The Philippines: A Century Hence
• What would be the situation of the Philippines within 100 years?
• Would the Philippines remain a colony of Spain?
• Would it become independent?
• Would it be a colony of another nation?
The Philippines: A Century Hence
• This essay starts with an analysis of the causes of the miseries of
the people. One of the causes identified in this article was Spain’s
implementation of her military policies.
• A second cause of his misery was deterioration and disappearance
of Filipino indigenous culture.
• A third cause of this miserable condition of the people was their
passivity and submissiveness to the Spanish colonizers.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Keeping the people ignorant failed.
Why?
Awakening of national consciousness among the people
united them. With the spread of enlightenment, the
illustrado class arose.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Recourse to impoverishment also failed.
Why?
Keeping the people in poverty created in the Filipinos
the desire to change things.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Extermination of the people as an alternative to hindering
progress was an impossibility according to Rizal.
Why?
The people had survived in spite of the wars they had
engaged in and the epidemics that had plagued society.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Can the divide et impera or divide and rule policy still
work to foster enmity between and among the natives?
To Rizal, this would no longer be effective owing to the
ease of movement in the archipelago brought about by
improved means of transportation.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Therefore, Spain has no way of blocking reforms and
progress of the Philippines
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Rizal’s essay centered on the reforms and political changes
needed for the Philippines to remain under Spanish rule.
Nevertheless, he stressed that reforms have to be initiated by the
government for them to be peaceful and effective.
These reforms were the following: freedom of the press in the
country; representation of the Filipinos in the Spanish Cortes;
granting the Spanish citizenship to the people; filing of government
positions through competitive examinations; and reforms in
commerce, agriculture and education; and greater security for the
individual and other reforms.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
Which colonizing power will replace Spain? Will it be a
European power or an Asian power?
If Spain will not be replaced either by a European or an Asian
power, which country then will be interested in what Spain has
to give up? To Rizal, this country is none other than the United
States of America. What Rizal envisioned in this essay came
true. The Americans entered the Philippines and wrestled from
Spain the control of the Philippines.
The Philippines: A Century Hence
The challenges posed by the essay to the present Filipino
families and especially to the government includes:
Instilling national discipline and true love of country
Exercising full control of national sovereignty
Assisting citizen connect with their community
To the Women of Malolos
When the Spaniards came into the Philippines, they brought with
them their patriarchal values about women which eventually
diffused into Philippine culture.
There was an idea that men should be the provider of the family
and protector of the women.
Filipinos were familiarized to a patriarchal system of education
which emphasized the domestic value that women were the
property of men.
To the Women of Malolos
This letter was originally written in Tagalog, while Rizal was in
London. This is in response to the request of Marcelo H. del Pilar
to commend the young women of Malolos who fought for their rights
for education.
December 12, 1888 – a group of twenty women of Malolos
petitioned Governor-General Weyler for permission to open a night
school so that they may study Spanish under Teodoro Sandiko.
Father Felipe Garcia objected resulting into the turning down of the
petition by the Governor-General.
To the Women of Malolos
The young women were:
1. Cecilia Tiongson 11. Teresa Tantoco
2. Merced Tiongson 12. Maria Tantoco
3. Aleja Tiongson 13. Rufina Reyes
4. Agapita Tiongson 14. Leonisa Reyes
5. Filomena Tiongson 15. Olimpia Reyes
6. Paz Tiongson 16. Juana Reyes
7. Feliciana Tiongson 17. Elisea Reyes
8. Anastacia Tiongson 18. Alberta Uji-Tangloy
9. Emilia Tiongson 19. Eugenia M. Tanchangco
10. Basilia Tiongson 20. Aurea M. Tanchangco
To the Women of Malolos
These young women courageously sustained their
agitation for the establishment of the school. They
triumphed in the end and were granted permission to
their project on the condition that Señorita
Guadalupe Reyes should be their teacher.
To the Women of Malolos
The letter Rizal transmitted to the young women of Malolos focused
on the following points:
The rejection of the spiritual authority of the friars;
The defense of private judgment;
Qualities Filipino mothers need to possess;
Duties and responsibilities of Filipino mothers to their children;
Duties and responsibilities of a wife to her husband; and
Counsel to young women on their choice of a lifetime partner.
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
Rizal’s ultimate desire was to afford Filipino women with the
same opportunities enjoyed by men in education – an
education that will liberate women.
He emphasized the need for maintaining the independence of
mind and reason. He urged women to be vigilant over their
rights and not to be docile and passive in their attitude towards
the many injustices forced upon them.
