LESSON 1 Life, Works and Writings of Dr. Jose P. Rizal Brief history of R.A.

1425

“It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the  Birth of the Noli (1884)
field without becoming a part of any edifice.” –Jose Rizal  Purpose: “I have tried to do what no man has been willing to do..I have
described the state of society…I have unmasked the hypocrisy, which under the
What moral right has the white man to look down on the men who have similar cloak of religion, came among us to impoverish…I have unveiled what lay
thoughts, studies and abilities as they just because their skin is brown or their nose is hidden behind the deceptive and brilliant words of our government: I have told
flat?” Jose Rizal to our compatriots of our culpable and shameful complacence with miseries…
RIZAL LAW – R.A.1425 Author: Claro M. Recto, the facts which I have related are all true and real; I can give proof of them..”
Sponsored the Bill in the Senate: Jose P. Laurel Signed into law on: June 12, 1956 --- Jose Rizal

Initial reaction to the Noli

What is RA 1425?
 The Dominican Archbishop, Pedro Payo, ordered a review of the novel.
 known as Rizal Law  Result: it is HERETICAL, IMPIOUS, AND SCANDALOUS IN THE
 an act to include in thecurricula of all Public and Private Schools, Colleges and RELIGIOUS ORDER, AND ANTIPATRIOTIC, SUBVERSIVE OF THE
Universities courses on the life,works and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly PUBLIC ORDER, OFFENSIVE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SPAIN.
his novels; Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
 composed of 6 sections. ATTACKS ON THE NOLI

Objectives of the Law:  Fr. Salvador Font – distributed pamphlets in which he enunciated the attacks
that Rizal allegedly had made on the different aspects of the Spanish colonial
 to enrich the minds of the youth about the history of the Philippines setup.
 to appreciate Rizal's ideals and teachings in relation to the present conditions of  Governor Valeriano Weyler (Butcher of Cuba)- mere possession of the book
our country and apply in current social problems/issues (NOLI) will be prosecuted.
 to foster the development of the Filipino youth  Friar Jose Rodriguez – issued a series of pamphlets that discussed the dangers
Highlights of the R.A. 1425: in reading such impious books as the Noli. And he put forward some
threatening questions such as “Why should I read them?”“Beware of Them? ”
1. The study of Rizal’s life, works and writings to bring about nationalism among And “ What do you think of plaque?” “Änd confenssion or damnation?”
students;
2. The inclusion of works of Rizal in college curriculum particularly the study of DEFENSES OF THE NOLI
his novels-Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo;  Marcelo H. del Pilar – circulated his own pamphlets, written in Tagalog, the
3. The inclusion also of other works of Rizal such as letters, paintings, and travels; cover was similar to that of the pamphlets of Fr. Rodriguez but its content was
4. Funding of the law in order to give supplemental copies of the novels among exact opposite.
public libraries; and5. The implementation of the law.  Fr. Vicente Garcia – argued that Rizal’s novel must be viewed as a literary
ANALYSIS ON RIZAL LAW work, not as a doctrine. He considered the book as neither heretical nor
blasphemous.
 The adoption of the study of Jose Rizal’s life, works and writings in colleges  Jose Rizal – for all its faults has served my purpose…it has struck the head of
and universities both public and private is mandated by law; that two-faced Goliath that in the Philippines is called friar rule and mal-
 The study of Rizal ’s works particularly his two important novels and other administration …my book has not yet been judged and cannot be judged
works as well as its translations in Filipino and English should be implemented (rightly) because its effects are still being felt. When men it pillories have
by the government; disappeared from the country’s political life, when a generation arises which
 In fostering nationalism among youth, Rizal course can give a wide range of does not itself participate in these present crimes…..
thoughts on how Rizal and other heroes fought for freedom for the sake of the
country ’s necessity to survive against evil imperialism.
  “The Noli and Fili are books of the past, by the past. While they have their
place in the Philippine history, they certainly are inadequate Bible of Philippine
nationalism today.”
THE EL FILIBUSTERISMO  “Rizal is dead. Why should he be roused from his sleep? Let him rest in peace.”

