Republic Act 1425: The Rizal Law

➢ The Making of Rizal Law

➢ Notable Persons Who Tried To Block Its Approval
➢ Intentions/Reasons of Persons Who Blocked the Approval of Rizal Bill
➢ Notable Persons Who Fought For Its Approval
➢ Intentions/Reasons of Persons Who Pushed for the Approval of Rizal Bill
➢ Salient Points of Rizal Law
➢ Teaching of Rizal Course in College
➢ Important Issuances Relative to the Implementation of Rizal Law
➢ Rizal: A Legislated and Mandated Course
The Making of Rizal Law

• In 1956, Senator Jose P. Laurel filed Senate Bill 448 or the Rizal Bill. Its passage was rough
due to several persons who tried to block its approval.
Notable Persons Who Tried To Block Its Approval

• Sen. Decoroso Rosales – brother of Archbishop (Cardinal) Rosales

• Francisco “Soc” Rodrigo – President of Catholic Action of the Philippines
• Sen. Mariano Cuenco – brother of Archbishop Cuenco
• Jesus Paredes – radio commentator
• Fr. Jesus Cavana – member of the Paulist Order who wrote a pastoral letter
• The Friars

Intentions/Reasons of Persons Who Blocked the Approval of Rizal Bill

• The Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are very damaging to the clerics.
• The novels were written when Dr. Jose Rizal, estranged from Catholic faith and religion
and contradict many of the Christian beliefs.
• To compel Catholic students to read a book which contains passages contradicting
their faith constitutes a violation of a Philippine constitutional provision (Art. 3, Sec. 1, Par.
7).
• The novels do contain teachings contrary to Catholic faith and so, the Church is
opposed to the proposed compulsory reading in their entirety of such books in any
school in the Philippines where Catholic students may be affected.
Notable Persons Who Fought For Its Approval

Sen. Jose P. Laurel Claro M. Recto

and other Illustrious Nationalists

Intentions/Reasons of Persons Who Pushed for the Approval of Rizal Bill

• There is a need for a rededication to the ideals of freedom and nationalism for which
our heroes lived and died.
• There is a need to remember with special fondness and devotion the lives and works of
our heroes who shaped the national character.
• The life, works and writings of Dr. Jose Rizal particularly, his novels Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo are 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.
• There is a need to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience and
to teach the duties of citizenship.

❖ Congress passed the Rizal Bill (Senate Bill 448) and was signed into Rizal Law (Republic
Act 1425) by President Ramon Magsaysay on June 12, 1956.

Salient Points of Rizal Law

• Courses on the life, works and writings of Dr. Jose Rizal, particularly the novels Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, shall be included in the curricula of all schools, colleges
and universities, public and private.
• It obliged all schools, colleges and universities to keep in their libraries adequate
number of copies of the original or unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo as well as Rizal's other works and biography.
• It authorized and directed the Board of National Education to work for the translation of
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo as well as other writings of Dr. Jose Rizal into English,
Tagalog and other principal dialects and their printing in cheap or popular editions and
their circulation.
Teaching of Rizal Course in College
• Rizal as a course has been taught in College generally as a supplementary course
by teachers of different specializations.
• In most cases, the focus of the course is on Rizal's biography and trivial matters,
compounded by the varying interpretations of the spirit and the letter of Rizal law
through the years.

Important Issuances Relative to the Implementation of Rizal Law

• Approval of R.A. 1425 on June 12, 1956.

• Presidential Memorandum Order 247 dated Dec. 26, 1994.
• President Ramos directed the DECS and CHED to immediately and fully implement R.A.
1425.

• CHED Memorandum Order 6 dated February 15, 1996

• CHED ordered all colleges and universities to offer Rizal course as a separate
three-unit course fully and immediately.

Rizal: A Legislated and Mandated Course

• Legislated – it is founded on Republic Act 1425 (Rizal Law)

• Mandated – it is ordered by Presidential Memorandum Order 247 and CHED
Memorandum Order 6.

