Life and Works of

Rizal
Rizal, the National Hero
In the article of Esteban Ocampo in
the book of Gregorio Zaide there were
several points that he raised as to the
heroism of Dr. Jose Rizal.

 The day of his birth and the day of his

execution are fittingly commemorated by
all classes of our people throughout the
country and even by Filipinos abroad.
 Hisname is a by word in every Filipino
home while his picture adorns the
postage stamp and paper money of
widest circulation. No other Filipino
hero can surpass Rizal in the number of
monuments erected in hi honor; in the
number of towns, barrios, and streets
named after him; in the number of
educational institutions, societies, and
trade names that bear his name.
 The Noli alone, Rizal among his
contemporaries, had become the most
prominent or the central figure of the
Propaganda Movement.
 Rizal was the most intelligent, most
courageous, and most dangerous enemy
of the reactionaries and the tyrants;
therefore should be shot publicly in
order to serve as an example and a
warning to those of his kind.
 Among the foreigners who recognized
Rizal as the leading Filipino of his time
were Blumentritt, Napoleon M. Kheil, Dr.
Reinhold Rostg and Vicente Barrante.
Professor Blumentritt told Dr. axiom
Viola in May,1887 that “Rizal was the
greatest product of the Philippines and that
his coming to the world was like the
appearance of a rare comet, whose rare
brilliance appears only every other century”.
 Rizal’sleadership was shown when in
1889 ,he was unanimously elected by the
Filipino in Barcelona and Madrid as
honorary president of the La Solidaridad.
He organized in Paris the Indios Bravos
where he became chief. In January,1891
Rizal was again unanimously chosen
Responsible (chief) of the Spanish-Filipino
Association.
He was also the founder and moving
spirit in the founding of the La Liga
Filipina in Manila on July 3, 1892. The
Katipunan acknowledged Rizal’s
leadership and greatness by making
him its Honorary President and by
using his family name Rizal as the
password for the third-degree
members.
General Emilio Aguinalde and the other
revolutionaryt chiefs exiled to Hongkong
held a commemorative program there on
Decenber 29, 1897 on the occasion of
the first anniversary of the hero’s
execution and martyrdom. He also issued
the first official proclamation making
December 30 as Rizal Day on December
20, 1898.
The newspapers, magazines, and
other periodicals throughout the
civilized world- in Germany, Austria,
France, Holland, London, the United
States, Japan. Hongkong, Macao,
Singapore, Switzerland, and in Latin
American countries – published
accounts of Rizal’s martyrdom in
order to render homage to his
greatness.
Questions regarding the heroism of Rizal
 That Bonifacio or Aguinaldo should
be the National Hero, because they
fought in the Revolution, while Rizal
cautioned them about it. If we recall
our historical data it could be
recalled that Bonifacio lost all of his
29 battles while Aguinaldo
surrendered to the Americans in
1901.
 Rizal through the might of his pen waged a
non-violent crusade and suffered political
martyrdom. The ideas that he has propagated
still live today not even the mighty armies of
Spain and America could kill.
 That Rizal was somehow an “American-made
hero,” This was refuted by the words of Justice
Malcom in the article of Ocampo when he
said “ In those days under William Howard
Taft, it was bruited about that the Americans
had “made” Rizal a hero to serve their
purposes. That indeed was a sinister
interpretation of voluntary American action
designed to pay tribute to a great man.”
National Hero Committee
(American Period)
American Panel Philippine Panel
 W. Morgan Shuster  Trinidad Pardo de Tavera
 Bernard Moses  Gregorio Araneta
 Dean Warcester  Cayetano Arellano
 Henry Clay Ide  Jose Luzuriaga
Criteria in Choosing a National
Hero during the American Period:
 He must be a Filipino.
 He is already dead.
 He displayed unconditional love for his
country.
 He has lower temper.
 He had died dramatically.
The Nominees:
 Marcelo H. del Pilar
 Jose Rizal
 Emilio Jacinto
 Graciano Lopez-Jaena
 Antonio Luna
Reasons for Choosing Rizal
 First Filipino who displayed the true sense
of nationalism.
 Model of Peace.
 Filipinos are sentimental.
Executive Order No. 75
 Issued on March 28, 1993 by President
Fidel V. Ramos.
 “Creating the National Heroes
Committee” under the Office of the
President
 The principal duty of the Committee is to
study, evaluate and recommend Filipino
national personages / heroes in due
recognition of their sterling character and
remarkable achievements for the country.
Technical Committee
 Onofre D. Corpuz
 Samuel K. Tan
 Marcelino Foronda
 Alfredo Lagmay
 Bernardita Churchill
 Serafin Quiason
 Ambeth Ocampo
 Minerva Gonzales
 Carmen Guerrero Nakpil
Criteria for National Hero (June 3,
1993)
 Heroes are those:
◦ Who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspire and struggle
for the nation’s freedom
◦ Who define and contribute to a system or life of freedom and
order for a nation
◦ Who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a nation

 Additional criteria:
◦ A hero is part of the people’s expression.
◦ A hero thinks of the future, especially the future generation.
◦ The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an
episode or events in history, but of the entire process that made
this particular person a hero.
Historical Figures Recommended as
National Hero
 Jose Rizal
 Andres Bonifacio
 Emilio Aguinaldo
 Apolinario Mabini
 Marcelo H. del Pilar
 Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat
 Juan Luna
 Melchora Aquino
 Gabriela Silang
 In conclusion, Rizal himself, his own people,
and the foreigners all together contributed to
make him the greatest hero and martyr of his
people.
 On the other hand, Guerrero (1998) gave
his own conclusions in choosing Rizal as our
Filipino national hero.

◦ Since the Filipinos love peace, they have chosen to

magnify a man of peace above the men of war.
 Because Filipinos are lovers of freedom and
justice, they have given their worship to a man
who gave up all comforts and pleasures of
peace for their sake.
 Filipinos prize virtue more than victory, and
sacrifice above success.
 To Guerrero, Rizal was the first Filipino. It
was he who taught his countrymen that they
can be somebody. He was the first to work
towards the unification of the Philippine
archipelago into a compact and homogeneous
body based on common interests and mutual
protection.
The Rizal Law
 The Republic Act no. 1425 otherwise known
as the Rizal lay was approved on June 12,
1956 and promulgated by the Committee
on National Education on August 18,1956
(during the administration of President
Ramon F. Magsaysay). The author of the bill
was Senator Jose P. Laurel. Stipulated in the
law was that Rizal be a part of the
curriculum of all universities and colleges
public or private especially the Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
 The law seeks to accomplish the following
objectives:
 To rededicate the lives of the 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.
 To gain an inspiring source of patriotism
through the study of Rizal’s life, works and
writings.
 The patriotic goals set by the Board on National
Education (Capino et al, 1997) are as follows:
 To recognize the relevance of Rizal’s ideals,
thoughts, teachings and life values to present
conditions in the community
 To apply Rizal’s ideas in the solution of day-to
day situations and problems in contemporary life.
 To develop an understanding and appreciation
of the qualities, behavior and character of Rizal;
and
 To foster the development of moral character,
personal discipline, citizenship and vocational
efficiency among the Filipino youth.