QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY

DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
3401
www.qsu.edu.ph

SELF- PACED LEARNING MODULE

in

GE 9
RIZAL’S LIFE, WORKS, AND WRITING

by:

EDITHA C. CAILIN &

ARBEN GIBSON G. CAMAYANG

Executed by:

JOHN PAUL C. AFALLA

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
3401
www.qsu.edu.ph

Module 1 Introduction to Jose Rizal’s Life and His Works

Competencies  Discuss about the Law of Jose Rizal
 Discuss and explain about the life and works of Jose Rizal

Discussion Republic Act No. 1425, known as the Rizal Law, mandates all educational
institutions in the Philippines to offer courses about José Rizal. The full
name of the law is 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. The Rizal law, in any case, was emphatically restricted by
the Christian church much appreciated to the anti-clerical subjects that
were pertinent in Rizal’s books Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

Senator Claro M. Recto was the main proponent of the Rizal Bill. He sought

to sponsor the bill at Congress. However, this was met with stiff opposition
from the Catholic Church. During the 1955 Senate election, the church
charged Recto with being a communist and an anti-Catholic. After Recto's
election, the Church continued to oppose the bill mandating the reading of
Rizal's novels Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo, claiming it would
violate freedom of conscience and religion.

In the campaign to oppose the Rizal bill, the Catholic Church urged its
adherents to write to their congressmen and senators showing their
opposition to the bill; later, it organized symposiums. In one of these
symposiums, Fr. Jesus Cavanna argued that the novels belonged to the
past and that teaching them would misrepresent current conditions. Radio
commentator Jesus Paredes also said that Catholics had the right to refuse
to read them as it would "endanger their salvation".

Groups such as Catholic Action of the Philippines, the Congregation of the

Mission, the Knights of Columbus, and the Catholic Teachers Guild
organized opposition to the bill; they were countered by Veteranos de la
Revolucion (Spirit of 1896), Alagad in Rizal, the Freemasons, and
the Knights of Rizal. The Senate Committee on Education sponsored a bill
co-written by both José P. Laurel and Recto, with the only opposition
coming from Francisco Soc Rodrigo, Mariano Jesús Cuenco, and Decoroso
Rosales.

The Archbishop of Manila, Rufino Santos, protested in a pastoral letter that

Catholic students would be affected if compulsory reading of the
unexpurgated version were pushed through. Arsenio Lacson, Manila's
mayor, who supported the bill, walked out of Mass when the priest read a
circular from the archbishop denouncing the bill.
Rizal, according to Cuenco, "attack dogmas, beliefs and practices of the
Church. The assertion that Rizal limited himself to castigating undeserving
priests and refrained from criticizing, ridiculing or putting in doubt dogmas
of the Catholic Church, is absolutely gratuitous and misleading." Cuenco
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QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

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DIFFUN CAMPUS
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touched on Rizal's denial of the existence of purgatory, as it was not found

in the Bible, and that Moses and Jesus Christ did not mention its existence;
Cuenco concluded that a "majority of the Members of this Chamber, if not
all [including] our good friend, the gentleman from Sulu" believed in
purgatory. The senator from Sulu, Domocao Alonto, attacked Filipinos who
proclaimed Rizal as "their national hero but seemed to despise what he had
written", saying that the Indonesians used Rizal's books as their Bible on
their independence movement; Pedro López, who hails from Cebu, Cuenco's
province, in his support for the bill, reasoned out that it was in their
province the independence movement started, when Lapu-
Lapu fought Ferdinand Magellan.

Outside the Senate, the Catholic schools threatened to close down if the bill
was passed; Recto countered that if that happened, the schools would be
nationalized. Recto did not believe the threat, stating that the schools were
too profitable to be closed. The schools gave up the threat, but threatened to
"punish" legislators in favor of the law in future elections. A compromise
was suggested, to use the expurgated version; Recto, who had supported
the required reading of the unexpurgated version, declared: "The people who
would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools would blot out from our
minds the memory of the national hero. This is not a fight against Recto but
a fight against Rizal", adding that since Rizal is dead, they are attempting to
suppress his memory.

