Nueva Calamba: A great dream that never was

The Messy Hacienda de Calamba Agrarian Dispute

A protracted agrarian legal dispute over vast tracts of land in Hacienda de Calamba (now Calamba, Laguna) between the Dominican friars and the prominent families in Calamba happened between 1887 to 1891.

On August 14, 1890, in spite of an appeal before the Tribunal Supremo (Supreme Court) in Madrid, the Rizals were ordered to abandon their family home — their furniture and other movables were removed and intentionally left on the streets for the people to see.

Subsequent evictions of families followed affecting 12 more prominent families. They all suffered the same humiliation as the Rizals with their belongings left in the streets purposely meant to warn the people of Calamba not to engage in insurrectionary activities.

However, after sometime, some evicted tenants returned and retook possessions of their lands by force. They built new houses on the lands of bona fide tenants without securing permit from the authorities.

Worse, another evictions ensued in February 1891 with more than 300 families stripped of their lands, houses, farm animals and crops. Their relatives and friends were banned to extend accommodation to them, thus, they were forced to live either in the streets, under the shades of trees or at the lakeshore.

Worst, Calamba was in total chaos: calesas (calash) and horses were subjected to document ownership scrutiny; boys and girls aged 12 and above were compelled to secure cedula (residence tax certificate) which costs 4 reales (equivalent to one-half peso) at that time; confiscations of everything that evictees owned; maltreatment and and other cases of physical violence.

Further, chaotic mass evictions took place in October and November 1891 which involved deployment of fifty (50) troops of the Regimiento Peninsular de Artilleria as commanded by then Spanish Governor-General Valeriano Weyler. Wooden houses were dismantled and building materials were turned over to their respective owners. Unclaimed building materials after 24 hours were then burned to ashes.

This infamous chaotic incident ‘spurred loud debasing outcries against the Dominican Order in Manila, Hong Kong and Madrid’.

[Reference: Atty. Robert John I. Donesa, The Hacienda de Calamba Agrarian Problem (1887–1891): A Historical Assessment (a graduate research), 2012]

Nueva Calamba — Filipino Colony in North Borneo

The devastation brought about by the land dispute was indeed disheartening to Rizal and to the people of Calamba, thus, Rizal’s encounter with William Pryer of the British North Borneo Company sparked a glimpse of hope: Nueva (New) Calamba — an agricultural colony for the displaced farmers and tenants of Calamba.

As I previously mentioned (in Part 1), Rizal proposed to lease at least 5,000 acres of land with an option to purchase thousands of acres more in North Borneo for 950 years where he could relocate his family and the evicted farmers of Calamba and devote themselves to build an agricultural settlement with him serving as the leader. Settlers would not render free labor nor be forced to serve in military unless there is a territorial threat. They would autonomously rule themselves with their own laws under the safeguard of the Company.

In his letter to his Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt dated February 23, 1892, Rizal stated: “if it is impossible for me to give my country liberty. I should like to give it at least to these noble countrymen of mine in other lands”.

Rizal’s agricultural settlement project gained support from Jaena, Luna, Bautista, Blumentritt and other friends in Europe. On the other hand, Rizal’s brother-in-law Manuel T. Hidalgo disagreed with the planned agricultural colony because he was against the idea of leaving the country and then live in a foreign land. Besides, he was concerned as to what their fellow Filipinos would say. All their sacrifices for the country would be in vain if Filipinos would just end up leaving their homeland. Hidalgo preferred to exhaust all means for the welfare of the country before even considering leaving somewhere else.

Rizal and Despujol

Rizal knew from the start that he would need the permission from the Spanish government in order to realize his agricultural colony in North Borneo, thus, he wrote a letter to the incumbent Spanish Governor-General Eulogio Despujol a few days before he left Hong Kong to visit Sandakan, North Borneo.

In his letter dated March 21, 1892, Rizal said:

“I request Your Excellency to grant us the necessary permission to change our nationality, to sell our little property that has been left to us by the many disturbances that we have had, and to guarantee the emigration of all those who for some reason or other have incurred the unfavorable criticism of more or less powerful persons who will remain in the Philippines even after Your Excellency’s administration.”

Rizal received no written reply from Governor-General Despujol instead, upon his return to Hong Kong, the Spanish Consul verbally informed Rizal that the Governor-General considered the settlement project as unpatriotic since the Philippines at that time was short of labor to cultivate its lands. Moreover, this Filipino community might become the base for Filipinos to launch a revolution against Spain in the future. The Consul also told Rizal about Despujol’s invitation to discuss the matter in details in Manila.

