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La Solidaridad & La Liga Filipina
La Liga Filipina
 In
1892, Jose Rizal
(full name: Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal y Alonzo) returned to the Philippines and
proposed the establishment of a civic organization called “La Liga Filipina.”
On July 3, 1892, the following were elected as its officers: Ambrosio Salvador,
president: Agustin dela Rosa, fiscal; Bonifacio Arevalo, treasurer;
and Deodato Arellano, secretary. Rizal functioned as its adviser.
La Liga Filipina aimed to:
▪ Unite the whole country
▪ Protect and assist all members
▪ Fight violence and injustice
▪ Support education
▪ Study and implement reforms
La Liga Filipina had no intention of rising up in arms against the government; but
the Spanish officials still
felt threatened. On July 6, 1892 only three days after La Liga Filipina’s establishment,
Jose Rizal was secretly arrested. The next day, Governor General Eulogio Despujol
ordered Rizal’s deportation to Dapitan, a small, secluded town in Zamboanga.
La Liga Filipina's membership was active in the beginning; but later, they began
to drift apart. The rich members wanted to continue supporting the Propaganda
Movement; but the others seemed to have lost all hope that reforms could still
be granted.
Andres Bonifacio was
one of those who believed that the only way to achieve meaningful change was
through a bloody revolution.
La Solidaridad
In order to help
achieve its goals, the Propaganda Movement put up its own newspaper, called La Solidaridad.
The Soli, as the reformists fondly called their official organ, came out once every two
weeks. The first issue saw print was published on November 15, 1895.
The Solidaridad’s first editor was Graciano Lopez Jaena.
Marcelo H. del Pilar took over in October 1889. Del Pilar managed the Soli until
it stopped publication due to lack of funds.
Why the Propaganda Movement Failed
The propaganda movement did not succeed in its pursuit of reforms.
The colonial government did not agree to any of its demands.
Spain itself
was undergoing a lot of internal problems all that time, which could explain
why the mother country failed to heed the Filipino’s petitions. The
friars, on
the other hand, were at the height of their power and displayed even more arrogance in
flaunting their influence. They had neither the time nor the desire to listen to the
voice of the people.
Many of the reformists showed a deep love for their country, although they still
failed to maintain a united front. Because most of them belonged to the upper
middle class, they had to exercise caution in order to safeguard their wealth
and other private interests. Personal differences and petty quarrels, apart from
the lack of funds, were also a hindrance to the movements success. Lastly, no
other strong and charismatic leader emerged from the group aside from Jose Rizal.
Continue to The Katipunan.
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