EL FILIBUSTERISMO

El filibusterismo, also known by its alternative English title The Reign of Greed, is
the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli
Me Tángere and, like the first book, was written in Spanish. It consist of 38 chapters.

Objectives

 To defend Filipino from foreign accusation of foolishness and lack of knowledge.

 To show how Filipino people live during the Spanish colonial period and the cries
and woes of his countrymen against abusive officials
 To discuss what religion and belief can do to everyone’s lives.
 To expose the cruelties, graft and corruption of the false government and
honestly show the wrong doings of Filipinos that led to further failure.

Dedicated

Rizal dedicated El Filibusterismo to Don Mariano Gomez, Don Jose Burgos, and
Don Jacinto Zamora

Errors in Rizal’s dedicatory note

 Martyrdom happened on February 17, 1872 not February 28
 Father Gomez was 73 y.o. not 85
 Father Burgos was 35 y.o. not 30
 Father Zamora was 37 y.o. not 35

Translated Dedication

To the memory of the priests. Don Mariano Gomez (85 years old), Don Jose
Burgos (30 years old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years old). Executed in
Bagumbayan Field on the 28th of February, 1872.

The Church, by refusing to degrade you, has place in doubt the crime that has
been imputed to you; the Government, by surrounding your trials with mystery and
shadows, causes the belief that there was some error, commited in fatal moments; and
all the Philippines by worshipping your memory and calling you martyrs, in no sense
recognizes your culpability. In so far, therefore, as your complicity in the Cavite mutiny
is not clearly proved, as you may or may not have been patriots, and as you may or
may not have cherished sentiments for justice and for liberty, I have the right to
dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil which I undertake to combat. And while
we wait expectantly upon Spain some day to restore your good name and cease to be
answerable for your death, let these pages serve as a tardy wreath of dried leaves over
your unknown tombs, and let it be understood that every one who without clear proofs
attacks your memory stains his hands in your blood.

The Title

 Rizal had to define the word filibuster to his German friend Ferdinand
Blumentritt who did not understand his use of word in Noli me Tangere.

 In a letter, Rizal explained: “The word filibuster is little known in the Philippines.
The masses do not know it yet. I heard it for the first time in 1872 when the tragic
executions (of Gomburza) took place. I still remember the panic that this word
created. Our father forbade us to utter it, as well as the words Cavite, Burgos
(one of the executed priests), etc.

 The Manila newspapers and the Spaniards apply this word to one whom they
want to make a revolutionary suspect.

 The Filipinos belonging to the educated class fear the reach of the word. It does
not have the meaning of freebooters; it rather means a dangerous patriot who will
soon be hanged or well, a presumptuous man.”

 By the end of the 19th century, the word filibuster had acquired the meaning
“subversive” in the Philippines, hence the book is about subversion.

Background of The Novel

 El Filibusterismo took 3 years to write.

 Rizal started writing Fili in Calamba in October, 1887 and made changes in the
plot and some chapters in London in 1888. He wrote more chapters in Paris and
Madrid, and finished the manuscript in Biarritz on March 29, 1891.
  September 18, 1891 the novel was published in Ghent, partially funded by Rizal’s
friend Valentin Ventura.Rizal gratefully donated the manuscript and an autograph
printed to Valentine Ventura.

 It took 3 years and 5 places to finish his second novel.

Privations in Ghent

 From Brussels to Ghent on July 5, 1891

 Ghent – a famous university city in Belgium
 Reasons:
 Cheaper cost of printing
 Escape attraction of Petite Suzanne

Cheap boarding house with Jose Alejandro

 Jose Alejandro – engineering student in the University of Ghent; became a
general in the Filipino-American War of 1899-1902
 Preparing their own breakfast to reduce the rent: Rizal purchased tea, sugar,
alcohol and a box of biscuits for him and his roommate with equal rations for 30
days

Printing of El Filibusterismo
 F. MEYER-VAN LOO PRESS offered lowest quotation
 Print Fili on installment basis
 Rizal pawned his jewels for the down payment
 Money from the sold copies of Morga’s Sucesos in Manila (some from Basa and
P200 from Arias Rodriguez)
 Funds are still not enough
 Caused the printing suspended on August 6, 1891

