REPUBLIC ACT NO.

1425

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

WHEREAS, today, more than any other period of our history, there is a need for a re-dedication to the ideals of freedom
and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died;

WHEREAS, it is meet that in honoring them, particularly the national hero and patriot, Jose Rizal, we remember with
special fondness and devotion their lives and works that have shaped the national character;

WHEREAS, the life, works and writing of Jose Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, are a
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;

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; Now,
therefore,

SECTION 1. Courses on the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly his novel Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, shall be included in the curricula of all schools, colleges and universities, public or private: Provided, That
in the collegiate courses, the original or unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their
English translation shall be used as basic texts.

The Board of National Education is hereby authorized and directed to adopt forthwith measures to implement and carry
out the provisions of this Section, including the writing and printing of appropriate primers, readers and textbooks. The
Board shall, within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate rules and regulations, including those of a
disciplinary nature, to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act. The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations
providing for the exemption of students for reasons of religious belief stated in a sworn written statement, from the
requirement of the provision contained in the second part of the first paragraph of this section; but not from taking the
course provided for in the first part of said paragraph. Said rules and regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days after their
publication in the Official Gazette.

SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all schools, colleges and universities to keep in their libraries an adequate number of
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. The said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their translations in
English as well as other writings of Rizal shall be included in the list of approved books for required reading in all public or
private schools, colleges and universities.

The Board of National Education shall determine the adequacy of the number of books, depending upon the enrollment of
the school, college or university.

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 Philippine 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 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amendment or repealing section nine hundred twenty-seven of the
Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion of religious doctrines by public school teachers and other person engaged
in any public school.

SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any fund not
otherwise appropriated in the National Treasury to carry out the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 12, 1956

Senator Claro M. Recto was the main proponent of the Rizal Bill. He sought to sponsor the bill at Congress. However, this
was met with stiff opposition from the Catholic Church. During the 1955 Senate election, the church charged Recto with
being a communist and an anti-Catholic. After Recto's election, the Church continued to oppose the bill mandating the
reading of Rizal's novels Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo, claiming it would violate freedom of
conscience and religion.[1]

In the campaign to oppose the Rizal bill, 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.
Radio commentator Jesus Paredes also said that Catholics had the right to refuse to read them as it would "endanger
their salvation".[1]

Groups such as Catholic Action of the Philippines, the Congregation of the Mission, the Knights of Columbus, and the
Catholic Teachers Guild organized opposition to the bill; they were countered by Veteranos de la Revolucion (Spirit of
1896), Alagad in Rizal, the Freemasons, and the Knights of Rizal. The Senate Committee on Education sponsored a bill
co-written by both José P. Laurel and Recto, with the only opposition coming from Francisco Soc Rodrigo, Mariano Jesús
Cuenco, and Decoroso Rosales.[2][3]

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. [4] 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. [5]

Rizal, according to Cuenco, "attack[ed] dogmas, beliefs and practices of the Church. The assertion that Rizal limited
himself to castigating undeserving priests and refrained from criticizing, ridiculing or putting in doubt dogmas of the
Catholic Church, is absolutely gratuitous and misleading." Cuenco touched on Rizal's denial of the existence of purgatory,
as it was not found in the Bible, and that Moses and Jesus Christ did not mention its existence; Cuenco concluded that a
"majority of the Members of this Chamber, if not all [including] our good friend, the gentleman from Sulu" believed in
purgatory.[3] The senator from Sulu, Domocao Alonto, attacked Filipinos who proclaimed Rizal as "their national hero but
seemed to despise what he had written", saying that the Indonesians used Rizal's books as their Bible on their
independence movement; Pedro López, who hails from Cebu, Cuenco's province, in his support for the bill, reasoned out
that it was in their province the independence movement started, when Lapu-Lapu fought Ferdinand Magellan.[4]

Outside the Senate, 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.[1] 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; Recto, who had supported the required reading of the
unexpurgated version, declared: "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", adding that since
Rizal is dead, they are attempting to suppress his memory. [6]