✓ TLC – Tender Loving Care

✓ Jose Rizal: 22 Languages, 8 men fired him at the back
“KABAYAN On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force
but his heart” - Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Rizal an American – Sponsored Hero

❖ Rizal’s becoming the national hero was the result of American sponsorship.
➢ In 1901, William Howard Taft proposed Rizal as our National hero because:
✓ Rizal was already dead by the time the Americans colonized the Philippines
✓ He did not make any negative remarks or embarrassing anti-American
quotations
✓ Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal was a symbol of Spanish oppression.
✓ He urged reform from within by publicity, by public education, and appeal to
the public conscience

▪ Rizal has no declaration, acclamation & proclamation as a national hero but there was
a republic Act. 1425 and approved by Ramon Magsaysay and implemented by our
former presidents.
▪ 1500; portugese, cebu, weapon: Christianity
▪ 1600;
▪ 1700; concurred
▪ 1800;
▪ 1900; white’s came (American)
▪ Dec. 30, 1896 – Rizal Died
▪ June 12, 1898 - Independence Day
▪ Blinded by religion, because of noli and el fili removed the blindness, everybody join
the katipunan
▪ Rizal saw the cruelty of Filipinos
▪ Gov. William; riding the carabao; 27th president of America (March 4, 1909 – 1913)

Veneration Without Understanding by Renato Constatino

➢ A hero was born.
➢ He was regarded as one of those who fought for freedom, not through the literally
revolutionary way, but through his works and writings.
➢ He fought the bloodless way, for he believed that the pen is mightier than the sword."
-Quite familiar? It's because this is actually the usual introduction we hear whenever
we speak of Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Y Alonso Realonda... the doctor, the
writer, the economist, the philosopher, our national hero.
➢ "Veneration Without Understanding" - factors which we fail to converse over the
years.
➢ Also a discussion of the concept of Filipino nationhood, the metamorphosis of the
term "Filipino", and how Rizal viewed the terms, "independence" and "liberty" as
words whose meanings are apart from each other
➢ We are all regarding Dr. Jose Rizal as one of our role models.
➢ We look up to him and "praise" him for that slight contribution he did for us to gain
colonial independence.
➢ It was so surprising, however, that there are, still, a lot of things that we do not know
about him and what really happened during his existence.
➢ We are blinded by our adoration of how great Rizal was... of how martyr he was... of
how he died for our country through unjust execution by the Spaniards.
➢ Renato Constantino, as i can assess, is not an anti-Rizal. Rather, he is just trying to
inculcate how important is the necessity of looking into a much deeper sense, the
attributes of a real and true hero... the factors that should be considered so as to call
someone, a hero.
➢ Is it because he died for our country? Or is it because he had enough courage to
fight a losing battle, despite the fact that all he wanted to do was to surrender?
➢ The role and contribution of Rizal, according to Constantino, must be evaluated in
the context of his particular realty within the general realty of this time.
➢ True enough, he was a necessary moment in our history. But like all things, he was just
a moment.
➢ And though his heroism amounted to being recognized for all time, we cannot say
that his ideas should be the yardstick of our aspirations... that despite the fact that
he is a Filipino we can be proud of, we should not consider him as the whole basis or
determinant of our national goals.
➢ Each day passes by, society evolves into a higher level of organization thereby
needing and creating higher forms of heroism.
➢ Every nation is always discovering or rediscovering heroes in the past or in the
present.
➢ Therefore, we must always be ready to admit at one point that a hero’s applicability
ceases to be of current value.
➢ A true appreciation of Rizal would require us to study social criticisms against him
and take steps to correct, if not, eradicate the evils he decried.
➢ Accordingly, we should start now.
➢ Start examining Rizal’s limitations and profit from his weaknesses just as we have
learned from the strength of his character and virtues.
➢ Nobody’s perfect. A hero’s weaknesses, is society’s weaknesses.
➢ Rizal’s weaknesses were his society’s weaknesses.
➢ Every little thing he did was a product of the society which nurtured and formed him
as a whole individual.
➢ “We must discard the belief that we are incapable of producing the heroes of our
epoch, that heroes are exceptional beings, accidents of history who stand above
the masses and apart from them.
➢ He true hero is one with the masses: he does not exist above them.
➢ In fact, a whole people can be heroes given the proper motivation and articulation
of dreams.”
➢ “Let us be heroes of our time. This need not be further elaborated. For in its true sense,
it can be easily understood” – Renato Constantino
JOSE RIZAL’S ROOTS
❖ PATERNAL LINEAGE
➢ Francisco Mercado aka Don Kiko (1818 – 1898); Father of Jose Rizal
➢ Youngest of 13 offspring of Juan and Cirila Mercado
➢ Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818
➢ Studied in San Jose College, Manila
➢ Died 1898 in Manila
➢ Jose Rizal’s paternal ancestor
 Domingo Lam-co, Chinese immigrant entrepreneur, sailed to the Philippines from
Jinjiang, Guanzhou in the mid-17th century
 Baptized in Parian Church of San Gabriel, Sunday in June of 1697
 Lam-co’s age was given in the record as 35 yrs. old
 His parents name were given as Siang-co and Zun-nio
 Following the custom of the other converts on the same occasion, Lam-co took
the name Domingo, the Spanish for Sunday, in honor of the day.
 The record of this baptism was destroyed during the Second World War in the
records of the Parian church of San Gabriel. It used to be preserved with the
Binondo records in Manila.
 In 1741, when after years of apparently happy existence in Biñan, came a great
grief in the loss of their baby daughter, Josepha Didnio
 They had at the time but one other child, a boy of ten, Francisco Mercado (Rizal’s
great-great grandfather).
 His new surname suggests that the family possessed the commendable trait of
taking pride in its ancestry.

