El Filibusterismo: A Paper Analysis

Joey Mikaella Hibaya

INTRODUCTION

In a world where knowledge is limited and education are manipulated by those

who have power and influence, Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso Realonda
have strived in encouraging Filipinos to want for change. A man of ideal and wisdom
who taught us that in our little ways of educating ourselves and learning from our
experiences will open up the path that will lead us to the life that we wanted. His life,
education and writings have thought us different ways on how to live our lives.

Having seen and experienced social injustices himself, Dr. Rizal sought for a
change in a way where no lives shall be lost but failed to do so. With the use of his
pen and intellect, he bravely expressed his sentiments about the injustices happening
in the Philippines even though he knew it would only attract people who oppose his
ideas. Even with this, Dr. Rizal continued his campaign for reformation with the use of
his words, hoping it would reach the Indios and to exposed those Spaniards, who are
using their power to belittle the Indios, (Augustyn, et al., 2020).

Throughout Philippine history, Dr. Rizal’s have contributed, not only in aspiring
Filipinos to stand for themselves during Spanish Era, but also up to the present time
where we continue to treasure his works in order to learn from past happenings and
preventing history in repeating itself. Until today, we continue to learn from his ways
of promoting reformation for our country, that is, education and peaceful manner of
attaining change. In his works, we have come to know what is was like in the
Philippines during Spanish era like how Filipinos experienced cruelty, discrimination
and abuses in their very own land, (Valdeavilla, 2018).

Dr. Rizal’s death wasn’t in vain because it taught Filipinos during that time that
Spain will never give Philippines its freedom unless they will fight back through violent
means. His death was the turning point of those who didn’t want to remain silent and
have made Filipinos realized that the injustices and abuses is enough, (Augustyn, et
al., 2020).
 DISCUSSION

El Filibusterismo Critism

El Filibusterismo is known as one of the twin books written by Dr. Jose Rizal
which exposed the discrimination, social injustices and abuses in the Philippines
during Spanish era. A classic way of spreading out knowledge to every readers. It was
a darker version of Noli Me Tangere which involves uprisings and bloodshed led by
Simoun. It was dedicated to the three priest, Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos, and
Fr. Jacinto Zamora, who are victims of social injustices themselves and died as the
result of Spanish cruelty towards Filipinos, (Yap, 2016).

The novel inspired nationalistic movement and fueled the desires of Filipinos
for freedom that made Philippines the first country in Asia to be considered as
democratic republic. It was a call for reform but not complete independence. A simple
desire for change that the Spanish government could not give which resulted to
violence and bloodshed, (Vera, 2014).

From using peaceful means of demanding for reformation, Ibarra who changed
his name into Simoun, became someone who is eager for revenge to those who have
mistreated him and his loved ones, (Francia, 2020).

Characters

The following are the characters of El Filibusterismo novel, (Wikipedia, 2020);

Simoun – after surviving death and becoming a wealthy man who has influence over
Spanish officials, Simoun was born. His character is completely different from how he
is in Noli Me Tanger as Crisostomo Ibarra. Abandoning his peaceful ideals, he planned
revolt against the Spanish officials because of his desire for revenge.

Basilio – one of Sisa’s son who was sponsored by Kapitan Tiago to study and
eventually took up medicine. Kabesang Tales’ family took him in when he fleed the
civil guards and there he met Juli, his lover.

Isagani – a friend of Basilio and a nephew of Padre Florentino. Like Crisostomo Ibarra,
he was a poet and whose ideals often put him under the radar of Spanish officials
which is also why Paulita Gomez, his girlfriend, have left him.
Father Florentino – he was Isagani’s uncle and an Indio priest who was forced to enter
priesthood because of his mother. He came from a wealthy and influential family which
is why he was respected by the people.

Father Fernandez – a Dominican priest and a friend of Isagani

Kapitan Tiago – the adoptive father of Maria Clara and a wealthy man who owned
lands including Ibarra’s estate. He allowed Basilio to study in exchange for being his
servant.

Captain-General – a high ranking official who was a friend of Simoun and is greedy
for wealth. He was corrupt and he discriminated Filipino because of Simoun’s
encouragement and support.

Father Bernardo Salvi – a priest and director of the convent where Maria Clara
entered. There he constantly raped Maria Clara and at the same time have feared
Ibarra’s revenge.

Quiroga – a Chinese merchant who helped Simoun in smuggling arms to be used in

the uprising.

Don Custodio – a famous contractor who was torn in between developing the student’s
association’s petition in teaching Spanish and friars motives in monopolizing
education.