Though apprehensive that this invite was a mere trap, and in spite of the objections and warnings from his family and friends, Rizal decided to return to Manila to confer with the Governor-General and still push for the approval of his plan for the sake of the displaced tenants and subtenants of Calamba.

The Aftermath

The Nueva Calamba, Rizal’s perdido eden for Filipinos, was a promising dream paradise that never was. Just a few days after Rizal’s visit to Sandakan, William Pryer wrote him that the terms and conditions of the negotiations had been forwarded to London for further examination — meaning it could take a long or even indefinite time before it gets an approval.

This also implied delicate geo-political complications since North Borneo was under the British government while Philippines was a Spanish colony — in other words, previous political skirmishes and existing treaties among the strong Western colonizers would come into play. In addition, the lease agreement between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British North Borneo Company would further complicate the matter.

Another thing, Pryer himself with whom Rizal had been dealing with had no full authority over the British North Borneo Company. In fact, he completely retired from working and left the company later in 1892.

Furthermore, Despujol’s invitation turned out to be a trap indeed to contain Rizal. Just a few days upon his return to Manila, planted leaflets entitled Pobres Frailes (Poor Friars) were apparently found in his sister’s pillow case in the hotel where they stayed. Rizal was arrested and initially detained in Fort Santiago in Manila for the crime of “attempting to decatholicize this ever Spanish Philippine islands.” He was later exiled in Dapitan, Zamboanga.

What-ifs

What if Rizal miraculously obtained Spain’s and London’s approval to put up an autonomous agricultural settlement for Filipinos in North Borneo? No doubt, Rizal and the would-be Filipino settlers could easily turn the wilderness of Sandakan into a productive agricultural estate and build a free, progressive and peaceful community governed by their own rules.

Now whether the settlers could remain united and politically stable, I’m not really sure since Filipinos every now and then would rather hate and fight each other than sit down, negotiate and collaborate. I would not be surprised that 5 or 10 years down the line, there would already be 3 to 5 independent, non-cooperating (if not warring) smaller Filipino agricultural colonies in North Borneo.

On the flipside however, if Rizal and his Calamba comrades could really espouse and commit to a just, united, truthful and humane society unlike the kind of corrupt and oppressive Spanish colonial government, then the Nueva Calamba paradise that Rizal dreamt of for Filipinos could be realized eventually.

End of Part 2 of 2. To read Part 1, click here.

Due to a land dispute in Calamba, Jose Rizal thought of leasing a piece of land in North Borneo and establish an agricultural colony for displaced Filipinos

North Borneo Today

A FRENCH ARBITRATION COURT ruled on February 28, 2022 that Malaysia must pay the heirs of the 19th century Sultanate of Sulu the sum of $14.9b to settle a colonial-era land lease deal in 1878 between then Sultan Jamal-ul Azam of Sulu and a British trading company. The deal involved the lease of North Borneo (now the oil-rich Sabah) for 5,000 Spanish dollars per annum. This territory was ceded to the Sultan of Sulu in 1658 by the Sultan of Brunei as a sign of gratitude for helping them suppress a rebellion.

After the Second World War, in June 1946, the British North Borneo Chartered Company officially dissolved and the territory became a British Crown colony until the formation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963. On the other hand, one year prior to Malaysia’s formation, on September 12, 1962, the Philippine government under then President Diosdado Macapagal claimed the territory of North Borneo after the heirs of Sultan of Sulu ceded the full sovereignty, title and dominion over North Borneo to the Philippines.

Though it remains unresolved and presently inactive, this territorial claim has not been abandoned and thus may still be actively pursued by the Philippine government in the future.

Rizal’s Fallout from La Solidaridad

In early 1891, with the festering internal rivalry between the Rizalistas and Pilaristas and the infamous 1890 New Year’s Eve party incident over a petty quarrel, Rizal turned lukewarm towards the Propaganda Movement which eventually led to his fallout from La Solidaridad. In spite of getting elected to be the ‘Responsable’ (leader) of the movement, he politely declined the position and his disappointments drew him away from his fellow illustrados.

