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MANGAOANG

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Appraise the important characters of

Noli Me Tangere and what they represent.
Synopsis of Noli Me Tangere

The story begins with a reception given by Capitan Tiago at his house. The
reception is given in honor of Crisostomo Ibarra, a young and rich Filipino who had
just returned after seven years of study in Europe. He was the son of Don Rafael
Ibarra, and a fiancé of beautiful Maria Clara, daughter of Capitan Tiago.

Among the guests during the reception were Padre Damaso, a fat Franciscan
friar who had been parish priest for 20 years of San Diego; Padre Sybila, a young
Dominican parish priest of Binondo; Don Tiburcio de Espadaña, a bogus Spanish
physician, lame, and husband of Doña Victorina; and several ladies.

Upon his arrival, it produced a favorable impression among the guests, except
Padre Damaso, who has rude to him. He introduced himself to the ladies and during
the dinner the conversation centered on Ibarra’s studies and travels abroad. Padre
Damaso was in bad mood and tried to discredit Ibarra’s remarks.

After dinner, Ibarra left. On the way, the kind Lieutenant Guevara told him the
sad story of his father’s death in San Diego. Don Rafael, his father, was a rich and
brave man. He defended a helpless boy from the brutality of an illiterate Spanish tax
collector, pushing the latter and accidentally killing him. Don Rafael was thrown in
prison, where he died unhappily. He was buried in consecrated ground, but his
enemies, accusing him being a heretic, had his body removed from the cemetery.
Ibarra thanked the kind Spanish lieutenant and vowed to find out the truth about his
father’s death.

The following morning, he visited Maria Clara, his childhood sweetheart. After
the romantic reunion with Maria Clara, Ibarra went to visit his father’s grave. It was
All Saint’s Day. At the cemetery, the grave digger told Ibarra that the corpse of Don

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Rafael was removed by order of the parish priest to be, buried in the Chinese
cemetery; but the corpse was heavy and it was a dark and rainy night so he simply
threw the corpse into the lake.

Ibarra was angered and left the cemetery. On the way, he met Padre Salvi,
Franciscan parish priest of San Diego. Ibarra pounced on the priest, demanding
redress for desecrating his father’s mortal remains. Padre told him that he had
nothing to do with it, for he was not the parish priest at the time of Don Rafael’s
death. It was Padre Damaso, who was responsible for it. Convinced for Padre Salvi’s
innocence, Ibarra went away.

In his town Ibarra met several interesting people, such as the wise old man,
Tasio the philosopher, whose ideas were too advanced for his times so that the
people, who could not understand him. The progressive school teacher complained
to Ibarra that the children were losing interest to their studies because of the lack
proper school house and the discouraging attitude of the parish friar.

A most tragic story in the novel is the tale of Sisa, who was formerly a rich girl
but became poor because she married a gambler. She became crazy because she
lost her two boys, Basilio and Crispin. These boys were sacristans in the church,
working for a small wage to support their poor mother. Crispin the younger of the two
brothers was accused by the brutal sacristan mayor of stealing the money of the
priest. He was tortured in the convent and died. Basilio, with his brother’s dying cries
ringing in his ears, escaped. When the two boys did not return home, Sisa looked for
them everywhere and, in her great sorrow, she became insane.

Capitan Tiago, Maria Clara, and Aunt Isabel (Capitan Tiago’s cousin who took
care of Maria Clara, after his mother’s death) arrived in San Diego. Ibarra and his
friends had picnic at the lake. An incident of the picnic was the saving of Elias’ life
by Ibarra. Elias bravely grappled with a crocodile which was caught in the fish coral.
But the crocodile struggled furiously so that Elias could not subdue it. Ibarra jumped
into the water and killed the crocodile, thereby saving Elias.

