The Philippines, an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia.

This country is
comprised of 7,641 islands which only about 2,000 are inhabited. The country has rich culture
and a very deep history. This history includes numerous tales of great Philippine Heroes that
fought for the Philippines and protected its sovereignty and the rights of its people. One hero
who stands out among the rest is the Philippine’s National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal. Jose Rizal fought
his battles without violence, he fought with his intelligence and his words. Dr. Jose Rizal wrote
literary works that reflected the abusive nature of the Spanish Government in The Philippines,
one of his works is “Noli Me Tangere”. The novel Noli Me Tangere boldly depicts the heinous
treatment the Filipinos are facing; however, can we still see the injustices and themes Dr. Jose
Rizal illustrated in his novel? Does history truly repeat itself?

One Theme of Noli Me Tangere is the struggle for freedom. The novel mirrors Jose
Rizal’s perseverance to attain freedom from the abuse of the Spaniards. Jose Rizal aimed to fight
his battle by exposing the barbarity, cruelty, and greed of the Spanish colonizers. Rizal’s work
reflected the struggle of the Tagalogs.

In the Philippines current society there is still that struggle for true freedom. Powerhouse
nations have fought for control over the Philippines and currently they still fight for greater
influence over the country. The reason why Big countries are concerned over influence in the
Philippines is because of the country’s strategic location. As these foreign countries gain greater
influence over the Philippines it will lead to even greater problems for the Filipinos. An example
of this would be the slow but apparent rise of Chinese nationals in the Philippines, it has even
come as far as providing special working visas to these Chinese nationals while majority of
Filipinos are without work. This prompts the question, are we truly free in our own country?

Another theme in Noli Me Tangere was the large gap between social classes or the rich
between the poor. Jose Rizal created characters like Dona Victorina and Capitan Tiago which
represented the different social classes during the late 1800’s. In the novel Capitan Tiago gives
priests a lot of money and even invites them for dinner, aside from that he supported the increase
of tax by the government and this led to his position as gobernadorcillo. This showed that the
rich are given positions of power while the poor are left to deal with the cruelties of their power.

Even to this day there is still a large gap between the rich and the poor in the Philippines.
It is often said that in the Philippines the rich become even more rich while the poor remain poor.
Those with money are given power and they use their power to take advantage of the lesser
people in order to generate more money for themselves. This can be seen in the issue of
contractualization in the Philippines. Big companies hire employees only for a specific number
of months in order to gain profit without giving the proper benefits or a regular employee.

A major theme in the novel Noli Me Tangere is the Abuse of Power. The Philippines has
been colonized by Spain since 1565, so Jose Rizal depicted the Filipinos abuse under guardia
civil, priests, and other government officials. This can be seen especially in the events that
happened as Don Rafael Crisostomo Ibarra’s father died and was not allowed to be given a
proper burial and instead his body was thrown into the lake.

The abuse of power is undoubtedly present in the Philippines. Those seated in positions
of power are allowed to roam free and do what they will, while those below them are not given a
second chance and are easily discarded. This can be seen recently during this Covid-19
pandemic. While the common people of the Philippines are easily condemned and punished for
breaking quarantine protocols because they are hungry and have nothing left to eat, Senator
Koko Pimentel was left alone and uncharged for breaking quarantine protocols and endangering
the lives of healthcare workers in Makati Medical Center; furthermore other government officials
even asked for the people to have compassion over the incident. People are being killed and
arrested for simple things while those in power are free to do whatever they wish without
repercussions.
 References:

-, Why the Philippines Matters. Retrieved April 30, 2020, from https://geopoliticalfutures.com/why-

the-philippines-matters/

Nepomuceno, D. (2019, March 21). CONTRACTUALIZATION: A Bane to Filipino Laborers.

Retrieved April 30, 2020, from https://medium.com/@deanenepomuceno/contractualization-a-

bane-to-filipino-laborers-4b896bb7be99

Rizal, J. (n.d.). Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) by Jose Rizal - Reading Guide: 9780143039693 -

PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books. Retrieved April 30, 2020, from

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/291131/noli-me-tangere-touch-me-not-by-jose-

rizal/9780143039693/readers-guide/