Rizal Law
 Republic Act 1425
o 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
o Aims:
1. Need for re-dedication to the ideals of freedom
and nationalism, which our national heroes lived
and died.
2. In honoring them we remember with special
fondness and devotion their lives and works that
have shaped the national character
3. Constant and inspiring source of patriotism with
which the minds of the youth, especially during their
formative and decisive years in school, should be
covered.
4. 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
o Enacted by: Senate and House of Representatives
of the Philippines in Congress
 SECTION 1.
Courses on the life, works and writings of Jose
Rizal, particularly his novels 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 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.
 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
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 6.
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
(Approved: June 12, 1956)
o Began as: Senate Bill 438 proposed by Jose P. Laurel
 Senate Bill 438
o Act to make Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
compulsory reading matter in all public and private
colleges and universities and for other purposes
o Aim:
1. To disseminate the ideas and ideals of the great
Filipino patriot (Jose Rizal) through the reading of
his works, particularly Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo
o Opponents:
A. Francisco Rodrigo
 Compulsion to read something against one’s
religious convictions was no different from the
requirement to salute the flag
 Invoked the need for unity which would be
endangered if the bill was approved
(contending that Catholics were no less lovers of
their country because they were devout children
of their church)
 “A vast majority of our people is at the same
time Catholics and Filipino citizens. As such,
they have 2 great loves: their country and their
faith. These two loves are not conflicting loves.
They are harmonious affections, like the love
for his father and for his mother.”
 “Let us not create a conflict between
nationalism and religion; between the
government and the church.”
B. Mariano J. Cuenco
C. Decoroso Rosales
o Support:
A. Claro M. Recto
 it is competent for the State to require the
reading of Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo in public and private schools
(under the police power and Art. XIV (5) of
the Constitution)
 the sole aim of the bill is to foster the better
appreciation of Rizal’s times and of the role he
played in combating Spanish tyranny in this
country
 denied that the novels had any religious
motivation (X religious motivations)
 “Rizal did not pretend to teach religion or theology
when he wrote those books. He aimed at instilling
civic consciousness in the Filipinos, national
dignity, personal pride, and patriotism”
 “If references were made by him in the course of his
narration to certain religious practices in the
Philippines in those days and to the conduct and
behavior of erring ministers of the church, it was
because he portrayed faithfully the general
situation in the Philippines as it then existed.”
  “Nobody can dispute that the situation described by
Rizal in those days, political, social and religious,
was the one actually obtaining in the Philippines.”
 “But while he criticized and ridiculed the unworthy
behavior of certain ministers of the church, he made
exceptions in favor of the worthy ones, like the
Dominican friar, Padre Fernandez, and the
virtuous native priest, Padre Florentino, and the
Jesuits in general.”
o Rizal Law:
1. Attempt to discredit the Catholic religion
2. 2 novels contained views opposed to the
doctrines of Catholicism
3. Compulsory nature of the bill violated religious
freedom
 Jose P. Laurel
o Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo must be read
by all Filipinos. They must be taken to heart, for in
their pages we see ourselves as in a mirror; our
defects as well as our strength, our virtues as well as
our vices
o “Only then would we become conscious as a people,
and so learn to prepare ourselves for painful sacrifices
that ultimately lead to self-reliance, self-respect and
freedom.”
o Proposed a substitute bill:
 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
Rizal Day December 30  June 19
 House Bill 5408
o Sponsors:
1. Jaime Lopez
2. Justin Marc Chipeco
3. National Historical Commission of the
Philippines
