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Cor. Leon Kilat & P. del Rosario, Streets, Cebu City, Philippines

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

In the New General Education Curriculum

PRELIM: MODULE 1

Week 3: Philippines during Rizal’s Time and

The Rizal Family.

Specific Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, students are expected to:

A. Identify the conditions in the Philippines during Rizal’s Time.
B. Relate these conditions to the present-day Philippines.

Introduction:
Before Jose Rizal was considered as the first Asian nationalist, he was born hundred years ago and before his time in a
small town in Laguna, he inspired a hundredfold Filipino leading to the first nationalist revolution in Asia which after his
execution our country became the first Asian to win independence from Western colonialism. It would be fitting to consider
the conditions during his time that contributed in forging his perspectives in life. The following are instability of colonial
administration, corrupt colonial official, no representation in the Spanish Cortes, human rights denied to Filipinos, no
equality before the law, maladministration of justice, racial discrimination, frailocracy, forced labor, haciendas owned by
the friars and Guardia Civil (Zaide and Zaide, 2014).

Discussion:

Instability of Colonial Administration

The instability of Spanish politics since the turbulent reign of King Ferdinand VII started the political unrest in Spain. The
government experienced changes owing to resentful struggles between the forces of despotism and liberalism. This political
instability in Spain affected Philippine affairs for it brought frequent periodic shifts in colonial policies and a periodic
rigodon of colonial officials. The change of colonial officials hampered the political and economic development of the
Philippines.

Corrupt Colonial Officials

With a handful exception, colonial officials sent by Spain to watch over the progress of the island were corrupt, incompetent,
and cruel representing the decadence of the Spanish culture in the 19th century. Most of them were ignorant and wasteful in
the use of resources. They conducted themselves with arrogance and superiority because of their skin and long noses. They
became rich by illegal means or by marrying the heiresses of rich Filipino families.

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No Philippine Representation in the Spanish Cortes

To win the support of the overseas colonies during the Napoleonic invasion. Spain granted each a representation in the
Corten (Spanish parliament). In the case of the Philippines, Ventura de los Reyes, was the first delegate, who took part
actively in framing Spain's first democratic constitution. Unfortunately, the representation of the overseas colonies was
abolished in 1837 which resulted into growing abuse of power because Filipino people could not expose the anomalies
happening in the island.

Human Rights Denied to Filipinos

Spanish Constitution of 1812 and in succeeding years, the Spanish people enjoyed freedom of speech, of the press, of
association and other human rights (except religion). Surprisingly, the Spanish authorities in the Philippines denied them to
the Filipinos that even speaking ill to the government and to the church was punishable by death.

No Equality Before the Law

The Spanish missionaries forced Filipinos into Christianity and theatrically entertained the people by the idea that regardless
of color and race, they are children of God and such that they are brothers and equal, leading to more Filipinos becoming
Christians. In practice, the Spanish missionaries did not implement the Christ's precepts but rather arrogantly regarded the
Filipino as inferior beings and subject for exploitation.

Maladministration of Justice

The Spanish judges, fiscals (prosecuting attorneys), and other court officials were incompetent, corrupt and ignorant of the
law leading to the Philippine justice system imposed as partial, biased and slow. Wealth, social prestige and color of skin
were factors in winning a case in court. Regardless of the weight of evidence, a rich man or a Spaniard easily achieved
victory in court litigation.

A specific instance of Spanish maladministration of justice was the infamous case of Juan de la Cruz in 1886-1898. On the
night of June 7, 1886, two men were brutally killed in their sleep at the waterfront of Cavite. The next day, Juan de la Cruz
was arrested on mere suspicion and without further investigation and proper trial, he was jailed for 12 years. When the
Americans landed in Cavite after the battle of Manila Bay, they found him in jail still awaiting trial.

Racial Discrimination

Spanish authorities regarded Filipinos as inferior beings who undeserving of the rights and privileges that the Spaniards
enjoyed. With such unchristian perspective, many Spaniards called the brown-skinned and flat noses Filipinos as "Indios".
Racial prejudice was prevalent everywhere- government, in the courts of justice, social circles, educational institutions, and
in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. were

Frailocracy

Due to the political union of Church and State, there arose a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines called
"frailocracy" means a government of friars. History would tell us that since the days of the Spanish conquest, the friars
(Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans) controlled the religious and educational life of the island, and which later came
to acquire political power, influence, and riches. The friars practically dictated the Spanish government in the Philippines
through a façade of civil government. Aside from being a priest, friars were also the arbiters of morals, the censors of books
and stage plays, supervisors of local officials and guardians of peace and order. Due to their immense political influence,
their recommendations were heeded by the governor-general and the provincial officials.

