A.

Rizal and the Propaganda Movement

The earliest attempt to unite Filipinos studying in Spain was the Circulo Hispano-
Filipino, and organization under the leadership of a creole, Jun Atayde. It had the support of
Spaniards who were sympathetic towards the Filipinos. The Circulo published a bi-weekly newspaper
titled Revista del Circulo Hispano-Filipino in 1882, but the newspaper and the organization itself were
short-lived and lasted only until 1883.

In between Rizal’s studies, this hero made time for meeting fellow Filipinos in Madrid. Known
as ilustrados, these Filipinos (enlightened ones) formed the Circulo Hispano-Filipino which held
informal programs with activities like poetry-reading and debates. As a prolific writer and poet, Rizal
was asked to write a poem. As a result, Rizal wrote Mi Piden Versos (They Ask Me for Verses).

The Propaganda Movement composed of the Filipino elite called “ilustrados”, exiled liberals
and students attending Europe’s universities gravitated the movement despite the demise of the
Revista del Circulo Hispano-Filipino, the Filipinos in Spain continued to write and engage in
journalism. In 1883, a periodical called Los Dos Mundos came out with the intention of demanding the
overseas Hispanic colonies equality rights and equal opportunities for progress. Although it could not
be determined whether the newspaper was a Filipino project, Filipinos such as Graciano Lopez Jaena
and Pedro Govantes y Azcarraga were involved as staff members. Other Filipinos including Rizal and
Eduardo de Lete also contributed articles concerned with socio-political and economic reforms in the
Philippines. During the time Rizal’s first novel, Noli me Tangere, came out in 1887, another
newspaper titled España en Filipinas began its publication through the support of Filipinos, creoles,
and mestizos in Madrid. The newspaper was short-lived as well because of glaring differences and
internal feuding among its staff. With the end of the newspaper emerged a stronger Filipino
community united in its purpose to continue working for Filipino rights.

By January 1889, the Filipino community in Barcelona began preparations for the publication
of a new periodical. Among the early supporters who helped with finances were Mariano Ponce and
Pablo Rianzares. On the other hand, Graciano Lopez Jaena offered his services as editor. Marcelo H.
del Pilar, having arrived from Manila at this time, also joined the efforts. The newspaper, La
Solidaridad, released its first issue on February 15, 1889. In its first article, the staff defined its
program as, “to combat all reaction, to impede all retrogression, to applaud and accept every liberal
idea, to defend all progress.” Among the reforms the newspaper sought were: Philippine
representation in the Cortes, freedom of the press, and the end of the practice of exiling residents
without due process. The periodical placed particular emphasis on affairs dealing with the Philippines
because of all Spain’s overseas provinces, it was the only one that lacked parliamentary
representation.

La Solidaridad often ran articles dealing with Spanish politics, attacks on friars, and
reforms for the Philippines. It served as the principal organ of the Propaganda Movement to express
the goal of achieving assimilation with Spain. Sections were also assigned to accommodate and print
letters from foreign correspondents, all speaking of situations on the ground. Aside from the political
and economic content, the periodical gave space for the publication of literary works as well. Support
for the newspaper gradually increased and its roster of writers grew. Among those who eventually
contributed articles were Jose Rizal, Dominador Gomez, Jose Maria Panganiban, Antonio Luna, and
renowned Filipinist scholar Ferdinand Blumentritt. Other Filipinos who contributed articles did so
using assumed names. The editorship for the newspaper was first offered to Rizal. However, he
refused because during that time he was annotating Antonio Morga’s Sucessos de las Islas Filipinas
in London. After Rizal refusal, Graciano Lopez Jaena was offered the editorship. On April 25, 1889,
the La Solidaridad published the letter entitled “The aspirations of the Filipinos” which was written by
the Asociacion Hispano-Filipina de Madrid (English: Hispanic Filipino Association of Madrid). It
pursued desires for:

1. Representation in the Cortes

2. Abolition of censure

3. An expressed and definite prohibition of the existing residents by purely administrative order, and
without a writ if execution from the courts of justice.

In time, del Pilar gradually took on the active role of running the paper. Lopez Jaena,
although editor in name, spent most of his days in cafes and was known to be incapable of sustained
work. By the time del Pilar decided to move to Madrid, the paper went with him. The first issue printed
in Madrid came out on November 15, 1889.