Why support this bill?
 “The present observance of Rizal Day on
December 30 has lesser effect since people,
especially students, are on their Christmas
vacation”
 “The observance of Rizal Day will have
more impact if it is celebrated on June 19
since Rizal’s birthday on June 19 falls close
to significant days in the formation of
Filipino nationhood such as the National
Flag Day on May 28 and Independence
Day on June 12”
o Aim:
 Seeking to move Rizal Day:
December 30 (Rizal’s death) June 19
(Rizal’s birth)
o Arguments:
 “Rizal devoted practically all of his 35 years of
existence on earth in putting a premium on
education and knowledge and not on violence
as a means of change.
 “It was Rizal’s life-long accomplishments
which inspired and pushed Filipinos to fight
and work for greatness as a race”
 “Rizal’s death alone did not trigger the 1896
Revolution that catapulted the country to
independence”
o Opposes:
1. Order of the Knights of Rizal
 civic and patriotic organization
 established on December 30, 1911
 “There are compelling reasons why we
should continue celebrating Rizal Day on
December 30"
 “Rizal's death is the greater event. His
death summed up his life, held the record
for what he had become, and defined its
meaning"
 “The fundamental objective is to choose an
event which locks the lives of the hero and
the nation in a tight embrace of context
and meaning”
 Moving Rizal Day to June 19 ignores the
deeper salience and substance of Rizal’s
death for the sake of convenience”
Rizal The Greatest Filipino Hero
 Why?
o Esteban de Ocampo:
 Hero:
 A prominent or central personage taking
an admirable part in a remarkable
action or event
 Rizal
 recognized as the towering figure in the
Reform Movement
 wrote the most powerful literature of the
Reform Movement (“Noli Me Tangere”
 evoked the most favorable and unfavorable
comments from friends and foes alike)
o Ferdinand Blumentritt
 “if Don Quixote has made its author (Miguel
de Cervantes) immortal because he exposed
to the world the sufferings of Spain, your Noli
Me Tangere will bring you equal glory”
o Henry Allen Cooper (US Congress)
 “I say to all those who denounce Filipinos
indiscriminately as barbarians and savages,
without possibility of a civilized future, this
despised race proved itself entitled to the
respect of mankind when it furnished to the
world the character of Jose Rizal”
 Hero: A person of distinguished valor or enterprise
in danger or fortitude in suffering
o Rizal
 Went to Spain to report to the Spanish
government abuses being committed in the
country
 Endured 4 years of lonely exile in Dapitan
o Rafael Palma
 “What is most admirable in Rizal is his
complete self-denial, his complete
abandonment of his personal interest in
order tot think only of those of his country”
 “He could have been whatever he wished to
be, considering his natural endowments; he
could have earned considerable sums of money
from his profession; he could have lived
relatively rich, happy, prosperous had he not
dedicated himself to public matters
o Fernando Ma. Guerrero
“you have not died, no,
glory is your destiny;
your crown ---
the fires of dawn
and your inviolable altar ---
our conscience!”
o Cecilio Apostol
 “Sleep in peace
in the shadows of nothingness
redeemer of an enslaved country
don’t weep in the mystery of the womb
the momentary triumph of the Spaniard
for if the bullet destroyed your skull
your idea also destroyed an empire”
o Leon Maria Guerrero
 The First Filipino
 Rizal - THE FIRST FILIPINO:
1. First to teach his countrymen that they could be
something else --- Filipinos who were members
of a Filipino nation
2. First to seek to unite the whole archipelago and
envisioned a compact and homogeneous society
of all old tribal communities based on common
interests and mutual protection
3. First in the hearts of Filipinos in the generation
that gave birth to Filipino nationalism
4. Bravely faced a firing squad on December 30,
1896

 Hero: A man honored after death by public

worship because of exceptional service to mankind

o Emilio Aguinaldo
 “Illustrious spirits of Rizal, Lopez Jaena,
Marcelo del Pilar! August shades of Burgos,
Pelaez and Panganiban! War-like geniuses of
Aguinaldo and Tirona, Natividad and
Evangelista! Arise a moment from your
unknown graves! (Opening of Malolos
Congress September 15, 1898)
 Ordered the hoisting of Filipino flag at half-
mast from 12:00 noon on December 29 to
12:00 noon on December 30, 1898