Republic Act No. 1425 Republic Act No. 1425, 1425, popularly known as the Rizal Law, Law, directs all public and private schools, colleges, and universities to include in their curricula courses or subjects on the life, works, and writings of Dr. Jose Rizal, Rizal, particularly the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Filibusterismo. The Board of National Education is given the mandate to carry out and enforce the Rizal Law. It was approved on 12 June 1956. [edit edit]] History Senate bill 438 known 438 known as Rizal Bill which Bill which was first authored by Senator Claro Senator Claro M. Recto - requiring the inclusion in the curricula of all private and public schools, colleges and universities the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - is considered as one of the most controversial bills in the Philippines. Normally, before the bill was approved and implemented in all schools and was signed into a law known as Republic Act 1425, it had been brought to the Upper and Lower House of the Congress for deliberations. But what made it controversial is that the bill was not just fiercely opposed by people from Legislative Arm but also b y the Catholic Church due to the inclusion of compulsory reading of Rizal's novels in which according to them, catholic dogmas are humiliated. Senator Recto brought the bill to the Senate and Senator Jose Senator Jose B. Laurel Sr. who was then the Chairman of the Committee on Education sponsored the bill that consequently led to exchange of arguments from the Congress. The bill was headedly opposed by three senators namely Senator Francisco Rodrigo who Rodrigo who was a former Catholic Action President, Senator Mariano Mariano Cuenco and Cuenco and Senator Decoroso Rosales who Rosales who was the brother of Julio Rosales, Rosales, an archbishop. Other oppositors were from Lower House namely Congressmen Ramon Durano, Durano,Marciano Lim, Lim, Jose Nuguid, Nuguid, Manuel Soza, Soza, Godofredo Ramos, Ramos, Miguel Cuenco, Cuenco, Lucas Paredes, Paredes , Congressmen Carmen Consing and Consing and Tecia San Andres Ziga. Ziga . The Catholic Church was indirectly included in the debates and played a major role for the intervention of signing of the bill into a law. Allied with the church in battle against Rizal Bill were the Holy Name Society of the Philippines, Philippines, Catholic Action of the Philippines, Philippines, Legion of Mary, Mary, Knights of Columbus and Daughters of Isabela. Isabela. Oppositions argued that the bill would go against freedom of conscience and religion, The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) submitted a pastoral letter to which according, Rizal violated Canon Law 1399 which forbids or bans books that attack or ridicule the catholic doctrine and practices. Oppositors argued that among the 333 pages of Noli Me Tangere, Tangere, only 25 passages are nationalistic while 120 passages are anti-catholic. While upon scrutiny of thetwo novels by some members of catholic hierarchial, 170 passages in Noli Me Tangere and 50 in El Filibusterismo are against catholic fatih. Furthermore, oppositors pointed out that Rizal admitted that he did not only attack the friars who acted deceptively on the Filipinos but also the catholic faith itself. They suggested a reading
material for students as to what they called Rizalian Anthology, a collection of Rizal's literary works that contain the patriotic philosophy excluding the two novels. Of course, Recto and Laurel defended the bill and argued that the only objective of the bill is to keep the memory of the national hero alive in every Filipino's mind, to emanate Rizal as he peacefully fought for freedom, and not to go against religion. Senators Lorenso Tanada, Quintin Paredes and Domocao Alonto of Mindanao also defended Rizal Bill which was also favored by Representatives from the House namely Congressmen Jacobo Gonzales, Emilio Cortez, Mario Bengson, Joaquin Roxas, Lancap Lagumbay and Pedro Lopez. Other supporters of the bill were Mayor Arsenio Lacson call anti-rizal bill "bigoted and intolerant" and walked out of a mass when the priest read a pastoral letter from the Archbishop denouncing the Rizal Bill aqnd General Emilio Aguinaldo with groups li ke the Knights of Rizal, Women Writers of the Verrnacular , Philippine Veterans Legion, Colleger Editors' Guild and Philippine School Teachers' Association. Excitement and intense scnenes were eventually arisen in settling the Rizal Bill. One of which was the debate of Cebu Representative Ramon Durano and Pampanga RepresentativeEmilio Cortes that ended with a fistfight in Congress. Bacolod City Bishop Manuel Yap threatened to campaign against pro-rizal bill legislators nad to punish them in future elections. Catholic Schools Representatives threatened to close down their schools if the Rizal Bill was passed. Recto told them that if they did, the State could nationalize the catholic schools. When there was a proposal to use the expurgated novels as textbooks and put the original copies under lock and key in the school libraries, Recto rejected this amendment and expressed: "The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools...would bot out from our minds the memory of the national hero...this is not a fight against Recto but a fight against Rizal...now that Rizal is dead and they can no longer attempt at his life, they are attempting to blot out his memory." Due to apparently never-ending debate on the Rizal Bill, approved amendments were formulated through ideas of three senators. Senator Laurel' created an amendment to the original bill in which, other that Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, works written by Rizal and works wriiten by others about Rizal would be included and reading of the unexpurgated revision of the two novels would no longer be compulsory to elementary and secondary levels but would be strictly observed to college level. Senator Lim suggested the exemption to those students who feel that reading Rizal's novels would negatively affect his or her faith. Senator Primicias created an additional amendment that promulgates the rules and regulations in getting an exemption only from reading the two novels through written statement or affidavit and not from taking the Rizal Course. According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, no student has ever availed of this exemption. After the revised amendments, the bill was finally passed on May 17, 1956 and was signed into law as Republic Act 1425 by President Ramon Magsaysay on June 12 of the same year.
