Module 3: In search of truth,

knowledge, and the

campaign for the reforms
 “We awaken by asking the right questions. We
awaken when we see knowledge being spread
that goes against our own personal
experiences. We awaken when we see popular
opinion being wrong but accepted as being
right, and what is right being pushed as being
wrong. We awaken by seeking answers in
corners that are not popular. And we awaken
by turning on the light inside when everything
outside feels dark.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun:
The Writings of Suzy Kassem
Jose Rizal in Europe
 Jose Rizal's mother was worried about his son
gaining so much knowledge, including those
that lead him to the truth about the church. She
said, according to letters retrieved by the
National Historical Commission of the
Philippines, that she'd rather have Pepe keep
his faith than see him get swayed away by his
Jose Rizal in Europe search for truth.
Reply to his mother:

This is an excerpt of his reply:

"Hindi ko dapat subukan mabuhay sa mga kahibangan at kasinungalingan. Ang mga pinaniniwalaan
ko ngayon ay pinaniniwalaan ko sa katuwiran, at iyon ay dahil sa hindi kayang tanggapin ng aking
budhi ang hindi sang-ayon sa katuwiran.
.
.
.
.
Naniniwala ako na hindi ako paparusahan ng Diyos kung sa paglapit ko sa kanya ay gagamit ako ng
katuwiran at talino, mga mahahalagang regalo Niya."

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Propaganda Movement
• Rizal's rich academic and extra curricular experience,
as well as his jobs, while in Europe were vital in
campaigns for reform as initiated by him and his
Ilustrado friends.

• By learning European languages, he was able to read

novels and books that contain ideas of liberalism and
revolution. Among them are Alexandre Dumas’ Three
Musketeers and Count of Monte Cristo. Rizal also read
Moliere, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Napoleon’s
memoirs. He also read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo,
Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue, Beaumarchais’ Barber
of Seville, and Marriage of Figaro, which were
considered dangerous works and subversive in nature
during Rizal’s time.
History of Propaganda Movement
• The Propaganda Movement actually started in
1872. The baton was not passed to Rizal's
generation. They just voluntarily took the mantle.

• The first members were supporters of prominent

member Jose Burgos who along with Mariano
Gomez and Francisco Zamora, were executed for
alleged involvement in the Cavity Mutiny of
1872.

• Jose Burgos was the friend and teacher of Jose

Rizal's brother Paciano.
History of Propaganda Movement
• Propagandists were largely young men, often
mestizos and creoles whose families could afford
to send them to study in Spanish universities in
Madrid and Barcelona. There, they encountered
the tumult of 19th century political movements
inspired by Enlightenment thought, individual
rights, constitutionalism, and anti-clericalism.

• Some supporters were exiled to Spain on the

same year and continued what they've started in
the Philippines.
Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
• Rizal's Propaganda Movement included
Graciano López Jaena, publisher of La
Solidaridad, the movement's principal
organ, Mariano Ponce, and the
organization's secretary and Marcelo H. del
Pilar.

• On February 15, 1889, the first issue of La

Solidaridad came out and its editorial
expressed its aim.
 Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
The objectives of the publication
 Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
Contributors
Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
The organization's goals were:

• Representation in the Philippines in the Cortes

Generales, the Spanish parliament
• Secularization of the clergy (i.e. usage of secular or
diocesan priest rather from a religious order)
• Legalization of Spanish and Filipino equality
• Provision of Spanish citizenship to Filipinos
• Recognition of the Philippines as a province of
SpainAbolition of polo y servicios (labor service) and
the bandala (forced sale of local products to the
government)
• Guarantee of basic freedoms
• Equal opportunity for Filipinos and Spanish to enter
government service
Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
How they want to achieve these goals?

They wanted to achieve this through a series of

campaign of information, as well as a bid for
sympathy.

Pen is mightier than the sword. This was what the

movement proved.

The written works published by the Propaganda

Movement ranged from criticisms of the Spanish
gov't and its friars, educating the Filipinos, to
unraveling the Philippines' rich pre-Spanish history.
Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
What were the challenges?

1. The propagandistas wrote in Spanish, a language

virtually unfathomable to most of their kababayan back
home. This limited their influence.

2. Censorship - The Spanish govt was cracking down on

subversive writings that it limited the flow or sales of such
works. The essays and books hardly reached its target
audience.

