EL FILIBUSTERISMO

EL FILI’s DESCRIPTION

Rizal began writing El Filibusterismo in October 1887 while he was in Calamba, Laguna. In 1888, he revised the plot and some chapters in London. Rizal continued to work on his manuscripts in Paris. Then, he moved to Brussels, Belgium where, the cost was cheaper and there were less distractions so he could focus on finishing the book. He finally completed the book on March 29, 1891 in Biarritz, France and was published in September of that year in Ghent. The novel is said to have been written against the background of threats and oppressions that Rizal and his family suffered because of the Noli and the so-called Calamba agrarian trouble.
According to history, (Ocampo, 2012) it was Rizal’s roommate in Belgium, Jose Alejandrino, who canvassed the printing press for El Fili. He delivered the proofs and revisions to F. Meyer Van Loo in Ghent, which is why, for his assistance, Rizal gave him the El Fili’s corrected proofs and the pen used in doing the corrections. Unluckily, these historical souvenirs were either lost or destroyed during the revolution. Alejandrino, who later became a general in the Philippine revolution, may have been the first person to read the novel aside from the author but the honor of being called ‘the savior of the Fili’ had been given to Valentin Ventura — Rizal’s friend who partially financed the publication of the novel. Clearly, Ventura’s steal of the title is another classic interpretation of the expression, “That’s what money can do.” At first, Rizal financed El Fili’s printing by placing his properties as collateral. In a letter to Jose Basa dated July 9, 1891, he related: “For the past three months I have not received a single centavo, so I have pawned all that I have in order to publish this book. I will continue publishing it as long as I can; and when there is nothing to pawn I will stop …” However, Rizal’s next letter to Basa carried the sad news that the printing had to be suspended due to lack of funds, and it was at this point that Valentin Ventura came into the picture. If you can still recall, Ventura was one of the Filipinos who promised to co-author Rizal’s Noli but ended up contributing nothing? In retrospection, it can be assumed that Ventura was bothered by his conscience—having known Rizal’s predicament, he offered his generous monetary assistance for Rizal’s El Fili. On the contrary, even with Ventura’s help, Rizal found it necessary to fundamentally shorten the novel, erasing 47 whole pages from the 279-page manuscript to save expenses. Thus, the printed El Fili, which came off the press by mid-September 1891, turned out comprising only 38 chapters compared to the 64 of the Noli — contrary to his original plan to make a longer sequel. For Ventura’s saving act, Rizal gave him the novel’s original manuscript, a pen, and an autographed printed copy. In 1925, the Philippine government bought the El Fili manuscript from Ventura for a large sum of 10, 000 pesos (Zaide,1984). At present, it is now being kept in the National Library.

FILIBUSTERO DEFINED

Rizal had to define the word filibuster to his German friend Ferdinand Blumentritt who did not understand his use of word in Noli Me Tangere. In a letter, Rizal explained:
“The word filibuster is little known in the Philippines. The masses do not know it yet. I heard it for the first time in 1872 when the tragic executions (of Gomburza) took place. I still remember the panic that this word created. Our father forbade us to utter it, as well as the words Cavite, Burgos (one of the executed priests), etc. The Manila newspapers and the Spaniards apply this word to one whom they want to make a revolutionary suspect. The Filipinos belonging to the educated class fear the reach of the word. It does not have the meaning of freebooters; it rather means a dangerous patriot who will soon be hanged or well, a presumptuous man.” By the end of the 19th century, the word filibuster had acquired the meaning “subversive” in the Philippines, hence the book is about subversion.

