1. Rise of Liberalism

Liberalism came to the Philippines because of the continuous contact with Western Countries. Their ideas were brought to us by wealthy Filipinos who had the opportunity to study in Europe and were known as the Ilustrados. There, they experienced freedom, independence, and liberty. These brought to their mind that if they had these in the Philippines, they would enjoy their rights and be treated equally by the colonizers. The French Revolution (May 5, 1789 – Nov 9, 1799) became an inspiration to the Filipino Ilustrados (Aguilar 2005: Majul 1977). They brought the concept that they could question the government and even the faith (the church) that if the government exceeded its limit in abusing the rights of the people they would revolt against the government and establish a new government like in France during the French Revolution. 

2. The Political Instability in Spain

The Spanish government like the other monarchy that has absolute power has also been threatened by liberalism. The continuous changes in the government and the Napoleonic Wars brought excessive expenses to the government which led them to impose additional taxes on their citizens which eventually caused the bankruptcy of businesses and the destruction of infrastructure. The Spanish government transformed, and the Cadiz Constitution of 1812 was implemented. The colonies of Spain had been affected and misgoverned, and the cases of corruption increased These events intensified the hostility between Filipinos and Spaniards.

3. The Administration of Carlos Maria de la Torre

Filipinos had experienced a liberal leadership through a Spanish Governor-General Carlos Maria de la Torre in 1869. He involved Filipino natives in his administration of the government and solicited suggestions for implementing government policies. He abolished espionage (gathering or acquiring information in secret) and imposed freedom of speech. Because of his actions, liberal ideas, and policies, it made him the champion of Filipinos which angered the Spaniards and the friars. After 2 years, he was replaced by Governor General Rafael de Izquierdo who turned back the previous policies of the past governor generals. Since the Filipino people had experienced liberal leadership and believed that it could be beneficial, they did not want to return to the former kind of government.

4. The Issues of Secularization

The liberal administration in Spain ordered the closure of churches so the friars traveled to the Philippines to secure positions, the Filipino priest must be removed, and this could not be done easily because of the increasing number of regular priests in the Philippines. To solve this problem, they replaced secular priests with regular priests, and this pushed Filipinos to create a secular movement led by two Filipino priests Father Pedro Pelaez in Manila who died and was later replaced by Father Jose Burgos and Father Mariano Gomez in Cavite. 

5. Opening of the Philippines to International Trade

When the Suez Canal opened, it made travel from Europe to Asia easier and shorter. This made trading between continents faster, not only the swapping of goods but also of ideas and intercultural exchange. The opening of the Port of Manila in 1834 to international trade caused enormous growth in the Philippine Economy and gave a chance to decide whether to capitalize or not on hacienderos and inquilinos to participate in trading. This made them exposed to different nationalities having different ideals and aspirations, thus they were able to realize the inequality that they were experiencing in the hands of the Spanish colonizers.

6. The Execution of GomBurZa

Archbishop Gregorio Meliton Martinez issued a decree in 1861 that removed secular priests from parishes and shifted them under the control of Jesuit and Recollect priests. Secular priests fought for their rights and sought the assistance of Marshall Francisco Serrano, regent of Spain in 1870. But Archbishop Martinez exposed that parishes administered by secular priests were transforming into religious corporations and that is because of growing numbers of secular controlled parishes and this may drive a pitiful result to their beloved Spain. 

In 1872, the Cavite Mutiny happened when the workers of Cavite Arsenal had a rebellion against the additional deduction of their salary and the loss of exemption in Polo y Servicios. Father Mariano Gomez from Cavite, Father Jose Burgos from Manila, and Father Jacinto Zamora were unjustly accused that they agitated the rebellion for the anti-Spanish Movement due to the testimony of Francisco Zaltua, the only witness they had. Governor General Rafael Izquerdo ordered the execution of the triumvirate by the garrote. The death of GomBurZa had a great effect on many late 19th century Filipinos such as Jose P. Rizal.

7. The Rise of the Middle Class

Economic Development in the Philippines during the 19th century brought the rise of the Creoles or the middle class who are considered third-class citizens. They are the Chinese and Spanish Mestizos who eventually become leaders in their community. The education they had gave them ideas on good government, equality, and the right of people to overthrow the government, thus making their position in the bureaucracy more secure and influential. Although, they were looked down upon by the First Class Citizen, the Peninsulares, Spanish born in Spain, and by the Insulares the second-class Citizen, Spanish born in the Philippines. They had a great influence on the native Filipinos of that time called Indios. Because of the influence they had, they ignited the flame in the heart of the Filipinos to seek reform and ask for independence although their goals were (1) political reforms, (2) equality between Filipinos and Spaniards, and (3) assimilation of the Philippines from Spain where the Philippines will become a province of Spain which will eventually be beneficial to them. These goals brought them to demand representation in the Spanish Cortez and experience, these aimed to open the eyes of the Spaniards to the needs of the country and bind both countries closer.

The Propagandists were the Filipinos who had a chance to study in Europe where they experienced liberal leadership and aspired to bring these ideas to the Philippines. They created the Propaganda Movement which aimed to create reforms in the Philippines; that is why they were also called Reformists. These reforms were informed by constitutionalism, enlightenment ideals, and anti-clericalism. They aimed to assimilate the Philippines with Spain by making the colony into a province. This would grant Filipino citizens rights that were enjoyed by the Spaniards. Other reforms that they demanded were the expulsion of the friars and more involvement of the native clergy in church affairs. In calling for reforms, the propagandists resorted to scholarly, artistic, and journalistic pursuits.

