Annotation of Antonio Morga Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas

Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas

A. Antonio de Morga (1559-1636)

● Antonio de Morga Sanchez Garay was born in Seville in Spain
● Graduated from the University of Salamanca in 1574
● In 1578, Morga received a doctorate in canon law
● A Spanish historian, lawyer, and colonial official
● After teaching briefly, he joined the government in 1580 as a lawyer
● in 1593, he was selected as Lieutenant to the Governor-General of the
Philippines, beginning is service as a colonial official
● In the Philippines, he served under Governor-General Luis Pérez
Dasmariñas, and then Francisco Tello de Guzmán
● He then resigned from this position to become a judge or oidor in the
Audencia of Manila, which is a “high court” that exercised both
administrative and judicial functions
● He was reassigned to Mexico in 1603, where he later published his book
● in 1609, he published Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (Events in the
Philippine Isles)
● Died of natural causes in 1636 at the age of 76 in Ecuador
● Despite his military and political failures (including being arrested for
corruption and being fined for having public affairs with many women),
Morga’s book is what makes him remembered today
B. The Book
● Published in 1609 in Mexico City
● Covers the period 1493-1603
● Regarded as one of the most significant works on early Philippine history
● Discusses social, political, and aspects of the lives of Filipinos and their
colonizers
● The information in the book came from government documents and
firsthand accounts.

Rizal’s Annotation of the Book

A. How he found out about the book

○ Rizal heard about the book either from his uncle, Jose Alberto
○ Other sources claim that Rizal heard about it from his friend, Ferdinand
Blumentritt recommended the book
 B. Rizal's Goals Annotating The Book
○ Was working on the theory that native Filipinos were already self-sufficient
and culturally lively before the colonizers came
○ Wanted to prove that colonization did not improve Filipino society but instead
deteriorated it
○ Was one of the only accounts of pre-colonial Philippines, Rizal wanted to use it
to educate Filipinos on their history

Important Themes in Rizal’s Annotations

● Discrimination
● Ancient Filipino Culture
● Religion
● War
● Slavery and the Encomiendos

● Discrimination
● Rizal expresses his frustration of the little representation that Filipinos have in
the Spanish cortes:
● 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 counselor 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.
● Also discussed the prejudices many Spanish had for Filipino food, particularly
bagoong:
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 edible. 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’ Own Culture Before the Spaniards

● Having done his own research, Rizal is able to give information that did not
appear in Morga’s original text:
 ● “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.”
● The Cebuans drew a pattern on the skin before starting to tattoo. The Bisayan
usage then was the same procedure that the Japanese today follow.
● 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.”
● Rizal talks about how the Philippines’ ancient culture is seemingly lost:
○ 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.
● Religion
● Rizal’s views of God and religion are well-summarized here:
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.
● The annotations also shed light on the true progress of religious conversion by
the Spaniards:
● 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 Mahometans, the Moros, in the southern islands,
and negritos, igorots and other heathens yet occupy the greater part
territorially of the archipelago.
● War
● Rizal highlights the ancient Filipinos’ own strength in war:
Morga shows that the ancient Filipinos had an 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 helmets, of which there are specimens in
various European museums, attest their great advancement in this industry.
● An important theme Rizal wanted to show is that the Spaniards did not bring
“peace:” 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."
● Rizal also talks about the little-known defense of Mindanao by its natives: 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.
● 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.The Buhahayen people were in
their own country, and had neither offended nor 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.
● 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.
● 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.
● It becomes apparent that the Spaniards believe the Filipinos have had a
minimal contribution to their motherland:
 ● 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 (slave
owners), 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 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.
● Slavery and Encomiendos
○ Encomiendas
■ The encomienda system was an important part of the colonial era
■ It was a slave labor system that included laborers working for their
conquerors in exchange for education and protection
■ Viewed an individual laborer’s life as replaceable, which often led
to abuses by encomenderos
■ Rizal gives his own definition of encomiendas:
When Morga says that the lands were "entrusted" (given as
encomiendas) to those who had "pacified" them, he means "divided
up among.
■ "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.

Relevance for us Today

■ Rizal’s annotations remain valuable as they give readers a clearer picture of ancient Filipino
culture
■ Was able to show that the Philippines was already advanced prior to the Spanish conquest
■ “If the book succeeds to awaken your consciousness of our past... then I have not worked in
vain, and with this as a basis, however small it may be, we can study the future.”
Noli Me Tangere
History

Noli Me Tangere is a novel written by Jose Rizal and the most influential novel in the
Philippines. It was first published in Berlin, Germany on April 12, 1887 and was originally titled The
Social Cancer. This story depicts the social inequality and oppression that prevailed in the Philippines
during the period of Spanish colonization. Rizal studied Hebrew to interpret the Bible in its original
text and was better prepared to defend any controversial religious issues that might arise. He took
from the Bible the phrase "Touch Me Not" in John 20:17, meaning "I am not yet ascended to my
Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my
God and your God." Rizal read Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel on the abuse of
black slaves in America and decided that a novel should be written about the abuses that Philippine
natives were suffering at the hands of the Spanish friars.

In 1884, he offered to his Filipino friends in Madrid that they cooperate on a novel on the
Philippines, but they all preferred to write about women rather than national problems. He then
decided he would have to write the entire book himself and began work on the Noli while remaining
in Madrid, Spain. Vicente Blasco Ibáez, a well-known writer and political activist, volunteered to be
the proofreader and consultant. Rizal was poor when he finished the book in December 1886, and he
had almost given up hope of ever seeing it published. The printing cost of the Noli was 300 pesos for
2000 copies and the novel might never have seen print had it not been for Rizal. Jose Rizal's Noli Me
Tangere is considered one of the most important works of literature in the Philippines because it was
written to criticize the institution of Spanish rule. It was banned by the Spanish colonial authorities
during the time of its publication, leading to the Filipino people beginning the 1896 Philippine
Revolution that eventually overthrew their colonizers and achieved freedom.

Rizal received a letter from the Governor-General Emilio Terrero requesting him to come to
Malacañang Place to explain about the subversive ideas contained in the Noli Me Tangere. Rizal went
to see the General and denied the charges, he explained that he merely exposed the truth but he did
not advocate subversion. Governor General Emilio was pleased with his explanation and curious
about the controversial book, the Governor asked for a copy and Rizal promised to give him one. The
General read the novel and found nothing wrong with it. However, he banned it due to the reports
that were being submitted to him by the Commission of Censorship calling for its outright
censorship. The novel Noli Me Tangere became more famous when it was banned, driving everyone
to read it at night secretly.

Importance

Noli Me Tangere is a novel that was an advisory for Filipinos to fight against the colonizers
and today's reminder of our history. It depicts real-life events during the Spanish colonization in the
Philippines, such as the Friars' command decisions being more powerful than the Governor-General's
decisions, social issues, injustice, and the Philippines as a backward country.
The novel has a lot of symbolism and real-life events that opened the eyes of the Filipino people
during the Spanish colonization to start the revolution and overthrow the Spanish colonizers.
The conflicts that were dominant in the novel like corruption, injustice, poverty, and abuse remain
the same problem up to this day. Reading this literary piece will make us realize the true meaning of
nationalism and be a catalyst for change.

Cover

Characters
Every character in Noli Me Tangere has a role that depicts different roles in Philippine society to fight
for the freedom of the country. Jose Rizal represented his persona as Crisostomo Ibarra who was a
rich character yet he was rebellious who fought for the freedom of the Spaniards.

