REPUBLIC ACT NO.

1425

“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.”

OBJECTIVES:

- To enrich the minds of the students about the history of the Philippines specially taking
about our national hero
- For the people not to take advantage of the novels of Rizal. For examples, making
revisions and/or deleting other parts of the texts resulting to variations that would affect
the understandings of the students and other readers. This act simply want to preserve the
original content of the writings.
- To prove the people that violence is not always the solution in the battle like what Rizal
did.
- For the people to have an inspiration through the Life, Works and Writings of Jose Rizal

The Republic Act was signed by the President on June 12, 1956. The bill was originally
proposed in the Legislative arm of the Philippine Republic, in the Senate and House of
Representatives. The law was made effective thirty days after its implementation.

The Rizal Bill's main proponent was Senator Claro M. Recto. He attempted to get the bill
introduced in Congress. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, was adamantly opposed. Recto
was accused of being a communist and anti-Catholic by the church during the 1955 Senate
election. The Church continued to oppose the bill mandating the reading of Rizal's works Noli
Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo after Recto's election, alleging that it would violate people's
freedom of conscience and religion.

The Catholic Church encouraged its followers to write to their congressmen and senators
expressing their opposition to the Rizal law, and later arranged symposiums. Fr. Jesus Cavanna
claimed in one of these symposiums that the novels belonged in the past and that teaching them
would misrepresent today's generation. Radio commentator Jesus Paredes also said that
Catholics had the right to refuse to read them as it would "endanger their salvation"

Persons known for their great sense of nationalism were Senator Claro M. Recto who authored
the Rizal bill, while Senator Jose P. Laurel, Sr. was the Chairman of the Committee on
Education, who sponsored the bill in the Senate. Their nationalism serves as the foundation of
the said republic act and sets our country free from the hands of others and stand up on our own.

ADVANTAGES / PROS OF RIZAL LAW

● Rizal law teaches different virtues that can be applied in life. Some of these are; loving
and serving the country, being a strong individual who can stand in his conviction and a
responsible individual.
● The Rizal Law makes it mandatory that all state sanctioned schools make the history and
works of Jose Rizal a part of their curriculum. The hope of the order was to keep citizens
aware of their heritage and culture and to remind them of the price they paid to gain their
independence.
● Promoting peace and liberty instead of violent action and war to the Philippines.
● To recognize the importance of Rizal's ideals and teachings in relation to present
conditions and situations in the society.
● To encourage the application of such ideals in current social and personal problems and
issues.
● To develop an appreciation and deeper understanding of all that Rizal fought and died
for.
● To foster the development of the Filipino youth in all aspects of citizenship.
● Studying Rizal's life and works could help young Filipinos to know about the history of
Philippines as well as what happened to our country during the colonization of Spain and
how our ancestors gone through discrimination and corruption during Spanish era.
● Another awesome study in leadership, Rizal represents every man and woman who has
ever lost their own lives to the consequences of the very cause that they tried to go
against. Ultimately, it took a long time to get to where the Philippines finally got their
independence from Spain. Therefore, Rizal's influence over the independence movement
was both symbolic and necessary for this significant and historic change to happen.
● It is important to study the life of Jose Rizal because of his input towards the
independence of the Philippines. He chose to fight for his country through knowledge and
the power of letters. He noticed the continued suffering of his countrymen at the hands of
the Spaniards and sought to put an end to this situation. He decided to improve on his
personal studies to acquire knowledge that he would later on pass to his people through
novels and poems. His famous novels "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" pointed
out the issues that the true citizens of the Philippines faced under Spanish rule and the
need to take decisive action to liberate themselves from oppression. His actions resonated
well with that of his countrymen and eventually the people decided to rise up and defend
their rights and freedom.
● All over the world, people study about the lives of those who were responsible for the
founding of their countries and in their countries' independence movements. It is no
different in the Philippines. This is why it is relevant to study the life of Rizal.
● By studying the lives of heroes such as Rizal, we are supposed to become more aware of
the ideals that our country is founded upon. We are supposed to become more aware of
the sacrifices (such as Rizal giving his life) that our forefathers made in order that we
could have an independent country. In other words, the study of such heroes is supposed
to make us more patriotic and more appreciative of what we have today. So, studying
about Rizal is relevant to a Filipino/a because it allows them to become better citizens of
their country.
● Another is that through the implementation of this law, our fellowmen would be able to
see how much we are blinded by foreigners, especially the Americans, and how much
colonial mentality has taken over the lives of the people. Still, another is that through
studying the works of Rizal, Filipinos would have a sense of accomplishment and they
would feel very proud of their country and their heritage, which would lead to
nationalism and unification of the country.
 ● Exposes the hardships of the Filipinos under the Spanish regime - Enlightened the
students about the true value of having an independent nation
● Focuses on how the power of the Filipinos can have a large margin against the opposes of
the country.
● Spread nationalism across the country through the works of Rizal
● Youth was made aware of the contributions and the principled life of Jose Rizal who was
an emblem of substantial nationalism and unconditional love for the country
● For Rizal to be a role model for the youth of this country.
● The essence of freedom and independence was emphasized to the youth
● Implied through this act that national identity is a very important legacy that our heroes
have achieved through sacrificing their own lives.
● Through Rizal's words, we are able to see not only the strengths and virtues of us
Filipinos but also our defects and vices.

