Philippines in the 19th Century in the Time of Rizal#

During the times of Rizal, the sinister shadows of Spains’ decadence darkened
Philippine skies. The Filipino people agonized beneath the yoke of Spanish misrule,
for they were unfortunate victims of the evils of an unjust, bigoted, and
deteriorating colonial power.

1. Instability of colonial administration#2. Corrupt Officialdom#3. No

Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes#4. Human rights denied to
Filipinos#5. No equality before the law#

6. Racial discrimination#7. Maladministration of justice#8.

Frailocracy#9. Forced labor#10. Haciendas owned by the friars#11.
Guardia civil##

1. Instability of Colonial Administration# The instability of Spanish politics

since turbulent reign of King Ferdinand VII (1808-1833) marked the beginning of
political chaos in Spain. Spanish government underwent frequent changes owing to
bitter struggles between the forces of despotism and liberalism and the explosions
of the Carlist wars. From 1834 to 1862, Spain had adopted four cinstitutions,
elected 28 parliaments, and installed no less than 529 ministers with protfolios,
followed in subsequent years by party strifes, revolutions, and other political
upheavals.###

This political instability in Spain adversely affected Philippine affairs because

it brought about frequent periodic shifts in colonial policies and a periodic
rigodon of colonial officials. For instance, form 1835 to 1897, the Philippines was
ruled by 50 governors general, each serving an average term of only one year and
three months.
The frequent change of colonial officials hampered the political and economic
development of the Philippines. Hardly had one governor-general begun his
administration when he was soon replaced by his successor. Naturally, no chief
executive, no matter how able and energetic he was, could accomplish much for the
colony.

2. Corrupt Colonial Officials

With few exceptions, the colonial officials (governor general, judges,
provincial executives, etc.) sent by Spain to the Philippines in the 19th century
were a far cry from their able and dedicated predecessors of the 16th, 17th and
18th centuries. They were either highly corrupt, incompetent, cruel, or venal.
Apparantly, they symbolized the decadent Spain of the 19th century.
General Izquierdo (1871-1873), a boastful and ruthless governor-general,
aroused the anger of the Filipinos by executing the innocent GOMBURZA, the
“Martyr’s of 1872”.
General Camilo De Polavieja (1896-1897), an able militarist but heartless
governor general, was widely detested by the Filipino people for executing Dr.
Rizal.
Other Spanish colonial officials were of the same evil breed of men as the
corrupt and degenerate governor’s-general mentioned above.

3. Philippine Representation in Spanish Cortes

To win the support of her overseas colonies during the Napoleonic invasion,
Spain granted them representation in the Cortes (Spanish Parliament). Accordingly,
the Philippines experienced her first period of representation in the Cortes from
1810 to 1813. History demonstrates that the first Philippine delegate, Ventura
delos Reyes, took active part in the framing of the Constitution, and was one of
its 184 signers. This constitution was extended to the Philippines. Another
achievement of delos Reyes was the abolition of the galleon trade.

The first period of Philippine representation in the Spanish Cortes (1810-1813) was
thus fruitful with beneficent results for the welfare of the colony. However, the
second period of representation (1820-1823) and the third period (1834-1837) were
less fruitful because the Philippine delegates were not as energetic and devoted in
parliamentary work as Delos Reyes.
Unfortunately, the representation of the overseas colonies (including the
Philippines) in the Spanish Cortes was abolished in 1837. Since then Philippine
condition worsened because there was no means by which Filipino people could expose
the anomalies perpetrated by the colonial officials. Many Filipino patriots
valiantly pleaded for the restoration of Philippine representation in the Cortes.
No wonder, Jose Rizal, M.H del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and other
youthful patriots launched the Propaganda Movement, which paved the way for the
Philippine Revolution of 1896.

4. Human Rights Denied to Filipinos

Since the adoption of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and other
constitutions in succeeding years, the people of Spain enjoyed freedom of speech,
freedom of the press, freedom of association, and other human rights (except
freedom of religion). The Spaniards ardently guarded these rights so that no
Spanish monarch dared abolish them.