Main Characters that portray Rizal or his life:

1. Crisostomo Ibarra - also known in his full name as Juan Crisostomo Ibarra Y Magsalin, a
Filipino who studied in Europe for 7 years, the love interest of Maria Clara. He is the son of
the deceased Don Rafael Ibarra. The main and most important character in the novel. He
represents the Filipinos who had the privilege to study that time in Europe. Ibarra is a
politically important character because Rizal uses him to voice ideas regarding colonialism
and the nature of power in the Philippines. For the majority of the novel, Ibarra believes that,
although the Catholic friars and the Spanish Government are corrupt, they provide the
Philippines with valuable support. Crisostomo Ibarra exemplified the vision that Jose Rizal
had aimed for the youth of the Philippines during his time. Others attribute Ibarra as Rizal’s
reflection of himself.
2. Elias - An outlaw and vagabond revolutionary who resents the power the Catholic church and
Spanish government have over the Philippines. In the past, Ibarra’s grandfather condemned
his grandfather for burning a warehouse, making Elias the fugitive he is. Elias represents the
common Filipino who is not only aware of the injustices done to their countrymen but would
also like to deliver them from their oppressors. He is said to be the personification of Andres
Bonifacio.
3. Maria Clara - Maria Clara de los Santos, Ibarra’s sweetheart; the legitimate daughter of Father
Damaso and Pia Alba. She was adopted by Kapitan Tiago. She symbolizes the Filipino woman
of religious upbringing, true loyalty and orientation. Maria Clara's character is related to
Rizal's childhood sweetheart, Leonor Rivera. Like the real life Leonor, she plays the piano and
the harp and has a sweet voice. She was portrayed as a faithful sweetheart, a good friend,
and an obedient daughter. She was portrayed as the ideal woman during her time. She does
not impose her will except when she refuses being married off to Linares. Maria Clara
symbolizes the purity and innocence of a sheltered native woman during the time of Spanish
occupation. She does not value material things that were abundantly bestowed upon her by
admirers and family alike but holds in high esteem her parents’ honor and the promise she
had given to her sweetheart.
4. Father Damaso - His full name is Damaso Verdolagas, a friar and Maria Clara’s biological
father. An antagonist and represents the friars who abuse the weak. At the end of the novel,
he is again re-assigned to a distant town and is found dead one day. He symbolizes the
Spanish friars of Rizal's time and the Spanish control of the Philippines.
5. Padre Salvi - Parish priest of San Diego and the successor of Padre Damaso. He secretly
admires Maria Clara and has a rivalry with Crisostomo Ibarra. Possessing a rivalry with the
town's alferez, he later orchestrated the downfall of Crisostomo Ibarra, manipulating the
townspeople in the process. Padre Salvi represents those people in power that manipulates
the weak and the poor for their personal agendas.
6. Pilosopong Tasyo - Also known as Don Anastacio, portrayed in the novel as pessimistic and
mad by his neighbors. He portrays the role of a Philosopher who was completely
misunderstood in many aspects, he argues with the belief of the Catholic Church and social
changes and concern in the novel. Seeking for reforms from the government, he expresses
his ideals in paper written in a cryptographic alphabet similar to hieroglyphs and Coptic
figures hoping "that the future generations may be able to decipher it" and realize the abuse
 and oppression done by the conquerors. He is said to be modeled after Jose Rizal’s older
brother, Paciano Rizal.

Supporting Characters and Characters that Portray Social Cancer in the Novels of Rizal:

7. Sisa -The mother of Basilio and Crispin who became insane after losing his sons. She endures
her husband's beatings and irresponsibility. She represents the loving Filipino mothers who
lost their children when we were under Spanish colonization. The tragic events that ruined
her life represented the abuse that the motherland received from her colonizers.
8. Aunt Isabel - A cousin of Capitan Tiago who raised Maria Clara as her own child after her
mother’s untimely death.
9. Kapitan Tiago - His full name is Don Santiago de los Santos, the known father of Maria Clara
but not the real one. He lives in Binondo. An illegal opium leader and a landlord. He
represents a businessman who used his money to work for him even in religious life and
obligations. In the novel, it is said that Kapitan 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 and friend of the Spanish Government. Capitan Tiago was a typical
character during the time of Jose Rizal. He is a rich native-born Filipino who rubbed elbows
with the powers that be during that time. He symbolizes the rich Filipinos who oppress their
fellow countrymen in exchange for the influence and the riches that they might gain from
their powerful associations.
10. Doña Victorina - Victorina de los Reyes de Espadaña, an ambitious Filipina who classifies
herself as a Spanish and mimics Spanish ladies by putting on heavy makeup. She is the wife of
Don Tiburcio de Espadaña. Doña Victorina symbolizes those who have a distorted view of
their identity. Everything that is indigenous is inferior and everything foreign is superior. It is
the comedic form of ‘’colonial mentality’’
11. Don Tiburcio - Spanish husband of Doña Victorina who was a limp and submissive to his wife;
he also pretended to be a doctor. He speaks with a stutter and appears to be much older
than his age of 35. He represented the dumb Spaniards whose stupidity the other Spaniards
tolerated, frequently with devastating results for the locals
12. Don Rafael Ibarra - Father of Crisostomo Ibarra.
13. Doña Consolación - a senior Filipina married to the ensign. Doa Consolación is An abusive,
vulgar spouse who provokes fights with the ensign and criticizes him that are heard all over
the town. It is commonly known that she influences many of the ensign's choices, and she
even feeds his hatred with Father Salvi, pressuring her husband to take action against the
priest in order to establish his supremacy. Rizal writes that Doa Consolación's one "sterling
trait" is that she seems to have "never looked in the mirror," portraying her as extremely
vulgar and unattractive.
14. Nol Juan - He supervised the building of Crisostomo Ibarra’s school and was in charge of its
construction.
 15. Tandang Pablo - The leaders of the rebels, whose family was destroyed because of the
Spaniards
16. Basilio - The elder son of Sisa. At the end of the novel, Elías wished Basilio to bury him by
burning in exchange for a chest of gold located on his death ground. He will later play a major
role in El Filibusterismo
17. Crispin - the younger son of Sisa who died from the punishment of the soldiers from the false
accusation of stealing an amount of money. Crispin represents the innocents who have been
wrongly accused of the crime they did not commit. The injustice they suffered under the
hands of the authorities during their time were silenced by their deaths and the cover-ups
that follow it.
18. Padre Sibyla - Hernando de la Sibyla, a Filipino friar. He is a former professor of Crisostomo at
San Juan de Letran College. He symbolizes the people who are aware of the injustices but
would not do anything to change it to keep his peace and power.
19. The Alferez - chief of the Guardia Civil, mortal enemy of the priests for power in San Diego.
He has a drinking problem and is married to Doña Consolacion, with whom he has regular
arguments.
20. Capitan General - The most powerful official in the Philippines; a hater of secular priests and
corrupt officials; a friend of Ibarra.

Summary of the Story

Chapter 1: A Social Gathering

On the last of October near All Souls Day, Captain Tiago arranged a grand dinner in his home. Many
guests came and most of them are uninvited because everyone wants to join since Captain Tiago is
rich and known as one of the most hospitable men in San Diego. Before the evening meal, people
talk among themselves and discuss different issues of interest. One of the visitors is Friar Damaso
who just came back to the Philippines and talks so harshly about Indios and had no regard for the
rights and feelings of others whenever he opened his mouth. Other visitors include Lieutenant
Guevarra, Friar Sibyla, Dr. Tiburcio and Dona Victorina.

Chapter 2: Crisostomo Ibarra

Captain Tiago greeted all the visitors and introduced Juan Crisostomo Ibarra, whose clothes clearly
depicted that he was in grief. Friar Damaso was surprised to know that Ibarra is the son of Don
Rafael. Crisostomo, who has just returned from Europe for his seven years study, warmly greets Friar
Damaso who became a good friend of his father; however the friar denies the existence of this close
relationship. Lt. Guevarra approaches Ibarra, greets him and wishes Crisostomo’s fate will be better
than his father’s. Captain Tinong invited Crisostomo for a meal tomorrow but he rejected since he’ll
be going to the town of San Diego.

Chapter 3: The Dinner

The meal is ready and the guests gather at the dining table. Friar Damaso and Friar Sibyla both rush
for the seat at the head of the table. Everyone is talking and praising the delicious foods served. The
rest of the seats are occupied, and only Crisostomo Ibarra notices Captain Tiago is not seated in any
of them. Ibarra offers the Captain his seat, but he refuses. Friar Damaso is jealous and mad when
Ibarra is served the meaty part of the chicken at dinner, while his was the skinny neck. While eating,
Ibarra talked with some of the guests and they learned that Ibarra went to different countries and
knows different languages. Soon after, Ibarra leaves the scene without waiting for the arrival of his
love interest, Maria Clara. Friar Damaso laughed when Ibarra left and said Indios don’t have the right
to study abroad since it will be useless.

Chapter 4: A Heretic and a Subversive

Crisostomo Ibarra walked to his destination and realized the town has never changed. Lt. Guevarra
followed and warned him to be careful so he’ll not be the same as his father’s unlucky fate.
Crisotomo then insisted Lt. Guevarra tell his father’s story. According to him, Crisostomo’s father was
the richest man in their town. He was respected but envied by some. No longer Crisostomo left the
country; Don Rafael made enemies and was falsely accused of killing someone. He was sent to jail
and named as heretic and subversive. Lt. Guevarra tried his best to help Don Rafael. They won the
case but later on after his freedom, Don Rafael died inside his jail cell. Lt.Guevarra stopped and told
him that Captain Tiago will tell him more about his father.

Chapter 5: A Star in the Dark Night

Crisostomo Ibarra arrives in Fonda de Lala where he will stay and appreciates from a distance the
lively singing and noise around Capitan Tiago's house, which could be seen from the hotel window.
He was confused and thought about his poor father's death, and how life must have been extremely
terrible for him in prison. Meanwhile, at the Captain's house, Maria Clara arrives. Friar Damaso
shows great appreciation for the lady. Everyone stares at her most especially Friar Salvi who was late
and was not able to join the supper.

