Caday, Marcel C

1st Semester AY 2019-2020

PI 100 3rd Exam
December 2, 2019
Monday 9-12 p.m.

1. Based on your analysis of the readings, videos and discussions, how will you assess Rizal
as a model of being a Filipino? Explain well.
The Pen that Beat the Sword
Living in this modern world where movies, tv series, books and other form of stories
portrays a hero as someone that fight villains either by a mighty shield or lightning hammer.
The plight of a hero always starts with someone who was inherently weak and is facing a
life full of hardships yet somehow this young hero faces life with a courageous outlook.
He rises above all the hurdles that is thrown at him and this makes him stronger, the people
are naturally drawn to his charisma and skill and this hero shall fight for the peace and
justice his society deserves. So, when we are asked to conjure up an image of a hero Jose
Rizal isn’t really the first one that comes up in our minds- probably a more fitting of this
description might be Andres Bonifacio, a peasant who have risen upon his labeled fate
holding aloft a bolo and Katipunan flag, arms in arms fighting for our independence. Some1
had even claimed that in their own words, “Rizal is nothing more than a creation of the
American Colonial Powers”. In this essay I want to outline why Rizal is deserving model
to all Filipinos, Jose Rizal; a hero outside the battlefield, and why is he needed now more
than ever.

During 1993, former President Fidel V. Ramos issued an order to create a national heroes
committee2 which later created the criteria of what a hero should be. Jose Rizal, of course
was one of the 9 Filipinos who passed all of the criteria but one of those criteria struck me
the most and made me realize why Jose Rizal rose up above all the other nine, the criteria
was: A national hero thinks of the future, especially for future generations. He’s vocal
about his hopes for the youth, as observed from his writings, an example is from Padre
Florentino “Where are the youths who will dedicate their innocence, their idealism, their
enthusiasm to the good of the country?”3 and also his poem Sa Aking Mga Kabata. He
knew that the fight for our independence doesn’t only lie in the battlefield and doesn’t end
the moment the Spanish flee our islands. He made used of his talents to call out to every
other Filipinos and wake them up to see the reality of our native land, he sees that even if
we break free from the chains of our colonizers we are still bound for the roots of our
problem lies in the defects of education and lack of national sentiment4. He was a strategist

1
[ONLINE-News Article] https://opinion.inquirer.net/118510/rizal-the-hero
2
[ONLINE-Official Decree] https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1993/03/29/executive-order-no-75-1993/
3
[Lecture] The Last Chapter
4
[Lecture] The Indolence of the Filipinos, p246
 that used every resource he had- his wealth, talent, youth, security all for the welfare of this
country which is what every Filipinos of today need to be. He embodied the ideals that he
taught in his writings. He made us see that we are Basilio, who only desire an adequate
way of life, never mind that their own sovereignty is being sold off to another country,
never mind that their fellow countrymen are being killed, as long as they do not feel the
impacts of it- they tolerate. Jose Rizal was nothing like that, despite being in a wealthy
family and a promised comfortable life that comes along with it he still answered to the
call of his mother land. He thwarted the Basilio in him for the sake of his beloved country.

He is a model that showed that we don’t need a mighty shield or a lightning hammer to be
a hero in our country, he broke the stigma that a hero must swung his sword or his fist to
fight, he is a hero that was outside the battlefield but played a role no less than those who
were in it. He showed us to take full advantage of the education that we can acquire and
use it not only for ourselves but also for the sake of our motherland. He did what he can in
his life, putting his principles over his comfort and had faith into the generations after him
that they too will help the beloved mother land. “You see the whole, and you judge the case
and you extend your hand to someone who, like myself, desires to join you in one single
thought, one single aspiration, the glory of genius and the splendor of the homeland.”5
Word count: 738
2. Based on your analysis of the readings, videos and discussions in class, what to you are
your most powerful realizations on the evolution of Philippine institutions? Explain well.
Philippines Who?

