Why Do We Need to Study

Rizal?
By Prof. Jet Castillo
5 Big Reasons
1. So we will have something to say to the foreigners
2. He is the Father of the Filipino Nation
3. He inspired the Revolution that set us free
4. It is mandated by law
5. So the spirit of nationalism will live on in us and in the next
generation
1. We will have something to say to the
foreigners
• What if a foreigner asks you who is Rizal and things about Rizal?
• It’s very humiliating if we can’t give accurate answers.
• For our personal pride and national pride, we must be prepared.
2. Rizal is the Father of the Filipino Nation
• He made all the natives of our archipelago realize that we are all
Filipinos, that we are one nation.
• Before his time, this is not the belief of the natives.
• How did Rizal accomplish this? Here’s the story….
Before the coming of the Spaniards
• The Philippine archipelago was inhabited by
Malayans (brown-skinned people of Southeast
Asia)
• The Malayans lived in barangays and each
barangay was ruled by a datu.
• Each barangay was like an independent kingdom,
having its own ruler, set of laws, army, and unique
traditions.
Before the coming of the Spaniards
• Each barangay looks at another barangay as another state/kingdom.
• There was no concept of nation, no idea that they belong to one big
country.
• The people in barangay A do not consider the people in barangay B as
country-mates.
• The term “Filipino” was not yet invented
During the Spanish Era
The Spaniards introduced the following terms:
1. Indio
2. Peninsulares
3. Insulares
Indio
• The natives of the islands
• The Malayans
• Means: stupid, inferior, barbaric
• There were many kinds of indios – Ilocano indios, Tagalog indios,
Bicolano indios, Bisaya indios, etc
• The Spaniards never told the indios that they belong to one country,
one nation
Peninsulares
• The Spaniards born in Spain
• From the root word “Peninsula”
• Because Spain is a peninsula
• Peninsulares means “born in the peninsula”
Insulares
• Spaniards born in the Philippines
• Children of Spanish government officials and Spanish soldiers in the
Philippines
• From the root word “insula” = detached
• Sounds like “isla”
• Isla – land detached from the mainland
• Insulares means “born in the Islas”
Who is the Filipino?
Answer:
THE INSULARES!!!

That’s how the Spaniards used the term “Filipino” for 300+ years!!!
The natives were not called Filipinos, they were called INDIOS
Then JOSE RIZAL changed things
• He started to call himself “Filipino”
• He argued that the term “Filipino” must be applied to the natives, not
to the Spaniards born in the islands.
• The true Filipinos are the brown-skinned people of these islands
• In his essay “Indolence of the Filipinos” he referred to the natives as
the “Filipinos”
• In all his writings, Rizal never used the word “indio” to refer to him
and his country-mates. He always used “Filipino”.
Then JOSE RIZAL changed things
• The other natives got the cue from Rizal and started to apply the term
to themselves too.
• The different regions of the Philippines realized that they belong to
one big country and they are all Filipinos even though they have
different dialects and traditions.
Then JOSE RIZAL changed things
• Jose Rizal’s civic organization, La Liga
Filipina has this objective: to unite
the people of Luzon, Visayas,
Mindanao into one brotherhood,
each one realizing that we belong to
one big family, one race, one nation.
• Thus, Rizal got the nick names “The
Father of the Filipino Nation” and
“The First Filipino”
3. He inspired the Revolution that set us free
• Rizal wrote the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo
• Although he didn’t intend to start a revolution with these novels, it
became the spark for it.
• Andres Bonifacio read these novels.
• He was moved by these writings to plan a revolution.
3. He inspired the Revolution that set us free
• The KKK has a portrait of Rizal in ever base camp.
• Rizal was the pass word of Katipuneros when they to
meetings.
• “Mabuhay si Doctor Jose Rizal!” was their battle cry when
they charge at the Spaniards.
• After Rizal’s execution, more Filipinos were motivated to join
the KKK.
• The Revolution ended with the declaration of independence
in 1898.
4. It is mandated by law
• Republic Act 1425 (RA 1425) says that all college students, regardless
of program, must take up a Rizal course.
• This law was made in the 1950s.
• Senator Claro M. Recto was the main author of this bill, together with
Senator Jose P. Laurel as Committee Chair.
• It was signed into law by President Ramon Magsaysay.
• You cannot graduate without taking up this subject.
• Foreign students are also required to take up the Rizal course.
RA 1425
•• Sen.
Sen.Jose P. Laurel
Claro M. Recto

• Pres. Ramon Magsaysay

4. It is mandated by law
• Republic Act 1425 (RA 1425) underwent great scrutiny, bloody
debates, and controversy before it was approved.
• The Catholic Church doesn’t want this approved.
• They threatened that lawmakers who would favor this bill would lose
votes in the next election.
• But Recto stood unfazed.
• When Rizal was still alive, the Church wanted him dead. Now that he’s
dead, they wanted to eliminate his memory from among the Filipinos.
4. It is mandated by law
• The Church wanted the Noli and Fili to be excluded in the study of Rizal.
But Recto wouldn’t agree.
• Then the Church suggested a toned-down, censored version of the two
novels to be used in the proposed Rizal course.
• Recto insisted on the uncut versions of the novels to be used in the
course.
• Finally, the Senate agreed to the Church-inspired suggestion to include
this clause in the final bill: “a student is exempted to read the 2 novels
IF he thinks that they can corrupt his faith.”
• But so far, not a single student has availed of this clause.
5. So Nationalism will live on
• By studying Rizal, we will add up to your being a
Filipino.
• You will have more pride in being a Filipino.
• You will love your country more.
• You will pass this virtue to your children and
grand children.
• We need to build a generation of passionate,
nation-loving Filipinos.
• Contribute to this goal.
5 Big Reasons
1. So we will have something to say to the foreigners
2. He is the Father of the Filipino Nation
3. He inspired the Revolution that set us free
4. It is mandated by law
5. So the spirit of nationalism will live on in us and in the next
generation