i$E P!XL!-: L:f:, S'9*X'S '"-+! tryF!?
lrltt
He was then a medical stud*nt in Madrid, Spain. The entry in
his diary reads as follows:
I*nuary I, /883.1o
lwo nights ago. that is 3t\ Dr:ucmber, I had a frightful
uightrnare wlten I alrnost died" I drenmecl that, inritating an
act,;r dying on stage, L f*it vividly that ffly breath was failing
and I was rapidly losing rny streugtlt. Then :ny vision became
dim and dense darkness enveloped me -- they are the pangs
of death.
Aftermath of a ltrero-lllartyn's llesth. At the time when
bullets of Spain^" firing squad kille*l Dr. Rizal, the Spaniards
residents, friars (Jesuits nnt included), corrupt of(icials (inclt
ing Governor Folavieja) exulted with sadistic joy, for Rizd
formidable champion of Filipino freedorn, was gone. ln facl
immediately after the hero's execution the Spanish
shouted "Viva F,spafra!" "Muerte a los Traidotre$", ("[.ong
Spain! "Death to the Traitors!") and the Spanisfu Militnry
joining the jr.rtrilan,ce over Rizal's death, played the gay
de Cadiz.
Poor bigoted Spaniards of.no vision! They were fully un
of history's inexorable tides. For the execution of Rizal
the foundation of an independent nation. 1'rue that the
bullets which kitled Rieal <testroyed his brain, but the libertarlri
ideas spawned by his brain destroyed the [ipanish rule in t
Philippines. "As Cecilio Apostol, greatest Filipino epic pocl
Spanish, aptly rhapsodizeti;r1
"Rest in peace in tlte shadows of oblivion,
R.edecmer of a country in btlndage!
In the ffIy$tery of the grave, do not cry,
Fleed nct the momentary triumph of the Spaniard
Because if a bullet destroyed your cranium,
Likervise vc,ur idea dcstroyerl an empire!"
By his writings, which awakened Filipino nationalism u
paved the way for the Fhilippinc Revolution, he provetl t
"the pen is rnightier then the sword'l" As a many-splert
genius, writer, scientist" and political martyr, he richly tlcsc
history's salute as the national hero of the Philippines.
t*t**
270
APPMXWDTX
^AA
WHO MADE "IOSE RIZAL OUR
ITOREMOST NATIONAL HER.O,
ANT} WHY?
By Esteban A. de Ocampos
f)r. Jose R,izal Mercado y Alonso, or simpry Jose Rizal (1961-
ll{()(r), is unqilestionably the greatest hero and rnartyr of our
,;rrr(){r. The day of his birth and the day of his execution are
lrnrngly commernorated by all classes of our people throughout
tlrc breadth of this country and even !y Filipinos
rrrrl abroad. His narne is a"hyword in eriery Filipino
lr,rrr picture adonns the postage stannp and paper
,r()ilcy of widest circulation. No other Filipino hero can surpass
Itr;rrl in the number of monurnenfs erected in his honor; in the
rrrrr,lrcr of towns, barrios, and streets named afier him; in the
rrrrrrrtrcr of educational institutions, societies, and trade names
tlr.rt hear his name; in the nurnber of persons, both Filipinos
irrrrl lirreigners, who were named "Rizal" or "Rizalina" bocause
,'l rlrcil'parents'admiration for the Great Matrayan; and in rhe
rrrrrrhcr of laws, Executive orders and Froclamations of the
t lrrt'l llxecutive, and bulletins, memoranda, and circulars of both
rlrr lrureaus of public and private schools. who is the Filipino
irrrrr'r and thinker whose teachings and noble thoughts have
I', ,'rr lrcqusntly invoked and quoted by authors and public speak-
r r', .. ;rlmost all occasions? None but Rizal. And why ii this