A month later, the periodical announced its change of editorship with del Pilar now
taking the helm. Under del Pilar editorship, the aims of the newspaper expanded. Del Pilar articles
caught the attention of Spanish leaders and ministers. Using propaganda, it pursued desires for:

1. That the Philippines be a province of Spain;

2. Representation of Filipino priests instead of Spanish friars – Augustinians, Dominicans, and

Franciscans – in parishes and remote sitios;

3. Freedom of assembly and speech;

4. Equal rights before the law (for both Filipino and Spanish plaintiffs).

By 1890, two of the most prominent members of the Filipino community in Spain began
to increasingly show differences in stance with regard to Philippine affairs. Rizal always held the
opinion that serve the country better, one had to bring the issues closer to home. One had to speak to
the Filipinos, rather than the Spaniards, Del Pilar, on the other hand, was a skillful politician who felt
that efforts at persuading the Spanish leaders and officials needed to be continued and that this was
the best way to achieve the reforms Filipinos were seeking. Things came to a head when at a New
Year’s Eve banquet in 1891, the Filipinos in Madrid proposed that they elect a leader to unite their
community.

Rizal agreed with the proposal while del Pilar expressed initial misgivings.
Nevertheless, the voting took place resulting in three inconclusive ballots on the first day and two
more inconclusive ballots the next day. Rizal did eventually win the position as Filipino leader but only
through the manipulation of Mariano Ponce. In the end, Rizal felt the triumph was shallow and left
Madrid a few weeks later. From this point onwards, Rizal stopped from contributing articles to La
Solidaridad and focused instead on the writing of the novels. The periodical continued to publish only
until 1895. Because of lack of funds and internal feuding, the newspaper released its final issue on
November 15, 1895. In its final issue, its editor, del Pilar, had written, “We are persuaded that no
sacrifices are too little to win the rights and the liberty of a nation that is oppressed by slavery.”

The Propagandists:

1. Dr. Jose Rizal – “Laong Laan” and “Dimasalang” as pennames in La Solidaridad 2. Graciano
Lopez Jaena – “Diego Laura” - first editor and publisher of La Solidaridad

3. Marcelo H. del Pilar – “Plaridel” - as pennames in La Solidaridad; 2nd editor and co-publisher

4. Jose Maria Panganiban – “Jomapa” - penname in La Solidaridad

5. Mariano Ponce – “Tigbalang,” “Kalipulako,” and “Naning” as pennames in La Solidaridad

6. Antonio Luna – “Taga-Ilog” - penname in La Solidaridad

7. Dominador Gomez – “Ramiro Franco” - penname in La Solidaridad

8. Juan Luna – painter and sculptor

9. Pedro Paterno – serve later as the prime minister of the First Philippine Republic 10. Pedro
Serrano Laktaw – a boyhood companion and schoolmate of M.H. del Pilar 11. Felix R. Hidalgo –
painter

12. Isabelo de los Reyes – “Don Belong” – politician, writer, and labor activist

13. Jose Alejandrino – helped Jose Rizal in correcting errors in the El Filibusterismo 14. Eduardo de
Lete – a Philippine-born Spaniard

15. Dr. Antonia Maria Regidor – Doctor of Medicine and lawyer

16. Anastacio Carpio – Filipino freemason and lawyer

17. Miguel Morgan

Friends of the Movement:

1. Ferdinand Blumentritt – Australian etnologist

2. Miguel Sagrario Morayta – Spanish historian, university professor and statesman.

In the second trip to Europe, Rizal became more active in the Propaganda Movement with
fellow ilustrados like Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Antonio Luna, Mariano Ponce, and
Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. The Propaganda Movement campaigned for reforms such as:

(1) for the Philippines to be made a province of Spain so that native Filipinos would have equal rights
accorded to Spaniards;
(2) representation of the Philippines in the Spanish Cortes; and

(3) secularization of parishes.

Rizal became preoccupied with writing articles and essays which were published in the
Propaganda Movement’s newspaper, La Solidaridad. Among the intellectual works in Europe is
Rizal’s annotation of Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (1890) in which Rizal showed
that even before the coming of the Spaniards, the Filipinos already had a developed culture. Rizal
also wrote an essay entitled “Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos” (On the Indolence of the Filipinos)
published in 1890 in which Rizal attributed the Filipinos’ “indolence” to different factors such as
climate and social disorders. Another essay Rizal wrote strongly called for reforms; it was called
“Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años” (The Philippines a Century Hence) published in parts from 1889 to
1890. By July 1891, while in Brussels, Rizal completed the second novel, El Filibusterismo, which
was published on September 18, 1891 through the help of Rizal’s friend, Valentin Ventura. Compared
with the Noli, Rizal’s El Fili was more radical with its narrative portrayed of a society on the verge of a
revolution.

