El Filibusterismo

J ose Rizal wrote his second novel which was a continuation of the
Noli Me Tangere in Brussels and he finished it in Biarritz, Madrid, inspired by the
magnificent place and his romance with Nellie Boustead.
On March 29,1891 the eve of his departure from Biarritz to Paris, he
finished the manuscript of El Filibusterismo and he completed the revision on May
30,1891, ready for printing. He searched for a cheaper printing shop and he did
find a publisher. F. Meyer-Van Loo Press, No. 66 Vianderen Street that published
his books in an installment basis. He pawned his jewels in order to pay the
downpayment and early partial payments during the printing of novel. He had
received some funds from Basa and Rodriguez Arias. But printing was suspended
because of insufficient funds and then Valentin Ventura in Paris helped him
because he learned about Rizal’s predicament. He immediately sent the necessary
funds for printing.
On September 18,1891 the novel came off the press in Ghent. He
immediately sent copies to Basa, to Sixto Lopez in Hong Kong , to his friends
Valentin S. Ventura in Paris and to his friends in the Philippines.
The novel was praised to the skies by Filipino patriots in foreign lands in
the Philippines. The members of the Filipino colony of Barcelona published a
tribute in La Publicidad , a Barcelona newspaper, eulogizing the novel’s original
style which is comparable only to sublime Alexander Dumas and may well be
offered as “a model, a precious jewel in the decadent literature of Spain”.
The liberal Madrid newspaper, El Nuevo Regimen, serialized the
novel its issues of October, 1891.
Rizal dedicated El Filibusterismo to the martys, Father Gomez, Father
Burgos and Father Zamora. Their martyrdom , which Paciano related to him when
he was a boy in Calamba was never forgotten.
Summary of El Filibusterismo