José Rizal (José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda) was born in
1861 to Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and Teodora Alonso Realonda
y Quintos in the town of Calamba in Laguna province. He had nine sisters
and one brother. His parents were leaseholders of a hacienda and an
accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans. Both their families had adopted
the additional surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849, after Governor
General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed the adoption of Spanish
surnames among the Filipinos for census purposes (though they already
had Spanish names).

Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals were of mixed origin. José's
patrilineal lineage could be traced back to Fujian in China through his
father's ancestor Lam-Co, a Chinese merchant who immigrated to the
Philippines in the late 17th century. Lam-Co traveled to Manila
from Xiamen, China, possibly to avoid the famine or plague in his home
district, and more probably to escape the Manchu invasion during
the Transition from Ming to Qing. He finally decided to stay in the islands
as a farmer. In 1697, to escape the bitter anti-Chinese prejudice that
existed in the Philippines, he converted to Catholicism, changed his name
to Domingo Mercado and married the daughter of Chinese friend Augustin
Chin-co. On his mother's side, Rizal's ancestry included Chinese, Japanese
and Tagalog blood. His mother's lineage can be traced to the affluent
Florentina family of Chinese mestizo families originating in Baliuag,
Bulacan. He also had Spanish ancestry. Regina Ochoa, a grandmother of
his mother, Teodora, had mixed Spanish, Chinese and Tagalog blood. His
grandfather was a half Spaniard engineer named Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo.

VISION MISSION
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Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
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www.qsu.edu.ph

From an early age, José showed a precocious intellect. He learned the

alphabet from his mother at 3, and could read and write at age 5. Upon
enrolling at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, he dropped the last three
names that made up his full name, on the advice of his
brother, Paciano and the Mercado family, thus rendering his name as "José
Protasio Rizal". Of this, he later wrote: "My family never paid much attention
[to our second surname Rizal], but now I had to use it, thus giving me the
appearance of an illegitimate child!" This was to enable him to travel freely
and disassociate him from his brother, who had gained notoriety with his
earlier links to Filipino priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto
Zamora (popularly known as Gomburza) who had been accused and
executed for treason.
Rizal's house in Calamba, Laguna.
Despite the name change, José, as "Rizal", soon distinguished himself in
poetry writing contests, impressing his professors with his facility with
Castilian and other foreign languages, and later, in writing essays that were
critical of the Spanish historical accounts of the pre-colonial Philippine
societies.

In this nostalgic poem, Jose Rizal remembers his childhood days in Calamba,
Laguna. Rizal had the happiest and most beautiful memories of the place, the
hospitality and friendliness as well as the industry of the people of Calamba.
Those memories were influential in molding his character and his values.
“In Memory of My Town”
When I remember the days
that saw my early childhood
spent on the green shores
of a murmurous lagoon;
when I remember the coolness,
delicious and refreshing,
that on my face I felt
as I heard Favonius croon;

when I behold the white lily

swell to the wind’s impulsion,
and that tempestuous element
meekly asleep on the sand;
when I inhale the dear
intoxicating essence
the flowers exude when dawn
is smiling on the land;

sadly, sadly I recall

your visage, precious childhood,
which an affectionate mother
made beautiful and bright;
I recall a simple town,
my comfort, joy and cradle,
VISION MISSION
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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
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QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
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DIFFUN CAMPUS
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beside a balmy lake,

the seat of my delight.

Ah, yes, my awkward foot

explored your sombre woodlands,
and on the banks of your rivers
in frolic I took part.
I prayed in your rustic temple,
a child, with a child’s devotion;
and your unsullied breeze
exhilarated my heart.

The Creator I saw in the grandeur

of your age-old forests;
upon your bosom, sorrows
were ever unknown to me;
while at your azure skies
I gazed, neither love nor tenderness
failed me, for in nature
lay my felicity.

Tender childhood, beautiful town,

rich fountain of rejoicing
and of harmonious music
that drove away all pain:
return to this heart of mine,
return my gracious hours,
return as the birds return
when flowers spring again!