n,,' l[:cauSe, as biographer Rafael Palma said, ,,'Ihe doctrines
',1 l{rz;rl are not for one epoch but for all epochs. They are as
, rlrrl r.tlay as they were yesterday. It cannot be said that because
rlr, l,.rlitical ideals of Rizal have been achieved, because of the
,lr,rrrltt' ,f institutions, the wisdom of his counsels or the value
r rl lrr., rkrctrines have ceased to be
opportune. They have not'n.l
'lrrrrlllrr commander, Knights of Rizar, and president, phirippine
Historicar
qir'r i.tll(rn
I rho PrHc ot thG MrhV Racc, 1949, p. 366.
271
 Unfortunately, troweuer', thr:re are still some Filipinos w rurr[1'41 sueh favorable gnd umfa.i,o:"zbEe
conrments fron filcn#
entertain the helief that our Rizat is a "rnadc-to-order" n&t nrrrl kre$ aiike as dirJ Rizal,s NoIi.
hero, and that the malc.er r:r rnanufacturet"in this case were lypical of the encorniunns that the hero receiv*d fro t" hi$
Annericans, partlcu[ally Civil ffiovnrnor Williain Horvard T tr,rrl were
wer{ those .a-+^ri;^ h,faria
'['his was done allegettrly in the follurving, nranner: received f,rnm
tho,se he recciwnrl from Antonio f,f,^-i^ Reflctor
o-';irfnAl0
l'r'rl Fcrdi*ant{ tsl*mentritt. Residor. -"F rilffi.# .rtrl
*'^And
nou', gelrtlcrnen, you must have a national hero".
These were $rupposed to bc the worcls addressed by Governor
Taft to Messrs. P:lrdo de Tavera, I-,egarda, and l.uzurriaga,
Filipino nrernbers of the Phitigrpine Cr mnlission, of which
'I'aft was the Chairrnan. It was lurthcr reporter! that "in the
subsequerrt discnssion in r+'hich the rival merits of the
revolutionar heroes (Marcelu FL del Pilar, Graciano L,opez
Jaena, Jose Rizal, General Antonio Luna, Errilio Jacinto,
and Andres tstuifacir:-- O.) were 'considered, the final
choice -_ now universaXly asclairned a wise one
--was
Rizal. And so history vras made""2-
This article will atternpt to an$wer trvo questions; (tr)
:nade R.izal the forern,ost natio.nal herr: of the Fhi,lippines?
(2) Whlr is ftizai our greatest *rational hero? Be{ore
to answer fhese querles, it will he hettt:r if we first know
meaning of the term ftero. According to Wetrster's lfew
ti.onal Dictionary of the English language, a itero is "a p
or central personage taking arr admirable part in any rem
action or event". A.lso, "a person of distinguislred valor
enterprise in d:rnger, or fcrtitude in su{Tering"" And finally,
is "a man honored after deattr try public worship, becaurG
exceptional sen'ice tc mankind."
Why is Rizal a hero, nay, our ftvremost national hero?
is our greatest hero because, as a towering figure in thc
aganda Campaign, he took an "adrnirable part" in that mr.
which roughly covered the period frorn 1882 to L896. If wc
asked to pick out a single work by a Fiiipino writer during
era which, more than any other writing, contributed trexne
to the formation of Filipino nationality, we shall have nu ltoil
tion in choosing Rizal's Noli Mt "{angere (Berlin, ltttJT). ll
true that Pedro A" Paterno published his novel, Ninty, rn Mld
in 1885; Marcelo It. rJet Prl;rr, his La Sobe'rnnia'Monufil
Barcelona in 1889; Graciano Lopez Jaena, his l)isr'anw{
Articulos Varios, also in lJarcelona in tr&91; attd Antortirr
his Impresiones in Nfadrid in 189i, i'rut nonc of thesc lxxrkt I Gptutolrrlo Rltrllno, Tomo $ogundo"
a f{d. Tomo Frimoro.
2" Fhilippines Freo Press, Dec. 28, l!!46. h Atmtln Cralg, $llerl'r pnltrtlqrl Wdfineo, prp, ?g!"il06.