B. Rizal and the Freemasonry

Rizal as a Freemason, one of the least known facets of the life of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal
was being a member of a worldwide fraternity called Freemasonry. According to Filipino historian
Reynold Fajardo, in the book “Dimasalang: The Masonic Life of Dr. Jose Rizal,” Rizal was not only a
mason, but was the only one among the leaders of the revolutionary movement during the Spanish
era who “deserved to be called an international Mason since Rizal was a member of various Masonic
lodges in Spain, Germany, France and possibly, England.”
 The first documented exposure of Rizal to Masonry was in 1882, Fajardo said. Rizal was made
a Master Mason on November 15, 1890 at Logia Solidaridad 53 in Madrid, Spain. Rizal affiliated with
a lodge under the jurisdiction of Grand Orient of France on October 14, 1891, and was made
honorary Worshipful Master of Nilad Lodge No. 144 in 1892. There Rizal delivered a lecture entitled
“La Masoneria”. A many-faceted and multi-talented genius, Rizal’s God given talents for freedom and
for the welfare of the people through peaceful reforms was an obsession that has guided all Rizal’s
life. A dedicated nationalist, physician, poet, novelist, historian, painter, sculptor, linguist, educator,
anthropologist, ethnologist, sportsman, traveler and a prophet, Rizal’s talents appear inexhaustible.
While in Madrid, Rizal was exposed to liberal ideas through the masons that this hero met. Then, was

impressed with the masons’ view about

knowledge and reasoning and how they value
brotherhood.

Rizal’s famous novels, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” exposed the abuses of the
Spanish authorities and inspired the 1896 Revolution. Rizal martyrdom fanned the patriotic spirit of
Filipinos and solidified their craving for nationhood. Considered the pride of the Malay race and the
greatest of the Filipino heroes ever born, Rizal ranks equal to most of the great men of all races and
of all times.

Jose Rizal died a Freemason that never retracted the beliefs therefore Rizal gained the enmity
of the Church who placed heavy pressure for the death sentence. It was recorded in Rizal’s
conversations in Dapitan with Fr. Pastells and Fr. Sanchez that they offered Rizal safety and longer
life if Rizal retracts the Masonic beliefs and returns to the catholic fold. Rizal never did. Rizal stood by
those beliefs to the death. Rizal died with a normal pulse, and accepted death as a very natural thing.
Rizal teacher Piy Margal is also a Freemason, as well as the key people of the revolution: Andres
Bonifacio, Juan Luna, Apolinario Mabini.

Rizal supports spirituality but not religion. Rizal wrote that religion divides people, spirituality
unites them and lived by Masonic teachings and this was what got Rizal to be the Church's enemy
no. 1. Rizal was buried with no Christian blessing or fanfare: Rizal was buried in an unmarked dirt
heap in Paco cemetery where Rizal’s sisters (also Masons) and mother fought hard to be given the
right to bury Rizal properly.
 Key Masonic teachings our national hero lived by:

1) freedom to search knowledge and share it in anyway you want

2) separation of Church and State

3) no to oppression of the individual's drive to excellence

4) freedom and tolerance of one's race and religion (no to religious and racial discrimination)

5) no to being hoodwinked to the truth by the religious/friars (science can offer a lot of explanations to
the so called "miracles" propagated by the friars)

6) Religion, specifically in Rizal time, suppresses the individual from discovering the world out there.
Rizal wrote with passion that despises the friars because they use religion to show that it is the only
way to truth and salvation.

A. Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas

 The Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas

 It is one of the important books in Philippine history authored by Antonio de Morga. The book
contains the early accounts of the early Philippine islands. It was published in Mexico in 1609.
 The book was annotated by Dr. Jose Rizal and it plays an important role for the realization
Filipino identity.
 The book narrates the history of wars, intrigues, diplomacy and evangelization of the Philippines
Islands.
 The book was laboriously hand-copied by Dr. Jose Rizal in London at the British Museum’s
reading room.

 Antonio de Morga

 He was a Spanish conquistador, administrator, and author of the said book.

 Dr. Jose Rizal and modern historians have noted that Morga’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas has a
definite bias, distorted facts to fit his defense of the Spanish colonization of the Philippine Islands.
 Antonio de Morga’s wrote the Sucesos so he could chronicle the deeds, discovery, conquest and
conversion of the Filipinos by the Spaniards. Also, some fortunes that they have from time to time
in the great kingdoms and among the pagan people surrounding the islands.