Ventura, Savior of the Fili

 Similar to the circumstance of Noli in 1886 Berlin
 Valentin Ventura knew the condition of Rizal and sent him money to continue the
printing

The Fili Comes Off the Press

 Rizal’s Fili came off the press on September 18, 1891
 He sent 2 copies to HK for Basa and Sixto Lopez
 He donated the original manuscript and an autographed printed copy to Ventura
 Complimentary copies to his close friends
Fili received praises in foreign countries
 La Publicidad of Barcelona: “a model and a precious jewel in the now decadent
literature of Spain”
 El Nuevo Regimen of Madrid: serialized the novel

First edition (Ghent edition) of El Filibusterismo

 In wooden boxes and shipped to Hong Kong
 Other boxes were confiscated and lost
 Increased the price of Fili to 400 pesetas

The Manuscript and the Book

Original manuscript
 Now preserved in the Filipina Division of Bureau of Public Libraries, Manila
 Acquired by the Philippine Government for P10,000 from Valentin Ventura
 279 pages of long sheets of paper

Foreword and Warning

 Two features of original manuscript that did not appear on the printed book
 To save on printing cost

Inscription on Title Page

Written by Ferdinand Blumentritt
 Not found in published English translations

Rizal original intention was to make the El Filibusterismo longer than Noli however, it is
shorter than Noli. It contains 38 chapters while the Noli contains 64 chapters.

Things that Triggers Him to Write the Sequel of Noli Me Tangere

 Evicting of his Father
 Taking over their house
 Dumping their furniture into the street
 Sending some of his family members to exile
 Denying of Christian burial to his brother in law

Synopsis of The Novel

 The book narrates the return of the protagonist of Noli Me Tangere, Crisostomo
Ibarra, under the disguise of a wealthy jeweler named Simoun. Disillusioned by the
abuses of the Spanish, Ibarra abandons his pacifist beliefs in order to return to the
Philippines and start a violent revolution. Noli Me Tangere’s Basilio, now a young man
and a skilled medical student, is recruited by Ibarra to aid him in detoning a bomb at a
social gathering, signaling the beginning of the revolution. However, Basilio warns his
friend Isagani. Realizing that the woman he loves is in the building, Isagani throws the
bomb into the river, averting the explosion and the revolution. Implicated in these
matters, Simoun commits suicide by taking poison and finds resting place at the home
of a priest, Father Florentino, who hears his last confession and assures him that not all
hope is lost.
The priest (Father Florentino), upon Simoun’s death, commends the jewels into the sea,
remarking that the jewels once used to bribe and corrupt people, would one day be
hopefully found to be used for a meaningful purpose.

The Characters
Simoun
– He was Crisostomo Ibarra of the Noli. Many years after he fled to Cuba where he
became rich and befriended many Spanish officials, he returns to the Philippines, where
he freely moved around. He is a powerful figure not only because he is a rich jeweler,
but also because he is a good friend and adviser of the governor-general.
-Outwardly, he is a friend of Spain. However, deep in his heart, he is secretly cherishing
a terrible revenge against the Spanish authorities. His two magnificent obsessions are
(1) to recue Maria Clara from the nunnery of Santa Clara and (2) to foment a revolution
against the hated Spanish masters.

Basilio
– son of Sisa and promising medical student, whose medical education is financed by
his patron, Capitan Tiago.

Isagani
– a poet-nephew of Padre Florentino; Basilio’s best friend; Paulita Gómez’ boyfriend
before being dumped for fellow student Juanito Peláez; portrayed as emotional and
reactive

Kabesang Tales
– Telesforo Juan de Dios, a former cabeza de barangay (barangay head) who
resurfaced as the feared Luzón bandit Matanglawin (Tagalog for “Hawkeye”); his father,
Tandang Selo, dies eventually after his own son Tano, who became a guardia civil,
unknowingly shoots his grandfather in an encounter
Don Custodio – Custodio de Salazar y Sánchez de Monteredondo, a pro-Spanish
Filipino who is holding a high position in the government. In reality, he is quite an
ordinary fellow who married a rich woman in order to be a member of Manila‘s high
society.

