Lesson 25: Philippines: A Century Hence ✓ Keeping the people uneducated and ignorant has
failed, because the Filipino has awakened a national
Background
consciousness.
✓The Philippines A Century Hence, came out as a
series of 4 articles in the La Solidaridad from September ✓ Keeping the people impoverished has failed, because
30, 1889 to February 1, 1890. Filipinos started to explore other horizons for
progress.
✓The essay was written as a forecast of the future of the
country within a hundred years. Rizal felt that it was
time to remind Spain that the forces and circumstances ✓ Exterminating the people is also an alternative.
that ushered in the French and Spanish revolutions However, to wipe out the nation would also require
could have a telling effect for her in the Philippines. the sacrifice of Spanish soldiers.
✓Originally known as Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años
✓ Rizal’s vision in the essay became a reality in 1898.
The essay has 4 parts (articles) America wrestled with Spain to win the Philippines
and eventually took over the country. Theirs was a
Part I causes of the miseries of the people
reign of democracy and liberty. Five decades after
Part II Filipino awareness on society under Spanish Rizal’s death, Philippines gained her long-awaited
rule (Filipinization). independence.
Part III centered on the reforms and political changes History quotes taken from Philippines A Century
Hence
Part IV delved on the stages that would lead the
Philippines to independence. ✓ In order to know the destiny of a people, it is necessary to
open the book of its past.
✓ History does not record in its annals any lasting
The essay presented a radical prophesy to what will
domination by one people over another, of different races, of
happen to the Philippines through the century.
diverse usages and customs, of opposite and divergent ideas.
1. That the Philippines will remain to be a colony of
One of the two had to yield and succumb.
Spain, but it will be in good terms,
Hindi naitala ng kasaysayan sa mga talaan nito ang
2. That the Philippines will try to cut the ties of our
anumang pangmatagalang dominasyon ng isang tao sa
Motherland from the captors through a revolution, and
isa pa, ng iba't ibang lahi, ng magkakaibang paggamit
3. That we will be colonized by another country. at kaugalian, ng magkasalungat at magkakaibang
ideya. Ang isa sadalawa ay kailangang magbunga at
The essay start by analyzing the various causes of the
sumuko.
miseries suffered by the Filipino people:
A quote taken from Philippines A Century Hence
✓Implementation of her military policies which dramatically
decreased population. ✓ The government needs a free press, the government
that still dreams of prestige, that builds on mined
✓Deterioration and disappearance of Filipino indigenous
ground… A free press will let a government know the
culture
throbs of public opinion.
✓Passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish rule
Lesson 26
✓Poverty becoming rampant Love of Country
✓Families becoming neglected by society
Rizal believes that with all those considered time will
come that the Filipino people could not further
tolerate such oppression.
Background Background of LETTERS TO THE YOUNG WOMEN
✓ Rizal was only 21 when he wrote the essay in OF MALOLOS
Barcelona, Spain
✓ Published on August 20, 1882 in the Diariong ✓ A group of 20 women of Malolos petitioned
Tagalog in Manila Gov. Gen. Weyler to open a night school so that
✓ Translated into Tagalog by MH del Pilar they may study Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko
✓ The first first nationalistic essay he wrote in ✓ Fr. Felipe Garcia objected resulting into the
the soil of Spain under the pseudonym Laong turning down of the petition.
Laan. ✓ The women courageously sustained their agitation
✓ Originally known as El Amor Patrio for the establishment of the said school
✓ In the end, permission was granted to their project
Loving one’s country was the greatest, mot heroic and on the condition that Señorita Guadalupe Reyes
sublime or disinterested sentiment a person could have should be their teacher.
✓ Challenge the Filipinos to sacrifice for the welfare of ✓ Marcelo H. del Pilar requested Rizal to write a
the country. letter commending them for their extraordinary
✓ Filipinos must sacrifice their youth, pleasures, courage.
splendor of genius and even their life. ✓ Written in Tagalog while Rizal was in London
✓ Filipinos should not fear losing their lives because ✓ Addresses all kinds of women– mothers, wives, the
they are going to live their country two immense unmarried men and women.
fortunes; LIBERTY and GLORY.
