Rizal Law and the K-12 Law

The study of Rizal is still part of the K-12 Law and the new General Education
Curriculum in the sense that Rizal course is mandatory to college students with a
view to develop their historical thinking and national awareness.
EXPLANATION
Education reform has been in a need in the Philippines for generations. The study of
Rizal may also give reflections on the events of the past that formed part of the
Philippine History and to awaken the minds of the modern Filipinos who are
popularly called “millennials”.

The Rizal Law, known as REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425 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

Enacted in 1956, seeks to accomplish the following goals: To rededicate the lives of
youth to the ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which our heroes lived and died.
To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life and works in shaping the
Filipino character.

K-12 Law The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, or the K-to-12 Act, establishes
a “universal kindergarten” and introduces Grades 11 and 12 to high school education in
public and private schools.

The K to 12 system was signed into law with the passage of the Enhanced Basic
Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act 10533). It clearly states that the K to 12 reform
is an effort not exclusive to the Department of Education (DepEd), but cuts across the
whole landscape of Philippine education and labor, making a unique impact on each
sector, while at the same time requiring all these agencies to work together to ensure a
smooth transition into the new system.
Biography and Autobiography

The words “biography” and “autobiography” are sometimes used by readers

interchangeably. When somebody writes your life from challenges to triumphs that is
called, biography.

EXPLANATION
Therefore, the writings on Rizal’s life are divided into two-those that were written by
others and those that were penned by Rizal himself. The biographies of Rizal are one
of the main secondary sources of Rizalian History, Rizal’s autobiography was written
on his “epistolario Rizalinos” which was compiled by Teodoro Kalaw.

Writing Historical Accounts

Writing historical accounts is considered as one of the prime tasks of a historian. The
coined word is PEP for people, event, places which means that the story must have
these three important components.

In Rizal’s biography for example, the people (noted personalities) became the
characters of his novel, Noli Me Tangere.

The events that took place at that time as well as the 1872 mutiny became one of the
root causes of Rizal’s nationalism which led him to write his second novel, El
Filibusterismo.

EXPLANATION
He dedicated El Fili to Gomburza, the martyrs of Filipino secularization. Rizal also
noted in his travels the notable places that he clearly and poetically described.
Jose Rizal rewrote the Philippine history of his time with what has now been
considered as his second major work. The Morga annotations provided the seeds of
the idea of how the Filipinos should view themselves amidst a growing nationalism
that eventually led to the formation of a nation.