LIFE AND WORKS OF

RIZAL
 RIZAL: AMERICAN DICTATED HERO?
 Claro M. Recto was the main proponent of the Rizal Bill. Recto fought “tooth
and nail” to get the Rizal Bill passed into law in 1956.
R.A. 1425
 the law was enacted on June 12, 1956

 through the initiative of Senator Jose P.Laurel

 it was executed by the National Commission on Education thirty days

after its publication from the “Official Gazette” (August 16, 1956).

 the law primarily mandates all private and public schools to include
in their curricula the life and works of Dr. Jose P. Rizal

 it also aims to promote nationalism as exemplified through the life

of the Filipino hero; our independence and Filipino values should be
inculcated in the minds of the Filipino youth
 PROVISIONS OF THE RIZAL LAW (R.A. 1425)
 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
values as Filipinos.
 Section 1
 The law mandates all private and public schoolsto include in
their curricula the life and works of Jose P. Rizal, including
NoliMe Tangereand El Filibusterismo.
 The unabridged versions of NoliMe Tangereand El
Filibusterismoshall be used as basic texts in tertiary level.
R.A. 1425
 factors in determining the greatness of a person (according to
Xenophon):
 just
 patient
 courageous
 bearer of wisdom
 respectful
 nationalist

 Rizal – “one of the greatest Filipinos”

 The First Philippine Commission, which was headed by
William Howard Taft, enumerated the qualifying criteria in
choosing the Philippines’ national hero. These are:
 Filipino citizen Patriot/nationalist
 Has already been dead Patient

 nominees aside from Dr. Rizal

 Marcelo Del Pilar Graciano Lopez-Jaena
 Antonio Luna Emilio Jacinto
 Marcelo Del Pilar – garnered the majority of votes
 issues about Dr. Rizal:
 Rizal was rumored as the illegitimate son of Hitler
 Rizal should not be proclaimed as the national hero because of
his cowardice to fight the colonizers through revolution
 Rizal was considered as an “American made hero”
 Ocampo’s Arguments
 Rizal is known in the Philippine history as a hero who opposed the
Philippine revolution against Spain. According to him, the uprising against
a Western colonial power was premature because of his countrymen’s level
of maturity on nationalism at that time.

 Rizal’s heroism was overemphasized by the Americans. Such American-

sponsored veneration brought Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, and
Emilio Aguinaldo, among others as second-rate heroes. The thing is, Rizal
was already viewed as a hero even before his execution in Bagumbayan on
December 30, 1896.

 o As a matter of fact, President Emilio Aguinaldo declared the day of

Rizal’s death on December 30, 1896 as an “annual day of national mourning
in honor of Rizal.”

 o Granted that he did not participate in any of the revolutionary activities

against Spain but he served as the inspiration of our freedom fighters to
continue the revolution. Rizal was truly “the soul of the Philippine
Revolution” (Ocampo, 2000)
 CONSTANTINO’S ARGUMENTS
 Rizal’s pre-eminence among other Filipino heroes was
partly the result of American sponsorship.

 Governor William H. Taft was quoted in one of his statements

that Rizal was “the greatest Filipino, a physician, a novelist
and a poet (who) because of his struggle for a betterment of
conditions under Spanish rule, was unjustly convicted and
shot…”

 The Americans wanted a national hero who would not oppose

policies with regard to American colonial rule in the
Philippines.
INTERNATIONAL AND LOCAL EVENTS DURING THE BIRTH
OF THE NATIONAL HERO
 On April 12, 1861 the issue on slavery was raised in American
public arena; “Emancipation Proclamation”

 Benito Juarez was elected as the president of Mexico.

 Emperor Napoleon III decided to conquer Mexico but he failed to get
military support from the U.S.
 Juarez still defended his state by organizing Indian and Mexican fighters

 emergence of Western Imperialism in England

 On July 8, 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry re-opened Japan

to the international community
 After two hundred years of its isolation (protectionism), the Japanese
society and government embracedsome Western influences.
 The Holy Father issued his decision on the conflict between
Spain and Germany with regard to the sovereignty of
Carolines and Palau on October 22, 1885. He favored Spain
over Germany and provided two concessions to the latter state.
These were:
 Germany should not be restricted to trade with Carolines and Palau.
 Germany has all the rights to erect a coaling station in Yap.

 Italy and Germany successfully united against France.