LETTER TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF MALOLOS
Selected Texts from Love of Country Now that you have responded to our vehement clamor
for public welfare; now that you have shown a good
Child, we love play; adolescent, we forget it; example to fellow young women, who, like you, desire
youth we seek our ideal; disillusioned, we weep and go to have their eyes opened and to be lifted from their
in quest of something more positive and more useful; prostration, our hope is roused, now we are confident
parent, the children die, and time gradually erases our of victory. The Filipino woman no longer bows her
pain just as the air of the sea slowly effaces the shores heads and bends her knees; her hope in the future is
as the boat departs from them. But, love of country can revived; gone is the mother who helps to keep her
never be effaced, once it has entered the heart, because daughter in the dark, who educates her in self-contempt
it carries the divine stamp that makes it eternal and and moral annihilation. It is no longer the highest
imperishable. wisdom to bow the head to every unjust order, the
It has always been said that love is the most highest goodness to smile at an insult, to seek solace in
potent force behind the most sublime deeds; very well, humble tears, etc…etc…
of all loves, the love of country is what produced the
greatest, the most heroic, the most disinterested. Read MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
history, if not the annals, the traditions.
✓ Ultimate desire was to afford Filipino women with
love is the most potent force behind the most sublime the same opportunities enjoyed by men in education.
deeds…the love of country is what produced the ✓ Education-that will liberate women.
greatest, the most heroic, the most disinterested. ✓ Emphasizes on freedom of thought and the right to
Education.
It can be inferred from his words that at this point ✓ Emphasized the need of maintaining the
Rizal’s sense of nation was now fully-formed and independence of mind and reason with the attendant
complete, and perhaps not by happenstance, its strengthening the will.
expression coincides with his departure from his ✓ Urged women to be vigilant over their rights and not
country. to be docile and passive in their attitude towards the
many injustices forced upon them.
Lesson 27
RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO MOTHERS TO
Letter to the Young Women of
THEIR CHILDREN
Malolos
✓ Whatever the mother shows to her children is what
the children will also become.
✓ Raise children close to the image of God. 5) If the Filipina will not change her mode of being,
✓ Awaken and prepare the mind of the child for every let her rear no more children, let her merely give
good and desirable idea. birth to them. She must cease to be the mistress of
✓ Teach children to prefer death with honor to life. the home; otherwise, she will unconsciously betray
✓ Educate the children on the ff: love for honor, love husband, child, native land and all.
for one’s fellowmen and respect for God.
✓ Educate children on what is good, what is true and 6) All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God
what is noble. did not create man to be a slave; nor did he endow
him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked or
QUALITIES MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS adorn him with reason to have him deceived by
Rizal enumerates the qualities Filipino mothers have others.
to possess:
✓ Be a noble wife.
7) Consider well what kind of religion they are
✓ Rear her children in the service of the state– here
teaching you. See whether it is the will of God or
Rizal gives reference to the women of Sparta who according to the teachings of Christ that the poor
embody this quality. be succored and those who suffer alleviated.
✓ Set standards of behavior for men around her.
To the Women of Malolos” centers around five
ADVICE TO UNMARRIED MEN AND WOMEN salient points (Zaide &Zaide, 1999)
✓ Young men should not consider physical beauty nor
the sweetness of disposition of a woman but rather 1) should teach their children love of God, country and
give priority to firmness of character and lofty ideas. fellowmen.
✓ Young women should not surrender their
womanhood to a weak and timid heart. 2) should be glad and honored, like Spartan mothers,
to offer their sons in defense of their country.
3 Things young woman must look for a man she is
3) should know how to protect their dignity and honor.
going to marry
• A noble and honored name 4) should educate themselves aside from retaining their
• A manly heart good racial values.
• A high spirit incapable of being satisfied with
engendering slaves. 5) Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing
religious pictures. It is living the real Christian way
Rizal’s Reminders on Equality, Self-respect and True with good morals and manners.
Spirit of Religion (the last part of the letter)
1) The tyranny of some is possible only through
cowardice and negligence on the part of others. Lesson 28
The Indolence of the Filipinos
2) What makes one contemptible is lack of dignity
and abject fear of one who holds one in contempt. Background
✓ The longest essay written by Rizal
3) Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so ✓ Published in 5 installments in the La Solidaridad from
he is; a man who does not think for himself and July 15- September 15, 1890.
allows himself to be guided. by thought of another ✓ The most important analytical study made by Rizal
is like a beast led by a halter. about the Philippine society during the Spanish regime.