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Based on the Philippines’ vibrant history, the Filipinos are well-known throughout the world with their sense of nationalism. Since the Spanish era until the latest People Power, the Filipinos had generously expressed their ideals of their own love of freedom of their country. This certain noble love that we, Filipinos, are proud of should always be remembered and practiced, and therefore should be taught to the younger generations. For this reason, the Republic Act 1425, or popularly known as the Rizal Law, was implemented by the State. The Rizal Law states that all public and private schools, colleges, and universities in the country must include in their curricula, courses or subject about the life, works and, writings of Dr. Jose Rizal, particularly the novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. In this law, the honor of the Filipinos’ nationalism, particularly our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, is met with special fondness and devotion by the younger generations during their formal education. The works of Dr. Jose Rizal, especially the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, are excellent inspiring sources of nationalism or patriotism in which the Filipino youths should also recognize and put into practice. Since also in school, the minds of these youths are carefully molded with proper knowledge and discipline. Therefore, in school, the enacted curricula, course or subject is also a way of teaching the youths of being a good Filipino citizen. On the other hand, minor occurrences have already violated this law. The use of the English translation as an alternative medium is already a contrast to the objectives of the law. The law should also recognize our national language and not the English language but this implementation may be difficult due to colonial mentality and the recent issue of globalization. Certain primers, readers, and textbooks that are used in certain public schools with only a few funds for good education had already edited the original texts to different explanations and views that had led to a confu sion or false knowledge to the students. But sad to say, there is not enough implementation of laws that can control this problem in our poor country. Many other violations of the law had been done and ignored. Adequate amounts of copies are not available in public schools due to the massive graft and corruption of some public officials. Distribution of copies of Rizal’s works that are free of charge to those persons desiring to read them is not also really available in the Purok organizations and Barrio Councils throughout the country. I think that a revision of the Rizal Law should be considered or, in a hard way, the law should be more strictly practiced and penalized so hat somehow, or in some way, appreciation and recognition of the love of country is truly practiced.
till much to learn about Rizal’s lifework and influence
Philippine Daily Inquirer
6:05 am | Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
As with many important rea lizations in life, my appreciation of the Rizal course I t ook at the University of Santo Tomas came late. We study Jose Rizal to pay tribute to him as our national hero. He personified patriotism with his self-sacrifice and martyrdom. In schools, his masterpieces the “Noli Me Tangere” and the “El Filibusterismo” are mandatory readings, as it is important for students to know about the oppression our countrymen suffered under the Spaniards during the late 1800s. I think that knowing about the things that happened in our past —whether good or bad— strengthens our patriotism. And (more) patriotic Filipinos are precisely what this country needs to lift it from what has been variously described as its present state of “desolation,” “desperation,” “hopelessness,” “wretchedness,” etc. Some historians’ interest in Rizal is so great that it has led them to zealously do research work on him, hoping to share with the rest of us whatever fresh insights they may gain about his already extensively chronicled life. Well and good, because if there is a national figure for whom we should have zeal and whose mind we should probe, it is Rizal. I also find rather effective the role that theater groups play to (re)introduce Rizal to the present generation. In June last year, I watched at the Ilustrado in Intramuros the late Severino Montano’s play “Leonor Rivera,” performed by the Philippine Drama Company and directed by theater luminary Natividad Crame-Rogers. Though it centered on the relationship between Jose and the broken-hearted heroine Leonor, I ended up being intrigued by the supporting character of Paciano Rizal. It was with him Jose pleaded not to be sent off to Europe in light of his love for Leonor. Now I have my own researching to do to find out how much of an influence Paciano was to his prominent younger brother in the context of his being a “filibustero.” There is much to learn and relearn about the different aspects of Rizal’s life and his influences. So I wish our teachers, historians, researchers, archivists, essayists, playwrights and thespians all the very best as they continue to promote our national hero among Filipinos, young and old. On this note, let me express my wish that Rizal’s succeeding birth anniversaries be consistently celebrated with a lot of dignity, enthusiasm, creativity, splendor and fanfare whether it would be the 151st, 152nd, 153rd and so on. May we love our country more as we learn about Rizal more. Mabuhay si Jose Rizal! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! —CLAUDE LUCAS C. DESPABILADERAS,
