POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES Sta.

Mesa, Manila College of Engineering Department of Computer Engineering

A Research Study about the Life, Works and Writings of MARCELO HILARIO DEL PILAR

Submitted by: MANRIQUE, CHRISTINE R. BS CoE II-1

Submitted to: MR. MARIANITO DIMAANDAL

MARCELO HILARIO DEL PILAR Y GATMAYTAN

August 30, 1850 July 4, 1896

Overview Who is Marcelo Del Pilar?

Marcelo H. Del Pilar, whom even his Spanish enemies called him the greatest journalist produced by purely Filipino race. Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizals best friend, described Del Pilars character in 1890 and was quoted, He has a warlike character; is foxy; has much energy and a great talent for satire; kindness; intrepid; ambitious; has no considerations when anything serious is to be done. In the newspaper La Independencia (1898), Mariano Ponce pronounced that Plaridel is A tireless propagandist; an expert in political warfare, formidable in attack and defense, a skilful wielder of the pen, unshakable in his arguments; his knowledge and powerful intelligence were respected even by his enemies whom he routed on more than occasion in the peaceful contest of thoughts. Accoding to General Blanco, Marcelo H. Del Pilar was the most redoubtable of the Filipino politicians: the most intelligent, the real soul of the separatists, very superior to Rizal.

Del Pilar and his Family

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaytan was born on August 30, 1850 in the barrio of Cupang, San Nicolas, Bulacan (now Plaridel). He was ninth of the ten children of Don Julian Del Pilar and Doa Blasa Gatmaytan (familiary known as Doa Basilica Gatmaytan). Like Rizal, his mother was his first teacher. Don Julian was an excellent Tagalog grammarian, speaker and poet. He was a three-time gobernadorcillo of the pueblo of Bulacan and afterwards official de mesa of the alcalde mayor of the province. Marcelos siblings were namely Toribio, Fernando, Andrea, Dorotea, Estanislao, Juan, Hilaria, Valentin and Maria. The family owned rice and sugarcane lands, several fish ponds and animal-power mill. The name of the family was Hilario but pursuant to a decree of Narciso Claveria, in 1849, the name of the grandmother, Del Pilar, had to be added. And in as much as the particle Gat which precedes the mothers name indicates noble origin, it will not be exaggerated to affirm that the family belonged to the Tagalog nobility or descended from the ancient Tagalog kings. His brother, Toribio Del Pilar, was one of the priests that were thrown in the islands of Guam by the Spanish in 1872 in the accusation of the involvement in the Cavite Mutiny in January 20, 1872. Hilaria Del Pilar, his sister, was married to Deodato Arellano, the first Katipunan president. He was married to his cousin, Marciana Del Pilar, in Tondo in the month of February 1878. From this marriage sprang Sofia, Jose, Maria Rosario, Maria Consolacion, Maria Concepcion and Ana.

Del Pilars Youth and Education

Marcelo Del Pilar began his studies in the school of Sr. Flores then passed to Colegio de San Jose. He received a mark of sobresaliente in oratory and got his title as a lawyer in the University of Santo Tomas. His oratorical talent was occasionally marked by strong emotions that erupted into violent languages that got him into trouble. He was suspended in school because of an altercation with a priest on the increase of baptismal fees. He worked with his uncle Alejo Del Pilar, clerk of the court of Quiapo, about 1860, and then he was the official de mesa in Pampanga in 1874. He made the modest boast and certainly had odds and ends of everything. He played piano, flute and violin. At the Flores de Mayo, full of happy recollections for our gay youth, he more than once delighted young women of Bulacan with the amorous echoes of his violin. Silent storms must raged in his minds. He favoured overthrowing the government, but not through revolution. He frequently had meetings with his classmates Mariano Ponce, Briccio Pantas, including Apolinario Mabini, in his Binondo house. He began his campaign against the abuses of the friars and the Spanish civil officials. He spoke in meetings, especially in the crowded cockpit where the common people heard him criticize the friars. He frequently met farmers and there listened to their complaints of injustice and oppression.