Conclusion

Dr. Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tangere was an approach for instilling love for one's own country, a strong
sense of appreciation to society, a sense of nationalism, and the courage to fight for all of those
things. It is an eye-opener, a tool to spread social awareness, and to fight for our own rights as
people of the country. In both the past and the present, the novel brought the Filipino people
together to create our own unique national identity. Jose Rizal tackled a variety of problems to
spread the message about the struggle against abusive power, injustice, false religious claims, and
other unlawful actions against innocent people. It is a book that seeks for long-term solutions rather
than short-term solutions especially that the culture of corruption and oppression has remained.
Violence is not required in this battle; all that is required is a pen and wisdom to achieve freedom.
This novel will be regarded as a symbol of the love of the Philippine national hero for his motherland.
Aside from the difficulties he had in publishing this work, Noli Me Tangere was Rizal's most
controversial novel. It seeks to raise awareness and free Filipinos using diplomatic measures. Rizal
aimed to rebuild the land and its people by exposing the Spanish colonists' barbarism, greed,
brutality, and ignorance. Noli Me Tangere depicts the various aspects of attaining freedom. Jose
Rizal's characters in the Noli Me Tangere are social climbers, abusive power, family commitment,
self-sacrifice, purity, and faithfulness. After being colonized by the Spaniards since the 1500s, the
author illustrates Filipinos being abused by civil guards, friars, and other government officials. Using
their authority to harass people, the civil guards harass them for trivial reasons such as failing to offer
the appropriate salute, etc. Government officials also use their position to control anyone they feel
will be causing harm towards Spanish rule. The idea comes to life in "Noli Me Tangere" when
Crisostomo Ibarra, the novel's main character, experiences it through the death of his father.
Patriotism is yet another major element in the work. The two men, played by Ibarra and Elias, yearn
for independence from their rulers. Despite differences in their approaches to reform, they both
pursue their objectives. Believing that God would bring about justice for Filipinos which
demonstrates patriotism in every way.

El Filibusterismo
Introduction

The second book Jose Rizal wrote is titled El Filibusterismo, which is also known as The Reign of
Greed in English. The Fili went through four versions between March 29 and June 13, 1891: a first
version finished by March 29, a second finished by April 23, a third finished by May 30, and a fourth
which was taken to the printers in June. Rizal revised the Fili so extensively because before March 23,
he received news of the eviction of his family and others from the lands they were cultivating in
Calamba, while in April, he received news of Leonor Rivera’s wedding. There provoked major
personal cries, which together seem to have been the crucible in which the final version of the Fili
was forged. Rizal discarded a dedication he had written addressed to the Filipino people and their
government, writing instead another dedication, this time to the memory of Frs. Burgos, Gomez, and
Zamora: the only explanation for this would seem to be that he changed the point he intended to
make in the Fili. The Fili we have today is a different book from what it was originally intended to be.

It has insights and reflections that would solve many problems of the Philippines today. The Fili
is the last major work of Rizal. In a real sense it is his testament and his legacy.

The Meaning of the Fili (The Dedication to Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora)
 The Filibusterismo is dedicated to the memory of Frs. Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora, whose
execution was alluded to in the Noli as a moment of awakening for Filipinos. The word Rizal used
which is translated here as “sickness” is mal. Guerrero translates it as “evil,” and that translation
would not be wrong as far the word mal goes. The word filibustero means a dangerous patriot who
will soon be hanged, or else a conceited fellow.

“Filibusterismo” is translated by Guerrero as “subversion,” which captures the meaning the

Spanish term had for Filipinos. Mal, however, may mean “sickness, disease” according to Diccionario
de la lengua Española. If we translate “mal que trato de combatir” in the dedication as “sickness that I
am trying to combat,” the dedication immediately recalls the Noli and the social cancer of the Filipino
people, and surely, we are justified in identifying the two. In that case, however, it would seem that
the Fili lays at least part of the blame for the execution of Frs. Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora on
Filipinos. Rizal goes out of his way to say that he is dedicating the Fili to the three priests. For him,
the execution was a tragedy because they were innocent of the crime of which they were accused.

The Epigraph
The Fili has an epigraph written by Ferdinand Blumentritt. The main idea behind his epigraph is
that the “gang of friar-lovers and reactionaries” are the most effective filibusteros there are. To
appreciate the irony behind this, we must go to Blumentritt’s prologue to Rizal’s edition of the
Morga.

Importance
● The FIli is a novel of debates and discussions.
● Unlike the Noli in which characters are more important than plot, plot is fundamental in the
Fili. This is because, while the Noli presents us with the problems of society, the Fili proposes
solutions.
● Rizal is the theoretical outline of the proposed solutions and the reasons they fail. In other
words, the solutions proposed are “types” of solutions, and the reasons they fail are “types”
of reasons for failure.

Characters
Main Cast
Simoun : The heart and main character of Fili who represents the filibustero who actively uses the
corruption of the colonial society to destroy the colonial society itself. He represents the provocative
whom Rizal believes is the push and starting point that the Philippine society needs to redeem itself.
Simoun entered Fili roughly 13 years after his supposed death at the end of Noli where he was known
as Crisostomo Ibarra. However, he returns disguised as a wealthy jeweler with blue tinted glasses
and a beard where he longs to lead a revolution. He presents himself as an arrogant elitist, but
secretly plans his violent revolution to avenge his misfortunes as Ibarra, as well as hasten his friend
Elias’ reformist goals.

Basilio : There are two main storylines in Fili, in which Simoun’s revolution is the first, and Basilio’s
pursuit of science is the second. Introduced to us through Noli, Basilio is the son of Sisa, and the
brother of Crispin and is the only one left of the three. He is found to be very shy as seen through
how he never really plays a role in the Spanish academy, is portrayed as sort of an outsider and
simply recounts to Simoun how all he wants is to live peacefully and have his own family as an
aspiring Doctor. His sweetheart is Juli the daughter of Kabesang Tales, whose family took him in
when he was fleeing the Guardia Civil as well as his deranged mother.

Isagani : Basilio’s friend, a poet and a stark contrast to Basilio’s quiet manner. Though younger, he is
more robust and as part of the student association, acts proudly and naively by putting himself in the
spotlight when there are opposing ideals. These attributes clash with the more practical and
mundane concerns of his sweetheart, Paulita Gómez. This leads to his arrest, and Paulita leaving him
for Juanito Peláez. He is the nephew of Padre Florentino, and eventually in his confidence, is the one
to neutralize the second planned revolution of Simoun. At the end of the novel he stays with his
Uncle Florentino permanently.

Father Florentino : The last main character that is essential for communicating Fili’s primary point,
despite the fact that he mainly appears at the beginning and end of the novel. He is Isagani’s uncle
and a retired priest, as well as the son of a wealthy and influential family from Manila. He was
described as a white-haired, quiet and serene man with a strong build. He was highly respected by his
peers, and even Spanish friars and officials, however when the 1872 Cavite Mutiny broke out, he
resigned from his priesthood in fear of drawing unwanted attention.
Father Fernández : Dominican friend of Isagani. After the incident with the posters and the arrests,
he engages in conversation with Isagani not as a teacher and student, but as a Friar with a Filipino in
which though they didn’t necessarily resolve their differences, they influenced each other to
approach their own colleagues with opposing views. They didn’t necessarily believe it would work,
showing the extent of the animosity between the two parties.

Capitán Tiago : Otherwise known as Don Santiago de los Santos, as well as Maria Clara’s father. His
riches and all the land that he owned, didn’t keep him from falling into depression when Maria
entered the convent. This then led him to the uncontrollable vice of opium, which was supplied to
him by Padre Írene. He then hired Basilio who later on became his caregiver and managed his estate.
Because of these close relationships, Basilo’s arrest and Padre Írene’s stories of violent revolts, led
Tiago to die of shock upon learning these things.

Captain-General : Represents and is the highest-ranking official in the Philippines during the Spanish
colonial period. He is Simoun’s friend, confidant, and has an insatiable lust for gold. When he was
posted in the Philippines, he was used as Simoun’s pawn to drive the country into a revolution. He
was also shamed into ending his tenure when he was rebuked by a high official in the aftermath of
Basilio’s imprisonment. His retirement though is later shown to be crucial in Simoun’s schemes.

Father Bernardo Salví : Formerly the parish priest of San Diego in Noli but now the director and
chaplain of the Santa Clara convent. Through Noli we learn that Salví regularly raped Clara so even
when there are reports of Ibarra’s death, he constantly lived in fear that he was still alive and seeking
his revenge.

