SSci 7 LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL
M1 RIZAL AND THE RIZAL LAW
JOSE RIZAL CONTROVERSY
● There are debates among students,
teachers, scholars, and other concerned
citizens concerning the Rizal Course
ranging from the importance of studying
up to its effectiveness. These debates
had been part of the Philippines from
the 1950's up to present.
● In the past, the Philippine Catholic
Church was a powerful entity that
absolutely condemned the novels and
forbade their reading
● Many years after his execution and the
publication of his novels, Jose Rizal
became the subject of political
controversy that placed the
Philippines state against the Roman
Catholic Church over the issue of
including the national hero’s life and
works in the curricula of the public and
private schools, colleges, and
universities.
● It was the Philippine Government’s
effort to use literature to foster national
consciousness among the Filipino
people and “good” citizen of the Filipino
youth by singling out and ardently
studying Rizal’s two novels, the Noli
and its sequel, El filibusterismo, as
“constant and inspiring source of
patriotism”
● Contrary to popular belief, there is no
law that declares Rizal as the
“Philippine National Hero”. Even
though there is Republic Act 1425
which mandated the following: (1)
Teaching of life, works, and writings
of Jose Rizal; and (2) Readings of
Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo as “Mandatory
subject” in all public and private
schools, colleges and universities
(but colleges and universities, it is
original or unexpurgated version)”
approved in June 12, 1956, it is the
Filipino People that regarded and
venerated him as a national hero.
Labindao, Kyla Marie B
● There is provision on the basis of
religious belief that can be a reason for
exempting students from taking Rizal
Course but this recourse is no longer
being used nowadays. In addition to
that, Colleges and Universities are
obligated to have adequate copies of
the original or unexpurgated version of
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
for purposes of properly studying this
subject
● In the past, there was a heated
argument between those in-favor and
against the Rizal Law from both Houses
of Congress to the condemnation of the
Catholic Church up to the divided stand
of the public which caused division of
Philippine Nation for weeks.
● The leaders of the Church think that this
law will vilify the Roman Catholic Church
especially its priest while the
Proponents reasoned out that its
purpose is to teach the Filipinos on
the ideals of freedom, exercising
civic responsibility and formation of
the spirit of nationalism. To make it
short, the bill became a law and as
effect, made the act of reading
literature an act of rediscovering the
nation’s origin in ideals embodied by
the life works of the nation’s heroes.
● As of today, more than 65 years have
passed after the approval of the Rizal
Law the argument is no longer on
passing of the law but on how the law
was implemented in that span of time.
● The question of Filipino people in all
walks of life is if it has achieved its
purpose. People, nowadays, given the
circumstances that they are facing have
different priorities but the formation of
nationalism and fulfillment of the duties
of citizens is an undeniable fact crucial
in nation building and the development
of the country.
● The government had already spent
thousands of pesos building monuments
in Rizal’s honor from naming streets,
BSN 1-H UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN
 SSci 7 LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL
M1 RIZAL AND THE RIZAL LAW
and a province after him to declaring his
death anniversary a public holiday, and
presiding over celebrations in his
memory. These practices were graced in
different places in the Philippines, and
have appeared on money, stamps, and
others.
● The sad fact is that Rizal was visible
everywhere, but largely unread.
● The Rizal Law was clearly aimed at
closing that last frontier – the “content”
of Rizal’s life and works – which needed
to be mapped by a state that had filled
every space of national life with signs of
Rizal
● The succeeding information were copied
from the book “Rizal and the
Development of National
Consciousness” by Romero, Romana
& Santos
● The heart and the core of our historical,
biographic and analytical approach is to
interweave the highlights of Rizal's
life, works and teachings into the
origins and development of a Filipino
national consciousness that led to the
making of a nation we can be proud of.
● The principles and ideals in which he
lived and died permeate through every
lesson of this Module.
● The framers of the Rizal law had
hoped that by studying his life and
analyzing his teachings and literary
works, the youth may gain inspiration
and insight and involve themselves in
the community, carrying the values
and virtues of Rizal and other
national leaders. The youth must
acquire proper direction and search
for a better national life.
● Rizal is a product of his time and it is
imperative to understand his social
environment if one wants to know him
better, especially his way of thinking
and seeing things. This led us to the
discussion of the historical events in
Europe and in the Philippines that
influenced the development of his
national consciousness (and Filipino
Labindao, Kyla Marie B
national consciousness) which will be
delineated and emphasized in the eyes
of the experts and those who are
interested enthusiast who wish to know
the transition and growth of a sensitive
and observant student, Jose Rizal, into
a matured and determined nationalist.
PURPOSES OF RIZAL LAW (R.A.1425)
● Rededication to the ideals of freedom
and nationalism for which our heroes
lived and died;
● Honor Filipino heroes, particularly the
national hero and patriot, Jose Rizal;
● Use the life, works and writing of Jose
Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo in
inspiring patriotism in the the minds of
the youth; and
● Develop moral character, personal
discipline, civic conscience and to teach
the duties of citizenship.
CONTEMPORARY INSIGHT IN STUDYING RIZAL
➔ In our country and beyond, the call for
sacrifice and life direction reverberates.
The response to this call is inspired and
influenced to great extent by several
factors such as family and school as
well as the needs in problem in the
situations.
1. SACRIFICE AND DIRECTION TOWARD
NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND NATIONAL
REFORM
● We note that Rizal sacrificed
professional prominence for the more
urgent task of improving the condition of
his people, and that this called for
directing the inevitable fundamental
change in relation to the Spanish
government. In both respects, we
acknowledge the influence of his
Jesuits teachers at Ateneo as well as
the paradigm of heroic leadership
that the Jesuits have developed and
practiced through the ages.
Internationally acclaimed Filipino
historian Father Horacio de la Costa,
BSN 1-H UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN
 SSci 7 LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL
M1 RIZAL AND THE RIZAL LAW
S.J., explains: By Rizal's time Filipinos
had become conscious of themselves
as a nation and this change was what
gave the contemporary situation its
particular character of urgency. He
attributed the change not to an
economic, social or political cause
but to a psychological one. What he
did was, briefly, that the Spaniards
added insult to injury. In the latter
phase of the colonial period a
different attitude began to spread
among the Spaniards in the
Philippines. They began to treat
Filipinos with contempt as essentially
inferior beings... What three centuries
of oppression could not do, the
wounded amor propio did. It brought
into being Filipino nationalism.
Conscious of their common misery,
Filipinos began to agitate for reforms on
a nationwide scale?

NEED FOR BALANCE AND IDENTITY AND UNITY

● The national situation and problem
addressed by the Rizal Law of 1956 was
succinctly described by Father dela
Costa in 1968: We are faced with the
problem of integration. A problem of
balance: how to encourage the rational
vision of the world and the impersonal
management of affairs that economic
development requires, without
depersonalizing a society whose very
strength consists in deep personalism?
A problem of identity: how to assist a
people of such diverse cultural origins to
realize that it is in this very diversity that
their uniqueness consists? A problem
above all of unity, for our task is to unite
the people whom we serve, and we
must first all be united among ourselves.

Labindao, Kyla Marie B BSN 1-H UNIVERSITY OF SAN AGUSTIN