Rizal

https://econ.upd.edu.ph/pre/index.php/pre/article/view/175

The Life, Works, and Writings of Jose Rizal is a three-unit course included in the curricula of all
universities and colleges in the Philippines. The subject deals with the socio-cultural, political, and
economic conditions of the Philippines in the 19thcentury and how these factors led to the
development of Filipino national consciousness with the able leadership of Dr. Jose Rizal. But sad to
say, in the personal experience of the researcher, not a few students question the relevance of the
Rizal course in the present times and in the conduct of their personal lives. Keeping in mind the
primary role of educational institutions in developing the character of their students, the principal
authors of the law called on all schools to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic
conscience, and duties of citizenship-all of which are present in the life, works, and writings of
the national hero.With the course on the Life, Works, and Writings of Jose Rizal still part of
the new General Education curriculum in the tertiary level to be effectivein School Year 2019-2020,
Social Science teachers should explore designing instructional materialsin teaching the
unequalledachievementsof the national hero.

There is yet another sense in which literature and law come together in the Rizal Bill, and this concerns
the way in which the Bill constructs a story about its own provenance, and links its provenance to an
account of the newly independent Filipino nation. The key evocation performed by the Bill is that of
conjuring up a modem Filipino nation, with its attendant “national character,” that is “shaped” by
literary works. In the first paragraph of the text, the Bill provides the rationale for its existence by
invoking a "need for re-dedication to the ideals of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived
and died."5 Rizal and his novels are vital to the project of nationalist re-dedication because, as "constant
and inspiring" sources of patriotism, they are the means by which the ideals of freedom and nationalism
can be (re)grasped. Moreover, by stating in the second paragraph that the fives and works of the
heroes, "particularly" Rizal, "have shaped the national character," the Bill suggests that the heroes,
especially Rizal and his novels, originally represented, if not embodied, the ideals. These ideals
constitute the "content" of their lives and works. By reading Rizal and his novel as accurate
representations of the ideals and as exemplary, inspiring stories, the reader presumably grasps these
ideals and dedicates herself to their actualization. The Bill therefore makes the act of reading literature
an act of decoding the originaiy source of the ideals of freedom and nationalism. The act of reading
becomes an act of (re)discovering the origins of the nation in the ideals represented and embodied by
the fife and works of the nation's heroes.

Moreover, the Bill assumes the universality of the nation form, and, more importantly, the idea that
specific “cultures” are embodied and particularized as “nations.” The national character is conceived as
being “shaped” in the past by earlier generations of “Filipinos” yet also capable of being remade by
present and future generations of “Filipinos.” The distinctiveness of this national character, a
Filipinoness conceived as culture, becomes at once an object of theoretical reflection and a practical
problem. The question that the Rizal Bill raises is ultimately a question of and about culture: What is
Filipino culture? And how do we go about preserving/reshaping “it”? Literature comes to occupy a
mediating position between the "universal" ideals of freedom and nationalism, on the one hand, and
their actualization within a specifically "Philippine" context, on the other hand. Literature assumes a
mediating function precisely because Rizal’s novels serve as artifactual, concrete examples of a “Filipino
culture” that is conceived as the sum total of all the products of a society’s creative labor and
aspirations. At the same time, these “works” are the means by which such a “culture” can be acquired,
preserved, and reshaped by other (later) Filipinos. By making reading the subject of regulation, the state
arrogates upon itself the role of mediator, the main conduit in the transmission of ideals from their
abstracted sources in the nation (the history of the heroes who "lived and died" for the ideals) to the
putative, concrete recipients (the "minds of the youth"). In essence, it claims to stand, like literature.
between the universal ideals and their particular embodiments, and provides the institutional relay
between them.

imputes an origin to the Rizal Bill, an origin that it locates in the writing of nationalism. In other words,
the Rizal Bill establishes the origins of nationalism in literature at the same moment that it claims to
regulate literature in the name of the nation

The Rizal Bill was conceived out of the state regulation of education and its declared task of
developing "moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience and... teaching] the duties of
citizenship." But ironically, the idea of making Rizal and his ideas compulsory reading was being put
into effect in a "national" space that was already quite literally filled with sipns of Rizal and other
objectified “products” of national culture (aye)

By singling out Rizal's two novels, the Noli and its sequel El filibusterismo. as "a constant and inspiring
source of patriotism with which the minds of the youth, especially during their formative years, should
be suffused,"4 the Rizal Bill attests to the existence of a disciplinary space, an ensemble of discourses
and practices that constitute the so-called field of education; by making the novels the focus of attention
and regulation, the Rizal Bill locates literature "within" the purview of the law. But more than that, by
commenting on the novels, the Rizal Bill lays down a set of instructions on how to read the Noli and the
Fih (as these books are popularly abbreviated). Rizal's novels are described as "a constant and inspiring
source of patriotism" which must be read in their "original or unexpurgated editions...or their English
translation." The Bill thus empowers the National Board of Education to "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.

