Marcelo H. del Pilar
| Marcelo H. del Pilar | |
|---|---|
 Image from the book "Mga Dakilang Pilipino" by Jose N. Sevilla |
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| Born | Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán August 30, 1850 Bulacán, Bulacan, Philippines |
| Died | July 4, 1896 (aged 45) Barcelona, Spain |
| Cause of death | Tuberculosis |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Alma mater | Colegio de San José Universidad de Santo Tomás |
| Occupation | Writer, lawyer, journalist |
| Organization | La Solidaridad |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Spouse(s) | Marciana "Chanay" del Pilar |
| Children | Sofía H. del Pilar Anita H. del Pilar de Marasigan |
| Parents | Julián H. del Pilar (father) Blasa Gatmaitán (mother) |
Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán (August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896), better known by his pen name Plaridel, was a Filipino writer, lawyer, and journalist. He was the second and last editor of the La Solidaridad (Solidarity).[1]
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Biography
Early life and family background
Marcelo H. del Pilar was born on August 30, 1850 in the barrio of Cupang, municipality of San Nicolás, province of Bulacan.[2]
Julián Hilario del Pilar, Marcelo's father, was a Tagalog grammarian, poet, and speaker.[3] He was the gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of his pueblo (town) for three terms: 1831, 1854, and 1864-1865. He later held the position of oficial de mesa (government clerk) of the alcalde mayor (provincial governor).
Marcelo's mother was Blasa Gatmaitán. She was a descendant of the noble Gatmaitáns. She was known as "Doña Blasica".[4]
The couple owned rice and sugarcane fields, several fish ponds, and animal-power sugar mill. Their children were namely Toribio (priest, deported to the Marianas in 1872),[5] Fernando (father of General Gregorio del Pilar), Andrea, Dorotea, Estanislao, Juan, Hilaria (married to Deodato Arellano), Valentín, Marcelo, and María.
The real surname of the family was "Hilario". They adapted the surname "del Pilar" in compliance with the 1849 decree of Governor-General Narciso Clavería.[6]
In February 1878, del Pilar married Marciana del Pilar (who he referred to as "Chanay" in his private collection of letters).[7] The couple had seven children: Sofía, José, María, Rosario, María Consolación, María Concepcion, and Aníta. Only Sofía and Anita grew to adulthood (five of their children died in infancy).
Education
Del Pilar received his early education from his paternal uncle Alejo del Pilar (clerk of the court of Quiapo in 1860). Because the Hilarios was highly cultured, it was not long before he played the flute, piano, and violin. He took a Latin course in the school of Hermenigildo Flores in Manila. He later enrolled and earned his Bachiller en Artes at the Colegio de San José.[2] He pursued law at the Universidad de Santo Tomás.
Del Pilar had developed a dislike for the friars early in his life. In 1870, he was imprisoned after an altercation with the parish priest of San Miguel, Manila who was charging an exorbitant baptismal fee.[5] He happened to be one of the child's godfathers. After his release from prison, he worked as oficial de mesa in Pampanga and Quiapo.[8] He resumed his legal studies at the UST in 1878.[7] He earned his licenciado en jurisprudencia (equivalent to a Bachelor of Laws) in 1880.[9]
Nationalist activity in the Philippines: 1880-1888
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Del Pilar's first job as a lawyer was with the Real Audiencia de Manila (Royal Audience of Manila).[10] He aimed at gaining insight into the operation of the Spanish colonial government. He toured the towns of Bulacan to deliver speeches against the friars, preaching to his countrymen the gospel of work, self-respect, and human dignity. He made the cockpit, the tienda, and the town plaza the venues of his campaign.[11]
In 1882, del Pilar co-founded the short-lived Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper), the first Philippine bilingual newspaper.[5] The newspaper was financed by Francisco Calvo y Muñoz, a wealthy Spanish liberal. Del Pilar published patriotic articles and edited the Tagalog section. He featured in the newspaper the poem of José Rizal, Amor Patria, which del Pilar translated into Tagalog, Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love of Country).[5]
Anti-friar manifesto of 1888
A massive anti-friar protest occurred on March 1, 1888.[12] The protesters (led by Doroteo Cortés and José Ramos) marched through the streets to the office of José Centeno, the civil governor of Manila at that time. They presented a manifesto addressed to the Queen Regent. Del Pilar wrote the manifesto. It accused the friars of various crimes and demanded their expulsion from the Philippines (including Manila Archbishop Pedro P. Payo).
