History of Rizal Law

Senate bill 438 known as Rizal Bill which was first authored by 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 by 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 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 was a former
Catholic Action President, Senator Mariano Cuenco and Senator Decoroso Rosales who was the brother of Julio
Rosales, an archbishop. Other oppositors were from Lower House namely Congressmen Ramon Durano, Marciano
Lim, Jose Nuguid, Manuel Soza, Godofredo Ramos, Miguel Cuenco, Lucas Paredes, Congressmen Carmen Consing
and Tecia San Andres 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, Catholic Action of the Philippines, Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus and
Daughters of 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, 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 like 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 Representative Emilio 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.