Jose Rizal was not very fond of UST’s Benavides monument.
By Rancho Arcilla
07 April 2020
The El Filibusterismo, or “El Fili” in short, is the second novel of Jose Rizal and the sequel to the Noli Me Tangere. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent. Although never explicitly stated, if the plot of El Filibusterismo is to be dated with precision, then that year would be 1878.
For this to be explained, let’s first have a closer reading on an excerpt from Chapter 12 of El Fili, the biggest clue in the puzzle:
“Now I remember! You know, I have been put in charge of collecting the contributions.
What contributions?
For the monument.
What monument?
Why, Father Baltazar’s! Didn’t you know?
And who is Father Baltazar?
What else? A Dominican? That is why the fathers have appealed to the students. Come; give three or four pesos so they will see we can be generous. Let it never be said that to raise a statue the friars have had to put their hands in their own pockets! Come now, Placido boy, you won’t be throwing away your money!”
Juanito Pelaez to Placido Penitente, Chapter 12, El Filibusterismo
In this excerpt, the author captured the popular distaste among the students of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas on the fundraising campaign for the erection of a monument dedicated to Fr. Baltazar, a friar. The tone is sarcastic and spiteful.
But who is this Padre Baltazar? And where is his monument now located?
In 1878, when the author, Jose Rizal, was just first year in Medical school, then Rector of Santo Tomas Joaquin Fonseca came up with the idea of erecting in Plaza de Santo Tomas a monument dedicated to Fr. Miguel de Benavides, the founder of the University. Eminent scholars such as Santa Maria (1937), Villarroel (1985), and Torres (Intramuros Administration, 2020 May 12) agree that the Benavides Monument is the same Baltazar Monument being referred to by the fictional character Juanito Pelaez in Chapter 12 of the El Fili.
Rizal, in writing his satirical piece, playfully hides the name of Padre Miguel de Benavides under the name of Padre Baltazar, who also happens to be a historical figure in his own right. It was Baltazar Fort, then the Provincial of the Dominicans in the Philippines, who carried out Miguel de Benavides’ will to establish a college after his death. Benavides died in 1605, but it was only in 1611 when his will was successfully carried out by Baltazar and the University of Santo Tomas was officially established (as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora de Santissimo Rosario). The identity of Padre Baltazar, according to Villarroel, is thus inseparable from the history of the university.
One can only assume that the sarcasm of Juanito Pelaez must have reflected Rizal’s impression on the monument. The author found the campaign so distastefully memorable that he even had enough time to criticize it years later in his groundbreaking second novel.
But why was this monument so unpopular?
The Benavides Monument
In the present campus of the University of Santo Tomas there stands a statue of bronze at the center of the Plaza Benavides—or the “Lover’s Lane”, as what the students fondly call the place. Flanked by four lions in its pedestal, the statue stands gracefully and with great dignity. The overall appearance is solemn and tomb-like, but nevertheless stately. Who would have thought that this monument once stirred quite a controversy when it was being conceptualized more than a hundred years ago?
The monument, as envisioned by Fonseca, was to “symbolize” the benefits brought to the Philippines by Christian evangelization and education. It was therefore propagandistic. Since the plaza was a public space, the Rector sought all the necessary permissions from the government. The estimated cost for the project, which also included two fountains, a marble pedestal and the face-lifting of the entire Plaza de Santo Tomas, was a whopping 30,000 Pesos, which was very ambitious—not to mention luxurious—considering the fact that Rizal’s matriculation fee to Medical School at that same period was just 8 pesos.
Lack of support, or even some form of opposition, can be expected, but the Rector still pushed through with the project in the hopes that the entire projected cost can be shouldered purely by collections. Indeed, Juanito Pelaez’s line from the El Fili come’s to mind: “Let it never be said that to raise a statue the friars have had to put their hands in their own pockets!” The collection drive proved to be extremely unpopular. Despite best efforts, the collections raised only 4,000 pesos and the project managers gave up. The enterprise was indefinitely shoved under the rug.
But after 10 years collecting dust, the project was eventually revived. Juan Jose Hervas y Arizmendi, a Spanish architect, who was then the municipal architect of Manila, designed the pedestal and the fountains; while the French sculptor Tony Noel was commissioned to execute the statue in Bronze in his workshop in Paris. It must have been a relief to everyone when the actual cost for the entire project was only 7,759.92 pesos–still an exorbitant sum yet considerably cheaper than earlier cost estimates.
The statue was unveiled at eight o’clock in the morning of July 2 1891. The date was chosen so that the inauguration would coincide with the start of the Academic Year 1891-1892. The guest of honors were the following: Valeriano Weyler, Governor-General; Bernardino Nozaleda, Manila Archbishop; Matias Gomez, Rector Magnificus; school officials and professors; and students. It was the governor who symbolically pulled the cord that unveiled the monument.
The Benavides Monument at present
It is doubtful whether Rizal ever saw the statue erected in Plaza Santo Tomas. When the El Filibusterismo was being written, the monument still did not exist. The project, being suspended since his student years, was finished only in 1891.
Despite a controversial start, the monument eventually became one of the landmarks of Intramuros until the Second World War. After the destruction of the University campus in Intramuros, the monument was in bad shape. Bullet marks can still be romantically seen on the friar’s heart and head.
It was then transferred in 1954 to UST’s then new Sampaloc campus. It became a centerpiece for a new plaza: the Plaza Benavidez, which was named in honor of him. Students of subsequent generations, however, had this playful knack of calling this new plaza as Lovers’ lane, instead—in reference to the hoards of young lovers prancing and frolicking in front of the monument, grinning at the thought that the old conservative frayle is just—a statue. The lover-boy Jose Rizal, if young and alive today, would have definitely loved hanging out here.
In 2008, a replica was erected where the original monument once stood, in preparation for the Quadricentennial anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas. The Plaza was also renovated, and a new historical marker from the National Historical Commission was also installed.
References
Intramuros Administration (2020 May 12). ILS Episode 5: Symbols of a Glorious Past : A look at the Old Monuments of Intramuros [Video]. Youtube. bit.ly/3gDlnDN
Rizal, Jose. El Filibusterismo; translated by Guerrero, Leon Ma.
Santa Maria, Alberto. (1937). Estudios Historicos de la Universidad de Santo Tomas. Manila: University of Santo Tomas Press.
Torres, Jose Victor (2005). Ciudad Murada. Manila: Intramuros Administration.
Villarroel, Fidel (1985). Jose Rizal and the University of Santo Tomas. Manila: University of Santo Tomas Press.
Texts and Illustrations by Rancho Arcilla
All rights reserved by the author.
07 April 2020 (updated 11 June 2020; 00.56)
Manila Weekly 