Paulita Gómez
– The girlfriend of Isagani and the niece of Doña Victorina. In the end, she and Juanito
Peláez are wed, and she dumps Isagani, believing that she will have no future if she
marries him.

Doña Victorina
- the ridiculously pro-Spanish native woman who is going to Laguna in search of her
henpecked husband Tiburcio de Españada, who has deserted her.

Don Tiburcio de Espadaña

- Don Tiburcio is Victorina de Espadaña's lame husband. He is currently in hiding at
Father Florentino's.

Padre Florentino
– Isagani’s godfather, and a secular priest; was engaged to be married, but chose to be
a priest after being pressured by his mother, the story hinting at the ambivalence of his
decision as he chooses an assignment to a remote place, living in solitude near the sea.

Juli
– Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of Basilio, and the youngest daughter of Kabesang
Tales; she kills herself rather than be dishonored by Padre Camorra.

Ben Zayb
– Abraham Ibañez is his real name; a Spanish journalist who writes silly articles about
the Filipinos

Quiroga
– a Chinese businessman who dreamt of being a consul of a “Consulate of China” in the
Philippines. He hid Simoun’s weapons inside his house.

Placido Penitente
– a student of the University of Santo Tomas who was very intelligent and wise but did
not want, if not only by his mother’s, Cabesana Andang, plea to pursue his studies. He
is also discontented with the poor method of instruction in the university
Tandang Selo
– father of Kabesang Tales. He raised the sick and young Basilio after his mother Sisa
had died.

Padre Fernandez
– a good Dominican friar and friend of Isagani. He promised to Isagani that he and the
other priests will give in to the students’ demands.

Padre Camorra
-the parish priest of the town of Tiani; tried to dishonor Juli

Padre Salvi
-thin Franciscan friar and former cura of San Diego

Other Characters:
 Padre Sibyla
 Padre Irene
 Macaraig
 Padre Millon-
 Sandoval
 Pecson
 Pepay
 Señor Pasta
 Don Timoteo
 Chichay

The Comparison Between Noli and El Fili

NOLI FILI
Romantic novel Political novel
Work of the heart Work of the mind
Book of feeling Book of the thought
Bitterness, hatred, pain, violence, and
Freshness, color, humor, lightness, and wit
sorrow
64 chapters 38 chapters
Rizal, M.H. Del Pilar, Retana considered Blumentritt, G.L. Jaena, Dr. Rafael Palma
Noli superior to the Fili considered Fili superior
BOTH
Good novels from the point of view of history
 Depict with realistic colors the actual conditions

Instrumental in awakening the spirit of nationalism

Responsible in paving ground for Ph revolution

Theme and Plot

The theme and plot of El Filibusterismo was changed to convey the message that the
present system of government in the Philippines through corrupt officials, dominated by
the friars can lead to the downfall of Spain. This point was stressed by Simoun in the
novel, when he said, “ what is a man to do when he is denied justice ? Take the law into
his own hands or wait for Spanish to give him rights...” From the foregoing, Rizal was
very certain that because of the nature and operation of the government, those who are
intelligent, generous, hard-working, courageous, and loyal citizens were driven into
opposition, crime and subversion.

The Philosophy

The famous philosophy that relates to Rizal’s writing is “The pen is mightier than the
sword”

The two novels were written over a hundred years ago, yet, they are still relevant in
today’s social setting. While Noli and El Fili are fictions, they are undeniably exposes of
the real condition of the Philippines during that time. Rizal linked the country’s history,
its economic, politics, sociology, science and culture. The novels were effective tools of
propaganda. Blatant exposes and written criticism constitute the crime of libel, and for a
society conditioned to be submissive and passive, a subtle but effective tools for
awakening are necessary.

Rizal as a learned man in Philosophy and Letters, Rizal used these tools effectively to
put across the sentiments and aspirations of the Filipinos’ in an oppressive society
during his time.

The two novels together with the other forms of propaganda greatly contributed in
planting the seeds of the Revolution