The meal is over, Ibarra and Capitan Basilio played chess, while Maria Clara
and her friends played the “Wheel of Chance”. Shortly, a sergeant and four soldiers
of the Guardia Civil suddenly arrived, looking for Elias, who was hunted for

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assaulting Padre Damaso and throwing the alferez into a mud hole. Fortunately,
Elias had disappeared, and the Guardia Civil went away empty-handed. During the
picnic also, Ibarra received a telegram from the Spanish authorities notifying him the
approval of his donation of a schoolhouse for the children of San Diego.

MATILDO

The next day Ibarra visited old Tasio to consult him on his project about the
schoolhouse. Meanwhile San Diego was merrily preparing for its annual fiesta, in
honor of its patron saint San Diego de Alcala, whose feast day is the 11 th of
November.

In the morning of the fiesta there was a high mass in the church, officiated by
Padre Salvi. Padre Damaso gave the long sermon. Elias quietly moved to Ibarra,
who was kneeling and praying by Maria Clara’s side, and warned him to be careful
during the ceremony of the laying of the cornerstone of the schoolhouse because
there was a plot to kill him.

Elias suspected that the yellowish man, who built the derrick, was a paid
stooge of Ibarra’s enemies. True to his suspicion, later in the day, when Ibarra, in the
presence of a big crowd, went down into the trench to cement the cornerstone, the
derrick collapsed. Elias, quick as a flash, pushed him aside, thereby saving his life.
The yellowish man was the one crushed to death by the shattered derrick.

After the fiesta, Maria Clara became ill. She was treated by the quack Spanish
physician, Tiburcio de Espadaña, whose wife, a vain and vulgar native woman. This
woman had hallucinations of being a superior Castillan, and, although a native
herself, she looked down on her own people as inferior beings. She introduced to
Capitan Tiago’s young Spaniards, Don Alfonso Linares de Espadaña, a penniless
and jobless, fortune hunter who came to the Philippines in search of a rich Filipino
heiress. Both Doña Victorina and Padre Damaso sponsored his wooing of Maria
Clara.

The story of Elias like that of Sisa, was a tale of tragedy. He related it to
Ibarra. Some 60 years ago, his grandfather, who was then a young bookkeeper in a
Spanish commercial firm in Manila, was wrongly accused of burning the firm’s
warehouse. He was flogged in public and was left in the street, crippled and almost

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died. His wife was pregnant, beg for alms and became a prostitute in order to
support her sick husband and their son. After giving birth to her second son and the
death of her husband, she fled, with her sons to the mountains.

Elias was educated in the Jesuit College in Manila, while his sister studied in
La Concordia College. They lived happily, until one day, owing to certain dispute
over money matters, a distant relative exposed their shameful birth. They were
disgraced. An old male servant, whom they used to abuse, was forced to testify in
court and the truth came out that he was their real father.

Elias, learning of Ibarra’s arrest, burned all the papers that might incriminate
his friend and set Ibarra’s house on fire. Then he went to prison and helped Ibarra
escape. He and Ibarra jumped into a banca loaded with sacate (grass). Ibarra
stopped at the house of Capitan Tiago to say goodbye to Maria Clara. In the tearful
last scene between the two lovers, Ibarra forgave Maria Clara for giving up his letter
to her to the Spanish authorities who utilized them as evidence against him. On her
part, Maria Clara revealed that those letters were exchanged with a letter from her
late mother, Pia Alba which Padre Salvi gave her. From his letter, she learned that
her real father was Padre Damaso.

After bidding Maria Clara farewell, Ibarra returned to the banca. He and Elias
paddled up the Pasig River toward Laguna de Bay. A police boat, with the Guardia
Civil on board, pursued them as their banca reached the lake. Elias told Ibarra to
hide under the zacate. As the police boat was overtaking the banca, Elias jumped
into the water and swam swiftly toward the shore. In this way, he diverted the
attention of the soldiers on his person, thereby giving Ibarra a chance to escape. The
soldier fired at the swimming Elias, who was hit and sank. The water turned red
because of his blood. The soldiers, thinking that they had killed the fleeing Ibarra
returned to Manila. Thus, Ibarra was able to escape.

