RIZAL

In the Classroom
Department of Humanities and
Behavioral Sciences
 Republic Act 1425
An Act to include in the curricula
of all public and private schools,
colleges and universities courses
on the life, works and writings of
Jose Rizal, particularly his novels
Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo authorizing the
printing and distribution thereof,
and for other purposes.
 Three Main Goals
of Rizal’s Law:
1) To rededicate the lives of youth to the
ideals of freedom and nationalism, for
which our heroes lived and died.
 2) To pay tribute to our national hero for
devoting his life and works in shaping the
Filipino
character

3) To gain an inspiring source of patriotism

through the study of Rizal’s life, works, and writings
 CONTENTS of RIZAL’S LAW
Section 1:
This section mandates the students to read
the two greatest novels of Rizal. These two
shall be included in the curricula of all
schools, colleges and universities, public or
private.
 Section 2: This section mandates the schools
to have “an adequate number” of copies in
their libraries.
 Section 3: This section orders the Board of
National Education to publish the works in
English, Tagalog, and other major Philippine
languages.
 Section 4: It prohibits the discussion of
religious doctrines by persons engaged in
any public school.
 Section 5: A sum of 300K pesos is
appropriated to carry out the purposes of the
law.
 Section 6: It shall take effect
upon its approval.
 Highlights of the R.A. 1425:
1. The study of Rizal’s life, works
and writings to bring about
nationalism among students;
2. The inclusion of works of Rizal
in college curriculum
particularly the study of his
novels---Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo;
 3.the inclusion also of other works of Rizal such as
letters, paintings, and travels;

4. Funding of the law in order to give supplemental

copies of the novels among public libraries; and

5. The implementation of the law.

 ANALYSIS OF THE RIZAL LAW
• The adoption of the study of Jose Rizal’s life, works and
writings in colleges and universities both public and private is
mandated by law;

• The study of Rizal’s works particularly his two important novels

and other works as well as its translations in Filipino and
English should be implemented by the government;

• In fostering nationalism among youth, the Rizal course can give

a wide range of thoughts on how Rizal and other heroes fought
for freedom for the sake of the country’s necessity to survive
against evil imperialism.
Brief history of Republic Act 1425:

 Claro Mayo Recto:

the main proponent of the
Senate Bill No. 438 (Rizal
Bill) --- the precursor to RA
1425
Jose P. Laurel – sponsored the
Rizal bill into law
It was enacted and signed on June
12, 1956 which coincides with the
Independence Day of the Philippines.
The influences leading to the creation of the Rizal
Law:
• Birth of the Noli (1884)
• Purpose: “I have tried to do what no man has been willing to
do...I have described the state of society…I have unmasked
the hypocrisy, which under the cloak of religion, came
among us to impoverish…I have unveiled what lay hidden
behind the deceptive and brilliant words of our government:
I have told to our compatriots of our culpable and shameful
complacence with miseries…the facts which I have related
are all true and real; I can give proof of them..”
 Difficulty in creating the Noli:
• The book was written in three years time. He wrote
first in Madrid, second in Paris and third in
Germany. The book was completed in Germany and
was published in Berlin on March 1887
• Rizal wanted his countrymen in the Philippines to
read the book. But his novel encountered difficulty
in getting into the country due to the censorship
(Board of Censorship) so the novel had to be
smuggled into the country.
• Rizal was able to circulate the book around June
1887
Reactions to the Noli:
• The Dominican Archbishop, Pedro Payo,
ordered a review of the novel:

"...it is HERETICAL, IMPIOUS, AND SCANDALOUS

IN THE RELIGIOUS ORDER, AND ANTIPATRIOTIC,
SUBVERSIVE OF THE PUBLIC ORDER, OFFENSIVE
TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN."
ATTACKS ON THE NOLI
• Fr. Salvador Font – distributed pamphlets in
which he enunciated the attacks that Rizal
allegedly had made on the different aspects of
the Spanish colonial setup.
• Governor Valeriano Weyler (Butcher of
Cuba)- mere possession of the book (NOLI)
will be prosecuted.
• Friar Jose Rodriguez – issued a series of
pamphlets that discussed the dangers in
reading such impious books as the Noli.
Defense of the Noli
• Marcelo H. del Pilar – circulated his own
pamphlets, written in Tagalog, the cover was
similar to that of the pamphlets of Fr.
Rodriguez but its content was exact opposite.
• Fr. Vicente Garcia – argued that Rizal’s novel
must be viewed as a literary work, not as a
doctrine. He considered the book as neither
heretical nor blasphemous.
 Defense of the Noli:
• Jose Rizal – for all its faults has served my
purpose…it has struck the head of that two-faced
Goliath in the Philippines that is called friar rule
and mal-administration…my book has not yet been
judged and cannot be judged (rightly) because its
effects are still being felt. When men it pillories
have disappeared from the country’s political life,
when a generation arises which does not itself
participate in these present crimes…..
 THE EL FILIBUSTERISMO
• It was published in the late 1891 in Europe
and circulated in the Philippines. And like the
Noli, this book also received attack;
consequently, the author himself also received
the same fate.
• The governor-general commented on the Fili
that it was dedicated to the three
priests(GOMBURZA), this made Rizal to be
sentenced with deportation.
 RIZAL’S DEFENSE OF THE FILI:
• “with the sincerity and impartiality of which a
man is capable of looking into his past…what
there was, was a clear-sighted look at the
realities in my native country,…but now I see
what I call a “novel” come true so exactly that
I can say that I am at present the enactment
of this work and taking part in it.” Here Rizal
was not only an actor but also a victim.
•The Noli & Fili were used as evidence against Rizal
during his trial on the charges of treason and
subversion.