3. Budget - Since most of the members were still

studying, money to fund their endeavors were hard to
come by, especially for Rizal whose family was embroiled
in an Agrarian conflict in Calamba.
 Rizal and the Propaganda Movement
Although faced challenges, Rizal's group accomplished something that
was deemed impossible in the face of Spanish persecution.

The La Solidaridad itself, Rizal's novels, and other propaganda

material had limited circulation, but these reached the local ilustrados
who in most instances came to lead the revolutionary forces in their
provinces. The fund-raising efforts of local committees and masonic
lodges and the clandestine attempts to distribute these materials
involved more individuals in the campaign for reforms. The very
attempts of the government to stop the entry of La Solidaridad and
prevent its distribution highlighted the lack of freedoms that the
propagandists were condemning.
Rizal's notable works published in La Solidaridad
 Freemasonry
Rizal's notable works published in La Solidaridad

1. Annotation of Antonio Morga’s Sucessos de las Islas

Filipinas

Here, Rizal annotated the first ever written and published

book about the Philippine Islands. The book described the
events inside and outside of the country from 1493 to
1603, including the history of the Philippines.

Rizal's goal in annotating this book are:

1. To awaken the consciosness of the Filipinos
2. To correct what has been mistaken or distorted about
the culture and people of the Philippines
3. To prove that Filipinos were civilized even before the
Spaniards came
 Freemasonry
Rizal's notable works published in La Solidaridad

2. On the Indolence of the Philippines

• This is a socio-political essay published in La

solidaridad in Madrid in 1890 and written by
Jose Rizal

• Our national hero used this essay as a responsed

to accusations that the Malay race was lazy. He
acknowledged that there existed a trait of
indolence among Filipinos and traced its roots to
the 300 years of Spanish rule.
 Freemasonry
Rizal's notable works published in La Solidaridad

3. Philippines, A Century Hence (Filipinas dentro

de cien años)

• This was a provocative and one of the most

significant produce of the La Solidaridad. In this
socio-political essay, Rizal acknowledged that
Filipinos were then starting to wake up from
slumber and traced the circumstances that
brought about the awakening of the Filipino and
consequently the birth of the Filipino spirit of a
nation.
 Freemasonry
Rizal's notable works published in La Solidaridad

3. Philippines, A Century Hence (Filipinas dentro

de cien años)

• He called the Spanish government to start a new

political relationship with the Philippines if it
does not want to let go of its grip of the
Philippines. It was basically an ultimatum for
Spain: reform or independence.

• Failure to do so, he wrote, will lead to a bloody

revolution.
 Freemasonry
Rizal's notable works published in La Solidaridad

4. Como se Gobiernan las Filipinas

• An essay on how Spanish friars govern the

Philippines and the role of the elite and liberalist
in the tragic fate of Filipinos.
 Freemasonry
Why did the Propaganda Movement and the reformists fail?
 Freemasonry
Why did the Propaganda Movement and the reformists fail?

Spain did not hear the demands of Jose Rizal and the
Propaganda Movement because the empire was embroiled in
many other conflicts in its many colonies around the world.

1. Spain was too pre-occupied with its own internal problems

to give a moment's thought to the colonial problem;
2. The reform movements in the Philippines lacked sufficient
means to carry out their aims.
 Freemasonry
Why did the Propaganda Movement and the reformists fail?

• The Propaganda Movement languished after Rizal's arrest and the

collapse of the Liga Filipina. La Solidaridad went out of business in
November 1895, and in 1896 both del Pilar and Lopez Jaena died in
Barcelona, worn down by poverty and disappointment.

• An attempt was made to reestablish the Liga Filipina, but the national
movement had become split between ilustrado advocates of reform and
peaceful evolution (the compromisarios, or compromisers) and a
plebeian constituency that wanted revolution and national independence.
Because the Spanish refused to allow genuine reform, the initiative
quickly passed from the former group to the latter.
La Liga Filipina

• The La Liga Filipina was derived from

La Solidaridad and the Propaganda
movement.

Purpose: To create a new group whose

objective was to involve more people in
the reform movement

Who founded it: Jose Rizal

Where: House of Doroteo Ongjunco in
Tondo. Ongjunco was also a freemason
La Liga Filipina
• The La Liga Filipina was derived from La
Solidaridad and the Propaganda
movement. The League even had its own
constitution written by Rizal himself.

