Ang, Christine E.

08/02/20
11826711 GERIZAL V24
Ang aking sariling pakahulugan sa nasyonalismo at pagkabayani ni Rizal alinsunod sa RA 1425
at iba’t-ibang pakahahulugan ng mga dalubhasa sa iba’t-ibang disiplina.
RA 1425: Rizal Law
The Republic Act 1425 or the Rizal Law was created to instill the value of nationalism
and patriotism among the Filipino people. It is describe as “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.” His works,
specifically Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, showcase the reflections of the Spanish
oppression and corruption at the time. Moreover, Rizal also criticized the corrupt motives
of the churches and priests during the time. Given the controversial stance of Rizal

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regarding the Catholic church in his writings, the creation of this republic act instigated a

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heated debate between the Catholic church and the proponents of the act.

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With this, there are two main arguments that surrounded the conflict regarding the
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Rizal Law. Recto and Laurel mentioned that the unexpurgated version of the novel should
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be read by students because his works can ignite the minds of the Filipino people and
create a unified nationalistic conscience in them which may eradicate even the greatest
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evils that was burrowed into the most basic functions of our nation. Through this, Recto
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and Laurel believe that they will become more appreciative of Rizal’s efforts in opposing
the Spanish rule (Locsin, 1956). However, the Catholic church was against the
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implementation of the Rizal law because they saw Rizal as someone who opposes the
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church. According to Father Cavanna, the principal author in the statement of the bishops,
Rizal “satirized” catholic beliefs in his novels which will cause the students to move away
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from the church (Schumacher, 2011). To support the Catholic church, Senator Cuenco and
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Senator Rosales made a statement saying that Rizal’s works “attacked” the Catholic belief
which is why the Rizal Law should not be implemented (Schumacher, 2011).
The statement of the Catholic church did not hinder Recto and Laurel from pushing
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through with the Republic Act since he believes that Rizal’s works did not have any
religious motivation with it. Recto and Laurel argue that Rizal only criticized those who
deserved to be criticized and that he was not directly opposing the church. Furthermore,
the Veteranos de la Revolucion (Spirit of 1986), Alagad ni Rizal, The Freemasons, and The

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 Knights of Rizal believe that the Rizal law needed to be passed in order for Filipinos to
appreciate and learn about all the contributions of Rizal to the country’s democratic state.
Overall, the objectives of the Rizal Law, as mentioned by Laurel and Recto, is to allow
students to reflect on the Spanish oppression and corruption of the time for them to
develop a sense of nationalism. I believe that it is essential to study Rizal’s life and works
for us to be able to develop a foundation for our nationalistic ideas. Through focusing our
discussion on Rizal’s life and works as a tool for retrospective analysis, we can reflect on
how we can utilize Rizal’s ideas to the problems we are facing today. Thus, I agree with both
Senator Recto and Laurel that this is not an issue of the violation of church beliefs; rather,
the study of Rizal’s life is essential in building a foundation for nationalism in our country.
Moreover, adapting our perspectives by making our education of the past for the future will

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not only help us develop nationalism- it will also help us see how the problem of our nation

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has changed throughout the decades and how we can approach it as Rizal would have.

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 References:

Locsin, T. (1956 May 05). Consumption Function. Retrieved from

https://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/1956/05/05/the-church-under-attack-
may-5-1956/

Schumacher, J. (2011). The Rizal Bill of 1956 Horacio de la Costa and the Bishops. The
Rizal Bill of 1956 Horacio De La Costa and the Bishops, 59(4), Philippine
Studies, 529-553.

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