PHILIPPINE HISTORY 7

PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Campaign for Reforms to the failure of the Propaganda Movement

THE CAMPAIGN FOR REFORMS
The role of the Middle Class
The Middle Class began to take shape when Chinese and Spanish mestizos sought racial equality with the and Peninsulares. While the Insulares who were called Filipinos looked down on the natives as Indios.
The mestizos and Filipinos gained prominence during the Dela Torre Administration. On July 12, 1869, Dela Torre gave a toast to freedom attended by prominent Filipinos such as Fr. Jose Burgos, Maximo Paterno, Angel Garchitorena, Joaquin Pardo de Tavera, Andres Nieto and Manuel Genato that gave them a semblance of political authority. They were silenced in 1872 but will rise again during the Propaganda Movement.
The nature of the Reform Movement
The Reform Movement aimed for 1) Philippine representation to the Spanish Cortez 2) the conversion of the Philippines from Spanish colony to province
Of the two the latter is more important for it will institute reforms and eliminate the bigotry of the incompetent Spanish friars and officials and replaced by more intellectual representatives.
The Reformists were divided into the rich and the intellectuals and are co-operative of each other. Both groups abhor a revolution for the rich consider it a threat to their wealth while the intellectuals think it as a hindrance to their dream of assimilation for they think themselves as Hispanics as well.
The Great Reformers
Graciano Lopez Jaena – Born at Jaro, Iloilo on December 17, 1856. He studied at the Jaro Seminary and gained “notoriety” for his novel Fray Botod that tackles the incompetence, ignorance, immoralities and abuses of a common Spanish friar. In order to save himself he migrated to Spain in1880 and studied Medicine at the University of Valencia. He transferred to Madrid and frequented cafes and salons and distinguished himself as a great orator. In his speeches he lambasted the Spanish friars in the Philippines and defended the common Filipino.

His crowning glory was in 1882 when he made a stirring speech at the International Congress of Commercial Geography. In that occasion Fr. Ramon Martinez Vigil, spoke about the Spanish friar’s benevolent rule in the Philippines when all of a sudden Lopez-Jaena appeared and countered the talk with his own version of Spanish obstruction of progress in the Philippines.
The following year he gave a speech at the Teatro de Madrid that celebrated the 391st discovery of America, where he said that the Philippines is the heart of the world commerce and it pumps blood that travels to all the arteries of the world. The Venezuelan Minister to Spain, Dr. Luis Calcaño, stood from his seat and embrace Lopez-Jaena in the name of the Latin American people.

In 1889, the propaganda newspaper La Solidaridad came off the press and became its first editor with Pablo Rianzares as financier. Two years later Lopez-Jaena wrote a compendium of all his speeches in his article Discursos y Articulos Varios.
Lopez-Jaena was often drunk when he wrote speeches and talked in front of everyone. He often wore dirty clothes that his friends often gave him new clothes but end up in the pawnshop to buy a drink. He loves to eat sardines with his fingers and wiped it clean with his rags that he wear. His friends took advantage of his generosity by making him drunk and gave him time to write speeches. He died on January 30, 1896 at Barcelona due to tuberculosis.

Marcelo H. Del Pilar – Born at Kupang (Plaridel) Bulacan on August 30, 1850. His parents were Julian Del Pilar and Blasa Gatmaitan. He studied college at Colegio de San Jose and law at the University of Santo Tomas. His knowledge of law led him to the defense of his countrymen and was jailed for a month.
In 1878, he married his cousin Marciana and had several children with only his daughters Anita and Sofia surviving infancy. He continued his speeches at the market places, cockpits and social gatherings. He even insulted a Spanish friar by saying that Spanish priests in the Philippines are more miraculous than in Spain.

In 1888, he wrote pamphlets everyday to denounce the abuses of Spanish officials in the Philippines. Among those he lambasted was Fr. Jose Rodriguez who wrote Caingat Cayo that tagged Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere as a bad book and should not be read. Del Pilar countered this by creating his own pamphlet with the same title under the pseudonym Dolores Manapat whose aim is to reverse Fr. Rodriguez’s imagined allegations. He also wrote a parody of prayers under the general heading Dasalan at Tocsohan. Aside from his writings at the Sol he authored the following writings Dupluhan, Kadakilaan ng Dios, Pasiong dapat ipag-alab ng tauong balana, Sagot ng España sa hibik ng Filipinas, Dudas, La Sobrenia Monacal and La Frailocracia Filipina

The Sol which was the mouthpiece of the Propaganda Movement has numerous aims such as 1) secularization of the parishes 2) active participation of government affairs 3) freedom of speech and assembly 4) social and political freedom 5) equality before the law 6) assimilation and 7) representation to the Spanish Cortez.
His efforts proved futile as his aims all went down the drain. His last ditch effort was to begin a revolution as he called for a meeting of propagandists in Hong Kong. This did not happen as his funds and wealth are already depleted. To fight the bitter cold he picked up cigarette butts; his daughter Anita sent him one peso for his expenses however his time is at hand. Plaridel met his Creator on July 4, 1896. Spanish rivals gave him a tribute on the newspaper La Politica de España.