✓ This essay represents his defense of the Filipinos from
4) He who loves his independence must first aid his the charge that they were inherently lazy or indolent.
fellowman, because he who refuses protection to
others will find himself without it.
KEY POINTS the number of inhabitants on coastal towns and
villages. As a consequence, people lost their
According to Rizal, whenever something goes wrong in interest as the frightful raids by the Muslims had
the Philippines, there is a tendency to blame the deprived them the fruits of their labor.
Filipinos. On this basis, he tried to analyze the social
and political conditions of the time to prove that
indolence was the cause rather than the effect of 3. Forced Labor in Shipbuilding. Because the
backwardness in the country. While Rizal colleagues Filipinos were required to render forced labor in
were on the opinion that indolence was non-existent in the cutting of timber for the constructions of
the country, Rizal believed otherwise. For him, galleons and to man ships going to Acapulco, they
indolence which was he defined as inactiveness, little were hindered from cultivating their own fertile
love for work, or complete disregard for work, had lands. Consequently, very few were left to till the
become a way of life for many Filipinos. fields.
Rizal’s thesis in this essay was simple: 4. Government’s Neglect and Apathy to Agriculture,
Industry and Commerce. There was no
That Filipinos were not born lazy but had
encouragement for the manufacturer or the farmer.
predisposition to become lazy. Acknowledging the
It did not give aid when the harvest was poor, or
tendency for the Filipinos to become indolent due to in
when typhoon destroyed the wealth of the land,
part to the tropical climate, Rizal noted that it was the
European, surrounded by servants, who was the nor did it seek a market for the products of the
paragon of laziness in the tropics. People in the tropics colony. Only Galleon Trade was permitted,
are expected to work less. Hot climate, however, was resulting into the isolation of the colony from its
compensated by the fertility of the soil. As a previous trading partners in Southeast Asia.
consequence, the peasants did not have to work hard to
insure good crops. 5. Absence of Material and Moral Incentives to Work
Harder. Man works for a purpose; remove the
Recognizing its existence, Rizal sought to look for the purpose and you reduce him to inaction. Since
causes. The accounts of early Spanish chroniclers like Filipinos were aware that their work can cause
Morga, San Agustin and Colin clearly showed that Pre-
them trouble and that only others will reap benefits
Spanish Filipinos were noted for their activity and
from their exertion of effort, they lose interest to
honesty. Consequently, industry, manufacturing,
work.
mining and commerce flourished among the people.
The social malady was thus, not something inborn of
hereditary. What, therefore, led to the collapse of this 6. The Teaching of the Spanish Missionaries that
natural willingness of the Filipinos to work? Heaven is for the Poor. The Filipinos preferred not
to work hard and remain poor so that they could
The deterioration of the industry of the Filipinos can be enter heaven easily the moment they die.
attributed to 2 sets of factors: those attributable to the
Spanish colonizers; and those attributable to the Filipinos’ 7. Too Much Government Restrictions and Red Tape
own faults. What, therefore, were the factors that in the Approval of Permit to Transact Business.
fostered indolence attributable to the Spanish Native enterprises practically disappeared as a
colonizers?
consequence of too many restrictions in the
approval of permits in engaging in business.
Factors of the Indolence of the Filipinos
(Attributable to Spanish colonizers)
8. Encouragement and Propagation of Gambling.
1. Wars and Internal disorders that followed Spanish Government’s encouragement and propagation of
Conquest. Thousands of Filipinos were drafted as gambling bred dislike for steady and difficult work
archers and rowers to repel the Dutch and due to its promise of easy money.
Portuguese. Many were not able to return to the
islands, thus reducing the number of potential
farmers, fishermen and laborers. 9. Ownership of the Big Estates by the Friars. Since
the religious corporations controlled the best tracts
2. Piratical Attacks on Coastal Towns and Villages of lands in some provinces, many towns did not
by Muslim Raiders. These attacks, instigated and prosper despite the efforts of their inhabitants.
encouraged by the government further reduced
10. Example Set by the Spaniards in Disdaining Bayani and Kabayanihan
Manual Labor. Dislike for manual labor reinforced
The bayani acts with the collective and with their
by the practice of surrounding themselves by the
common concern in mind. In line with this, bayanihan
servants created among the Filipinos the desire to
can be considered as a form of active heroism
led to creation of an aversion and hatred of manual
(kabayanihan) of an individual or a group of people by
work.
helping others without expecting anything in return.