 Dr. Jose Rizal Objectives

 Dr. Jose Rizal was a seeker of truth and this marked him as a historian.
 Rizal has a burning desire to know exactly the conditions of the Philippine Islands when the
Spaniards came.
 Had a theory that the Philippines was already prosperous and self-sufficient before the Spaniards
came.
 Then, believed that the conquest of the Spaniards contributed in part to decline of the Philippine
rich culture and tradition.
 Rizal’s personal friendship with Blumentritt provided the inspiration for doing a new edition of
Morga’s Sucesos.

 Rizal Annotation of Morga’s Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas

 Dr. Jose Rizal has extensively annotated the book, no less than 639
items or no less than 2 annotations per page of the book.
 Dr. Jose Rizal has also annotated typographical errors.
 On page 248, Morga’s described the culinary art of ancient Filipinos by
recording: The ancient Filipinos prefer to eat salt fish which began to
decompose and smell. Rizal footnotes: This is another preoccupation of
the Spaniards, who like any other nation in that matter of food, loathe
that to which they are not accustomed or is unknown to them. The fish
that Morga’s mentions does not taste better when it is beginning to rot;
all on the contrary it is “ bagoong”, and all those who eaten and tasted it
is not or ought to be rotten.
 Ferdinand Blumentritt has also some salient points on the preface of
Rizal’s annotation of the book: the Spaniards have to correct the
erroneous conceptions of the Filipinos as children of limited intelligence.
There also existed Spanish delusion about the Philippine which are Filipinos were an inferior race,
Filipinos were not ready for parliamentary representation and other reforms, denial of equal rights
can be compensated by strict dispensation of justice.
 The 3 main Dr. Jose Rizal’s main propositions in new Sucesos de Las Islas Filipinas are the
people of the Philippines has the culture of their own before the coming of the Spaniards, Filipinos
were decimated, demoralized, exploited and ruined by the Spanish colonization, and the present
state of the Philippines was not necessarily superior to its past.
 According to Rizal, little by little, Filipinos lost their old traditions; they gave up their writings, songs,
poems, laws in order to learn the doctrines that they don’t understand. Filipinos became ashamed
of what was their own: they began to admire and praise whatever was foreign, their spirit was
damaged and it surrendered.

B. Indigenous People in the Philippines as Ancestors of the Filipinos

 The Condition of Indigenous Peoples

The Philippines is a culturally diverse country with an estimated 14- 17 million Indigenous Peoples (IPs) belonging to
110 ethno-linguistic groups; they are mainly concentrated in Northern Luzon (Cordillera Administrative Region, 33%) and
Mindanao (61%), with some groups in the Visayas area. The Philippine Constitution, in recognition of this diversity and under the
framework of national unity and development, mandates state recognition, protection, promotion, and fulfillment of the rights of
Indigenous Peoples. Further, Republic Act 8371, also known as the “Indigenous Peoples Rights Act” (1997, IPRA), recognized
the right of IPs to manage their ancestral domains and has become the cornerstone of current national policy on IPs.
 Yet, despite these guarantees, the fact is that wherever IPs live, they remain among the poorest and most
disadvantaged peoples. The first-ever Report on the State of the World of Indigenous Peoples, issued by the United Nations
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in January 2010, revealed that IPs make up fully one-third of the world’s poorest
peoples, suffer disproportionately in areas like health, education, and human rights, and regularly face systemic discrimination
and exclusion.

In the Philippines, IPs have been subject to historical discrimination and marginalization from political processes and
economic benefit. They often face exclusion, loss of ancestral lands, displacement, pressures to and destruction of traditional
ways of life and practices, and loss of identity and culture. In extreme situations, social and political discontent has erupted into
armed conflict – the 40-year old armed conflict in Mindanao, involving secessionists and communist insurgents is a prime
example. Conflicts such as these not only threaten the stability and development potential of affected areas, they exacerbate the
plight of indigenous peoples. From economic development to environmental protection to justice, human rights, and good
governance, the protections and participation promised to IPs needs to be mainstreamed through all relevant decision-making
bodies and stakeholder organizations.

 A Decade of Assistance

In the Philippines, UNDP has to date undertaken 35 IP-focused or IP-related projects, which have together assisted 28
distinct ethno-linguistic groups in 12 regions and 21 provinces throughout the country. These projects have focused on
improving the capacity of government agencies, civil society, and other service providers, as well as building capacity amongst
IPs and their leadership.

