“Ulo sa Piso: The Nationalism of Jose Rizal”

A Final Paper

Submitted by:

Balbin, Juan Paolo S.

Caronan, Gwenavel Marie T.

Landrito, Maynard R.

Reyes, Kenneth Angelo E.

Submitted to:

Dr. Antonio C. Hila

 We all dream of a country where each citizen is concerned about the welfare not

only of the country itself but of each other as well, a country where we depend not on

external or foreign help but on the power of the citizens themselves. We all dream to

become a nation. We can learn from our own history that the Philippines once achieved

this. We became a nation because we wanted to break free from the oppression of the

Spanish colonizers. We were a nation. Sadly, that isn’t the case today. We are now unaware

of the true meaning of nationalism. It is also possible that we are unaware of this fact. We

are unaware that there is such a big problem that exists today. Senator Claro M. Recto

together with Jose Laurel were aware of this problem which led to the passing of Republic

Act No. 1425 also known as the Rizal Law in 1956. It is stated and we quote,

“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.”

The goal was to englighten the students on the nationalism that Rizal and other

heroes of the revolution they fought for. Later on, this enlightenment will lead to the

students realizing the importance of asserting their independence. It is proper that being

our national hero, Rizal’s nationalism will be the focus of this bill. Lacking the knowledge

and the want to study the life and works of Rizal, we don’t question this but as we zoom in

more into this topic, we will see that the basis of this law, the proclamation of Rizal as our

national hero i.e., his nationalism is the not the same as what we know. We thought that
Rizal was the brains of revolution and that we were freed from the Spaniards because of

him. The question is, is that even true? Did Rizal indeed fight for our independence? Is his

nationalism the correct inspiration for the nationalism that we want to have?

Persecuted for a crime he did not commit, this was the case for Rizal, but the

government during the time, highly influenced by the friars, that we can say that the church

is the government, commited this one big mistake, the belief that Rizal is the brains of the

revolution. Since the right to education wasn't easy to attain by most Filipinos at the time,

there was only a little percentage of the population capable of questioning this allegation.

Another factor is the presence of the belief that anyone who led the revolution is

undoubtedly a hero. Because of this, the idea grew and later became an accepted truth

strengthened by the dramatic execution of Rizal.

End of story? Not yet. The revolution succeeded and threw the Spaniards off the

country but then the Americans came. They felt that there was a need for the country to

have a national hero. It is quite questionable for a foreign country to facilitate national hero

selection for another. So candidates were listed and so were the criterion. Of course, you

won't expect anything fair from the Americans during this time since they wanted to stay in

the country to preserve their national interest. So what was the most important criteria?

The hero should be a pacifier and he/she should be glamorous. Why should he/she be a

pacifier? Because Americans wouldn't want the national hero to trigger a revolution

against them.

So the decision was made. The pacifier and the glamorous, Rizal, is our national

hero. Quite, contradicting to the essence of a national hero since the decision was affected
by foreigners. We're not saying that Rizal should not be a hero at all but the fact that he is

our national hero is questionable.

Just like all our heroes, Jose Rizal wanted the welfare of the country. What differs is

the way he thought welfare would be best achieved. Since he was still a child, he already

wrote poems about cultural nationalism. His alleged poem, “Sa Aking Mga Kabata,” spoke of

how we Filipinos should try to preserve our native language.

Although it was nationalism that he wanted, he didn’t want to break free from our

then colonial master Spain. What he had in mind was the welfare of the people through

education. In his poem, “Sa Kabataang Pilipino,” he challenged the Filipino youth to strive

hard in education and repay what their country has done for them. He believed that the

Filipino youth are the ones who will uplift the condition of the country, and they will

achieve it through education.

Being an illustrado, it is not surprising that Rizal wanted education for the Filipinos.

His belief of the importance of education in attaining welfare, may have been because he

himself has attained it. He was able to study and travel to different countries. He became

highly educated and his life was comfortable and full of promise. He believed that if all

Filipinos would be educated the way he was, then their lives would also be better. He also

believed that freedom would be given naturally by Spain once she sees that the Filipinos

deserve it, by being educated.

The problem with his way of thinking is that he only knew how it was to be

educated. He didn’t know how it felt to be a part of the masses. He never experienced the

hardships that an average poor Filipino experiences everyday because of the unjust
Spanish law and governance. He himself mentioned it in his novel “Noli Me Tangere”

through the main character Ibarra. In the novel, Ibarra told Elias that he didn’t know how

the poor people felt because he did not belong to that social group, and that he grew up

having a life of comfort with the Jesuits.

This unawareness of the experiences of the masses has brought to Rizal lack of

sympathy in terms of the abuses of the Spaniards. He believed that it was the lack of

education that led to the state of the country and the Filipinos, and that having education

would naturally lead to a better country to live in. Rizal showed this once more through his

novel when Ibarra tried to put up a schoolhouse.