Ben-Zayb – a columnist who thinks highly of himself

Father Camorra – a parish priest who attempts to rape Juli, Basilio’s lover.

Father Irene – an opportunist who betrayed the student association after receiving gifts
from them because he sought for power and wealth. He’s also supplying Captain Tiago
opium to hasten his death and opted Basilio out of Captain Tiago’s will.

Placido Penitente – a student who doesn’t like school that Simoun took in and who
became the maker of bombs that they have used.

Paulita Gomez – the girlfriend of Isagani who left him because she can’t see any
advantage in marrying Isagani which is why she chooses Juanito Pelaez.
Kabesang Tales – a former kabesa in Barrio Sagpang who lost his land and his family
because of Dominican’s claims to the land. He later on joined the bandits to avenge
his family.

Tandang Selo – the father of Kabesang Tales who also joined the bandits when Juli
died.

Juli – daughter of Kabesang Tales and the girlfriend of Basilio who sought for Hermana
Penchang’s help in exchange for being her maid but was soon saved by Basilio. Later
on, when Basilio was arrested, she asked Father Camorra for help but was attempted
to be raped but she jumped off from the church tower and died.

Tano – son of Kabesang Tales who was a civil guard and killed a bandit without
knowing it was his own father.

Hermana Penchang – a rich person who lent Juli the money to pay the bandits who
took Kabesang Tales.

Juanito Pelaez – he is Isagani’s rival when it comes to Paulita Gomez and academics
who was also favored by his professors.

Plot Summary of El Filibusterismo

After years of being away from the Philippines, Crisistomo Ibarra came back to
get his revenge and to take back Maria Clara from the convent using his new name,
Simoun. Being away from the Philippines, he strived hard to gain wealth and power by
getting acquainted with Spanish officials. When Simoun came back to the Philippines,
he was free to do whatever he wants since no one knew him and also because he
befriended the governor general. He became a person completely opposite from what
he used to be. From the use of pen and education into the use of violence and letting
vengeance take over. Using his political influence, he urged the officials to be corrupt
and degraded his fellow citizen to mold their minds into starting a revolt. He worked
with Quiroga, a Chinese merchant, to smuggle arms which will be used in the uprising.
Though they have prepared for the revolt, it didn’t happen because Simoun learned
about the death of Maria Clara to which he failed to give the signal for the uprising.
 After mourning for the death of Maria Clara, for the second time, Simoun
planned another uprising. He had given Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez a lamp as
a wedding gift that contains explosive materials which will destroy the place where the
wedding was held and will kill a lot of people specifically corrupt government officials
and friars. This will served as a signal to the men of Simoun to make explosions in all
the buildings of the government in Manila. In the near execution of the plan, Basilio,
warns his friend Isagani, who loves Paulita Gomez, that there will be a massive
explosion that will kill all people at the venue of the wedding. Upon knowing the danger,
Isagani quickly ran into the house to save Paulita Gomez from the explosion at the
expense of his life by successfully taking the lamp into the river before it exploded.
Because of this, Simoun’s planned uprising was discovered to which the soldiers badly
beaten him up before he could escape with his treasure.

He hid in the house of Padre Florentino but it was discovered by the civil guards
who planned to arrest him. Simoun made up his to drink a poison so the civil guards
cannot arrest him. In his last moments, Simoun confessed his plans of revenge and
who he really was to Padre Florentino. Upon the death of Simoun, Padre Florentino
offered prayers for his soul and have decided to throw the treasure that Simoun
brought with him into the sea, (koyndotph, 2018).

Relevance to Philippine Society

El Filibusterismo will always be a reminder to Filipinos, especially those who

are working in the government, to let go of their greed and personal interest in carrying
out their duties. A reminder to always embrace and be proud of who we are, a Filipino
citizen, and to always root for the improvement of our country, (Edrozo, 2016).

In our modern society of technology and unlike the Spanish era, people are
facing more struggles than before. As a human being, we easily get tempted to do evil
things because we’re in a dire situation. We strived hard but most of the time, we are
still stuck in the same situation that we begin to question our God. Nevertheless, we
must strive harder to keep on being a good person to other people because if we cave
in to those challenges and letting anger and revenge take over, it is like abandoning
our own self and we become blind to the blessings around us, (GabbieAllTheWay7,
2014).
 ANALYSIS

It was clearly shown in the novel how bloody it can get in achieving one’s desire.
Though the novel’s message is that violence is not the answer to attain change but it
won’t be enough. Be it reformation, revenge and for peace, words and ideals wouldn’t
be enough in a place surrounded by corrupt people. There’s a need for effort, will and
sacrifice. It was a clear message that nothing will change if you don’t speak up and
will just continue to endure silently. Someone had to step up so people would follow.
That change is something that would start within the hearts of the people.