The most influential Propagandists were Jose P. Rizal, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, and Marcelo H. Del Pilar. They worked through writings that influenced the Filipino people to fight for their independence.

Jose P. Rizal

He is considered the greatest reformist in the Philippines. He considered the Philippines as a nation and believed that the Filipinos should be united and enlightened in order to implement reform in the country. His two famous novels, Noli Me Tangere, which he dedicated to Fatherland, and El Filibusterismo, which he dedicated to GomBurZa, tackle the cancer of the society, the racism, the maltreatment, and the injustice Filipinos have experienced by the Spaniards. These two novels and essays contributed to intensifying the patriotic feeling of Filipinos during that time. One of his works was Sa aking mga Kabata, a poem that teaches the love of one’s language. He started his formal education in Ateneo Municipal until he continued in Europe there he joined other propagandists and joined La Solidaridad that writing expositions and discontentment of Filipinos in Philippine society. He used pen names such as Dimas Alang and Laong Laan to hide his identity, until the time that he went back to the Philippines where he founded La Liga Filipina. On July 6,1892, Rizal was secretly arrested because he was considered dangerous by the Spanish authorities and deported to Dapitan. The Liga continued through the support of its members until the time that they got tired of paying their dues. His four years staying in Dapitan were dedicated to helping the less fortunate and teaching young boys until he asked permission from the governor-general to be a volunteer doctor in Cuba. The request was permitted but before the ship docked in Barcelona, he was arrested for the charge of treason and returned to the Philippines. He was executed by firing squad on December 30, 1896.

Graciano Lopez-Jaena

He was born in Jaro, Iloilo, on December 17, 1856. The first Editor-in-Chief of the La Solidaridad which he founded in 1889, a newspaper published to expose the true condition of the Philippines. It is also a credit to him for the initiative to create a reform movement. He wrote the Fray Botod or Fat Friars, a novel about friars which he described as a big-bellied man, abusive, immoral, and selfish. He enrolled in the University of Valencia and took up medicine and transferred to Madrid. He is one of the greatest Filipino orators, one of his greatest triumphs in this field happened in Madrid in 1882 during the International Congress of Commercial Geography. He suffered from tuberculosis and died on January 20, 1895, in Barcelona, Spain.

He founded The La Solidaridad on January 1, 1889, but its first publication was on February 15, 1889. It was a newspaper that was published to expose the sentiments of the Philippines against the Spanish colonial government. The Propagandists used pen names to hide their identities, Rizal hid under the names Dimas Alang and Laong Laan, Mariano Ponce used Tikbalang, Naning, and Kalipulako, Antonio Luna was Taga-Ilog, Plaridel was the pen name of Marcelo H. del Pilar and Jose Ma. Panganiban wrote under the name Jomapa. This became successful in its goal to expose the evils in Philippine society but ended its existence because of the lack of funds and disunity among its members.

Marcelo H. Del Pilar

He was born in Bulakan, Bulacan on August 30, 1850, of Julian H. Del Pilar, a Filipino poet with whom he inherited his love for arts and Elasa Gatmaitan. The political analyst became the second editor-in-chief of La Solidaridad, whose pen name was Plaridel. The founder of Diariong Tagalog, a nationalistic newspaper that publishes the sentiments of Filipinos. It became influential since it could easily be understood by the natives. One of his works was Caiingat Cayo, a manuscript that defended Rizal from the friars. He also wrote Dasalan at Tocsohan which criticizes the prayer of Our Lady and Hail Mary. He died on July 4, 1896, because of Tuberculosis.

Filipino propagandists founded organizations to collaborate and help each other achieve their goals which was to open the eyes of the Spaniards in the true situation of the Philippines. At first, they worked individually until they realized that it was more advantageous if they gathered together and combined all their resources and efforts to have a bigger voice and influence.

The Circulo-Hispano Filipino Association

The reformist movement consisting of Spanish and Filipinos in Madrid was founded in 1882 and aimed for social reform from the Spanish government in the Philippines. Prominent members were Miguel Morayta, a professor of History in Madrid, and Felipe de la Corte an author. Morayta became the president. For the propaganda to become successful the movement was divided into three sections. The political section was under Marcelo H. Del Pilar, the literary was headed by Mariano Ponce and the sports was under the leadership of Tomas Arejola. The joint campaign of the organization resulted in passing laws and petitions in the Spanish Cortez that were good for the interests of Filipinos and made a representation through Emilio Junoy on February 21, 1895.  The existence of the movement ended when it was discouraged by the Minister to fight for its aim.

The La Liga Filipina

A civic society founded by Dr. Jose P. Rizal on the night of July 3, 1892, at the house of Doroteo Ongjunco in Tondo Manila. The group aimed to directly involve the people to seek reform, also to unify the archipelago for mutual protection of law, defense against violence and injustice, and reforms needed for the society. After days of its foundation, Rizal was exiled to Dapitan and because of the conflicts of its members, it split up into two groups. At first, it was active until the members got tired of paying their dues.