Father Hernando de la Sibyla : Dominican in Noli and is now the director and chaplain of the
University of Santo Tomas.

Father Millon : Dominican who served as a physics professor in the University of Santo Tomas.

Quiroga : Chinese businessman who aspired to be a consul for China in the Philippines. He was also
coerced by Simoun to hide weapons inside his warehouses in preparation for revolution.
Don Custodio : Otherwise known as Custodio de Salazar y Sánchez de Monteredondo who was a
famous contractor and was tasked by the Captain-General to develop the students association’s
proposal for the Spanish Academy. However he was also under pressure from the priests not to
compromise their prerogatives as monopolizers of instruction. He is portrayed as an opportunist
who married his way into high society and who regularly criticized favored ideas that did not come
from him, but was ultimately laughable incompetent.

Ben-Zayb : A columnist for the Manila Spanish newspaper El Grito de la Integridad. Ben-Zayb is his
pen name and is an anagram of Ybáñez, an alternate spelling of his last name Ibáñez. He was said to
have the looks of a friar, and believed that in Manila they think because he thinks. He is deeply
patriotic and as a journalist, had no qualms embellishing stories, conflating and butchering details,
and making a mundane story sound better than it actually was.

Father Camorra : The parish priest of Tiani. He is said to look like an artilleryman in counterpoint to
Ben-Zayb's friar looks. He stops at nothing to mock and humiliate Ben-Zayb's liberal pretensions,
such as calling him an ink-slinger. In his own parish, Camorra has a reputation for unrestrained
lustfulness. He drives Juli into suicide after attempting to rape her inside the convent. For his
misbehavior he was "detained" in a luxurious riverside villa just outside Manila.

Father Írene : Capitán Tiago's spiritual adviser. Just like Don Custodio, Írene is severely criticized as a
representative of priests who allied themselves with temporal authority for the sake of power. He
was also widely known as the final authority who Custodio consults, so the student association
sought his support by gifting him with two chestnut-colored horses. However, he ended up
betraying the students when he counseled Custodio into making them fee collectors in their own
school, that was then administered by the Dominicans instead of a secular and privately managed
institution that the students were hoping for. Írene also secretly but regularly supplied Capitán Tiago
with opium while encouraging Basilio to do his duty. Írene embellished stories of panic that followed
the outlawing of Basilio’s student association, which hastened Capitán Tiago's death. With Basilio in
prison, he then removed Basilio out of Tiago's last will and testament, which ensured he inherited
nothing.
Placido Penitente : Student of UST who disliked studying and would have left if it weren’t for his
mother’s pleas for him to stay. He clashes with his physics professor which leads to an accusation of
him being a member of the student association that the friars despise. Subsequent to the accusation,
he meets Simoun at a fair where he is taken to survey some preparations for the upcoming
revolution.

Paulita Gómez : Girlfriend of Isagani and the niece of Doña Victorina whom we know from Noli.
Though the book concludes with her marrying Juanito Peláez instead, as she saw no promising
future if she marries Isagani.

Characters from Barrio Sagpang

Kabesang Tales : Otherwise known as Telesforo Juan de Dios, a former cabeza de barangay of Barrio
Sagpang in Tiani. He was a sugarcane planter who cleared lands he thought belonged to no one, and
lost his wife and eldest daughter in the endeavor. When the Dominicans took over his farm, he
fought to have it retained in his possession. While his suit against the Dominicans was on going, he
was kidnapped by bandits while out patrolling his fields, and having no money to pay his captors, his
daughter Juli was forced to become a maid in exchange for her mistress paying his ransom. Tales
also had no money, when his son Tano was conscripted into the Guardia Civil, so he was unable to
pay for his exclusion from the draft. When in spite of all Tales lost the case, he not only lost his farm
but was also dealt with a heavy fine. He later joined the bandits and became one of their fiercest
commanders.

Tandang Selo : Father of Kabesang Tales and grandfather of Tano and Juli. A deer hunter and later a
broom-maker, he and Tales took in the young, sick Basilio who was then fleeing from the Guardia
Civil. On Christmas Day, when Juli left to be with her mistress, Selo suffered some form of stroke that
impaired his ability to speak. After Juli's suicide, Selo left town permanently, taking with him his
hunting spear. He then joined his son Kabesang in the bandits, but was sadly killed in an encounter
with the Guardia Civil – ironically and unintentionally by the gun of the troops' sharpshooter Tano, his
grandson.

Juli : Formally known as Juliana de Dios, she was the girlfriend of Basilio and the youngest daughter
of Kabesang Tales. When Tales was captured by bandits, Juli petitioned Hermana Penchang to pay
for his ransom, but in exchange, she had to work as her maid. Luckily, Basilio ransomed her and
bought a house for her family, but when he was sent to prison, Juli approached Padre Camorra, for
help. When Camorra tried to rape her, Juli jumped to her death from the church's tower.

Tano : The son of Kabesang Tales, second born to Lucia who died in childhood. He was nicknamed
"Carolino'' after returning from Guardia Civil training in the Carolines. His squad was ambushed by
bandits when they were escorting prisoners, and during the battle, Tano as the sharpshooter, killed a
surrendering bandit from a distance, not knowing it was his own grandfather Selo.

Hermana Penchang : One of the "rich folks" of Tiani who lent Juli money to ransom Kabesang Tales
from the bandits. In return, Juli served as her maid until the money was paid off. Penchang is
described as a pious woman who speaks Spanish; however, her piety was clouded over by the virtues
taught by the friars. While Juli was in her service, Penchang made her work constantly, refusing to
give her time off to take care of her grandfather Selo. Nevertheless, when the rich folks of Tiani
shunned Juli supporting her family trying to find some form of retribution from the friars, Penchang
was the only one who took pity upon her.

Hermana Báli : Juli's mother-figure and counselor. She accompanied Juli in her efforts to secure
Kabesang Tales' ransom and later on Basilio's release. Báli was a gambler who once performed
religious services in a Manila convent. It was also she who suggested to Juli to borrow money from
one of the rich folk, when Tales was captured by bandits.

Students Association
Macaraig : The leader. He is described as wealthy, owning his own coach, driver, several horses and
houses and was said to have lent one of his homes to serve as the schoolhouse for their proposed
Spanish language Academy. After the association was outlawed, he was the first to post bail and left
the country after his release.

Sandoval : A Peninsular who came to Manila as a government employee and was hoping to finish his
studies. He completely identified himself with the cause of the Filipino students. He was known to
have simply outstanding oratorical skills, so after the association was outlawed, he was still able to
pass his courses.

Pecson : Described as chubby, pessimistic and having an annoying grin. He was Sandoval’s constant
foil whenever he launched into some kind of patriotic optimistic speech. After failing to receive good
news about the Spanish academy project, it was Pecson who suggested a torch-lit dinner at the
Panciteria Macanista de Buen Gusto, just a block away from the Binondo Church and Convent, served
by naked Chinese waiters, and it was after that that Sandoval and Pecson became more gracious to
each other.

Tadeo : A truant and charlatan who regularly dreamed of an eternal "holiday" from school, yet was
still loved by most professors and passed courses. A longtime Manila resident, he is seen having fun
by telling outrageous stories about himself to a newcomer student from his home province. After
the outlawing of the association, he alone seemed to welcome imprisonment as it meant not going
to school. His holiday realized at last, he "celebrated" by setting up a bonfire using his books upon
his release.

Juanito Peláez : Isagani's rival for Paulita Gómez's affection. He was the son of Timoteo Peláez, a
metalworks trader and was the favorite of his professors. He was a regular prankster, and was said
to have developed a hump by playing some trick and then hunching behind his classmates. He paid
his dues to the student association, but was still able to break away when the association was
outlawed. Following Isagani's arrest, Paulita breaks off from Isagani to marry Juanito.

The Plot
The 39 chapters of the Fili have been broken down into six groups in this book for the purpose of
plot analysis, four of which contain seven chapters for each, one with six, and two with five.

Part One: Beginnings (Chapters 1-7)

● Chapters 1 and 2: The novel begins with an image of Philippine society reflected in the
upper and lower decks of a steamship traveling up the Pasig to the province of
 Laguna. Spaniards are to be found above; Filipinos below. Most of the main
characters of the novel are introduced.
● Chapter 3: Still set in the steamship, the story is told of Ibarra’s death in the waters of
the lake.
● Chapters 4 and 5: Cabesang Tales and Basilio are introduced.
● Chapter 6: Gives back the story of Basilio.
● Chapter 7: Simoun himself gives us his back story. We are introduced to the storylines
that will course through the novel: Simoun’s plot to organize a revolution and the
students’ project to put up an academy to teach Spanish. Within Simoun’s description
of his return, Rizal’s poetic nature is revealed as Simoun appears to encapsulate all
the anger and hatred that oppresses Filipinos had against the colonial government
and it’s allies. This chapter is surprising because of the wealth of issues and debates it
brings up that will strike the contemporary reader as modern and unresolved even
today.

