CALAMBA AGRARIAN PROBLEMS

For the Calamba discussion see chapter 10 of Guerreros the First Filipino and part 3, chpter 3 of
Austin Coates s Rizal, Philippine Nationalist and Martyr (1968)
See also Rizal and the University of Santo Tomas, 167-207

Ownership of the Calamba hacienda passed on to the Dominicans after the

Jesuits who originally owned it- were expelled in 1768. The Dominicans
owned practically all the lands around Calamba. The tenants suffered since
many years due to the unjustified taxes they had to pay. Even if there was an
economic crisis or the harvest was bad, the rent and taxes went up. The
tenants suffered under the friars.
Rizal had not anticipated but he soon became the center of the tenants
struggle against the Dominicans. It started innocently. On 30 th December
1887, when the government, wondering why the revenue paid by the
Dominicans Order had remained constant despite the ever-increasing size of
cultivated lands, formally asked the Calamba town council to determine
whether there had been any increase in the products and the size of the
Dominican estate over the past three years.
The friars wanted to withhold the tenants to tell the truth. The Rizal family as
well as the other Calamba tenants wanted to tell the truth. The tenants asked
Rizal to draft a report for the town council.
Rizal asked his town mates to supply him with all the relevant facts about the
estate from the very beginning.
What came out was a horror story of Dominican corruption and financial
deceit on a massive scale. The original hacienda owned by the Jesuits
consisted of only a small part of land and included only a part of the town, but
the Dominicans had claimed a much more extensive area, no less than the
whole town and its surrounding fields. The Dominicans were paying the
government only the income tax due on the original smaller hacienda.
Rizal wrote down his findings, which were signed by the tenants in January
1888, and he submitted the report to the government.
Rizal advised his family to stop paying the rent. The rest of the Calamba
tenants followed suit and with Rizals encouragement, petitioned the

government to intervene by authorizing and supervising the drawing up of a

new contract between the people of Calamba and the Dominican landowners.
The friars were furious because they were attacked on their most sensitive
point: money! The report never reached the desk of the governor-general. The
Dominicans responded by filing an action for eviction against the Calamba
tenants. When the justice of the Peace of Calamba ruled in favor of the
tenants. The Dominicans immediately brought the case to the Supreme Court
in Manila, which immediately decided in the Dominicans favor. The tenants
and the Rizal family had no recourse but to appeal their case to the Supreme
Court in Madrid.
The Dominicans put pressure on Malacaang to eliminate Rizal. Governorgeneral Terrero advised Rizal to leave the Philippines for his own good.
The liberal governor-general Terrerro was at that time replaced by the
conservative general Valeriano Weyler in 1888. He was completely on the
side of the Dominicans.
On 6 September 1890, general Weyler began enforcing the will of the
Dominicans by sending artillery and military forces to Calamba which started
to demolish the house of Rizals parents. Rizals brother, brothers in law were
arrested and exiled to different places of the archipelago. On the first day 60
families were thrown out of their houses and the sugar mills and all other
buildings they had erected were destroyed. The Dominicans forbade the rest
of the townspeople to give the unfortunates lodging and hospitality. By the end
of September 400 tenants had been evicted.

1.2 The Friars landholdings in Calamba and the displaced tenants.

1.3 Emilio Terrero and the investigation on the Dominicans landholdings
Governor-General Emilio Terrero a liberal minded Spaniard who
knew that Rizals life was in jeopardy because the friars were
powerful.
Because of this he gave Rizal a bodyguard to protect him.
1. The Land Problems and uneven distribution of wealth in the
Philippines.
1.1The Calamba Controversy

The inhabitants of Calamba do not own a single foot of land

o According to Palmas account in his book Pride of the Malay Race,the
inhabitants of Calamba do not own a single foot of land. All of Calamba
forms part of an estate, which at the time of its writingbelonged to the
Dominican Order.
o During theSpanish regime, Philippines land ownership was ruled byprivate
sectors, generally by the encomenderos, large landlords and friar
feudal haciendas. Small farmers were struggling at that time for agrarian
rights, especially that titular system was not infamous and ancestral
domainship is their only legal basis for ownership.

The hacienda belongs to the Jesuits, they called it "Hacienda de San

JuanBautista"
o Records showed that in early 18th Century, a Don Pedro de Megrete
who lived in New Spain (in Mexico) left a last will and testament. The
will provided that in case the college, which he intend to establish in
Carranza shall not be founded, the funds that he left for the purpose
amounting to 125,000 Pesos should be turned-over to the Procurador
General of the Society of Jesus in the Province of the Philippines. The
will further provided that the Procurador should give the funds to the
Provincial to establish missions for conversions in the Philippines.
The Jesuits used part of the sum to purchase the Calamba property
owned by Don Manuel de Jaurie. Now that the hacienda belongs to
the Jesuits, they called it Hacienda de San Juan Bautista.

