Benjamin P.

Roldan II Rizals Childhood Memories

AC05503

When Jose Rizal was fifteen years old and a student of Ateneo, he composed a poem entitled Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town) which vividly described his childhood years in Calamba. He was a frail, sickly, and undersized child. His parents gave him a tender loving care. His father built a small nipa cottage for him to play during daytime. An Aya (housemaid) was employed to look after his comfort. He remembered also the daily Angelus Prayer. By nightfall children were gathered at the house to pray the Angelus. The happy moonlit nights at the azotea after reciting the Angelus. Stories he heard from his Aya about fairies, tales of buried treasures, tress blooming with diamonds, and other fabulous stories. Those tales tickled the imagination of Jose Rizal, which developed in him an enduring interest in legends and folklore. Probably, he was truly an emotional poet; a nocturnal walk in the town under the moonlight was also included in his memoirs. In Memory of My Town When Early childhoods happy days In memory I see once more along the lovely verdants shore That meets a gently murmuring sea When I recall the whisper soft Of zephyrs dancing on my brow With cooling sweetness even now New luscious life is born in me When I behold the Lily White That sways to do the winds command, While gently sleeping on the sand The stormy water rests awhile; When from the flowers there softly breathes A bouquet ravishingly sweet, Out-poured the newborn dawn to meet, As on us she begins to smile. With sadness I recall recall Thy faced in precious infancy, Oh! Mother, friend most dear to me, Who gave to life a wondrous charm I yet recall a village plain, My joy, my family, my boon, Besides the freshly cool lagoon, The spot for which my heart beats warm. Ah yes! My footsteps insecure In your dark forest deeply sank; And there by every rivers bank

I found refreshment and delight; Within the rustic temple prayed With childhoods simple faith unfeigned While cooling breezes, pure, unstained, Would send my heart on rapturous flight. I saw the maker in the grandeur Of your ancient hoary wood Ah, never in your refuge could A mortal by regret be smitten; And while upon your sky of blue I gaze, no love nor tenderness Could fail, for here on natures dress My happiness itself was written. Ah, tender childhood, lovely town, Rich fount on my felicities Oh those harmonious melodies Which put to flight all dismal hours, Come back to my heart once more! Come back, gentle hours, I yearn! Come back as the birds return, At the budding of the flowers! Alas, Farewell! Eternal vigil I keep For thy peace, thy bliss, and tranquility, O Genius of good, so kind Give me these gifts, with charity. To thee I cease not to sigh These to learn, and I call to the sky To have thy sincerity.

Sponsorship of Rizal as the National Hero

Governor William Howard Taft declared to the Philippine Commission, that we Filipinos should have a national hero in 1901. Governor Taft spoke Pardo de Tavera, Legarda and Luzuriaga, the Filipino members of the civil commission, to impose the beginning of Rizal day. With this decision, Philippine Commission implemented: (1) Act No. 137, in which the district of Morong is named after Rizal; (2) Act No. 234, in which Rizal should have a monument at Luneta; and (3) Act No. 345, setting aside the anniversary of his death to be a day of observance, placing Rizals picture on the postage stamp and on the currency and teach the young Filipinos to revere his memory as the greatest of the Filipino patriots.

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 March 8, 1930) was the 27th President of the United States (19091913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (19211930). He is the only person to have served in both offices. Born in 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio, into the powerful Taft family, "Big Bill" graduated from Yale College as a Phi Beta Kappa in 1878[2] and from Cincinnati Law School in 1880. He worked in local nondescript legal positions until he was tapped to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court in 1887. In 1890, Taft was appointed Solicitor General of the United States and in 1891 a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1900, President William McKinley appointed Taft Governor-General of the Philippines. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft Secretary of War in an effort to groom Taft, then his close political ally, into his handpicked presidential successor. Taft assumed a prominent role in problem solving, assuming on some occasions the role of acting Secretary of State, while declining repeated offers from Roosevelt to serve on the Supreme Court. Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency.[3] In his only term, Taft's domestic agenda emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform, strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission, improving the performance of the postal service, and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment. Abroad, Taft sought to further the economic development of nations in Latin America and Asia through "Dollar Diplomacy", and showed masterful decisiveness and restraint in response to revolt in Mexico. The task oriented Taft was oblivious to the political ramifications of his decisions, often alienated his own key constituencies, and was overwhelmingly defeated in his bid for a second term in the presidential election of 1912. In the Historical rankings of Presidents of the United States Taft receives an aggregate ranking of 22nd.

After leaving office, Taft spent his time in academia, arbitration, and the search for world peace through his self-founded League to Enforce Peace. In 1921, after the First World War, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft Chief Justice of the United States. Taft served in this capacity until shortly before his death in 1930. He is the only former president to administer the oath of office to another President and the only Chief Justice to serve with associate justices whom he had appointed to the court.

Passage of the Philippine Commission: Act No. 137

On June 11, an Act No. 137 was formulated which organized politico-military district of Morong into Province of Rizal, in honor of Dr. Jose Rizal, the great hero and martyr. The idea of changing the name of Morong was originally suggested by Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino, and it was duly recognized in Tafts address.

Act No. 243

On September 28, 1901, Philippine Commission Act 243 was passed, allowing the use of public land at the Luneta in the City of Manila to erect a monument to Jose Rizal. It would serve as the final resting place for the heros body. An international art competition was launched and held from 1905 to 1907 to design Rizals monument. Many well-known sculptors from around the world participated and sent their entries, which included a scale model and a sketch of the monument and a site development plan. Among the 40 models at the public exhibition at the Ayuntamientos Marble Hall (formerly known as the Casa Consistorial), six were chosen by the committee headed by then Gov. James Smith. These are: Motto Stella, Al Martir de Bagumbayan, Noli Me Tangere Para Rizal, 1906, Victoria, F.F. and Maria Clara.

Act. No. 345

On February 1, 1902, the Philippine Commission enacted Act. No. 345 which set December 30 of each year as Rizal Day, and made it one of the ten official holidays of the Philippines. As the nationalist spirit of the Filipinos was at the highest point during that time, they were able to convince the government to erect a monument for Rizal. Thus, Act No. 243 was enacted on September 28, 1901 granting the right to use public land upon the Luneta in the City of Manila upon which to erect a statue of Jose Rizal.

Claveria decree of 1849

The Catlogo alfabtico de apellidos (English: Alphabetical Catalog of Surnames) is a book of surnames that was published in the colonial era Philippines after a decree for the systematic distribution of family names and the implementation of the Spanish naming system on the inhabitants of the Philippines. The book was created after the Spanish Captain and Governor General Narciso Clavera y Zalda issued a decree on November 21, 1849, in response to the inconsistencies in the way Filipinos arbitrarily chose surnames. Following the Christianisation of the Philippines, many Filipinos chose surnames such as de los Santos, de la Cruz, del Rosario, Bautista for their religious significance; even today these surnames are perhaps the most common. Many other Filipinos also chose surnames of well-known chieftains such as Lacandola. Furthermore, many people within the same family had different surnames. This posed a difficult problem to Spanish authorities, who found it difficult to perform a census on the archipelago's inhabitants, as well as hindering tax collecting.

Rizals Ancestry Family Members

Sources:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2afmjw1&s=3 http://esphayka.multiply.com/journal/item/43/43 http://fairykaye.hubpages.com/hub/Jose-Rizal-Childhood-Memories http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php? subcat=13&i=354 http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Act_No._137 http://www.nhi.gov.ph/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=617 http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Claveria's_Decree_on_Surnames