College of Arts and Sciences

• determine the issues and interest at stake in the debate over the Rizal
Bill
• relate the issues to present day Philippines
• identified the relationship between literature and society; and
• differentiate patriotism and nationalism
THE RIZAL LAW AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
TO THE PHILIPPINE SOCIETY
PI 01 Life and Works of Rizal
The Rizal Law

Republic Act 1425

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
WHEREAS,
today, more than any other period
of our history, there is a need for a
re-dedication to the ideals of
freedom and nationalism for which
our heroes lived and died;
WHEREAS,
it is meet that in honoring them,
particularly the national hero and
patriot, Jose Rizal, we remember
with special fondness and devotion
their lives and works that have
shaped the national character;
WHEREAS,
the life, works and writing of Jose
Rizal, particularly his novels Noli
Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, are a constant and
inspiring source of patriotism with
which the minds of the youth,
especially during their formative
and decisive years in school, should
be suffused;
WHEREAS,
all educational institutions are under
the supervision of, and subject to
regulation by the State, and all
schools are enjoined to develop
moral character, personal
discipline, civic conscience and to
teach the duties of citizenship;
Now, therefore,
SECTION 1,
Courses on the life, works and
writings of Jose Rizal, particularly his
novel Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, shall be included in the
curricula of all schools, colleges and
universities, public or private:
Provided, That in the collegiate
courses, the original or
unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their
English translation shall be used as
basic texts.
SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all
schools, colleges, and universities to keep in
their libraries an adequate number of copies
of the original and unexpurgated editions of
the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo,
as well as of Rizal’s other works and
biography. The said unexpurgated editions
of the Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo or their translations in
English as well as other writings of Rizal
shall be included in the list of approved
books for required reading in all public or
private schools, colleges and universities.
SECTION 3. The Board of National
Education shall cause the translation of the
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as
well as other writings of Jose Rizal into
English, Tagalog and the principal
Philippine dialects; cause them to be
printed in cheap, popular editions; and
cause them to be distributed, free of charge,
to persons desiring to read them, through
the Purok organizations and Barrio
Councils throughout the country
• SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act
shall be construed as amendment or
repealing section nine hundred
twenty seven of the Administrative
Code, prohibiting the discussion of
religious doctrines by public school
teachers and other person engaged in
any public school.
Section 927.— No teacher or
other person engaged in any
public school, whether
maintained from (insular)
national, provincial, or
municipal funds, shall teach or
criticize the doctrines of any
church, religious sect, or
denomination, or shall attempt
to influence the pupils for or
against any church or religious
sect.
• SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred thousand pesos is
hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any fund not
otherwise appropriated in the National Treasury to carry
out the purposes of this Act.
• SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
• Approved: June 12, 1956
• Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 52, No. 6, p. 2971 in
June 1956.
 ORIGINATING HOUSE SIMILAR BILL
SENATE BILL 438 HOUSE BILL 5561
Filed: April 3, 1956 Filed: April 19, 1956
APRIL 23, 1956
Supporters of the Bill
Sen. Claro M. Recto
Sen. Jose P. Laurel

Opposition
Sen. Mariano J. Cuenco
Sen. Francisco Rodrigo
Sen. Decoroso Rosales
EPIC RAP BATTLE IN
THE SENATE
The bill' objective was to foster
appreciation of Rizal's times and of the
role he played in the eventual combat
against Spanish tyranny

The novels did not pretend to teach

religion or theology upon their
conception. Rizal aimed to have
Filipinos become aware of their society
and instill in them the national dignity,
personal pride, and patriotism.
EPIC RAP BATTLE IN
THE SENATE

Rizal simply narrated what happened.

