Isabella Panelo
3rd Year Bs Biology
Having been read the editorial column in Pilipino Star Ngayon, I reflected and asked myself,
‘tuwing December 30 lang ba natin naalala si Rizal?’ This reflection took me back to the first time I
learned about Rizal in High School. Until now, I still consider him as my inspiration to write and to
become a doctor and simply, my idol.
There were battling forces in my mind that overwhelms and challenges me to remember Rizal
Day in our contemporary period. Before, we had La Solidaridad publication where Rizal first wrote about
Spanish colonization in the Philippines. Now, we have Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin and even
tabloids. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to find an article about Rizal in tabloid papers. I was not used in
reading these materials so I thought tabloid papers only expose shockingly disturbing news in the metro
and false accusations against infamous local celebrities. But rediscovering it again, I realized that these
materials are actually sensible, pro-masses, straightforward and can be easily understood because they
are written in Filipino.
In the article, it does not only describe Rizal’s life and works but the bombings that had occurred
during the past ten years as the nation celebrates Rizal Day which is, for me, quite ironic. December 30
should be the day that we remember how Filipinos fought and stood up for their country. And I think
the Rizal Day bombings had badly stained everything that Rizal had fought for. Ten years have passed
and until now, justice has not been given to the families who lost their loved ones because of the
bombing. As cliché as it may sound, ‘History repeats itself’ and Filipinos haven’t really learned from it.
Have we really forgotten the essence of Rizal Day?
Today, we no longer have heroes who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the nation. We
cannot have superheroes that can interfere bombs. But the bottom-line is: we have talents that make
each and everyone of us create a big change in our country. Rizal used his talent in writing to address
the exploitation of Spain and the inequality of people. In our contemporary period, we have Ninoy
Aquino who used his speech power to fight dictatorship of Marcos. We also have Efren Penaflorida,
Manny Pacquiao, Lea Salonga, OFWs and many other Filipinos out there whose talents are yet to be
recognized someday.
I can truly say that Rizal may no longer be alive today but his spirit of heroism, his writings, his
life and works are simply very much alive in minds of the Filipinos who take into their hearts the lessons
from the past and organize the future. Rizal is very much alive in the hearts of the masses as long as we
have tabloid papers that address truth and justice in the nation.
