COURSE INFORMATION BOOKLET

SECOND TERM S.Y. 2021-2022

COURSE CODE: GED0102
The Life and Works of Rizal

Deepening:
 Description: This section deals with the topic of the module and extends it. It aims to
provoke students into thinking outside the box.

Use the Discussion Map Graphic Organizer. This organizer will help you identify
both sides of an issue before drawing a conclusion. For this article, you will identify
arguments of the two main characters who drafted the pastoral letter. Procedures on how
to use it is included in the organizer.

Anti-Rizal

Person Blocked Intension/Reason Arguments Take away

Rizal Bill
Francisco SOC -Opposition to the bill. The major
Referring to the data
Rodrigo (President of argument raised bypresented, the
Catholic Action of the -The reason why they want to Senator Rodrigo
Catholic Church
Philippines) oppose the Bill it’s because the was, the books of opposed Rizal's Bill
novels belonged to the past and Rizal, specifically,
because it contained
that teaching would Noli Me Tangere anti-Catholic
misrepresent current and El
passages. The
conditions. Filibusterismo, Catholic Philippine
were written to Hierarchy claims that
-The Noli Me Tangere and El ridicule the
these novels include
Filibusterismo are very Catholic church. He
teachings that are
damaging to the clerics. also argues that the
contradictory to the
books are clearly Catholic faith, which
-The novels were written when
anti-Catholic. is why they oppose
Dr. Jose Rizal, estranged from
Mariano Jesus Cuenco Cuenco emphasized the compulsory
Catholic faith and religion and
(Brother of Archbishop reading of such
that Rizal attacked
contradict many of the
Cuenco) the practices and books in any school
Christian beliefs.
in the Philippines
belief of the church.
-To compel catholic students to The assertion thatthat may affect
read a book which contains Rizal himself to Catholic students. It
passages contradicting their castigating would also be a
faith constitutes a violation of a underserving mockery of the
Philippine constitutional reputation of clerics
priests and refrain
provision. from since the passages
criticizing,
are all about friars
ridiculing or putting
-The novels do contain in doubt dogmas ofwho committed
teachings contrary to Catholic wrongdoings. In this
the Catholic church
faith and so, the Church is is view, the anti-rizal is
absolutely
opposed to the proposed misleading. opposed to any
Decoroso Rosales compulsory reading in their mandatory reading of
Fr. Jesus Cavanna Argues that novel these inappropriate
(Member of the Paulist entirety of such books in any belonged to the past passages because it
Order who wrote a school in the Philippines where and that teaching can be easily
Pastoral Letter) Catholic students may be them would exploited by those
affected. misinterpret current who despise the
conditions church, and the
minds of the youth
He described Noli will be influenced,
Me Tangere as an which will affect
attack on the clergy their conscience and
and alleged that the their view of
novel was not religion.
really patriotic
because out of 333
pages, only 25
contained patriotic
passages while 120
and 50 in El
Filibusterismo are
against Catholic
faith or it contained
anti-Catholic
statements
Jesus Paredes (Radio He argues that
Commentator) Catholics had to
refuse to read them
as it would
endanger their
salvation
Catholic Action of the The Roman
Philippines Catholic Church of
Congregation of the the Philippines
Mission opposed the Rizal
Knights of Columbus, Law due to the anti-
the Catholic Teachers clerical themes in
Guild, Legion of Mary, Noli Me Tangere
Daughters of Isabela and El
Filibusterismo,
claiming it would
violate freedom of
conscience and
religion.
 Pro Rizal