❖ MATERNAL LINEAGE
➢ Teodora Alonso aka Doña Lolay (1827-1913) Mother of Jose Rizal
➢ 2nd child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos
➢ Born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827
➢ Died 1913 in Manila
➢ Studied at Colegio de Santa Rosa
➢ She was a business-minded, religious, hard-working and well-read.
➢ Her ancestry is unfortunately not so easily traced as is that of her husband, and what
is known is of less simplicity and perhaps of more interest since the mother’s influence
is greater than the father’s, and she was the mother of José Rizal.
 ➢ Parents of Doña Lolay
 Her father, Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo (born 1790, died 1854), is said to have been
“very Chinese” in appearance.
 He became acquainted with Brigida de Quintos, Doña Teodora’s mother,
while he was a student in Manila, and that she, being unusually well educated
for a girl of those days, helped him with his mathematics.
 All their children were born in Manila, but lived in Calamba, and they used the
name Alonzo till that general change of names in 1850 when, with their mother,
they adopted the name Realonda.
➢ Teodora’s Great-Grandfather
 Teodora's great-grandfather was Eugenio Ursua, a descendant of Japanese
settlers, who married a Filipina named Benigna.
 They gave birth to Regina Ursua who married a Tagalog-Chinese mestizo from
Pangasinán named Manuel de Quintos, Teodora's grandfather.
 Their daughter Brígida de Quintos married a Spanish mestizo named Lorenzo
Alberto Alonso, the father of Teodora.

RIZAL’S BIRTH

➢ Born on June 19, 1861 bet. 11 – 12 o’clock in the evening

➢ 7th Child
➢ His birth, according to Rizal, was of great difficulty to Doña Lolay that it endangered
her life.
➢ He was pale and sickly child with an undersized body and unusually large head.
➢ Jose was christened in the nearby church when three days old, and as two out-of-
town bands happened to be in Calamba for a local festival, music was a feature of
the event.
➢ His godfather was Father Pedro Casañas, a Filipino priest of a Calamba family, and
the priest who christened him was also a Filipino, Father Rufino Collantes (St. Joun the
Baptist Parish Church). Rizal’s baptismal name was José Rizal Mercado.
➢ Rufino Collantes, noticing Rizal’s unusual head size told Doña Lolay to not let Jose fall
down or his head against anything.
➢ “Take good care of this child. Some day he was be a great man.” – Collantes
RIZAL’S SIBLINGS

1st SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)

➢ Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan,
Batangas
2nd PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)

➢ Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila;
became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
➢ Famous Sibling
3rd NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)

➢ The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician
4th OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)

➢ The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
5th LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)

➢ The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.

6th MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)

➢ The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna

7th JOSE PROTACIO ALONSO Y REALONDA MERCADO RIZAL (1861 – 1896)

8th CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)

➢ The eighth child. Died at the age of three and Rizal’s first tragedy as she was his favorite
sister.

9th JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)

➢ The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.

10th TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)

➢ The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.