272 7't I
 r4

debate that finally resulted in the enactrnent of a

measure, now known as Republic Act No" 11125.
The attacks on Rizal's first novel were nnt only
in the Philippines but were also staged in the Spanish
There, Senatof Fernando Vida, Deputy (and ex-Gen the voice of Personal Prog-
M. de Pando, and Premier Praxedes Mateo Sagasta were to live {ar frnrn
ions f6r an irieal
those who unjustly lambasted and criticized Rizal and
in the two chambers of the Spanish Cortes in 1888 and
trt is comforting to leanr, however. that about thirteen
later, Congressman Henry Allen Cooper of Wisconsin
an eulogy of Rizal and even recited the martyr's for him.
samiento on the floor of the United States House of
tatives in order to prove the capacity of the Filipinos for
ernm,ent" He said in part: "It has been said that, if A
institutions had done nothing else than furnish to the w
character of Georgc Washington, that alone would entitle
to the res$)ect of mankind. So, Sir, I say to all those who dc
the f.ilipinos indiscriminatelv as trarbarians and savages,
possibility of a civilized future, that this despised race
itself entitled to their respect and to the respect of m ev
vehen it furnished to the world the character of Jose Rl
y,iving uP-
he soon felt
i":;
"[he result of this appeal of Representative Cooper w6l
r:ross of his
approval of what is popularly known as the Philippine Bill of I n bi fl'al
f)r. Frank C' Laubach' an -
The preceding paragraphs have shown that by the Noll of the hero's -*;g" in the foltowing words:
r1,,rkc
Rizal, arnong his contemporaries, had become the most
nent or the central figure of the Propaganda Movemenl. His consunring life PurP
Again, we ask the question: Why did Rizal beconr€
greatest Filipino hero? Because in this writer's humble opl
no Filipino has yet been born who could equal or surpass
as "a person of distirrguished valor or enterprise in dangcfg
fortitude in suffering." Of these traits of our hero, let ut
what a Filipino and an Arnerican biographer saicl:
"What is most admirable in Rizal," wrote Rafael Pulnrrr,
"is his cornplete self-denial, his complete ahandonnrcnt oI
his personal interests in order to think only o[ thosc of hir