Biography of Dr. Jose Rizal
Who was Jose Rizal? On June 19, 1861, the Mercado Family from the town of Calamba in the province of Laguna in the Philippines, happily greeted the birth of their newest member — a baby boy born as the seventh child to proud parents Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Alonza y Quintos. They named the bouncing baby boy Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado. Being the seventh of a brood of eleven, Jose Rizal Mercado demonstrated an astounding intelligence and aptitude for learning at a very young age when he learned his letters from his mother and could read and write at the age of five. Educational Foundations The Mercado family enjoyed relative wealth as landowners who rented the land of their hacienda to the Dominican friars in Laguna. Hence, education was a priority for the Mercado family and young Jose Protacio was sent to learn from Justiniano Aquino Cruz, a tutor from nearby Binan, Laguna. But the education of a small town and a tutor did not sufficiently quench the young man’s thirst for knowledge and soon, the family began to make preparations for his admission to the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, in the capital of the Philippines. The school was run by the Jesuit Order and was one of the most prominent and academic institutions in the country which catered to the rich, the powerful and most intelligent students that country had, certainly a place for a young man like Jose Protacio Mercado. Studying in Manila
Prior to his enrollment in this prominent learning institution, his older brother Paciano Rizal Mercado, insisted that Jose drop the surname “Mercado”, to ens ure that the younger Mercado would be disassociated with the outspoken and borderline subversive reputation of his older brother. As such, the young man known as Jose Protacio Rizal enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. Being the child of a family of wealthy landowners, Jose Rizal decided to study for a degree in Land Surveying and Assessment at the Ateneo de Municipal de Manila where he graduated on March 14, 1877, with honors or sobresaliente. He took and passed the licensure exam for land surveying and assessment in 1878 but was not given a license until 1881 when he turned 21. In 1878, after his completion of his degree from Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he pursued, his passion for the arts as he enrolled at the Faculty of Arts and Letters for a degree in Philosophy at the University of Santo Tomas. Although he excelled at philosophy, the news of his mother’s impending blindness convinced him to study Medicine, and in 1878 he enrolled in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at University of Santo Tomas to specialize in ophthalmology. Citing discrimination against Filipino students by the Dominican professors in Medicine, Rizal left the medical program in 1882. Believing that education in the country was limited, he boarded a ship to Spain with the support of his older brother Paciano but without informing his parents. The ten years he would spend on the European continent would leave an indelible mark on his personality and open his eyes to the world, develop his natural talents and strengthen his devotion to his motherland. Academics in Europe In Spain, he continued the studies that were stalled in the Philippines and enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid where he graduated in 1884 with a degree in Medicine, and a year later with a degree in Philosophy and letters from the same institution. Even after the completion of these two degrees, he still was not satisfied and traveled to France and studied at the University of Paris. In his pursuit to further increase his knowledge in his chosen field of specialization — ophthalmology — he studied at the University of Heidelberg under the distinguished eye specialist, Professor Otto Becker. Recognition in Europe Born a few centuries too late, Rizal could have been an ideal Renaissance Man, he was a polymath who excelled at anything he put his considerable mind and talents to. The study of land assessment, medicine, and literature are just a few of his known accomplishments but he also excellent in arts such as sculpting, painting, architecture; physical activities such as martial arts, fencing, pistol shooting were also where he demonstrated his prowess; he was well read could discuss agriculture, economics, sociology, anthropology and history at will. Apart from these, he was also multilingual and was known to have been able to converse in over 10 languages including Filipino, Spanish, English, French, German, and Dutch, among others. Rizal was also a member of the Freemasons. It is therefore no surprise that wherever he went, people were drawn to his charm, wit, intelligence and personality. He made friends and lovers wherever he went and left an impression and reputation that would outlive him. Foundations for Reform Even as a youth, Jose Rizal had been exposed to the difficulties of being under the Spanish colonial government, which had instilled in him the need for change in the system of how the country was being run. Jose Rizal spent most of his time with his older brother Paciano, a man who had been linked to Filipino priests, Gomez, Burgos and Zamora, who sought reform within the catholic church by advocating equal rights for Filipino and Spanish priests in the Philippines. The three priests were later accused of being subversive and were executed by the Spanish colonial government. Even closer to home, Rizal saw the treatment accorded to his beloved mother by the Spanish authorities who accused her of attempting to poison her cousin and sent her to jail in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Teodora Mercado was made to walk sixteen kilometers from their home to the prison and was incarcerated for 2 and a half years until a successful appeal at the highest court of the Spanish government cleared her of the charges. Novels
