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Marcelo H. del Pilar Facts & Worksheets

Marcelo H. del Pilar was a writer, lawyer, and a Philippine revolutionary propagandist. Marcelo, together with Jose Rizal and Graciano Lopez Jaena, became known to be the leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain.

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Marcelo H. del Pilar was a writer, lawyer, and a Philippine revolutionary propagandist. Marcelo, together with Jose Rizal and Graciano Lopez Jaena, became known to be the leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain. Also known with the pen name Plaridel, the Governor-General Ramon Blanco described him as “the most intelligent of the Filipino politicians, the true soul of the independence movement, very superior to Rizal” because of the effectiveness of his satirical writings and his organizational ability.

See the fact file below for more information on the Marcelo H. del Pilar or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Marcelo H. del Pilar worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY

  • Del Pilar was born to a family that belonged to the principalia or the noble class of Filipinos, who originally descended from former datus.
  • Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán was born on August 30, 1850 in Bulacán, Bulacan.
  • His father, Julian Hilario del Pilar, was a well known poet and writer and his mother, Blasa Gatmaitan, was a descendant of the noble Gatmaitáns.
  • Del Pilars controlled vast tracts of agricultural lands including rice and sugarcane farms, fish ponds, and an animal-powered mill.
  • His father, Don Julian, served as a three-time gobernadorcillo (“little governor”) of Bulacan, the highest position that Filipinos could hold in government at that time, and then later worked as the clerk of Bulacan’s provincial governor.
  • He initially studied at the Colegio de San José and later entered the University of Santo Tomas, where he finished his law course in 1880.
  • After graduating, Marcelo worked for the Real Audiencia de Manila.
  • Although working on his law profession in Manila, del Pilar spent more time in his native province.
  • There he took every occasion like baptisms, funeral wakes, weddings, town fiestas, and cockfights at the cockpits to enlighten his countrymen about the state of their native country.
  • Through Marcelo’s declamatory jousts like the dupluhan and dalitan (a collection of poems written in narrative sequences, psalms, and riddles) during those mentioned events, he would expose the abuses of the Spanish friars and corrupt colonial authorities.

ANTI-FRIAR ACTIVITIES IN PHILIPPINES

  • In 1882 Del Pilar founded the Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper), the first bilingual newspaper in the Philippines. Jose Rizal’s essay, El Amor Patrio, was featured in this newspaper and Del Pilar translated it into Tagalog language, Ang Pagibig sa Tinubúang Lupà (Love of Country).
  • The usage of the Tagalog language by Marcelo instead of Spanish (Rizal used Spanish) in his propaganda in the Philippines became a double-edged sword: a castigation of the friars which agitated them, and a call to action among the Filipino people.
  • He further wrote different anti-clerical pamphlets like Cai-igat Cayo (Be as Slippery as an Eel), Dasalan at Tuksohan (Prayers and Mockeries), Kadakilaan ng Diyos (The Greatness of God), and La Frailocracia Filipinas (Friarocracy in the Philippines). For mass effect, he printed these in pamphlet formats and disseminated them widely in the provinces.

PROPAGANDA MOVEMENT IN SPAIN

  • In October 1888, fleeing from clerical persecution, Del Pilar went to Spain, leaving his family behind.
  • In Barcelona, he joined other expatriate Filipinos like Jose Rizal, Mariano Ponce, and Graciano Lopez-Jaena, including the Luna Brothers, Juan and Antonio. They started the Reform Movement and convinced some Spanish legislators to help achieve changes they desired.
  • In December 1899, he succeeded Graciano López Jaena being the editor of the La Solidaridad (Solidarity).
  • The aims of the newspaper under Marcelo were extended to add up the objective of the removal of the friars and the secularization of the parishes; active Filipino participation in the affairs of the government; freedom of speech and of assembly; wider social and political freedoms; equality before the law; assimilation; and representation in the Spanish Cortes, or Parliament.
  • From 1899 to 1895, Marcelo consequently, became the backbone of the entire Propaganda Movement.
  • Publication of the newspaper stopped in 1895 due to a lack of funds.
  • When the funds for the paper became scarce, Marcelo used his own money to keep it running.
  • It came to a point that Marcelo became so poor that he scavenged for cigarette butts to smoke just to keep himself warm.

LATER YEARS, ILLNESS, AND DEATH

  • Marcelo missed many meals because of his extreme poverty and suffered from tuberculosis.
  • Antonio Valeriano, who made a biography on Marcelo H. Del Pilar, wrote that the hero also suffered homesickness and heartbreak due to the failures of the reform.
  • Losing hope in reforms, Marcelo became favorable of a revolution against Spain.
  • He decided to return to the Philippines, but on his way home he contracted tuberculosis in Barcelona.
  • He later died in a public hospital on July 4, 1896, and was buried in a pauper’s grave.
  • His remains were returned to the Philippines on December 3, 1920, and are currently buried in his birthplace in Bulakan, Bulacan.

PERSONAL LIFE

  • In February 1878, Marcelo married his second cousin Marciana (the “Chanay/Tsanay” in his letters) in Tondo.
  • The two had seven children, six girls and one boy namely Sofía, José, María, Rosario, María Consolación, María Concepción, and Ana (Anita). Only Sofía and Anita survived to adulthood.

MASTERMIND OF THE KATIPUNAN

  • Many historians and scholars believed that Marcelo was the true mastermind of the Katipunan.
  • The Katipunan’s ordinance was submitted by Andrés Bonifacio to Marcelo H. Del Pilar for validation, according to the historian Renato Constantino.
  • Bonifacio also used the letters he got from Marcelo to recruit more members of Katipunan which are called Katipuneros.
  • The official newspaper of the Katipunan, Kalayaan (Liberty), carried the pseudonym of Marcelo as Plaridel, the editor-in-chief.
  • According to León María Guerrero, Marcelo’s letters were viewed by Bonifacio as a necessary document of the Philippine Revolution and guides for Katipunan’s activities.

HISTORICAL REMEMBRANCE

  • For his 150 essays and 66 editorials mostly published in La Solidaridad and different anti-friar pamphlets, Marcelo H. del Pilar is widely considered as the “Father of Philippine Journalism.”
  • On November 30, 1997, the Technical Committee of the National Heroes Committee, created through Executive Order No. 5 by previous President Fidel Ramos, suggested Marcelo H. del Pilar along with the other eight Filipino historical figures to be the National Heroes.

Marcelo H. del Pilar Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Marcelo H. del Pilar across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Marcelo H. del Pilar worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Marcelo H. del Pilar who was a writer, lawyer, and a Philippine revolutionary propagandist. Marcelo, together with Jose Rizal and Graciano Lopez Jaena, became known to be the leaders of the Reform Movement in Spain. Also known with the pen name Plaridel, the Governor-General Ramon Blanco described him as “the most intelligent of the Filipino politicians, the true soul of the independence movement, very superior to Rizal” because of the effectiveness of his satirical writings and his organizational ability.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Marcelo H. Del Pilar Facts
  • Quick Facts
  • Brief Bio
  • Father of Philippine Journalism
  • Key Words
  • Governor-General Says…
  • Significant Dates
  • Tagalog to English
  • Looking Back
  • What Makes A Hero?
  • Patriotic Illustration

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