Elias seriously wounded, reached the shore and staggered into the forest. He
met a boy, Basilio, who was weeping over his mother’s dead body. He told Basilio to
make a pyre on which their bodies (his and Sisa) were to be burned to ashes. It was
Christmas eve, and the moon gleamed softly in the sky. Basilio prepared the funeral
pyre. As life’s breath slowly left his body, Elias looked toward the east and

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murmured: “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land.” You, who
have it to see, welcome it! And forget not those who have fallen during the night.

Maria Clara, out of her loyalty to the memory of Ibarra, the man she truly
loved, entered the Santa Clara nunnery. Padre Salvi left the parish of San Diego and
became a chaplain of the nunnery. Padre Damaso was transferred to a remote
province, but the next morning he was found dead in his bedroom. Capitan Tiago
became an opium addict and a human wreck. Doña Victorina, still henpecking poor
Don Tiburcio, had taken to wearing eyeglasses because of weakening eyesight.
Linares, who failed to win Maria Clara’s affection, died of dysentery.

The alferez, who successfully repulsed the abortive attack on the barracks,
was promoted major. He returned to Spain, leaving behind his shabby mistress,
Doña Consolacion. The novel ends with Maria Clara, an unhappy nun in Santa Clara
nunnery – forever lost to the world.

LUMINARIAS

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Explain the socio-political situation of

colonial Philippines that Rizal conveyed in El Filibusterismo.
Synopsis of El Filibusterismo

The protagonist of El Filibusterismo is a jeweler named Simoun. He is the

new identity of Crisostomo Ibarra who, in the prequel Noli, escaped from pursuing
soldiers. It is revealed that Crisostomo dug up his buried treasure and fled to Cuba,
becoming richer and befriending Spanish officials. After many years, the newly
fashioned Simoun returns to the Philippines, where he is able to freely move around.
He is a powerful figure not only because of his wealth but also because he is a good
friend and adviser of the governor general.

Outwardly, Simoun is a friend of Spain; however, in secret, he is plotting a

terrible revenge against the Spanish authorities. His two obsessions are to rescue
his paramour Maria Clara from the nunnery of Santa Clara and to foment a
Philippine revolution against Spain.

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 The story of El Filibusterismo begins on board a steamer ship sailing up the
Pasig river from Manila to Laguna de Bay. Among the passengers are
Simoun; Doña Victorina, a pro-Spanish native woman who is going to Laguna in
search of her henpecked husband, Tiburcio de Espadaña, who has deserted
her; Paulita Gomez, her beautiful niece; Ben-Zayb (anagram of Ibañez), a Spanish
journalist who writes silly articles about the Filipinos; Padre Sibyla, vice-rector of the
University of Santo Tomas; Padre Camorra, the parish priest of the town of
Tiani; Don Custodio, a pro-Spanish Filipino holding a position in the
government; Padre Salvi, thin Franciscan friar and former cura of San Diego; Padre
Irene, a kind friar who was a friend of the Filipino students; Padre Florentino, a
retired scholarly and patriotic Filipino priest; Isagani, a poet-nephew of Padre
Florentino and a lover of Paulita; and Basilio, son of Sisa and promising medical
student, whose medical education is financed by his patron, Capitan Tiago.

A man of wealth and mystery, Simoun is a very close friend and confidante of
the Spanish governor general. Because of his great influence in Malacañang, he was
called the “Brown Cardinal” or the “Black Eminence”. By using his wealth and
political influence, he encourages corruption in the government, promotes the
oppression of the masses, and hastens the moral degradation of the country so that
the people may become desperate and fight. He smuggles arms into the country with
the help of a rich Chinese merchant, Quiroga, who aspires to be Chinese consul of
Manila. His first attempt to begin the armed uprising did not materialize because at
the last hour he hears the sad news that Maria Clara died in the nunnery. In his
agonizing moment of bereavement, he did not give the signal for the outbreak of
hostilities.

