Lesson 1: Why Study Rizal?
as in a mirror, our defects as well
Rationale and Framework
LEARNING OUTCOMES
● Students should be able to:
discuss the historical context of
RA 1425; determine the
importance of Rizal in nationalist
Filipino history, and relate the
issues to the present situation.
FILIPINO NATION AS A PROJECT
● A nation is immortal and yet it
needs to be nurtured, refined,
and strengthened for it to
continue to exist.
● Active participation of Filipinos
in building a nation. By studying
Rizal's life and works, we may
find inspiration and motivation
to participate in building the
Filipino nation.
Rizal Law
➔ The Philippines was a new
nation after World War II.
➔ Sometimes called Laurel’s Law
April 3, 1956- Senate Bill No. 438
➔ AN ACT TO MAKE NOLI ME
TANGERE AND EL
FILIBUSTERISMO COMPULSORY
READING MATTER IN ALL
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
➔ Senate Committee on Education
Senator Jose P. Laurel
Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo
● must be read by all Filipinos.
They must be taken to heart, for
in their pages we see ourselves
as our strength, our virtues as
well as our vices.
● Only then we would become
conscious as a people, and so
learn to prepare ourselves for
painful sacrifices that ultimately
lead to self-reliance, self-respect,
and freedom (Laurel, Jr. 131).
Information for Rizal Law:
● Debates in Senate started.
● Opponents: Catholics senators
argued that the bill was a
controversial.
○ Attempt to discredit the
Catholic religion
○ Detrimental to the
Catholic faith (170 lines
from Noli Me Tangere and
50 lines from El
Filibusterismo).
○ "Maybe instrumental in
dividing the nation.
○ Since reading novels is
compulsory, it impairs
freedom of speech and
religious freedom.
Senator Francisco "Soc" Rodrigo:
● A vast majority of our people are
at the same time Catholics and
Filipino citizens. As such, they
have two great loves: their
country and their faith. These
two loves are no conflicting
loved.
● They are harmonious affections,
like the love of the child for his
mother and for his father. This is
the basis of my stand. Let us not
create a conflict between
nationalism and religion; the
 government and the church
(Laurel, Jr., 132).
Senator Claro M. Recto refuted his
arguments.
● Rizal's novels have no intention
to dishonor the Church and the
bill aims to contextualize the
heroism of Rizal during the
tyrannical rule of the Spaniards.
● "Rizal did not pretend to teach
religion or theology when he
wrote the books.
● He aimed at inculcating civic
consciousness in the Filipinos,
national dignity, personal pride,
and patriotism;
● But while he criticized and
ridiculed the unworthy behavior
of certain ministers of the
church, he made exceptions in
favor of the worthy ones, like the
Dominican friar, padre
Fernandez, and the virtuous
native priest Padre Florentino,
and the Jesuits in general
(Laurel, Jr., 132-133).
➔ Laurel and Recto are both
partners.
Rizal Law
● House Bill No. 5561 was filed by
Congressman Jacobo Z.
Gonzales.
● The same scenario happened in
Congress.
● Constitutionality and religiosity.
It seemed impossible to pass the
bill.
Catholic Church opposition
● Use only the expurgated version
of the novels while the
unexpurgated version should
be kept locked in the libraries
and used only at the discretion
of higher school officials.
● Punish the legislators in future
elections.
● They threatened to close the
schools.
Sen. Laurel proposed a substitute
bill.
● Inclusion of all works of Rizal,
not just the two novels.
● Removal of the term "compulsion"
to pacify the Catholic opposition.
● However, he still stressed the
importance of reading the novels
in its unexpurgated form.
● Exemptions from reading the two
novels on certain conditions.
(Affidavit)
Rizal Law
Dates:
1. May 12, 1956- SB No. 438 was
unanimously approved on
second reading,
2. May 14, 1956-Congress
unanimously approved the
Congress version of the bill.
a. Clearly, a triumph of
democracy and the
dissenting opinions
broadened the scope of
the democratic process.
 3. June 12, 1956- Pres. Ramon years in school, should be
Magsaysay signed the bill, suffused.
eventually the RA 1425 or better
known as Rizal Law. D. WHEREAS all educational
institutions are under the
RIZAL LAW supervision of, and subject to
regulation by the State, and all
➔ RA 1425- AN ACT TO INCLUDE schools are enjoined to develop
IN THE CURRICULA OF ALL moral character, personal
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE discipline, civic conscience and
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND to teach the duties of citizenship;
UNIVERSITIES COURSES ON Now, therefore,
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.
(https://www.officialgazette.gov.
ph/1956/06/12/republic-act-no
-1425/)

A. WHEREAS, today, more than

any other period of our history,
there is a need for a
re-dedication to the ideals of
freedom and nationalism for
which our heroes lived and died.
B. WHEREAS, it is meet that in
honoring them, particularly the
national hero and patriot, Jose
Rizal, we remember with special
fondness and devotion their lives
and works that have shaped the
national character
C. WHEREAS, the life, works, and
writing of Jose Rizal, particularly
his novels Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo, are a constant
and inspiring source of
patriotism with which the minds
of the youth, especially during
their formative and decisive