La Liga Filipina

The La Liga Filipina was a short-lived organization of Filipino nationalists, who had the goal to peacefully fight for independence or at least for a maximum autonomy of the Philippines from Spain. It was organized along the lines of a Masonic Lodge. Initiator of the organization was José Rizal.

José Rizal was a leading member of the Propaganda Movement of Filipino students in Europe and wrote for the newspaper La Solidaridad political articles. Among other things, he demanded that the Philippines province of Spain would that Filipino seats in the Spanish Parliament ( Cortes ) would be created that Spanish priests were replaced in the Philippines by locals and that all residents of the Philippines, speech and assembly, freedom and equality before the Act would be granted. In 1892 he returned from Europe back to the Philippines. For the realization of his goals, he founded on July 3, 1892 La Liga Filipina. Founding place was the home of Doroteo Ongjunco in the Ilaya Street 176 in Tondo, a present-day district of Manila. The first president Ambrosio Salvador was elected. Agustin de la Rosa was elected Financial Secretary and Bonifacio Arevalo to the treasure treasurer. Other founding members were Deodato Arellano, Andres Bonifacio, Mamerto Natividad, Domingo Franco, Jose Dizon, Apolinario Mabini, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, Marcelino de los Santos, Arcadio del Rosario and Jose Ramos.

Shortly after the announcement of the founding of the Liga Filipina was banned by the Spanish colonial authorities again on July 6, 1892. José Rizal was arrested and exiled to Dapitan City. After the ban, the successor organization of the Liga Filipina was founded on July 7, 1892 the Katipunan, which, however, took a more radical approach.

The events surrounding the creation and the prohibition of the Liga Filipina had a big impact on the Philippine Revolution. The revolutionaries, however, recognized that Rizal's goals were illusory, because Spain was not interested to give the Filipinos an autonomy. The basic principles of the League were incorporated into the constitutions of the Republic of Biak -na- Bato and the First Philippine Republic.