RIZAL LAW & the

TEACHING OF RIZAL COURSE

REPUBLIC ACT 1425 SEN. JOSE P. LAUREL

Otherwise known as

the RIZAL LAW.

It mandates the

teaching of the life,

works, and writings of

Rizal in all schools in

the country.

He sponsored the said

law.

He stated that Rizal was

the founder of Filipino

nationality and the

architect of the Filipino

nation, there is a need

to know and imbibe the

great ideals and

principles for which he

died.

To rededicate the lives of the youth to the

ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which

our heroes lived and died.

To pay tribute to our national hero for

devoting his life and works in shaping the

Filipino character.

To gain an inspiring source of patriotism thru

the study of Rizal’s life, works, and writings.

To recognize the relevance of Rizal’s ideals, thoughts, teachings, and life values to present conditions in the community.

To apply Rizal’s ideas in the solution of day-to-day situations and problems in contemporary life.

To develop an understanding and appreciation of the qualities, behavior and character of Rizal.

To foster the development of moral character, personal discipline, citizenship and vocational efficiency among the Filipino youth.

Resolved that:

Rizal subject

should be

abolished.

Resolved that

Andres Bonifacio

should be our

national and not

Jose Rizal.

“RESOLVED THAT

RIZAL SUBJECT

SHOULD BE

ABOLISHED”

“RESOLVED THAT

ANDRES BONIFACIO

SHOULD BE OUR

NATIONAL HERO AND

NOT JOZE RIZAL”

In the Philippines our national hero, Jose

Rizal was not a man of war but a man of

peace.

Why not Bonifacio, considering that he led

the revolution of 1896 against Spain?

Who chose Rizal to be our country’s national

hero?

Why is Rizal our greatest national hero?

Understanding

the concept of

“HERO”

A prominent or central personage taking an

admirable part in any remarkable action or

event. (Webster Dictionary)

A person of distinguished valor or enterprise

in danger, or fortitude in suffering.

A man honored after death by public

worship, because of exceptional service to

mankind.

CONSTANTINO (1969) claims that Rizal was an

American-sponsored hero.

The TAFT COMMISSION of 1901 stated that,

not the Filipino people chose Rizal to

become our country’s national hero.

The contenders for the title then as National

Hero were: Rizal, Aguinaldo, Bonifacio,

Mabini.

The decision to sponsor Rizal was implemented

with the enactment of the following legislations

by the Philippine Commission:

ACT # 137 – which organized a politico-military

district and named it as the province of Rizal in

honor of the most illustrious Filipino.

ACT # 243 – which authorized a public subscription

for the erection of a monument in honr of Rizal at

Luneta.

ACT # 345 – which set aside the anniversary of

Rizal’s death as a day of observance.

AGONCILLO (1986) – pointed out

that Rizal was acceptable as a

national hero to the Americans

because he was a symbol of

assimilation, which was the

American Policy then in the

Philippines.

Unfortunately, there are still some Filipinos

who entertain the belief that our Rizal is a

“made-to-order” national hero, and that the

maker or manufacturer in this case were the

Americans, particularly Civil Governor

William Howard Taft.

Rizal himself, his own people, and the

foreigners all together contributed to make

him the greatest hero & martyr of his

people.

CONSTANTINO said that there were other

factors, which contributed to Rizal’s

acceptability as the official hero of the

Philippines:

Rizal was already dead at the time the

Americans began their aggression in the

Philippines.

No embarrassing anti-American quotations

could ever be attributed to Rizal.

Rizal’s dramatic martyrdom had already made

him the symbol of Spanish oppression.

In the words of CONSTANTINO (1969) – Rizal

is a hero in the sense that:

He was able to see the problems generated

by historical forces, discern the new social

needs created by the historical development

of new social relationships, and take an

active part in meeting these needs.

He served the Filipino people by consciously

articulating the unconscious course of

events.

GUERRERO (1998) – asserts that it is the Filipinos

who have chosen Rizal to be the symbol of our

nationalism as a people even before he died. In

choosing Rizal as our Filipino national hero, a

number of conclusions can be drawn:

Since the Filipinos love peace, they have chosen

to magnify a man of peace above the men of

war.

Because Filipinos are lovers of freedom and

justice, they have given their worship to a man

who gave up all comforts and pleasures of peace

for their sake.

Filipinos prize virtue more than victory, and

sacrifice above success.

To GUERRERO (1998) – Rizal was the first

Filipino, because:

It was Rizal who first called the Philippines

his fatherland.

It was he who taught his countrymen that

they could be something else, Filipinos who

were members of the Filipino nation.

He was the first to work towards the

unification of the Philippine archipelago into

a compact and homogenous body based on

common interests and mutual protection.

Rizal was born in the decade when other nationalist

leaders of Asia were born: MOHANDAS GANDHI,

RABINDARANATH TAGORE, and SUN YAT-SEN.

According to COATES (1968) – all the four

challenged the West.

Of the four, Rizal was the most remarkable because

his ideas matured at an early age.

DE OCAMPO (1969) - said that Rizal was the first

exponent of Asian nationalism since he was the

source of inspiration for the outbreak of the

Philippine Revolution of 1896.

The worth and dignity of the individual.

The inviolability of human rights.

The innate equality of all men and races.

The necessity for constitutional government.

Due process of law.

Popular sovereignty as the basis of all political

authority.

Faith in human reason and enlightenment.

The rights of the masses to public education.

Belief in social progress through freedom.

Rizal was the first Asian leader to assert that

the aforementioned ideas and principles be

established in Asia for the benefit of the

Asians.

It was through Rizal that the basic tenets of

modern and social democracy were given a

major voice in Asia for the first time.

Thus, Rizal deserves to be called the FIRST

ASIAN NATIONALIST LEADER.

This was the period when the young Rizal

learned how to read, write and listen to

stories that triggered imaginative and critical

thinking on his part.

It was a period when the following values

and virtues were developed in him, such as:

INDUSTRIOUSNESS instead of IDLENESS;

CREATIVENESS instead of UNPRODUCTIVE-

NESS; RATIONALITY instead of BLIND

ACCEPTANCE; DIGNITY instead of SERVILITY.

This was the first turning point in the life of

Rizal. He was 11 years and was enrolled at

Ateneo Municipal, despite the objection of

his mother.

It was the period when Fathers Gomez,

Burgos, and Zamora were unjustly executed

by the Spanish government.

Strengthening of his religious

foundation.

Cultivation of the drive toward

excellence.

Conception of the Philippines as his

fatherland.

Envisioning the Philippines receiving

light thru education.

Perception of the intimate between

religion and education.

This was the second major turning point in

the life of Rizal. It was this time that Rizal

decided to leave the Philippines to escape

persecution.

He went to Europe and everywhere he went,

Rizal was always an observer and a student,

learning from everything he saw, read, and

heard.

He urged the Filipino colony in Spain to

prove that Filipinos can compete with the

Europeans in intellect and talent.

During this period, Rizal took part in the

Propaganda Movement, based in Europe.

This was the last turning point in the life of

our national hero, before his martyrdom on

December 30, 1896.

Rizal was exiled in Dapitan. It was here in

Dapitan, where Rizal demonstrated what an

individual can do and accomplish within a

short period of time. It was here where he

detached his connection with politics and

devoted more of his time in practical service

and usefulness to the community.