The Philippines a Century Hence

Final Presentation Format: Game (Celebrity Bluff)

Game Mechanics: There will be six rounds of the game. One group would play for
each round, all they have to do is to determine whether the statement assigned to
them is a FACT or a BLUFF, and which of the succeeding statements is the correct
justification for the right answer. If the groups answer is correct, they will be
awarded one point, else the point will be given to the other groups. The group with
the most points at the end of the rounds wins.

The Philippines a Century Hence is an essay written by Jose Rizal that was
published in La Solidaridad in 1889. In this essay, Rizal forecasts the events in the
Philippines within a hundred years.

Questions and Answers

1. According to the essay, Spanish colonialism had resulted to innumerable
miseries of the natives, however, if it had one positive effect, it was the
growth and propagation of the Filipino indigenous culture. BLUFF
a. Fact yan kasi Rizal wrote that the Filipinos became enlightened and
had progressed when they had been redeemed from savagery through
Christianity. This progress enabled them to preserve their original
culture and traditions.
b. Bluff yan kasi Rizal wrote that colonialism had caused the
deterioration and decay of the Philippine indigenous culture.
According to him, as the Filipinos were lowered in their own
eyes, they became ashamed of their own culture and had
adapted the customs introduced by foreign invaders.
c. Bluff yan kasi the essay never mentioned anything about the culture
and traditions in the Philippines, only the colonial situation of the
country.
**Rizal argued that Spanish colonialism caused the deterioration and
decay to Philippine indigenous culture. With Christianity, the Filipinos
embraced the customs that the Spaniards introduced, and abandoned
their original traditions.
2. In the essay, reforms were discussed at length by Rizal, for he did not
consider the possibility of a revolution by the Filipinos against their Spanish
colonizers within a hundred years. BLUFF
a. Bluff yan kasi Rizal had predicted in the essay that if more
injustices to Filipinos were committed, if they were insulted

and abused even more, the Philippines would declare itself

independent through a bloody revolution.
b. Fact yan kasi According to the essay, the Filipinos had all adapted to
the colonial way of life and looked highly upon their colonial masters.
Hence it was impossible that they would ever rise in arms against
Spain. Thus, in the essay, he had instead written at length about the
reforms that Spain needed to implement.
c. Fact yan kasi Rizal was a reformist until the end of his life. None of
his writings entertained the idea of a revolution.
**Rizal wrote, The Philippines, then, will remain under Spanish
domination, but with more law and greater liberty, or they will declare
themselves independent after steeping themselves and the mother
country in blood. Thus, he believed that the Filipinos were capable of
staging a revolution to gain independence from Spain unless reforms
were implemented.
3. Rizal claimed that the progress of the Philippines cannot be prevented by
Spain. FACT
a. Fact yan kasi Rizal said in his essay that even though Spain had
succeeded in keeping ALL Filipinos blinded by controlling the education
in the country, Philippine progress could not be prevented, because the
Filipinos embrace civilization and can thrive in any clime.
b. Bluff yan kasi Rizal stated in the essay that keeping Filipinos
impoverished had succeeded in preventing their progress. Through
poverty, Filipinos became more passive and submissive, loved more
their colonial masters, and became more adapted to colonial rule.
c. Fact yan kasi Rizal said that there was no way for Spain to
prevent Philippine progress.
It was impossible to brutalize and exterminate the Filipinos,
and keeping them impoverished was counter-productive.
**According to Rizal, Spain would not be able to prevent the progress
of the Philippines. The number of Filipino intellectuals proved that
Spain could not keep the natives unenlightened. Poverty had only
inspired in Filipinos dangerous ideas and desires for a new way of life.
Lastly, Filipinos could not be exterminated; they could survive any
catastrophe.
4. Though Rizal campaigned for representation as a reform, he was also
convinced of two reasons on why the Philippines may not be allowed
representation in the Cortes. BLUFF
a. Bluff yan kasi In his essay, Rizal proved that there was NO
reason that the Philippines would not be allowed to have a
representative. On the contrary, he argued of its benefit to
Spain.
b. Fact yan kasi One of those reasons which Rizal agreed with is that
majority of the inhabitants had an imperfect culture, and that they

were weak and ignorant. Thus, it was a possibility that the

representation would not be effective.
c. Fact yan kasi One of those reasons which he agreed with is that the
Philippine Representatives would be defeated in debates by the
Spanish Parliament, thus, no program in favor of the Philippines might
be approved anyway.
**Rizal proved that there was no reason that the Philippines may not
have a representative. If the Spaniards feared that the representatives
would be separatists and would advance only separatist agenda, they
would be defeated in the debates anyway. The brown skin and flat
nostrils of Filipinos were not indicative of their inferiority; law and
reason is not biased with external appearance. Besides, with
representation, the malcontents of the people would be silenced or
directed to the representative, which is a benefit for Spain.
5. According to Rizal, only through reforms would Spain be able to retain the
Philippines as a colony, and among these reforms are the representation in
the Spanish Cortes and the liberty of the press in the Philippines. FACT
a. Bluff yan kasi In his essay, Rizal pushed for a Filipino representative
in the Spanish Cortes but not for a free press, because even he
admitted that freedom of the press is dangerous for any government.
b. Fact yan kasi Rizal mentioned that if Spain wishes to rule
rightly and fitly, free press is necessary since Spain, which
rules the Philippines from a great distance, has absolute need
that the truth and facts reach its knowledge.
c. Bluff yan kasi Rizal wrote The Philippines a Century Hence in 1889
after the Calamba Hacienda Case which developed in him a radical
perspective in his struggle for independence. Thus, it is impossible that
he would campaign for reforms in this essay.
**Along with representation, the liberty of the press was one reform
that Rizal had advocated to the Spanish government, for he believed
that in order to rule rightly and fitly, Spain must be informed of the
true situations of its colony. He said that to govern in any other way
may also be called governing, but it is to govern badly.
6. One of the predictions that Rizal made is that the country would be colonized
by another after Spain. This country which was most likely to take over the
Philippines was Japan. BLUFF
a. Bluff yan kasi sabi ni Rizal America would colonize the
Philippines since it had no colony in Africa and it had interests
in the Pacific region. Moreover, it was not an impossible
proposition, because the accumulation of colonies by other
countries was an example that America might follow.
b. Fact yan kasi Rizal noted that Japan was under diplomatic pressures
from Europe. However, once freed from it, it was highly probable that
more than Korea, Japan would try to colonize the Philippines.

c. Bluff yan kasi Rizal predicted that the American republic would later
colonize the Philippines, for it would not look kindly upon the
independence of the Philippines due to its interests in the commerce
within the islands.
**Rizal predicted that the American Republic would take over the
Philippines after Spain. Like the other countries, it might attempt to
acquire a colony in the Pacific region. Japan, however, was more likely
to colonize Korea than the Philippines.