 It was published in the late 1891 in Europe and circulated in the Philippines. The Proponents’ side
And like the Noli, this book also received attack; consequently, the author  Revolutionary Veterans known as the ‘Spirit of 1896’
himself also received the same fate.  Alagad ni Rizal
 The governor-general commented on the Fili that it was dedicated to the three  Freemasons
priests(GOMBURZA), this made Rizal to be sentences with deportation.  Book Lovers Society
RIZAL’S DEFENSE ON THE FILI Proponents' argument
 “with the sincerity and impartiality of which a man is capable of looking into  They argued that the “ opponents of the Bill were in effect condemning Rizal’s
his past … what there was, was a clear-sighted look at the realities in my native patriotic writings to oblivion, by preventing the Filipino youth from reading
country,…but now I see what I call a “novel”come true so exactly that I can say them. This was worse than what the friars had done; it was tantamount to
that I am at present the enactment of this work and taking part in it.” Here Rizal executing Rizal a second time.”
was not only an actor but also a victim.  One veteran claimed that he had risked death just to be able to read the novels
The Rizal Bill of 1956 of Rizal at the time when the Philippines was not yet free. •“ My loyalty to
religion ends where my loyalty to my country begins.”
 Senator Claro M. Recto authored the Senate Bill No. 438 in which he claimed  The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools…would
that, “ a constant and inspiring source of patriotism with which the minds of the blot out from our minds the memory of the national hero…now that Rizal is
youth. Especially during their formative and decisive years in school, should be dead and they can no longer attempt at his life, they are attempting to wipe out
suffused.” his memory.” (Claro M. Recto)
 Catholic schools threatened to close shop if the Rizal Bill was passed. Recto
Senate bill no.438-debate
calmly told them to go ahead because then, the state could nationalized them.
 The debate between the proponents and the opponents of the Bill rose to a high Some church bigwigs even threatened to ‘ punish ’ erring legislators in future
level of emotionalism and ardent patriotism. Verbal jousts (combat), hecklers elections, but Recto simply undaunted. Here was one man willing to risk losing
(those who harass) in the gallery, rising blood pressure, fistfights between two votes because of his principles; this is what I admire so much in Recto. (A.
hotheaded representatives. Ocampo)

The opponents' side End of the debate

 Catholic Action of the Philippines;  Senator Jose Laurel modified the Bill to accommodate the objection of the
 Congregation of the Missions; church…
 Knights of Columbus;  Compulsory for all public and private schools, colleges, and universities to
 Catholic Teachers Guild include in their curricula courses on the LIFE, WORKS, and WRITINGS OF
JOSE RIZAL, particularly the Noli and Fili, in their original and unexpurgated
Opponents' argument versions. However, it allowed exemptions from reading such versions for
reasons of religious belief.
 They argued that the Bill violated religious freedom. Their question was: “Why
compel students to read these books when some passages in them are harmful LESSON 2 A tribute to our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal
to their faith?”
 Fr. Jesus Cavana, after reviewing the novels, found out that a 332-page edition  Childhood
of the Noli contains 120 pages of antiCatholic statements and only contains 25  Education
pages of patriotic pages.  Exile
 Death and Martyrdom
 during his conversation with the teacher. Jose challenged Pedro to a fight. Jose,
having learned the art of wrestling from his athletic Tio Manuel, defeated the
bigger boy.
Rizal’s Childhood  After the class, a classmate named Andres Salandanan challenged him to an
arm-wrestling match. Jose, having the weaker arm, lost and nearly cracked his
 In Calamba, Laguna 19 June 1861, Jose Rizal, the seventh child of Francisco head on the sidewalk. Near the school was the house of an old painter, called
Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonso y Quintos, was born in Calamba, Laguna. Juancho. Jose spent hours at the painter’s studio. Juancho freely gave him
22 June 1861. He was baptized JOSE RIZAL MERCADO at the Catholic of lessons in drawing and painting. Jose and his classmate, Jose Guevarra, who
Calamba by the parish priest Rev. Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casañas as also loved painting, became apprentices of the old painter
the sponsor.
 In academic studies, Jose beat all Binan boys. He surpassed them all in
 The parochial church of Calamba and the canonical books, including the book Spanish, Latin, and other subjects. They were all jealous of his intellectual
in which Rizal’s baptismal records were entered, were burned. (September 28, superiority. Before the Christmas season in 1870, Jose received a letter from his
1862) sister Saturnina, informing him of the arrival of the steamer Talim which would
take him from Binan to Calamba. He left Binan on Saturday afternoon,
December 17, 1870.
 Barely three years old, on 1864, Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother,
who served as his first teacher. His father hired a classmate by the name of  The Gomburza’s martyrdom was deeply mourned by the Rizal family
Leon Monroy who, for five months until his (Monroy) death, taught Rizal the especially Paciano and many other patriotic families in the Philippines.
rudiments of Latin (Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora), despite the archbishop’s plea for clemency
 because of their innocence, were executed at sunrise, February 17, 1872, by the
 On 1865, his sister Conception, the eight child in the Rizal family, died at the order of Governor General Izquierdo.
age of three. It was on this occasion that Rizal remembered having shed real
tears for the first time. Ateneo Municipal