11th SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)

➢ The youngest child. Married Pantaleon Quintero.
RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD DAYS IN CALAMBA
➢ Jose Rizal, just like Filipino boys, had many beautiful memories of childhood.
➢ His was a happy home, filled with parental affection, impregnated with family joys, and
sanctified by prayers.
➢ In the midst of such peaceful, refined, God-loving family, he spent the early years of his
childhood.

Calamba, “Cradle of a Genius”

➢ Rizal loved Calamba with all his heart and soul.
➢ In 1876, when he was 15 years old and was a student in Ateneo, he rememebered his
beloved town.
➢ Accordingly, he wrote a poem Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)
Earliest Childhood Memories

➢ The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden.
➢ Because he was frail, sickly, and undersized child, he was given the most tender care
by his parents.
➢ His father built a nipa cottage in the garden for him to play in the daytime.
➢ Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer.
 6 pm: Original Angelus
 6:30 pm: Rosary
 7:00 Story Telling
➢ By nightfall, Rizal related, his mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the
Angelus.
➢ With nostalgic feeling, he also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after
the rosary.
➢ The aya realted stories to Rizal children many stories about fairies; tales of buried treasure
and trees with blooming diamonds, and other fabulous stories
➢ Sometimes, when he did not like to take his supper, the aya would treaten him that the
aswang, the nuno, the tigbalang, or a terrible bearded Bombay would come to take
him away if he would not eat his supper
 Rizal’s first weakness was afraid of ghost stories
➢ Another memory of his infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when
there was a moon.
 They go out & stroll in the town during full moon & bored.
➢ Recounting this childhood experience, Rizal wrote: “Thus my heart fed on sombre and
melancholy thoughts so that even still a child, I already wandered on wings of fantasy
in the high regions of the unknown.”
➢ The Rizal children were bound together by the ties of love and companionship.
➢ Their parents taught them to love one another, to behave properly in front of elders, to
be truthful and religious, and to help one another.
➢ They affectionately called their father Tatay, and mother Nanay.
➢ Jose was jokingly called Ute by his brother and sisters. The people in Calamba knew him
as Pepe or Pepito.
RIZAL’S 1ST SORROW
➢ Of his sisters, Jose loved most little Concha.
➢ He was one year older than Concha.
➢ He played with her, and from her, he learned the sweetness of brotherly love.
➢ Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when she was 3 years old.
➢ Jose, who was very fond of her, cried bitterly upon loosing his sister.

DEVOTED SON OF CHURCH / JOINED SAKRISTAN

➢ Young Rizal was a religious boy. A scion of a Catholic clan, born and bred in a
wholesome atmosphere of Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn spirit. Rizal grew up
a good Catholic.
➢ At the age of 3, he began to take part in the family prayers. When he was five years old,
he was able to read haltingly the family bible.
➢ He loved to go to church to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join the religious
processions. It is said that he was so seriously devout that he was laughingly called
Manong Jose by the Hermanos and Hermanas Terceras.
➢ One of the men he esteemed and respected in Calamba during his boyhood was the
scholarly Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest.

PILGRIMAGE OF ANTIPOLO (SHRINE OF THE VIRGIN OF ANTIPOLO)

➢ On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left for Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo,
in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Rizal was born.
➢ It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his pilgrimage to Antipolo. He was
thrilled, as a typical boy should, by his first lake voyage. He did not sleep the whole night
as the casco sailed towards the Pasig River because he was awed by the magnificence
of the watery expanse and the silence of the night.
➢ After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to Manila.

FIRST EDUCATION FROM MOTHER

➢ Jose’s first teacher was his mother.
➢ At the age of 3, Jose learned the alphabet and prayers from her.
➢ Seeing Rizal had a talent for poetry, she encouraged him to write poems. She gave her
all her love and all that she learned in college.
THE STORY OF THE MOTH

➢ Of the story told by Dona Teodora to Jose, it was that of the young moth made the
profoundest impression on him.
➢ The tragic fate of the young moth, which died a martyr to its illusions, left a deep impress
on Rizal’s mind.
RIZAL’S THREE UNCLES
1. Uncle Gregorio
➢ Lover of books.
➢ He instilled into the mind of his nephew a great love for books.
➢ He taught him to work hard, to think for himself, and to observe life keenly.
2. Uncle Jose
➢ Who had been educated at Calcutta, India, was the youngest brother of Dona
Teodora.
➢ He encouraged his nephew to paint, sketch, and sculpture.
3. Uncle Manuel
➢ Was a big, strong, and husky man.
➢ He looked after the physical training of his sickly and weak nephew.
➢ He encourage Rizal to learn swimming, fencing, wrestling, and other sports, so
that in later years Rizal’s frail Body acquired agility, endurance, and strength.