Defense of Rizal's Noli Me Tángere
Fr. José Rodriguez, an Augustinian priest, authored a pamphlet entitled Caiñgat Cayó (Beware, 1888). The friar warned the people that in reading Rizal's Noli Me Tángere (Touch me Not) they commit "mortal sin".
On August 3 of the same year, del Pilar wrote Caiigat Cayó (Be as Slippery as an Eel). It was a reply to Fr. Rodriguez's pamphlet.[13]
Escape from clerical persecution
Unable to tolerate del Pilar's radical activities, the Spanish authorities ordered his arrest. He left the Philippines on October 28, 1888, escaping to Hong Kong before moving to Spain.[14] Before his departure, he organized Caja de Jesús, María y José. It was later dissolved and replaced by a committee in Manila.
Propaganda campaign in Spain
Del Pilar arrived in Barcelona on January 1, 1889. He headed the political section of the Asociación Hispano-Filipina de Madrid (Hispanic Filipino Association of Madrid). On December 15, 1889, he succeeded Graciano López Jaena as editor of the La Solidaridad.[1] Under his editorship, the aims of the newspaper expanded. Using propaganda, it pursued the desires for:[15][16]
- Assimilation of the Philippines as a province of Spain
- Removal of the friars and the secularization of the parishes
- Freedom of assembly and speech
- Equality before the law
- Philippine representation in the Cortes, the legislature of Spain
Later years and death
Del Pilar's trouble increased when the funds to support the La Solidaridad were ignored and there were no sign of immediate answer from the Spanish colonial government.[1] Before his death, he opposed the assimilationist stand and began planning an armed revolution. He vigorously affirmed this belief:
| “ | Insurrection is the last remedy, especially when the people have acquired the belief that peaceful means to secure the remedies for evils prove futile.[17] | ” |
This idea inspired the Katipunan, a revolutionary organization founded by Andrés Bonifacio.[18]
Del Pilar died of tuberculosis on July 4, 1896.[19] He was buried at the Cementerio del Sub-Oeste (Southwest Cemetery) in Barcelona. His remains were returned to the Philippines on December 3, 1920 and was buried initially at the Manila North Cemetery.[20] It was later transferred to his birthplace in Bulacán, Bulacan on August 30, 1986, under a monument.
Freemasonry
Del Pilar was initiated into Freemasonry in 1889.[21] He served as venerable master of the famous Solidaridad lodge of Madrid. He 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 Español.
Notable works
- Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love of Country, 1882)[5]
- Caiigat Cayó (Be as Slippery as an Eel, 1888)[13]
- Dasalan at Tocsohan (Prayers and Mockeries, 1888)[22]
- Ang Cadaquilaan nang Dios (The Greatness of God, 1888)[23]
- La Soberanía Monacal en Filipinas (Monastic Supremacy in the Philippines, 1888)[24]
- Pasióng Dapat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Tauong Babasa (Passion That Should Inflame the Heart of the Reader, 1888)[25]
- La Frailocracía Filipina (Friarocracy in the Philippines, 1889)[26]
- Sagót ng España sa Hibíc ng Filipinas (Spain's Reply to the Cry of the Philippines, 1889)[27]
- Dupluhan... Dalits... Bugtongs (A Poetical Contest in Narrative Sequence, Psalms, Riddles, 1907)[28]
- Sa Bumabasang Kababayan (unpublished)[28]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Keat 2004, p. 756
- ^ a b Schumacher 1997, p. 105.
