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JOSE RIZAL AND THE PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM: BAYANI AND

KABAYANIHAN

INTRODUCTION:
Good day everyone, I am Kryzll Jaile C. Patual from group 2, your 1st reporter for the Chapter 10:
JOSE RIZAL AND THE PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM: BAYANI AND KABAYANIHAN.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Interpret views and opinions about bayani and kabayanihan in the context of Philippine history and
society.
2. Assess the concepts of bayani and kabayanihan in the context of Philippine society.

HERO VERSUS BAYANI

 Rizal valued nationalism, patriotism and heroism (kabayanihan). Serving as a role model and
inspiration to every Filipino, he has manifested versatility and flexibility while sustaining a strong
sense of moral uprightness. Indeed, he is our national hero. But what exactly is the definition of the
word, “hero”?

 The Filipino counterpart, bayani, has a similar meaning but with some contextual distinctions.

 leading man in play (often referred to as the "bida"--from the Spanish for life, "vida"--who is
contrasted with the villain or "kontrabida" from the Spanish "contra vida", against life)” as cited in
Ocampo, 2016.

CHANGING FORMS AND DEFINITIONS OF BAYANI AND BAYANIHAN

 Anchored on the definitions given by old dictionaries, mga bayani may historically (and profoundly)
refer to those who contributed to the birth of a nation. In the early times, heroes are the warriors and
generals who serve their cause with sword, distilling blood and tears; they are those, for the
Filipinos, who served their cause with a pen, demonstrating that the pen is as mighty as the sword to
redeem a people from their political slavery.

 The OFWs’ sacrifices play a vital role in the progress of the Philippines’ economic status — by
remitting their savings back to the country, they help the government in pulling up the economy
through the overall dollar reserve. The money that they send provides the much-needed hard
currency, saving the country from defaulting debt obligations. Aside from this, they also help
stabilize the Philippine Peso in relation to peso-dollar exchange, which in turn, contributes to the
country’s Gross National Product (GNP) growth. Truly, when they work abroad, they are taking
risks (pakikipagsapalaran) and in recognition of their sacrifices, they are named Bagong Bayani or
“Modern-Day Heroes”, acknowledging their contributions every December as the Month of
Overseas Filipino Workers.

 Many Filipino bayani have fought and died for the Philippines, some of which are Jose Rizal, Andres
Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, and many more. They can be considered as traditional Bayani,
someone who fought for the people of his community and for their greater good, and died in
exchange. But in our modern world, does our country need a bayani who will sacrifice his/her life for
the country?

 Without a doubt, the concept of bayani and kabayanihan have evolved through the years. To better
understand this evolution, let us compare the notion of OFWs as modern-day heroes to the early
 definitions of bayani. Its etymology is explained in an online article entitled, “Ang Salitang Bayani
sa Pilipinas” (n.d.).

 This definition gives us hope that anyone of us can be a bayani, too, in our respective communities.

 Thus, we should now realize that a modern bayani can be anyone who sacrifices even the littlest of
things for the benefit of others. A good example for a modern bayani is Efren Peñaflorida, who
sacrificed his time and effort just to teach out-of-school youths in a simple pushcart classroom. He
may not have died for the country, but he responded to the needs of others – education.

 Today, anyone can be a bayani. A bayani who can sacrifice the simplest of things like: time, effort,
and knowledge for those who are in need. We do not need to die like our traditional heroes, rather, a
simple act of kindness can be worth a lot to someone. So, how can you be a Bayani of your time?