EL FILIBUSTERISMO:

CONTINUING RELEVANCE
Lesson 12
OBJECTIVES:

▪At the end of this section, you should be able to:

▪1. Discuss the themes presented in the El
Filibusterismo;
▪2. Examine the conditions of the society through
the novel; and
▪3. Develop self-awareness as a youth through
journal writing.
▪ Rizal’s writings are still relevant today, a century and a half after his execution.
▪ Ineffective leadership, corruption, women’s mistreatment, and the Catholic
Church’s dominance over political and social affairs—all of these issues are still
present in Philippine culture today.
▪ A solid study of the historical context of his works is essential because it serves
as the story’s backdrop.
▪ When reading historical books such as El Filibusterismo, one must be familiar
with the social climate of the time period in which they were written.
▪ In this way, history can interpret a work of literature like El Fili (Nuncio, 2014).
▪ Rizal’s major goal in writing El Filibusterismo, like in Noli Me Tángere, is
to expose the Philippine reality as he witnessed it throughout his lifetime.
▪ Reading this novel allows one to see the country’s past and contemporary
conditions, making it a lasting literary work.
▪ Returning to Rizal’s themes in El Fili, one may see the novel’s current
relevance.
▪ Themes are the key topics that go through the story and can be utilized to
assess Rizal’s perspectives and beliefs on various societal concerns.
REVOLUTION AS A MEANS OF
SOCIAL CHANGE
▪Simoun is the filibustero in the novel, pushing the
principalia class to exploit the poor to incite them to
revolt against the government.
▪His role could be seen as a representative of Filipino
revolutionaries who backed a bloody uprising against the
Spanish colonial authorities.
▪The death of Simoun in the novel led some readers to
believe that Rizal was opposed to revolution.
▪In the story, Simoun’s unsuccessful revolutions
were taken as Rizal’s dislike of violence and
bloodshed.
▪They overlooked the fact that Rizal, along with
other reformers such as Marcelo H. del Pilar, saw
reform and integration as a necessary first step
toward Philippine independence.
▪The remarks of Rizal in his description of the novel are
crucial because they demonstrate that he was not opposed
to using violence if necessary.
▪“Simoun failed—not because Rizal was against the
revolution, but because he reflected on the fury and
hatred in his heart following the agricultural struggle in
Calamba, and learned that one must begin with a good
desire to succeed,” historian Ambeth Ocampo (2012)
stated.
ON LEADERSHIP AND
GOVERNANCE
▪El Fili’s message is clear: the Philippines’ inept leaders, crooked
bureaucrats, and political system could lead to Spain’s demise.
▪Simoun’s statement: “When a man is denied justice, what should
he do? Should he take matters into his own hands, or should he
wait for Spain to provide him rights...?”
▪He emphasized that if the people’s demands are not met, they will
be compelled to resist the system and form movements to fight
for their rights.
▪Rizal was regarded as a capable leader.
▪His Propaganda Movement colleagues admired him
because he demonstrated leadership that was not
motivated by personal gain.
▪El Fili emphasized the importance of national sentiment
in guarding society against all forms of injustices and
oppression, which may be interpreted as a demand for
excellent leadership.
▪Rizal denounced the friar-led officials for their avarice,
corruption, and exploitation of the natives.
▪ On the other hand, he chastised his fellow Filipinos for
failing to respond to the Spaniards’ harsh leadership
challenges.
▪For example, the character of Basilio, who, despite his
and his family’s great suffering, refused to endorse
Simoun’s attempt to topple the government.
▪ After being captured and imprisoned and losing his sweetheart, Juli, he joined the
revolutionary gang.
▪ Senor Pasta, for example, abandoned his noble principles to serve the interests of
those who employed him.
▪ While exposing the colonial government’s misdeeds, Rizal also pushed Filipinos to
protect their rights as one of their primary obligations.
▪ The country’s social, economic, and political transformations are facilitated by
good leadership and governance.
▪ All of this is possible if the leaders have moral fiber and are willing to put their
interests aside for the good of their constituents.
ON EDUCATION AND
LANGUAGE
▪Simoun was plotting the revolution simultaneously as
students like Basilio were campaigning to founding a
school where indigenous could study the Spanish
language.
▪Simoun was vehemently opposed to the students’
proposed initiative.
▪It would imply the end of national identity and the
institutionalization of tyranny, according to him.
▪Simoun expressed his dissatisfaction of the students’ scheme in
Chapters 6 (Basilio) and 7 (Simoun), persuading Basilio to join
him in his revolution instead.
▪On the other hand, Basilio believed that by educating himself, he
would be able to improve the lives of his fellow Filipinos.
▪He did not believe that revolution was a viable option for
achieving freedom.
▪Education and science, he believes, will salvage the country from
its current predicament.
ON THE FILIPINO YOUTH
▪“Where are the youth who will consecrate their golden hours,
their illusions, and their enthusiasm for the welfare of their
country? Where are they who would generously shed their blood
to wash away so much shame, so much crime, so much
abomination? Pure and spotless the victim has to be for the
holocaust to be acceptable!... Where are you, youth who will
incarnate in yourselves the vigor of life that has fled from our
veins, the purity of ideas that have been soiled in our minds, and
the fire of enthusiasm that has been extinguished in our hearts?...
We wait for you, O youth! Come, for we await you!”
▪ In El Fili, Jose Rizal spoke these remarks through the persona of Padre Florentino, a
patriotic Filipino priest.
▪ Rizal considered the youth as the country’s future leaders, believing that they would
one day lead the country.
▪ Their acts now would determine the course of events in the future.
▪ Rizal emphasized the importance of the youth in opposing the government, as
evidenced by students such as Basilio and Isagani to organize and unify to demand
reforms.
▪ It was a means for Simoun to embrace the country’s Hispanization.
▪ On the other side, it may be interpreted as Rizal’s means of demonstrating what the
youth could do if they wanted the government to reform.
VIDEO CLIP
▪Rizal has been citing the youth to stand up and act
because their generation will be the ones who will lead
the nation in the future. Check out this video from CNN
talking about Youth Educators. This shows that the
Filipino youth can create change for the betterment of our
society.
▪Watch here:
https://cnnphilippines.com/videos/2020/1/16/The-Story-o
f-the-Filipino--YouthEducators.html