11. Deprivation of Human Rights. The education of
the Filipinos from birth to death was brutalizing,
depressing, and anti-human. For 5 or 10 years the
FILIPINO NATIONALISM
youth come in contact with books chosen by the
same priest who boldly declare that it is an evil for Filipino nationalism refers to the awakening and
Filipinos to know Castillan, that the Filipinos support of a political identity associated with modern
should not be separated from his carabao and that Philippines leading to a wide-ranging campaign for
he should not have any further ambition. Spanish political, social, and economic freedom in the
education system, therefore, failed in promoting Philippines. This gradually emerged out of various
economic enterprise and activity. political and armed movements throughout most of
the Spanish East Indies—but which has long been
fragmented and inconsistent with contemporary
Factors of the Indolence of the Filipinos (attributable definitions of such nationalism—as a consequence of
to the Filipinos themselves) more than three centuries of Spanish rule. These
movements are characterized by the upsurge of
1. Feeling of inferiority. paralyzed all tendencies
anticolonialist sentiments and ideals which peaked in
towards advancement and developed in them the idea
the late 19th century led mostly by the ilustrado or
of giving up without fighting and or exerting effort
landed, educated elites, whether peninsulares,
2. Placing Hopes on Miracles. Nurtured with the insulares, or native (Indio). This served as the
stories of anchorites who lead a contemplative and lazy backbone of the first nationalist revolution in Asia, the
life, the Filipinos spent their giving money to the Philippine Revolution of 1896. –Nick Joaquin
Church in the hope of miracles and wonderful things.
3. Lack of Spirit to Pursue Lofty Purposes. As their
During Marcos’ presidency, he tasked the National
mind had been conditioned that they belong to an
Heroes Commission to come up with the criteria for
inferior race and that they should not aspire to be
national hero. On March 28, 1993, thru the President’s
greater than the curate, Filipinos sealed and shaped
Executive Order No. 75, the National Heroes
their actions to be in conformity with the most
Committee was created, commissioned to study,
pernicious routines not based on reason but imposed
evaluate and recommend historical figures to be
and forced.
declared as national heroes. The Committee composed
4. Lack of National Sentiment. absence of any initiative of worthy members, with a series of discussions came
that will redound to the welfare of the country For up with the new criteria.
Rizal, a man in the Philippines is only an individual; he
is not a member of a nation.
The solution, according to Rizal, would be
EDUCATION and LIBERTY.
Lesson 30
Jose Rizal: Philippine Nationalism National
Symbol Bayani at Kabayanihan
A bayani is one that humbly recognizes the interest of
what is bigger that the individual, like the group, the
community, the nation, humanity and the
environment.
Rizal as a National Symbol
Dr. Rizal has been ranked by his biographers, both
Filipinos and foreigners, as one of the great intellectual
THE GATES TO HEROISM: DEFINING A
leaders of Asia- de Ocampo
FILIPINO HERO by Diana A. Galang
His death was a statement of courage, not fear; love of
National Historical Commission of the Philippines
country, not shame; pride of honor, not sedition—the
Dr. Esteban de Ocampo, a known historian, stated in his big catharsis that made Filipinos one people in one
book about Rizal that nation, bringing dishonor to Spain’s colonial rule. –
Ordoñez
• A hero means a prominent or central personage
taking an admirable part in any remarkable
action or event;
While we Filipinos commemorate the birth of our
• A person of distinguished valor or enterprise in
national heroes, Rizal Day is a commemoration on his
danger, or fortitude in suffering;
heroic death.
• And a man honored after death by public
worship because of exceptional service to
mankind.
(Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, MH del Pilar,
THE GATES TO HEROISM: DEFINING A Antonio Luna and other propagandists in Europe)
FILIPINO HERO
They were serious-minded young men whose faith in
The true heroes of Philippine history deserve to be their country was boundless, whose idealism in a
called so for they didn’t have any idea that one day they corrupt age made them think of the welfare of their
will be measured up, they just acted upon their country first and their personal welfare last. -Agoncillo
principles.
National symbols
National symbols intend to unite people by creating
visual, verbal, or iconic representations of the national
people, values, goals, or history. These symbols are
often rallied around as part of celebrations of patriotism
or aspiring nationalism (such as independence,
autonomy or separation movements) and are – in
theory – designed to be inclusive and representative of
all the people of the national community.