Part Two: Protagonists and Supporters (Chapters 8-14)

● Chapters 8-10: Follow Simoun and Basilio’s discussion in the forest, all on the story of
Cabesang Tales, specifically, his transformation into a murderer and a fugitive with a
little nudging from Simoun.
● Chapter 11: The scene shifts to Los Baños where the students’ request for a Spanish
academy is brought up before the governor-general, there on holiday. The friars are
divided on the petition.
● Chapters 12 and 13: These two chapters follow on the student Placido Penitente, in
which Rizal skewers classes in UST. Placido will end up on Simoun’s crew.
● Chapter 14: Students witness and plan to push the petition for a Spanish academy.

Part Three: Development (Chapters 15-20)

● Chapter 15: Señor Pasta, a Filipino, offered his support to the petition that student
Isagani is seeking.
● Chapters 16-18: Connect with the story of Ibarra in the Noli.
● Chapter 19: Final preparations for the revolution.
 ● Chapter 20: Don Custodio, a Spaniard who has been asked by the government for an
opinion on the students’ petition.

Part Four: Failure (Chapters 21-25)

● Chapter 21: We see mysterious characters positioning themselves for the revolution,
which does not take place.
● Chapter 22: The students find out that Don Custodio has come out negatively on their
academy.
● Chapter 23: Simoun belatedly discovers that Maria Clara has died; since the revolution
had her abduction from the convent as its ultimate goal, Simoun is completely
discouraged and forgets about the revolution. We found out later that he attempted
suicide.
● Chapter 24: An odd chapter– it is about Isagani’s date with Paulita Gomez whom we
would call today his girlfriend; he fears she wants to break up with him, but in fact
she does not. It seems its function is simply to let us know how much he is in love
with her, a preparation for an event that will occur in the last part of the novel.

Part Five: Denouement (Chapters 26-32)

● Chapter 26: Subversive posters “full of threats, massacre, invasion” are found in the
university, as a result of which several students are arrested, among them Basilio.
● Chapter 27: Isagani has a long debate with a friar, Padre Fernandez, after which he
turns himself into the authorities so that he can be in jail with his classmates. This has
an unexpected consequence: Paulita, appalled by Isagani’s action, accepts another
young man’s marriage proposal.
● Chapter 28: The denouement of Simoun’s failed revolution.
● Chapter 29: Basilio’s arrest has unintended consequences: the death of Capitan Tiago,
…
● Chapter 30: the suicide of Juli, and the resignation of a high government official, a
Spaniard…
● Chapter 31: who interceded for Basilio before the governor-general.
● Chapter 32: Basilio is the last of the students to be released from jail, the tragic result
of which is revealed in the following chapter. Rizal goes out of his way to connect
 Capitan Tiago’s death, Juli’s suicide, and the resignation of the high government
official in some way to Basilio’s arrest.

Part Six: Simoun’s Second Attempt (Chapters 33-39)

● Chapter 33: Basilio visits Simoun to thank him for interceding for his release from
prison and to volunteer for any subsequent plans Simoun might have against the
colonial government. In fact, Simoun does have a plan that will take place in the
wedding reception of Paulita: he has mined the gazebo in which Paulita, her groom,
and their guests of honor will sit and filled the lamp hanging in the gazebo with
nitroglycerine. When the lamp explodes, this will be the signal for armed men outside
Manila to attack. Basilio will have the task of slaughtering everyone who refuses to
join Simoun’s revolution.
● Chapter 34: This chapter is the revolution of the old house of Capitan Tiago where the
wedding reception will take place and which is now mined.
● Chapter 35: It describes the guests filing into the party. Basilio, seeing Isagani loitering
outside the house, attempts to lead him to safety, telling him about the lamp. Isagani,
as though in a trance, refuses to follow Basilio who flees. Isagani snaps out of his
trance, decides Basilio is telling the truth, rushes into the house, grabs the lamp, and
dives into the Pasig with it.
● Chapters 36 and 37: Spaniards and Filipinos in Manila buzz with gossip about the failed
massacre. The plot has been traced to Simoun who is on the run.
● Chapter 38: In the countryside, there is an encounter between guardias civiles and
unknown persons. Two of the unknown persons are killed; one of them is identified
at the end of the chapter– the father of Cabesang Tales. The other is presumably
Tales himself. The third man, who escapes, is Simoun as we figure out in the next
chapter.
● Chapter 39: It consists of a long conversation between Padre Florentino (the uncle of
Isagani) and Simoun who is dying after having taken poison to escape arrest.

The Themes of the Filibusterismo

● Irony
 ○ The last person the reader expects to be a filibustero, a supposed friend to the
governor-general, the friars, the rich Filipinos and Chinese, turns out to be the
filibustero. He plots the very downfall of the colony while those accused of being
filibusteros (the students), are simply lover of Hispanic culture and only want the
progress of the colony
● A Terrorist’s solution to the problem of an oppressive government
○ This is Simon’s new project when his first revolutions fails
○ However, Rizal seems afraid that someone would take his fiction seriously, and has
his narrator refute Simoun’s arguments justifying the use of violence and murder
○ The refutation is off brand by Rizal, but he obviously expects the reader to take it
seriously, however how uncharacteristic it is should lead us to believe that Rizal
wants us to focus on something other than the ethical implications of Simoun’s plot
○ The refutation tells us that he is aware of moral ambiguity, but that it is present for a
reason: that being Basilio
○ Simoun’s nationalism is seen in his words to Basilio in the forest of San Diego, when
he urges the purification of the race by having him kill all cowards
● Rizal’s rejection of the Enlightenment itself
○ Simoun’s lamp and Isagani represent two stark opposites
○ The lamp represents more than just nitroglycerine, rather it is a concentrate of tears,
compressed hatreds, injustices and oppressions. It’s the last push for the weak found
in violence versus violence.
○ Isagani on the other hand, learns that the house is going to explode with Paulita in it
meaning she would die a horrible death. This leads him to forget everything he
seemed to believe: jealousy, sufferings, moral tortures, and he only seemed to
remember his love.
○ The knowledge of the Enlightenment was the flame for the young Rizal to set sail to
Europe, but later on in a poem (Mi retiro) he tells his mother that it was a waste of
time
○ The fact that it is a lamp that Isagani grabs is also a parallel to the fable of the mother
moth that Rizal loved
 ○ The flame of the lamp was beautiful and definitely worth the risk, however Isagani
diving into the river with Simoun’s lamp is Rizal consigning the Enlightenment to the
dustbin in his life.
● Conditions for success of revolution
○ Simoun explains what he believes to be the reason why his first attempt failed, and
his conclusion is that absolute single mindedness is necessary for success, and all
emotion bust be eliminated
○ One of the more prominent emotions being the guilt that he felt with the first
revolution, which he then believes to be against Elías’ wishes.
○ He then sought that his second revolution should only be based on reason, a true
follower of the Enlightenment
● Virtue & Civic Freedom
○ In the last chapter there is a very significant conversation between Simoun and Padre
Florentino
○ Florentino mentions the justice of God in the groaning of the islands, and Simoun
asks him why God denied him of support as he saw all his projects thwarted by
unexpectedness
○ This shows that the fatal flaw of the Enlightenment is the limitations of human
reason and inability to foresee and control everything
○ God is essential for forestall or neutralize anything that might derail a good project
○ Padre Florentino’s reply is quick: “Because you chose a means that he could not
approve of!”. Simoun’s motivation being hatred
○ We then have the first condition to attain freedom: the means must be acceptable to
God: Virtue.
○ Padre Florentino’s quote describes it perfectly, “Hatred creates nothing more than
monsters, crime, criminals; only love can accomplish works of marvel, only virtue can
save!”, “If our country should be free at some point, it will not be through vice and
crime, it will not be by corrupting it’s children, deceiving some, buying others, no;
redemption presupposes virtue, virtue, sacrifice and sacrifice, love!”
○ From love of country comes the sacrifice of personal ambitions and dreams; from
sacrifice will come virtue, such as a sense of duty, hard work, chastity – the virtues
Rizal felt were missing among the young students in Madrid.
○ Then Simoun asks what it is then that we should do, and Florentino’s turns the table
on Simoun with his response:
○ He refuses to blame any individual or set of individuals for the state of the country,
and certainly refuses to blame God.
○ Instead, he blames everyone, himself included. He would certainly include Simoun in
the blame while Simoun was still Ibarra, and it would be interesting to then see how
“blameless” characters of the Noliare actually blameworthy.
○ The words “sometimes we applaud it” come straight from Rizal’s own experience;
they refer to the New Year’s Eve dinner of 1890 just a few months back in which
someone making the traditional year-end summary in the Filipino colony in Madrid
referred so amusingly to the misbehavior of certain individuals that the audience
ended up applauding them. Rizal made sure he was overheard that evening
muttering, “This is no laughing matter.” There is a vision of society underlying Padre
Florentino’s words: everyone is connected. The blindness to that interconnectedness
and the words and actions that issue from that blindness constitute to the social
cancer adumbrated in the Noli.
○ The second part of this main theme is Civic Freedom
○ Padre Florentino quotes this in what he believes a revolution needs to succeed, “I do
not mean to say that our freedom must be conquered by the edge of the sword. The
sword counts for very little today in modern life, but yes, we must conquer it by
meriting it, by elevating reason and the dignity of the individual, loving what is just,
what is good, what is great to the point of dying for it…”
○ The freedom that Padre Florentino refers to is not political freedom. Later in his
speech, he will refer to independence, which is, of course, political freedom. The
freedom he refers to is civic freedom, civil liberties, and he makes a very bold claim
concerning it: that it should be conquered by meriting it, not through lobbying with
Spanish legislators or writing articles in papers, not through demonstrations or other
means of political activists–not, in short, through the fight that Elías insisted on. The
citizen must merit it, must be in such a personal state or condition that he deserves
freedom. He explains this by saying we must “elevate reason”, which means acting
according to reason, not according to emotion or superstition or unthinking tradition
or simply because everyone else acts in the same way. “Elevating the dignity of the
 individual” means never acting and certainly never treating others in a manner
inconsistent with human dignity. On the other hand, what is important in “loving
what is just, what is good, what is great” is the extent to which one loves each of
these:to the point of “dying for it.” When this becomes true of a people, then “God
supplies the weapon, and the idols fall, the tyrants fall like a house of cards, and
freedom shines with the first dawn!”
○ Padre Florentino’s point here is that God will favor a revolution only when the people
are ready for civic freedom, and people are ready for civic freedom only when they
are ready to die for it.
○ Rizal allowed his novel to delve into this territory: the success of a revolution if
fraught with contingency, escaping human control; on the other hand, the success of
a revolution with people not prepared for civil society leads only to greater tyranny.
However, this theory is only Florentino’s and if we were to account this to Rizal, it is
likely to say that if Rizal had been alive when the Americans established their version
of civil society in the Philippines, he wouldn’t have refused the Filipino’s their civil
liberty on account that they are not ready for them.
○ So then what is Rizal’s point? It would seem to be that intimate connection between
culture and political institutions. Culture is suffused with values; political institutions,
engendered by them. If the culture of a people does not share the same values its
political institutions are meant to defend, then these political institutions would
neither promote nor protect the values that produced them in another time and
place. Inform someone of his civil liberties, and if he neither understands nor
appreciates them, it will be like dressing up a five-year-old boy in a man’s suit. Rizal’s
point is that it is naive to think everyone understands and appreciates freedom by the
mere fact of being human: history demonstrates the exact opposite. Rizal tells us
that understanding freedom demands: “elevating reason and the dignity of the
individual” ; he tells us what appreciating freedom means: “loving what is just, what
is good, what is great to the point of dying for it.” Understanding and appreciating
freedom have to be learned.
○ The focus then is the Filipinos, not the Spaniards. Whether they are rich or poor,
educated or uneducated. Rizal addresses that the aims of the propagandistas in Noli
 and Fili are neglecting important goals, and Filipinos have to be brought to “merit”
civil freedoms, to grow in understanding and appreciation of them.