Thirteen years after Jose Rizal left the Philippines , Juan Crisostomo
Ibara (the main character of Noli Me Tangere) returned as Simoun , a rich jeweler
sporting a beard and blue tinted glasses, and a confidant of the Governor-General of
the Philippines Captain General. Abandoning his idealism, he became a cynical
saboteur, the titular filibuster,seeking revenge against the Spanish Philippines system
responsible for his misfortunes by plotting a revolution. Simoun mingled himself into
Manila high society and influenced every decision of the Captain General to
mismanage the country’s affairs so that a revolution will break out. He cynically sided
with the upper classes, encouraging them to commit abuses against the masses so that
the latter would be encouraged to revolt against the oppressive Spanish colonial
regime. This time, he did not attempt to fight the authorities through legal means, but
through violent revolution using the masses. Simoun had reasons for instigating a
revolution. First is to rescue Maria Clara from the convent and second, to get rid
of ills and evils Philippine society. His true identity is discovered by a now grown-
up Basilio while visiting the grave of his mother, Sisa, as Simoun was digging near
the grave site for his buried treasures. Simoun spared Basilio’s life and asked him to
join in his planned revolution against the government, up the tragic misfortunes of the
latter’s family. Basilio declined the offer as he still hopes that the country’s condition
will improve.
Basilio at this point, is a graduating student of medicine at the
Ataneo Municipal de Manila. After the death of his mother, Sisa, and the
disappearance of his young brother , Crispin, Basilio heeded the advice of the dying
boatman, Elias, and traveled to Manila to study. Basilio was adopted by Captain Tiago
after Maria Clara entered the convent. With Captain Tiago’s help, Basilio was able to
go to Colegio de San Juan de Letran where, at first, he is frowned upon by his peers
and teachers not only because of the color of his skin but also because of his shabby
appearance which he also experienced at Ataneo. Captain Tiago’s confessor, Father
Irene was making Captain Tiago’s health worse by giving him opium even as Basilio
tried hard to prevent Captain Tiago from smoking it. He and other students wanted to
establish a Spanish Language Academy so that they can learn to speak and write
Spanish language in the Philippines despite the opposition from the Diminican friars
of the University of Santo Tomas. With the help of a reluctant Father Irene as their
mediator and Don Custodio’s decision, the academy was established; however, they
will only serve as caretakers of the school not as the teachers. Dejected and defeated ,
they hold a mock celebration at a panciteria while a spy for the friars witnesses the
proceedings.
Simoun for his part, kept in close contact with the bandit group of
Kabesang Tales, a former cabeza de barangay who suffered misfortunes at the hands
of the friars. Once a farmer owning a prosperous sugarcane plantation and a cabeza de
barangay (barangay head), he was forced to give everything to the greedy and
unscrupulous Spanish friars. His son, Tano , who became a civil guard was captured
by bandits; his daughter Juli had to work as a maid to get enough ransom money for
his freedom; and his father , Tandang Selo , suffered a stroke and became mute.
Before going the bandits , Tales took Simoun’s revolver while Simoun was staying at
his house for the night. As payment, Tales left a locket that once belonged to Maria
Clara. To further strengthen the revolution, Simoun has Quiroga, a Chinese man
hoping to be appointed consul to the Philippines , smuggled weapons into the country
using Quiroga’s bazaar as a front. Simoun wished to attack during a stage play with
all of his enemies in attendance. He, however, abruptly aborted the attack when he
learned from Basilio that Maria Clara had died earlier that day in the convent.
A few days after the mock celebration by the students, the
people were agitated when disturbing posters were found displayed around the city.
The authorities accused the students present at the panciteria of agitation and
disturbing peace and had them arrested. Basilio , although not present at the mock
celebration, was also arrested. Captain Tiago died after learning of the incident and as
stated in his will – forged by Father Irene, all his possessions were given to the
church, leaving nothing for Basilio. Basilio was left in prison as the other students
were released. A high official tried to intervene for the release of Basilio but the
Captain-General, bearing grudges against the high official, coerced him to tender his
resignation. Juli, Basilio’s girlfriend and the daughter of Kabesang Tales, tried to ask
Father Camorra’s help upon the advice of an elder woman. Instead of helping
Juli,however,Father Camorra tried to rape her as he had long-hidden desires for Juli.
Juli, rather than submits to the will of the friar, jumped over the balcony to her death.
Basilio was soon released with the help of Simoun. Basilio ,
now a changed man, and after hearing about Juli’s suicide, finally joined Simoun’s
revolution. Simoun then told Basilio his plan at the wedding of Paulita Gomez and
Juanito, Basilio’s hunch-backed classmate. His plan was to conceal an explosive
inside a pomegranate –style Kerosene lamp that Simoun will give to the newlyweds as
a gift during the wedding reception. The reception will take place at the former home
of the late Captain Tiago, which was now filled with explosives planted by Simoun.
According to Simoun, the lamp will stay lighted for only 20 minutes before if flickers;
if someone attempts to turn the wick, it will explode and kill everyone- important
members of civil society and the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, Church
Hierarchy- inside the house. Basilio had a change of heart attempts to warn the people
inside, including Isagani, his friend and the former boyfriend of Paulita. Simoun left
the reception early as planned and left a note behind.
Characters of El Filibusterismo

1. Simoun- the continuation of the character of Crisostomo Ibarra disguised as a

wealthy jeweler, bent on starting a revolution. Using his wealth , he encouraged
the people who experienced abuse to join him in his rebellion against the
church and the government.

2. Basilio- Sisa’s son and was adopted by kapitan Tiago, boyfriend of Juli and an
aspiring doctor.

3. Isagani- poet and Basilio’s best friend; portrayed as emotional and reactive
student leader; Paulita Gomez boyfriend before being dumped for fellow
student Juanito Pelaez.

4. Kabesang Tales- Telesforo Juan de Dios, a former cabeza de barangay

(barangay head) who resurfaced as the feared Luzon bandit Matanglawin
(tagalog for ‘hawkeye”); his father, Tandang Selo, died eventually after his
own son Tano, who became a guardia civil, unknowingly shot his grandfather
in an encounter.

5. Don Custodio- Custodio de Salazar Y Sanchez de Monteredondo, a famous

“journalist” who was asked by the students about his decision for the Academia
de Castellano. In reality, he was quite an ordinary fellow who married a rich
woman in order to be a member of Manila’s high society.