What was the major argument raised by Senators Jose P. Laurel and Claro M. Recto in
SUPPORT the passage of the Rizal bill?

Both Sen. Jose P. Laurel and Claro M Recto raised arguments about Rizal
novels/writings saying that those novels/writings should be read each generation, because it
contains morality. By letting Filipino know the sacrifices and suffering of the past people and
events that will help and connect today’s life and future. Also, Rizal wants to disseminate what
really the word “FREEDOM” means and aims at inculcating consciousness in the Filipino.

DISADVANTAGES / CONS OF RIZAL LAW

● Rizal is not the only national hero that should be recognized and taught in school. Rizal's
life and works cannot be discussed thoroughly within just 2 semesters; this makes
students just learn things about him superficially.
● The national historical commission (NHC) should also push for the teaching of
contributions and achievements of other notable philippines heroes starting from the
primary/ elementary up to college. Students should not be taught just memories, names,
dates and places in history class,they should know it by heart and nationalism and
patriotism must be further instilled into their minds.
● Rizal as a subject may also burden students in college because it's an additional cost to
their tuition especially if they are enrolled in private schools. On top of that also
additional subjects to study rizal could be taught starting elementary up to HS and just
make rizal subjects not mandatory in college instead.
● We think it is a disadvantage because, first of all, in college, we want to focus on our own
career paths. This means that we should only focus on our subject courses that are related
to our program. While studying Rizal's work in college, we all know that it takes a lot of
digging regarding its history which might conflict in our major or focused course subjects
in college

What was the major argument raised by Sen. Francisco Rodrigo /catholic church
AGAINST the passage of the Rizal Bill?
 The Noli Me Tangere and Filibusterismo or better known as the Rizal Bill was famous as
one of the most controversial bills passed in the Philippines.Under normal circumstances, when
new laws are proposed, it prompts a debate between the upper house and the lower house of the
Senate and the House of Representatives before it could be officially approved as a law. The
major argument raised by Senator Rodrigo was, the books of Rizal, specifically, Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, were written to directly attack and ridicule the Catholic Church.
He states, that it violates the Canon Law of 1933, he also argues that the books are clearly anti-
Catholic.

SUMMARY

ADVANTAGES / PROS OF RIZAL LAW

The Rizal Law makes it mandatory that all state sanctioned schools in the Philippines teach the
history and works of Jose Rizal. The hope of the order was to keep citizens aware of their
heritage and to remind them of the price they paid to gain their independence. Jose Rizal's life is
relevant to a Filipino/a because it allows them to become better citizens of their country.
Through studying his works, we are able to see not only the strengths and virtues of us Filipinos
but also our defects and vices. In other words, the study of such heroes is supposed to make us
more patriotic and more appreciative of what we have today.

DISADVANTAGES / CONS OF RIZAL LAW

Rizal is not the only national hero that should be recognized and taught in school. The national
historical commission should also push for the teaching of contributions and achievements of
other notable Philippine’s heroes starting from the primary/ elementary up to college. Students
should not be taught just memories, names, dates and places in history class, they should know it
by heart and nationalism and patriotism must be further instilled into their minds. Additional
subject to study Rizal could be taught starting elementary up to HS and just make Rizal subject
not mandatory in college instead.