On May 12, 1956, a compromise inserted by Committee on Education chairman Laurel that accommodated the objections
of the Catholic Church was approved unanimously. The bill specified that only college (university) students would have
the option of reading unexpurgated versions of clerically-contested reading material, such as Noli Me Tángere and El
Filibusterismo.[1][4][6] The bill was enacted on June 12, 1956,[4] Flag Day.
Senate bill 438 known as Rizal Bill which was first authored by Senator Claro M. Recto - requiring the inclusion in the
curricula of all private and public schools, colleges and universities the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal particularly
his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - is considered as one of the most controversial bills in the Philippines.
Normally, before the bill was approved and implemented in all schools and was signed into a law known as Republic Act
1425, it had been brought to the Upper and Lower House of the Congress for deliberations. But what made it controversial
is that the bill was not just fiercely opposed by people from Legislative Arm but also by the Catholic Church due to the
inclusion of compulsory reading of Rizal's novels in which according to them, catholic dogmas are humiliated.
Senator Recto brought the bill to the Senate and Senator Jose B. Laurel Sr. who was then the Chairman of the Committee
on Education sponsored the bill that consequently led to exchange of arguments from the Congress. The bill was
headedly opposed by three senators namely Senator Francisco Rodrigo who was a former Catholic Action President,
Senator Mariano Cuenco and Senator Decoroso Rosales who was the brother of Julio Rosales, an archbishop. Other
oppositors were from Lower House namely Congressmen Ramon Durano, Marciano Lim, Jose Nuguid, Manuel
Soza, Godofredo Ramos, Miguel Cuenco, Lucas Paredes, Congressmen Carmen Consing and Tecia San Andres
Ziga. The Catholic Church was indirectly included in the debates and played a major role for the intervention of signing of
the bill into a law. Allied with the church in battle against Rizal Bill were the Holy Name Society of the
Philippines, Catholic Action of the Philippines, Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus and Daughters of Isabela.
Oppositions argued that the bill would go against freedom of conscience and religion, The Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) submitted a pastoral letter to which according, Rizal violated Canon Law 1399 which forbids or
bans books that attack or ridicule the catholic doctrine and practices. Oppositors argued that among the 333 pages of Noli
Me Tangere, only 25 passages are nationalistic while 120 passages are anti-catholic. While upon scrutiny of thetwo
novels by some members of catholic hierarchial, 170 passages in Noli Me Tangere and 50 in El Filibusterismo are against
catholic fatih. Furthermore, oppositors pointed out that Rizal admitted that he did not only attack the friars who acted
deceptively on the Filipinos but also the catholic faith itself. They suggested a reading material for students as to what
they called Rizalian Anthology, a collection of Rizal's literary works that contain the patriotic philosophy excluding the two
novels.
Of course, Recto and Laurel defended the bill and argued that the only objective of the bill is to keep the memory of the
national hero alive in every Filipino's mind, to emanate Rizal as he peacefully fought for freedom, and not to go against
religion. Senators Lorenso Tanada, Quintin Paredes and Domocao Alonto of Mindanao also defended Rizal Bill which
was also favored by Representatives from the House namely Congressmen Jacobo Gonzales, Emilio Cortez, Mario
Bengson, Joaquin Roxas, Lancap Lagumbay and Pedro Lopez. Other supporters of the bill were Mayor Arsenio
Lacson call anti-rizal bill "bigoted and intolerant" and walked out of a mass when the priest read a pastoral letter from the
Archbishop denouncing the Rizal Bill aqnd General Emilio Aguinaldo with groups like the Knights of Rizal, Women Writers
of the Verrnacular, Philippine Veterans Legion, Colleger Editors' Guild and Philippine School Teachers' Association.
Excitement and intense scnenes were eventually arisen in settling the Rizal Bill. One of which was the debate
of Cebu Representative Ramon Durano and Pampanga Representative Emilio Cortes that ended with a fistfight in
Congress. Bacolod City Bishop Manuel Yap threatened to campaign against pro-rizal bill legislators nad to punish them in
future elections. Catholic Schools Representatives threatened to close down their schools if the Rizal Bill was passed.
Recto told them that if they did, the State could nationalize the catholic schools. When there was a proposal to use the
expurgated novels as textbooks and put the original copies under lock and key in the school libraries, Recto rejected this
amendment and expressed:
"The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools...would bot out from our minds the memory of the
national hero...this is not a fight against Recto but a fight against Rizal...now that Rizal is dead and they can no longer
attempt at his life, they are attempting to blot out his memory."
Due to apparently never-ending debate on the Rizal Bill, approved amendments were formulated through ideas of three
senators. Senator Laurel' created an amendment to the original bill in which, other that Noli Me Tangere and El
Filibusterismo, works written by Rizal and works wriiten by others about Rizal would be included and reading of the
unexpurgated revision of the two novels would no longer be compulsory to elementary and secondary levels but would be
strictly observed to college level. Senator Lim suggested the exemption to those students who feel that reading Rizal's
novels would negatively affect his or her faith. Senator Primicias created an additional amendment that promulgates the
rules and regulations in getting an exemption only from reading the two novels through written statement or affidavit and
not from taking the Rizal Course. According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, no student has ever availed of this exemption.
After the revised amendments, the bill was finally passed on May 17, 1956 and was signed into law as Republic Act
1425 by President Ramon Magsaysay on June 12 of the same year.
It is of great importance that students understand the rationale behind having to take up a Rizal
course in college.  For high school students, the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo are
injected into the Filipino subject as part of the overall curriculum.  In tertiary education, however, Rizal
is a subject required of any course, in any college or university in the Philippines. 

Usually, during the first day of the course, the professor asks the well-overused questions:

Why study Rizal?

What is the importance of studying Rizal?
Why is Rizal one of the minor subjects taken up in college?
Why is Rizal included in the course outline?
What relevance does Rizal have in college education?

The answer to such questions can be summed up in two points:

1. First and foremost, because it is mandated by law.

2. Secondly, because of the lessons contained within the course itself.

Let us discuss those reasons one by one:

WHY STUDY RIZAL:  BECAUSE IT IS MANDATED BY LAW
The teaching of Jose Rizal’s life, works, and writings is mandated by Republic Act 1425, otherwise
known as the Rizal Law.  Senator Jose P. Laurel, the person who sponsored the said law, said that
since Rizal was the founder of Philippine nationalism and has contributed much to the current
standing of this nation, it is only right that the youth as well as all the people in the country know
about and learn to imbibe the great ideals for which he died.  The Rizal Law, enacted in 1956, seeks
to accomplish the following goals:
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.

WHY STUDY RIZAL:  BECAUSE OF THE LESSONS CONTAINED WITHIN THE COURSE
Aside from those mentioned above, there are other reasons for teaching the Rizal course in
Philippine schools:
1. To recognize the importance of Rizal’s ideals and teachings in relation to present conditions
and situations in the society.
2. To encourage the application of such ideals in current social and personal problems and
issues.
3. To develop an appreciation and deeper understanding of all that Rizal fought and died for. 
4. To foster the development of the Filipino youth in all aspects of citizenship.