RIZAL LAW

Republic Act 1425

 Otherwise known as
RIZAL LAW, enacted 1956
- mandates the teaching of the life, works and writings of Rizal in all schools in the country
 Sen. Jose P. Laurel – sponsored Rizal Law since Rizal was the Founder of Filipino nationality and
the architect of the Filipino nation
 Sen. J.P. Laurel – “Reading and studying Rizal’s life, teachings and writings will enable the Filipino
youth to gain incorruptible confidence, direction, courage, and determination to move forward in
our people’s journey towards an abundant life.”

Policy Statements: Rizal law seeks to accomplish the following objectives:

1. “To rededicate the lives of the youth to the ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which
for which our live and died;
2. To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life and works in shaping the Filipino
character
3. 3) To gain an inspiring source of patriotism thru the study of Rizal’s life, works and writings

Teaching of Rizal Course in higher education is anchored on the patriotic policy statements of
Rizal Law and the patriotic goals set by the then Board of National Education

RIZAL, An American-sponsored Hero

 Taft Commission of 1901 – contenders for the title of “national hero” were Rizal, Aguinaldo,
Bonifacio and Mabini.
 The following Acts enacted by the Phil. Commission to implement the sponsorship of a Rizal Law:
 Act No. 137, which organized a politico-military district and named it as the province of Rizal in
honor of him
 Act No. 243, which authorized a public subscription for the erection of a monument in honor of
Rizal at Luneta; and
 Act No. 345, which set aside the anniversary of Rizal’s death as a day of observance

Renato Constantino (1969)

 Claims that Rizal was an American-sponsored hero.
 The Taft Commission of 1901, not the Filipino people chose Rizal to become our country’s
national hero.
 Factors contributing to the acceptability of Rizal as Philippines’ official hero:
 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
 Despite the controversy on Rizal’s heroism, it can’t be denied that he gave form to the aspiration
of the Filipino people, thereby giving rise to our people’s nationalist struggle.
  Due to his qualities, he was able to serve the pressing needs of the people.
 Rizal 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.

Leon Ma. Guerrero (1998)

 It is the Filipinos who have chosen Rizal to be the symbol of our nationalism as a people even
before he died.
 Rizal’s martyrdom was only a confirmation of a spiritual dominion that even the Katipunan
acknowledged by staging a revolution in his name.
 Conclusions drawn:
1) Since the Filipinos love peace, they have chosen to magnify a man of peace above
men of war;
2) 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, and
3) Filipinos prize virtue more than victory, and sacrifice above success

Rizal: The First Filipino

 It was Rizal who first called the Philippines his fatherland.

 He taught his countrymen that they could be something(somebody) else, Filipinos who were
members of the Filipino nation.
 He was the first to work towards the unification of the Phil. Archipelago into a compact and
homogeneous body based on common interests and mutual protection
Teodoro A. Agoncillo (1986)
 Rizal was acceptable as a national hero to the Americans – he was a symbol of assimilation (the
American policy then in the Philippines)
Rizal Pioneer Asian Nationalist Leader (Coates, 1969)
 Born in the same decade with other Asian nationalist leaders: Mohandas Gandhi; Rabindranath
Tagore and Sun Yat-Sen. All challeged the West.
 Rizal’s ideas matured at an early age.
 Gandhi as schoolboy and Sun was a student, Rizal was articulating equality between Europe and
Asia in his speeches, articles and letters
Rizal: First Exponent of Asian Nationalism
 He was the source of inspiration for the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution of 1986
 Despite his opposition due to premature and inadequate organization, the revolution broke out,
which can be considered the first genuine uprising by an Asian people against Western
colonialism (Ocampo, 1969).
Rizal: Pioneer Exponent of Liberal Democracy in Asia
 Even before Gandhi and Sun Yat-Sen began their career of political agitation, Rizal through his
essays, letters and novels had already spoken out with firmness and courage ideas on liberal
 democracy, which includes:the worth & dignity of the individual; inviolability of human rights;
innate equality of all men & races; necessity for constitutional government; due process of
law; popular sovereignty as the basis of all political authority; faith in human reason &
enlightenment; the rights of the masses to public education, and belief in social progress
through freedom
 “Asia for Asians”
Rizal was the first Asian leader to assert that the aforementioned ideas and principles be
established in Asia for the benefit of Asians. Through him the basic tenets of modern & social
democracy were given a major voice in Asia for the first time