6. Retana, Vida y Escritos dol Dr. Joro Rlzal, pp 't

31- 133.

I Pntrnr, Tho Fstde o' ftrn trdry Rko' p' 36X-252'

7. Osias, Jose Blzol, His lJfc and TIma, p. 444.
77s
274

when he y,rrQtc thosc lctterr; irr Ilonokonrr ."trr l1a. ;171..117,11
after trl sailed into thc ..i.np':in Manila *irl,.r,ri
any illu his Dapitan exile, whcn he was rcmptett
to esca 'N€r", not once but l-rundrecls of timcs
executiop brought the final test, Decemtrer
alked with pert'ect calm to the firing line as
own choice, the onli heroic figure in that
f, ,h: bigoted Spaniards in $pain and in ine fnitippinr
Rizal was the most intelligent, rnost courageous, and rnost dangt
ous enemy of the reac.tionaries and the tyrants; thereforc,-l
strould be shot publicly in order to serve lu aro *xn*ple and
wanring to those of his kind. This was ttre reason wiv Ria
after a hrief mock triar, w.s sentencecr to creath and madg
face the firlng squad at Bagumbaya* Field, now the tr.uncfu,
the early nrorning of llecember 30, lgg6.
And t'or the third and last time, we repeat the quest
whv is R'izal the grearesr Firipino hero that ever rived? bccr
he is "a ma, honored after death by public *,orship, bcc.l
of excepti,nal service to mankind". we can say that even bcft
hls execution, Rizal was atrreacry accrairned by Loth Firipinos
r Itr,lttt.' flrilvos. [n January, tr891, Rizal wa-s again unaninrcusly
foreigners as the forernost reader of lris peopre: wriiing ftt
Barcelona to the Creat Malayan o, Marih i0, 1gg9, tiur.,
H. tlel Pilar said: "Rizar no lisn* aun derecho d morir: su nomt
constiiuye Ia mds pura 6 inmaculada bandera de aspiraciono;
no son otra cosa mds que unos voluntadl
bandera."l() Fernando Acevedo, who calll
o amigo, cornpairero y paisano',, wroto tl
Zaragdza, Spain, om October 25, trggg: ."I see in y(
Filiprno; your application to study and your talOfl
d on a height wticfr I revere und *,i*ir*.nlr tl
9. l-aubac$r. Birol, illtan and Martyr, pp.
4€,2-4o.3.
10. Gpdctolerio Rlzrllno, Tomo Scgundo.
11. &1d". Tomo Sogundo, p.233.
2?6
olulto l)r. 'lirrrrfls Ardjola wrolr: Riz"nl in Mldrrl. !.'chnlrry
. lHr) 1 , siryillg: " Yuur rrrorirl iuflrrcncc ()vcr lrs is irrdispur:rblc--12
Alrri r rrrrirt:rrtu i-uatu oi i:ruiar:an wr()tc [n]s tn0lutc !.ol llt7"'r,
trvrrl1 ''Vd. a quiclr se lc pruede (llamar) oon razon, abeza
irrr, l.u rlc los frlipinos, ailnque la cornparacion parpzca algo
rhlrr rrl:r, p{}rquc poseo la vrrtud <le atraer consigo enconadas
t,rlrrrrt:r(k'$, zanjat las discnrriias y euernistades rencoro,sas, reunir
Fn lr''\ril:i a hrlrntlres que no querian verse ni etr ia calle
r\nurrrg the foreigners who recognized Rizal as the leading
lllrl'rrl, of his linte were Blurnentritt, Napole'n M- Khell, Dr"
flr rrrlrrrld Rost, and \ricente Barrantes, Prof- Blunentritt totrd
Itr l\f;rxirnn Viola in kfay, 1887 ghat 'Rizal was [he greatesi
;rrrrlrit'l of tlre Fhilippines and that his: coming to the world was
l1[, tlrt' lr[)peqrailce of a rare co,metn whose rare bril[iance appears
rrrl\ r vury othcr centu{y."I3 Napoleon hd. Kheil of Frapre,
Arr',trr;r, wrote fo Rizal and said: "'adrniro en Vd. f; un nnble
rr l,r('\(:rrtante rJe la Espana *oloniatr""13' Dr. trl.r>st, r{iqtingrilshed
'l.,riokrgist and Librarian of the lrdia Office in Lonclo,n, catrled
lrl
t{r,',rl "una perla de hombre",la while Dom Vicente Barrantes
h'r,l t,r admit that R.izal was "ttle fimt aunong the Fil{rinos" ls
l'vrn befcrre the outbr'*ak of ttne Revolutton against Spain
Iil lli'r(r, mahy instarices can tre citecl tn prove that his countx-)ffinen
h,r, ;11161 abroad recogniz*d Riza.l"s trear3*:rship- [n the early part
,l liil'i') he was tmanimously elected by the Filipino in Earcelona
nrr,l lvladrid as hotrnrary presldent of the La Salidaidael-i?.Sorne
ll,rrtlr\ later, in Paris" he organized and becarne chie.f of ttre
II
r r, rr1 11 R es p o ns ab le (Chief) of the Spani sh-Filipino Asscrcia tiun-
I
llr rairs also the frrunder and moving spirit in the f,oundiog of
rlr I iga Filipina in Manila on July 3, 1892.
12. lbid,. Torno Tarcoro, p, 159.
13- Maxirno Viole: My Trovcls tflift Jc. Bird"
l3a Epi$tolerio Rleelino. Torsto Gmbo.
14. lhEd", Tom+ Crsrtro.
rTi. &{d:,
1l Lauboctr, op. clt, p. 132"
l8 bld., urp. 197-'!$9.