In a letter to Jose Ma Basa dated January 21, 1891, he opened up his idea of putting up a college in Hong Kong where they could teach languages, sciences and arts pretty much patterned after the Jesuits schools. Note that this was obviously a dramatic shift from a lobby-propaganda group in Europe towards a more aggressive and action-oriented approach to reforms through education (in Asia).

After a few days, Rizal left Madrid and went to Biarritz, France to finish remaining chapters of his second novel El Filibusterismo. Later on February 11, Rizal wrote Mariano Ponce in Madrid that he was too busy and could not send articles for La Solidaridad, a subtle gesture that he was distancing himself from the propagandists.

When El Filibusterismo finally got off the press in September, Rizal sent a copy to Marcelo H. Del Pilar and told him that he was completely retiring from politics for good. Later in October, Rizal explicitly told Del Pilar he was not writing for La Solidaridad and that he was renouncing his pensions from the Propaganda. In his letter to his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizal confessed that he left La Solidaridad so that others could manage the newspaper and avoid schism among the Filipinos in Madrid.

Finally on October 18, 1891, Rizal left Marseilles for Hong Kong.

Rizal and the British North Borneo Chartered Company

I never knew that Rizal, our National Hero, actually planned to build a colony for Filipinos in North Borneo. In my college days, I don’t remember discussing such a grand plan in any of our Rizal classes which generally focused more on his excellent academic superiority, literary ingenuity — specially his two novels Noli and Fili, world travels, and his colorful love stories.(Side note: all Filipino college students are required to take a course on Rizal’s life, works and writings as mandated by Republic Act No. 1425 enacted in 1956 and was implemented since then. The Rizal Law was sponsored by then Senator Claro M. Recto.)

On his way to Hong Kong aboard the steamer Melbourne, Rizal met an Englishman Mr. William Burgess Pryer (1843–1899) and his wife who were on their way to North Borneo. Pryer was an accountant for a British company in Shanghai when he met Baron von Overbeck and Alfred Dent who negotiated with the Sultan of Brunei and later with the Sultan of Sulu regarding the land use of North Borneo in 1877 and 1878, respectively.

Rizal brought the idea of putting up a Filipino agricultural community in North Borneo specifically for those farmers displaced by a land dispute with the Dominicans in Calamba, Laguna. In the succeeding months, Rizal drafted his plan and continued his correspondence with Pryer who was very receptive of the idea.

Eventually in March 1892, Pryer invited Rizal to come over and visit Sandakan, hence, Rizal went to Sandakan on April 6, 1892 to present the details of the proposed agreement with Pryer who then ‘summarized the points discussed and sent it to Rizal in writing’. (Ambeth Ocampo, Looking Back, Rizal’s Sandakan Dreams, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sept. 4, 2002)

End of Part 1 of 2. To read Part 2, click here.

TODAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 MARKS the ‘Golden Anniversary’ of the proclamation of Martial Law in the entire Philippines (Proclamation No. 1081) by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos which lasted for 8 years when it was lifted on January 17, 1981 — a superficial pious gesture since Pope John II was visiting the Philippines for the canonization of Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint prospect then. Though lifted officially, the atrocities and human rights violations continued just the same for the rest of Marcos’ dictatorial regime.

Human Rights Violations

Human rights violations committed during the Martial Law (ML) years proved that Filipinos could be brutally violent against fellow Filipinos, at times even more brutal than our previous foreign oppressors. Atrocities ‘particularly targeted political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship’. Thousands of murder victims tortured and mutilated before their bodies were dumped in various places for the public to discover… to sow fear among the people.

Amnesty International documented extensive human rights violations which clearly showed a pattern of widespread arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, killings and torture of people that were critical of the government or perceived as political opponents. In an interview with the organization in 1975, President Marcos told Amnesty International that over 50,000 people had been arrested and detained under martial law from 1972–1975; those arrested included church workers, human rights defenders, legal aid lawyers, labour leaders and journalists. Amnesty International also documented a pattern of torture in interviews with prisoners from that time. In 1981, the organization released further research on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions that took place from 1976 onwards.

Martial Law Babies

I was a mere 4 year old toddler playfully running around the streets half-naked when Martial Law Era began, and many regard our age group as the “Martial Law Babies”, too young to comprehend the socio-political turmoil haunting the Philippines at that time. When I started my primary schooling, the so-called “first quarter storm” probably had already ended. No news about violent street protests perhaps because most of the perceived enemies of the state back then had already been arrested, detained, raped, tortured or worst, killed. By that time, the dissenters had already been silenced and pacified, and the media had been fully controlled by the government.

