RIZAL LAW & the

TEACHING OF RIZAL COURSE

 REPUBLIC ACT 1425 SEN. JOSE P. LAUREL

Otherwise known as He sponsored the said

the RIZAL LAW. law.
It mandates the He stated that Rizal was
teaching of the life, the founder of Filipino
nationality and the
works, and writings of
architect of the Filipino
Rizal in all schools in
nation, there is a need
the country. 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: Resolved that
Rizal subject Andres Bonifacio
should be should be our
abolished. 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.