WHAT FOR?
The Anti-Friar Manifesto 1888
- On March 1, 1888, a group of 300 Filipinos
marched through the city streets towards the
Ayuntamiento or city hall of Manila to present
a petition to Gov. Gen Emilio Terrero
requesting the Queen Maria Christina of
Spain to expel all friars in the Philippines.
- Doroteo Cortes and Marcelo H. Del Pilar
wrote the petition that contained 810
signatures.
- They were led by Doroteo Cortes, a Filipino
lawyer and gobernadorcillo of Santa Cruz,
assisted by Marcelo H. Del Pilar (co-author
of the petition) and Jose A. Ramos.
- Procession was calm and unmarked by any
toward accident – much like a religious
procession. While marching the
demonstrators cried “Viva la Reina” (“Long
live the Queen!”), “Viva el Ejercito! (Long
Live the Army!”), “Abajo los Frailes!”
(Down with the Friars!”).
- They were protesting what they called the
frailocracy – the rule of the friars in the
Philippines.
of Spanish language in schools.
- Petitioners also accused Archbishop Payo in
supporting parish priests who defied the
ban on corpses because it would be bad
for business.
 Quiroga’s decree on funerals –
executive order prohibiting expulsion of
cholera victims.
 Benigno Quiroga – director general of
civil administration in Manila.
 Cholera – infectious disease that
causes severe watery diarrhea that
leads to dehydration and worst, death.
1. The focus of their protest was Archbishop
Pedro Payo (Anti-Filipino Archbishop) and
the friars who were accused of having long
interfering with the political and social life
of the Philippines. Through their hold of
huge agricultural estates, they achieved
economic power.
2. The friars were also accused of enriching
themselves in violation with their
monastic vows and kept the Filipinos
ignorant by using religion to crush dissent.
- In short, the friars were the reason the
Filipinos were backward, and the Philippines
underdeveloped.
- The friars’ intrusion into every aspect of the
Filipino’s life was so encompassing as to
impel Marcelo H. del Pilar to denounce it as
“frailocracia”- monastic rule- a government
of, by and for the friars, a virtual stranglehold
on the neck of the Filipino nation.
3. Archbishop Payo showed anti-Filipino
tendencies by opposing the teaching
RESULT
- The petition failed to reach the queen.
- The event led to Terrero’s term not being
renewed. His successor overturned many of
his official moves made during his term: the
ban on corpses in churches was rescinded,
some of the leaders and petitioners of the
political procession were arrested and
imprisoned, and exiled. The successor also
ordered the arrest and exile of Cortes,
which forced Del Pilar to leave the
country for Spain to evade arrest.