But O goodbye! May the Spirit

of Good, a loving gift-giver,
keep watch eternally over
your peace, your joy, your sleep!
For you, my fervent prayers;
for you, my constant desire
to learn; and I pray heaven
your innocence to keep!

First Sorrow
Concepcion Rizal (1862-1865) was the eight children of the Rizal family. She
died at the age of three.

Of his sisters, it is said that Pepe loved most the little Concha who was a
year younger than him. Jose played games and shared children’s stories
with her, and from her he felt the beauty of sisterly love.

The Hero’s First Teacher

The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, who was a remarkable woman of
good character and fine culture. On her lap, he learned at the age of three
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Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
3401
www.qsu.edu.ph

the alphabet and the prayers. "My mother," wrote Rizal in his student
memoirs, "taught me how to read and to say haltingly the humble prayers
which I raised fervently to God."

As tutor, Doña Teodora was patient, conscientious, and understanding. It

was she who first discovered that her son had a talent for poetry.
Accordingly, she encouraged him to write poems. To lighten the monotony of
memorizing the ABC’s and to stimulate her son’s imagination, she related
many stories.

As Jose grew older, his parents employed private tutors to give him lessons
at home. The first was Maestro Celestino and the second, Maestro Lucas
Padua. Later, an old man named Leon Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal’s
father, became the boy’s tutor. This old teacher lived at the Rizal home and
instructed Jose in Spanish and Latin. Unfortunately, he did not lived long.
He died five months later.

After a Monroy’s death, the hero’s parents decided to send their gifted son to
a private school in Biñan.

The Story of the Moth

One night, all the family, except my mother and myself, went to bed early. 
Why, I do not know, but we two remained sitting alone.  The candles had
already been put out.  They had been blown out in their globes by means of
a curved tube of tin. That tube seemed to me the finest and most wonderful
plaything in the world.  The room was dimly lighted by a single light of
coconut oil. In all Filipino homes such a light burns through the night. It goes
out just at day-break to awaken people by its spluttering.

My mother was teaching me to read in a Spanish reader called "The

Children's Friend" (El Amigo de los Ninos). This was quite a rare book and an
old copy. It had lost its cover and my sister had cleverly made a new one.
She had fastened a sheet of thick blue paper over the back and then covered
it with a piece of cloth.
This night my mother became impatient with hearing me read so poorly.  I
did not understand Spanish and so I could not read with expression.  She
took the book from me.  First she scolded me for drawing funny pictures on
its pages.  Then she told me to listen and she began to read.  When her
sight was good, she read very well. She could recite well, and she understood
verse-making, too. Many times during Christmas vacations, my mother
corrected my poetical compositions, and she always made valuable
criticisms.

I listened to her, full of childish enthusiasm. I marveled at the nice-sounding

phrases which she read from those same pages.  The phrases she read so
easily stopped me at every breath.  Perhaps I grew tired of listening to
sounds that had no meaning for me.  Perhaps I lacked self-control. 
Anyway, I paid little attention to the reading.  I was watching the cheerful
flame. About it, some little moths were circling in playful flights. By chance,
too, I yawned.  My mother soon noticed that I was not interested.  She
stopped reading.  Then she said to me: "I am going to read you a very pretty
story.  Now pay attention."

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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
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DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
3401
www.qsu.edu.ph

On hearing the word 'story' I at once opened my eyes wide.  The word 'story'
promised something new and wonderful. I watched my mother while she
turned the leaves of the book, as if she were looking for something.  Then I
settled down to listen.  I was full of curiosity and wonder.  I had never even
dreamed that there were stories in the old book which I read without
understanding.  My mother began to read me the fable of the young moth
and the old one.  She translated it into Tagalog a little at a time.

My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked toward the light and
fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling around it.  The story could
not have been better timed.  My mother repeated the warning of the old
moth. She dwelt upon it and directed it to me.  I heard her, but it is a curious
thing that the light seemed to me each time more beautiful, the flame more
attractive.  I really envied the fortune of the insects.  They frolicked so
joyously in its enchanting splendor that the ones which had fallen and been
drowned in the oil did not cause me any dread.