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO MOTHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN
It is the mothers who are responsible for the present
servitude of our compatriots, owing to the unlimited
trustfulness of their loving hearts, to their ardent desire to
elevate their sons.
What then was Rizal trying to put across here?
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
RESPONSIBILITIES OF FILIPINO MOTHERS TO THEIR CHILDREN
He was trying to tell the women that whatever the mother is,
would be her son becomes. Mothers who can teach nothing
else but kneeling and kissing the hand of the friars should
expect children who are not only stupid but also exploited
slaves.
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
WHAT THEN ARE THE DUTIES OF THE FILIPINO MOTHERS TO
THEIR CHILDREN?
To raise children close to the image of God;
To awaken and prepare the mind of the child for every
good and desirable idea; and
To teach children to prefer death with honor than life with
dishonor
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
Rizal stressed the need for mothers to educate their children on
the following values:
love for honor;
sincere and firm character;
clear mind;
clear conduct;
noble action;
love for one’s fellowmen; and
respect for God
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
QUALITIES MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS
1. Be a noble wife
2. Rear children in the service of the state – here Rizal
gives reference to the women of Sparta who embody this
quality.
3. Set standards of behavior for men around her.
3 basic things a wife must instill in the mind of her
husband: activity and industry; noble behavior; and worthy
sentiments.
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
QUALITIES MOTHERS HAVE TO POSSESS
Rizal gave the following advices to a married woman:
- aid her husband;
- share his perils;
- refrain from causing him worry; and
- sweeten his moments of affliction
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
RIZAL’S ADVICE TO UNMARRIED MEN AND WOMEN
Rizal was directly telling young men that in choosing their
lifetime partner, they should not consider physical beauty
nor the sweetness character of a woman, but rather give
priority to firmness of character and excellent ideas.
RIZAL’S MESSAGE TO FILIPINO WOMEN
RIZAL’S ADVICE TO UNMARRIED MEN AND WOMEN
On the other hand, Rizal counseled young women not to
surrender their womanhood to a weak and timid heart.
There are 3 things that a young woman must look for a man
she is going to marry: a noble and honored man; a manly
heart; and a high spirit incapable of being slave.
Salient Points of “To the Women of Malolos”
Filipino women should teach their children love of God, country,
and fellowmen.
Filipino mothers should be glad and honored, like Spartan
mothers, to offer their sons in defense of their country.
Filipino women should know how to protect their dignity and
honor.
Filipino women should educate themselves aside from retaining
their good racial values.
Faith is not merely reciting prayers and wearing religious pictures.
It is living the real Christian way with good moral and manners.
THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
According to Rizal, whenever something goes wrong in the
Philippines, there is a tendency to blame the Filipinos.
Rizal’s thesis in this essay was simple: that Filipinos were not
born lazy but had a tendency to become lazy. Acknowledging the
tendency for the Filipinos to become indolent due in part to the
tropical climate, Rizal noted that it was the European, surrounded
by servants, who was the paragon of laziness in the tropics.
1. Wars and Internal disorders that followed Spanish conquest
2. Piratical attacks on Coastal Towns and Villages by Muslim
Pirates
3. Forced labor in shipbuilding
4. Government’s neglect and apathy to agriculture, industry and
commerce
5. Absence of material and moral incentives to work harder
6. The teaching of the Spanish missionaries that Heaven is for the
poor
7. Too much government restriction and red tape in the approval
of permit to transact business
8. Encouragement and propagation of gambling
9. Ownership of the big estates by the friars
10. Example set by the Spaniards in disdaining manual labor
11. Deprivation of human dignity
THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
1. Feeling of inferiority. The prevalence of a feeling of
inferiority among the Filipinos paralyzed all tendencies
towards advancement and developed in them the idea of
giving up without fighting or exerting effort.
2. Placing hopes on miracles. Nurtured with the stories of
anchorites who lead a contemplative and lazy life, the Filipinos
spent their giving money to the church in the hope of miracles
and wonderful things.
THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
3. Lack of spirit to pursue lofty purposes. As their minds had
been conditioned that they belong to an inferior race and that
they should not aspire to be greater than the curate, Filipinos
sealed and shaped their actions to be in conformity with the most
pernicious routines not based on reason but imposed and forced.
4. Lack of national sentiment. The lack of national sentiment
breeds another evil, which is the scarcity of any opposition to the
measures that are prejudicial to the people and the absence of any
initiative that will rebound to their welfare.
THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
Rizal concluded The Indolence of the Filipino People by stressing
the need for Good Education and Liberty.
THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
Are Filipinos lazy?
We are not lazy.
We are just unmotivated.