A man in the Philippines is only an individual; he is not a member of the nation.6 This part
impacted me the most, I was frustrated because I was guilty of it. I feel sad for the country
that is always boast off yet was never truly loved. We continue to complain about the
corruptions of the government, yet we continue to elect tyrants over tyrants to rule over our
own country. We are one of the of the countries with more experience with democratic
constitutions7 still we continue to suffer as the promise of restoration goes to the mouth of
one candidate to another. In this essay, I want to outline how my PI course made me realize
that the Philippine is in crisis and how it originated during the colonial period.

It was established that during precolonial period that the Philippines was well advanced
and is striving8 in contrast to the claims of the Spanish that we were primitive. This came
as a shock to me as I was constantly taught that there were three groups that migrated into
the Philippines which explained the diversity of colors in our race. When the Spain
conquered the Philippines, not only did they make us suffer but they also made us forget a
great deal about ourselves. They destroyed the lively spirit and culture that once roam that
our lands. We’re made into people who was only programmed to blindly follow the order

5
[Lecture] Rizal’s Banquet Speech
6
[Lecture] Indolence of the Filipinos
7
[ONLINE-Journal] P. D. Hurchcroft , “Strong Demands and Weak Institutions: The Origins and Evolution of the
Democratic Deficit in the Philippines” https://www.jstor.org/stable/23417680?seq=1
8
[Lecture] Annotations to Morga’s 1609 Philippines History
 of our masters9. Even though the Filipinos pay their dues by the extensive taxes laid upon
them10, their cries of suffering were never heard as they have been denied the rights of free
press and a representative to the legislature in Spain. For more than 300 years the
Philippines suffered under their reign but up until today its effect can still be felt in our
society. Inherently ashamed of our very own products naming it jologs or corny, where
speaking a language that is not our own is now a symbol of wealth and class and the very
thinking that the only way to rise out of poverty is to get out of the country.

By 1899, the Malolos Constitution was established, a testament that the Philippines is a
distinct niche by being the first republic constitution in Asia sadly was cut short by the
arrival of Americans. The next phase came by in 1935, the government system of the
Philippines mimicked the American government system. In 1956, the Rizal Law was
passed with the goal of promoting nationalism in the Philippines, although the Philippines
still struggle with its identity the legislators saw the need to stitch it back again and this
law was a step near to that goal. Albeit there were some questionable areas regarding the
language medium stated in the clause – it was understandable as the concept of Filipino as
Wikang Pambansa and Lingua Franca wasn’t introduced until 1986. Another evolutionary
phased hit the Philippine Constitution at the fall of Martial Law and the rise of the People’
Power, although the image of the EDSA Revolution is a landmark of our democratic
constitution, the administration that lead it only created more suffering for the people. It
contradicts the image of Cory Aquino as a savior from the dictator, as she herself led to
thousands of life killings of the masses for her personal gain. The biggest realization for
me in all the evolutions of our constitutions is that one of the problems with the Philippine
is not the constitution itself rather it’s the one who enforces it. The Filipinos continuous to
suffer from the chains of different masters, “The neck has become accustomed to the yoke
and each new generation, begotten in chains was constantly better adapted to the new
order of things’11. Now a new master threatens to put chains again on our independence,
will the Filipinos wake up once more and have the same passion of Patrick Henry when he
was asking for liberty, as he said “give me liberty or give me death!” 12 or will we be
assimilated by a foreign body once more?
Word Count: 733

3. Based on your analysis of the readings, videos and discussions in class, what is the best
role a young Filipino like you could positively play in Philippine society? Explain well.
We’re Here.