ARTISTICS TALENTS

➢ Since early childhood Rizal revealed his god-given talents for the arts.
➢ He drew sketches and pictures on his books of his sisters, for which reason he was
scolded by his mother.
➢ He carved figures of animals and persons out of wood. Even before he learned to read,
he could already sketch pictures of birds, flowers, fruits, rivers, mountains, animals and
persons.
➢ Jose had a soul of a genuine artist.

▪ Rizal is an introvert child

▪ He loved to ride on a spirited pony (which his father bought for him) or take long walks
in the meadows for him.
▪ He take long walks in the meadows and lakeshore with his big black dog named Usman.
▪ In his room, he kept many statuettes which he made out of clay and wax.
▪ At one time, his sisters teased him: “Ute, what are you doing with so many statuettes?”
He replied: “Don’t you know that people will erect monument and statues in my honor
for the future?”
▪ Not only was little Jose skilled in brush, chisel, and pen-knife, but also in pen.
▪ He was born a poet.
▪ His mother encouraged him to write poetry.
▪ At an early age when children usually begin to learn ABC, he was already writing poems.
▪ The first known poem that he wrote was a Tagalog poem entitled: Sa Aking Mga
Kababata (To My Fellow Children)
▪ Before he was eight years old, he wrote a Tagalog drama. This drama was stages in
Calamba in connection with the town fiesta.
▪ 2nd weakness: short tempered
LAKESHORE REVERIES
➢ During the twilight hours of summertime, Rizal, accompanied by his dog, used to
meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay on the sad conditions of his oppressed people.
➢ Young that he was, he grieved deeply over the unhappy situation of his beloved
fatherland.
➢ The Spanish misdeeds awakened in his boyish heart a great determination to fight
tyranny.
➢ In the lives of all men there are influences which cause some to be great and others not.
In the case of Rizal, he had all favorable influences, which no other child in our country
enjoyed

RIZAL’S EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA

➢ Rizal’s parents employed private tutors to give him lessons at home.
➢ The first tutor was Maestro Lucas Padua.
➢ Later, an old man named Leon Monroy, a former classmate of Rizal’s father became his
tutor.
 This teacher lived at the Rizal’s home and instructed Rizal in Spanish and Latin.
 Unfortunately, he did not live long. he died five months later

RIZAL’S EARLY EDUCATION IN BINAN

➢ After Monroy’s death, Rizal’s parents decided to send their gifted son to a private school
in Binan.
➢ Paciano enrolled Rizal to the school of Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz
➢ Rizal met the bully, Pedro. Rizal, who was angry at this bully for making fun of him during
his conversation with the teacher, challenge Pedro to a fight. Rizal having learned the
art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the bigger boy.
➢ After class, a classmate named Andres Salandanan challenged him to an arm-wrestling
match. Rizal having the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his head on sidewalk

RIZAL – BEST STUDENT IN SCHOOL

➢ In academic studies, Rizal beat all Binan boys. He surpassed them all in Spanish, Latin,
and other subjects.
➢ They were all jealous of his intellectual superiority that they wickedly squealed to the
teacher whenever Rizal had a fight outside the school, and even told lies to discredit
him before the teacher’s eyes. Consequently the teacher had to punish Rizal.
➢ He received many whippings and strokes from the ferrule. Rare was the day when he
was not stretched on the bench for a whipping or punished with five or six blows on the
open palm.
RIZAL IN ATENEO (1872 – 1877)
➢ Formerly, Ateneo Municipal de Manila, is a private University in Quezon City, Philippines.
➢ Founded in 1859 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the Ateneo is the third oldest university
in the Philippines.
➢ In June 1872, 12-year-old Rizal enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in Intramuros.
 He was late in enrollment
 He was not accepted because he look sakitin
 San Juan de Letran (2nd option)
➢ Rizal launched himself into studies that sharpened not only his capacity for critical
thinking and discernment, but also his love for God and country
➢ Five years later, on March 23, 1877 at the age of 16 years old he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts degree with the rating sobrasaliente (Outstanding).
➢ Rizal almost did not make it to the Ateneo because he was late for registration and
looked too frail for the rigors of Jesuit education. (Rizal originally thought of going to San
Juan de Letran)