The Revisions of Fili

Through letters of Rizal and manuscripts of the Fili, we learn that the novel went through at
least two revisions. We know this for sure through the dedication Rizal wrote for Fili, in which the
first was discarded and the second forms part of the final version of the novel. The discarded
dedication focuses on the way the friars cry wolf with filibusterismo in order to frighten both the
government and the Filipino people. This does appear in Fili, but not prominently. Rizal then writes a
letter to Basa in June 1891, where he says that Fili is longer than Noli, which would mean that he
shortened it drastically soon after writing the letter.

In a letter to Blumentritt in April, he confides to him the personal crisis he went through upon
receiving the news of Loenor’s marriage to an Englishman, which shows us the antecedents of
Chapters 33-39, the story of Simoun’s second attempt, the wedding party and Isagani’s dramatic
frustration of Simoun’s plan.

A Summary of Rizal Thoughts on the Progress of Philippine Society from Sickness to Health
The Redemption of the Philippines from Sickness
1. Redemption presupposes virtue, sacrifice, and love
● The sickness is moral
● The foundation for all redemption is love
● Love for country starts with the love for the land
● It grows to include love for the innocent and defenseless
● It climaxes in a love for virtue
2. Suffering and death can sow ideas
● Rizal refers to the suffering and death of the honorable and the just
● This is necessary in a society without morals ruled by an immoral government
● Change for Rizal begins with ideas; the ideas change the person’s life; the
person changes the society he lives in
The Progress of the Philippines from Sickness to Health
 3. A good citizen should suffer and work
● The suffering of the just man at the hands of unjust members of society
● The suffering an ordinary citizen experiences upon seeing the injustice of his
society
● Work is the ordinary citizen’s occupation in society
4. All citizens play a part in the corruption or health of a society
● The chapters depicting the town of Tiani and the barrio on Sagpang
(Cabesang Tales’ story) would illustrate Rizal’s theory of interconnection
● One’s individual good is an unretractable part of the common good
5. The school of suffering tempers, the fighting arena strengthens souls
● Fighting arena like school of suffering refers to oneself and one’s struggle for
virtue
The Healthy Society: A Society Whose Citizens Love Civic Freedom
6. The goal: Citizens who merit civic freedom in themselves
7. We merit civic freedom in ourselves by elevating reason and the dignity of the individual and
loving what is just, what is good, and what is great to the point of dying for it

The Relevance of the Filibusterismo to Philippine Society

● The sickness must involve Filipinos rather than Spaniards; it must involve the little
value given to the human being as human beings– the little appreciation given to
reason, human dignity, and the ability to love what is just. Good, and great and die for
it.
● The sickness has the relation with the execution of three priests. There was first of all
the failed revolution itself, which bears the misnomer of “mutiny”: in retrospect, it
was foolhardy and naively organized; it also made use of deception to recruit soldiers
to its side. Then, there was the reaction of the people. It has been mentioned that the
three types of Filipinos denounced in Padre Florentino’s speech were probably taken
from letters Rizal received from Calamba regarding the evictions.
● History does not seem to have agreed with Padre Florentino. From then on, Filipino
patriots concentrated on winning independence from America until this was granted
in 1946.
 ● The redemption of the Philippines presupposes virtue, which in its turn presupposes
sacrifice, which in its turn presupposes love has come to sound like a pleasant
thought in a novel that belongs to the past.
● Padre Florentino’s prediction that God would not grant the bride to the bridegroom if
the latter were not ready to die for her seemed to be confirmed by the new
generation of Filipinos (particularly the ROTC volunteers) who willingly gave up their
lives in World War II to preserve freedom in the Philippines; independence followed
soon after, though it had been promised years before the demonstration of Filipino
willingness to die for country.
● In 1986 during the EDSA Revolution, some people recalled Padre Florentino’s line
about the uselessness of independence “if the slaves of today became the tyrants of
tomorrow.” They had in mind the Marcos regime under Martial Law and immediately
after: suddenly, Rizal was deemed to have been prescient.
● Since then, the persistent burden of corruption, going back to the early years of the
republic after World War II, has been perceived to be very heavy: it does not need
much imagination to recognize that Rizal might be right after all about the Philippines
needing redemption and redemption depending on virtue.
● The Filibusterismo should be taken as the starting point of a debate on how the
Filipino people should address the future. This is what the novel is to begin with; it is
focused not on the present or the past, but the future.
● The Fili could be taken as a theoretical work on the role of virtue in the development
of civic society or the conditions for developing a genuine liberal democracy.
● The Fili is Rizal’s meditation on what was missing in Philippine civic life for the Filipino
people to become a genuine civil society; it contains his reflections on the cancer of
Philippine society that he first adumbrated in Noli.
● The Fili is a work of literature. It is not addressed to policymakers or to officials in
some Ministry of Education. Like all works of literature, it is addressed to its reader,
the reader as a person, the reader as a citizen, the reader as someone in charge of his
own personal life.