Schools and mass media had been bombarded with propagandist jingles like the ubiquitous “Bagong Lipunan” (New Society) and “Wastong Pagkain” (Right Food) songs. And who will forget the daily dose of ‘nutri-bun’ (nutritious bun) and the song line ‘Nutri-bun, nutri-bun, pampalaki ng inyong tiyan’ (Nutri-bun, nutri-bun, make your tummies big) to the tune of the famous song Jesus Christ Superstar. Occasionally, pupils were asked to sell the left-over nutri-buns in the streets outside the school apparently because these buns had to be sold-out (I have no idea if teachers and/or school principals earn a few centavos kickback from the sale, or maybe they were just following orders from the ‘higher-ups’).

Curfew was a commonly and mysteriously used word that ML toddlers like me had no clue about. We had zero knowledge on what elections were — Marcos was the one and only President we knew of, alongside the Prime Minister Cesar Virata, the Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Labor Minister Blas Ople and a bunch of other ministers.

September was then moderately anticipated because of the twin no-school holidays: (1) September 11, being the birthdate of Marcos, and (2) September 21, being the anniversary of the infamous Martial Law proclamation day. In retrospect, Filipinos ‘celebrating’ the Martial Law day was ridiculously phenomenal!

Freedom?

The common grown-ups back then were subdued and mum like innocent lambs when it comes to socio-political issues. During their ordinary and lively ‘kwentuhan’ (chats, discussions), when someone brings-up the name ‘Marcos’ or ‘Macoy’, someone would usually put his or her index finger over his or her mouth as a reminder to speak softly… or as a warning to be careful not to say anything derogatory to the dictator or the government. Their lively and loud kwentuhan would just quickly turn to quiet whispers and mumbling. ML babies like me were simply puzzled and clueless on why was it so. It turned out that it was a precautionary measure they do to avoid getting arrested for no apparent reason, no arrest warrant needed. Who would want to be a ‘desaparecido’ (disappeared)?

Freedom of expression back then was nil, an illusion, an elusive dream for Filipinos. This time around though, the oppressors were not the usual stranger white-skinned foreign colonizers but our own ‘kayumanggi’ (brown) Filipino brothers.

The Assassination, The Awakening

Ninoy Aquino, one of the key political rivals of Ferdinand Marcos, was assassinated upon his arrival in Manila, right at the airport tarmac on August 21, 1983 — I was already a junior high school student then. This tragic event reignited a sudden political rage among the timid and repressed people.

For the first time, I witnessed indignation rallies and other protests in the streets of Manila. Anti-government graffiti proliferated in public walls and streets. One by one, progressive newspapers sprouted and the people were obviously sick and tired of controlled print media… no doubt Filipinos were thirsty and hungry for truth, for free and no nonsense reporting and political views.

At this point, I realized that beneath the superficialities of the Marcos administration were countless violations of basic human rights committed by the police and military — the very institutions mandated to uphold and protect the lives and welfare of the common citizens had become the instruments of oppression.

Gradually, people started to freely speak their minds, express their grievances, exercise their inherent rights and take active political actions until their sacrifices finally bore fruit and won their freedom back in 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.

Takeaways

The tales of several thousands of human rights violations committed during the Martial Law Era continue to haunt our present day society. Up to this day 50 years after, the socio-political wounds inflicted upon us, particularly the victims and their survivors, remain unconfronted and unresolved. The reparation efforts remain elusive.

Worse, the surviving heirs of the dictator together with the architects and perpetrators of ML show neither remorse nor regret. No acts of contrition whatsoever, they even justify the Martial Law Era and proclaim it as the country’s “golden age”?

The dark days of ML brought about serious socio-political wounds that could linger and haunt us for decades (or even centuries) if we don’t confront and resolve it expeditiously. Reparation is definitely a positive start and thus must be pursued and implemented accordingly. Marcos Jr, our newly-elected president and son of the Father of Martial Law, must exhibit humility by acknowledging the abuses committed during martial law; and then reach-out, empathize, apologize and make amends with the surviving victims and/or their relatives. Serve justice where it is due and punish the guilty offenders as needed.