EPIC RAP BATTLE IN
THE SENATE
“(Filipinos)… have two (2) great loves: their
country and their faith. These two loves are
not conflicting loves. They are harmonious
affections, like the love of a child for his father
and for his mother."

nationalism and religion, government and

church, must not be in conflict with one
another.
The Hero of Andres Bonifacio and
the Katipuneros
 Andres Bonifacio
• First hero who recognized Rizal as a hero
• He attended the founding of La Liga Filipina
on July 3 1892 – it is a civic organization
founded by Rizal which aimed for the reform
in the society.
• Bonifacio established KKK – it aim for
independence from Spanish rule through
revolution.
• The password is Bayani
• The highest grade or group in KKK is Rizal
• The photograph of Rizal was hang in the
headquarters
• They expand to other provinces in the
country.
• They used Jose Rizal to collect funds.
• In May 1896, Dr Pio Valenzuela informed
Rizal about the revolution but Rizal did
not agree with the plan.
• The Spanish government had a suspicion
that Rizal was the founder of the KKK
• On August 1896, the existence of the
KKK was revealed in the Spanish
government.
• On August 25, 1896 the uprising started.
• The KKK and the revolution was used as
an evidence against Rizal.
 The Hero of Emilio Aguinaldo and the First
Republic
• The death of Jose Rizal was the start of the battle
of the Filipinos.
• KKK continued their struggle against the
Spaniards.
• The conflict between the teo factions of KKK
(Magdiwang – Magdalo) led to the disunity of
the Katipuneros and the execution of Andres
Bonifacio signed by Emilio Aguinaldo.
• The death of Andres Bonifacio led to the
uprising of the Filipinos
• December 12-15, 1897 – the Spaniards and the
Filipino signed the Treaty of Biak na Bato
• Emilio Aguinaldo had the opportunity to
communicate with the Americans and the
Spanish colonial government ended.
• Upon the return of Aguinaldo from Hongkong he
declared the independence of the Philippines on
June 12, 1898 and he became the first president.
• The administration of Aguinaldo proclaimed
December 30 as Rizal day.
The Hero of other Nationalities
• Jose Rizal was a travelled hero.
• He spent his time in the ship in
conversation with other nationalities.
• He wrote different novels and poems and
were published in Europe.
• On November 20, 1897, Dr. Rudolph
Virchow, president of the
Anthropological society of Berlin
sponsored the scientific neurological
services to honor Rizal
• Congressman Henry Allen Cooper, delivered
a Eulogy for Rizal.
• The result of his appeal was the approval of
the Cooper Law or the Philippine Bill of 1902.
• William Howard Taft approved the Act No.
137 which organized the politico-military
district of Morong into the province of Rizal.
• He was an American sponsored hero.
• In 1913, the American government ordered the
creation of his monument in Luneta.
The Hero for the Filipino Youth
• In July 1956, Jose P. Laurel,
Claro M. Recto, Jacobo
Gonzales, Lorenzo Tanada and
other lawmakers sponsored the
Republic Act 1425.
 The Invention of
a National Literature
The Rizal Law and its Significance to the Philippine
Society
Rizal’s Essay, El Consejo de los
Dioses
In 1880, Jose Rizal, won first prize in a literary contest
in Manila at the age of 19 when he was a student. It is
also the year the Propaganda Movement was born.

His winning piece, an allegorical essay entitled El

Consejo de los Dioses, narrates a council of the gods in
Mt. Olympus to determine who, among Homer, Virgil,
and Cervantes, is the better writer in terms of virtue and
art.
Cervantes Virgil Homer
The Emergence of the
Propaganda
The year 1880, Propaganda Movement
emerged, with “the events of 1872.” (The
Cavite Mutiny and execution of the Priests
Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez, and Jacinto
Zamora).

The movement waned in the face of The Propaganda Movement

repression but waxed again after 1880

when, under Marcelo del Pilar, La
Propaganda was launched.
The Emergence of the
Propaganda
The main news arm of the Propaganda
Movement in the Philippines during the late
19th century was the newspaper "La
Solidaridad." It was founded and published in
Barcelona, Spain, from 1889 to 1895. "La
Solidaridad" served as the official organ of the
Propaganda Movement and played a crucial
role in disseminating the ideas and grievances
of Filipino reformists to a wider audience, both
in the Philippines and abroad.
The Emergence of the
Propaganda
La Propaganda was still largely an
“assimilationist” movement in its call for
reforms, equal rights, and local autonomy.

The Philippine literature is not fixed and

immutable, but a site of incessant struggle,
innovation, and challenges to authority.

The Propaganda Movement

Rizal on Local Languages

Lacking the time to write the “national”

history, he made critical annotations of
Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas
Pilipinas (1890).

