FILIPINO

SOCIAL
THINKERS
in the Spanish
times, Katipunan
and American times
Ma. Regine V. Andres
Discipline and Ideas in Social
Sciences
social thinkers in the
katipunan

ANDRES
the revolutionist
BONIFACIO
AMA NG HIMAGSIKAN AT
REBOLUSYONG PILIPINO
Born: Nov. 30, 1863 in Tondo, Manila
Died: May 10, 1897 executed in Mt. Buntis,
Philippines
His full name is Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro

He was a Philippine Patriot, founder and leader

of the nationalist Katipunan Society, who
instigated the revolt of August 1896 against the
Spanish.

Bonifacio was orphaned at the age of 14 along

with his siblings. Despite his lack of formal
education, he managed to teach himself on
both Tagalog and Spanish language which led
him to work as clerk-messenger.

Since he was interested in the western

depiction of nationalism, he was influenced
by the works of Victor Hugo, Jose Rizal and
Eugene Sue.
social thinkers in the
katipunan

ANDRES
the revolutionist
BONIFACIO

“ A revolution of war is justified when

there is breach of contract

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

Founded the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang
Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or KKK on July 7,
1892 which its purpose is not only to revolt against
the Spaniards but also to unite the minds of the
Filipino people on having a brighter future for the
motherland.

He wrote several pieces along the poem “Pag-ibig sa

Tinibuang Lupa” (Love for One’s Homeland) under
the pseudonym Agapito Bagumbayan in the
Katipunan’s organ, the Kalayaan, which only had one
printed issue.

VIEWS
Bonifacio believed that in order for the
Filipinos to be free from the Spaniards, there
should be a revolution against the colonizers.
social thinkers in the
katipunan

EMILIO
the revolutionist
JACINTO
UTAK NG KATIPUNAN

Born: Dec. 15, 1875 in Trozo, Manila

Died: Apr. 16, 1899 in Malajayjay,
Laguna due to Malaria disease

He was considered the Mind that guided

the Revolution when it comes to Military
matters.
He was considered the Mind that guided
the Revolution when it comes to Military
matters.
He was studying law in the university of
Santo Tomas in 1894 when he joined the
Katipunan at the age of 19.
social thinkers in the
katipunan

EMILIO
the revolutionist
JACINTO

“
WORKS & EXPERIENCE
Defend the oppressed and fight the
oppressor

His book Kartilya has been used in the Katipunan’s

decalougue which the Katipunero’s will be using it as
a guide in military matters.

He was the chief editor of Kalayaan, the Katipunan’s organ

and wrote several pieces along the parable about a crying child
and a woman named ‘Freedom’, the narrative “Liwanag at
Dilim” (Light and Dark” and the poem “a La Patria” under the
nom-de-guerre, Dimasilaw.

VIEWS
He capitalized the idea of a free reign of
reason, of the freedom to think and do, rather
than the freedom to will and do (Gipaldo,
2002)
social thinkers in the
katipunan

DEODATO
Filipino patriot
ARELLANO
UNANG PRESIDENT NG
KATIPUNAN

Born: July 26, 1844 in Bulacan, Bulacan

Died: Oct. 10, 1896

He was first president of the Katipunan..

Right after he took a course in bookkeeping in

Ateneo Municipal, he worked as assistant clerk
at the arsenal of the military’s artillery corps

He was studying law in the university of

Santo Tomas in 1894 when he joined the
Katipunan at the age of 19.
social thinkers in the
katipunan

DEODATO
Filipino patriot
ARELLANO

“ Defend the oppressed and fight the

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

oppressor

Arellano joined La Propaganda, a movement that

sought political reforms in the country, that was
founded by his brother-in-law, Marcelo Del Pilar and
Mariano Ponce.

Arellano was also co-founded the Katipunan in their

house at 72 Azcarraga Street along with Andres
Bonifacio, Teodoro Plata, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao
Diwa, and Jose Dizon. He became the first president
of the Katipunan.

VIEWS
He believed that upon making a secret
revolutionary organization, they wanted to
unite the minds of the Filipino people on
having a brighter future for the motherland.
social thinkers in the
spanish times

APOLINARIO Filipino
MABINI theoretician

DAKILANG PARALITIKO AT
UTAK NG REBOLUSYON
Born: July 23, 1864 in Talaga, Philippines
Died: May 13, 1903 due to cholera.

Mabini was known for his powerful intellect,

political savvy, eloquence. Also, he was called
the brains of the revolution.

He was studious as a kid and even got a scholarship

making him pursue Bachelor in Arts in Colegio de
San Juan de Letran in 1881 and studied law in
University of Santo Tomas from 1888 to 1894..

He was the leading adviser of Emilio

Aguinaldo and was the author of many
proclamations and decrees.