Our colonizers Spain, United States and Japan committed unimaginable war-related atrocities against our own patriots in the past and yet none of them formally and officially expressed sincere apologies and sought our forgiveness. Ironically, we now treat them as allies and business partners while we ourselves treat each other as mortal enemies, extremely polarized and still entangled with our multi-generational hate and endless political bickering. Sadly, this divisiveness is one of the key reasons why our country stay impoverished, forever buried in misery.

How can we possibly end our socio-political predicaments? Do we really intend to put an end to this ML narratives, start the healing process and finally move forward? Do we as Filipino people really desire to bury the hatchet and formulate an acceptable closure to this sorry chapter in our history?

If not, then maybe we are already contented with perpetual denial of human rights abuses committed, on one hand; and with the annual ‘never-again, never forget’ street protests, on the other hand.

Perhaps we Filipinos want to stay exceedingly fragmented and mortally polarized for the next 50 years? Or maybe 100 years? Or 500 years? Or simply in perpetuity?

Sayang naman ang mga sakripisyo ng ating mga bayani ng kahapon at ng ngayon! [All the sacrifices of our heroes of yesterday and of today will just be wasted.]

FINALLY! Young Filipino Tennis Superstar Alex Eala wins the US Open Juniors Girls’ Singles championship — the historical first-ever grand slam title for the Philippines. A big wow for her and for all the sports-loving Filipino fans around the world!

Alex Eala delivered an impressive win in two sets, 6–2, 6–4 against Lucie Havlickova of Czech Republic in the US Open finals in New York, USA on Saturday September 10, 2022 (early Sunday morning in Manila).

The17 year-old Filipina tennis champion Alex Eala trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy and had already previously won two Grand Slam titles in the junior doubles tournaments, winning in 2020 in the Australian Open and then in the French Open last year. No doubt, Rafa Nadal and the whole academy are as ecstatic and jubilant as Alex and her fans!!!

Competitive Athletes, Pumped-up Fans

Philippines probably is one of the most pumped-up sports-loving countries in the world. Filipino athletes are very competitive players… and the fans are simply one of the craziest, most enthusiastic and animated fans in the whole wide world of sports (though at times they could become harsh and rude too even at their own team, even at a home court).

I myself was pumped-up while watching the nerve-racking game (in my internet-connected laptop though!), who would not be? Alex is the tournament’s 10th seed player battling with Lucie of Czech Republic, the tournament’s 2nd seed. At times I clenched my fists and yelled ‘Yes!!!’ — perhaps in unison with all the Filipino fans watching — whenever she scores a point. Likewise, I grimaced and whispered ‘oopss, ahhs and ooh-ohs’ at Alex’s unforced errors specially at double faults, or whenever Lucie scores an impressive point and shows signs of a strong comeback. Believe me, Lucie’s very talented and very intimidating tennis superstar too! In my mind I’ve been shouting my heart out: ‘you can do it Alex!’.

One time, I even found my left hand fist-bumping with my own right hand in excitement. Funny indeed!!! And when she scores the championship point, can’t help but raise both my hands with tightly clenched fists shouting ‘yes!’, as if I’m watching at courtside cheering and celebrating with Filipino fans in New York. Unforgettable was Alex’s dramatic throwing of her tennis racket while doing her dinosaur-like winning roar!!! I could only imagine all her struggles and hard work flashing through her mind at this very triumphant moment! Wow!

Humble Victorious Champ

In her speech, Alex showed her class and humility by first acknowledging her opponent Lucie who herself was equally gracious and humble in congratulating Alex. Definitely, there would be future nerve-racking Grand Slam tennis matches between these two talented young athletes. With teary eyes, Alex delivered her heartfelt message in Filipino language:

“Buong puso ko itong ipinaglaban hindi lang para sa sarili ko kundi para makatulong din ako sa kinabukasan ng Philippine tennis. So hindi lang ‘to panalo ko, panalo natin lahat”.

[I fought for this with all my heart, not only for myself but to help the future of Philippine tennis. This is not only my victory, but a victory for us all.]

I tip my hat to Alex Eala who now joins the ranks of Great Filipino Athletes who brought honor for the Philippines.

Watching Grand Slam tennis matches will now be a thousand times more fun and exciting for Filipino sports fans!!!

In case you’re interested or you’re one of thousands of Filipino sports fans, you could visit Alex Eala’s FB to shoot your congratulatory message and enjoy this victorious moment.