He recognized the importance of local

languages as a culture resource. He had
plans to study Bisayan, Subanon, and
Mangyan, publish a Tagalog grammar,
and produce a “universal” dictionary of
the Philippine Languages.
Antonio de Morga
Writer of Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
At the time when Noli and El Fili has been
“monumentalized”, it is one of history’s
fine serendipities that, in the end, Rizal left
us a novel that is unfinished – which is
what the national literature must always
be.

Noli Me Tangere and El

Filibusterismo
 Selection and Proclamation of
National Heroes
The Rizal Law and its Significance to the Philippine
Society
No law, executive order or proclamation has
been enacted or issues officially proclaiming
any Filipino historical figure as a national
hero.

Even Jose Rizal, considered as the greatest

among the Filipino heroes, was not
explicitly proclaimed as a national hero.
The position he now holds in Philippine
history is a tribute to the continued
veneration or acclamation of the people in
recognition of his contribution to the
significant social transformations that took
place in our country.
Rizal Monument, Luneta
National Hero status
Aside from Rizal, the
only other hero given
an implied recognition
as a national hero is
Andres Bonifacio
whose day of birth on
November 30 has been
made a national
holiday.

Rizal Day Bonifacio Day

December 30 November 30
 National Heroes Committee
On March 28, 1993 , President Fidel V.
Ramos issued Executive Order No.75
entitled “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.
 Criteria for the Selection of National Heroes

1. Heroes are those who have a concept

of nation and thereafter aspire and
struggle for the nation’s freedom.
2. Character should be clean.
3. Influence to his epoch and the
succeeding eras.
 Laws Honoring/Commemorating
Filipino Historical Figures
JOSE RIZAL
• Decree of December 20, 1898
issued by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declaring December 30 of
every year a day of National mourning in honor of Dr. Jose
Rizal and other victims of the Philippine Revolution.
• Act No. 137
Which organized the politico-military district of Morong
into the Province of Rizal, was the first official step taking
by the Taft Commission to honor our greatest hero and
martyr.
 Laws Honoring/Commemorating
Filipino Historical Figures
ANDRES BONIFACIO
• Act No. 2946
Enacted by the Philippine Legislature on February 16, 1921,
made November 30 of every year a legal holiday to
commemorate the birth of Andres Bonifacio.
• Act No. 2760
Issued on February 23, 1918, confirmed and ratified all steps
taken for the creation, maintenance, improvement of national
monuments and particularly for the erection of a monument to
the memory of Andres Bonifacio.
 Laws Honoring/Commemorating
Filipino Historical Figures

OTHER HEROES
• Act No. 3827

Enacted by the Philippine Legislature on

October 28, 1931, declared the last Sunday of
August of every year as National Heroes Day.
 Quiz 1
The Rizal Law and its Significance to the Philippine
Society
The law that mandates the inclusion and the
study of the life, works, and writings of Jose
Rizal in the curricula of all basic education,
and tertiary schools in the Philippines.
1.
____________________________
_
The two main writings of Rizal to be
included in the readings of course, Life and
Works of Rizal.
2.
____________________________
_
3.
____________________________
_
The two main proponent and supporter of
the bill that will eventually mandate the
study of the life, works, and writings of Jose
P. Rizal.
4.
____________________________
_
5.
____________________________
_
The title of the literary piece written by Jose
Rizal that won 1st Place during a literary
writing competition held in Manila, that
talks about who among Homer, Virgil, and
Cervantes was the best writer in terms of
virtue and art.
6.
____________________________
_
The title of the assumed final novel being
written by Jose Rizal, discovered by
historian Ambeth Ocampo in 1987 in the
Rizal Family documents.
7.
____________________________
_
The date, month, and year when the measure
that mandates the study of the life, works,
and writings of Rizal was signed by the
President of the Republic of the Philippines.

8.
____________________________
_
The president who signed the Rizal Bill into
a law.

9.
____________________________
_
Give one main opponent of the Rizal Bill in
the senate.

10.
____________________________
_
How many section does RA 1425 have
11.
What organization was founded
because of the Cavite Mutiny?
• 12.
What is the name of the original
province of Rizal
13.
How many is the criteria for heroes?
• 14
15. When do we celebrate Bonifacio
Day?
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