The novel was also had variety of characters and their own perspective of
things. It has shown the different sides of the people. How people are when they had
power and when they are cornered and stripped off their rights. How people can
become cruel to protect their power and influence, and how someone are willing to
abandon former ideals thinking that letting people experienced cruelty will open their
minds to fighting back. It is because when we are pushed to our limits and on the brink
of falling apart, we still find ways to survive. That amidst the situation we are in, we
should not astray from what we truly hope for.

Another thing that this novel taught us is that social status will not determine
the outcome of our lives. It taught us that education is for everyone whether poor or
not, it is only a matter of wanting to learn. It will be our choice to make and our end
wouldn’t be based on how our life started but on how we deal with the problems and
challenges of life. In the end, it will always be our choice to stay from where we are
or to move forward for a change.

The events in this novel is a lesson for us right now that we really needed unity to
achieve something. This will always be a reminder for us to cooperate with one another
so we can function well as a society and as a country to which the heroes of the past
have died for just to achieve it. We are all humans and we make wrong decisions when
we are clouded by our own greed but we shouldn’t blame one another. Instead of
blaming other people, we should try to be more understanding that wanting
reformation through violent means is a gamble that can either improve or worsen that
situation we are in.

Filipinos did survive during Spanish colonization but so did injustices and
inequality. In the present time, we still continue to suffer from those and what’s worse
is that we suffer because of our fellow countrymen. Powered by greed for wealth and
power, it drove people to do things even it would step on the rights of other people.
Thus, we cannot deny the fact that cruelty and greed were the darkest form of human
beings and are part of us especially when we are experiencing injustices. We all have
did something that we are not proud of but that is not an excuse to keep ourselves on
the ground.

Violence and death might not be the answer but it has always been a turning
point of people in realizing what they should have done in the first place. Even if lives
were to end, for some people it can be the start of their dream to make a change. Even
though no one really need to die for freedom because we are all free to begin with,
death can still spark some flames to resist against those who constantly abused
people. Thus, it means that death is not the end and can be a hope to inspire people
to stand for what they believe in. Death means that their will in fighting for their country
and their dreams for freedom can be carried on by those who are striving to survive.

References
Augustyn, A., Gaur, A., Gorlinski, V., Promeet, D., Rodrigues, E., & Young, G. (2020,
June 15). Jose Rizal. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica:
https://www.britanica.com/biography/Jose-Rizal#ref263723

Edrozo, J. (2016, March 2). El Filibusterismo. Retrieved from LinkedIn Slideshare:

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/geumjen2/el-filibusterismo-58974091

Francia, L. (2020). El Filibusterismo by Jose Rizal - Reading Guide: 9780143106395

- PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books. Retrieved from
PenguinRandomhouse.com:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/302595/el-filibusterismo-by-
jose-rizal/9780143106395-guide/

kapitbisig.com. (2020, July 20). The Characters (The Summary of "El Filibusterismo").
Retrieved from KapitBisig.com: https://www.kapitbisig.com/philippines/el-
filibusterismo-the-reign-of-greed-by-dr-jose-rizal-book-notes-summary-in-
english-the-characters-the-summary-of-el-filibusterismo_202.html
koyndotph. (2018, April 10). Sypnosis of Jose Rizal's Novel, "El Filibusterismo".
Retrieved from owlcation.com: https://owlcation.com/humanities/Life-and-
Works-of-Rizal-Synopsis-of-El-Filibusterismo

Valdeavilla, R. (2018, June 8). The Life and Legacy of José Rizal: National Hero of
The Philippines. Retrieved from Culture Trip:
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-life-and-legacy-of-jose-
rizal-the-philippines-national-hero/

Vera, N. (2014, February 8). El Filibusterismo (Gerardo de Leon 1962). Retrieved from
Critic After Dark: https://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2014/02/el-filibusterismo-
gerardo-de-leon-1962.html?m=1

Wikipedia. (2020, July 15). El filibusterismo. Retrieved from Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_filibusterismo

Yap, C. (2016, February 5). ANALYSIS OF NOLI ME TANGERE and EL

FILIBUSTERISMO. Retrieved from yapchristian24.wixsite.com:
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post/2016/02/04/COMPARISON-BETWEEN-NOLI-ME-TANGERE-and-EL-
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