TOWARDS THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY, a group of young elite Filipinos in Spain embarked on a nationalist propaganda movement through books, leaflets, and newspaper articles to push their goals which can be summarized into three: (1) for Philippines to be fully incorporated into Spain as a province, not just a colony, with Filipinos granted with citizenship and rights accorded to Spanish citizens; (2) expulsion of Spanish friars from the Philippines and empowerment of a native Filipino clergy; and (3) cultural movement to promote the writing and artistic skills of the young Filipino elite and assert intellectual sophistication that was on par with Spanish counterparts. The propagandists were mostly young men, the illustrados (rich, elite), often mestizos/creoles (children to a Spanish parent and a Filipino or Chinese parent) whose families can afford to send them to study in Spanish universities in Madrid and Barcelona. The advocacy was primarily an assimilationist movement rather than a separatist one. (Harvard Divinity School, https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/propaganda-movement)

Prominent members of the Propaganda Movement were Jose Rizal an author of novels and essays; Graciano Lopez Jaena, publisher of La Solidaridad (“The Solidarity”, the official newspaper of the movement); Mariano Ponce, the secretary, and Marcelo H. Del Pilar who later replaced Jaena as the editor of newspaper.

The Rivalry

Although the Propaganda Movement had made some progress towards attaining its goals, rivalry ensued between its two bigwigs Del Pilar and Rizal. Towards the end of 1890, when Del Pilar took the role of editor of La Solidaridad, its goals had expanded and his management approach and editorial policy occasionally differed from Rizal’s political views. Perhaps the two failed to confront and settle their differences properly and privately, the dispute continued and eventually the rivalry spilled over to other members who naturally took sides. Eventually, the propagandists were divided between the Pilaristas (Del Pilar supporters) and the Rizalistas (Rizal supporters).

Petty Quarrel

Ambeth Ocampo, a popular and multi-awarded present-day Filipino historian, wrote in his column about the “childish tiff” between Rizal and Del Pilar that happened in their traditional New Year’s Eve (December 31, 1890) party, based on Del Pilar’s account in a letter to his brother-in-law Deodato Arellano. The culprit of the petty quarrel were the lowly coffee and champagne. During the party, a witty resolution signed by 25 of 31 guests was read aloud: Del Pilar would pay for the coffee, Cunanan for the cigars, and then the champagne cost to be divided between Rizal and Dominador Gomez, who was yet to arrive. Both Del Pilar and Cunanan accepted the resolution, but Rizal protested and argued. Rizal suggested everybody should contribute for the champagne and started collecting one peseta per person. However, some paid their pesetas while some refused to contribute. Very ingenious and sharp arguments erupted from those opposed to Rizal’s proposition. Perhaps the arguments were embellished with jokes, which may or may not be offensive, but could be taken seriously. Del Pilar then approached the group and asked them secretly not to spoil the party. Apparently, no more jokes about Rizal followed but the dinner ended on a sour note with Rizal remarking on slackers in school. (Ambeth R. Ocampo, “Looking Back”, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 27, 2018)

Moreover, according to Augusto de Viana, an Associate Professor at University of Santo Tomas, “Rizal was publicly humiliated into having to do a speech in a meeting and his companions were cheering him. It turned out he was made to pay for the drinks when he did not have the money”. He was probably referring to the same New Year’s Eve incident.

The propagandists later agreed to elect a Responsable, their new leader, to fix their differences and pursue unity among them. On the contrary, the election further led to divisive unpleasant split with both the Rizalistas and the Pilaristas actively campaigning for their respective prospect. On election day, Rizal won with the majority votes but short of the required two-thirds vote. On the succeeding poll, Rizal won again but still short of the required votes. On the third time, Mariano Ponce apparently appealed to some Pilaristas to give-in to the will of the majority, thus, Rizal finally became the elected Responsable. However, Rizal politely declined the position. Consequently, Rizal left Madrid, became inactive in the Propaganda Movement, and stopped contributing to La Solidaridad… in spite of attempts made by Del Pilar to settle their differences and rejoin the Propaganda. (Jensen DG. Manebog, “The Love-and-Hate Relationship of Jose Rizal and Marcelo H. Del Pilar”, September 1, 2013). With Del Pilar as the editor, La Solidaridad managed to continue its publication but Rizal’s absence undeniably made a huge impact. After sometime, La Solidaridad stopped and folded due to financial difficulty.