My mother kept on reading and I listened breathlessly. The fate of the two
insects interested me greatly.  The flame rolled its golden tongue to one side
and a moth which this movement had singed fell into the oil, fluttered for a
time and then became quiet.  That became for me a great event.  A curious
change came over me which I have always noticed in myself whenever
anything has stirred my feelings.  The flame and the moth seemed to go
further away and my mother's words sounded strange and uncanny. I did
not notice when she ended the fable. All my attention was fixed on the face of
the insect.  I watched it with my whole soul... It had died a martyr to its
illusions.

As she put me to bed, my mother said: "See that you do not behave like the
young moth. Don't be disobedient, or you may get burnt as it did." I do not
know whether I answered or not... The story revealed to me things until then
unknown.  Moths no longer were, for me, insignificant insects. Moths talked;
they know how to warn. They advised just like my mother. The light seemed
to me more beautiful. It had grown more dazzling and more attractive. I knew
why the moths circled the flame.

Early Education in Calamba and Biñan

Rizal had his early education in Calamba and Biñan. It was a typical
schooling that a son of an ilustrado family received during his time,
characterized by the four R’s- reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion.
Instruction was rigid and strict. Knowledge was forced into the minds of the
pupils by means of the tedious memory method aided by the teacher’s whip.
Despite the defects of the Spanish system of elementary education, Rizal
was able to acquire the necessary instruction preparatory for college work in
Manila. It may be said that Rizal, who was born a physical weakling, rose to
become an intellectual giant not because of, but rather in spite of, the
outmoded and backward system of instruction obtaining in the Philippines
during the last decades of Spanish regime.

First Day in Biñan School

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DIFFUN CAMPUS
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www.qsu.edu.ph

The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought his younger brother to the
school of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz.

The school was in the house of the teacher, which was a small nipa hut
about 30 meters from the home of Jose’s aunt.

Paciano knew the teacher quite well because he had been a pupil under him
before. He introduced Jose to the teacher, after which he departed to return
to Calamba.

Immediately, Jose was assigned his seat in the class. The teacher asked
him:

"Do you know Spanish?"

"A little, sir," replied the Calamba lad.
"Do you know Latin?"
"A little, sir."

The boys in the class, especially Pedro, the teacher’s son laughed at Jose’s
answers.

The teacher sharply stopped all noises and begun the lessons of the day.

Jose described his teacher in Biñan as follows: "He was tall, thin, long-
necked, with sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward, and he used to
wear a sinamay shirt, woven by the skilled hands of the women of
Batangas. He knew by the heart the grammars by Nebrija and Gainza. Add
to this severity that in my judgement was exaggerated and you have a
picture, perhaps vague, that I have made of him, but I remember only this."

First School Brawl in the afternoon of his first day in school, when the
teacher was having his siesta, Jose met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at
this bully for making fun of him during his conversation with the teacher in
the morning.

Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. The latter readily accepted, thinking that
he could easily beat the Calamba boy who was smaller and younger.

The two boys wrestled furiously in the classroom, much to the glee of their
classmates. Jose, having learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio
Manuel, defeated the bigger boy. For this feat, he became popular among
his classmates.

After the class in the afternoon, a classmate named Andres Salandanan

challenged him to an arm-wrestling match. They went to a sidewalk of a
house and wrestled with their arms. Jose, having the weaker arm, lost and
nearly cracked his head on the sidewalk.

In succeeding days he had other fights with the boys of Biñan. He was not
quarrelsome by nature, but he never ran away from a fight.

Best Student in School

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QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
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In academic studies, Jose beat all Biñan boys. He surpassed them all in
Spanish, Latin, and other subjects.

Some of his older classmates were jealous of his intellectual superiority.

They wickedly squealed to the teacher whenever Jose had a fight outside the
school, and even told lies to discredit him before the teacher’s eyes.
Consequently the teacher had to punish Jose. 

