ALMORADO, Julia Marie C.

Gec109 Life and Works of Rizal

Section Vv3
Prof. Noralia U. Ibrahim
Final Exam Part 1

Question 1. Why are there people who are anti Rizal? Explain based on your study of
his life story. For you, Did Rizal retract? (Find out the meaning of the word retract before
answering and list 3 evidences.
People who lack understanding about the concepts and the life of Rizal often are
against the idea of him being a hero or his principles. Mostly were the Catholic churches
because they may have misunderstood Rizal’s decline to conceding to the Catholic
Church even if it was not mentioned that Rizal was against God. Up to the passage of
the Rizal Bill, the Church was still against the works and ideas of Rizal and even
denoted that his novels were blasphemous. These books were a key instigator of the
Philippine Revolution. However, it also portrayed the church or the religious sector as
an antagonist in the stories.What they did not understand was Rizal was only against
the friars of the Spanish regime who were hypocrites and perpetrators of oppression in
the Philippines. Basically, the lack of knowledge about Rizal’s real intentions is the root
of the hatred against him.
The flow of history is as inexorable as the tidal flow of an angry ocean. But ever
so often in our collective recollection, it is remembered that sometimes the skillful use of
forgery can redirect the flow of history itself. The issue of the retraction of Rizal started
after the public viewing of the supposed “retraction lette r” of Rizal which was shown
only once. However, Fr. Pio Pi, a Spanish Jesuit, reported that as early as 1907, the
retraction of Rizal was copied verbatim and published in Spain, and reprinted in Manila.
Fr. Gracia, who found the original document, also copied it verbatim. In both
reproductions, there were conflicting versions of the text. Add to this the date of the
signing was very clear in the original Spanish document which Rizal supposedly signed.
The date was “December 29, 1890.” Later, another supposedly original document
surfaced, it bears the date “December 29, 189C”. The number “0” was evidently altered
to make it look like a letter C. Then still later, another supposedly original version came
up. It has the date “December 29, 1896”. This time, the “0” became a “6”. Those who
strongly believed the faking of the Rizal retraction document, reported that the forger of
Rizal’s signature was Roman Roque, the man who also forged the signature of Urbano
Lacuna, which was used to capture Aguinaldo. The mastermind, they say, in both
Lacuna’s and Rizal’s signature forging was Lazaro Segovia. They were approached by
Spanish friars during the final day of the Filipino-American war to forge Rizal’s
signature. This story was revealed by Antonio K. Abad, who heard the tale from Roman
Roque himself, them being neighbors.
 There are already evidences of anti-Rizal, so some might consider going to the
extent of distortion of information just to demonize his name or his honor to the country.
It is easy to believe or put up a doubt to the truth when there are surfacing
misinformation. Though Rizal is a hero, whether he retracted or not, we must investigate
if he really did a turn-around. If he did not, and the documents were forgeries, then
somebody must pay for trying to deceive a nation.

Question 2. List 10 characters of Rizal worthy of Emulation and explain briefly why you
choose the 10 and what instance or part of his life did he show such character.
1) Nationalism – his love for the country had already shown in numerous ways like
considering the future of the Philippines and putting up hope in it through the
youth with his “To the Filipino Youth” poem. Even if he stayed in different
countries for years, his love for his nation did not depart from him, instead, it
made him love it more.
2) Family-oriented – like every Filipino, Rizal was also deeply inclined to his family.
It is important to note that our families are our first influences and if there is a
healthy connection inside the family, they are the ones we can turn back to even
when the world has turned its back upon us. Our families can be a strong
foundation of our personality building and at some point in our lives, motivate us
to keep going.
3) Strive for knowledge – it is well evidenced that Rizal aspired for knowledge as he
completed different fields of sciences and philosophy. He heavily highlighted in
his works the importance of education to the advancement of the Philippines. It is
4) Courage – Rizal knew the consequences of his actions, specifically the
production of his works which went against the ruling colonists yet he still pushed
it through in order to achieve his goals for the betterment of the people of his
country and his country. I myself have a lot to fix about my approach in
opportunities in life, having courage to grab on opportunities is something that I
need to develop because I look at the risks more than how it could have
benefited me.
5) Selfless – Rizal chose his nation more than himself in his journey and even on
his last breath, he took pride in what he was fighting for and stood up for it. Even
if he knew what he had to face about his movements, he still chose to pursue his
dreams, not for himself but for the greater good. Being selfless helps the
community, if everyone has a tiny bit of selflessness in themselves wherein one
does not just consider receiving but instead giving, everyone would benefit and it
would help the betterment of a greater cause.
6) Integrity – when Rizal was offered freedom in exchange to conceding to the
Church, he did not chose himself, this is correlated to the last mentioned
character as he took pride in his goals and did not give in to the presented
 temptation by the Church. He focused on his goal and did not sell himself. Still,
he chose the nation.
7) Appreciation for nature – he often correlate his works with nature like the
“Flowers of Heidelberg” and “My Last Farewell” wherein he connected with
nature just like every human being who are members or contributors to the cycle
of nature. Apparently, there are also times in our life wherein we can only find a
specific peace from nature, so it is important to take care of it
8) Flexibility – Rizal’s ability to adjust to his environment made him gain friends in
his journey to shifting courses in life. He even made friends with his watcher in
Dapitan. Being able to coexist with other people despite differences could take
one to different places and this had been a trait I believe I possess, growing up
here in Marawi—a place where I was considered foreign, yet I made it through
with openness to the people and the culture
Question 3. List 5 solutions you think Rizal recommended in solving the problems of the
Philippines during his times and which can still be used in these times.
1) Rizal’s refusal to assert violence would still effective to this day, looking at the
way problems with crime are being responded to here in the Philippines still is
not progressive. There are already a lot of cases wherein the police has caused
and got away with violence. Indeed, violence can not end with violence. If this
concept would be applied today, the people would put up more trust to the police.
2) Spreading information through art and literature. Our country right now is facing a
heavy curse of disinformation, and with the possible threat of not being able to
express critic about the government, there are alter ways to point out problems
about the government—through art and literature. Wherein issues become more
digestible and could actually get the attention of the audience.