Sad Thing

The sad thing is: the Filipino illustrados (highly-educated elite) advocating noble aspirations for the Philippines back then failed to peacefully settle petty disagreements on whose gonna pay for the coffee and champagne for their traditional New Year’s Eve party! Was the party their tradition or was it the heated discourse on petty childish matters? How could they bring about monumental societal changes when they themselves could not handle minuscule issues? When they themselves could not reconcile and consolidate their differing points of view on socio-political issues at hand? When they themselves lack the drive to build consensus and could not agree on a middle ground? Sadly, La Solidaridad failed to keep its solidity.

Monumental Blunder

The Propaganda’s dreams turned from shiny, shimmering, splendid dreams to shattered dreams, indeed a monumental blunder. Their nationalistic initiatives were definitely something that Filipinos should be proud of and thankful for, but we must learn important lessons from their failures. Their assimilationist advocacy was a complete disaster and the impact was almost nil. Instead, about five years later, an armed and bloody Revolution erupted led by Bonifacio and the masses — contrary to the goals of the Propaganda Movement.

What-Ifs

What if Spain turned out to be a caring and responsible Mother Land to its colony the Philippines? What if the Spanish government took actions against the abuses made by Spanish friars and upheld the rights of the common Filipinos? What if Spain granted authentic freedom and equal rights to every Filipino just like its own citizens? What if Spain opted to filipinize the core institutions, promoted self-governance and eventually granted full independence at the appropriate time? What if the propagandists remained faithful, united and committed to each other and their goals? Would there be an armed conflict still?

Takeaways

Did the Propagandists really care for the entire Filipinos including those in the lower segments of society like the peasants and the working class? Their assimilationist goals could be interpreted as self-serving since they, the privilege illustrados, would become the rightful caretakers and officiales del govierno if Spain so decided to grant full autonomy or independence to its colony. Would they turn-out to be great reformists and leaders or would they be just like the abusive oppressors? Would the illustrados just end up in fierce rivalries and keep fighting each other even over petty and trivial things like the ‘who’s gonna pay for the coffee and the champagne’ tiff between the Pilaristas and the Rizalistas?

Why do Filipinos, then and now, love to hate each other? Was it because of the long-term effect of the divide and conquer mindset scheme implanted by our colonizers? Or maybe, indifference and mutual hate are intrinsically encoded in our DNA? Filipinos whether in the Philippines or abroad could easily end-up divided and fighting each other… even over superficial stuffs and disagreements. There were, there are and there will always be countless and endless stories of splitting-up, factionalism, rivalries, long-term grudges in Filipino communities, civic groups and organizations across the globe! Filipinos tend to be more friendly, trusting and forever faithful to their foreign friends than with their fellow Filipino friends and acquaintances.

Without a doubt, Filipinos are nice and fun-loving people but we have to understand, accept and overcome our tragic flaws. We are a people who could hardly settle our differences peacefully and productively. We are poor negotiators. We don’t engage much in intellectual, productive and orderly discourse. Instead, we’d rather engage in offensive name-calling, insulting exchanges and derogatory invectives, irrationally.

We are very non-confrontational — we don’t openly burst-out our grievances to the rightful persons who can authoritatively address an issue, but would rather discuss them with fellow subordinates who are just as helpless and coy. At times, we pretend to be okay… that we’re good… we’re fine… while deep inside we are furiously hurt and burning with anger.

We are ruled by the tyranny of the majority (51% rule) while the minority remain muted, helpless and disregarded on issues even though they are right, more logical and sensible. We know nothing about consensus building and working together to arrive at a middle ground that we could live by, acceptable to all the parties concerned. This is very evident in our present-day brand of politics and politicians.

We know little about managing conflicts and conflict resolution procedures. We like shortcuts so much that we just opt to walk away and let a good relationship go bad, fade away, and vanish — than to undertake the more challenging process of resolving conflicts and arriving at a sound compromise while keeping our relationships in tact.

Rizal, Del Pilar, the Rizalistas, the Pilaristas and the rest of the propagandistas should have known better. Their glorious aspirations were standing on jelly, shaky ground if they would forget about mutual admiration and respect… and just cling on their superior intellect and elevated ego.