The Philippines a Century Hence

 ● Jose Rizal's "Filipinas Dentro De Cien Anos" (translated as The Philippines within One
Hundred Years or "The Philippines a Century Hence") was serialized on September 30,
October 31, December 15, 1889, and February 15, 1890 in the fortnightly review La
Solidaridad of Madrid. Rizal estimated the future of the Philippines in the span of a
hundred years and foretold the catastrophic end of Spanish rule in Asia.
● The article supplemented Rizal's great novel Noli Me Tangere and its sequel El
Filibusterismo.
● In the essay, he cautioned Spain as regards to the imminent downfall of its domination.
The purpose in writing this essay was to awaken the minds and hearts of the Filipinos
concerning the oppression of the Spaniards and encouraging them to fight for their right.

Causes of Suffering and Deterioration

● In Rizal's annotation of Antonio Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, our national
hero through great efforts proved and discussed the glorious past of the Philippines.
● In "The Philippines a Century Hence", he analyzed the deterioration of its economy
and identified the causes of locals' sufferings under the cruel Spanish rule.

Thus, gave the following various Causes of the sorrows suffered by the Philippine natives:

● Spain's Implementation of Its Military Policies

○ Because of such decrees, the Philippines population decreased intensely Poverty
became more widespread than ever as farmlands were left to wither. The people
continued to suffer from hunger and disease. The family as a unity of society was
deserted, and generally, all facets of the life of the natives became retarded.
● Deterioration and Disappearance of Filipino indigenous culture
○ The locals began forgetting who they were, what their valued beliefs, religion, songs,
poetry, and the other forms of their cultural heritage were. When Spain came with
the sword and cross, it started slow but continuing damage of the native Philippine
culture. Impoverished and retarded, the people began losing their sense of self worth
and their confidence in their past and their heritage. Spirit-broken they became
confused and hesitant in their current lifestyle, disgusted with themselves and
ultimately lost hope in the future and the preservation of their race.
● Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers
○ The Spanish friars were one of the most powerful forces that influenced a culture of
silence and lethargy among the locals. Through their use of force and intimidation
(unfairly using God’s name), the natives learned to fanatically submit themselves to
the whims and caprices of the strangers.
The Inevitable
● One of the main topics tackled by Rizal in the essay was whether Spain could indeed prevent
the looming progress of the Philippines. Despite the corruption and deterioration brought
 about by the colonizers to the Philippines, he was hopeful that the country’s eventual
improvement could not be hindered, For this he made the following points:
○ Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant failed. National consciousness had still
awakened and great Filipino minds still emerged from the rubble.
○ Keeping the people impoverished also came to no avail. On the contrary, living a life
of eternal destitution allowed Filipinos to act on the desire for a change in their way
of life. They began to explore some 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 war 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 was something Spain would
not allow.

Rizal’s Prophecies

● Rizal expressed in the essay his confident prediction that something would awaken the
hearts and open the minds of the Filipino people as regards their plight. He “prophesied”
the Philippine people’s revolution against Spain, winning their independence, but later
the Americans would come as the new colonizer.
● Eventually, the natives did recognize the harassment and cruelty in their society by
foreign colonizers must no longer be tolerated. The natives thus, though lacking arms
and enough training, valiantly waged war against the colonizers. Even the
not-so-predictable element of Rizal’s “prophecy” came true- the Americans in 1898
wrestled with Spain to win the Philippines, and in due course took over the country.
Relatively, theirs was a reign of liberty and democracy.
● Some years after Rizal’s death, the Philippines attained its long-awaited liberation and
independence. Again, this appeared to be the fulfillment of what he had written in the
essay: “History does not record record in its annals any lasting domination by one people
over another, of different races, of diverse usages and customs, of opposite and
divergent ideas. One of the two had yield and succumb.”

Dr. Feodor Jagor

● Dr. Feodor Jagor, is a German scientist, traveler, and author. Rizal is an admirer of Doctor
Feodor Jagor because of his book wherein he wrote his keen observation in the
Philippines.
● Rizal's reference to America as a probable factor in the Philippines' future is said to be
based on the forecast of Dr. Feodor Jagor.
● In 1860, Jagor visit the Philippines and later published his observations supplemented by
ten years of further study in European museums and libraries as Travels in the Philippines
which is Rizal's favorite book during his student years in Manila.
 ● Rizal had read the Spanish version of Jagors book while being a student in Ateneo de
Manila from a copy supplied by his brother Paciano. Jagor’s prophecy is said to furnish
the explanation of Rizal’s public life. His policy of preparing his countrymen for
commercial and industrial competition seemed to have had its inspiration in this reading
done when he was a youth.
● While in Berlin, Rizal met Professor Jagor and became fast friends. Proper knowledge of
the Philippines' history and keen acquaintance with its then situation had enabled Jagor
and Rizal, who are both trained observers, to somewhat foretell the country's future.

The Essay’s Relevance Today

● One way to properly interpret many of Rizal’s writing is to consider the hint he provided in
his Noli Me Tangere: quote, “I do not write for this generation. I am writing for other ages. If
this could read me, they would burn my books, the work of my whole life. On the other hand,
the generation which interprets these writings will be an educated generation; they will
understand me and say: Not all were asleep in the night-time of our grandparents (By
Philosopher Tasio).”
● Indeed, his essays like “The Philippines a Century Hence” are as relevant today as they were
writing over a century ago. As if talking to us through the essay, Rizal appeared to be
counseling us to focus on strengthening the most important backbone of our country: our
values, outlooks, and all the views that have shaped our sense of national identity.
● The essay, moreover, serves to remind us that we, Filipinos are historically resolute and
determined. In fact, all those efforts by the colonizers to keep us uneducated and
impoverished had failed. Nationalism eventually thrived and the country became
independent after four centuries of tyrannical Spanish rule and five decades under
Americans.

Challenges to the Filipinos

● There are questions on whether we are really independent today. Are we really free when
our economy is dominantly controlled by an elite oligarchy, and there are huge social and
income disparities between a small favored economic and political elite and the rest of the
Filipino population? In fact, Rizal himself also forewarned about this when he wrote in the El
Filibusterismo, “Why independence if the slaves today become the tyrants of tomorrow?”
● Moreover, there are some flaws in our character that can get into the way of attaining what
Rizal envisioned about our country. These includes Attitudes, like the lack of appreciation of
the significance of adhering to the rule of law and upholding high standards of excellence.
Advocating mediocrity, as signposted by puwede na and bahala na attitudes, is very
unbecoming of what Rizal visualized in his essay.
● The challenges posed by the essay to the present Filipino families, and especially to the
government, include instilling national discipline and true love of country; exercising full
control of our national sovereignty; assisting citizens to connect with their communities;
 employing available communication to connect groups, to inform and educate, to enable
Filipinos to discover the common ties we share, meeting challenges of founding a more
peaceful and stable social order; forming a common bond with our brothers and sisters in
marginalized communities; and developing innovations that would improve dialogue and
close gaps between our fellow citizens the world outside; and preventing chaos and spread
of malicious destructive propagandas.
● Ultimately, Rizal’s "The Philippines a Century Hence" legacy is its timeless national message
that establishing a fairer, better society requires reminding the Filipino people that our hope
for survival relies on each of us taking responsibility.

Other Related Writings

● Jose Rizal composed several other brilliant writings, which also helped to awaken Filipino
patriotism and paved the way for the Philippine Revolution. The following are his two other
timeless writings:
○ "Sobre La Indolencia De Los Filipinos (The Indolence of the Filipinos)"
○ "Letter to the Young Women of Malolos"

"Sobre La Indolencia De Los Filipinos (The Indolence of the Filipinos)"

● In the articles, Rizal argued that Filipinos were innately hard working prior to the rule of the
Spaniards. What brought about the decrease in the productive activities of the natives was
actually the Spanish colonization.

Rizal explained the alleged Filipino indolence by pointing to these factors:

1. The Galleon Trade destroyed the previous links of the Philippines with the other countries in
Asia and Middle East, thereby eradicating small local businesses and handicraft industries.
2. The Spanish forced labor compelled the Filipinos to work in shipyards, roads, and some other
public works, thus abandoning their agricultural farms and industries.
3. Many Filipinos became landless and wanderers because Spain did not defend them against
pirates and foreign invaders.
4. The system of education offered by the colonizers was impractical as it was mainly about
repetitive prayers and had nothing to do with agricultural and industrial technology.
5. The Spaniards were a bad example as negligent officials would come in late and leave their
offices early and Spanish women were always followed by servants.
6. Gambling, like cockfights, was established, promoted, and explicitly practiced by Spanish
government officials and friars themselves, especially during feast days.
7. The crooked system of religion discouraged the natives from working hard by teaching them
that it was easier for a poor man to enter heaven; and
8. The very high taxes were discouraging as a big part of natives’ earnings would only go to the
officials and friars.
Moreover, Rizal explained that Filipinos were just wise in their level of work under a tropical climate.
He explained, “violent work is not a good thing in tropical countries as it would be parallel to death,
destruction, annihilation.” Rizal, thus, concluded that the natives’ supposed indolence was an
end-product of the Spanish colonization.