Although Rizal’s intention was good, and that education itself is important and

beneficial, we must remember that education during his time was impossible. The

Spaniards know that educating the masses will only open their minds into new ideas like

liberal thinking and independence. Also, it will raise them closer to the status of the

Spaniards. Therefore, the government will never allow the Filipinos to be educated.

Having said that, it shows that what Rizal wanted was simply impossible. The

education he thought would bring about welfare and freedom would never be given to the

Filipinos. Another path has to be taken for the Filipinos to achieve the welfare and freedom

they wanted. It is not even just freedom that they want, they want independence, and they

plan to attain it through a revolution.

Rizal never wanted a revolution. He wanted the welfare of the Filipinos, but since he

didn’t know how it was to be abused by the Spaniards, he didn’t consider them as the

oppressors that brought upon the suffering that the Filipinos felt. He considered the
Spaniards as the ones who will give us the welfare and freedom we wanted in due time, if

we can only show them that we deserved it.

As time passed, however, Rizal also entertained in his mind the possibility of a

revolution. He thought of the events that might unfold if ever a revolution would take place.

He showed it in his novel “El Filibusterismo” when Simoun started a revolution. In the

novel, the revolution failed and Simoun died. This showed what position Rizal had in terms

of a revolution. He didn’t want a revolution. His position was consistent with what he wrote

in “Noli Me Tangere” when Ibarra said that when a revolution starts, he will side himself

with the government.

Rizal didn’t want a revolution because he doubted the capability of the Filipinos. He

didn’t think they would win the revolution because they didn’t have enough arms and

weapons. Also, he believed that the Filipinos are not yet ready to be independent. They still

needed education to be able to govern themselves. Rizal even said through “El

Filibuterismo” that “the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow”. This clearly shows

that he believes that education is needed before we even attempt to achieve independence.

This opposition of a revolution was tested in real life when he was faced with an

impending revolution. When he found out that a revolution is being planned, he claimed

that he had nothing to do with it and even tried to stop it. Even as the revolution is under

way, he was consistent it resisting it and trying to halt it. Even during his trial in 1896, he

defended himself by saying that the revolution was never his idea and that his name was

just used by the revolutionists.

 If heroes are decided by their pursuit of the welfare of the country, then Jose Rizal

can be counted as a hero. But a national hero should be the one who has brought upon the

country that welfare and that relief from oppression. Our independence was achieved

through a revolution - the very revolution that Rizal despised and rejected. This makes

Rizal’s being the national hero questionable. Just imagine - our national hero is the one who

opposed the revolution which brought us independence.

We can say that Jose Rizal, our national hero, is just one truly lucky guy. He was born

a Filipino. He also eats and sleeps like an ordinary Filipino. He is not a man of steel like

Superman. But unlike him, Rizal died. Died in a not so ordinary way. Died with some

dramatic effects on it. Died with soldiers aiming at his back. Died through bullets hitting his

body. A death that is rare with an ordinary Filipino.

For Filipinos back then, Rizal is like Superman, a hero that saves and fights for them.

But the reality is, behind that glitz and glamour, he is just a Clark Kent. That is, a normal

person that lives a normal life, but is changed by the events happening around him.

The life of Rizal was spiced up because of the novels he wrote. Noli Me Tangere and

El Filibusterismo are the two novels that boosted his popularity and also putting his life at

risk. Thanks for this novels, the mind of the Filipinos are now confused. They

misunderstand the message of Rizal and it resulted to the so called “Katipunan”. They

thought that Rizal is pro-revolution, but separation was all he wanted. The fact is Rizal just

wanted the Philippines to be integrated to Spain. With that, Filipinos will have the freedom

and equal rights like a province of Spain, not as a colony.

 Rizal died because of the wrong accusations given to him. He was said to be the

brains of the revolution. It is ironic because at the first place, he condemns the revolution.

He was not for the violent approach that the Katipunan wanted. In fact, he denied the plan

of Katipunan to launch the attack against the Spaniards. Still, Rizal died carrying a wrong

reason in his casket.

Rizal is not our national hero until the Americans came. They said that we need a

hero, a national hero. They chose the peaceful attempt of Rizal rather than the violent

growl of Bonifacio.

Jose P. Rizal was declared as our Philippine National Hero. But as we look back, we

can see that the life of Rizal is also as ordinary as it can be. It was just coloured by the

people surrounding him.

Born normal like others, studied, wrote novels, and died with such a movie-like

effect – that is Rizal, our national hero, remembered with a statue. So, if you want to be

remembered, live life with some drama and die like an action star, live like Rizal... And a

few years later, without so much doubt, an image of you will be seen in a penny.

Without so much doubt we can say, that we can all become a hero. Because being a

hero has no height requirement at all. Big or small, tall or short, heroism cannot be seen in

just physical appearance. Heroism cannot be judged by just naked eyes.

So why wait? Be a hero for yourself. Be a hero for others. Be a hero for our nation. Be

the best hero you can be.