 Spain colonized Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. This
was the result of its weakening influence to Latin American
and Central American countries.
LOCAL EVENTS
 Political unrest in the Spanish government
 the political instability was reflected through the frequent
amendments in their constitutions (total of four constitutions),
elections of twenty eight parliament members, revolutions, among
others

 Representation in the Spanish Cortes

 the Philippines was granted the opportunity to send a representative
to the Spanish Parliament.
 The first recorded Filipino representative in the Spanish Cortes is Delos Reyes

 Deprivation of human rights

 despite the adoption of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, the
colonial Spain continued to violate the rights of every Filipino
people
 Corrupt Spanish Officials
Spain’s government officials were classified into two groups:
 Incompetent and corrupt government officials
 Siglo de Oro – ‘lesser evil’ government officials; ORO = GOLD
 Inequality
 Such inequality is reflected through colonial laws, code and religion.
 Racial Discrimination
 unequal treatment of the Spanish colonizers towards the natives. The
colonizers equated being a Filipino as an inferior characteristic. As a
result, racial prejudice was widespread in the military, educational
institutions, and social Circles
 Emergence of Landlordism and Feudalism
 The king owns a vast majority of estate.
 large mass of land is divided (which is according to the desire of the king)
and distributed in various sizes to the
 ‘feudal lords.’ ( feudal lords can be a military general, a well-skilled)

 soldier, a religious leader, among others

JOSE RIZAL’S FAMILY
 Jose P. Rizal, considered as one of the greatest men in the world, was blessed by the
Lord with so much talents and skills which he used to help his countrymen.
 For the record, Jose Rizal was:
 Satirist – a writer of literary compositions which reflect humorous but ironical
works
 Polemicist – a person who is engaged in religious controversy
 Bibliophile – a person who is fond of collecting books
 Philologist – closely associated to being a linguist Geographer
 Grammarian Magician
 Novelist – El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere Martyr
 Physician – ophthalmic surgeon Painter
 Poet Engineer Folklorist
 Cartographer – a person who drafts/draws maps, Sportsman
 Surveyor Ethnologist Architect
 Educator Sculptor Businessman (farmer)
 “Jack-of-all-trade”
 FAMILY PEDIGREE
 Profile:
 Date of birth: June 19, 1861 (Wednesday)
 Place of birth: Calamba, Laguna (Rizal’s residence)
 He was baptized on June 22, 1861 by Father Rufino Collantes.
 His god father is Father Pedro Casanas

 The child was named after St. Joseph. Doña Teodora Alonzo was a devotee of the
aforementioned saint.

 Parents:
 Father: Francisco Mercado Rizal
 Date of birth: May 11, 1818
 Place of birth: Biñan, Laguna
 Educational Background: Degree in Latin and Philosophy at Colegio de San Jose, Manila

 Mother: Teodora Alonzo

 Date of birth: November 8, 1826
 Educational Background: Colegio de Santa Rosa (She was a mathematician and she was
fluent in speaking Español).
Siblings:  Maria(1859-1945)
 Saturnina (1850-1913)
 Pet name: Biang
 Pet name: Neneng
 Husband: Daniel Faustino Cruz
 Husband: Manuel T. Hidalgo (from
(from Binan, Laguna)
Batangas)
 Paciano (1851-1930)
 Jose (1861-1896)
 Wife: Severina Recena  Concepcion(1862-1865)
 Pet name: Concha
 Narcisa (1852-1939)  Josefa(1865-1945)
 Pet name: Sisa  Pet name: Panggoy
 Husband: Antonio Lopes (Teacher
 Trinidad(1868-1951)
from Morong)
 Pet name: Trining
 Olimpia(1855-1887)
 Pet name: Ympia  Soledad(1870-1929)
 Husband: Silvestre Ubaldo  Pet name: Choleng
(Telegraph operator fromManila)  Husband: Pantaleon Quintero
 Lucia (1857-1919) (from Calamba)
 Husband: Mariano Herbosa of
Calamba (nephew of Father
Casanas)
 RIZAL’S FOREFATHERS
 Rizal’s blood had the combination of the following
races:
 Negrito Indonesian Malay
 Chinese Japanese Spanish
 Rizal also had a good Asian appearance in terms of
physical features
 His ancestor on his father’s side was
 Domingo Lamco, a Chinese immigrant from Fukien City,
Changcow, China
 Dona Teodora’s ancestor was the great Lakandula of
Tondo; she also had a blood from her Japanese ancestor
Eusebia Ursua who was married to Benigna
 ‘RIZAL’ AND THE CALAMBA RESIDENCE
 The original surname of the Rizal family is ‘Mercado’
 the surname ‘Rizal’ was given to the clan by a Spanish alcalde
mayor

 Calamba residence: a two-storey building with a

rectangular shape which depicts the simplicity of a colonial
town

 Some of their properties:

 Horse carriage
 A library with 1,000 volumes of books