MONTILLANO
After a long time of illness brought about by the bitter loss of Maria Clara,
Simoun perfects his plan to overthrow the government. On the occasion of the
wedding of Paulita Gomez and Juanito Pelaez, he gives a wedding gift to them a
beautiful lamp. Only he and his confidential associates, Basilio (Sisa’s son who
joined his revolutionary cause), know that when the wick of his lamp burns lower the
nitroglycerine, hidden in its secret compartment, will explode, destroying the house
where the wedding feast is going to be held killing all the guests, including the

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governor general, the friars, and the government officials. Simultaneously, all the
government buildings in Manila will be blown by Simoun’s followers.

As the wedding feast begins, the poet Isagani, who has been rejected by
Paulita because of his liberal ideas, is standing outside the house, sorrowfully
watching the merriment inside. Basilio, his friend, warns him to go away because the
lightened lamp will soon explode. Upon hearing the horrible secret of the lamp,
Isagani realizes that his beloved Paulita is in grave danger. To save her life, he
rushes into the house, seizes the lightened lamp, and hurls it into the river, where it
explodes.

The revolutionary plot is thus discovered. Simoun is cornered by the soldiers,

but he escapes. Mortally wounded, and carrying his treasure chest, he seeks refuge
in the home of Padre Florentino by the sea.

The Spanish authorities, however, learns of his presence in the house of

Padre Florentino. Lieutenant Perez of the Guardia Civil informs the priest by letter
that he will come at eight o’clock that night to arrest Simoun.

Simoun eludes arrest by taking poison. As he is dying, he confesses to Padre

Florentino, revealing his true identity, his dastardly plan to use his wealth to avenge
himself, and his sinister aim to destroy his friends and enemies.

The confession of the dying Simoun is long and painful. It is already night
when Padre Florentino, wiping the sweat from his wrinkled brow, rises and begins to
meditate. He consoles the dying man saying: “God will forgive you Señor Simoun.
He knows that we are fallible. He has seen that you have suffered, and in ordaining
that the chastisement for your faults should come as death from the very ones you
have instigated to crime, we can see His infinite mercy. He has frustrated your plans
one by one, the best conceived, first by the death of Maria Clara, then by a lack of
preparation, then in some mysterious way. Let us bow to His will and render Him
thanks!”

Watching Simoun die peacefully with a clear conscience and at peace with
God, Padre Florentino falls upon his knees and prays for the dead jeweler. The
priest then takes the treasure chest and throws it into the sea.

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TREXEL

Big Picture in Focus: ULOc. Assess Jose Rizal’s literary works

1. My First Inspiration – the first poem Jose Rizal wrote during his schooling stint in
Ateneo. This poem was written in honor of his mother’s birthday.

2. They Asked Me For Verses – a poem he wrote upon the request of the members
of Circulo Hispano-Filipino and he declaimed it during New Year’s Eve.

3. To the Flowers of Heidelberg – a poem which expresses admiration of the light

blue spring flower “forget-me-not”. This flower made him think of flowers in Calamba.
This poem also expresses prayer for the well-being of his native land.

4. Hymn to Labor – this poem is in response to the request of his friends from Lipa,
Batangas. They wanted a hymn to commemorate the elevation of Lipa from a town
to a city in January 1888. Dedicated to the industrious folks of Lipa, Batangas.

5. The Song of the Traveler – written due to his delight upon receiving the news
that he is granted to travel to Europe and then Cuba to volunteer.

6. Mi Ultimo Adios - a poem written by Rizal before his execution on December 30,
1896.

7, The Song of Maria Clara – this was included in Noli Me Tangere a piece sang by
Maria Clara in the novel.

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 To My Fellow Children And English and Castilian and the
angels' tongue;
Whenever people of a country truly
And God, whose watchful care o'er
love
all is flung,
The language which by heav'n they
Has given us His blessing in the
were taught to use
speech we call,
That country also surely liberty
pursue Our mother tongue, like all the
As does the bird which soars to freer highest that we know
space above. Had alphabet and letters of its very
own;
For language is the final judge and
But these were lost -- by furious

referee waves were overthrown

Upon the people in the land where it Like bancas in the stormy sea, long

holds sway; years ago.