During his stay in first stay in Europe, Rizal wrote his novel, Noli Me Tangere.The book was written in Spanish and first published in Berlin, Germany in 1887. The Noli , as it is more commonly known, tells the story of a young Filipino man who travels to Europe to study and returns home with new eyes to the injustices and corruption in his native land. Rizal used elaborate characters to symbolize the different personalities and characteristics of both the oppressors and the oppressed, paying notable attention to Filipinos who had adopted the customs of their colonizers, forgetting their own nationality; the Spanish friars who were portrayed as lustful and greedy men in robes who sought only to satisfy their own needs, and the poor and ignorant members of society who knew no other life but that of one of abject poverty and cruelty under the yoke of the church and state. Rizal’s first novel was a scalding criticism of the Spanish colonial system in the country and Philippine society in general, was met with harsh reactions from the elite, the church and the government. Upon his return to the country, he was summoned by the Governor General of the Philippine Islands to explain himself in light of accusations that he was a subversive and an inciter of rebellion. Rizal faced the charges and defended himself admirably, and although he was exonerated, his name would remain on the watch list of the colonial government. Similarly, his work also produced a great uproar in the Catholic Church in the country, so much so that later, he was excommunicated. Despite the reaction to his first novel, Rizal wrote a second novel, El Filibusterismo, and published it in 1891. Where the protagonist of Noli, Ibarra, was a pacifist and advocate of peaceful means of reforms to enact the necessary change in the system, the lead character in Fili, Simeon, was more militant and preferred to incite an armed uprising to achieve the same end. Hence the government could not help but notice that instead of being merely a commentary on Philippine society, the second novel could become the catalyst which would encourage Filipinos to revolt against the Spanish colonizers and overthrow the colonial government. Arrest, Exile, and Incarceration Upon his return to the Philippines in 1892, he was arrested by the Spanish government for being a subversive and for his reported involvement in the rebellion. He was then exiled to the island of the Dapitan in the southernmost island group of the Philippines, Mindanao. There he established a school that taught English to young boys, he worked on agricultural projects on abaca, a plant used for rope, and he continued to practice medicine, eventually meeting one of the most famous women in his life, Josephine Bracken. Although Jose Rizal has repeatedly said that he advocated peaceful reforms in the Philippines, the Spanish government were correct in assuming that his novels would indeed stir up a hornet’s nest of unrest in the islands. One of the leaders of the revolutionary group called Katipunan, Andres Bonifacio, had read the Rizal’s novels and had used these as a basis for the revolution. So influential was Rizal that even without his permission they named him as a member and Katipuneros shouted his name as part of the their battlecry. With no wish to be further implicated in the revolution, Rizal asked and was granted permission by then governor General Ramon Blanco to travel to Cuba, another Spanish Colony at the time, to support in the medical efforts needed to suppress an outbreak of yellow fever. On the way to Cuba, Rizal was arrested and incarcerated in Barcelona due to the political manoeuvrings of the friars which saw Blanco removed from office and replaced by Camilo de Polavieja. Execution and Death Rizal was then brought back to the Philippines to face charges of rebellion due to his reported association with the revolutionary movement. The court found him guilty and sentenced him to death. Jose Rizal was executed by a firing squad on December 30 1896, at 7:00am, in Bagumbayan (now called Rizal Park) and his remains were buried in an unmarked grave in the nearby Paco Cemetery. Through the years, Rizal’s works and ideals have been cited by many reformists, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Sun Yat Sen and even Ghandi as the means for peace reforms. As the national hero of the Philippines, his works, are required reading for all students and streets, buildings, and parks have been named after him and the 30th of December, his death anniversary, was declared a national holiday.
Rizal’s Legacy What made Jose Rizal worthy of becoming the Philippines’ national hero was not merely his intelligence, personality, literary acumen, or his pacifist ideals. Rather, it was his patriotism, optimism, undying love for his country and his belief in his countrymen which set him apart. He believed not merely in freedom but in the potential of the Filipino people to surpass what they were under the Spanish colonial government, and all he wished was for them to be given the chance to tap that potential. And for that, he has earned his right place as a symbol of what a Filipino can do in one short lifetime. - See more at: http://www.joserizal.com/#sthash.C1J3BDwD.dpuf
