RIZAL LAW & the TEACHING OF RIZAL COURSE

REPUBLIC ACT 1425

SEN. JOSE P. LAUREL

Otherwise known as the RIZAL LAW. It mandates the teaching of the life, works, and writings of Rizal in all schools in the country.

He sponsored the said law. He stated that Rizal was the founder of Filipino nationality and the architect of the Filipino nation, there is a need to know and imbibe the great ideals and principles for which he died.

 To

rededicate the lives of the youth to the ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which our heroes lived and died. To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life and works in shaping the Filipino character. To gain an inspiring source of patriotism thru the study of Rizals life, works, and writings.

 To

recognize the relevance of Rizals ideals, thoughts, teachings, and life values to present conditions in the community. To apply Rizals ideas in the solution of dayto-day situations and problems in contemporary life. To develop an understanding and appreciation of the qualities, behavior and character of Rizal. To foster the development of moral character, personal discipline, citizenship and vocational efficiency among the Filipino youth.

 Resolved

that: Rizal subject should be abolished.

Resolved

that Andres Bonifacio should be our national and not Jose Rizal.

RESOLVED THAT RIZAL SUBJECT SHOULD BE ABOLISHED

RESOLVED THAT ANDRES BONIFACIO SHOULD BE OUR NATIONAL HERO AND NOT JOZE RIZAL

In the Philippines our national hero, Jose Rizal was not a man of war but a man of peace. not Bonifacio, considering that he led the revolution of 1896 against Spain? chose Rizal to be our countrys national hero? is Rizal our greatest national hero?

Why

Who

Why

Understanding the concept of HERO

prominent or central personage taking an admirable part in any remarkable action or event. (Webster Dictionary) person of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering. man honored after death by public worship, because of exceptional service to mankind.

 CONSTANTINO

(1969) claims that Rizal was an American-sponsored hero. TAFT COMMISSION of 1901 stated that, not the Filipino people chose Rizal to become our countrys national hero. contenders for the title then as National Hero were: Rizal, Aguinaldo, Bonifacio, Mabini.

The

The

The decision to sponsor Rizal was implemented with the enactment of the following legislations by the Philippine Commission:

ACT # 137 which organized a politico-military district and named it as the province of Rizal in honor of the most illustrious Filipino. ACT # 243 which authorized a public subscription for the erection of a monument in honr of Rizal at Luneta.
ACT # 345 which set aside the anniversary of Rizals death as a day of observance.

 AGONCILLO

(1986) pointed out that Rizal was acceptable as a national hero to the Americans because he was a symbol of assimilation, which was the American Policy then in the Philippines.

 Unfortunately,

there are still some Filipinos who entertain the belief that our Rizal is a made-to-order national hero, and that the maker or manufacturer in this case were the Americans, particularly Civil Governor William Howard Taft. himself, his own people, and the foreigners all together contributed to make him the greatest hero & martyr of his people.

Rizal

CONSTANTINO said that there were other factors, which contributed to Rizals acceptability as the official hero of the Philippines:

Rizal was already dead at the time the Americans began their aggression in the Philippines. No embarrassing anti-American quotations could ever be attributed to Rizal. Rizals dramatic martyrdom had already made him the symbol of Spanish oppression.

In the words of CONSTANTINO (1969) Rizal is a hero in the sense that:

He

was able to see the problems generated by historical forces, discern the new social needs created by the historical development of new social relationships, and take an active part in meeting these needs. He served the Filipino people by consciously articulating the unconscious course of events.

GUERRERO (1998) asserts that it is the Filipinos who have chosen Rizal to be the symbol of our nationalism as a people even before he died. In choosing Rizal as our Filipino national hero, a number of conclusions can be drawn: Since the Filipinos 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 worship to a man who gave up all comforts and pleasures of peace for their sake. Filipinos prize virtue more than victory, and sacrifice above success.

To GUERRERO (1998) Rizal was the first Filipino, because:

It was Rizal who first called the Philippines his fatherland. It was he who taught his countrymen that they could be something else, Filipinos who were members of the Filipino nation. He was the first to work towards the unification of the Philippine archipelago into a compact and homogenous body based on common interests and mutual protection.

Rizal was born in the decade when other nationalist leaders of Asia were born: MOHANDAS GANDHI, RABINDARANATH TAGORE, and SUN YAT-SEN. According to COATES (1968) all the four challenged the West. Of the four, Rizal was the most remarkable because his ideas matured at an early age. DE OCAMPO (1969) - said that Rizal was the first exponent of Asian nationalism since he was the source of inspiration for the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution of 1896.

The worth and dignity of the individual. The inviolability of human rights. The innate equality of all men and races. The necessity for constitutional government. Due process of law. Popular sovereignty as the basis of all political authority. Faith in human reason and enlightenment. The rights of the masses to public education. Belief in social progress through freedom.

 Rizal

was the first Asian leader to assert that the aforementioned ideas and principles be established in Asia for the benefit of the Asians. was through Rizal that the basic tenets of modern and social democracy were given a major voice in Asia for the first time. Rizal deserves to be called the FIRST ASIAN NATIONALIST LEADER.

It

Thus,

 This

was the period when the young Rizal learned how to read, write and listen to stories that triggered imaginative and critical thinking on his part.

It

was a period when the following values and virtues were developed in him, such as: INDUSTRIOUSNESS instead of IDLENESS; CREATIVENESS instead of UNPRODUCTIVENESS; RATIONALITY instead of BLIND ACCEPTANCE; DIGNITY instead of SERVILITY.

 This

was the first turning point in the life of Rizal. He was 11 years and was enrolled at Ateneo Municipal, despite the objection of his mother.
was the period when Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora were unjustly executed by the Spanish government.

It

 Strengthening

of his religious

foundation. Cultivation of the drive toward excellence. Conception of the Philippines as his fatherland. Envisioning the Philippines receiving light thru education. Perception of the intimate between religion and education.

 This

was the second major turning point in the life of Rizal. It was this time that Rizal decided to leave the Philippines to escape persecution.
went to Europe and everywhere he went, Rizal was always an observer and a student, learning from everything he saw, read, and heard.

He

 He

urged the Filipino colony in Spain to prove that Filipinos can compete with the Europeans in intellect and talent. this period, Rizal took part in the Propaganda Movement, based in Europe.

During

 This

was the last turning point in the life of our national hero, before his martyrdom on December 30, 1896. was exiled in Dapitan. It was here in Dapitan, where Rizal demonstrated what an individual can do and accomplish within a short period of time. It was here where he detached his connection with politics and devoted more of his time in practical service and usefulness to the community.

Rizal