Since he was interested in the western

depiction of nationalism, he was
influenced by the works of Victor
Hugo, Jose Rizal and Eugene Sue.
social thinkers in the
spanish times

APOLINARIO Filipino
MABINI theoretician

“ To tell a man to be quiet when a necessity is not fulfilled

is shaking all the fibers of his being is tantamount to
asking a hungry man to be filled before taking the food

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

which he needs.

He published El Simil de Alejandro, Programa

Constitucional de la Republica Filipina, La
Revolucion Filipina

One of Mabini’s greatest works is the draft of

the constitution for the Philippine Republic,
which he called “The True Decalogue”

VIEWS
Despite being in a terrible paralysis, he still
criticized the Spanish government, voicing his
sentiments of the Filipino people for freedom.

His works and thoughts on the government has

shaped the Philippines’ fight for the independence
over the next century.
social thinkers in the
spanish times

MARCELO H. propagandist
DEL PILAR
Plaridel, the leading Propagandist for reforms
in the Philippines
Born: Aug. 30, 1850 in Cupang, Bulacan
Died: Hulyo 4, 1896 in Barcelona, Spain due
to tuberculosis.
His full name was Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y
Gatmaitán.
Del Pilar was a Filipino writer, lawyer,
journalist and a freemason.

Del Pilar, along with Jose Rizal and Graciano

López Jaena, became known as the leaders of
the Reform Movement in Spain.

Marcelo started school in College of Mr.

Jose Flores and eventually transferred to
College of San Jose in Manila. He
finished law in 1880 but he fled the
country right after an order for his arrest
forced him to go to Spain
social thinkers in the
spanish times

MARCELO H. propagandist
DEL PILAR

“ An enlightened intelligence is a sanctuary

where the kindness and magnificence of its

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

creator are better seen.

In 1882, Del Pilar was part of the first bilingual

newspaper, Tagalog and Spanish, the Diariong
Tagalog, whereas Del Pilar acted as the editor of the
Tagalog section.
Along with the editor and founder of La Solidaridad,
Lopez-Jaena, Plaridel began running the paper and
spread propagandas about Philippines’ situation upon
going to Spain.

VIEWS
According to Dr. Raquel A. G. Reyess (2008), Del Pilar was
much more a pragmatist and a natural politician than scholarly,
idealist Rizal. Also, his abilities and sensibilities enabled him
to gulf between the ilustrado propagandistas and the common
people

He made an influence to Bonifacio, who ultimately

saw the futility of fighting for reforms and veering
for the revolution and he was considered a mentor to
him.
social thinkers in the
spanish times

JOSE RIZAL reformist

Filipino nationalist and polymath

Born: June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna

Died: Dec. 30, 1896 executed in Bagumbayan.

His full name was Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado

y Alonso Realonda

He was an opthalmalogist by profession, a

writer and a key member of the Filipino
Propaganda movement

He first studied under Justiniano Aquino Cruz in

Binan, Laguna before sending him to Manila. He
took an entrance exam to Colegio de San Juan de
Letran upon his father’s request but entered Ateneo
Municipal de Manila and graduated. He pursued
Ateneo Municipal de Manila to obtain a land
surveyor assessor’s degree, and also he pursued a
preparatory course in law in University of Santo
Tomas but upon hearing his mother was blind, he
switched to medicine and took opthalmology.
social thinkers in the
spanish times

JOSE RIZAL reformist

“ What is the use of the independence if the

slaves of today will be the tyrants of
tomorrow?

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

Founded the La Liga Filipina an organization
which called for the politcal reforms of the
Spain’s colonial government in the Philippines.

He wrote Noli Mi Tangere, El Filibusterismo

and several poems and essays.

VIEWS
Their consciousness should be freed from
fanaticism, docility, inferiority, and
hopelessness.
Believed in Agnostic Deism– the view that
God created the universe with its law, never to
interfere with it again.
Believed in Agnostic Deism– the view that
God created the universe with its law, never to
interfere with it again.
social thinkers in the
American times

MANUEL L. Filipino political

QUEZON philosopher

First Commonwealth Philippine president

Born: Aug. 19, 1877 in Baler, Tayabas

Died: Aug. 1, 1944.