6. Paulita Gomez- the girlfriend of Isagani and the niece of Dona Victorina , the
old India who passing (racial identity) passes herself off as a
peninsulares/peninsular, who was the wife of the quack doctor Tiburcio de
Espadana. In the end, she and Juanito Pelaez were wed, and she dumped
Isagani, believing that she will have no future if she marries him.

7. Father Florentino- Isagani’s godfather , and a secular priest ; was engaged to

be married but chose to be a priest after being pressured by his mother, the
story hinting at the ambivalence of his decision as he chose an assignment to a
remote place,living in solitude near the sea.

8. Juli- Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of Basilio , and the youngest daughter of
Kabesang Tales.

9. Ben Zayb- Abraham Ibanez is his real name. He is a journalist who thought he
was the “only” one thinking in the Philippines.

10.Placido Penitente – a student of the University of Santo Tomas who was very
intelligent and wise but did not want, if not only by his mother’s plea,to pursue
his studies. He also controls his temper against his Physics teacher, Father
Millon.
11.Quiroga- a Chinese business man who dreamt of being a consul of a
“Consulate of China” in the Philippines. He kept Simoun’s weapons inside his
house.

12.Tandang Selo- Father of Kabesang Tales. He raised the sick and young Basilio
after his mother Sisa had died.

13.Father Fernandez- the priest-friend of Isagani. He promised Isagani that he

and other priests will give in to the students demands.

14.Attorney Pasta- on of the great lawyers of mid-Hispanic Manila.

15. Captain – General(no specific name) – the powerful highest official in the
Philippines.

16.Padre Sibyla – Hernando de la Sibyla. A Filipino friar and now vice-rector of

the University of Santo Tomas.
An exile: Heaven or Wrath

Even the history and the bible prescribed the exile of Israelites kingdom to
the birth of Jesus Christ. Since the exile is an early motif in ancient Greek
tragedy, they conserved the integrity of their belief. In the ancient Greek
world, this was seen as a fate worse than death. Before a death sentence
was pronounced, a roman citizen could escape from voluntary exile. Later,
the parameters of exile where introduced, including temporary or
permanent exile with or without confiscation of property.

In tracing the beginning of our civilization, exile means to be away from

one’s country, being explicitly refuse permission to return or being
threatened with imprisonment or death upon return. Exile is a form of
prolonged absence from one’s country imposed by vested authority as a
punitive measure. It can be a form of punishment and solitude. It is
common to distinguish between “internal exile” in which the person is
forced resettlement within the country of residence, and “external exile”,
wherein the person is forcibly deported outside of the country of his
residence.

People all over the world have a story of exiles and most of them have
been famous in their era. Some of them became active in their respective
preferred field of expertise, such as the following:

1.Napoleon I – exiled from France to Elba & later to St. Elena

2. Idi Amin – exiled to Libya and Saudi Arabia until his death
3. Joseph Brodsky – exiled from Soviet Union to United States
4. John Calvin – exiled from Switzerland to France but later let back into
Switzerland , due to change I government.
5. Frederick Chopin- exiled from Poland to France
6. El Cid – banned from Castle, served other Iberian Kings ending with the
conquest of Valencia.
7. Dante Alighieri – medieval Italian poet and author of the Divine comedy.
8. Albert Einstein – self-exiled from Germany to the United States
9. Sigmund Freud – self-exiled from Austria to United Kingdom
10. Karl Max – self-exiled from Germany to the United Kingdom
The exile gives a huge impact to the society, where they belong and a
cornerstone to evaluate the positive and negative product of such kind of
punishment or reward.
Several personalities experienced such kind of release internal an0d
external punishment. Dr. Jose P. Rizal, our national hero, is a concrete
 example of the exiled person. He opt to live away from his family just to
present Filipino values. Moreover, he intent to improve to his motherland
that she is worth living for.

Jose Rizal’s: Trial And Martyrdom At Bagumbayan

A week after the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, on September 2,
1896, Jose Rizal left manila for Spain. Going back to Governor General
Ramon Blanco’s last letter to Rizal, the former approved the latter’s request
that he be sent to Cuba as military doctor. As such, Rizal was to go to Spain
first before going to Cuba. But even before he reached his first destination,
he was arrested by the Spanish authorities on board, jailed in Barcelona and
shipped back to Manila and was jailed at Fort Santiago for the last 3 months
of his life.