•Though the charges were not clearly proven, Rizal

was executed in the morning of December 30, 1896.

•The spirit of Rizal’s novels continued to live on to

the 20th century

•Rizal’s spirit of nationalism revived in the 1950s

 The Rizal Bill of 1956

• Senator Claro M. Recto authored the Senate

Bill No. 438 in which he claimed that, “a
constant and inspiring source of patriotism
with which the minds of the youth especially
during their formative and decisive years in
school, should be suffused.”
3 SENATORS WHO OPPOSED THE BILL:
•FRANCISCO SOC RODRIGO
•DECOROSO ROSALES
•MARIANO CUENCO
 Groups who opposed the Rizal
bill:
• Catholic Action of the Philippines;
• Congregation of the Missions;
• Knights of Columbus;
• Catholic Teachers Guild
Opponents' arguments:
• They argued that the Bill violated religious
freedom. Their question was: "Why compel
students to read these books when some
passages in them are harmful to their faith?”

• Fr. Jesus Cavana, after reviewing the novels,

found out that a 332-page edition of the Noli
contains 120 pages of anti-Catholic statements
and only contains 25 pages of patriotic pages.
Opponents' arguments:

•The Noli and Fili are books of the past,

by the past. While they have their place
in the Philippine history, they certainly
are inadequate Bible of Philippine
nationalism today.
•“Rizal is dead. Why should he be roused
from his sleep? Let him rest in peace.”
The proponents’ side

• Revolutionary Veterans known as the ‘Spirit

of 1896’
• Alagad ni Rizal
• Freemasons
• Book Lovers Society
 Proponents’ arguments:
• They argued that the “opponents of the Bill
were in effect condemning Rizal’s patriotic
writings to oblivion, by preventing the Filipino
youth from reading them. This was worse than
what the friars had done; it was tantamount
to executing Rizal a second time.”
 Proponents’ arguments:
•One veteran claimed that he had risked death
just to be able to read the novels of Rizal at the
time when the Philippines was not yet free.

•“My loyalty to religion ends where my loyalty

to my country begins.”
Proponents’ arguments:
• The people who would eliminate the books
of Rizal from the schools…would blot out
from our minds the memory of the national
hero…now that Rizal is dead and they can
no longer attempt at his life, they are
attempting to wipe out his memory.” (Claro
M. Recto)
End of the debate
• Senator Jose Laurel modified the Bill to
accommodate the objection of the church…
• Compulsory for all public and private schools,
colleges, and universities to include in their
curricula courses on the LIFE, WORKS, and
WRITINGS OF JOSE RIZAL, particularly the Noli
and Fili, in their original and unexpurgated
versions. However, it allowed exemptions
from reading such versions for reasons of
religious belief.
Republic act 646:
An act to convert the “Orden de
Caballeros de Rizal” into a public
corporation to be known in English as
“Knights of Rizal” and in Spanish as
“Orden de Caballeros de Rizal” and to
define its purpose and powers.
WHEREAS, a civic organization
known as “Orden de Caballeros de
Rizal” (Knights of Rizal) was
incorporated under the Corporation
Law of the Philippines in the year
1916 by patriotic citizens for the
following purposes:
(a) to develop the most perfect union
among the Filipinos in revering the
memory of Dr.José Rizal;

(b) to promote among the associated

knights the spirit of patriotism and
Rizalian chivalry;
(c) to study and spread the teaching of Dr.
José Rizal and keep ever alive his
consecrated memory and to make
effective his exemplary and exalted
principles; and