5. No equality before the law

The Spanish missionaries, who introduced Christianity into the Philippines as
early as in the 16th century, taught that all men, irrespective of color and race,
are children of God and as such they are brothers, equal before God. Fascinated by
this noble concept of human relations and convinced by the truths of the Christian
faith, most Filipinos (except those in the hinterlands of Luzon and the Visayas and
in Mindano and Sulu) became Christians.

In practice, however, the Spanish colonial authorities, who were Christians, did
not implement Christ’s precept of the brotherhood of all men under the fatherhood
of God. Especially during the last decades of Hispanic rule, they arrogantly
regarded the brown-skinned Filipinos as inferior beings, not their Christian
brothers to be protected but rather as their majesty’s subjects to be exploited. To
their imperialist way of thinking, brown Filipinos and white Spaniards may be equal
before God, but not before the law and certainly not in practice.

6. Maladministration of Justice
The courts of justice in the Philippines during Rizal’s time were notoriously
corrupt. Verily, they were courts of “injustice”, as far as the brown Filipinos
were concerned. The Spanish judges, fiscals (prosecuting attorney’s), and other
court officials were inept, venal, and oftentimes ignorant of law.
Justice was costly, partial and slow. Poor Filipinos had no access to the
courts because they could not afford the heavy expenses of litigation. Wealth,
social prestige, and color of skin were preponderant factors in winning a case in
court. Irrespective of the weight of evidence, a rich man or a Spaniard, whose skin
was white, early achieved victory in any litigation.
The Judicial procedure was so slow and clumsy that it was easy to have
justice delayed. And justice delayed, as a popular maxim states, “is justice
denied”.
7. Racial Discrimination
Spain introduced Christianity into the Philippines with its beautiful
egalitarian concept of the brotherhood of all men under God the Father. The Spanish
authorities, civil as well as ecclesiastical, zealously propagated the Christian
faith, but seldom practiced its sublime tenets. They regarded the converted
Filipinos not as brother Christians, but as inferior beings who were infinitely
undeserving of the rights and privileges that the white Spaniards enjoyed.
Racial prejudice was prevalent everywhere-in government offices, in the
courts of justice, the armed forces, in the social circles, and even in educational
institutions and in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

8. Frailocracy
Owing to the Spanish political philosophy of union of Church and State, there
arose a unique form of government in Hispanic Philippines called “frailocracy”. It
was so named because of it was “a government by friars”. History disclosed that
since the days of the Spanish conquest, the friars (Augustinians, Dominicans, and
Franciscans) controlled the religious and educational life of the Philippines, and
later in the 19th century they came to acquire tremendous political power,
influence, and riches.

9. Forced labor# Known as the polo, its was the compulsory labor imposed by
the Spanish colonial authorities an adult Filipino males in the construction of
churches, schools, hospitals, buildings and repair of roads and bridges, the
building ships in the shipyards, and other public works. Brown Filipinos did the
dirty job of building or repairing the public works. The well-to-do among them were
able to escape this manual labor by paying the falla, which was a sum of money paid
to the government to be exempted from the polo.#

10. Haciendas owned by the Friars# # During Rizal’s tyimes the

Spanish friars belonging to different religious orders were the richest landlords,
for they owned the best haciendas (agricultural land) in the Philippines. According
to Rizal, the friar ownership of the productive lands contributed to the economic
stagnation of the Philippines during the Spanish period.#

11. Guardia Civil# The last hated symbol of Spanish tyranny was the
guardia civil (Constabulary) which was created by the Royal Decree of February 12,
1852, as amended by the Royan decree of March 24, 1888, for the purpose of
maintaining internal peace and order in the Philippines. It was patterned after the
famous and well-disciplined Guardia civil in Spain.#Rizal actually witnessed the
atrocities committed by the Guardia Civil on the Calamba folks. He himself and his
mother had been victims of the brutalities of the lieutenant of the Guardia
Civil.##