Power certainly fortified the friars. In 1719, angry at an attempted civil undermining of their control, they assassinated the
Spanish governor of the archipelago, Fernando Bustamante, which signaled a warning to future civil administrators.

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Forced Labor

Known as polo y servicio, a compulsory labor imposed by the Spanish colonial authorities on adult Filipino males in the
construction of churches, schools, hospitals, building and repair of roads, of ships in the shipyards; and other public works.
Filipinos who were wealthy were able to escape the manual labor by paying the falla, a sum of money paid to the
government to be exempted from the polo. Filipinos hated the forced labor because of abuses and unequal treatment causing
inconvenience and suffering to the common people. It disturbed their work in farms and shops because they were compelled
to work far from their homes and towns.

Haciendas Owned by the Friars

Spanish friars coming from various religious orders (Augustinians, Dominicans and Franciscans) were the richest landlords,
owning large and best producing agricultural lands in the Philippines. The rural folks, who had been around before the
coming of the friars became tenants. Rizal, whose family relatives were tenants in the Dominican estate of Calamba, tried to
initiate agrarian reforms. His advocacy was considered a threat in which the friars retaliated by increasing the rentals of the
lands leased by his family and other Calamba tenants.

Guardia Civil

One of the most hated Spanish symbol of tyranny in the Philippines was the Guardia Civil. It was created for the purpose of
maintaining peace and order in the Philippines. The Guardia Civil became infamous for their rampant abuses such as
maltreating innocent people and looting their valuable belongings. Officers were ill-trained and undisciplined.

As to the condition outside of the Philippines, the 19th century was a century of change. The ideas of the philosophers such
as Englishman John Locke, David Hume, Rene Descartes, and Jean-Jacques Rosseau spread around the world like a fire.
The time of Rizal saw the emerging Western imperialism.

While the imperialist powers were enjoying the fruits of their colonial ventures and achieving global prestige, Spain became
stagnant as a world power. Most of its colonies like Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
Honduras and other parts of South and Central America had risen arms against Spanish tyranny and achieved their
independence.

The Rizal Family

Specific Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, students are expected to:

a. Be acquainted with the Rizal family.
b.Identify significant events that happened to Rizal and his family especially during his early years.

Introduction:
The Rizal's were descendants of Domingo Lam-co, a Chinese immigrant to Philippines during the late 1600s. In 1700s, there
was a growing anti-Chinese hostility of the Spanish authorities. For this particular reason, Lam-co changed their surnames to
"Mercado." Upon the invitation of Spanish landowners, Lam-co moved his family to Biñan, and became landowners there.
With his wife, Inez dela Roza, he sired Francisco Mercado I, who later sired Juan Mercado, the father of Francisco Mercado
II - Jose Rizal's father (Zaide and Zaide, 2014; Acibo and Adanza, 1995).

Don Francisco lived in Biñan until he married Doña Teodora Alonso y Realonda. The Mercado family leased a Dominican-
owned farmland where they built a house made of stone (bahay na bato). The family belonged to the leading citizens of the
town or principales. As principales, they accommodated all visitors including priests, Spanish officials, and the guardia civil.
In compliance with Gov.-General Narciso Claveria's decree on 1849 to adopt new surnames for taxation purposes, Don
Francisco adopted the name "Rizal". In the same manner, the Alonso's chose the surname "Realonda".The word Rizal comes
from the Spanish word "racial" which means "the young green after growth of fields" or simply "green field" (Zaide and
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Zaide, 2014; Acibo and Adanza, 1995).

On June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna, Doña Teodora gave birth to her seventh child and the second son, Jose Protacio
Mercado. In his autobiography entitled, Memoria de un Estudiante de Manila with the pen-name of P. Jacinto (Rizal's pen
name as Writer) recounted that on the day of his birth, Doña Teodora made a vow to take on a pilgrimage to Antipolo as a
gratitude for surviving a difficult childbirth. Mercado family was full of joy coupled with reverence as described in his
autobiography, his father as a model of fathers who had given his children an education. He considered his mother as a
cultured woman of Manila who knew literature and was also a mathematician.

The Mercado Children

The union of Teodora Alonso Realonda and Francisco Mercado was blessed with 11 children. These were as follows:

1. Saturnina-married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanauan, Batangas. 2. Paciano-a revolutionary general and retired to farming,
was influential

in the formation of Rizal's nationalists view. 3. Narcisa-married Antonio Lopez who was a teacher from Morong,

Rizal.