Del Pilar as a Lawyer, a Journalist and a Writer

As a lawyer, he defended his fellowmen against the brutality of the friars in Bulacan. In 1882, he co-founded the Tagalog-Spanish newspaper, Diariong Tagalog, which, although short-lived, published suggestions on how to improve the administration of the country. It also published mild criticisms of the Spaniards mild, because there was no freedom of the press and of speech during the Spanish times. He organized anti-friar demonstrations, culminating in a petition signed by 800 people for the expulsion of the friars in the Philippines and exile of the Archbishop. Two of his books in Spanish which became famous were La Soberania Monacal en Filipinas (Monastic Sovereignity in the Philippines) and La Frailocracia Filipina (Frailocracy in the Philippines). Frailocracy is the government during Spanish era in which the union of the Church and State spawned a notorious invisible government. Unlike Rizal and other reformists, Del Pilar wrote in the language of the masses. He wrote Caiingat Cayo, Dasalan at Toksohan, Kadakilaan ng Dios, Sagot ng Espaa sa Hibik ng Filipinas , and many others. These writings in Tagalog were truly enjoyed by the masses.

Del Pilars Aba Ginoong Barya : Aba Ginoong Barya, nakakapuno ka ng alkansya, ang prayley sumasaiyo bukod ka niyang pinagpalat pinahigit sa lahat, pinagpala naman ang kaban mong mapasok. Santa Barya, ina ng deretsos, ipanalangin mo kaming huwag anitan ngayon at kami ipapatay. Siya nawa. Del Pilars Dasalan At Tuksohan:
Ang mga utos nang Prayle ay sampu: Ang nauna: Sambahin mo ang Prayle na lalo sa lahat. Ang ikalaua: Huwag kang magpapahamak o manumba ng ngalang deretsos. Ang ikatlo: Manalangin ka sa Prayle Linggo man at piyesta. Ang ikapat: Isanla mo ang katauhan mo sa pagpapalibing sa ama't ina, Ang ikalima: Huwag kang mamamatay kung wala pang salaping panlibing. Ang ikanim: Huwag kang makiapid sa kanyang asawa. Ang ikapito: Huwag kang makinakaw. Anh ikaualo: Huwag mo silang pagbibintangan, kahit ka masinungalingan. Ang ikasiyam: Huwag mong ipagkait ang iyong asawa. Ang ikapulo: Huwag mong itangi ang iyong ari. Itong sampong utos ng Prayle'y dalawa ang kinauuwian. Ang isa: Sambahin mo ang Prayle lalo sa lahat. Ang ikalawa: Ihain mo naman sa kaniya ang puri mo't kayamanan. Siya nawa.

Del Pilar and the Propaganda Movement

There were threats of persecution for those who would oppose or criticize Spanish rule. Underneath, there was discontentment, not only among the poor, but also among the educated and the well-to-do Filipinos. The masses were discontented because they remained poor and burdened with heavy taxes. The educated and the wealthy were discontented because of the abuses of the Spaniards and because they were not free to air their complaints or even allowed to participate in the administration of the government. As a result, the educated and the wealthy left for Spain where there was freedom. There, they studied and worked for the introduction of reforms in the Philippines. The reform movement, also called Propaganda Movement, began in 1882. It lasted up to early months of 1892. The important reformists were Graciano Lopez Jaena, Jose Rizaland Marcelo Del Pilar. They were the triumvirate; Lopez Jaena was the great orator; Rizal was the great thinker and writer; Del Pilar was the great political analyst and journalist.

Rizal , Del Pilar and Ponce

Del Pilar as Father of Philippine Masonry

The Filipino reformists in Spain did not spare any effort to win friends for the sake of the country. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, Freemasonry was popular in Europe, even in Spain. Many Spaniards with liberal ideas were Masons. The Filipino reformists including Rizal, Jaena, Del Pilar, Antonio Luna and others, decided to join Masonry not only because they wanted to win friends among the Spanish Masons, but also because of its anti-friar character. The friars hated Masonry because it provided an inspiration to the Filipinos who were questioning their right to remain in the Philippines.