Purpose: To create a new group whose

objective was to involve more people in the
reform movement

Who founded it: Jose Rizal

Where: House of Doroteo Ongjunco in
Tondo. Ongjunco was also a freemason
La Liga Filipina

• The league was to be a sort of mutual

aid and self-help society dispensing
scholarship funds and legal aid, loaning
capital and setting up cooperatives.
• However, the league became a threat to
Spanish authorities and collapsed three
days after its founding.
• Jose Rizal was arrested on July 6, 1892
on Dapitan
La Liga Filipina
Aims of La Liga Filipina

• To unite the whole archipelago into one

vigorous and homogenous organization;
• Mutual protection in every want and
necessity;
• Defense against all violence and
injustice
• Encouragement of instruction,
agriculture, and commerce; and
• Study the application of reforms
La Liga Filipina
Notable members

• Ambrosio Salvador, President of the

League
• Agustin de la Rosa, Fiscal
• Bonifacio Arevalo, Treasurer
• Deodato Arellano, Secretary and first
Supreme leader of Katipunan
• Apolinario Mabini, Secretary
• Marcelo H. del Pilar, editor-in-chief
• Graciano Lopez Jaena, former editor-in-
chief
La Liga Filipina
Notable members

• Ambrosio Salvador, President of the League

• Agustin de la Rosa, Fiscal
• Bonifacio Arevalo, Treasurer
• Deodato Arellano, Secretary and first Supreme
leader of Katipunan
• Apolinario Mabini, Secretary
• Marcelo H. del Pilar, editor-in-chief
• Graciano Lopez Jaena, former editor-in-chief
Andrés Bonifacio, Supreme leader of
Katipunan and led the Cry of Pugad Lawin.
La Liga Filipina after Rizal's arrest
After Jose Rizal's arrest and exile to Dapitan, the
league was in disarray. Deodato Arellano and
Andres Bonifacio tried to revive the organization
but failed.

The Liga membership split into two groups when it

is about to be revealed: the conservatives formed
the Cuerpo de Compromisarios which pledged to
continue supporting the La Solidaridad while the
radicals led by Bonifacio devoted themselves to a
new and secret society, the Katipunan.
La Liga Filipina after Rizal's arrest
After Jose Rizal's arrest and exile to Dapitan, the
league was in disarray. Deodato Arellano and
Andres Bonifacio tried to revive the organization
but failed.

The Liga membership split into two groups when it

is about to be revealed: the conservatives formed
the Cuerpo de Compromisarios which pledged to
continue supporting the La Solidaridad while the
radicals led by Bonifacio devoted themselves to a
new and secret society, the Katipunan.
Freemasonry
THOUGHT BUBBLE

Does Rizal deserve the amount of veneration he's

receiving despite his modest aims for the
Philippines?

How imporant is knowledge in aiming for change?

Was Rizal just a reformist?

His letter exchange with Blumentritt might suggest

different according to historian Ambeth Ocampo in his

critique of Renato Constantino's write up on Rizal

criticizing the national hero's small participation in the

revolution that freed the nation from Spaniards.

Was Rizal just a reformist?

Jose Rizal's letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt from Geneva on June 19,1887, his 26th

birthday, that read in part:

‘I assure you that I have no desire to take part in conspiracies which seem to me very

premature and risky. But if the government drives us to the brink, that is to say, when no

other hope remains but seek our destruction in war, when the Filipinos would prefer to

die rather than endure their misery any longer, then I will also become a partisan of
Was Rizal just a reformist?

UP Professor Floro Quibuyen also think Rizal wanted absolute control of the archipelago

after reading the constitution of La Liga Filipina. Ayon kay Xiao Chua:

“Ngunit ayon kay Floro Quibuyen sa kanyang aklat na A Nation Aborted, makikita na

nais magtatag ng nagsasariling bansa si Rizal sa unang punto ng kanyang saligang batas:

“Magkaisa ang buong kapuluan upang maging isang katawan.” Malamang, hindi ito

samahan na magtatag ng isa pang samahan. Ang isang katawan na bubuuuin dito

siyempre ay ang bansa! Anong klaseng bansa? Ayon na rin sa saligang batas ng Liga,
THANK YOU!

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