His full name is Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina

Quezon was a Filipino statesman, leader of the

movement, and first president of the Philippine
Commonwealth

He was home schooled from 1883 to 1887 and

eventually finished secondary in San Juan de
Letran. He stopped studying law in University
of Santo Tomas in 1899 to participate in the
struggle for independence against United
States, led by Emilio Aguinaldo.
social thinkers in the
American times

MANUEL L. Filipino political

QUEZON philosopher

“ A revolution of war is justified when

there is breach of contract
WORKS & EXPERIENCE
Quezon fought for passage of the Tydings-Mcduffie
Act (1934), which provided the full independec of
the Philippines 10 years after the creation of a
constistution and the establishment of the
Commonwealth government that would be the
forerunner of an independent republic

VIEWS
Quezon believed in political pragmatism that one
must fight for a goal but if obstacles towards that
goal are difficult to summon, then one must fall
back to an alternative better than nothing provided
in the right direction

He also believed in Social Darwinism whereas the

government is a product of political struggle for
survival
social thinkers in the
American times

TEODORO M. Filipino scholar

KALAW
‘Father of Philippine Libraries’

Born: March 31, 1884 in Lipa, Batangas

Died: Dec. 04, 1940 .

Kalaw was prolific writer, scholar, orator and

statesman and was the first appointed Secretary of a
Quezon-headed Commission to the International
Commission on Navigation in Russia

The Philippines’ leading Historian, Teodoro

Agoncillo consider that period as “Age of
Kalaw”, since most historical writings from
1900s to 1940 were so dominated by Kalaw.

Kalaw was one of the country’s outstanding

trilingual writers and historians who
specialized in the collection of original
documents which became the basis of his
writings.
He finished Bachelor of Arts with a high honor in
Lyceum de Manila and finished Law in 1905 in
Escuela de Derecho, the first law school in the
Philippines,
social thinkers in the
American times

TEODORO M. Filipino scholar

KALAW

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

He was the youngest editor of El
Renaciemiento, an extreme nationalist paper,
and became an arch-critic of the American
colonial regime as well as defender of national
interest.
His important works were La Revolucion Filipina
(1924) and Reformas en la Ensenanza del Derecho
(1907)
He was appointed to be the Director of National
Library in 1929.

VIEWS
As an editor of the El Renaciemento, he
fearlessly defended the Filipino rights and
became a critic to the American colonial
regime
social thinkers in the
American times

ISABELO
DELOS REYES Labor activist

‘Father of Philippine Socialism’

Born: July 07, 1864 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur

Died: October 10, 1938

De los Reyes was a prominent politician,

writer and a labor activist in the 19 th and 20th
century.

He studied in Vigan Seminary but eventually

developed a hatred against friars because of their
maltreatment towards students. He fled to Manila and
studied at Colegio de San Juan de Letran, where he
became sobresaliente in all subjects after he
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He also
studied law in University of Santo Tomas and studied
courses in paleography, history and anthropology.

In the first labor Congress on August 3, 1902, he

proclaimed the establishment of the Philippine
Independent Church and nominated Fr. Gregorio
Aglipay to be its Supreme bishop then Mons.
Aglipay named Isabelo as Honorary Bishop
social thinkers in the
American times

ISABELO
DELOS REYES Labor activist

WORKS & EXPERIENCE

He introduced Marxism to the Philippines as
well as he was the reason that there is May 1st
to honor laborers.
Delos Reyes was so prolific and mostly, he works
solo that made him earn the ire of the proper Tagalog
revolutionaries who saw him as less introspective and
haphazard.

VIEWS
Delos Reyes was so prolific and
mostly, he works solo that made him
earn the ire of the proper Tagalog
revolutionaries who saw him as less
introspective and haphazard.
reflection in the
Filipino social thinkers

Filipino Social Thinkers: Shaping the Philippine’s future

As I’ve skimmed brief biographies of every Filipino social thinkers, I thought to myself– they’ve
done their part on shaping the nation through their works, and philosophies. They’ve become an
inspiration to the Filipino people as they put their minds and hearts for the future of the
motherland.

As Andres Bonifacio read Jose Rizal’s novels and being mentored for the revolution by the
propagandist, Marcelo Del Pilar, there is no denial that these Filipinos has influenced each other
through their works.

Take Jose Rizal as an example. He wanted the Filipino people on his days to realize that the
Spaniards was doing them harm for almost 300 years. Rizal’s views, as written on his works in El
Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere, it foreshadows the anomalies being done by the Spanish
friars here in the Philippines. In his works, he criticized the Spanish government as it alienates
the native people.

These social thinkers did not only think about themselves– they never thought of being selfish as
they wanted the future generations to have the liberation against the oppressor. These people
has put their lives in order for us to attain what we have now.

Some Filipinos may not be aware, but, we must uphold these views as we want to build this
nations as our forefathers made back when they were living. They did not die for us to only to
think about ourselves, thus proving that they developed a sense of nationalism and patriotism as
they wanted to shape the future of the nation.

I may only be a student, but browsing their lives during their respective eras made me wonder:
How can I also influence my fellow Filipino people in the 21 st century? I know this might take
years or decades, but, I promise to myself, that I also want to influence the Filipino people
through my works as I eventually enter the world of journalism.