In truth our human race resembles

My First Inspiration
in this way
The other living beings born in Why do the scented flowers
liberty. In fragrant fray
Rizal each other’s flowers
Whoever knows not how to love his
This festive day?
native tongue
Is worse than any best or evil
Why is sweet melody bruited
smelling fish.
In the sylvan dale
To make our language richer ought
Harmony sweet and fluted
to be our wish
Like the nightingale?
The same as any mother loves to
feed her young.
Why do the birds sing so

Tagalog and the Latin language are In the gender grass

the same Fitting from bough to bough

With the winds that pass?

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 Your spirit free to blight.
And why the crystal spring See how in flaming zone
Run among the flowers Amid the shadows thrown,
While lullaby zephyr’s sing The Spaniard's holy hand
Like its crystal showers? A crown's resplendent band
Proffers to this Indian land.
I see the dawn in the East
Thou, who now wouldst rise
With beauty endowed.
On wings of rich emprise,
Why goes she to a feast
Seeking from Olympian skies
In a carmine cloud?
Songs of sweetest strain,
Softer than ambrosial rain;
Sweet mother, they celebrate
Thou, whose voice divine
your natal day
Rivals Philomel's refrain
The rose with her scent innate,
And with varied line
The bird with his lay.
Through the night benign
Frees mortality from pain;
GUDIN
To the Filipino Youth
Thou, who by sharp strife
Hold high the brow serene,
Wakest thy mind to life ;
O youth, where now you stand;
And the memory bright
Let the bright sheen
Of thy genius' light
Of your grace be seen,
Makest immortal in its strength ;
Fair hope of my fatherland!
And thou, in accents clear
Come now, thou genius grand,
Of Phoebus, to Apelles dear ;
And bring down inspiration;
Or by the brush's magic art
With thy mighty hand,
Takest from nature's store a part,
Swifter than the wind's violation,
To fig it on the simple canvas' length ;
Raise the eager mind to higher station.
Go forth, and then the sacred fire
Come down with pleasing light
Of thy genius to the laurel may aspire;
Of art and science to the fight,
To spread around the fame,
O youth, and there untie
And in victory acclaim,
The chains that heavy lie,

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Through wider spheres the human and with a mild warmth raises
name. to life again the valley, the glade, the
forest,
Day, O happy day,
he hails that sun, still in its dawning,
Fair Filipinas, for thy land!
that in his country in full zenith blazes.
So bless the Power to-day
And tell of that day
That places in thy way
when he collected you along the way
This favor and this fortune grand!
among the ruins of a feudal castle,
on the banks of the Neckar, or in a
forest nook.
To the Flowers of Heidelberg Recount the words he said
as, with great care,
Go to my country, go, O foreign
between the pages of a worn-out book
flowers,
he pressed the flexible petals that he
sown by the traveler along the road,
took.
and under that blue heaven
that watches over my loved ones,
Carry, carry, O flowers,
recount the devotion
my love to my loved ones,
the pilgrim nurses for his native sod!
peace to my country and its fecund
Go and say  say that when dawn
loam,
opened your chalices for the first time
faith to its men and virtue to its
beside the icy Neckar,
women,
you saw him silent beside you,
health to the gracious beings
thinking of her constant vernal clime.
that dwell within the sacred paternal
Say that when dawn
home.
which steals your aroma
was whispering playful love songs to
When you reach that shore,
your young
deposit the kiss I gave you
sweet petals, he, too, murmured
on the wings of the wind above
canticles of love in his native tongue;
that with the wind it may rove
that in the morning when the sun first
and I may kiss all that I worship, honor
traces
and love!
the topmost peak of Koenigssthul in
gold
But O you will arrive there, flowers,
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and you will keep perhaps your vivid Like to a leaf that is fallen and
hues; withered,
but far from your native heroic earth Tossed by the tempest from pole unto
to which you owe your life and worth, pole ;
your fragrances you will lose! hus roams the pilgrim abroad without
For fragrance is a spirit that never can purpose,
forsake Roams without love, without country or
and never forgets the sky that saw its soul.
birth.
Following anxiously treacherous
The Song of Maria Clara fortune,
Fortune which e 'en as he grasps at it
Sweet are the hours in one’s native
flees ;
land,
Vain though the hopes that his
Where all is dear the sunbeams bless;
yearning is seeking,
Life giving breezes sweep the strand,
Yet does the pilgrim embark on the
And death is soften’d by love’s cares.
seas !