- ^ Mojares 1983, p. 131.
- ^ Villarroel 1997, p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e Schumacher 1997, p. 106.
- ^ Ocampo, Ambeth R. (August 28, 2012), "Looking Back: Did M.H. del Pilar dream in color?", Philippine Daily Inquirer
- ^ a b Villarroel 1997, p. 11.
- ^ Guerrero, Leon Ma. (December 13, 1952). "Del Pilar". The Philippines Free Press Online. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ^ Nepomuceno-Van Heugten, Maria Lina. "Edukasyon ng Bayani: Mga Impluwensya ng Edukasyong Natamo sa Kaisipang Rebolusyonaryo" (PDF). University of the Philippines Diliman Journals Online. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
- ^ "Marcelo H. del Pilar". oocities.org. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ Constantino 1975, p. 149.
- ^ Schumacher 1997, pp. 114–115.
- ^ a b Schumacher 1997, p. 121.
- ^ Schumacher 1997, p. 122.
- ^ del Pilar, Marcelo H. (April 25, 1889). "The aspirations of the Filipinos". Barcelona, Spain: La Solidaridad. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ^ "Liberalism in the Philippines - The Revolution of 1898 : The Main Facts". sspxasia.com. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
- ^ http://www.bulatlat.com/news/5-21/5-21-constructive.htm
- ^ Guererro, Milagros; Encarnacion, Emmanuel; Villegas, Ramon (1996), "Andrés Bonifacio and the 1896 Revolution", Sulyap Kultura (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) 1 (2): 3–12.
- ^ Schumacher 1997, p. 293.
- ^ Ocampo, Ambeth R. (July 30, 2008), "Looking Back: The search for Plaridel’s remains", Philippine Daily Inquirer
- ^ "Famous Filipino Mason - Marcelo H. del Pilar". Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Philippines. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ^ Schumacher 1997, p. 125.
- ^ Ramos 1984, p. 86.
- ^ Steinberg 2000, p. 245.
- ^ Schumacher 1997, p. 126.
- ^ Schumacher 1997, p. 119.
- ^ Abdula, Allan Yasser (May 4, 2008). "Expat in the City: Isang Pagkukuro sa "Sagot Ng Espanya sa Hibik Ng Pilipinas"". aabdula.blogspot.com. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
- ^ a b Mojares 1983, p. 132.
Bibliography
- Constantino, Renato (1975). The Philippines: A Past Revisited. Quezon City: Tala Publishing Services. ISBN 971-8958-00-2.
- Keat, Gin Ooi (2004). Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-770-5.
- Mojares, Resil B. (1983). Origins and Rise of the Filipino Novel: A Generic Study of the Novel Until 1940. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. ISBN 971-105-001-3.
- Ramos, Maria S. (1984). Panitikang Pilipino. Quezon City: Katha Publishing Company. ISBN 971-150-051-5.
- Schumacher, John N. (1997). The Propaganda Movement, 1880-1895: The Creation of a Filipino Consciousness, the Making of the Revolution. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. ISBN 971-550-209-1.
- Steinberg, David J. (2000). The Philippines: A Singular and a Plural Place. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3755-0.
- Villarroel, Fidel (1997). Marcelo H. del Pilar at the University of Santo Tomas. Manila: UST Publishing House. ISBN 971-506-070-6.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marcelo H. del Pilar |
- Bulacan, Philippines: Tourism: Marcelo H. del Pilar Shrine
- ¡Caiñgat Cayo!
- Philippine History - Plaridel
- The Philippine Revolution: La Solidaridad
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- 1850 births
- 1896 deaths
- Deaths from tuberculosis
- Philippine Revolution people
- Filipino expatriates in Hong Kong
- Filipino expatriates in Spain
- Filipino journalists
- Filipino lawyers
- Filipino writers
- Tagalog people
- Infectious disease deaths in Spain
- People from Bulacan
- Spanish-language writers of the Philippines
- Tagalog-language writers
- University of Santo Tomas alumni
