Surigao State College of Technology
Claver Extension Campus
BSED Major in Filipino
Judaleen B. Bayogbog Mr. Jerome Docdoc
BSED-Filipino 1A Enero 20, 2020
Chapter 3
Early Education in Calamba and Biῆan
The Ilustrados ( Spanish for "erudite," "learned," or "enlightened ones")
constituted the Filipino educated class during the Spanish colonial period in the
late 19th century. They were the middle class who were educated in Spanish
and exposed to Spanish liberal and European nationalist ideals.
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was one of the son of an
ilustrado family. He had his early education in Calamba and Biῆan and it was a
typical schooling that a son of an ilustrado family received during this time,
characterized by the four R’s – reading, writing, arithmetic and religion.
The Hero’s First Teacher
The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, Doῆa Teodora. A remarkable
woman of good character and fine culture. In the age of three, he already
learned the alphabet and the prayer.
When Jose grew older, his parent’s employed private tutors to give him
lesson at home. The first was Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro Lucas
Padua. Later, an old man and a former classmate of Rizal’s father named Leon
Monroy become the third tutor of Jose Rizal. This tutor lived at the Rizal’s home
and instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin. Unfortunately, he did not live long and
died five months later.
Jose Goes To Biῆan
Sunday afternoon in June, 1969, after Jose kissed the hands of his parents
and tearful parting from his sisters, left Calamba for Biῆan. He was accompanied
by his brother, Paciano, who acted as his second father. The two brothers rode
in a carromata, reaching their destination after one and one-half hours’ drive.
They proceeded to their aunt’s house, where Jose has to lodge.
First Day In Biῆan School
Paciano brought his younger brother to the school of Maestro Justiniano
Aquino Cruz. The school was in the house of the teacher, which was a small nipa
hut about 30 meters from the home of Jose’s aunt.
Jose Rizal described his new teacher as “He tall, thin, long-necked, with
sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward, and he used to wear a sinamay
shirt, woven by the skilled hands of the women of Batangas. He knew by heart
the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add to this his severity, that in my
judgement was exaggerated, and you have a picture, perhaps vague, that I
have made of him, but I remember only this.”
First School Brawl
Jose met the bully named Pedro, the teacher’s son. He was angry at this
bully for making fun of him during his conversation with the teacher in the
morning. So, he challenged him to a fight and latter readily accepted, thinking
that he could easily beat the Calamba boy who was smaller and younger. The
two brave boys wrestled furiously in the classroom, much to the glee of their
classmates. Jose, having learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel,
defeated the bigger boy. For this feat, he become popular among his
classmates.
After the class in the afternoon, his classmate named Andres Salandaan
challenged him to an arm-wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a house
and wrestled with their arms. Jose, having the weaker arm, lost and nearly
cracked his head on the sidewalk. In succeeding days he had other fights with
the boys of Biῆan and he was not quarrelsome by nature, but he never run away
from a fight.
Painting Lessons In Biῆan
Jose met the old painter called Juancho. He was the father-in-law of his
teacher and the house of it was near in their school. Rizal, lured by his love for
painting, spent many leisure hours at the painter’s studio. Old Juancho gave
him a lessons in drawing and painting for free and he was impressed by the
artistic talent of the Calamba lad. Jose and his classmate, Jose Guevarra
become apprentices of the old painter.
Daily Life In Biῆan
Jose’s Daily Routine:
Hear mass at 4 a.m. or studies lesson before going to mass.
Goes to orchard to look for Mabolo to eat.
Breakfast
Goes to class at 10 a.m.
Lunch break
Goes back to school at 2 p.m.
Goes home at 5 p.m.
Prays with cousin
Studies lessons, then draws a little
Has supper
Prays again
Plays in the street if moon is bright
Sleeps
Best Student In School
In academic studies, Jose beat all Biῆan boys. He surpassed them all in
Spanish, Latin and other subjects. Some of his older classmates were jealous of
his intellectual superiority. They wickedly squealed to the teacher whenever Jose
had a fight outside of the school. Consequently the teacher had to punish Jose.
Thus Rizal said that “In spite of the reputation I had of being a good boy,
the day was unusual when I was not laid out on a bench and given five or six
blows.”
End Of Biῆan Schooling
On December 17, 1870 Jose Rizal left Biῆan after the one year and a half
of schooling in that town. He was thrilled to take passage on the steamer Talim,
for it was the first time he ever rode on a steamer. On board, was a Frenchman
named Arturo Camps, a friend of his father, who take care of him.
Martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za
On the night of January 20, 1872, about 200 Filipino soldiers and workmen
of the Cavite arsenal under the leadership of Lamadrid, Filipino sergeant, rose in
violent mutiny because of the abolition of their usual privileges, including
exemption from tribute and polo ( forced labor ) by the Reactionary Governor
Rafael de Izquierdo. The Spanish authorities, in order to liquidate Fathers
Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora, leaders of the secular
movement to Filipinize the Philippine parishes and their supporters (Jose Ma.
Basa, Attorney Joaquin Pardo de Tavera and Antonio Ma. Regidor, etc.)
magnified the failed mutiny into a “revolt” for the Philippine independence.
Accordingly, Gom-Bur-Za despite the archbishop’s plea for clemency
because of their innocence, were executed at sunrise, February 17, 1872, by the
order of Governor General Izquierdo. Their martyrdom was deeply mourned by
the Rizal family and many other patriotic families in the Philippines.
The martyrdom of Gom-Bur-Za in 1872 truly inspired Rizal to light the eyils
of Spanish tyranny and redeem his oppressed people. And later, in 1891, he
dedicated his second novel, El Filibusterismo, to Gom-Bur-Za.
Injustice To Hero’s Mother
In June 1872, Doῆa Teodora was suddenly arrested on a malicious charge
that she and her brother, Jose Alberto, tried to poison the latter’s perfidious wife.
Jose Alberto planned to divorce his wife because of her infidelity but Doῆa
Teodora, to avert family scandal, persuaded him to forgive his wife. The family
trouble was amicably settled, and Jose Alverto lived again with his wife.
However, the evil wife, with the connivance of the Spanish lieutenant of the
Guardia Civil, filed a case in court accusing her husband and Doῆa Teodora of
attempting to poison her.
This lieutenant happened to have an ax to grind against the Rizal family,
because at one time Don Francisco (Rizal’s father) refused to give him fodder
for his horse. Taking the opportunity to revenge himself, he arrested Doῆa
Teodora, with the help of Calamba’s gobernadorcillo, Antonio Vivencio del
Rosario, a menial of the friars.
The sadistic Spanish lieutenant forced Doῆa Teodora to walk from
Calamba to Santa Cruz (capital of Laguna Province), a distance of 50
kilometers. Upon arrival in Santa Cruz, she was incarcerated at the provincial
prison, where she languished for two years and half until the Manila Royal
Audiencia (Supreme Court) acquitted her of the alerged crime.
The two famous lawyer in Manila , Messrs. Francisco de Marcaida and
Manuel Marzan depended Doῆa Teodora in court. After two and a half year ,
the Royal Audiencia acquitted Doῆa Teodora.