Person Blocked Rizal Bill Intension/ Arguments Take away

Reason
Jose P. Laurel -Defended the Bill This bill calls for Based on the
an increased sense presented data, the
-To keep the of nationalism from Rizal bill is an
memory of the the Filipinos during avenue for the youth
Claro M. Recto national hero alive in a time of a to understand Rizal’s
every Filipino’s dwindling Filipino vision. The bill was
Other Illustrious and Nationalist mind, to emanate identity. authored by Senator
Veteranos de la Revolucion Rizal as he Claro M. Recto,
Alagad ni Rizal peacefully fought for Recto and Laurel which was sponsored
Freemasons freedom, and not to believed that once by Senator Jose P.
The Knights of Rizal go against religion. we recognize our Laurel Sr. Those
flaws, we will be who fought for the
-There is a need for a ready for the bill's enactment
rededication to the sacrifices we have indicated that the
ideals of freedom to do to achieve our proposed bill's
and nationalism for freedom and intention is to inspire
which our heroes identity again. commitment to the
lived and died. ideas of liberty,
The purpose of this patriotism, and
-There is a need to Bill is not to attack
nationalism that our
remember the special the Catholic church
country stands for.
fondness and but to make The bill's advocates
devotion the lives Filipinos value our
or sponsors, on the
and works of our national heroes’ other hand, are
heroes who shaped who fight for mostly based on the
the national freedom during the
belief that there is a
character. Spanish rule. need for it. We must
-The life, works, and commemorate our
writings of Dr. Jose heroes' lives and
Rizal particularly, works with special
his novels Noli Me affection and
Tangere and El dedication. It shaped
Filibusterismo are the character of our
constant and country. They also
inspiring source of stated that Jose P.
patriotism with Rizal's life and
which the minds of works are important.
the youth, especially Instilling in the
 during formative and minds of the youth
decisive years in sources of inspiration
schools, should be for practicing
suffused. patriotism and
nationality Finally,
-There is a need to the bill fosters moral
develop moral character, discipline,
character, personal conscience, and civic
discipline, civic responsibility.
conscience, and to
teach the duties of
citizenship.
Horacio de la Costa Intention: De la Costa’s Rizal
Positive view of emerges as an
Rizal outstanding moral
Reasons: figure whose
He sees Rizal as devotion to the
builder of the nation truth made his
novels a source of
moral as well as
social and political
wisdoms for the
Filipinos.

Synthesis:
Description: This section aims to connect and combine the different ideas of how the self
is viewed.
Answer the following questions:

1. Considering the context of the 1950s, what issues and interests were at stake
in the debate over the Rizal Bill?

There were several issues at stake in the Rizal Bill debate. In the 1950s, the Catholic
Church and other Catholic organizations in the Philippines opposed the Rizal law and sought to
bury his writings. It has been asserted that the Catholic Church wants to terminate his historical
figure. They are contradictory to Rizal's being acknowledged as a national hero. It was also
speculated that if Rizal Law was enacted at the time, the church would declare all Catholic
schools closed. The debate over the Rizal Bill has caused massive discourse. Many people want
the bill to be repealed, while others want it to be enacted.

Considering the context of the 1950s, the religious sector ruled the Philippines at that
time, as it does today. The Church's relationship with Spanish colonization is indisputable, and
after more than three centuries of domination, their values and way of life have found their way
into Filipino lives. In this view, the Catholic churches strongly opposed the enactment of Senator
Claro M. Recto's Rizal Bill. It was because of the books "Noli Me Tangere" and "El
Filibusterismo" that Rizal wrote. The novels of Rizal awakened the minds of the Filipino people
and urged them to recognize the colonizers' abuses. There are many parts to the stories that have
been disclosed about how the Spanish oppressed the Filipinos throughout their colonization.
Rizal had to face many obstacles before he could publish his books.

At the time, attacks on Catholic churches were an issue at stake because they would have
had an effect on the church's moral teachings. That is why the Rizal Law were highly criticized
by the churches. Rizal's novels were a major catalyst for the Philippine Revolution. However, the
church or religious sector was also represented as an antagonist in the stories. The Catholic
Church opposed the bill because the novels would contravene people's freedom of conscience
and religion. Another issue at stake is when Senator Recto received an accusation of being a
communist and anti-Catholic. Senator Recto was the one who pushed for the Rizal Bill. For that
reason, the Catholic churches joined together and aggressively campaigned against Recto and his
bill.

