JOSE RIZAL AND PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM: NATIONAL

SYMBOL
Symbols elicit thoughts as they represent things. In a culture, somethings
are conventionally associated with some meanings and thus become symbols,
either officially or traditionally. With this, every country has its own national
symbols to distinguish itself from others and to somewhat unite its people.
National symbols provoke some sense of Nationalism.

Rizal as a National Symbol

According to the National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) of the
Philippines, official national symbols represent the country’s tradition and
ideals and convey the principles of Philippines sovereignty and national
solidarity.
The official national symbols of the Philippines according to the NCCA are
the (a) Philippine National Flag (made of silk, with a white equilateral triangle
at the left containing a sunburst of eight rays at the center, a five pointed star
at each angle of the triangle, an upper strip of blue and a lower strip of red); (b)
“Lupang Hinirang” (National Anthem); (c) Sampaguita (National Flower; (d)
Narra (National Tree); (e) Philippine Eagle (National Bird); (f) Philippine
Pearl (National Gem); (g) Arnis (Philippine Sport).
On the other hand, the list of our country’s unofficial (but traditional)
national symbols includes Anahaw (National Leaf), Mango (National Fruit),
Carabao/Tamaraw (National Animal), Bahay Kubo (National House), Bangus
(National Fish), either Tinikling or Cariñosa is traditionally (but not officially)
seen as a national dance; either Adobo or Sinigang for the National Dish.
Although Dr. Jose Rizal is widely recognized as our national hero, he
nonetheless belongs to unofficial national symbols. That status, however does
not make him less of a fitting symbol of the Philippines. Jose Rizal’s name and
memory have long been representing and symbolizing our country.
Even in the international arena, Rizal’s name elicits the name of our
country. The monuments build by people in countries where he had been and
his books (and the books about him) in foreign libraries necessarily bare the
name Philippines. Borrowing the words of Dr. Esteban De Ocampo:
“The day of [Rizal’s] birth and the day of his execution are fittingly
commemorated by all classes of our people throughout the length and breadth
of this country and even by Filipinos and their friends abroad. His name is a
byword in every Filipino home while his picture adorns the postage stamp and
[Philippine Coin]…No other Filipino hero can surpass Rizal in the number of
towns, barrios, and streets named after him; in the number of educational
institutions, societies, and trade names that bare his name; in the number of
person; both Filipinos and foreigners, who were named “Rizal” or “Rizalina”
because of their parents admiration for the great Malayan; and in the number
of laws, executive orders and proclamations of the chief executive, and
bulletins, memoranda, and circulars of both the bureaus of public and private
schools. Who is the Filipino writer and thinker whose teachings and noble
thoughts have been frequently invoked and quoted by authors and public
speakers on almost all occasion? None but Rizal. And why is this so? Because
as biographer Raphael Palma (1) said, “The doctrines of Rizal are not for one
epoch but for all epochs. They are as valid today as they where yesterday. It
cannot be said that because the political ideals of Rizal have been achieved,
because of the change in the institution, the wisdom of his councils are the
value of his doctrines have ceased to be opportune. They have not.”

The Values Highlighted by Rizal’s Life

The following are some of the values highlighted by the various
representations of Rizal as a national symbol.
1. Nationalism
2. Patriotism
3. Faaith in God
4. Love of Fellowmen
5. Love of Parents
6. Devotion to truth
7. Purity and Idealism
8. Noble Though and Conduct
9. Charity
10. Dedication to Duty
11. Moral Courage
12. Willpower
13. Integrity
14. Sincerity
15. Self-denial
16. Perseverance
17. Discipline and Self-control
18. Initiative
19. Prudence
20. Chivalry
21. Frugality
22. Love for Justice

Criteria for National Heroes: Executive Order No. 75, 1993

Historically, the notion of officially recognizing heroes began in the
country in 1990’s, when the Philippine commission approved Act no. 137
combining the districts of Morong and Manila and naming the unification as
“Province of Rizal” in honor of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Since then, some heroes
where commemorated everywhere in the country, there names cited in many
speeches, and there honor holidays where declared, streets were named, and
monuments were built.
Until one day, recognizing that very many personalities had been
acknowledged as heroes, the government felt the need to evaluate the case.
During the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, he tasked the National Heroes
Commission to come up with the criteria for national hero. After many years,
the president Fidel V. Ramos on March 28, 1993 issued Executive order No. 75
creating the National Heroes Committee which is NHC under the office of the
president “to study and recommend the proclamation of national heroes”.
After a series of thorough discussions, the commission came up with a new
criteria comprising 10 points or standards.
1. The extent of a person’s sacrifices for the welfare of the country.
2. The motive and methods employed in the attainment of the ideal; (was
his ideal purely for the welfare of the country and without any taint of
self-interest motives? Most of all, the methods of attainment should be
morally valid.)
 3. The moral character of the person concerned; (the person should not
have any immorality issue that affected his ideal.)
4. The influence of the person concerned on his age/generation and/or
the succeeding ones;
5. Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspires
and struggles for the nations freedom; (they must have desire the country’s
freedom in any situation especially when there’s a threat of invasion in any
form.)
6. Heroes are those who define and contribute to a system of life of
freedom and order for a nation; (for instance, someone who helps in the
orderliness and betterment of the country.)
7. Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a
nation;
8. A hero is part of the people’s expression; (the citizen must have
recognized and acknowledged the person as a hero.)
9. A hero thinks of the future, especially the future generations; (his
concern for the future generations must be seen in his decisions and ideals.)
10. And the choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an
episode or events in history but also the entire process that made this
particular person a hero.

After two years of lingering debates and deliberations, the NHC resolved
to recommend the following figures as national heroes,
1. Jose Rizal
2. Andres Bonifacio
3. Emilio Aguinaldo
4. Apolinario Mabini
5. Marcelo H. Del Pilar
6. Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat
7. Juan Luna
8. Melchora Aquino
9. Gabriela Silang

However; neither President Ramos nor any members of his

administration act on the committees recommendation. Based on the article,
“selection and proclamation of national heroes and laws honoring Filipino
historical figures” in the website of the National Center for Culture and Arts,
“this was probably because this might trigger a flood of requests for
proclamation” and “the proclamation can trigger bitter debates involving
historical controversies about the heroes”.
In summary, no law, executive order, or proclamation has been officially
enact or issued proclaiming any Filipino historical figures as a national hero
although there were laws enact and proclamations issued honoring some
names because of their substantial roles in the process of nation building and
contributions to history.
It is , thus, true that Jose Rizal, although deemed as the greatest among
the Filipino heroes, was not officially proclaimed as a national hero.
Nonetheless, he was given an implied recognition as a national hero as his day
of execution on December 30 has been made a national holiday. Aside from
him, the only other hero given an implicit recognition as a national hero is
Andres Bonifacio whose day of birth, November 30 has also been declared a
national holiday.
In spite of the absence of any official declaration openly proclaiming them
as national heroes, “they remained admired and revered for their roles in
Philippine History. Heroes, according to historians, should not be legislated.
Their appreciation should be better left to academics. Acclamation for heroes,
they felt, would be recognition enough.”
For many, Rizal holds the status of being a universally acclaimed
Philippine National Hero, partially as a tribute to the sustained veneration or
acclamation of the people as acknowledgement of his contributions to the
major social transformations that took pplace in the Philippines. Against the
argument that Rizal did not participate in an actual revolution, the late
journalist Armando Malay expressed this;
“The field from which a national hero would spring is not limited to the field
of revolution. Maybe, in some new African nation, the national hero would be
one who invents a vaccine that would forever vanish a debilitating disease” (as
cited in De Ocampo).