Htsr(iry [ells us rnat mc revotunon]iry socrcty known i8
Katipunam iikewise acknowlcrJged Rizal's lcaderslrip orrd
rress by ntaHng trim its hionorary Prenidrrnt antt b1, usrng
family: lrame fiieod Es the pa;sword tbr the ttrir.rJ-tlegrce
u--
bem. 19
A Riral's executir:n, General Ernilio Agui
ye,.rr after
aneJ the'other revolutirrnary chiefs exiled to [Iongkong hold
c{frnrnemorative program there on December 29, 1897 on
uccasion. of the frrst annirrer$ery'of the hc,ro's execution
mnrtyrdorn.2Q
Of utrmost significance ini the puhlic's apprecia.tion fnr
patnotic labors in behalf sf his peeple were rhe tritrnten
by the llevolutionary Governnient to his ntemory. trn his
adCress tl.t. rhc Congross assembled at h4alolos, Bulacan,
Sepiedrber 15" 1898, President Aguinaldc invok*d the spiritr
the departed heroes of the Fatherland, thus:
Iilustricrus spirrts of RIZAL, lppez Jaena, of ]vfarcelo
riel P;-lar! Aulprst shades of Burgos, Pelacn. an*i Panganibanl
Warlike geniuses of Aguinaldo (Crisprrlo
- 0.), end
l.rf Nativrdad and Evamgelista! Arise a firoment
Tirona,
from your
unknown graver!2i
Thert on Tlecemlrer 2f,, 1898 et the r:volutionary capital
Malolos, Fresident .Aguinaltlo issuecl the flrst official
tion nraking Decernber 30 of that year as "Rizal Day".
same proclamatlon ordared the hoisting of the Filipino flagr
half-mast "from i2:fi) moon on I)ecember 29 to tr2:00 noon
Decernber 30, 1898" and the clcsing of "'al! offices of the govo
menf" duri::rg tlie whole day of Deaernber 3&.22 Actually,
irnpressive Riral Day progrann, spnsorecl by the Clrrb Fil
waE h*l<I in Manila on lJecernber" 30, 1898"22"
lt should furttrer be notecl that both the Ln
edited by Cr:n. Antonlc l-una, allcl the El Heraldo de la Rcv
19 Greerorip F. Zaide, Ttn* lt*dpunan, p. 9.
2S. L. R. lie;rrirn+, ?'[rs EvoiuSom of H[aa! Do'y"
?l- Greflorio F. Zal,Je. "l'itc Philigrylno flwolutloo, p. 252.
i?. $'lepubllcrr Fillplna, p. 7.
33a l-. H. $:r:i:n.r Fir*t fti:al t]e1" Frogrmnt in Mrniir,
.,:I8
il-.-- ..r.':.-...r .,f il,A D-r^lrrtinnzrru (lnvernment issrterl Zf
drxr, .'rr.-.-
{ft.r rirl srrpplemcnt in honor of Rizal
in one of their December
Ir.iii'r rrt l[J98.
"No tlas rnuerto, Lu gloria es tu destino;
"o- de la aurora,
lu corona, los fuegos '
v tu inniolabie.altar nuestra conciencia."B
Arr,l ('ccillo Apostol, on December 30 of the sarne year, wrote
lh, ',r' lines:
''![)uerme en paz en Las sombras de la nada,
l(ci'lentor de. una Patria esclavizada!
rNo [nres de la turnba en el .misterio
l)el espafiol el triunfo mornentdneo:
()ue si una fiala destrozd tu crdneo,
l'ambi6n tu idea rlestrozo un emperio!-a
I'he Filipinos were {tot alone in grieving the untimely death
ll thr.:ir hero and itlol, for the intellectual and scientific circles
nl tlrc world felt keenly the loss of Rizal, who was their esteerned
r llk_.:rgue and friend- Dr. camilo osias and wenceslao E.
ld.etana
hrth 5p6L" of the universal homage accorded to Rizal
lrrrrrrcdiately after his death. Dr. Osias wrote thus:
Expressions of deep sympathy came from Blumentritt
and rnany otherc such as Dr. Renward Braustetter of
Lucerne, a scholar on things t{alay; Dr. Feodor Jagor, a
German author. af. Philippine T'rdvels; Dr. Friedrich Ratzel,
an erninent Gerpalr geographer and ethnographer; Sefror
Ricardo Palrna, a rlistinguished rnan of tetters from Peru;
Professor M. Buchner, Director of the Ethnographic
Museum of Munich and a noted Matrayologist; Ivlonsietr
Edrnont Planchut, a French Oiientalist, author of various
works and writer on Philippine subjects; Dr' W' Joest"
eminent German geographer and Frofe*sor at the'University
z& ,l;itno, @. clt, P,441'
?.4. bIil., p. rt6{!.
219
 of Rerlin; Lpr" [L [i,crn, hofesso/ c{i Sarskirt in the
sily of [-eiden and celehratnd authority on Matay affairs;
Lrniver- g could he farthci frurrr llrc
Dr. I- lufrrnlanu, a distrnguishcd French linguist *nj ave shown be1,ayp4 the slradow
anthropologist aud author of a Nlemotra on the Fhilippines; an, by his own effor.tl; alrrl
$r" F'. Mueitrer. Profi:ssor of thc {_]nivesit_v of Vienna and
a efeaf philolqgist; e u*ted Dulctl literarl, \\,ornan u,ho
rl; r
fr:rem*sr leader. <rf, the ,,hi#eeHrltfr*r,?1?:"[:#Ti:il
signecl
F{. B- Teenk Wil{ink, author n;rf a touching anci conscicntious
lrr' 111':11'rj*'tian. anel
this fact *au rp.rrtunenustry ackn6*1"6**u
rlul 1r1i,[ r/*rfl
liognaphl'*f l{.izall [{err h{an1re:tJ tVinich, wr.irer *f l.uipzig; rrlr, int
so by the elite of other lands
Dr- Bctnuccr., Cubarr p*litical leadefr Dr. Br:ettge r, . nnrJl ; shown
Gcrman matura.list anrj author of wc,rks on the faun;l o{. {.he rrr,rf rrtrl
Pliilippi*u..i; Dr" .r.\" B. Iv{ryer, Direcror *l the Ntr*euln ,f ^tt fo'cmcisi her
r,, lrrimled trim as r.heir .lustly
Ethnograpfty nf [-"lresdea anr{ ;rninr.rnt F,iiipinr:iogist, ,rrr,l r,cientifi" *rrij, o^s
we *rave also dernenstrated, was
hd
&ickrrr:hem gf teige, Llirr:ct,lrr at l,-l:,tprert a nevvspaper. ,'r
r*,hrreim Dr- Rrzal wrote articlcs; Dr" [x].
'rr'r*i:flinghirm signalfuon*ru; as a
\;x rsttrlr:
".::i:'J
rrero'f rr*rna*ity nnJ as an
Srlcr" trnnsia,t.rr cf [ireedorn"
in Gcrrnan of ftizal's fu{1, l.,ast l:tt,eu,ell; h4r l.L W, Hray,
a-distinguisfted Hngtrish wrrter; Mr John l:urcnran,
autlr,ri
rf works on fhe t hil*Jrpines; Hrrr,('- i{" I-tcller, a C)ernran
nar.uralist; Dr- I-I. $to!;re, a liwedlsh $avallt ,r,ho spuke
ancl
pubti-strred trn [he Fhilippines a;nd Riz:,i:
Mr. Armanrt Lehin_
ant",Austriair engn,:er and wrirer, L)r: .I. M. p,:xlhovsky,
a
totatrle Czech writrlr, author rrf tlorks orr thr; Flrilippincs
and Dr. F"rilrl .75
Among tlre saiemtific rrecr,r'gicar servicos hcrd especiu[y