“We await you, come for we await you!”, this was Father Florentino’s word13 that reflects
the sentiment of Rizal’s hopes that the youth is tomorrow’s nation. From the moment we
took up history during our elementary days we were always reminded of the repeating
saying, “ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan” and it always puzzled me before, how can

9
[Lecture] Letter to the Women of Malolos
10
[Lecture] Indolence of the Filipinos
11
[Lecture] The Philippines a Century Hence.
12
[Lecture-Video] American Revolution
13
[Lecture] The Last Chapter
 a child such as myself who is very dependent on her family be of any help in this society
when I can’t even feed myself? As I age I only got more confused on what my role is
supposed to be in this society, how does learning to solve a complex mathematical equation
helps in the welfare of this society, how am I supposed to help the society if I can’t even
help myself? Rizal always emphasized the importance of education in tackling the
problems of our nation I wrongly assumed that the education he was mentioning was
something contained in a book rather it was some other form of skill that we hone alongside
education. As he has phrased it in one of his letters, “The gift of reason which we are
endowed must be brightened utilized”14. And so the best role a young Filipino like me is
to answer the challenged he raised in Sa Kabataang Pilipino, “Humayo ka ngayon,
papagningasin mo
ang alab ng iyong isip at talino15”
Along with me millions of Filipino students have various roles ranging from social,
religious, financial and political responsibility but the greatest of them all is to “strive to
enter freely upon the wide road of progress, and all will labor together to strengthen to the
fatherland, both internally and externally”.16 And how does one do that? Students will be
the bridges between two generations.

In a digital age where the rate of dissemination of information increased dramatically so

does false information. Social platforms like Facebook and Twitter are one of the widely
used communication medium to express and to criticize. As the degree of fanaticism
towards the current administration grew, the more citizens of the Philippines submit back
to blind obedience that once was directed to friars. Any criticisms about the current
administration is already being labelled as a diliwan act or even crab mentality as can be
observed from chaos of the handling of the sea games. Students who are more equipped to
better understanding should be the leaders responsible for debunking false news and
combatting the stigmas that surrounds about vocalizing the criticism against the
government. The very idea of constructive criticism is being labeled bad by the older
generations, our roles is to make them realize that there is a difference between nationalism
and being a Dutertard. Rizal once said that blind obedience is the origin of unjust orders,
education enables a child to gain better understanding of society and it is their
responsibility to promote this awareness to those who did not had the chance of having
one. As old Tasio said, “you would be comforted by thought that you had done everything
in your power”17, some may see that it is futile to fight off each comment in every article
that relates to the current administration, but the effect of it to other readers are
immeasurable. I myself even have a hard time in letting my family see the reality of our
native land especially if confirmation bias runs rampant in their brain, however I can never
let them go blind about the wrongness of the current system.

Once you open your eyes, it’s a sin to close them again- this what keeps me going in the
continuous battle of oppression, “It is impossible to not show what one feels, it is

14
[Lecture] Letter to the Young Women of Malolos
15
[Lecture] Sa Kabataang Filipino
16
[Lecture] The Philippines a Century Hence, p218
17
[Lecture] In The Scholar’s Home, p182
 impossible to be one thing and do another”18 - it feels like it is my duty and responsible as
a scholar of the Philippines- to serve the Philippines, how can one go deaf and blind to the
cries of my their motherland? We should work for a better society through hardships rather
than giving up in between. And in doing so, not only we let the older generations be
responsible for their acts we are also setting an example for the future generation that one
day shall take over our roles- we begin to be the bridge between the two generations.
Word Count: 748
I CERTIFY THAT: 1) I PERSONALLY WROTE THESE ESSAYS; 2) I SHALL BE HELD
ACCOUNTABLE WHEN FOUND CHEATING IN THIS EXAM BY ASKING ANOTHER PERSON TO
HELP ME ANSWER ANY OR ALL OF THE QUESTIONS, ENGAGING IN PLAGIARISM, OR
THROUGH OTHER SIMILAR OR UNETHICAL MEANS; 3) I UNDERSTAND THAT THE PENALTY
FOR CHEATING INCLUDES FAILING IN THIS EXAM AND IN THE SUBJECT PI100, PLUS ANY
APPROPRIATE CASE LEADING TO EXPULSION FROM THE UNIVERSITY

18
[Lecture] Rizal’s Banquet Speech