4. Olimpia-married Silvestre Ubaldo who was a telegraph operator. 5. Lucia-married Mariano Herbosa of Calamba.

6. Maria-married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

7. Jose-married Josephine Bracken.

8. Concepcion-died at the age of three.

9. Josefa-was the leader of the women's Katipunan chapter leader.

10. Trinidad-a Katipunan member.

11. Soledad-married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba.

Sorrowful Years to Rizal and the Family

An incident that carved an indelible mark on Jose Rizal's mind was when Doña Teodora was accused as an accomplice of
trying to poison the wife of her brother Jose Maria Alberto. Rizal's uncle, after a business trip in Europe returned and found
out that his wife abandoned their home and children. Jose Alberto planned to divorce her, but with the intervention of Jose's
mother the pending separation was averted. However, the unfaithful wife connived with the lieutenant (a close friend of Jose
Alberto's wife) to fabricate, unfounded pieces of evidence that her husband attempted to poison her with the help of Doña
Teodora. In his letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizal recalled about the impact of the event saying, "I don't want to tell you
our resentment and profound sorrow. Since then, though still a child, I have distrusted friendship and doubted men. We are
in brothers (brother -and sisters) and our mother was unjustly snatched away from us and by who? By some men who had
been our friends and whom we had treated as sacred guests." The case dragged on for two years until it reached the Supreme
Court (Zaide and Zaide, 2014; Acibo and Adanza, 1995).

Another remarkable event in his early years was during the February 17 1872 when three priests were executed. The event
awakened him that years later, he dedicated his book El Filibusterismo to the memory of Marciano Gomes, Jose Burgos, and
Jacinto Zamora who were executed on the scaffold at Bagumbayan where thousands of people coming from Pampanga, La
Laguna, and Bulakan witnessed the execution. In his book, he wrote: "As long, therefore, as it is not clearly shown that you
took part in the uprising in Cavite, I have the right, whether or not you were patriots and whether or not you were seeking
justice and liberty, to dedicate my work to you as victims of the evil I am trying to fight. And while we wait for Spain to
clear your names someday, refusing to be a party to your death, let these pages serve as a belated wreath of withered leaves

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on your forgotten graves."

Cavite Mutiny

The 1872 mutiny marked the beginning of a new stage in the escalating unrest. The interpretations of the Cavite mutiny vary
from the perspectives and orientations of its author as to who are the real instigators of the unrest. One common
interpretation was that it started when Rafael de Izquierdo abolished the exemption from tribute and compulsory labor
obligation given to the workers in the arsenal and in the artillery barracks and engineer corps of Fort San Felipe in Cavite
(Schumacher, 2011). Although the mutiny was suppressed in less than a day and no other actions followed, Izquierdo
proclaimed it as part of a widespread separatist conspiracy. Some sees it as a mutiny instigated by the friars so as to
implicate the Filipino priests led by Fr. Jose Burgos, who were calling for the restoration of the parishes occupied by the
friars to the Filipino secular clergy. Some textbooks basing themselves on a spurious document from Artigas, even speak of
a friar resembling Burgos going among the workers and soldiers in Cavite to spur them on a revolt (Schumacher, 2011).

The Cavite mutiny provided the reason for the conservatives to eliminate liberals, took advantage of the incident and
arrested several known liberals, among them were Jose Ma. Basa, Antonio Regidor, Balbino Mauricio, and accused Fathers
Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomes and Jacinto Zamora of being leaders of the mutiny. All three protested their innocence to the
end. The execution awakened the nationalism of the Filipinos, yet at the same time, they became aware to the fact that
anyone or anything threatening Spanish superiority could be severely dealt with. However, there was no proper closure as to
the issue on the mutiny for the records of the trials are nowhere to be found.
The Cavite mutiny would have ended just like any other uprisings in the past had the government been less precipitate and
had acted more rationally. In condemning three priests, who were innocent based on supporting documents, the execution of
gomburza added a significance which the officials in the administration had not foreseen. Rizal himself had written that, had
it not been for the events in Cavite in 1872, he would have become a Jesuit and would not have written Noli Me Tangere.

The Life and Works of Jose Rizal :

Ruben O. Baloto Jr.
Errol C Fernandez
Dean Ruffel R. Flandez

Reference

College of Arts, Sciences, and Pedagogy JRIZAL – MODULE | GENERALAO