1st YEAR IN ATENEO 1872

➢ His 1st professor was Fr. Jose Bech
➢ He was an externo(start), thus he was assigned in Carthaginian, occupying the end of
the line
➢ At the end of the month, he became the emperor(end) and he received a religious
prize – the 1st prize he ever won in Ateneo
➢ To improve his Spanish he took private lesson in Sta. Isabel College during noon recess
for 3 pesos
➢ At the end of the year he placed second but still marked excellent

2ND YEAR IN ATENEO

➢ He studied very hard thus he became emperor once more.
➢ At the end of the year he received excellent grades and a gold medal.
➢ During one of his summer vacation, when he visited his mother, the latter told him of her
dream and Rizal interpreted the dream that she would be released from prison in 3
months and his prophecy came true.
 His mother lumuwas ng manila to see her sister (binaliktad and story ni Dona Lolay
that she poisoned her sister.
➢ He loves reading and his 1st favorite novel was The Count Of Monte Cristo which is about
the sufferings of Edmond Dantes in prison, his escape and the finding of buried treasure
and dramatic revenge on his enemies.
3RD YEAR IN ATENEO
➢ It was in this year when his mother visited him after she was released from prison
➢ He did not study hard thus he won only one medal – in Latin but his grades were all
excellent
4TH YEAR IN ATENEO

➢ He became an interno and he was inspired by Fr. Francisco de Paula

➢ Sanchez whom Rizal considered as his best professor in Ateneo
➢ He topped all his classmates in all subjects and won 5 medals

LAST YEAR IN ATENEO

➢ He obtained the highest grades in all subjects
➢ At the age of 16, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts with highest honors
➢ Rizal was not mere bookworm, he was an active member of Marian Congregation, a
member of the Academy of Spanish Literature and the Academy of natural Science
➢ He also wrote poems
➢ He was engaged in fencing and gymnastics
RIZAL’S ATENEO MENTORS

❖ Francisco de Paula Sanchez

➢ Teacher in Mathematics, Rhetoric & Greek
➢ Cares immensely for his students.
➢ Accompanied Rizal during the he’s Dapitan exile.
❖ Don Agustin Saez
➢ Ateneo professor
➢ A painter
➢ Helped Rizal in Drawing
❖ Romualdo De Jesus
➢ Taught Rizal in Sculpture

▪ He carved an image of the Virgin Mary with his pocket knife and was even asked by Fr.
Lleonart to carve Sacred Heart.
▪ Some of the significant poems written by Rizal were:
 Mi Primera Inspiracuion / My First Inspiration: it was dedicated for her mother on her
birthday
 Through Education Our Motherland Receives Light - which depicts the significant role
that education plays in the progress and welfare of our nations
 The Intimate Alliance Between Religion and good Education - that showed the
importance of religion in education. To him education without God is not true education
1st ROMANCE OF RIZAL
➢ Rizal at the age of 16 experienced his first romance
➢ The girl was Segunda Katigbak
➢ He met her at his grandmother’s house
➢ At the that very moment he was asked by visitors to sketch her and Rizal recalled
that “from time to time, she looked at me and I blushed”
➢ Segunda Katigbak was studying at La Concordia College where his sister Olimpia
was a boarding student
➢ Thus, he came to know her better there but although it was a love at first sight, it
was hopeless because Segunda was already engaged to be married to her town
mate Manuel Luz

▪ Troso, Tutuban Manila

▪ Mariano Ktigbak
 Friend of Rizal
 Brother of Segunda

RIZAL IN UST (1877 – 1882)

➢ The pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas
➢ The Catholic University of the Philippines
➢ Founded on April 28,1611 by Archbishop Miguel de Benavides
➢ Don Francisco decided his son should go to the University of Santo Tomas, a prestigious
institution run by the Dominican order.
➢ Doña Teodora opposed to the idea of higher education

In the end, he decided to sign up for Philosophy and Letters during his freshman year because
of the following reasons:

➢ It was what his father would have wanted for him.