The “Capacity Building for IP Leaders” and “Community Development, Para-legal Functions and Project Planning and
Management” projects provided training on basic and advanced paralegal skills, leadership and gender sensitivity, community
organizing, and project development and management to dozens of IP leaders and governmental staff. These sessions resulted
in increased awareness of leaders and elders on leadership and gender issues, strengthened traditional structures of community
development and law enforcement, and improved competence levels for integrating tribal and customary laws with national legal
processes.

Partnering with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and with support from the New Zealand
Agency for International Development (NZAID), UNDP has also focused on empowering IPs, helping guarantee their land rights,
and improving management and utilization of those lands through the “Integrated Programme for the Empowerment of
Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Development of Ancestral Domains.” The programme has already resulted in the drafting
of 10 Ancestral Domain for Sustainable Development and Protection Plans (ADSDPPs) – documents that institutionalize not
only sustainable development plans but also further guarantees the rights of IPs to the management of their ancestral lands.

UNDP has also worked closely with IPs to help build capacity for modern resource conservation techniques through the
“Conservation Programme in Ancestral Domains” project and to mitigate the effects of and better plan for natural disasters in the
“Capacity Building on Disaster Preparedness and Management” project. Other IP-relevant issues, like disaster relief provision,
support for community enterprises, and ecosystems management capacity building have also been addressed through projects
in three of UNDP Philippines’ main thematic areas.

 A New Phase of Assistance

Traditionally, UNDP’s response in the Philippines has been to include local-level components that target IP issues in
individual projects. However, unlike many discrete development problems, those faced by IPs are truly cross-cutting and require
programmatic interventions that span traditional development focal areas. With support from the Regional Indigenous Peoples
Programme (RIPP), UNDP is launching a new programme, “Strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Development in the
Philippines: (2010-2011, SIPRD).” SIPRD will integrate and build on current responses and help facilitate greater mainstreaming
of IP concerns across the development agenda.

The focus of SIPRD is securing IP rights to the sustainable use, management, and protection of ancestral lands,
supporting the implementation of good governance principles, and promoting indigenous peace-building mechanisms. SIPRD
will be implemented by NCIP in collaboration with IP organizations. One component of the project is the support of the National
Statistics Office’s (NSO) population census, which for the first time will include disaggregated data on IPs. This effort will build a
richer base of data for future IP work by all agencies and NGOs in the Philippines and provide a clearer picture of where
interventions are most needed.

The deeply interconnected nature of the problems facing IPs means that the most effective responses occur through the
cooperation of involved agencies. UNDP is uniquely suited to bring together stakeholders from relevant areas to work together
on cross-cutting IP issues such as peace-building, environmental justice, and good governance. SIPRD is designed to provide
UNDP and sister UN agencies with a framework through which responses to different IP challenges can be integrated, and
drawing on the expertise and resources of the entire UN System, to identify gaps in responses and promote deeper cooperation
amongst stakeholders.

After over a decade of supporting the development of indigenous peoples in the Philippines, UNDP, and the UN System
as a whole, is entering a new phase in their assistance to IPs, characterized by greater integration between agencies and
responses nationally, and increased collaboration at the regional and international levels. Building on extensive local, regional,
and global work in human development, advocacy of democratic governance, and mainstreaming of human rights, UNDP and
the UN System aim to provide opportunities and space for the voices and aspirations of marginalized indigenous peoples.

A. Sobre de La Indolencia de los Filipinos

 Filipinos during the period of Spanish colonization were commonly described as lazy.

 Several foreigners visiting the Philippines from the 17th to the 19th Centuries affirmed this view
with observation.

 Rizal’s work, “Sobre la Indolencia de los Filipinos” (On the Indolence of the Filipinos) as attempt
to correct this view.

 Rizal admit that laziness does not be among the Filipinos, but it cannot be attributed to the
problems and retardation of the state;

 Rizal added, Filipinos themselves also had their own flaws.

 Indolence means idle, lazy, little love for work and lack of activity.
The following are its causes according to Dr. Rizal:

 Wars - many Filipinos were recruited by the Spanish to fight in honor of Spain and there is no
assurance if they ever returned to their homes.

 Attitude of the Friars - the friars told the Filipinos that going to heaven is easier for being poor
than being a rich man.

 Lessening encouragement to Labor - before the Spaniards came the Filipinos have a flourishing
relation with other nations but it was cut off during the Spanish occupation.

 Encomienda System - reduced many Filipinos to slavery, compelled Filipinos to work for their
own benefit.

