Task: Group Thought Paper 1

“Considering the context of the 1950s, what issues and interests were at stake in the debate
over the Rizal Bill? Do these issues remain pertinent to the present? More so, in view of the
issues at stake in the passage of RA 1425, is teaching Rizal’s life as hagiography consistent with
the law?”

Rizal Bill mandates all educational institutions in the Philippines to offer courses about Jose
Rizal. This bill was full of controversies. Three opposed the bill. The issues in the debate revolved on the
separation of church and state. The opposing team described Rizal’s novels as “belonging to the past”,
“harmful” and painting a “false picture of the country’s condition.” Also higher council stoked the
controversy with his threat to “punish” legislators who supported the Rizal bill. Also Catholic schools’
threats to close down if the bill was approved. As the bill was passed, the opposing team and the
supporting team came up to a compromised law. We can see that issues do not remain ‘til the present
time as the church remain silent. I think teaching Rizal’s life as hagiography was consistent with the law.
As it was very evident that Recto, who supported the law, wants to bring back our sense of nationalism.
Also the law wants to publish Rizal’s work unedited. It was for the younger generations to see the raw
work. The works of Rizal is an eye opener of what is happening and what might happen in the future.
We must always take the opportunity to learn it and to digest it.

One of the issues that were at stake in the debate over the Rizal Bill is that the Catholic Church
were against the proposed bill because as they said, there were things written in Rizal’s novels that
might ruin their image to the Filipinos. It was such a big deal for the Catholic Church to require high
school and college students to read and learn about Rizal’s novels because they were afraid that people
would believe the bad and negative things that were written about the Catholic Church in Rizal’s novels.
The Catholic Church were so afraid that Filipinos might know all the bad and negative things they do
back then that Rizal might have experienced first-hand. There were so worried that Rizal might expose
all their wrong doings and all the Filipinos might not believe them anymore and be against them. The
Catholic Church just does not want Filipinos to know all the terrible things they did because they want
power, they want to be in control and be the ones on top or the leaders of Filipinos, they want Filipinos
to follow and listen to them. They don’t want them to lose the Filipinos trust by Rizal exposing all the
bad things they did.

Rizal Bill still remain a great topic of discussion to the present for the reason that the church still
does things, that isn’t exposed. Rizal bill was signed on June 12 1956 to the reason that his works has to
remain to the people to know and learn from the malicious history that Filipinos have before. But they
never confess their sin despite the attacking novels, thinking they’re a children of God and they serve his
words, it is a shame that they hold the religious community yet they are a sinner. Because of the fact
that they agree to the Rizal Bill is because they are afraid to exposed about to their corrupting or
unfairness they do. It was a long run for Recto and others who helped him to proposed of publishing
Rizal bill works to the nation for the learning they have to know.
 But Rizal Bill was implemented not just because for the sake of showing and revealing the
malicious and dirty acts before but because they want us to aimed to provide knowledge and much-
needed information and widen our knowledge about the history of the Philippines. Rizal’s legacy and
other Bayani’s in our country wants us to know of advancing the importance of education, knowledge
and progress about how they fight for our country. As what Rizal said “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng
bayan” that is why we have to know the life of Rizal. There are a lot of reasons why we should take this
law not just in mind but in our hearts also:

1. We need to rededicate the lives of youth of freedom and nationalism that our Hero’s fought
and died for.
2. To pay tribute to our National Hero for being devoted in shaping our culture
3. Gaining patriotism through the study of Rizal

The Rizal Bill was not implemented for nothing but because they offer a lot of benefits. But this
subject provide insights on how to deal with our latest problems because Rizal believes that “ He
who controls the past controls the future. “Our history forms the manner on how we see the
future.” Second is It helps us understand ourselves as Filipino citizen because it defines
ourselves not just in terms of where we are going but also where we come from. Third, the
works of Rizal teaches us nationalism and patriotism. And lastly, it provides life lessons because
we can learn a lot of how Rizal faces various challenges in his life.