RIZAL – PRELIMS
 Innate equality of all men and races
CONSTANTINO’S ARUMENT
 Rizal’s pre-eminence among other Filipino
heroes was partly caused by American
sponsorship; this sponsorship took two
forms – by encouraging a Rizal cult and by
minimizing the importance of other
heroes.
 In 1901, the American Governor – General
to the Philippines William H. Taft
suggested that the Filipinos be given a
national hero.
 The Free Press of December 28, 1946 gave
this account on one of the meetings of the
Philippine Commission.
 Theodore Friend wrote in his book that
Governor Taft, with other American
colonial officials and some conservative
Filipinos, chose Rizal as a model hero over
other contestants – Emilio Aguilnaldo who
was considered too militant; Andres
Bonifacio, too radical and Apolinario
Mabini, unregenerate.
OCAMPO’S ARGUMENT
 Argued that even if Rizal did not
participate in any of the revolutionary
activities by the Katipunan against Spain,
he served as the inspiration of the
freedom fighters to continue the
revolution.
 Dubbed Rizal as the soul of the Philippines
revolution.
 Pointed out that Rizal was already viewed
as a hero even before his execution in
Bagumbayan on December 30, 1896.
FISHER’S ARGUMENT
 Hailed Rizal as the Pioneer Exponent of
Liberal Democracy in Asia.
 Claimed that even before Mahatma
Gandhi and Sun Yat-Sen began their
political careers, Rizal had already spoken
out with firmness and courage about his
ideas on liberal democracy by his writings.
Issues that Rizal has raised are the following:
 Worth and dignity of the individual
 Inviolability of human rights
 Necessity for constitutional
government
 Due process of law
 Popular sovereignty as basis of all
political authority
 Faith in human reason and
enlightenment
 Rights of the masses to public
education
 Belief in social progress through
freedom
GUERERRO’S ARGUMENT
 Asserts that it is the Filipino who have
chosen Rizal to be the symbol of
nationalism even before he died.
 Dubbed Rizal as the “First Filipino” for
being the first to call the Philippines as his
fatherland; he was also the first person to
unite the Filipin0 people into a compact
body based on common interest and
mutual goal.
 Concludes that since the Filipino 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 reverence to a man
who gave up all comforts and pleasure of
the peace for their sake.
RIZAL LAW
CLARO M. RECTO
 Dubbed as the “Great Academician” by
writers of national prominence.
 He was first elected as member of the
House of Representative for the third
district of Batangas in 1919.
 He was elected senator for a six-year term
in 1931 representing the Fifth Senatorial
District.
 He was the main proponent of the Rizal
Bill; he fought “tooth and nail” to get the
Rizal Bill passed into law in 1956.
HISTORY OF RIZAL LAW
 The Catholic Church in the Philippines
opposed the passage of this bill, urging its
parishioners to express their resistance on
the bill through their senators and
representatives.
 The Catholic Church stated that the State
should not mandate its people to read
Rizal’s novel as it would “endanger their
salvation”.
 The Catholic Church threatened to shut
down its school as a sign of their protest
in passing the bill; Recto, on the other
hand, told them to go ahead so the State
could nationalize them.
 Considering the argument of the Catholic
Church, the bill was passed with a clause
that would exempt someone from reading
Rizal’s novel if he feels that such would
injure his faith.

RATIONALE OF THE LAW

 To promote nationalism as exemplified
through the life of the Filipino hero.
 To appreciate the importance of valuing
our independence and value as Filipinos