Warm kisses play on mother’s lips, Ever impelled by the invisible power,
On her fond, tender breast awakening; Destined to roam from the East to the
When around her neck the soft arm West ;
slips, Oft he remembers the faces of loved
And bright eyes smile, all love ones,
partaking. Dreams of the day when he, too, was
at rest.
Sweet is death for one’s native land,
Chance may assign him a tomb on the
Where all is dear the sun beams bless;
desert,
Death is the breeze that sweeps the
Grant him a final asylum of peace ;
strand,
Soon by the world and his country
Without a mother, home, or love’s
forgotten,
caress.
God rest his soul when his wanderings
cease !
The Song of The Traveller

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Often the sorrowing pilgrim is envied, Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the
Circling the globe like a sea-gull above sun caress'd
; Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden
Little, ah, little they know what a void lost!,
Saddens his soul by the absence of Gladly now I go to give thee this faded
love. life's best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or more
Home may the pilgrim return in the
blest
future,
Still would I give it thee, nor count the
Back to his loved ones his footsteps he
cost.
bends ;
Naught wìll he find but the snow and On the field of battle, 'mid the frenzy of

the ruins, fight,

Ashes of love and the tomb of his Others have given their lives, without

friends, doubt or heed;

The place matters not-cypress or
Pilgrim, begone ! Nor return more laurel or lily white,
hereafter, Scaffold or open plain, combat or
Stranger thou art in the land of thy martyrdom's plight,
birth ; T is ever the same, to serve our home
Others may sing of their love while and country's need.
rejoicing,
I die just when I see the dawn break,
Thou once again must roam o'er the
Through the gloom of night, to herald
earth.
the day;

Pilgrim, begone ! Nor return more And if color is lacking my blood thou

hereafter, shalt take,

Dry are the tears that a while for thee Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake

ran ; To dye with its crimson the waking ray.

Pilgrim, begone ! And forget thine My dreams, when life first opened to
affliction, me,
Loud laughs the world at the sorrows My dreams, when the hopes of youth
of man. beat high,
Were to see thy lov'd face, O gem of
My Last Farewell

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the Orient sea Let it trill there its hymn of peace to my
From gloom and grief, from care and ashes.
sorrow free;
Let the sun draw the vapors up to the
No blush on thy brow, no tear in thine
sky,
eye.
And heavenward in purity bear my
Dream of my life, my living and burning tardy protest
desire, Let some kind soul o 'er my untimely
All hail ! cries the soul that is now to fate sigh,
take flight; And in the still evening a prayer be
All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to lifted on high
expire ; From thee, 0 my country, that in God I
To die for thy sake, that thou mayst may rest.
aspire;
Dream of my life, my living and burning
And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long
desire,
night.
All hail ! cries the soul that is now to
If over my grave some day thou seest take flight;
grow, All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to
In the grassy sod, a humble flower, expire;
Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so, To die for thy sake, that thou mayst
While I may feel on my brow in the aspire;
cold tomb below And sleep in thy bosom eternity's long
The touch of thy tenderness, thy night.
breath's warm power.
Pray for all those that hapless have
Let the moon beam over me soft and died,
serene, For all who have suffered the
Let the dawn shed over me its radiant unmeasur'd pain;
flashes, For our mothers that bitterly their woes
Let the wind with sad lament over me have cried,
keen ; For widows and orphans, for captives
And if on my cross a bird should be by torture tried
seen, And then for thyself that redemption
thou mayst gain.