^f ft
ar,*rrrrp"lL[i*l-i
fBertiu
-J'
on NCIvcmher Jt,, rgg7 ar tl.le iuitiative of lir. Ru
'f its Frrsittenl, *jr the mosr rmportanr and sigrrific
Xi:rll:,
Dr- Ed seler recited rhe Gerrnan transration xt
of n;zat's tv t
F'arewell- tln thfit <rmasion.26
The newspapers, mitgazines, and other periodicals thro
ou( fhe cl,,rliiled world .....rn Gennaylv, Austria; France,
Hollt
Lorudon. t{le ltrnitc*! Sfates, Japan, ["{ongkong, Macao,
Sit
pore. S;*,ifz*rtand. ar:d i* Latim Anrerican c.uniries _, ptrl
Jf,c$rmfs 'lf Riz':ll s rnantyrdonr in c:rder t. rellrler
honritc
11c rrr
greamnss,r
Didufue s- especlally Governor t#illiarn Il, ,1.
realtry cfuonse ,:f, several Fiilipino patripts as the Nutn

ffi. {}e,{8' ry" d.., rm-.+{diJi.S?.

lS- ffimmq. qa.,Cr, g.*1S-
e7- nY,b{- prp a,fll"4E$.

,m
2il!
 - v.t starcti rjral rne Lonlmtsston, nof lcss lltiln lh6
Filipin<ls, felt proud to do honor to the narnc of rtizlrr. rrrtt
if, after consideration, it decided to unitc thc ;lrovirrccs, rt
would have pleasure, if such action met the dcsircs ol.tlrr,
people, in giving the new province the namc of Riztl" .,,r
(halics supplied)
Frrl ltlunrenfritt, who said in 1897:
It is obvious then that the idea of namirg thc clisrrrcr MO
lvlorong after Rizai came from Dr. pardo de T'ai,era, a Not onlYi* filtl"f MAN
ard not from Judge Taft, an American. It is interesting to kr f l. 165 OWN:p THE MAI{ THE
MAI,AYAN R"ACE HAS PR'ODIJCED" His rmemory will
that two countrymen of Mr. Taft George A]Mrrlcr ffid, of
,( s.
and f)r. Frank C. Laubach who-.Iustice
both resided inihe philipl 51 utter and
for many years ancl who were - very familiar with the hist,rly r( suPP
lives-of great Filipinos -.- do not subscribe to the view thri Jrg
Rizal is an A,merican-made hero. Jusice Malcolm had this to $nyi
ln those early days (of the American nccupation
O.), it was hruited about that the Americans had .maclt:,
Rizal a hero to serve their purposes. nhat was indeed I
sinister interpretation of voluntary American action designctl
t0 pry tribute t0 a great m n.2e r lrt
l'hr
Dr. Laubach's view about the question is as follows:
The tradition that every American hears when he
reaches the Philippne Islands is that William l{oward Taft,
feeling that the Filipinos neecled a hero, made one out of
Rizal. We trust that this book (Rieol: Mon and Martyr.*.
O.) will serue to shnw how empty that statement is. Ir
speaks well for Taft that he was sufficiently free from racia]
prejudice to appreciate in sorne measure the stature of a ( of the tongest and most inrportant streef-s in Manila
)rrr:
great Filipino. It was a Spaniard who did more than any lras 'rreen naro"d in his mernoiy Rizal Avenue'' The
other tc save Rizal for posterity -- ltetana, whose wnrk
-
(Vida y Escritos del Dr. Iose Rizal, Madrid, 1907 _ O,) is
by far the most complete and scholarly that we have (in
1936 O.). Like Rizal, he lost all his money in the causc
of the- Filipinos, and died a poor man.,r0
t.low and then we csme across sorne Filipinos who venture
Granting for the sake of argurnent that the Taft commissiorf rlrr (lJ nclt Jose serves
chose Rizal out of several great Filipinos as the Number ortp t,, lrt' our first hero'
llrt'y gun* a ri sword