Rescue Attempt by the Katipunan

While Rizal was still in exile in Dapitan, the Katipunan emissary, Dr. Pio
Valenzuela, informed the former of the secret organization’s attempt to
rescue him and to sneak him on a ship destined to Japan. However, Rizal
was not in favor of this plan as he had no plan of breaking his promises to
the Spanish authorities.
For the second time, in August 1896, during Rizal’s stopover in Manila
Bay, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and other selected Katipuneros
disguised as sailors of motor Caridad so they can easily penetrate the
cruiser Castilla, then harbored at the Manila Bay. Rizal was on deck at that
time when he was approached by Jacinto who whispered that they where
Katipuneros and were there to rescue him. However, despite the
opportunity given to him, Rizal refused to be rescued.
On board Castilla, Rizal heard of the outbreak of the revolution and was
not surprised. However, his worry was that Spanish authorities might think
that he incited the said struggle. Two recommendation letters from
Governor Blanco diverted Rizal’s anguish – one for the Minister of War,
General Marcelo de Azcarraga; and the second, for the Minister of
Colonies.
Abroad the steamer, Isla de Panay, Rizal left manila for spain on
September 2, 1896, not knowing that this will be his last travel abroad. The
night before his departure, He wrote a letter to Dona Teodora Alonzo
telling her that his task required strength and dedication, and if he died,
atleast he had done something good for mankind.
By the eve of September 7, the steamer reached Singapore and on the 30 th
while Isla de Panay was on its voyage along the Mediterranean Sea, a
telegraphic message was received by Captain A. Alemany, the ship skipper,
ordering him to arrest and confine Jose Rizal in his cabin until they arrive
in Barcelona on 3rd of October. Early morning of October 6, Rizal was
transferred to Montjuich Castle where he was visited by Eulogio Despujol
 who was then the military Commander of Cataluna. By 8 o’ clock in the
evening, aboard the steamer Colon, Rizal left Barcelona for Manila.
Such occurrences had already been known among Rizal’s friends in Europe
and Singapore. His friends from London , Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor and
Sixto Lopez exerted all their efforts and find lawyer in Singapore who
could aid their friend in need. They sent a telegraph to a certain Atty. Hugh
Fort whom they requested to do the task of rescuing Rizal- by issuing writ
of habeas corpus on the steamer Colon. Unfortunately , the judge in
Singapore denied Fort’s request and contention that Rizal was illegally
detained in the said steamer because the voyage cannot be delayed since it
was , according to the judge, a warship carrying Spanish troops to Manila.
Thus, on November 3, Colon arrived in Manila- Jose Rizal, under heavy
security, was brought immediately to Fort Santiago. During his stay,
Spanish authorities were searching for evidence against him. In fact,
Filipinos who had been recognized at his side were brutally tortured to
implicate him. Some of them were as follows: Deodato Arellano, Dr. Pio
Valenzuela , Moises Salvador, Jose Dizon, Domingo Franco and Timoteo
Paez. Even his only brother, Paciano was arrested and inflicted with pains
which the latter endured for his younger brother’s sake.

Exile in Dapitan

Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, is not only admired for
processing intellectual brilliance but also for taking a stand and resisting the
Spanish colonial government. He had been very vocal against the Spanish
government, but in a peaceful and progressive manner. For him, “the pen is
mightier than sword” and through his writings, he exposed the corruption
and wrong doings of government officials as well as the Spanish friars.
While in Barcelona, Rizal contributed essays, poems, allegories, and
editorials to the Spanish newspaper, la Solidaridad. Most of his writings,
both in his essays and editorials, centered on individual rights and freedom ,
specifically for the Filipino people. As part of his reforms, he even called
for the inclusion of the Philippiones to become a province of Spain. But
among his best work, two novels stood out from the rest- Noli Me Tangere
(Touch Me Not) and El filibusterismo (The Reign of the Greed).