Jose Rizal – Our National Hero was born at Calamba, Laguna on June 19, 1861. He studied college at Ateneo Municipal and medicine & Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas. He travelled to Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, United States, Belgium, Switzerland, Macao, China, Singapore and Vietnam.
He wrote two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These novels were a revelation to Spanish injustice in the Philippines. He contributed to articles to the Sol and became a member of German scientific circles. He was arrested and deported to Dapitan. A military tribunal tried him for sedition and was sentenced to die by musketry on December 30, 1896.
La Solidaridad
The last two decades of the 19th Century brought change to the thinking of the Filipino Middle Class. Expatriate Filipinos led by Lopez-Jaena and Rizal formed Filipino Circle in 1882 that will also create its own newspaper. It did not materialize for it ran counter to the policies of the Ministry of Colonies. Eduardo de Lete formed an organ called España en Filipinas whose funds will come from the Philippines, however it failed again for the fund upon reaching Spain is too late. The organ ceased to exist.
The Sol came into existence on January 1, 1889 with the first issue coming off the press on the ides of February. Lopez-Jaena became its frist editor and was succeded by Plaridel in December of that same year.

The Sol is a bi-monthly newspaper that grew in circulation for Filipino patriots regularly sent contribution to finance its very exsitence.
Famous contributors of the said paper were Rizal (Dimas Alang and Laong Laan), Mariano Ponce (Tikabalang and Kalipulako), Del Pilar (Plaridel), and Jose Ma. Panganiban (Jomapa). The Spanish authorities managed to destroy some smuggled newspapers and yet it circulated. The Sol gained readers by its expose and humour that made idiots out of anti-Filipino writers like Wenceslao Retana (Desengaños), Pablo Feced (Quioquiap) and Vicente Barrantes. Due to differences among members and lack of funds its last issue came out on November 15, 1895.
Hispano-Filipino Association
The need for solidarity among the Filipinos were shared by their Spanish counterparts who believed in Spanish-Filipino assimilation. Several Iberian natives joined the cause of asking for reforms to the Mother Country with the creation of Association Hispano-Filipino on January 12, 1889. The leaders of the group were Miguel Morayta and Felipe dela Corte and divided the organ in three groups:
The Political section under Marcelo H. Del Pilar, the Literary Section under Mariano Ponce and the Sports section under Tomas Arejola. Certain laws for the colonies were passed by the Cortez. Philippine representation to the Cortez was approved by 52 provinces and was petitioned by Emilio Junoy on February 21, 1895 but to no avail. The Maura Law of 1893 compelled the teaching of the Spanish language but remained dormant for so long.
The Role of Masonry
The role of the masonry strengthened the passion for reforms in the Philippines. Graciano Lopez-Jaena formed his own Masonic Lodge Revolucion in 1889. The Lodge Solidaridad was formed in Madrid a year later and the remnants of the Revolucion were absorbed by Solidaridad.
The first Masonic Lodge in the Philippines was the Lodge Nilad established by Pedro Serrano-Laktaw and Antonio Luna. This was recognized by its mother lodge Gran Oriente Español two months later. As of May 1893, Masonic Lodges in the Philippines reached 35 with nine based in Manila

Rosario Villaruel became the very first Filipina Masonic member in the Philippines of the Lodge Walana in 1893. Other prominent female masons were Trinidad Rizal, Romualda Lanuza, Josefa Rizal, Marina Dizon, Sixta Fajardo, Valeriana Legazpi and Purificacion Leyva.
These masons will later form the propaganda and later revolutionary epochs of our country’s history. The Minister of Colonies later requested the Governor-General to remain vigilant for these masons will start the separatist movement of the Philippine Archipelago.
La Liga Filipina
In July 1892, Jose Rizal began a civic society called La Liga Filipina whose aim is to gain political concession from Mother Spain. Its members were mostly from the Middle Class. The officers were
President - Ambrosio Salvador
Fiscal - Agustin dela Rosa
Treasurer - Bonifacio Arevalo
Secretary - Deodato Arellano
The next day, Rizal was arrested upon orders of Gov. Eulogio Despujol and the Association was divided into Cuerpo de Compromisarios and the Katipunan. The Cuerpo is composed of the rich Liga members led by Domingo Franco but ceased to exist due to distrust among members
The Failure of the Reform Movement
The Sol managed to reveal the true Philippine situation to Mother Spain but many factors led to its failure among them are 1) The Spanish officials are busy with internal problems of their own and the friar-run daily La Politica de España en Filipinas reversed the Sol expose’s
The Filipino patrons of the Movement no longer sent funds for they think that what they are doing is destined to failure and are already looking for more radical alternatives. And the last reason was the propagandists were divided among themselves. Most of the members do not have the determination to continue that led to the weakening of the cause.