28. BoFlort of th€ Fhilippine Comrnission, p.2A2.

29. Malcolm, Amcrican Colonir[ Crrucdi( p. 7g. rt. {:rai$, op, dt,, $r, 56.
30. Lauhach, op" ctt", p. 3A3. lJ.ir Slslr anc{ floF,,srtson, Ttrr Fft$ lr'o Msndr, Ui'l' t' p' 85'
282 263
 irr fighting for the liberty and independence of our (ountry
the battlefield. They further a-sserr that white the forem
national heroes of other coulrtries are xrklier-generals, u[
Gcorge Washingtoxr of the l-lnited States of Amarica, Napolcfi
I antl Joan of Arr; of France, Si.nrtiu Bolivar ,[ Venezuela, J
de San Martin of Argentina, Hernard*: 0,Higgins of
Jimuru 'fenno of Japan, etc., our greatest helo was a p
and a cii.ilian whose weapori was his quill" F{ow*ver, ourl
in exercisinq their good seus'e, independent judgrnent,
umrsual discernmenf" have nqrl follcywed ttre examples of
nations in selecting anctr acknn;wtedging a rnilitary leider for
greatest hero" Rafael F'alrna har vcry well stater! the case of
Itizal versus llonifacro in thesc words:
It should ["re a source of pride and satisfaction to thc
F'ilipinos tt'r have among ttreir nafiona! he.roes one of such
excctrtrent quati.ties and rnclits which rnay be equallcr! bi.lt
not surpassed L-ry any other man. Sfnereas generally the
heroes of occidental nations are war-liorx and generalj who
serve thcrr c*use with the swur<!, rjistitting hlao<! and tears,
the hero of tlre F'ilipinos senred uvith the pen,'
demonstrating that the pen is as the swnrr! to
rcCccm a lrcopir: trom their politic [r is true that
in our case the sword o{ Bnnifacio was after all nreded to
shake oflf the yoke of a forcign povi'er; but the revolution
of irnmediate results, that of Rizal will have more d,rahle
and perrnanent efTects.s3
pen; and in the end the fonner is always cohquererl by tha
latter".34 The following stat,:ment of Sir 1h"omas Biorn,ne i, *,rro
applicable io the role played by Rizat ir:n our lihertalian struggtcr
33" Palrna, op" rh, p" 3G7.
34. tryrorr StJ.rarrJs, fira Ncrr Haidolloy o{ Ilroa4fin6 p A5fi
284
&-
us quote from Bulwer: "Take away the sword; statbs can lre
,
,,.rved without it; brlng the Pen!"36
For those who may still doubt and question the fact that
l{i;:al is greeter, far greater than Bonifacio, or any other Filipintl
trcrr.l, the follorwing observation nrade by R.etana will be sufficient:
Toclos los paises tienen su idolo mas ninguno tiene un
rnayor idolo; que F'ilipinas. Antes desaparecerd de los
Estados Unidos -- iy ya es decir! - la memorla de
Wi{shington, que de Filipinas ln rnemoria de RIZAL. No
fud RIZAL-. comQ m€dico, un Mariani, ni corno diLrujante
un Gustavo I)ore. ni comcl poeta un (ioethe, ni cclrno
antrop6logo un Virchow,'ni como etndgrafo un Ratzel, ni
corno filipinista un Blumentritt, ni como histofador un
Macaulay, ni como pensador un llervds, ni conto malay6logo
un Kern, ni corno fil6sofo un L)escartes, ni corno novelista
un Zola, ni conro literato un Mendndez y Penayo, ni como
escultor un Quernl, ni como gc6grafo un Reclus, ni como
firaclor un Pini. . . Distingui6se en mr-rchas disciplinas; pero
en ninguna de ellas alcanz6 ese grado supremo que asegura
la inmortalidad. Fud patriota; fud mirtir del amt-'r d su pals.
Feto en el caso de RIZAL hay otros filipinos; y ;,en qu6
consiste que RIZAL est6 6 miles de cudos sobre todos ellos?
Sencillamente. en la finura exquisita de su e.spiritu, en la
nobleza quijotesca de st c,oraz6n, en su psicologia toda,
romiintica. sofradora, buena, adorable, psicologia que sin-
teliz6 todos los sentimientos y aspiraciones de un pueblo
que sufria, vidndose vfctima de un r6gimen oprobi<lso. . .
El espfritu de la Revoluci6n tagala se juzga por este solo
.hecho; Fu6, como es sabido, el brazo arrnado de aquel
rnovimiento Andres Bonifacio; hd ahi ei hombre que di6
el primer ggito contra la tirania, el que acaudilltl las primeras
huestes, el que muri6 en Ia brecha' . . Y 5 ese hombre
apenas se le recrrerda; no se le ha eregido ningrln
monurRcnto; loe vates populares nr: le han cantaclo. . . Mien-
tras que 6 zuZAL" enemigo de la Revoluci6n, que caiifrc6
36. lHd., pp. tt5H57.
36 Loe. dt
215
 APPENDIX B

