Marcelo H del Pilar

Birth and family background

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan was born on August 30, 1850 in Cupang (now Barangay San Nicolás), Bulacán, Bulacan. He was baptized "Marcelo Hilario" on September 4, 1850. The surname of Marcelo's grandmother "del Pilar" was added to comply with the order of Governor-General Narciso Clavería in 1849.

Del Pilar’s parents was a member of the Principalia group. The family owned rice and sugarcane farms, fish ponds, and an animal powered mill. His father, Julián Hilario del Pilar, was a well known Tagalog speaker in their town. He was also a well known poet and writer. Don Julián serves as a "three time" gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of his pueblo (town) and later held the position of oficial de mesa (government clerk) of the alcalde mayor (provincial governor). Blasa Gatmaitán, del Pilar’s mother, was a descendant of the noble Gatmaitáns. She was known as "Doña Blasica".

The ninth of ten children, del Pilar's siblings were: Toribio (priest, deported to the Mariana Islands in 1872), Fernando (father of General Gregorio del Pilar), Andrea, Dorotea, Estanislao, Juan, Hilaria (married to Deodato Arellano), Valentín, and María. The share of the inheritance of each child was very small and del Pilar renounced his share in favor of his siblings.

Early education (mid 1850s-1869)

Del Pilar learned to play the piano, violin, and flute at an early age. He learned his first letters from his paternal uncle Alejo del Pilar, the clerk of the court of Quiapo in 1860. He began his studies in the school of Sr. Hermenigildo Flores. He later transferred at the Colegio de San José in Manila. After obtaining his Bachiller en Artes, he pursued law at the Universidad de Santo Tomás.

Interruption of law studies at UST (1869)

In 1869, del Pilar acted as a padrino or godfather at a baptism in San Miguel, Manila. Since he was not a resident of the area, he questioned the excessive baptismal fee charged by the parish priest. The parish priest was outraged by his action. As a result, the judge, Félix García Gavieres, sent del Pilar to Old Bilibid Prison (then known as Carcel y Presidio Correccional). He was released after thirty days.

Cavite mutiny (1872)

During the time of the Cavite Mutiny in 1872, del Pilar was living with a Filipino priest named Mariano Sevilla. Sevilla was deported to the Mariana Islands along with del Pilar's eldest brother, Fr. Toribio Hilario del Pilar, due to allegations of being one of the organizers of the uprising. The deportation of Fr. Toribio resulted in the early death of del Pilar's mother.

Activities after the Cavite mutiny and marriage (1873-1878)

Out of the university, del Pilar worked as oficial de mesa in Pampanga (1874-1875) and Quiapo (1878-1879). In the month of February 1878, he married his second cousin Marciana (the "Chanay/Tsanay" in his letters) in Tondo. The couple had seven children, six girls and one boy: Sofía, José, María, Rosario, María Consolación, María Concepción, and Ana (Anita). Only two girls, Sofía and Anita, grew to adulthood (five children died before becoming adults).

Frequent visitors of del Pilar's Tondo house were young students of Manila. One of them, Mariano Ponce, became one of his colleagues in Spain.

Return to UST and graduation (1878-1880)

In 1878, del Pilar resumed his law studies at the UST. He earned his licenciado en jurisprudencia (equivalent to a Bachelor of Laws) in 1880. After finishing law, he worked for the Real Audiencia de Manila (Royal Audience of Manila).

Although practicing law in Manila, del Pilar spent more time in his native province. There he seized every occasion - baptisms, funeral wakes, weddings, town fiestas, and cockfights at the cockpits - to educate the common tao (masses) about the conditions of their native country. He also exposed the abuses of the Spanish friars and colonial authorities.

Diariong Tagalog (1882)

Del Pilar, together with Basilio Teodoro Moran and Pascual H. Poblete, founded the short-lived Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper) in 1882. Diariong Tagalog was the first bilingual newspaper in the Philippines and was financed by the wealthy Spanish liberal Francisco Calvo y Muñoz. Del Pilar became the editor of the Tagalog section. José Rizal's essay El Amor Patrio was featured in the newspaper. Del Pilar translated it into Tagalog language, Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love of Country).

Anti-friar activities in Malolos (1885)

Malolos became the center of del Pilar's anti-friar movement. The first success of the movement was in 1885, when the liberal Manuel Crisóstomo was elected gobernadorcillo by the citizens of Malolos. Shortly after this victorious event, del Pilar, together with the cabezas de barangay (chiefs of the barangays) of Malolos, argued with the town's friar curate on the list of taxpayers. The friar curate wanted to bloat the tax lists, a move meant for the parish's financial gain.

