hi there in this video we will discuss the summary of the first chapter of el filibusterismo or the reign of greed written by Dr Jose razal titled on the upper deck we will also study the important events characters settings and lessons found in this chapter listen and watch carefully as you will learn a lot from this historical work by Ral let's begin one December morning the steamship Tabo was navigating the winding path of the pas River toward lagona on the ship's deck are a mix of locals friars and officials divided by social hierarchy with europeanized passengers enjoying the upper deck while locals crowd the lower deck among the upper deck passengers are Dona victorina a pretentious Filipina obsessed with European standards Don custodio A pompous bureaucrat Simon a mysterious and influential Jeweler and various friers including the sharp tonged Padres salvi and the Dominican Padre saila they were discussing plans to improve the pasig river and projects of the OAS Del PTO Simon suggested digging a straight and direct path from the start to the end of the Pug River the excavated soil would be used to block its former course Simon recommended using prisoners as laborers to save costs if that wasn't enough the citizens could be forced to work without pay however Don custodio a self-important official disagreed with seon's plan due to the potential for Rebellion instead he suggested compelling the residents near the pig River to raise Ducks the idea was that the Ducks would eat snails which would help deepen the river Dona victorina also opposed this idea as she detested duck eggs now let's move on to the important events in this chapter the steamer Tabo struggles to navigate the pasig river with the captain and crew working hard to avoid sandbar in Shallow Waters Dona victorina seated among the upper deck passengers complains about the slow progress and expresses her disdain for the local population Simon proposes a drastic plan to dig a new Canal suggesting the use of forced labor from the local population to complete the project Don custodio defends his own project of using ducks to naturally clear the riverbed contrasting with seon's harsh approach the passengers engage in a heated debate about progress in labor revealing their conflicting views on how to improve the country important characters Simon he is the returning Juan chostomo Ibara from the novel no Tanger in this chapter he is a jeweler who proposed the radical solution of digging a straight path for the pig River this major project would involve prisoners as laborers Dona victorina a Filipino woman pretending to be Spanish in this chapter she questioned Don custodio idea of raising Ducks near the PK River because she despised balute Don custodio one of the principals representing the Filipino populace he opposed Simone's suggestion to dig a straight path in the PK River fearing it could incite Rebellion instead he proposed raising ducks to deepen the river Ben Zade a journalist also present on the tabos deck Padre salvi Padre cila Padre kamur and pad iri clergymen who were also part of the journey along the pig River let us now proceed to the setting of this chapter the events take place on the steamer Tabo as it travels along the pag River the upper deck where the privileged passengers sit is shaded and comfortable while the lower deck is crowded with locals and cargo the river itself is described as winding and difficult to navigate with sand bars bamboo Groves and small fishing structures along the Banks here are some of the lessons messages or implications shown in this chapter the governance of the Spaniards in the Philippines is compared to the slow moving Tabo steamship the slow progress is attributed to leaders focusing on self-interest and hindering Filipino education to keep them subservient discrimination is evident in the division of passengers on the Tabo the wealthy and Spanish blooded stayed comfortably above deck while Filipinos and Chinese were crammed below de enduring heat engine noise and discomfort the chapter also portrays the selfishness and ignorance of those in power Simon's suggestion to force prisoners and citizens into labor shows disregard for the people's welfare meanwhile Don custodio suggestion reflects ignorance of Nature and the people's needs their disagreement highlights their self-serving interests rather than prioritizing the nation's well-being the chapter's message emphasizes the importance of having honest and compassionate leadership decision making should not be blinded by self-interest but should consider the welfare of everyone especially the poor and oppressed and that concludes the first chapter of el filibusterismo titled on the upper deck what have you learned from this chapter share your answers in the comments we also encourage you to like subscribe and click the notification Bell to stay updated with our future videos until next time thank you for watching [Music]