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And when the dark night wraps the Where faith can never kill, and God
graveyard around reigns e'er on high!
With only the dead in their vigil to see
Farewell to you all, from my soul torn
Break not my repose or the mystery
away,
profound
Friends of my childhood in the home
And perchance thou mayst hear a sad
dispossessed !
hymn resound
Give thanks that I rest from the
'T is I, O my country, raising a song
wearisome day !
unto thee.
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that
And even my grave is remembered no lightened my way;
more Beloved creatures all, farewell! In
Unmark'd by never a cross nor a stone death there is rest!
Let the plow sweep through it, the
spade turn it o'er
That my ashes may carpet earthly
floor,
Before into nothingness at last they
are blown.

Then will oblivion bring to me no care

As over thy vales and plains I sweep;
Throbbing and cleansed in thy space
and air
With color and light, with song and
lament I fare,
Ever repeating the faith that I keep.

My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to

my sorrow lends
Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last
good-by! I give thee all: parents and
kindred and friends
For I go where no slave before the
oppressor bends,

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LONGAKIT

Big Picture in Focus: ULOd. Express Jose Rizal and the subject’s
relevance to the 21st century Filipino youth.
DR. JOSE RIZAL, THE SYMBOL OF IDEAL LEADERSHIP TODAY
Preciosa S. Soliven

Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines

No Filipino could be compared with Dr. Jose Rizal. He was one of a kind, from
1896 to present his ideals were alive in the hearts of Filipinos. His life was a pedestal of
education; he had put a huge amount of importance to education. Rizal was number
one in education and in distinction. It is only right that he be called “Pambansang Bayani
ng Sambayanang Pilipino.” He is well thought-out as one of the most educated heroes
in Philippine History who used his educational attainment to uplift Filipinos.

Jose Rizal, Una Perla Del Ombre (Pearl of a Man)

Rizal was well-equipped with immeasurable intellect. He showcased that the

Filipino race was able to give birth to individuals gifted with the highest qualities. He
surpassed all students at Ateneo de Manila, and graduated summa cum laude. He was
an indio, who, from his first year until he finished, where all 100 percent. He showcased
great skills even until he studied at Universidad de Santo Tomas. Rizal was considered
“Una Perla del Ombre” or “Pearl of a Man” because of his undying passion toward
education.

The true meaning of valor

The life of Jose Rizal was his best poem, better than “Mi Ultimo Adios”. He died
with dignity and worth, he had accomplished a lot despite his short-lived life. Also, he
put value on nationalism, not on selfish ways.

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Poverty is also the basis of terrorism

Poverty promotes oppression by the rich. During Rizal’s time, the oppression
came from the political structure. Now, we have a constitutional and liberal democracy,
but we still have poverty because of economic mishandling. This poverty will produce
oppression, injustice, and a great amount of unhappiness. Thus, Rizal’s dream has not
yet materialized. Not until those who sit in the government position are more like Rizal in
the accomplishment of their promises to the people and the eradication of corruption.

The youth is the hope of the Fatherland

Jose Rizal has always believed that the Filipino youth is the hope of the
Philippines. He means that as youth, we ought to equip ourselves with adequate
knowledge and study well once given the privilege to do so. Filipino youths are the
future of the Philippines since they will soon take over the reins of government in the
country. Hence, it is vital that the youth knows how to value knowledge and education to
prepare for the future of the nation as a whole.

Sambayanang FIlipino

Nationalism is an idea best put into practice by our national hero, Jose Rizal. It
pertains to the worth one gives to his nation. It means practicing collaboration and unity
with fellow countrymen before oneself. Such was taught to us by Jose Rizal. We are
one nation and as one we must move as one towards the future.

THANK YOU!!!

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