The Binondo incident (1887)

In 1887, during an upcoming fiesta in Binondo, the notorious incident occurred between the natives, Chinese, and Chinese mestizos. The gobernadorcillo de naturales (gobernadorcillo of the natives) of Binondo, Timoteo Lanuza, requested Fr. José Hevia Campomanes, the friar curate of Binondo Church, to prioritize the natives over the Chinese in the fiesta. Fr. Hevia rejected Lanuza's request and decided not to attend the celebration. Most of the attendees of the fiesta were the gobernadorcillos of Manila and the natives. A few days after the celebration, Fr. Hevia was removed as friar curate of Binondo by the liberal governor-general Emilio Terrero. The organizer of the fiesta, Juan Zulueta, was a disciple of del Pilar.

Implementation of Quiroga's decree on funerals (1887)

On October 18, 1887, Benigno Quiroga y López Ballesteros, the Director General of Civil Administration in Manila, issued an executive order prohibiting the exposition of dead bodies of cholera victims in the churches. Crisóstomo, the gobernadorcillo of Malolos at that time, proclaimed Quiroga's decree by means of a parade led by a brass band. Friar Felipe García, the friar-curate of Malolos, aggravated the authorities by parading the body of the servant of Don Eugenio Delgado. Upon the advice of del Pilar, Crisóstomo addressed the problem to the Spanish governor of Bulacan, Manuel Gómez Florio. Gómez Florio reprimanded the fighting friar parish priest.

Establishment of schools in Bulacan (1888)

On January 21, 1888, del Pilar worked for the establishment of a school of "Arts, Trades, and Agriculture" by drafting of a memorial to the gobernador civil (civil governor) of Bulacan. This was signed by the gobernadorcillos, ex-gobernadorcillos, leading citizens, proprietors, industrialists, professors, and lawyers of the province.

Anti-friar protest in Manila (1888)

On the morning of March 1, 1888, the principales of the districts of Manila and the nearby provinces (led by Doroteo Cortés and José A. Ramos) marched to the office of the civil governor of Manila, José Centeno García. They presented a manifesto addressed to the Queen Regent. This manifesto, entitled "Viva España! Viva el Rey! Viva el Ejército! Fuera los Frailes!" (Long live Spain! Long live the King! Long live the Army! Throw the friars out!), was believed to be written by del Pilar. The manifesto enumerated the abuses/crimes of the friars and demanded their expulsion from the Philippines including Manila Archbishop Pedro P. Payo himself. A week after the demonstration, Centeno resigned and left for Spain. Governor-general Terrero's term also ended the following month. Terrero was succeeded by acting governor-general Antonio Molto.

Del Pilar's defense of Rizal's Noli Me Tángere (1888)

José Rodríguez, an Augustinian priest, authored a pamphlet entitled ¡ca.ñgat Cayó!: Sa mañga masasamang libro,t, casulatan (Beware!: of bad books and writings, 1888). The friar warned the Filipinos 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) under the pen name Dolores Manapat. It was a reply to Rodríguez's ¡Caiñgat Cayó!.

Later activities in the Philippines and escape to Spain (1888)

Valeriano Weyler succeeded Molto as the governor-general of the Philippines. Investigations were escalated during Weyler's term. Gómez Florio, the Spanish governor of Bulacan and del Pilar's friend, was removed from his position. An arrest warrant was issued against del Pilar, accusing him of being a filibustero (subversive) and heretic. Upon the advice of his friends and relatives, del Pilar left Manila for Spain on October 28, 1888.

The night before he left the country, del Pilar stayed at the house of his fellow Bulaqueño, Pedro Serrano y Lactao. Together with Rafael Enriquez, they wrote the Dasalan at Tocsohan (Prayers and Mockeries), a mock-prayer book satirizing the Spanish friars. They also wrote the Pasióng Dapat Ipag-alab nang Puso nang Tauong Babasa (Passion That Should Inflame the Heart of the Reader).

Del Pilar was also able to organize the Caja de Jesús, María y José, the objective of which was to continue propaganda and provide education to indigent children. He managed the organization with the assistance of Mariano Ponce, Gregorio Santillán, Mariano Crisóstomo, Lactao, and José Gatmaitán. Caja de Jesús, María y José was later terminated and replaced by Comité de Propaganda (Committee of Propaganda) in Manila.

Propaganda movement in Spain (1889-1896)

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 February 17, 1889, del Pilar wrote a letter to Rizal, praising the young women of Malolos for their bravery. These 20 young women asked the permission of Governor-General Weyler to allow them to open a night school where they could learn to read and write Spanish. With Weyler's approval and over the objections of Friar Felipe García, the night school opened in the early 1889. Del Pilar considered this incident as a victory to the anti-friar movement. Upon his request, Rizal wrote his famous letter to the women of Malolos, Sa Mga Kababayang Dalaga Sa Malolos (To the Young Women of Malolos), on February 22, 1889.