2. Do these issues remain pertinent in the present day? How? Cite examples.

Yes, these issues are still relevant today. As the years progressed, self-identity became an
enormously important aspect of an individual's life. We were colonized at the time, and it was
tough for us to establish our own identity because we assimilated the ideals that they had
forcefully instilled in us. I have seen directly how Rizal's teachings impacted the youth. If the
Rizal Bill is not enacted, we will continue to be blind to the truth and continue to believe lies.
From my perspective, we still see the clergy at that time as good people, yet some of them abuse
women. It would be tragic if those events were to come to naught.

Those issues above provided us with insights into our history and helped us create our
own self-identity as Filipinos. Today, there are other emerging concerns, such as the domination
of KPOP and other foreign pursuits. With Rizal's teachings, it gives the youth the path to go back
on track, which reminds us to not forget that we are Filipinos and we should always be proud of
it. The youth now have the voice to express their thoughts and ideas, they have the option to be
who they want to be, and they are no longer slaves. The youth today are not blinded to any false
information. For example, if the government has a tendency to limit its resources in order to
conceal the truth, youth are constantly exposed to a variety of news items that broaden their
understanding and encourage them to seek the truth.

3.Dela Costa mentioned that Rizal declared that he did not intend to attack the Catholic
church itself, but the abuses in it. Point-out ideas and concepts from the article that proved
this statement. What is your take on it?

Dela Costa sees Rizal's writings in a positive light. My own stand on it is that Dela Costa
considered the pros and cons of the Rizal books, and he has a good criticism of the entire
passages. For him, Rizal's intentions were to reveal the truth, not to attack the Catholic church.
Rizal didn't aim to ridicule moral views, but he did want to speak about the abuses that occurred.
Dela Costa argues that Rizal's works mainly focus on those who mistreat Filipinos who happen
to be clergymen. For the Catholic priests, they see it as negative since it mocks the representation
of the clergy. Knowing that clergies are the bodies of all those ordained for religious beliefs.
However, the core message is that it is not intended to mislead Catholics, but rather to reveal all
of the events that occurred at the time. In my opinion, as Recto and Laurel stated, their intentions
are to instill patriotism in the youth and to recognize the deeds of our national heroes. My stand
is similar to Dela Costa's. If we thoroughly study the entire story, we can conclude that it is not
really anti-Catholic if friars happened to not be involved in misconduct.
 For that reason, De la Costa expressed that Rizal’s true intentions is to merely expose the
injustices that are hidden behind the shield of the Church, and the characters in his novels were
based on true events. De la Costa claimed that thorough reading and full understanding of the
passages in Rizal's books are required to truly comprehend the intentions hidden in Rizal’s
works. He used Capitan Tiago's passage on Saint Veneration as an example, because when read
in its entirety, the focus of the assaults is on the abuse of nominal Catholics like Capitan Tiago,
and not on the invocation of saints. As a result, Rizal had no choice but to criticize the "false
religion" that was causing the Filipino people's suffering.

3. Rizal mentioned that he did not blame all ills on strangers, and proclaimed
that the Filipino people were also victims of their own vices and defects? Do
you agree with this? Why?

Yes, I definitely agree. If all Filipinos were educated and cautious that time, we wouldn't
tolerate abusive people to mistreat us. Filipinos are powerless and are easily swayed by any
temptation. We are blind to the truth, ignoring the fact that the Spaniards manipulated us. It
would be pointless to blame all the ills during Spanish colonization on strangers. It is partly due
to the fact that we are victims of our own vices and shortcomings. Some of our leaders in the
Philippines were corrupt. They accepted the Spaniards' offer and permitted them to dominate us.

It was mentioned that corruption was considered one of the major crimes throughout
Rizal's era. Dr. Jose Rizal's letters to his family, friends, and opponents are lengthy texts that
include comprehensive information about the severity of corruption in his period. He unleashed
his hatred on the friars, Spanish secular officials, and local officials, some of whom were
Filipinos. Our own countrymen are also among those who betray us. The Filipinos' lack of
resilience and desperate to survive created the way for the Spaniards to retain control over the
land and its people.