diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

known as "Filipinos" and the mestizos . .. the native priests . . . were hoping forconfiscation and secularization .. . . The two dozens of rich families, if they arethat many, Filipinos and mestizos, and a dozen persons, if that many, who amongthe classes'are the most educated, were hoping for the freedom of the press,representation in Cortes, positions till now reserved to Spaniards, and alsoconfiscation and secularization."This does not mean, however, blaming anyone concretely for theoccurences in 1872 because of the Cavite mutiny, according to de la Torre.And he ended by saying that the secular clergy is unjustly marginalized. Itwas urgent to give them a major role in the religious life of the Philippines.The regular clergy, on the other hand, needed no less urgently to be reformed.Prescinding from them, as many suggest, "would be a crime of lese nation,the result of which would be great evils. That would be the height ofindiscretion, inconvenience, and* the most senseless imprudence.""Furthermore, "those who wish ill of the friars are the very ones who wish illfor Spain,"98 a clear allusion to the republican liberals.4. The Franciscans and the Government of Rafael IzquierdoOn 4 April 1871, Carlos Ma. de la Torre handed over the government ofthe Philippines to his successor, Rafael Izquierdo, another hero of theSeptember revolution. On this same date, the latter issued a circular to theprovincials of the religious orders asking in a homiletic tone theirunconditional support. Later, on 12 May, he issued another circular in orderto implement a reform of primary education. In January 1872, he soughtanew the same cooperation to improve communications and roads.Life in the Philippines continued without any incidents of transcendenceuntil 20 January 1872 when the Cavite mutiny broke out, with all its tragicresults known to all.What were the relations between the Franciscans and Izquierdo in theshort span of time since April of the previous year? From the documents wehave, relations strictly of protocol. Without any doubt, Izquierdo was betterreceived by the Franciscans than his predecessor, but without enthusiasm.Almonacid, their Provincial, merely states, "He seems to be a man ofcharacter and determination. And so we hope his stay in these Islands mayresult in good?" That is all. For his part, the Provincial seems to have showna special care to stay aloof as much as possible from all kinds of strife in thepolitical arena. We have already mentioned that one of his first decisions asProvincial was the change of Commissars in Madrid, replacing Coria with delMoral. The latter, perhaps seeking to follow in the footsteps of his157