THE SECULARIZATION

MOVEMENT
SECULARIZATION
*SECULAR – CHRISTIAN CHURCH
-The council of trent (1545-1563) ordered that secular priests should head all
newly established parishes.
-Pope Pius allowed regular priests to head the new parishes due to lack of secular
priest.

note:
• Regular priest - under superiors of the religious orders called “Kura paroko”
• Secular priest – Under bishop authority

The designation of parish priest became the cause of rifts between regular priest
and the bishop.
-The parish priests rejected the visitation and threatened to resign and abandon their parishes.

In the 18th century, Bishop Basilio Santa Justa was forced to ordain Filipino seminarians and
appointed them in the parishes. It was the first trial for secularization.

-Secular priests was ill prepared by that time so the friars protest against the secularization that the
king decided to issue new decree in 1776. the decree suspended the secularization of parishes.

-The regular priest retained the leadership over the parishes and Spaniards implemented the
secularization policy in 19th century that the parishes will take over by them.

-1859 the return of the Jesuits to intensify desecularization.

(Jesuit - a member of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic order of priests.)

-1861 the government decree strengthened desecularization.

-The native priests (Filipino priest) protested but they were not listened to.

-The campaign are led by Father Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora.

-Father Pedro Pelaez (Spanish mestizo), wrote to the Queen to protest the 1861 decree. And he also
published the “El Eco Filipino” a newspaper calling for justice and equal representation of Filipino
priest.

-Archbishop Martinez asked the Queen to revoke the 1861 decree and implement a program for the
training of seminarians for Filipino priests. This request shouldn’t be ignore this may lead to hatred of
native priest, hatred of friars, and hatred of Spaniard to the Philippines.

-Secularization issue became more intense and evolved as an issue of the filipinization of parishes.

-Secularization was a question of giving Filipino and Spanish priest equal rights to head parishes.

-because of Spanish priests’ arrogance the Filipino priest were stripped of their parishes not of lack skills
,but because they were natives.
 THE LIBERAL LEADERSHIP AND THE
STRONG ARM RULE
Gov. CARLOS MARIA de la
TORRE
• 1869-1871 - Liberal leadership
• Helped in the growth of the nascent
reform movement of the Philippines.
• He is a product of Liberalism in the
Spanish revolution of 1868
• He lived and dressed simply
• He is associated with the natives and
mestizos.
Gov. RAFAEL DE IZQUIERDO
• 1871-1873 - the Iron fist rule
• Removed the mestizos and natives in the
military and government.
• He recalled the privileges of the Filipino
workers in the cavite arsenal that exempted
them from taxes and forced labor.
• Soldiers and workers protested in January 20,
1872 against him. (Cavite Uprising)
Gov. CARLOS MARIA de la TORRE
• He supported freedom of the press
• He eradicated the use of whips as penalty
• He reduced the punishment for deserters
among the native soldiers
• One of the most popular governor-general
among Filipinos.
• Proposed secularize education and
government’s management of educational
institutions in the land.
• Spain recall him in 1871 when the liberals fell
from power.
Gov. RAFAEL DE IZQUIERDO
• Ordered the arrest of some prominent
Filipino priest, lawyer, and merchants.
• Arrest of father Jose Burgos, Mariano
Gomez, and Jacinto Zamora as they
accused as the leader of the anti-
government conspiracy. Were executed
February 17, 1872.
“GomBurZa unjust killings inspired the
Filipinos unite.”
THE MOVEMENT FOR
REFORMS
1.The demands of the Filipino middle class or Bourgeoisie – the well to do,

2. The merchants and illustrados – all revolved around the abuses of the authorities.

They asked the authorities in Europe to make the Philippines a Spanish province. They
believed that if the Philippines were a province of spain, the Filipinos would have a
representative in the cortes, the spanis legislature. As citizens of spain, they will then
spread from Spanish officials’ abuses and from paying unjust taxes. They called this
program “Assimilation”.

Assimilation – the process of taking in and fully understanding information and ideas.