The hacienda was sold to the Dominican friars for 40,000 pesos

o In 1833, after the historic expulsion of the Jesuits in the Philippines the
king of Spain sold the hacienda to the Dominican friars for 40,000.

1.2

The friars landholdings in Calamba and the displaced tenants.

1.3 Emilio Terrero and the investigation on the Dominicans landholdings

Governor-General Emilio Terrero a liberal minded Spaniard who knew that

Rizals life was in jeopardy because the friars were powerful.
Because of this he gave Rizal a bodyguard to protect him.

1.4 The truth: the findings and the persecution of the Rizals and the
Calambenos as a consequence.
1.5 The writing of El Fili and the Characters, Tales, Tano, Juli, and Tandang
Selo.
Kabesang Tales- Telesforo Juan de Dios, o mas kilala bilang Kabesang Tales, ay isa sa
mga prominentent tauhan sa El Filibusterismo ni Jose Rizal. Siya and anak ni Tandang
Selo at ama ng magkakapatid na Juli at Tano. Siya ay tahimik at masunurin sa mga
prayle.
Tano- Si Tano ay ang lalaking anak ni kabesang Tales at kapatid ni Juli. Siya ay 14 na
taong gulang noon sa panahon ng nobela nang nakaranas ang kanyang ama ng
inhustiya mula sa kamay ng mga prayle. Dahil sa pangyayaring ito, hindi nakatanggi si
Tano na magsundalo.
Juli- Anak ni Kabesang Tales at kapatid ni Basilio.
Tandang Selo- isang kathang-isip na tauhan sa mga nobela ni Jose Rizal. Siya ay isang
indio na mangangahoy at mangangalakat na naninirahan sa pusod ng gubat. Siya ay
ama ni Kabesang Tales. Kung sa Noli Me Tangere ay pangangaso at pangangahoy ang
kanyang hanapbuhay, sa kasunod na nobelang it ay gumagawa na lamang ng walis si
Selo.

1.6 The Relevance of El Fili on land problems to todays CARP.

The relevance of El Fili on land problems here in the Philippines is the right to claim
what does every single Filipino owns. El Filibusterismo was one of Rizals famous
novels also known as The Reign of Greed were practically describing how Spaniards

stole the freedom and the right to own the motherland despite how it is directly belong to
the Filipinos.
Simuon resembled the mambubukid or magsasaka who initially rely and offered his life
to work at his motherland. Spaniards could be described as of wealthy families who
owned the land yet it was developed and maintained by a devoted mambubukid or
magsasaka. However, wealthy landowners arent willing to give the remaining shares of
land to devoted magsaksaka.

1.5 The writing of El Fili and the Characters, Tales, Tano, Juli, and Tandang
Selo.
Kabesang Tales- Telesforo Juan de Dios, o mas kilala bilang Kabesang
Tales, ay isa sa mga prominentent tauhan sa El Filibusterismo ni Jose
Rizal. Siya and anak ni Tandang Selo at ama ng magkakapatid na Juli at
Tano. Siya ay tahimik at masunurin sa mga prayle.
Tano- Si Tano ay ang lalaking anak ni kabesang Tales at kapatid ni Juli.
Siya ay 14 na taong gulang noon sa panahon ng nobela nang nakaranas
ang kanyang ama ng inhustiya mula sa kamay ng mga prayle. Dahil sa
pangyayaring ito, hindi nakatanggi si Tano na magsundalo.
Juli- Anak ni Kabesang Tales at kapatid ni Basilio.
Tandang Selo- isang kathang-isip na tauhan sa mga nobela ni Jose Rizal.
Siya ay isang indio na mangangahoy at mangangalakat na naninirahan sa
pusod ng gubat. Siya ay ama ni Kabesang Tales. Kung sa Noli Me Tangere
ay pangangaso at pangangahoy ang kanyang hanapbuhay, sa kasunod na
nobelang it ay gumagawa na lamang ng walis si Selo.
1.6 The Relevance of El Fili on land problems to todays CARP.

The relevance of El Fili on land problems here in the Philippines is the right
to claim what does every single Filipino owns. El Filibusterismo was one of
Rizals famous novels also known as The Reign of Greed were practically
describing how Spaniards stole the freedom and the right to own the
motherland despite how it is directly belong to the Filipinos.
Simuon resembled the mambubukid or magsasaka who initially rely and
offered his life to work at his motherland. Spaniards could be described as
of wealthy families who owned the land yet it was developed and
maintained by a devoted mambubukid or magsasaka. However, wealthy
landowners arent willing to give the remaining shares of land to devoted
magsaksaka.