 In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an
 At about this time two of his mother’s cousin frequented Calamba. Uncle average of "excellent" from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year,
Manuel Alberto, seeing Rizal frail in body, concerned himself with the physical he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while
development of his young nephew and taught the latter love for the Open air at the same time took courses leading to the degree of surveyor and expert
and developed in him a great admiration for the Beauty of nature, while Uncle assessor at the Ateneo
Gregorio, a scholar, instilled into the mind of the boy love for education.
 In the same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of
Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading to the degree of
 He advised Rizal: "Work hard and perform every task very carefully; learn to surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo.
be swift as well as thorough; be independent in thinking and make visual
pictures of everything.  He finished the latter course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s
examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not granted
 In 1869 at the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first poem Entitled “Sa Aking Mga license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881.
Kabata.“ The poem was written in Tagalog and had for its theme “Love of
One’s Language."

First School  In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. Because of
the unfriendly attitude of his professors towards Filipino students, Rizal failed
 One Sunday afternoon in June, 1869, Jose and his brother Paciano left Calamba to win high scholastic honors.
for Binan. The next morning (Monday) Paciano brought Jose to the school of
Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz. In the afternoon of his first day in school,
Jose met the bully, Pedro. He was angry at this bully for making fun of him
 A house for Rizal’s students to learn

Rizal’s Decision to Study Abroad The sciences, vocational courses including agriculture, surveying, sculpturing, and
painting, as well as the art of self defense; he did some researches and collected
 On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the specimens; he entered into correspondence with renowned men of letters and sciences
Central Universidad de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was abroad; and with the help of his pupils, he constructed water dam and a relief map of
conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age Mindanao - both considered remarkable engineering feats.
of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of
"excellent." When the Philippine Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in
pressing him down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt
Central Unibersidad de Madrid. - Where Rizal continued his studies abroad. and these were never allowed to be confronted by him.
The Secret Mission Martyrdom….
 In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his country and at the  On November 3, Rizal came back to the Philippines via Colon steamship, And
same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest apostle of Filipino the Preliminary Investigation for Rizal started. Evidences were presented both
nationalism, published, while in Europe, several works with highly nationalistic testimonial and documentary. With his defender, Don Luis Taviel de Andrade,
and revolutionary tendencies Rizal was given the right to create his own defense council.
 Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22
languages. These include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German,  In his prison cell (Fort Santiago), he wrote an untitled poem, now known as
Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, "Ultimo Adios" which is considered a masterpiece and a living document
Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. expressing not only the hero’s great love of country but also that of all
 In March 1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel Filipinos.
exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in
Berlin;
 In 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS  After a mock trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming
FILIPINAS with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization illegal association. On December 28, 1896, Gov. Polavieja approved the
worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards set foot on Philippine decision of the court martial and ordered at Bagumbayan field (now Luneta)
soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his second novel and a
sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was  In the cold morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life
printed in Ghent. had been packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has
 As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him, were shadowed; capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat him as a slave, was shot at
the authorities were not only finding faults but even fabricating charges to pin Bagumbayan Field
him down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6, 1892 to July
15, 1892 on a charge that anti -friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his
sister Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong.  “I die just when I see the dawn break, Through the gloom of night, to herald the
The Exile…. day; And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take, Pour’d out at need for thy
dear sake, To dye with its crimson the waking ray.” --Rizal(3rd stanza of
Rizal was exiled in Dapitan. During this time, Rizal won a Lottery. He used his winning Rizal’s farewell poem) Mi Ultimo Adios
to purchase a land which made him he engaged in agriculture, fishing and business; he
maintained and operated a hospital; he conducted classes- taught his pupils the English  Attributes to Rizal.. A versatile genius, he was an architect, artists,
and Spanish languages, the arts. businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist, ethnologist, scientific farmer,
historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist,
Houses built for Rizal in Dapitan which served as his Home,
naturalist, novelist, opthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist,
This house was intended to be a house where Rizal would stay with his sisters during scientist, sculptor, sociologist, and theologian.
their regular visit.