denragogo tsonifacro- ME,MOIRS OF A,. STUDENT

I-a inmortalidad de RIZ-AL astd asegurada de cien
t6 es Porque lol
de siernPre bebcn
IN NIANILA
de otra cdsa.JT

ln the Preceding pages we have trierl to show that R{ by

was not only a great hero hut P. Jacintot
As a matter of fact, the Austri
him as "the nnost Prominent CHAPTER 1
greatest man the MalaYan race I
hifY BTRTII.EARLY YEARS
Jho*n that even 4uring his lifetime, Rizal ady acclaltfl
ipners as the teader of I f,'to't""'eleven
with tl I was born in Calamba on 19 June' '1861'
n for him has increased L"tttg ftill moon' It was a Wednesday
rrrrrl rnidnipht, a tew Iays cost my
matic death on the Luncta th of tears would have
nrr,l rny coming out l; this vale
0, L896. Likewise' we attcftflG
rrrrrlrcr her life nua ,t'" "oi u""'*a
to the Virgin^of Antipolo to
to tlisprove the claim rnade by some quarters.that Riznl lr of pilgrimage'2
r,,k(' rne to her .r"tt""w Uy way
I

American-made hero, and ** ulto tried to explai, why Rp,rl I didn't know how I
gi"rt"r than arry otherFilipino hero, including Anslres Bonil'Et{ All I remembbr of my early days isnotions of the morning
scanty
[,,rrrrtl myself in a town witir somi
Who made Rizal the foremost hero of the Philippino'l ,,,ru, of my parents, etc'
answer is: no single persou or groups of persons were respontlE 'l'he education that I received since my ?*li:tt^i11i:Y Y3[
p{sro (lt i
for making the freatest Malayan the Number One jar that retains the I
people. RIzat himself, his own people, and the foreigncrr ; 1,, rlr,ps
what has ,il;;;';;-r'auits' like
niti tt"rO" I tti iemember the firstot"
i

contributed to make him the greatest hero and. muft ,,,t,r ()f 'the body ffi;
[og",t
", ,rr,'l;rrrcholy nights ii'^i i-tpt"t on
the terrace lazotea -- 'Zl
oiiir people. No amount ,f adulation and canonization by hfi
,r'r house a, t trr"vl"pp'"t"a orrty yu't*tay -
nights fult of
Filipints and foreigners could conlert Rizal into a great hef€
calls "excellent qualltl
t [iO not possess in himsetf what Palma..la of Jose Rizal' He wrotp it from
" spoke of finirra exquisit. d: -ttris is the student msnnoirs or reminiscen.e'es transration by the Jose Bizal
and merits;' or what Retana
m,,r ro 1gg1 . frorn the age of 17 to 20.
Engrish
esprfitu, . . . la nobleza quiiotesca -de su c'oraz6n' ' ' ' t.lnrr()rrEl Centennia! Cornmission'
fiirorojru toda, romdntica' sofiadora, buena' adorlt used by Bizal in his writings'
His oth€r
y aspiracionai 'l' Jacinto was the first pen-name
isicotoiia que sintetiz6 tod*s los sentimientos
vfctima de su rdgln tro, namss were Laong-Laan
and Dimas Alang'
in p.ribl.' q.r" sufr(a, vi€ndose ,rhe virgin of Antipolo has been ven_eratod by Firipinos, spaniards,
time of
cnd
pilgrimrgr
oprobiosn. . . ." r t,r,.rs€ since Spanish
a"Vu' The month ol May is the patron
of Peace and Good VoYago' the
t, lror shrin6. sn, "tJJ'I"ii"o oli u'ov
i" "Ifo-niti
iiorn the crow ol
..rr! of travolors- ono l6rgend says her]Tt9,: T;;
manv years "toipwt"ck
ago'
;';";;ri mre her frori Acapulco to Manila
37. Rotanr, oP" r,lt, PP' 450{51' 187

2U5