 Gambling - gambling was unknown before the Spaniards came to the Philippines.
 Fiestas - Filipinos were much less lazy before the word “miracle” was introduced to the
Philippine language.

 Curtailment of individual liberty - doubtful or uncertain reaping the fruits of their labor because of
the fear of being suspected as a filibustero (rebel) or a suspect.

 Apathy of the Government - did not protect the Filipino against foreign invaders and pirates.

 The taxes were extremely high - huge portion of income went to the colonial government and
the friars.

 The Spanish rulers were a bad example to despise manual labor.

 Feeling of inferiority and Lack of National Sentiment.

 Solution to the indolence of the Filipino according to Dr. Jose Rizal

 Education - capable of changing the norms of social behavior, motivation to seek their own
economic success, not merely as an individual.

 Liberty - free trade both internal and external, free movement of persons and goods, security
and freedoms.

 Indolence of the Filipinos (“La Indolencia de los Filipinos”)

The essay itself originally appeared in the Filipino forthrightly review, La Solidaridad, of Madrid,
in five installments, running from July 15 to September 15, 1890. It was a continuation of Rizal's
campaign of education in which he sought by blunt truths to awaken his countrymen to their own
faults at the same time that he was arousing the Spaniards to the defects in Spain's colonial system
that caused and continued such shortcomings. (Craig, 1913)

PART 1

§ indolence – misused in the sense of little love for work and lack of energy

§ indolence does exist among the Filipinos

§ examine the causes based on facts before proposing a remedy

§ climate – factor for being indolent

o “A hot, climate requires of the individual quiet and rest, just as cold incites to labor and action.”

o “A man can live in any climate, if he will only adapt himself to its requirements and conditions.”

§ Working hours of Filipinos (tenants) vs. Spanish Official and Landlords

§ Tendency to indolence is very natural

§ Effect of misgovernment

PART 2

§ analogy of physician( friars, Spanish government) , patient(Philippines), illness (indolence)

§ indolence as a chronic illness

o “Indolence in the Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a hereditary one”

Before the arrival of Spaniards, Malayan Filipinos raised on an active trade, not only among
themselves but also with other neighboring countries (evidence that Filipinos were not indolent)

§ an illness will worsen if the wrong treatment is given

§ “How is it that the Filipino people, so fond of its customs as to border on routine, has given up its
ancient habits of work, of trade, of navigation, etc., even to the extent of completely forgetting its
past?”

PART 3

§ enumerates several reasons that may have caused the Filipinos cultural and economic corruption

§ wars: conflict among Spaniards, natives and Moros

§ invasion of Pirates

o Results: diminished number of native Filipinos

§ forced labor : Filipinos were sent abroad to fight for Spain or shipyards to construct vessels

§ Some Filipinos hide in the forest and mountains and abandoned their farm lands (because of fear)

§ “Still they struggled a long time against indolence, yes: but their enemies were so numerous that at
last they gave up!

PART 4

§ Cut-off of trading

§ Monopoly

§ Abuse of land lords (encomenderos)

o Permission to labor (KASAMA System)

§ Absence of encouragement from the government

o no aid for poor crops

o does not seek market for its products

§ Wrong teaching:

o Why work? If the rich man will not go to heaven.

o False teaching of church

o Gambling – promise of sudden wealth

§ Discrimination on education

§ Spaniards insisted to Filipinos:

o “The Filipino is convinced that to get happiness it is necessary for him to lay aside his dignity as a
rational creature, to attend mass, to believe what is told him, to pay what is demanded of him, to pay
and forever to pay; to work, suffer and be silent, without aspiring to anything, without aspiring to know
or even to understand Spanish, without separating himself from his carabao, as the priests
shamelessly say, without protesting against any injustice, against any arbitrary action, against an
assault, against an insult; that is, not to have heart, brain or spirit: a creature with arms and a purse
full of gold ............ there's the ideal native!”

§ Yet Filipinos still have inspirations, he thinks and strive to rise

PART 5

§ causes of indolence can be reduced to two factors(emerged from the people)

o limited training and education of Filipino native developed inferiority

o lack of a national sentiment of unity among them

· “A man in the Philippines is only an individual; he is not a member of a nation.”

§ education and liberty is the key to solve this issue

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobre_la_indolencia_de_los_filipinos

Full Copy

http://www.bohol.ph/indolence/indo_004.html

http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Indolence-of-the-Filipino.html
Blogs

http://thelifeandworksofrizal.blogspot.com/2011/08/indolence-of-filipinos-summary-and.html