Youths who joined the movement were Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo H. Del Pilar,
Jose Rizal, Antonio Luna, Mariano Ponce, Jose M. Panganiban, and Eduardo de Lete.
 GRACIANO LOPEZ JAENA
• Found the reform movement
• Author of “Fray Botod” meaning a Big-Bellied Friar
Friar - a member of any of certain religious orders of men.
Ex.Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans
• The story is all about the Ignorance, Abuses, & Immorality of a “Fray Botod” or Fat Friars.
And this story became immensely famous
• The story cause Jaena to be hunted. He escaped to Spain 1880.
• He is also the 1st editor of the famous newspaper “La Solidaridad”.
• He died of Tuberculosis in Barcelona, Spain on January 20, 1896.
 MARCELO H. DEL PILAR
• Also known as “PLARIDEL” an anagram of his surname Del Pilar.
• Journalist of the reform movement.
• He became a reformist since 1880. He used the plazas, cockfighting arenas, and small stores
to campaign against colonial abuses.
• 1888 fled to Spain after the authorities ordered his arrest in the Philippines.
• 1889 to 1895 became an editor of La Solidaridad.
• Author of Dasalan at Toksohan, Sagot ng España sa hibik Filipinas, Pasiong Dapat ipag-alab
nang puso nang taong babasa, La Soberania Monacal, La Frailocracia, at marami pang iba.
• He died of an illness on July 4, 1896.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL
• 1882 went to Spain to study medicine.
• Author of the popular novel “Noli Me Tangere” & “El Filibusterismo”.
The novel described the corruption of the friars, use & abuse of religion to oppress and
exploit, the ignorance and corruption of the colonial government, and the limitatiuons of the
Philippine educational system.
• Also he wrote “A la Juventud Filipina” and “Mi Ultimo Adios”.
• He also believed that the changes may attained through peaceful means.
• 1892 went home to the Philippines.
• He was arrested and imprisoned in fort Santiago. Exile in Dapitan for four (4) years.
• He was sentenced to death and shot in Bagumbayan (Rizal park) December 30, 1896.
 LA SOLIDARIDAD
• Newspaper published by the Filipinos involved in the propaganda movement.
• February 15, 1889 published in Barcelona, Spain. (once in two weeks)
• The newspaper is aimed to
1. Expose the Philippines situation
2. Defend Filipinos from attacks of the friars’ paid writers
3. Publish studies about the Philippines and the Filipinos.
• Spaniards banned the La Solidaridad but Filipinos manage to sneak copies into the country.
• Failed to achieve reform in Spain but exposed the abuses of the colonialists in the country.
• Last issue came out November 15, 1895.
 LA LIGA FILIPINA & THE REFORMIST

• The reformist established various organizations both Philippines and in Spain.

• 1st organization established was the “Circulo Hispano-Filipino” later replaced by the
“Associacion Hispano-Filipino” an organization of Spanish-Filipinos who were in favor
of laws in the management of the Philippines.
• Propagandist used the organization of the Mason to unite their ranks.
• The branch in Barcelona is called “Revolucion” organized by Lopez Jaena and the
replaced by th “LaSolidaridad” branch in Madrid to gather reformist.
• Pedro Serrano Laktaw and Antonio Luna tasked to organize branches in the
Philippines.
• La Liga Filipina is established July 3, 1892
• La Liga Filipina is established in Tondo.
• La Liga Filipina is established by Jose Rizal & the Reformist.
• Aim of La Liga Filipina:
1. Unite the entire archipelago
2. Help its members in their needs
3. Struggle against violence and injustice
4. Encourage its members into studying agriculture and commerce
5. Work for reforms
• La Liga Officials
1. President: Ambrosio Salvador
2. Fiscal: Agustin Dela Rosa
3. Treasurer: Bonifacio Arevalo
4. Secretary: Deodato Arellano
• La Solidaridad & La Liga Filipina failed to make the Spanish government listen.
So The Propaganda Movement’s campaign for reform Failed.
• La Solidaridad is contradicted by the friars newspaper called “La Politica en
Filipinas”.
• The Propaganda movement failed but helped disseminate a
nationalist consciousness among the people. And helped to
prepare for the 1896 Revolution.

“Insurrection was the final answer especially if the people now believe that
peaceful means are of no use for attaining change”.
-Marcelo H. Del Pilar

Insurrection - a violent uprising against an authority or against government.