➢ He was still uncertain as to what career to pursue (he asked the advised of Fr. Pablo
Ramon (Rector of Ateneo) but it was late.
➢ And upon learning that he was advised to take up medicine, he took up medicine,
simultaneously in the preparatory medical course and the regular 1st year medical
course
1ST YEAR IN UST
➢ he also studied vocational course leading to the title of Expert Surveyor
➢ At the age of 17, he obtained gold medals in agriculture and topography and passed
the final examination in surveying course but was not granted the title because he was
below age, he was granted the title only in the year 1881, he was 20 to 21 years old.
➢ As part of the course, he had to complete units in the following subjects:
 Cosmology and Metaphysics
 Theodicy
 History of Philosophy
➢ After completing his first year, Rizal decided to take up medicine as his university course.
This change of heart was due to two factors:
 Father Ramon Pablo, rector of the Ateneo, had advised him to pursue the course.
 Rizal’s mother had failing eyesight and he thought he owed it to her to become a
doctor and cure her condition.
 Rizal's performance at UST was not as excellent as his time at the Ateneo.

▪ When he failed to greet a Guardia Civil because it was very dark, he was brutally
slashed by the latter.

RIZAL: CHAMPION OF FILIPINO STUDENTS

➢ Filipinos were often insulted by the Spaniards calling them “Indio, chongo” and they
retaliated calling the Spaniards “Kastila Bangus”
➢ This often leads to school brawls which involves Rizal
➢ He founded the secret society of UST students called “Companerismo”

▪ Unfortunately, Rizal was not happy at UST and this reflected on his grades (Zaide & Zaide,
1999).
▪ There were three main factors that contributed to his unhappiness at the university,
namely:
 The Dominican professors were hostile to him.
 Filipino students suffered discrimination
 The method of instruction at UST was obsolete and repressive
 Science subjects do not have laboratory experiments
 And laboratory apparatuses were kept for show cases but not to be touched by
students
(That’s why Rizal's performance at UST was not as excellent as his time in Ateneo.)

▪ Likewise, there were three main reasons for his struggling academic performance
(Guerrero, 1998):
  Rizal was not satisfied with the system of education at the university.
 There were plenty of things to distract a young man in the peak of his youth.
 Medicine was not Rizal's true vocation.
 He later found out that his real calling was in the arts, not in medicine.

RIZAL’S ROMANCES W/ OTHER GIRLS

➢ After losing Segunda Katigbak, he paid court to a young woman of Calamba describing
her as fair with seductive and attractive eyes.
➢ But after several times of wooing her, he stopped and the romance died a natural death.
➢ He gave two reasons of his change of heart:
 The sweet memory of Segunda was still fresh
 His father did not like the family of Ms. “L
➢ Then came Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan, Laguna.
 Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink, that could only be deciphered
over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on the eve of his departure
to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.
➢ His cousin Leonor Rivera from Calamba
 She was the pretty daughter, a student at La Concordia College
 She had a beautiful romance with Rizal
 They became engaged
 She usually signed her name as Taimis

▪ Rizal received his four-year practical training in medicine at the Hospital de San Juan
de Dios in Intramuros.
▪ During his last year at the University, Rizal had obtained the global grades of Notable
(Very Good) in all his subjects.
▪ He was second-best student in a decimated class of seven who passed the medicine
course.
▪ After finishing 4th year, Rizal decided to study in Spain.
▪ His older brother Paciano, approved his plan and so did his sisters Saturnina and Lucia
▪ He left the country in the name of Jose Mercado
▪ His parents and beloved Leonor did not know he left but they were given letter right he
left.
RIZAL’S SECRET MISSION
➢ In Rizal’s Letter to His Father, he wrote:

But as God has not made anything useless in this world, as all beings fulfill obligations or a role
in the sublime drama of Creation, I cannot exempt myself from this duty and small though it
be, I too have a mission to fulfill, as for example: alleviating the suffering of my fellow men. I
realize that all his mean sacrifices and terrible ones. I imagine the pain which I must give you,
but I feel something that obliges and impels me to leave. I shall strive with fate, and I shall win
or lose…. God’s will be done.