Marcelo Del Pilar became a freemason in 1889 and became a close friend of Miguel Morayta Sagrario, a professor at the Universidad Central de Madrid and Grand Master of Masons of the Grande Oriente Espaol In 1891, some Filipinos who had been to Spain met and decided to establish the Masonic lodge Nilas in Manila. Nilad was created on Janauary 6, 1891, and since then spread throughout the Philippinies from Cagayan Valley in north Luzon to south in Jolo. The Masons in the Philippines, mostly coming from Manila and surrounding areas, expressed the following aims of the organization: (1) to work for freedom and prosperity of the Philippines; (2) to work for good government; (3) to ask for representation in the Spanish Cortes and; (4) to establish the Philippines as a province of Spain. The Filipino Masons, therefore, merely expressed their program in the Philippines in accordance with the official stand of the reformists in Spain. A certain Spanish, Diaz Perez said that there were 30 Masonic lodges in the Philippines with 1,233 active Masons and about 6,900 inactive ones. About 7,000 of them belonged to the middle class.

Del Pilar in Spain

He wrote the inflammatory pamphlet while enroute to Europe: Sagot ng Espana sa Hibik ng Filipinas where mother Spain, lamenting the fate of her child Filipinas, favoured to expel the friars even though through violence. Upon the arrival in Barcelona on January 1, 1889, Del Pilar discharged his instructions from Manila committee. A few days later, La Solidaridad was born. Graciano Lopez Jaena was the first editor; but when Jaena left, del Pilar became the editor from November 15, 1889 to 1895. Thereafter, he became its guiding spirit. He kept fornightly alive with biting articles. He was indefatigable as editor, writing numerous article under interesting pen names: Piping Dilat, Siling Labuyo and Plaridel. His cogent and most reasoned piece of writing, La soberania monacal en Filipinas, presented a detailed indictment of the friars in Philippine life. His versatility as a writer-propagandist, using biting satire, impassioned appeals, and persuasive arguments, were incontrovertible.

Del Pilars Death

During to his heavy work and lack of proper food, Del Pilar contracted tuberculosis. During winter when it was very cold in Spain, he would pick up cigarette butss on the street of Barcelona and smoked them to keep him warm. He wanted to return to the Philippines because he believed that the campaign for reforms was a failure and that it was time to shift to revolutionary action. Before he died, he tried to write despite of his illness and after that night, he was dead because of tuberculosis on July 4, 1896 at the age of 45. His remains were brought back to the Philippines in 1920.

Del Pilar as a National Hero

In 1980, Marcelo Del Pilars remains were transferred from Pambansang Libingan ng mga Bayani in La Loma to his hometown in San Nicolas, Bulacan, Bulacan. Some of his fellowmen in Bulacan were disappointed because of the disrespect that Plaridel has gotten. For many times, Plaridels name is mentioned by the Philippine Commission as the National Hero but it was changed to Jose Rizal because of the influence of America.

Marcelo H. del Pilar's monument (Bulacan's provincial heroes' park, Bulacan State University)

The National Shrine of Marcelo H. del Pilar in San Nicolas, Bulacan, Bulacan

REFERENCES
Agoncillo, Teodoro. Pilipinas Kong Mahal: Isang Kasaysayan. 2000. Bascara, Cornelio. Stories From the Margin. 2002. Bautista, Clemente. Liwayway. Ang Kadakilaan ni Marcelo H. del Pilar at ang Pahayagang La Solidaridad. September 5, 2011. De los Santos, Epifanio. Marcelo H. Del Pilar. April 14, 1971. Gatmaitan, Magno. Marcelo H. del Pilar: A Documented Biography with Tagalog, English

and Spanish version. 1992.

Joaquin, Nick. A Question of Heroes. Mangahas, Fe. Philippine History. 2010. Silverio, Boy. Liwayway. Sino si Marcelo H. del Pilar? July 27, 2009. Veneracion, Jaime. Bulakan ng mga Bayani: Mga Sanaysay tungkol sa Rebolusyon 1896 at

Digmaang Plipino-Amerikanong 1899. 2007.