sees the wedding reception of Juanito and Paulita,
surmising it to be the gathering Simoun was referring to. He then sees Isagani, whom he tells to leave
because of the bomb; as the guests panic over the lamp bearing a note from Ibarra, Isagani rushes into
the house and throws the lamp into the river before escaping.
Later on, news circulates about bandits attacking a friar country house. The bandits confess to a mestizo
matching Simoun's description being the mastermind of the attack.[36] The day after the wedding
reception, Isagani discusses the events with several individuals; the silversmith Chichoy reveals Simoun
was the one who planned the attack.
As members of the Guardia Civil escort prisoners, they are ambushed by bandits; one of the soldiers,
Carolino, kills their leader, Cabesang Tales, and another one kills the old man Selo. It is then revealed
that Carolino is actually Tano, Tales' son and Juli's brother. Later on, Simoun escapes to the house of
Isagani's uncle Padre Florentino; pursued by the Guardia Civil, he kills himself by taking poison in order
to avoid arrest. Afterward, Padre Florentino throws his jewel chest into the sea.
 CHARACTERS

• Simoun - Crisóstomo Ibarra reincarnated as a wealthy jeweler, bent on starting a revolution

• Basilio - Sisa's son, now an aspiring doctor
• 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 - Telesforo Juan de Dios, a former cabeza de barangay (barangay head) who
resurfaced as the feared Luzón bandit Matanglawin (Tagalog for Hawkeye); his father, Old Man
Selo, dies eventually after his own son Tano, who became a guardia civil, unknowingly shoots his
grandfather in an encounter
• 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. In reality, he is quite an
ordinary fellow who married a rich woman in order to be a member of Manila's high society
• Paulita Gómez - the girlfriend of Isagani and the niece of Doña Victorina, the old India who
passes herself off as a Peninsular, who is the wife of the quack doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña. In the
end, she and Juanito Peláez are wed, and she dumps Isagani, believing that she will have no future
if she marries him
• Father Florentino - Isagani's godfather, and a secular priest; was engaged to be married, but
chose the priesthood instead, the story hinting at the ambivalence of his decision as he chooses an
assignment to a remote place, living in solitude near the sea.
• Huli/Juli - Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of Basilio, and the youngest daughter of Kabesang Tales
• Ben Zayb - Abraham Ibañez is his real name. He is a journalist who thinks he is the only one
thinking in the Philippines
• Placido Penitente - a student of the University of Santo Tomas who is always miserable, and
therefore controls his temper
• Quiroga - a Chinese businessman who dreamt of being a consul of a Consulate of China in the
Philippines. He hid Simoun's weapons inside his house
• Old Man Selo - father of Kabesang Tales. He raised the sick and young Basilio after his mother
Sisa had died
• Father Fernandez - the priest-friend of Isagani. He promised to Isagani that he and the other
priests will give in to the students' demands
• Attorney Pasta - one of the great lawyers of mid-Hispanic Manila
• Captain-General - (no specific name) the powerful highest official of the Philippines
• Padre Sibyla - Hernando de la Sibyla, a Filipino friar and now vice-rector of the University of
Santo Tomas (U.S.T.)
 THE CALL OF NATIONALISM

El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) was written in dedication of the three martyred priests
namely Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora popularly known as GOMBURZA,
whose tragic execution left unforgettable imprint in his mind. It is a political novel, book of the
thought, work of the head and comprise bitterness, hatred, pain, sorrow and violence. Like Noli
Me Tangere, El Fili aims at enlightening the society, and at bringing the Filipinos closer to the
truth. In this novel, the society is urged to open its eyes to reality and rebel against the Spanish
government for its oppression and abuse.
These two novels helped awaken the Filipinos to fought for their freedom and stand with their
right. It had made me realized that war does not necessarily have to end through means of
violence, it could always be ended peacefully, through words and maybe even forgiveness. Words
are far stronger than any gun. Vengeance is not ours, it’s God. Evilness is at every corner but thou
shall not fear because good will always prevail.
MEMBERS

Prince Emmanuelle Abaya

Marvin Torres
Saldwin Godoy
Mitchie Toralba
Nathalia Biagtan
Gleren Hecel Abogado
Monica Abaga