GAB CASTRO, JOSE ANGELO CEREZO, ELIJAH LA CHICA HISTO 11-A

Research on the Rizalistas. Explain their beliefs. Answer the following questions: (1) How do they see
Rizal and his contributions? (2) How reflective are their ideas to those of Rizal’s, and (3) What could
lead to these kinds of faith system: what do you think can we learn from these?

According to Tiburcio (2018), Jose Rizal is placed at the center of a religion where he is no
less than a God. His acclaimed greatness and power transcends even his status as a national hero
and is being praised by his followers called as the “Rizalistas.” Sitio Ronggot’s Sagrada Familia, a
Rizalist church located at the foot of Mt. Makiling, believes in a holy trinity much like Christianity.
However, they consider their “Diyos Ama” being Señor Ignacio Coronado, also known as Apo Asyong,
whose name appears in the teachings of many Rizalista sects; their “Diyos Ina” known as Inang
Adarna; and their “Diyos Anak” who, like Jesus, became human. It is in their belief that their “Diyos
Anak” came down in the form of Rizal. They also call him the “Amang Doktor.” The different Rizalista
churches are connected by their devotion and faith in Rizal as a deity. Even though they are
scattered across the country, they give their devotion to Rizal as one with varying doctrines and
traditions. The Rizalistas also offer a simple life lesson that they learned from Rizal himself: That
nationalism is not about knowing the history books or all things politics. Nationalism is also about
conscientiously carrying on the values and living the humble life of a Filipino, amid challenges.1 They
have indeed put the lessons and works of Rizal into their hearts and minds.

The beliefs and practices of the Rizalistas do not exactly mirror with Jose Rizal’s ideas as seen
in two examples. First, Jose Rizal believed in the power of the pen and education which is why he
wrote books that reflected the tragedies and issues of the Philippines in his era to be able to open
the eyes of the Filipinos. He wanted to show them the status quo of the country through his novels
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. It was through these novels that Rizal relayed the
importance of values, like nationalism, resilience, and empathy, that are to be exemplified by
Filipinos during his time and the next generations. He also showed the significance of studying one’s
past to be able to understand our own present situations, as well as ourselves, and help the future
generations through his annotations of the Morga’s Sucesos De Las Islas Filipinas. Unlike the
Rizalistas, Jose Rizal himself, a historically minded person, showed the relevance of how one should
study their country and ancestor’s history and being involved in the country’s politics and issues

1
Naomi Tiburcio, “Where Jose Rizal is Worshipped as a God,” Esquire, accessed 9 December 2018,
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/where-jose-rizal-is-worshipped-as-a-god-a2190-20180614-
lfrm2?fbclid=IwAR3924Pl9I5-_0OQZplnH2DOL6em68O87jEexLYC7fM_seBj4uN6e8AUsn8.
though both parties believed how Filipinos should demonstrate such values that will mold us into
better citizens of our country. Second, Jose Rizal did not see himself as a god nor as a superhuman
unlike how the Rizalistas treated him as a deity. To be a god or a superhuman, one must be perfect
in all aspects of life and oneself. As the class took a deeper look into his life, he did not show
glimpses of being a god as he did normal human things, even resorting to worldly actions. It can’t be
denied that Rizal was a ladies’ man and that most of his life consisted of having relations with
numerous women. Another instance is seen in his strong bias against the Spaniards where he is
quick to get mad and write statements that show his disdain towards all of them. Just like most
humans, Rizal showed his fear of dying or being killed as he initially did not want to go back to the
Philippines.

Aside from a Philippine history-grounded cause, there are certain insights to explain why
Rizal is viewed to be such a prominent, Christ-like figure. If one is to compare the similarities
between Rizal and Jesus, they are both morally upright and exemplary figures. They, too, originated
from countries where foreign forces ruled the citizens’ way of life. Furthermore, although both are
victims of mockery, criticism, judgment, they advocated for solidarity (Jesus: values), equality (Rizal:
liberation from Spain; acknowledgement of independence or autonomy), and peace in the presence
of stratification (in terms of social status, race, belief). They were great visionaries and fought (and
attended to immoral matters) through means of peace—they hated concepts of prejudice,
immorality, and cruelty. They ultimately died for noble causes and their teachings have enduring and
lasting impact to many people—these advocates of the Rizalista religion may see the above
mentioned as reasons why, seeing how Rizal has a more concrete history which they could choose to
believe in more.

With an awareness of the diversification in religion, differences should be grounded on

respect. Each religion (or subculture in a larger scale) live by varied parameters and styles. These
differences are not to be blamed as to why beliefs of people are divided into different insights where
the “defect” of this problem is the lack of capability to acknowledge, accept, and celebrate these
differences. Despite the excess and what’s lacking, people live with the truth that they won’t find
any equivalent or the SAME person. It’s better to understand the truth that the cultures and ideals
of everyone are always different for we live and act in one world. Although the seven billion people
living in this planet cannot be bounded or brought together by the same (genetic plot), they do
breathe the same air that sustains and give life to each one of them.