(d) to organize the annual festivities in

honor of Dr. José Rizal.”
WHEREAS, the Knights of Rizal , if
officially recognized and vested with
appropriate powers, would be a
convenient instrumentality by which
the teachings of our national hero
may be propagated among our
people to the end that they emulate
and follow his examples; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary to grant legislative
Charter to the said Knights of Rizal in order to
accord official recognition to it and to enlarge
its powers so that it may more fully and more
effectively accomplish the laudable purposes
for which it was organized. Now, therefore, be
it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:
SECTION 1. The present civic organization
known as “Orden de Caballeros de Rizal”
is hereby converted into a body corporate
and politic with powers hereinafter
specified, under the name and style of
KNIGHTS OF RIZAL and in Spanish as
“Orden de Caballeros de Rizal” (hereinafter
called the corporation). The principal office
of the corporation shall be in the city of
Manila, Philippines.
SECTION 2. The purposes of this corporation shall
be to study the teachings of Dr. José Rizal, to
inculcate and propagate them in and among all
classes of Filipino people, and by words and deeds
to exhort our citizenry to emulate and practice the
examples and teachings of our national hero; to
promote among the associated knights the spirit of
patriotism and Rizalian chivalry; to develop a
perfect union among the Filipinos in revering the
memory of Dr. José Rizal; and to organize and hold
programs commemorative of Rizal’s nativity and
martyrdom
SECTION 3. The said corporation shall have
perpetual succession, with power to sue and to be
sued, to hold such real and personal property as
shall be necessary for corporate purposes; to
solicit and receive public contributions; to receive
real and personal property by gift, device, or
bequest; to adopt a seal and to alter the same at
pleasure; to have offices and conduct its business
and affairs in the city of Manila and elsewhere;
Cont. of Section 3:
to make and adopt by-laws, rules and regulations not
inconsistent with the laws of the Philippines, and generally
to do all such acts and things including the establishment of
regulations for the election of associates and successors as
may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this
Act and to promote the purposes of the said corporation.
The existing By-Laws of the “Orden de Caballeros de Rizal”
insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Act shall remain
in force as the “By-Laws of the corporation until repealed or
amended
SECTION 4. All persons of legal age and of
good moral character and reputation, who
are in sympathy with the purposes of the
corporation, are eligible for active
membership, upon unanimous approval of
the Supreme Council en banc of a written
application therefore duly endorsed by at
least two active members of the
corporation.
SECTION 5. The general administration
and direction of the affairs of the
corporation shall be in the hands of a
Supreme Council (Board of Directors) of
nine members, which is hereby vested
with full powers and authority to act and
perform all such functions as the
corporation itself may do and perform.
SECTION 6. A group of five or more persons,
of legal age residing in any locality outside
Manila and who are of good moral character
an reputation, may associate themselves and
form a chapter of the corporation upon
approval of a written petition to the Supreme
Council. It shall be the duty of each chapter to
promote and carry out the purposes of the
corporation in the locality where the chapter is
organized.
SECTION 7. Any donation or contribution which from
time to time may be made to the corporation by the
Government or any of its subdivisions, branches,
offices, agencies, or instrumentalities, or by any other
person or entity shall be expended by the Supreme
Council solely to promote the purposes for which the
corporation is organized.
SECTION 8. From and after the passage of this Act, it
shall be unlawful for any person to falsely and
fraudulently call himself as, or represent himself to
be, a member of, an agent for, the Knights of Rizal;
and any person who violates any of the provisions of
this Act shall be punished by imprisonment of not to
exceed six months or a fine not exceeding five
hundred pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court.
SECTION 9. These acts shall take effect upon its
approval.
Approved. June 14, 1951
Seal of the Order
The Order shall have a dry seal, which shall bear
upon its face in a circular design, the words:
“KNIGHTS OF RIZAL” and “MANILA, PHILIPPINES” and
within the circle, an equilateral triangle bearing the
profile of Dr. José Rizal in the center, the name “Rizal”
and the abbreviation and figures “Inc., 1916″, under
it a five pointed star in each angle of the triangle, all
mounted on a sun with eight (8) salient rays as
background. (Article XVI, Section 1 of the amended
By-Laws of the Order of the Knights of Rizal)
GOALS:

1) STUDY THE TEACHINGS OF DR. JOSE RIZAL; INCULCATE

AND PROPAGATE THEM IN AND ALL CLASSES OF PEOPLE

2) EXHORT OUR CITIZENRY BY WORDS & DEEDS

3) EMULATE AND PRACTICE THE EXAMPLES AND TEACHINGS

OF DR. JOSE RIZAL AS AN INTERNATIONAL HERO;

4) PROMOTE AMONG THE ASSOCIATED KNIGHTS THE SPIRIT

OF PATRIOTISM AND RIZALIAN CHIVALRY;

5) DEVELOP A PERFECT UNION AMONG ALL PEOPLE IN

REVERING THE MEMORY OF DR. JOSE RIZAL
OBJECTIVES :

1) to organize and hold programs commemorative of Rizal's

nativity and martyrdom.

2) to study and spread the ideals, teachings and exemplary life of

Dr. Jose Rizal especially to the youths of the land

3) to organize chapters in other regions and undertake activities

which will promote individual commitment to the ideals of Rizal,
and in his memory, develop a perfect union among all people

4) to train and develop Filipino youth in character building,

citizenship training democratic leadership, enlightened
nationalism and dedicated service to country & people