"Letter to the Young Women of Malolos"

● Originally written in Tagalog, this famous letter directly addressing to the women of Malolos,
Bulacan was written by Rizal as a response to Marcelo H. Del Pilar’s request.
● Rizal was greatly impressed by the bravery of the 20 young women of Malolos who planned
to establish a school where they could learn Spanish despite the opposition of Felipe Garcia,
the Spanish parish priest of Malolos.
● The letter expressed Rizal's yearning that women be granted the same chances given to men
in terms of education.

Here are some of the points mentioned by Rizal in his letter to the young women of Malolos:

● The priests in the country that time did not embody the true spirit of Christianity;
● Private judgement should be used;
● Mothers should be an epitome of an ideal women who teaches her children to love God,
country, and fellowmen;
● Mothers should rear children in the service of the state and set standards of behavior for
men around them;
● Filipino women must be noble, decent, and dignified and they should be submissive,
tender, and loving to their respective husband; and
● Young women must edify themselves, live the real Christian way with good morals and
manners, and should be intelligent in their choice of a lifetime partner.

Filipino Nationalism

● Filipino Nationalism refers to the formation and promotion of a political identity

associated with the modern nation-state of the Philippines, which results in a broad
campaign for political, social, and economic freedom in the Philippines
● Filipino nationalism refers to the establishment and support of a political identity
associated with the modern nation-state of the Philippines, leading to a wide-ranging
campaign for political, social, and economic freedom in the Philippines. This gradually
emerged from various political and armed movements throughout most of the
Spanish East Indies—but which has long been fragmented and inconsistent with
contemporary definitions of such nationalism—as a consequence of more than three
centuries of Spanish rule. These movements are characterized by the upsurge of
 anti-colonialist sentiments and ideals which peaked in the late 19th century led mostly
by the ilustrado or landed, educated elites, whether peninsulares, insulares, or native
(Indio). This served as the backbone of the first nationalist revolution in Asia, the
Philippine Revolution of 1896. The modern concept would later be fully actualized
upon the inception of a Philippine state with its contemporary borders after being
granted independence by the United States by the 1946 Treaty of Manila

Bayani at Kabayanihan

● Bayani
○ Is also known as “hero”, meaning is someone who saves somebody’s lives
○ It carries a deeper context wherein only those people who are willing to suffer
and sacrifice themselves for the good of the country are worthy enough to be
called such.
○ Being called a hero requires a greater act of “BRAVERY”
● Dr. Jose P. Rizal
○ Man of intellectual power and artistic talent whom Filipinos honor as their
national hero
○ Rizal 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.
Another remarkable hero that we all know is Andres Bonifacio. The
Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or KKK
played a huge role in the revolt of the Filipinos against the Spaniards. In the
center of that revolution was its founder, Supremo Andres Bonifacio.
Furthermore, Filipinos also remember General Antonio Luna as a brilliant,
brave soldier and tactician of the second phase of the Revolution and the
proverbial hothead but never as the excellent scientist. He has no epitaph but
perhaps his words before leaving exile inEurope for Manila are apt: “I will fight
and offer my life, my small knowledge and science for the liberation of the
Motherland.”
○ Heroism in real life does not require someone to sacrifice his or her life to be
called a bayani. The people that was set up as heroes to sacrifice his or her life
to be called a bayani .
○ The people that we set up as heroes are people that generally go above and
beyond in terms of the call of duty, they do things that are extraordinary. The
act of heroism is debatable to some people however, for any hero, its enough
just knowing they helped someone else.
● Who Is Dr. Jose P. RIzal?
○ José Protasio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso Realonda
○ Was born on June 19, 1861
○ His parents are Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonzo in the town of
Calamba in the province of Laguna.
○ He had nine sisters and one brother.
○ At the early age of three, the future political leader had already learned the
English alphabet. And, by the age of five, he could already read and write
○ 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. 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, rights and freedom, specifically for the Filipino reforms, he even
called for the inclusion of province of Spain. But, among his best works, two
novels stoodout from the rest – Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not) and El
Filibusterismo (The Reign of the Greed).
○ 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.
○ He was executed on the morning of December 30, 1896, in what was then
called Bagumbayan (now referred to as Luneta)
○ The Americans decided for him being a national hero at their time in the
country.
● Rizal Awakened the Mind and Perspective of Filipinos Towards Nationalism
○ Rizal’s chief aim was to reform Philippine society, first by uncovering its ills
and second, by awakening the Filipino youth. His enemies were the oppressive
colonial government, but especially the corrupt elements among the friars,
members of the religious orders that exerted the greatest influence over the
government and thereby held complete sway over the lives of the Filipinos.
○ Rizal knew the best way to awaken the youth and lead them toward right
action was through education, but especially foreign education. For local
education, being controlled by the friars then kept the Filipinos in the dark,
ignorant of their centered on individual people. As part of his the Philippines
to become a rights and heritage- and meek in the face of oppression. This was
partly why he left for Spain in 1882, to continue his studies there
 ○ Of his vision for the Filipinos, Rizal wrote his comrade Mariano Ponce in 1888:
“Let this be our only motto: For the welfare of the Native Land. On the day
when all Filipinos should think like him [Del Pilar] and like us, on that day we
shall have fulfilled our arduous mission, which is the formation of the Filipino
nation”. To Rizal that nation was a nation free of injustice, oppression and
corruption. May the Filipinos of today finally begin fulfilling this timeless
challenge of Rizal.
● Why is Rizal the Greatest Filipino Hero that ever lived?
○ He took an “admirable part” in the Propaganda Campaign from 1882-1895
○ He became the Philippine National Hero because he fought for freedom in an
exceedingly silent but powerful way,
○ One of the most revered figures in Philippine history..
○ He expressed his love for the country through his novels, essays, and articles
rather than through the use of force or aggression.
○ He was a multifaceted intellectual and political activist, best known for his
political writing and ultimately led to his execution by the Spanish colonizers
● Rizal and Philippine Nationalism
○ He showed interest in, and exerted enough efforts to ignite Filipino’s interest
in History.
○ Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo became the bible of
Philippine nationalism.
○ Rizal created La Liga Filipina.
● Rizal’s Career spanned into 2 world
○ Among small communities of Filipino students in Madrid and other European
cities, he became a leader and eloquent spokesman
○ In the wider world of European science and scholarship– particularly in
Germany – he formed close relationships with prominent natural and social
scientists.
● Rizal’s thoughts in His Literary Works
○ Love for Country
○ Song of Maria Clara
○ Hymn of Labor
○ On the Indolence of the Filipinos
○ Letter to the Women of Malolos
○ The Philippines: A Century Hence
● What is the propaganda movement?
○ It was a period of time when native Filipinos were calling for reforms, lasting
approximately from 1880 to 1886 with the most activity between 1880 and
1895.
○ It all began in 1872, when fathers Mariano Gomez,Jose Burgos and Jacinto
Zamora were executed
○ It was organized and participated in by illustrados. Dr.Jose P. Rizal, Marcelo H.
Del Pilar,GrecianoLopez Jaenaand Mariano Ponce are the leaders of the
movement Aims and Reforms .
■ Equality of the Filipinos and Spaniards before the laws.
■ Human rights for filipinos, such as freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, and freedom to meet and petition for redress of grievances
■ Assimilation of the Philippines as a regular province of Spain.
■ Filipinization of the Philippine parishes and expulsion of the friars
Restoration of the Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes.
○ The Propagandists Were patriots who waged their movement by means of
pen and tongue to expose the defects of Spanish rule in the Philippines and
the urgency of reforms to remedy them.
○ Marcelo H. del Pilar -He was the first writer of the bilingual newspaper titled
“Diariong Tagalog” -Beloved by the masses because of his eloquent Tagalog
fearless defense of the poor against the friar abuse.
○ Jose Rizal -a physician, scholar, scientist, and writer. -Great novelist of the
propaganda movement.
○ Graciano Lopez Jaena -The greatest orator of the propaganda. -The First
editor of the LaSolidaridad.
○ Mariano Ponce -A Medical student and a biographical writer. -He used
tikbalang, naning, and kalipulako as his pen names.
■ Other Propagandists
■ Pedro A. Paterno -A lawyer and a Man of letters
■ Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo -The Master of Brush
■ Pedro Serrano Laktaw -A Teacher and A tutor of Prince alfonso de
bourbon (later king Alfonso XIII of Spain)
■ Jose Maria Panganiban -Linguist and Essayist.
■ Fernando Canon