The seminal novels of the Philippines, José Rizal's Noli me tangere (1887) and El filibusterismo (1891),
are written in Spanish, a language that began evaporating in the archipelago when the United States
defeated Spain in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and imposed English as a lingua franca (aye)

Not seeing that the power of taxation of the state is the true expression of national patrimony in
economic matters, the framers of the 1935 Constitution introduced provisions on the use and
disposition of land and natural resources vesting exclusive rights of exploitation to citizens. This also
meant restricting foreign investments in public utilities. The provisions were not revised but even
elaborated in subsequent revisions of the constitution. These provisions set a train of restrictive
economic policies that helped to compound the mistakes of early industrialization policies. By tying the
hands of future generations of Filipinos to deal with specific economic issues in their own time, the
constitutional provisions provided barriers against solving economic problems with realism as called for
by changing times and exigency. Judged as the most likely to succeed in the early years after
independence among many East Asian economies, the Philippines became the economic laggard among
a group of highly performing economies during the second half of the last century. The brand of
economic nationalism that was fostered was exploitative and heavily protectionist in character. It built
an economic and political framework that discouraged competition, enhanced monopolies and
inefficiencies by nationals, inhibited the growth of international trade, and hence postponed by a large
margin of time the growth of economic specialization based on comparative advantage. A new kind of
nationalism based on principles of competition and comparative advantage is needed. This will be
helped greatly by the removal of stringent constitutional provisions that affect foreign investments. An
enlarged regional free trade within ASEAN and accession to the World Trade Organization are factors
that will help to sustain this new ethos, which will strengthen economic and national aspirations.

A controversial hero ought to promote the development of strong factions within the national life, but
x^henever a hero has been definitely uncontroversial, it would be anticipated that factions within the
country would be fewer and less vociferous. Ruth Ailene Roland A p p r o v e d J Rej/earch Advisor
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without
permission. PREV

The objectives being to reawaken the Filipino’s nationalism, to open the eyes of the filipino from
colonial mentality and to make the students proud of the history. Those made re-examine myself and
reflect upon my own sense of nationalism. he Rizal Law is more than just a law. It preserves and
teaches the youth to be proud of their motherland. The law shows the mighty deeds of the colonized
filipinos. It is not to be taken lightly or to be made fun of because through this law the future
generations will have the same sense of nationalism that we do. (aye)

Rizal had been very vocal against the Spanish government, but in a peaceful and progressive manner.
For him, “the pen was mightier than the sword.” And through his writings, he exposed the corruption
and wrongdoings of government officials as well as the Spanish friars. While in Barcelona, Rizal
contributed essays, poems, allegories, and editorials to the Spanish newspaper, La Solidaridad. Most of
his writings, both in his essays and editorials, centered on individual rights and freedom, specifically for
the Filipino people. As part of his reforms, he even called for the inclusion of the Philippines to become a
province of Spain.

Dr. Jose Rizal is known as the national hero of our country. But we know that there are some Filipinos
who do not consider him as our national hero. Maybe it was because he did not fought using swords
just like what the other Filipino heroes did. Honestly, I somehow believe in the saying “the
pen is mightier than the sword” because not everything should be dealt with violence. He used
his intelligence instead of strength and power to let the Filipino people know the truth. (aye)

Many Filipinos say that studying the life and works of Rizal is not that necessary for us
nowadays. However, I still find it important and I think it has a great impact on our modern
society. Studying Rizal is not just about being able to know and read his novels and other literary works,
but it is also about understanding how those works helped in fighting against the colonizers in
the past. We get to learn the importance of his novels, essays, and other literary works which is
not only for entertainment.

According to the reading, Rizal’s two famous novels, (aye)

Noli Me Tangre and El Filibusterismo, are inspiring source of patriotism of the youth. It somehow
inspired the Filipino people, especially the youths, that they can show their love for the country
in different ways, not just through fighting physically. Rizal might not be one of the people
who used violence to fight for our country but he still sacrificed his life by creating those literary
works which gave light to the minds of the Filipinos of what is happening in our country.

He stated his oppositions and other ideas in his literary works. A specific example of this is he
mentioned that the idea of purgatory, which is a Catholic doctrine, is absent from the bible (Noli Me
Tangere, page 72). (aye)

He used nonviolent actions and I can say that this way of his is what made him different from the other
heroes. Studying the history of our nation might be boring for some but we should always remember
that what happened in the past is the result of what we are today. In the present time, we are now free
from the countries or nations who colonized us. This was made possible through the hard works of

In both novels, Rizal harshly criticized the Spanish colonial rule in the country and exposed the ills of
Philippine society at the time. And because he wrote about the injustices and brutalities of the
Spaniards in the country, the authorities banned Filipinos from reading the controversial books. Yet
they were not able to ban it completely. As more Filipinos read the books, their eyes opened to the
truth that they were suffering unspeakable abuses at the hands of the friars. These two novels by
Rizal, now considered his literary masterpieces, are said to have indirectly sparked the Philippine
Revolution. (aye)