EL FILI IN BRIEF

The story in El Filibusterismo revolves around its main character Simoun who is an affluent jeweler. Simoun is actually Crisostomo Ibarra of the Noli whom everyone thought had been killed by the Guardia Civil at Laguna de Bay. He had in fact escaped, fled to Cuba, become wealthy, and made connections with influential Spanish officials. Upon his return to the Philippines after many years, he becomes very influential as the governor general, who owes so much to him, consults him in making decisions. In reality however, everything Simoun does is just part of his grand plan to take revenge against the Spanish officials and rescue Maria Clara from the convent. Planning to stage a revolution, he smuggles arms and looks for followers, mainly from the exploited and abused natives. One of his recruits is Basilio, the son of Sisa, who with Capitan Tiago’s help was able to study in Manila. Simoun also makes an alliance with the revolutionary group of Kabesang Tales, a former ‘cabeza de barangay’ who suffered maltreatments from the hands of the friars. Using his influence, Simoun encourages corruption, decadence, and more oppressive government policies so that the citizens may become more infuriated. Yet, the planned revolt one night was not carried out because Simoun, upon hearing that Maria Clara died in the nunnery, decided not to give the signal for the outbreak of the uprising. Another plan was made some months later. At the venue of the wedding reception of Juanito Pelaez and Paulita Gomez, Simoun planted many explosives — enough to kill the invited guests, primarily the friars and government officials. According to the plot, the big explosion shall be started by the gift he would give to the newlyweds at the reception—a kerosene lamp with an explosive. When the lamp flickers and someone turns the wick, it will result into a big explosion that will become a signal to the revolutionary troops to simultaneously attack all the government buildings in Manila. During the reception, Simoun gives his gift to the newly-weds. Before hurriedly leaving the venue, he leaves a piece of mysterious paper bearing the message “You will die tonight” signed by Juan Crisostomo Ibarra. Meanwhile, Isagani, the rejected lover of Paulita, is standing outside the reception. His friend Basilio tells him to leave the place because the lamp will soon blow up. When Father Salvi identifies the handwriting in the note and confirms that it was indeed Ibarra’s, the guests begin to panic. When the lamp flickers, Father Irene tries to turn the wick up. But Isagani, wanting to save Paulita’s life, rushes into the house, grabs the lamp, and throws it into the river where it explodes. Simoun’s revolutionary plot was thus known and he is thus hunted by the law enforcers. He managed to escape but was seriously wounded. Carrying his jewelry chest, he finds shelter in the home of Padre Florentino by the sea. Learning of his presence in the house of the priest, the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil informs Padre Florentino that he will come in the evening to arrest Simoun. Simoun then takes poison that he would not be caught alive. As the poison’s effects start to take toll on his body, he confesses to Florentino his true identity and his plan of revenge through bloody revolution. After the emotional and agonizing confession of the dying man, the priest absolves the dying man from his sins, saying: “God will forgive you Señor Simoun. He knows that we are fallible. He has seen that you have suffered … He has frustrated your plans one by one … first by the death of Maria Clara, then by a lack of preparation, then in some mysterious way. Let us bow to His will and render Him thanks!” The story ends with the priest throwing Simoun’s treasures into the sea so that they would not be used by the greedy. The priest hopes that when the right time comes, they would be recovered and used only for the good.

PREMISES OF EL FILI

In actual fact, the El Filibusterismo is a continuation of the Noli Me Tangere, which still exposes the real picture of the Filipino society at the hands of the Spanish government officials. Issues concerning socio-political activities that were mentioned in the Noli are also dealt with in its sequel such as the abuses and hypocrisy of the members of the Spanish Catholic clergy, superstitions disguising as religious faith, the need for reform in educational system, the exploitation and corruption of government officials, and the pretenses of some social-climbing Filipinos and Spaniards. What sets El Fili apart from Noli is that it offers various means (ideal for Rizal) of attaining social reform. There were dialogues and incidents that seemed to suggest the apparent unlikelihood of any radical socio-political change. The main character’s persistence to push through with the rebellion, on the other hand, seemed to suggest that independence is attainable through revolution. However, the closing chapters rather imply that freedom must be attained without bloodshed as the story ends with the failure of Simoun’s planned uprising. The ending, some scholars explain however, should not be interpreted as Rizal’s categorical stand against revolution. In fact, Rizal can be said to be against unprepared and disorganized rebellion of an uneducated people, which could have a slight chance of victory. It is important to note that Rizal once commented that an upright, patriotic, and selfless individual like Noli’s Elias would be a viable revolutionary leader. If truth be told, Rizal was said to have confessed that he seriously regretted having killed Elias instead of Ibarra. These seem to prove that Rizal, though practically promoting the attainment of reforms peacefully, also advocated the idea of armed revolution under some conditions. Intelligent as he is, what Rizal would never subscribe to is the “useless spilling of blood,” but not the uprising as such.

CHARACTERS AND IMAGERIES OF EL FILI

A number of other characters from the Noli reappear in this second novel. As the El Fili aims to focus on attacking the Spanish corruption, greed, exploitation and injustice, Rizal did not spare his fellow Filipinos from his harsh criticism of the regime. He condemned them for their greed, corruption, hypocrisy, and cowardice, which contributed so much to the abuses of the civil guards and friars. These personalities are shown in the more important characters that can be interpreted symbolically.

Simoun

He is Crisóstomo Ibarra in disguise, presumed dead at the end of Noli Me Tangere and has returned as the wealthy jeweler Simoun. He appears to be tanned, with sparse beard, long white hair, and large blue-tinted glasses. His manners were described to be crude and confrontational, presenting an arrogant elitist on the outside but secretly plans a violent revolution in order to avenge himself for his misfortunes as Crisóstomo Ibarra, as well as hasten Elias' reformist goals.
He could represent the portion of the Filipino society who got tired of the oppressors’ rule, desperately wanted to overthrow the said rule at all cost. Because of his past failures and disappointments, he turned cynical and revolutionary but had no systematic plan for the new society, if the old one is overthrown.

