The Life and

Works of Jose
Rizal
 BIOGRAPHY OF JOSE
RIZAL
• Full Name: Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda

• Occupation: Poet, Journalist, Doctor

• Birthdate: June 19,1861

• Date of death: December 30, 1896

• Place of Birth: Calamba, Laguna Province, Philippines

• Place of Death: Manila, Philippines

 IS RIZAL OUR NATIONAL
HERO?

“Even Jose Rizal, considered as the greatest among the

Filipino heroes, was not explicitly proclaimed as a national
hero. The position he now holds in Philippine history is a
tribute to the continued veneration or acclamation of the
people in recognition of his contribution to the significant
social transformation that took place in our country,”
-National Commission for Culture and the Arts

Source: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/06/19/1927792/rizal-not-national-hero-filipinos-believed-he-
was#xQWH4OiiASMbKSOM.99
Former President Fidel Ramos issued an executive order
to create a National Heroes Committee, which is
mandated to study, evaluate and recommend Filipino
heroes in recognition of their exceptional character and
remarkable achievements for the country.
The committee recommended nine Filipino historical
figures to be national heroes: Jose Rizal, Andres
Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini,
Marcelo del Pilar, Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat, Juan Luna,
Melchor Aquino and Gabriela Silang.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/06/19/1927792/rizal-not-national-hero-filipinos-believed-he-
was#xQWH4OiiASMbKSOM.99
 MANIFESTO A ALGUNOS FILIPINOS
(MANIFESTO TO CERTAIN FILIPINOS)

First, he absolved himself by declaring that he was never a part of the

revolution; his name was used to attract Filipinos to join the revolution.
Second, he was consulted about the planned revolution but he
advised the perpetrators to abandon it. Third, he wanted to stop the
rebellion by offering his services to the people. Fourth, he
condemned the revolution as ridiculous and barbarous. Fifth,
uprising was not an option at that time, that reforms should be the
authorities’ initiative, not the citizens’.
Rizal made it clear that the people’s education was potent in inducing
changes in society.

Source https://opinion.inquirer.net/20087/rizal-issued-5-pt-manifesto-to-prove-his-innocence#ixzz5yWx88YON
WRITING AND REFORM
• While in Europe, José Rizal became part of the Propaganda
Movement, connecting with other Filipinos who wanted reform. He
also wrote his first novel, Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not/The
Social Cancer), a work that detailed the dark aspects of Spain's
colonial rule in the Philippines, with particular focus on the role of
Catholic friars.

• Rizal returned to Europe and continued to write, releasing his follow-

up novel, El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) in 1891. He also
published articles in La Solidaridad, a paper aligned with the
Propaganda Movement.
 NOLI ME TANGERE
The plot revolves around Crisostomo
Ibarra, mixed-race heir of a wealthy
clan, returning home after seven
years in Europe and filled with ideas
on how to better the lot of his
countrymen. Striving for reforms, he
is confronted by an abusive
ecclesiastical hierarchy and a
Spanish civil administration by turns
indifferent and cruel. The novel
suggests, through plot
developments, that meaningful
change in this context is exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible.
 EL FILIBUSTERISMO
Crisostomo Ibarra has come back to the
Philippines as the enigmatic stranger
named Simoun, a rich
jeweller. Driven by hatred and a fierce
desire to avenge his sufferings, and to
rescue Maria Clara from the nunnery
where she has fled, Simoun embarks on
a crusade the goal of which is
to corrupt and thus weaken various
institutions that would eventually lead to
a bloody revolution. He schemes and
plans systematically and plots with
various characters, including Basilio, to
bring about the downfall of the
government.