Early Schooling in Biñan

Jose had a very vivid imagination and a very keen sense of observation. At
the age of seven he traveled with his father for the first time to Manila and
thence to Antipolo to fulfill the promise of a pilgrimage made by his mother
at the time of his birth. They embarked in a casco, a very ponderous vessel
commonly used in the Philippines. It was the first trip on the lake that Jose
could recollect. As darkness fell he spent the hours by the katig, admiring
the grandeur of the water and the stillness of the night, although he was
seized with a superstitious fear when he saw a water snake entwine itself
around the bamboo beams of the katig. With what joy did he see the sun at
the daybreak as its luminous rays shone upon the glistening surface of the
wide lake, producing a brilliant effect! With what joy did he talk to his
father, for he had not uttered a word during the night!

When they proceeded to Antipolo, he experienced the sweetest emotions

upon seeing the gay banks of the Pasig and the towns of Cainta and Taytay.
In Antipolo he prayed, kneeling before the image of the Virgin of Peace and
Good Voyage, of whom he would later sing in elegant verses. Then he saw
Manila, the great metropolis, with its Chinese sores and European bazaars.
And visited his elder sister, Saturnina, in Santa Ana, who was a boarding
student in the Concordia College.

When he was nine years old, his father sent him to Biñan to continue
studying Latin, because his first teacher had died. His brother Paciano took
him to Biñan one Sunday, and Jose bade his parents and sisters good-bye
with tears in his eyes. Oh, how it saddened him to leave for the first time
and live far from his home and his family! But he felt ashamed to cry and
had to conceal his tears and sentiments. "O Shame," he explained, "how
many beautiful and pathetic scenes the world would witness without thee!"

They arrived at Biñan in the evening. His brother took him to the house of
his aunt where he was to stay, and left him after introducing him to the
teacher. At night, in company with his aunt’s grandson named Leandro,
Jose took a walk around the town in the light of the moon. To him the town
looked extensive and rich but sad and ugly.

His teacher in Biñan was a severe disciplinarian. His name was Justiniano
Aquino Cruz. "He was a tall man, lean and long-necked, with a sharp nose
and a body slightly bent forward. He used to wear a sinamay shirt woven by
the deft hands of Batangas women. He knew by memory the grammars of
Nebrija and Gainza. To this add a severity which, in my judgement I have
made of him, which is all I remember."

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The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
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QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
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www.qsu.edu.ph

The boy Jose distinguished himself in class, and succeeded in surpassing

many of his older classmates. Some of these were so wicked that, even
without reason, they accused him before the teacher, for which, in spite of
his progress, he received many whippings and strokes from the ferule. Rare
was the day when he was not stretched on the bench for a whipping or
punished with five or six blows on the open palm. Jose’s reaction to all
these punishments was one of intense resentment in order to learn and
thus carry out his father’s will.

Jose spent his leisure hours with Justiniano’s father-in-law, a master

painter. From him he took his first two sons, two nephews, and a grandson.
His way life was methodical and well regulated. He heard mass at four if
there was one that early, or studied his lesson at that hour and went to
mass afterwards. Returning home, he might look in the orchard for a
mambolo fruit to eat, then he took his breakfast, consisting generally of a
plate of rice and two dried sardines. 

After that he would go to class, from which he was dismissed at ten, then
home again. He ate with his aunt and then began at ten, then home again.
He ate with his aunt and then began to study. At half past two he returned
to class and left at five. He might play for a short time with some cousins
before returning home. He studied his lessons, drew for a while, and then
prayed and if there was a moon, his friends would invite him to play in the
street in company with other boys.

Whenever he remembered his town, he thought with tears in his eyes of his
beloved father, his idolized mother, and his solicitous sisters. Ah, how sweet
was his town even though not so opulent as Biñan! He grew sad and
thoughtful.

While he was studying in Biñan, he returned to his hometown now and

then. How long the road seemed to him in going and how short in coming!
When from afar he descried the roof of his house, secret joy filled his breast.
How he looked for pretexts to remain longer at home! A day more seemed to
him a day spent in heaven, and how he wept, though silently and secretly,
when he saw the calesa that was flower that him Biñan! Then everything
looked sad; a flower that he touched, a stone that attracted his attention he
gathered, fearful that he might not see it again upon his return. It was a sad
but delicate and quite pain that possessed him. 