Basilio

Known to be the son of Sisa and another character from Noli Me Tangere, he is now an aspiring and so far successful physician on his last year at the University in El FIli, waiting for his license to be released upon his graduation. After his mother's death in the Noli, he applied as a servant in Captain Tiago's household in exchange for food, lodging, and being allowed to study. Eventually he took up medicine, and with Tiago having retired from society, he also became the manager of Tiago's vast estate. He is a quiet, contemplative man who is more aware of his immediate duties as a servant, doctor, and member of the student association than he is of politics or patriotic endeavors. His sweetheart is Juli, the daughter of Kabesang Tales whose family took him in when he was a young boy fleeing the Guardia Civil and his deranged mother.
Aware of the rampant injustices and cruelty against his own family, he still remains hostile to any revolution. As a medical student, he is that educated Filipino who has become numbed and ignorant of the well-being of his fellow Filipinos and his country because of his brutal experiences in the past.

Isagani

He is Basilio's friend and is described as a poet, taller and more robust than Basilio although younger. He is the nephew of Padre Florentino, but is also rumored to be Florentino's son with his old sweetheart before he was ordained as a priest. During the events of the novel, Isagani is finishing his studies at the Ateneo Municipal and is planning to take medicine. A member of the student association, Isagani is proud and naive, and tends to put himself on the spot when his ideals are affronted. His unrestrained idealism and poeticism clash with the more practical and mundane concerns of his girlfriend, Paulita Gomez. When Isagani allows himself to be arrested after their association is outlawed, Paulita leaves him for Juanito Peláez. In his final mention in the novel, he was bidding goodbye to his landlords, the Orenda family, to stay with Florentino permanently.
His sense of unproven and unpredictable idealism symbolizes the educated Filipino youths at that time. He may be inspired by his ideals for his country but at crucial moments, he unconsciously forgets those ideals for selfish reasons.

Captain Tiago

Also a character in the Noli, he had several landholdings in Pampanga, Binondo, and Laguna, as well as taking ownership of the Ibarras' vast estate, too. However, he fell into a depression following María Clara’s entry into the convent. He alleviated this by smoking opium, which quickly became an uncontrolled vice, exacerbated by his association with Padre Írene who regularly supplied him with the substance. Tiago hired Basilio as a capista, a servant who was given the opportunity to study as part of his wages. Tiago died of shock upon hearing of Basilio's arrest and Padre Írene's embellished stories of violent revolt.

Don Custodio

He is Custodio de Salazar y Sánchez de Monteredondo, a famous "contractor" who was tasked by the Captain-General to develop the students association's proposal for an academy for the teaching of Spanish, but was then also under pressure from the priests not to compromise their prerogatives as monopolizers of instruction. Some of the novel's most scathing criticism is reserved for Custodio, who is portrayed as an opportunist who married his way into high society, who regularly criticized favored ideas that did not come from him, but was ultimately, laughably incompetent in spite of his scruples.
As an average, unqualified Spanish official who holds several positions in the country, he does not welcome any idea from others. In the novel, Rizal portrayed him as one who finds pleasure in developing a feeling of inferiority among the people.

Maria Clara

Symbolically speaking, she represents the friar-dominated Filipino culture, which, at that time, is ripe for revolution. After suffering from untold physical and spiritual abuse for at least 13 years, Maria Clara dies — hence, there was no eventual union between Simoun and Maria Clara, not even meeting together since they parted 13 years ago (because Simoun was not permitted to do so).

Kabesang Tales

Also known as Telesforo Juan de Dios, a former kabesa of Barrio Sagpang in Tiani. He was a sugarcane planter who cleared lands he thought belonged to no one, losing his wife and eldest daughter in the endeavor. When the Dominicans took over his farm, he fought to his last money to have it retained in his possession. While his suit against the Dominicans was ongoing, he was kidnapped by the bandits while he was out patrolling his fields. Having no money to pay his captors, his daughter Juli was forced to become a maid in exchange for her mistress paying his ransom. When his son Tano was conscripted into the Guardia Civil, Tales had no money (again) to pay for Tano's exclusion from the draft. When Tales lost the case, he not only lost his farm but was also dealt with a heavy fine. He later joined the bandits and became one of their fiercest commanders. Tandang Selo, his father, would later on join his band after the death of Juli.
He embodied those who join the bandits for personal revenge after suffering from the maltreatments caused by the friars.

Juli

Her full name is Juliana de Dios, the girlfriend of Basilio, and the youngest daughter of Kabesang Tales. When Tales was captured by bandits, Juli petitioned Hermana Penchang to pay for his ransom. In exchange, she had to work as Penchang's maid. Basilio ransomed her and bought a house for her family. When Basilio was sent to prison, Juli approached Tiani's curate, Padre Camorra, for help. When Camorra tried to rape her instead, Juli jumped to her death from the church's tower.
She symbolized love for honor and chastity when she took her own life instead of submitting her womanhood to Fr. Camorra.

Placido Penitente

Another young student who desires to go abroad for a better life. Upon learning about Simoun’s planned revolt, he got so scared that he was undecided whether to join or not. He is that part of the Philippine society who does not have a sense of nationalism or social conscience.