RIZAL AS A

HERO
Rizal
everywhere
Why Study
Rizal?
Why Rizal
became a
Hero?
Who made him
as a Hero? And
Why?
 R.A 1425 or
Rizal Law
Senate Bill No. 438
Section 1. Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are hereby
Section 4. No provision of this Act shall be construed as prohibiting or
declared compulsory reading matter in all public and private schools,
limiting the study of the works of other Filipino heroes.
colleges and universities in the Philippines.
Section 5. Any public or private college or university found violating,
Section 2. The works mentioned in Section 1 of this Act shall be in the
failing to comply with, or circumventing the provisions of this Act shall be
original editions or in their unexpurgated English and National Language
punished.
versions.
Claro M. Recto Jr.
Section 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. (1890 – 1960)
Section 3. The Department of Education Jose shall take steps to promulgate
P. Laurel
rules and regulations for the immediate(1891 – 1959)
implementation of the provision
of this act.
Western
Culture
 Rizal Bill
Controversy • Church argument: the bill would violate the freedom
of conscience and religion of Filipinos.

• Numbers of passage in Rizal’s novels that the Catholic

hierarchy found offensive to the Catholic faith.
-Noli – pg. 170: “attack on the clergy”

• Recto charge being a “communist” and an “anti-

Catholic”

• Catholic schools threatened to close down if the

Rizal Bill was passed.

• Warnings from some Church officials to punish erring

Legislators in future elections.
 What was
Recto’s
respond?
“The people who would eliminate the books of
Rizal from the schools would blot out from our
minds the memory of the national hero. This is
not a fight against Recto but a fight against
Rizal.”
+Claro M. Recto
Rizal Law
• The Bill was approved on June 12,
1956.
• First time the Church were defeated
by the government.

Ramon Magsaysay
(1907 – 1957)
Rizal as a
Hero
“There is nothing better than
EXAMPLE.”
Jose P. Rizal
Who made
him a
HERO?
 Guilty United States of America

Parties Fellow Filipinos and Foreign

Friends

“It is eminently proper that Rizal should have become the

acknowledge national hero of the Philippine people. The
American administration has lent every assistance to this
“Rizal was the greatest recognition,
product
“Rizal never advocated
setting aside theindependence,
anniversary of hisnor didtohe
death be a
of the Philippines and day
that of his
advocate armed
observance, resistance
placing to on
his picture thethegovernment,
postage stamp
coming to the world was most like
commonly used inwithin
the islands, and on the currency…And
the appearance of a rare
he argued reform by publicity.”
comet, the islands the public schools teach the young
throughout
whose rare brilliance Filipinos
appearsto revere his memory as the greatest of Filipino
only every other century.”
patriots.”
William Cameron Forbes
Ferdinand Blumentritt
Gov. – Gen. of the Philippines (1853 – 1913)
(1909 – 1913)
Advertising Rizal
What about
the other
heroes?

Rated as
Second
Class
Heroes
What would
Hmmp!

be Rizal’s
reaction?

Chaka ang
Doll!
Rizal’s Execution
“To my family: … Bury me in the earth, put a
stone on top, and a cross. My name, the date of
my birth, and that of my death. Nothing more.
If you want to fence in my grave afterwards,
you can do so. But no anniversary
celebrations! I prefer Paang Bundok.” Jose
Rizal
Why? Perhaps because
Rizal’s national hero
image has been used to
promote different
agendas at different
points in Philippine
history.
Rizal the
ordinary
man
WACKY POSE!
 “Go ahead then;
study, study, and
meditate well
what you study.”
- A letter of Rizal to
Freding (Dapitan, Dec.
1893)