{UAH} CLASS STRUGGLES IN THE PHILIPPINES

Akim Odong,

A Brief history of the Philippines: 

First you need to know the Filipinos fought a very bitter war against Spain, which originally  had colonised the country for over 200 years. Later on, the American were to defeat the Spanish, but rather than grant her independence, the Americans replaced the Spaniards as colonial powers,

But even in the period of the Filipino struggle against Spanish colonialsim, the struggle was till very much a CLASS STRUGGLE as it was one for national independence.  You can read from the excerpt below that the peasants throughout Philippines history fought first and foremost for their class interests as peasants. the KATIPUNAN or the peasants had their own organisations, which fought bitter wars against the Spanish, and at many junctions would be joined by the ILUSTRADOS or the middle classes who were primarily agitating for independence.

I hope this gives you some idea of whata the struggle in the Philippines has been about  for the last 200 years. It is has had nothing to do with governance federalism.

Bobby

The Philippine Revolution Introduction The Katipunan Ethnicity and the Creation of National Identity Filipino Women Revolutionaries Struggle Between the Masses and the Elite Truce of Biak-na-Bato and the Betrayal of the Revolution Proclamaition of Philippine Independence and Birth of the Republic Bibliography Struggle Between the Masses and the Elite Aside from ethnicity and gender, class conflict was central to the Revolution. In the aftermath of the outbreak of the revolution, most of the ilutstrados or the nineteenth century middle class denounced the Katipunan and renewed their loyalty to Spain. Many ilustrados immediately condemned the revolution as an irrational action of uneducated masses. Some, like Rizal, believed that it was an ill-timed and ill-prepared struggle. But many did so out of allegiance to Spain. Later when the Katipunan was winning battles, some ilustrados gradually turned around and embraced the revolution. These ilustrados, though driven by nationalism like the masses, fought to preserve their social status and economic wealth. Their interests and agenda vastly differed from the objectives of the Katipuneros. Other ilustrados preferred to remain fence-sitters until the tide of the Revolution was clear. In a study of the municipal and provincial elite of Luzon during the Revolution, Milagros C. Guerrero concluded that well-to-do Filipinos as well as municipal and provincial officials refused to join the Revolution during 1897 and early 1898. There was even hesitancy even after they did join.

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