GETTING BOOED by tens of thousands of basketball fans in a home game is probably the worst nightmare any head coach could ever have. After applauding each and every player, the Filipino basketball crazy fans gave a roaring, thundering, earth-shaking boos when the Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes was called… right before the eyes of his players… right before the eyes of all spectators in the jampacked arena… right before the eyes of all Filipino basketball fans around the world… right before the eyes of the Saudi Arabia basketball squad and other foreigners present… and maybe right before the eyes of several thousands of multi-racial basketball fans watching across the globe. What else could be more humiliating than this?

On the flip side however, after winning the game, the Gilas players rallied behind their head coach and expressed their full support and respect with none other than the Fil-Am Utah Jazz star Jordan Clarkson saying “he’s our coach, he’s one of us, he works hard, he puts us all together”. Indeed a saving grace, a tiny flickering spark of light amidst a dark embarrassing incident in a big sports event — JC sounded and acted more Filipino than most booing Filipinos present in the SM Mall of Asia Arena and elsewhere in the world. Similarly, other Gilas cagers Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos and Japeth Aguilar also expressed their unwavering support for their head coach.

Sure a lot of fans are not pleased with the recent performances of the national basketball team with Chot Reyes on the steering wheel, but humiliating him bigtime at home is uncalled-for and way overboard. Aren’t they the same Filipino basketball crazy fans cheering the same Gilas Pilipinas PUSO team in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain? Don’t they remember that Chot Reyes was also the head coach back then and that he’s been very instrumental in bringing back the Philippines in the World Cup after decades of non-appearance? Cheers could indeed easily turn into boos… ‘hossanas’ to ‘crucify-hims’.

Perhaps there are two bunches of fans: the real fans and the fake fans… pretty much the same as there are REAL news and FAKE news. Real fans are loyal enthusiastic supporters who will stick around not only in victories but so much more during defeats. Fake fans are just winner-wannabes — they are only after the glory of winning but too weak to embrace the agony of defeat, incapable of picking-up the pieces, of learning new lessons, of standing-up and fighting back again. Most winner-wannabes are immature cry-babies addicted to the glory of victory but don’t see any value in defeat. They will never be humble in victory nor gracious in defeat.

New Filipino Social Norm?

This sorry booing incident definitely tells something more serious beyond its surface. Disrespecting a national basketball team’s coach in our own backyard before foreign nationals implies deeper disturbing socio-cultural realities that may have already gone mainstream. Is rudeness the new Filipino social norm? Is castigating and demeaning our own before our guests and strangers the new cool ‘astig’ thing to do? Isn’t Pilipinas the land of ‘po’ and ‘opo’, of ‘ates’ and ‘kuyas’, of ‘titos’ and ‘titas’, of ‘nanays’ and ‘tatays’, of ‘lolos’ and ‘lolas’? Are we willing to forego our Filipino brand of politeness, civility, decency and respect, and then bastardize our core cultural values with rubbish discourtesy, impertinence and false pride? Is the ‘Perlas ng Silanganan’ now turning to be the land of ‘Boy Bastos’, of the ‘barumbados’, and the ‘walang-modos’? Is our present day society the epitome of the nation that Rizal and Bonifacio dreamt of, fought for and died for?

Fragmented Filipinos

Perhaps such things keep happening simply because we Filipinos do love to hate each other. Filipinos, then and now, are as fragmented as the thousands of islands in our archipelagic world, our nuestro perdido eden. The long-term impact of divide and rule strategy of our colonizers has made us Filipinos in the state of perennial cold war among ourselves up to this very point in time. We all celebrate the triumph of our independence every 12th of June, yet we don’t have the courage to accept the fact that our Kalayaan was short-lived and that the Revolution was actually a tragic failure primarily because of internal conflicts between the Magdiwangs and the Magdalos. The fact of the matter is, Filipinos never really experienced authentic sense of unity and it still remains an elusive dream to chase.

The stories of rivalries, treachery and betrayals remain untold, unconfronted, unscrutinized and unresolved. Our history classes dwell so much on trivialized whos, whats, whens and wheres, not much on the more engaging hows, whys and what-ifs. No serious historical discourse take place at the Masang Pilipino level… hence, no social lessons learned… no takeaways passed on. Today, our young simply regard our history as mere tsismis (gossip). Too bad.

Demystifying why Filipinos do love to hate each other seems like a daunting but worthy endeavor. Unearthing the origins of this trans-generational hate no matter how ugly and disgusting they may be, could potentially bring about acceptance, closure, reconciliation and social healing. Then, and only then, maybe we can learn to appreciate our real identity as a people that we can be proud of and eventually work together for common good.