La Solidaridad (1889)

On December 15, 1889, del Pilar succeeded Graciano López Jaena as editor of the La Solidaridad. Under his editorship, the aims of the newspaper expanded. Using propaganda, it pursued the desires for: 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; and Philippine representation in the Cortes, the legislature of Spain.

The conflict between del Pilar and Rizal (1891)

In 1890, a rivalry developed between del Pilar and Rizal. This was mainly due to the difference between del Pilar's editorial policy and Rizal's political beliefs.

On January 1, 1891, about 90 Filipinos gathered in Madrid. They agreed that a Responsable (leader) be elected. Camps were drawn into two, the Pilaristas and the Rizalistas. The first voting for the Responsable started on the first week of February 1891. Rizal won the first two elections but the votes counted for him did not reach the needed two thirds vote fraction. After Mariano Ponce pleaded to the Pilaristas, Rizal was elected Responsable. Rizal, knowing the Pilaristas did not like his political beliefs, respectfully declined the position and transferred it to del Pilar. He then packed up his bags and boarded a train leaving for Biarritz, France. Inactive in the Reform Movement, Rizal ceased his contribution of articles on La Solidaridad.

After the incident, del Pilar wrote a letter to Rizal seeking apology for any mistakes he had done. Rizal responded and said that he stopped writing for La Solidaridad because of many reasons: first, he needed time to work on his second novel El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed); second, he wanted other Filipinos in Spain to work also; and lastly, he could not lead an organization without solidarity in work.

Closure of La Solidaridad (1895)

From 1890 to 1895, del Pilar published La Solidaridad almost on his own as funding was scarce in the Philippines. Publication of the fortnightly stopped on November 15, 1895. Before his death, del Pilar rejected the theory of assimilation. Planning an armed struggle, del Pilar stated:

This statement inspired the Katipunan, a revolutionary organization founded by Andrés Bonifacio.

Later years, illness, and death (1895-1896)

Del Pilar's last years in Spain saw his descent into extreme poverty. He often missed his meals and during winter, he kept himself warm by smoking discarded cigarette butts he picked up in the streets. Suffering from tuberculosis, del Pilar decided to return to the Philippines. His illness worsened that he had to cancel his journey. He was taken to the Hospital de la Santa Cruz (Hospital Civil) in Barcelona. Del Pilar died there on July 4, 1896, a few days before the Cry of Pugad Lawin (Cry of Balintawak). He was buried the following day in a borrowed grave at the Cementerio del Sub-Oeste (Southwest Cemetery).

Reactions after death

News of his death reached the Philippines. La Politica de España en Filipinas, the publication of the Spanish priests, paid respect to him:

Ramón Blanco y Erenas, the Governor-General of the Philippines at that time, eulogized del Pilar as:

Return of del Pilar's remains (1920) and final interment (1984)

Del Pilar's remains were returned to the Philippines on December 3, 1920 and was buried initially at the Manila North Cemetery. It was later transferred to his birthplace in Bulacán, Bulacan on August 30, 1984, under a monument (see main article: Marcelo H. Del Pilar National Shrine).

Mastermind of the Katipunan

Some historians and scholars uphold the hypothesis that del Pilar was the true mastermind of the Katipunan. According to the historian Renato Constantino, the ordinance of the Katipunan were submitted by Bonifacio to del Pilar for validation. Bonifacio used the letters he received from del Pilar to enlist more Katipuneros. Kalayaan (Liberty), the official newspaper of the Katipunan, carried the pseudonym of del Pilar, Plaridel, as editor-in-chief. A copy of the letters of del Pilar was also given by Bonifacio to Deodato Arellano, del Pilar's brother-in-law and the first president of Katipunan. According to León María Guerrero, del Pilar's letters were considered by Bonifacio as important documents of the Philippine Revolution and guides for Katipunan's actions.

"Father of Philippine Journalism"

For his 150 essays and 66 editorials mostly published in La Solidaridad and various anti-friar pamphlets, del Pilar is widely regarded as the "Father of Philippine Journalism."

Samahang Plaridel, an organization of veteran journalists and communicators, was founded in October 2003 to honor del Pilar's ideals. It also promotes mutual help, cooperation, and understanding among Filipino journalists.

"Father of Philippine Masonry"

Del Pilar was initiated into Freemasonry in 1889. He served as venerable master of the famous Solidaridad lodge of Madrid. He became a close friend of Miguél Moráyta Sagrario, a professor at the Universidad Central de Madrid and Grand Master of Masons of the Grande Oriente Español.

Del Pilar was directly responsible for the establishment of the first national organization of Filipino Masons, the Gran Consejo Regional de Filipinas, in 1893. With this, he earned the recognition as the "Father of Philippine Masonry." The Masonic Grand Lodge of the Philippines is named Plaridel Masonic Temple.

In popular culture

Notable works