By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
(First of 2 parts. The author is a freshman in college. This was the result of one of his work assignments)
Between Rizal’s works, “Letter to Women of Malolos” and “Filipino Farmers”, I have noticed that in both cases, Rizal was being critical. He pointed out the lies and corruption of the Spanish but showed his love for the Filipinos.
After reading them both, perhaps even in the midst of reading the second work, one would know the writer of both works may are the same, but in different garbs.
The author of “Filipino Farmers” was an intelligent Spanish subject who held deep love for his own people. Not afraid of the repercussions of his actions, he did what he thought best for both his people and the Mother country, Spain. Critical as though Rizal was in both works, the purported author of “Filipino Farmers” was a man still holding out hope for the empire of Spain, a naive person who still held loyalty in his heart. Enough loyalty to Spain that he would inform them of the irreparable damages that the local government has been doing. Corruption and inefficient administration would create more rebel minded people than loyal subjects. Rizal at this time was an exemplary subject to an empire that did not deserve him. After reading both works, the emotion poured in one work cannot be compared to the other. “Letter to Women of Malolos” was a work at the receiving end of a dam that broke loose, finally pouring out were the confessions and the mind of a radical. So radical as to even suggest taking a child away from a mother, should she be so ignorant. It truly is the work of a man that wanted independence, not reformation.
In this work, the author had finally seen through the lies of a corrupt empire and saw what they really were, malcontent of giving heed to the rights of its subjects and only content to have them in chains.
Personally, I had been more entranced by this letter rather than the “Filipino Farmers”, for the writer had been formal, chained, and trapped to seemingly say what he really wanted to say.
“Letter to Malolos” was informal, raw, and filled with the emotions of a free and enlightened man who loved his country and her people deeply. It is a letter that, although written decades ago, still is badly needed for the people of this country. Even now, the people are being deceived, tricked by the people in power, and thieves in churches steal from the poor.
I am from Baguio City, and recently I had the chance to go back home and visit my family. On the way back to school, I had seen the state of our people from the windows of a bus. In Manila, I had seen the state of many of our people, children without shirts sit beside the highway. And while on the skyway, I had seen our own version of a suburb, closely compacted houses that rusted all over, leaving little to no room to walk through. But this was hardly the surprise, as we passed by among this sea of rusted houses was a church so big and so clean, it did not look to belong in the area. It was one whose members are usually the poor, and not a speck of dust was on its walls. I had felt conflicted, it should be clean and majestic, after all it is supposed to be the house of God. But Christianity is all about giving back to the people, it did not seem right that a church can be so big and clean but the surrounding people have to continue living in horrid conditions.
“Letter to Women of Malolos” calmed me down, and helped me get to a conclusion. Jesus truly did not charge the people for his teachings nor did he steal from the people. It is not right for our people to live like rats while corrupt priests live like kings. Even now, a great number of our people are still blinded by ignorance, unable and unwilling to see through the hoax that a corrupted priest teaches to them. Still feel compelled to give away their money while their children starve. If the church has enough money to build a grand one, they surely have enough to give back to the people, among that sea of rusted homes.
Our current education is not enough, not widespread enough to reach our people and grab them out of the cycle of corruption and poverty. Rizal’s message must be continued, be passed on, only now, it is not a foreign power that steals from the Filipinos, but fellow citizens. To discern among our own the corrupt, to resist the sweet words of liars, and drag our country from being a third world, education must continue to spread, enlightened citizens must have the courage to fight the corrupt.
Rizal’s message must not be hindered, independent we may be, but we are still enslaved by the greedy and corrupt. Rizal’s message need not be carried out by a single person and be a martyr, but an entire generation must take up arms and continue to fight the same fight our ancestors have done. **
