CHAPTER 1: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COURSE
RA 1425: The Rizal Law
• The Rizal course is mandated by law.
• Republic Act 1425 – 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
• June 12, 1956
• In the collegiate courses, the original and unexpurgated (uncensored) editions of the Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo shall be used as basic texts.
Claro M. Recto – Rizal Bill’s principal author Jose P. Laurel – co-author
• The bill became very controversial, and Recto was met with stiff opposition from the Catholic Church.
• Recto: "The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools would blot out from our
minds the memory of the national hero. This is not a fight against Recto but a fight against Rizal."
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• the church charged Recto with being a communist and an anti-Catholic.
• the Catholic Church urged its adherents to write to their congressmen and senators showing their
opposition to the bill; later, it organized symposiums.
• In one of these symposiums, Fr. Jesus Cavanna argued that the novels belonged to the past and that
teaching them would misrepresent current conditions.
• The Archbishop of Manila, Rufino Santos, protested in a pastoral letter that Catholic students would
be affected if compulsory reading of the unexpurgated version were pushed through.
• Arsenio Lacson, Manila's mayor, who supported the bill, walked out of Mass when the priest read a
circular from the archbishop denouncing the bill.
• the Catholic schools threatened to close down if the bill was passed; Recto countered that if that
happened, the schools would be nationalized. Recto did not believe the threat, stating that the schools
were too profitable to be closed.
• The schools gave up the threat but threatened to "punish" legislators in favor of the law in future
elections. A compromise was suggested, to use the expurgated version;
AIMS OF THE LAW
1. To rededicate the lives of youth to the ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which our heroes lived
and died;
2. To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life and works in shaping the Filipino character;
3. To gain an inspiring source of patriotism through the study of Rizal’s life, works, and writings.
NATIONS NEED HEROES
• Each of us needs a hero.
• WHY do we need one?
• A person who has the courage to put the welfare of others above his/her own even at the risk and at
the cost of his/her own life.
WHY DO WE NEED HEROES?
• Nobody is perfect and self-sufficient. We cannot fulfill all our needs. Someone has to do them for us in
some situations.
• Every country/nation has its heroes.
• People who placed the welfare of their countrymen above their own.
• People who have inspired their countrymen to fight for their freedom and self-identity or have actually
involved in the struggle.
Voltaire of France
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine of United States of America against British Imperialism
Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam
Mahatma Gandhi of India
Nelson Mandela of South Africa
Che Guevarra of Puerto Rico
HEROES ARE HUMAN BEINGS
• Heroes are not gods or saints.
• Heroes are ordinary human beings who faced challenges with an extraordinary response.
• Their response had a decisive effect on the lives of their countrymen.
CRITERIA FOR A NATIONAL HERO
• Who declares if anyone is a national hero?
• How is one declared a national hero?
• Heroes are not declared by way of legislation or canonization
• Heroes are part of the people’s expression.
On what basis?
1. Popular recognition and acclaim.
Through the person’s achievements and examples, the people consider the person as an admirable
exemplar worthy of emulation.
2. A long process of people’s internalization.
3. Popular acclaim is not enough. No one becomes a national hero overnight. One may be recognized for
his acts of heroism but that does not exactly make him an instant hero. That acclaim must withstand
and pass the test of time. The hero is still being admired after the passage of time of at least 50 years
and his ideas and ideals are still invoked and appreciated by the people.
The appreciation of the person’s life and achievements goes beyond his lifetime and transcends the
succeeding generations.
DEFINITION OF A NATIONAL HERO
• Dr. Onofre Corpuz, Filipino historian: “Heroes are those who have a concept of a nation and
thereafter aspire and struggle for the nation’s freedom.”
• A national hero must have a sense of nationalism/patriotism.
• NATIONALISM: A state-of-mind and a habit of identifying oneself with a nation and a recognition of
one’s duty of pride, loyalty, and protection and advancement of its interest and welfare.
• A national hero must have a concept of a nation/national identity
• NATION: A group of people united by common history, culture, and desire for independence and
self-determination
• To have a sense of nationalism, one must have first a concept of a nation.
WHAT ELEVATES ONE TO NATIONAL HEROISM?
All of us human beings have the basic/fundamental duty to
work for our own interest. Our self-interest is inalienable.
We all exist basically for ourselves. We are willing to sacrifice
anything of ourselves and even of others for our own welfare
and interest. But it should not end there.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A NATIONAL HERO:
• The extent of the person’s sacrifices for the welfare of the country.
• Motive and methods employed in the attainment of the ideal.
• The moral character of the person.
• Influence of the hero to his age and succeeding ages.
Essay La Indolencia de los Filipinos:
“The lack of national sentiment brings another evil, moreover, which is the absence of all opposition to
measures prejudicial to the people and the absence of initiative in whatever may redound to its good.”
Essay La Indolencia de los Filipinos:
“A man in the Philippines is only an individual, he is not a member of a nation. He is forbidden and
denied the right of association, and is, therefore, weak and sluggish.”
Rizal’s Letter to Blumentritt:
“I have always loved my poor country, and I am sure that I shall love her until death. I shall die blessing
her and desiring the dawn of her redemption
Who is Rizal?
Austin Coates: Rizal was responsible for awakening Asia to the concept of nationalism.
Leon Ma. Guerrero: the first Filipino
Austin Craig: a Philippine patriot
Rafael Palma: the pride of the Malay race