CHAPTER 1

The Rizal Law, otherwise known as RA 1425

• Its mandate is to study Rizal's life and works. Section 1 states that Rizal
law was passed by Congress to increase nationalism among Filipinos
most significantly during the time of a diminishing Filipino identity. Based
on the judicial system, a republic act is a law that has already been
passed. In contrary, a bill is merely a proposed law, and will only be
implemented when it's gone through the process.

• Republic Act 1425 started on June 12, 1956.

• Senate Bill 438 known as Rizal Bill which was first authored and
sponsored by Senator Claro M. Recto. The bill requires the inclusion
in the curricula of Rizal's life, works and writings in all public and
private schools, colleges and universities and the significant novels
of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
• Oppositions assert that the bill would go against freedom of religion
and conscience, where a pastoral letter from the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to which accordingly, such bill
is a violation of 1939 Canon Law which prohibits books that attack
the Catholic doctrine and practices. The opposition argued that
among the 333 pages of Noli Me Tangere, only 25 passages were
nationalistic while 120 passages are anti-Catholic.
• However, Recto and Laurel defended the bill and argued that the only
objective of the law is to keep the memory of the national hero alive in
every Filipino's mind, to emanate Rizal as he peacefully fought for
freedom, and not to go against religion.

• After the final amendments, the bill was finally passed on May 17,
1956, and was signed into law as Republic Act 1425 by President
Ramon Magsaysay on June 12 of the same year.
• The Rizal Bill became Republic Act No. 1425, known as the 'Rizal Law. "An
Act to Include in the Curricula of All Public and Private Schools, Colleges
and Universities Courses on the Life, Works and Writings of Jose Rizal,
Particularly His Novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, Authorizing
the Printing and Distribution Thereof, and for Other Purposes.
Rizal as an American Sponsored Hero?

Jose Rizal's becoming the national hero was accordingly the result of American
sponsorship. It was in 1901 when William Howard Taft proposed Rizal as our National
hero because:

1. Rizal was already dead by the time the Americans colonised the Philippines.
2. He did not make any negative or embarrassing remarks of anti-American
quotations.
3. Martyrdom of Dr Jose Rizal was a symbol of Spanish oppression.
4. He urged reform from within by publicity, by public education, and appeal to the
public conscience.
The Global Context: The Three Great Revolutions

Contrarily, one cannot fully perceive Rizal's thought without learning

the social and political surroundings of the 19th century. Social scientists
considered the 19th century as the birth of modern life as well as the birth
of many nation-states around the globe. The birth of modernity precipitated
by three great revolutions around the world: the Industrial Revolution in
England, the French Revolution in France and the American Revolution.
Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution was an economic revolution which started with

the invention of the steam engine and resulted in the use of equipment in the
manufacturing sector in the cities of Europe. It has changed the entire economy
of Europe from capitalism which relied on machinery and wage labour.
French Revolution

If the Industrial Revolution changed the economic landscape of Europe and

the Philippines, another great Revolution changed the political tone of the period -
the French Revolution. The French revolution (1789-1799) started a political
revolution in Europe and some parts of the world.
This revolution is a period of political and social upheaval and radical
change in the history of France during which the French governmental structure
was transformed from absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the rich and
clergy to a more democratic government form based on the principles of
citizenship and inalienable rights. With the overthrow of monarchical rule,
democratic principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity-the battle cry of the French
Revolution-started to spread in Europe and around the world.
American Revolution

American Revolution, though not directly affecting the local economy and
politics of the Philippines in the nineteenth century, had significant repercussions
to the democratic aspirations of the Filipino reformist led by Rizal during this
period. The American Revolution refers to the political upheaval during the last half
of the 18th century in which the 13 colonies of North America overthrew the rule
of the British Empire and rejected the British monarchy to make the United States
of America a sovereign nation.
In this period the colonies first rejected the authority of British Parliament
to govern without representation and form self-governing independent states. The
American revolution had given the world in the 19th century the idea that
colonized people can gain their independence from their colonizers.
Spanish Revolution of 1868

