THE RIZAL LAW AND THE
the Supreme Court
CATHOLIC HIERARCHY
Claro Mayo Recto (Feb. 8, 1890- Oct. 2,
1960
The main sponsor and defender of the Rizal
Bill
Biography
 Born in Tiaong, Tayabas (Quezon)
 Parents: Claro Recto, Sr. and Micaela
Mayo
 Completed his primary education in his
hometown and his secondary
education in Batangas
 Moved to Manila and completed his AB
degree at the Ateneo and was awarded
maxima cum laude in 1909
 Finished his law degree in 1914 at UST
and was admitted to the BAR that same
year
 Wife: Aurora Reyes; 5 children
Political Career:
 Started as representative of the third
district of Batangas.
 Became the House Minority Floor
Leader
 Elected as a Senator in 1931
 In the Senate, he held key positions
such as Minority Floor Leader, Majority
Floor Leader, and Senate President Pro-
Tempore
 In 1935, he became Associate Justice of
 Became an instrument in the drafting of
the constitution of the Philippines 1934-
35, as he was selected as president of
the assembly
 Served as a diplomat and an important
figure in international relations
 Known as an ardent nationalist and
man of letters
 He penned beautiful poetry and prose
 Died on October 2, 1960, due to heart
attack in Italy
 Recto believed that the reading of
Rizal’s Novel would strengthen the
Filipinism of the youth and foster
patriotism
 Thus, making the Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo compulsory
reading in all universities and
colleges
 However, this measure immediately
ran into determined opposition from
the Catholic hierarchy claiming that
this would VIOLATE FREEDOM OF
CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION
Pastoral Letter
Written by Fr. Jesus Cavanna of the
Paulist Fathers
 The Catholic Hierarchy issued a
Pastoral Letter detailing its
objections to the bill and enjoining
Catholics to oppose it
 Francisco Rodrigo proposed for a
closed-door conference to search for
a solution of the dispute
  Laurel and its supporters rejected
such proposal since public hearing
had been made
 A more organized campaign against
the Bill was launched under the
Auspices of the Catholic Action of
Manila
 Its first activity was a symposium
and open forum in which two
announcements are made
The announcements were:
1. That Sentinel (the official organ of the
Philippine Catholic Action) would publish
daily instead of weekly; and
2. That Filipino Catholics would be urged to
write to their congressmen and senators
asking them to “kill” the Rizal Bill.
During the symposium
Fr. Jesus Cavanna
 Said that the novels of Rizal “belong to
the past” and it would be “harmful” to
read them because they presented a
“false picture” of the conditions in the
country at that time.
 Described Noli Me Tangere as “attack to
the clergy” and its object was to “put to
ridicule the Catholic Faith”
 Alleged that the novel was not really
patriotic because out of 333 pages only
25 contained patriotic passages while
120 were devoted to anti- Catholic
attacks
Radio Commentator Jesus Paredes
 “Catholics had the right to refuse to
read them so as not to endanger their
salvation”
Radio Commentator Narciso Pimentel,
Jr. “The bill was Recto’s revenge against
Catholic voters who, together with
Magsaysay, were responsible for his
poor showing in the 1955 senatorial
election”
Rizal Bill
Tempers flared during the continuous
debates and opponents attacked
each other with greater violence
Bishop Manuel Yap
Warned the legislators who voted
for the Rizal Bill to be “punished” in the
next Election
Recto on the other hand branded him as
“the modern-day Torquemada”
Tomás de Torquemada is the first
grand inquisitor in Spain, whose
name has become synonymous with
the Christian Inquisition’s horror,
religious bigotry, and cruel fanaticism.
• On May 12, the controversy ended
with the unanimous approval of a
substitute measure authored by Sen.
Laurel based on the proposals of Sen.
Roseller T. Lim and Emmanuel Pelaez
• This accommodated the objections of
the Catholic hierarchy provided that the
basic texts in the collegiate courses
should be unexpurgated editions of the
two novels
• Opponents of the original Recto
version jubilantly claimed a “Complete
Victory”
• Proponents felt that they had atleast
gained something