Prodigy of the Pen

The first known poem that he wrote was Tagalog poems entitled “Sa
Aking Mga Kababata” (to my Fellow Children). He wrote it in appeal toour
people to love our national language. Before he was eight years old, he wrote
a tagalog drama. This drama was staged in Calamba in connection with
the town fiesta. The Gobernadorcillo bought the manuscript from
little Jose for two pesos, and had it staged during the Fiesta
celebration in Paete.

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
 QUIRINO STATE UNIVERSITY
DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
3401
www.qsu.edu.ph

“To My Fellow Children”

Whenever people of a country truly love
The language which by heav'n they were taught to use
That country also surely liberty pursue
As does the bird which soars to freer space above.
For language is the final judge and referee
Upon the people in the land where it holds sway;
In truth our human race resembles in this way
The other living beings born in liberty.

Whoever knows not how to love his native tongue

Is worse than any best or evil smelling fish.
To make our language richer ought to be our wish
The same as any mother loves to feed her young.
Tagalog and the Latin language are the same
And English and Castilian and the angels' tongue;
And God, whose watchful care o'er all is flung,
Has given us His blessing in the speech we calim,

Our mother tongue, like all the highest tht we know

Had alphabet and letters of its very own;
But these were lost -- by furious waves were overthrown
Like bancas in the stormy sea, long years ago.

Influences of Hero’s Boyhood

On t he nig ht Jose Riza l wa s bor n, ot her childr en w ere bor n in
Ca lam ba a nd hundreds of other Children were also born all over the
Philippines. But why is it t h a t o u t o f a l l t h e s e c h i l d r e n , o n l y o n e
b o y – J O S E R i z a l - r o s e t o f a m e a n d greatness.

HERIDITARY INFLUENCE – according to biological science, there are

inherit traitor qualities which a person inherits from his ancestors and
parents.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE – according to Psychologists, environment,

as well as hereditary, affects the nature a person. Environmental
influence includes places, associates and events.

Pilgrimage of Antipolo With his father, Rizal made a pilgrimage to Antipolo

to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the
Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery
which nearly caused his mother’s life.

From there they proceeded to Manila and visited his sister Saturnina who
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was at the time studying in the La Concordia College in Sta. Ana.

José Rizal’s Family Tree

The Rizals is considered one of the biggest families during their time.
Domingo Lam-co, the family’s paternal ascendant was a full-blooded
Chinese who came to the Philippines from Amoy, China in the closing years
of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by the name of Ines
de la Rosa.

Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of

Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.

Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents,

Francisco Mercado II and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and
one brother.

FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)

Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and
Cirila Mercado. Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San
Jose College, Manila; and died in Manila.

TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)

Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and
Brijida de Quintos. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a
business-minded woman, courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read.
She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827 and died in
1913 in Manila.

SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)

Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo

of Tanauan, Batangas.

PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)

Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College
in Manila; became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.

NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)

The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and
musician.

OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)

The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.

LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)

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and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)
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DIFFUN CAMPUS
Diffun, Quirino
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www.qsu.edu.ph

The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.

MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)

The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.

JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)

The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards
on December 30,1896.

CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)

The eight child. Died at the age of three.

JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)

The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.

TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)

The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.

SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)

The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.

References Obias, Rhodalyn W., Mallari, Aaron A., Estelle, Janet. The Life and Works of Jose
Rizal. Philippines. C & E Publishing, Inc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizal_Law

https://www.joserizal.com/memories-of-my-town/

https://philippinefolklifemuseum.org/collection/jose-rizal/attachment/rizal-
family-tree/

http://www.joserizal.ph/ed01.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rizal

https://www.coursehero.com/file/p37lvat/Prodigy-of-the-pen-the-first-known-
poem-that-he-wrote-was-Tagalog-poems/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jose-Rizal

VISION MISSION
The leading center for academic and technological excellence Develop competent and morally upright professionals and generate
and prime catalyst for a progressive and sustainable Quirino appropriate knowledge and technologies to meet the needs of Quirino
Province and Southern Cagayan Valley. Province and Southern Cagayan Valley.

QSU-UBS-F005-A “Molding Minds, Shaping Future”

Rev. 00 (Feb. 11, 2019)