On September 19, 1863, a revolution broke out in Cadiz, Spain, against

the autocratic rule of Queen Isabella II (1836-1868), led by two able generals -
Serrano and Prim. The revolutionists took advantage of the time when the
queen, with her family and court, was vacationing at San Sebastian, a seaside
resort in Spain. The queen, unable to stem the tide of a revolution that had the
support of the nation, fled to France, and the Spanish patriots, flushed with
victory, established a provisional government, with General Serrano as a
reagent.
Opening of the Suez Canal (1869)

• The Suez Canal opened in 1869 for world shipping and built by
Ferdinand de Lesseps, bringing Spain closer to the Philippines.
• The Suez Canal facilitated travel and communication.
The Influx of Liberal Ideas

• The Ship that came to the open ports of the Philippines via the Suez
Canal carried with them men of liberal ideas from America and Europe.

• General Carlos Maria de la Torre, Liberal Spanish Governor (1869-71).

The fall of Queen Isabella II and the rise of liberalism in Spain brought a
new Spanish governor-general to Manila, an able soldier and a true
democrat.
The Cavite Mutiny of 1872

• The mutiny was used by the colonial government and Spanish friars to
implicate three secular priests, Mariano Gomez, José Burgos, and
Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza. They were executed
by garrote in Luneta, also known in Tagalog as Bagumbayan, on
February 17, 1872.
Notable Asian People during the Time of Dr. Jose Rizal

Mohandas Gandhi
• Known for being the Bapu father of Indian independence and prominent for
employing non-violent civil disobedience in India.

Sun Yat-sen
• Chinese revolutionary and instrumental to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty
during the Double Ten Revolution

Nguyen Tat Thanh (Chi Minh)

• Vietnamese communist leader that led the force behind Vietnamese struggle under
French rule
Rizal’s Life: Family, Childhood and Early Education

FULLNAME: Jose Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

BIRTHDAY: June 19, 1861

MOTHER: Teodora Alonso y Realonda

BIRTHDAY: November 9, 1827
EDUCATION: Colegio de Santa Rosa

FATHER: Francisco Mercado y Alejandro

BIRTHDAY: May 11, 1818
EDUCATION: Colegio de San Jose
Rizal’s Life: Family, Childhood and Early Education
SIBLINGS:
1. Saturnina
2. PACIANO
3. NARCISA
4. OLYMPIA
5. LUCIA
6. MARIA
8. CONCEPCION
9. JOSEFA
10. TRINIDAD
11. SOLEDAD
• At age 3 learned alphabet and prayers from his mother Teodora, his first teacher. Other early
teachers were Maestro Celestino, Maestro Lucas Padua and Leon Monroy who gave Jose
introductory lessons in Latin. He was called "Ute" by his brother and sisters and "Pepe" or
"Pepito" by townspeople in Calamba.

• At age 5, read although not fluently, the Spanish Family bible called historia sagrada.

• At age 7, wrote a comedy which highlighted his literary talent for the local fiesta and was
rewarded 2 pesos.

• At age 8, wrote the poem "Sa Aking mga Kabata".

• At age 9, wrote a poem "Mother's birthday". Sent to a boy's school in Binan and his teacher was
Dr. Justiniano Aquino Cruz
• Rizal’s first teacher was his mother.
• In the story "The Moth", Doña Teodora taught her son,
Rizal, a valuable lesson about perseverance and
determination.
First Day in Biñan (1869-1871)

• Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz is best known for being the "Maestro" or
teacher of national hero Jose Rizal during the latter's stay in Biñan City
when he was nine years old.

• According to Rizal his teacher in Biñan was tall, thin, long-necked, with
sharp nose and body slightly bent forward, and used to wear a sinamay
shirt
Father Francisco Paula de Sanchez
 One of Rizal professor in Ateneo. Father Sanchez is a great educator and scholar. He
inspired the Young Rizal to study harder and to write poetry.

 Favorite and best professor of Jose Rizal

• On commencement day, March 23, 1877, Rizal , who was 16 years old ,
received from his alma mater, Ateneo Municipal, The degree of Bachelor of
Arts, with the highest honor.

• Rizal eventually earned a land surveyor's and assessor's degree from the
Ateneo Municipal while taking up Philosophy and Letters at the University of
Santo Tomas. Upon learning that his mother was going blind, Rizal opted to
study ophthalmology at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.