TOPIC 1: RA NO.
1425 OR THE RIZAL LAW
Republic Act No. 1425, known as the
Rizal Law, mandates all educational
institutions in the Philippines to offer courses
about José Rizal. The full name of the law is 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. The measure was strongly
opposed by the Roman Catholic Church in the
Philippines due to the anti-clerical themes in
Noli Me Tángere and El Filibusterismo.
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 (Zaide,
1998).
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 Purok organizations and Barrio Councils
those of a disciplinary nature, to carry out and throughout the country.
enforce the provisions of this Act. The Board
shall promulgate rules and regulations SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act shall be
providing for the exemption of students for construed as amendment or repealing section
reasons of religious belief stated in a sworn nine hundred twenty-seven of the
written statement, from the requirement of the Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion
provision contained in the second part of the of religious doctrines by public school teachers
first paragraph of this section; but not from and other person engaged in any public school.
taking the course provided for in the first part
of said paragraph. Said rules and regulations SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred
shall take effect thirty (30) days after their thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be
publication in the Official Gazette. appropriated out of any fund not otherwise
appropriated in the National Treasury to carry
SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all out the purposes of this Act.
schools, colleges and universities to keep in
their libraries an adequate number of copies of SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its
the original and unexpurgated editions of the approval.
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well Approved: June 12, 1956
as of Rizal’s other works and biography. The Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 52, No. 6,
said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me p. 2971 in June 1956.
Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their
translations in English as well as other B. Theory on Nationalism
writings of Rizal shall be included in the list of
approved books for required reading in all Nationalism
public or private schools, colleges and Nationalism, in the context of
universities. Philippine experience, initially develops as a
The Board of National Education shall consciousness of belonging to one people-the
determine the adequacy of the number of Hispanic and Catholic Community all over the
books, depending upon the enrollment of the Spanish empire. This sentiment was quite
school, college or university. limited, based on the political, religious, social
and intellectual perceptions of the archipelago
SECTION 3. The Board of National Education as an integral unit co-equal with the other
shall cause the translation of the Noli Me components of the Spanish empire and all
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as other united under the monarchy. The people of the
writings of Jose Rizal into English, Tagalog and Philippines, on the basis of this perception, was
the principal Philippine dialects; cause them to one and equal with other peoples of the
be printed in cheap, popular editions; and empire in Spain, America and elsewhere. The
cause them to be distributed, free of charge, to assumed cultural unity, though universalistic in
persons desiring to read them, through the aspirations, was modestly nationalistic in
program and goals. It conceived of the unity of
the colonies and the mother country, and
stressed the Hispanism of all peoples
composing the imperial cosmopolitan society.
In short the basic concept of nationalism was
oneness and identification with a universal and
imperial Spanish society. In reality though,
when first conceived and disseminated, certain
objective facts were gleaned over or ignored.
The cultural integration of the Philippines was
quite incomplete. Politically and territorially
Spanish hegemony was only limited to Luzon,
the Visayas and the coastal areas of Mindanao.
Even in those places, two problems at least
were never resolved by Spanish power-the
interior and remote areas peopled by the ethnic
Filipinos and the remontados who represented
a counter-culture were never integrated; and,
the administrative dilemma presented by the
struggle between localism and centralism
continued to pester the Spaniards (Cruz, 1989).
TOPIC 2: 19 CENTURY PHILIPPINES IN
RIZAL’S CONTEXT
A. 19th Century Philippines as Rizal’s Context
By the late 18th century, political and
economic changes in Europe were finally
beginning to affect Spain and, thus, the
Philippines. Important as a stimulus to trade
was the gradual elimination of the monopoly
enjoyed by the galleon to Acapulco. The last
galleon arrived in Manila in 1815, and by the
mid-1830s Manila was open to foreign
merchants almost without restriction. The
demand for Philippine sugar and abaca (hemp)
grew apace, and the volume of exports to
Europe expanded even further after the
completion of the Suez Canal in 1869.
The growth of commercial agriculture
resulted in the appearance of a new class.
Alongside the landholdings of the church and
the rice estates of the pre-Spanish nobility
there arose haciendas of coffee, hemp, and
sugar, often the property of enterprising
Chinese-Filipino mestizos. Some of the families
that gained prominence in the 19th century
have continued to play an important role in
Philippine economics and politics.
Not until 1863 was there public
education in the Philippines, and even then the
church controlled the curriculum. Less than
one-fifth of those who went to school could
read and write Spanish, and far fewer could
speak it properly. The limited higher education
in the colony was entirely under clerical
direction, but by the 1880s many sons of the
wealthy were sent to Europe to study. There,
nationalism and a passion for reform
blossomed in the liberal atmosphere. Out of
this talented group of overseas Filipino
students arose what came to be known as the
Propaganda Movement. Magazines, poetry, and
pamphleteering flourished. José Rizal, this
movement’s most brilliant figure, produced two
political novels—Noli me tangere (1887; Touch
Me Not) and El filibusterismo (1891; The Reign
of Greed)—which had a wide impact in the
Philippines. In 1892 Rizal returned home and
formed the Liga Filipina, a modest
reform-minded society, loyal to Spain, that
breathed no word of independence. But Rizal
was quickly arrested by the overly fearful
Spanish, exiled to a remote island in the south,
and finally executed in 1896. Meanwhile,
within the Philippines there had developed a
firm commitment to independence among a
somewhat less privileged class.

B. Economic End of Galleon Trade,
Opening of Suez Canal, Opening of Ports to
World Trade
Suez Canal opens
The Suez Canal, connecting the
Mediterranean and the Red seas, is
inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony attended
by French Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon
III.
In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the
former French consul to Cairo, secured an
agreement with the Ottoman governor of
Egypt to build a canal 100 miles across the
Isthmus of Suez. An international team of
engineers drew up a construction plan, and in
1856 the Suez Canal Company was formed
and granted the right to operate the canal for
99 years after completion of the work.
Construction began in April 1859, and
at first digging was done by hand with picks
and shovels wielded by forced laborers. Later,
European workers with dredgers and steam
shovels arrived. Labor disputes and a cholera
epidemic slowed construction, and the Suez
Canal was not completed until 1869–four years
behind schedule. On November 17, 1869, the
Suez Canal was opened to navigation.
Ferdinand de Lesseps would later attempt,
unsuccessfully, to build a canal across the
Isthmus of Panama.
When it opened, the Suez Canal was
only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom,
and 200 to 300 feet wide at the surface.
Consequently, fewer than 500 ships navigated
it in its first full year of operation. Major
improvements began in 1876, however, and
the canal soon grew into the one of the world’s
most heavily traveled shipping lanes. In 1875,
Great Britain became the largest shareholder in
the Suez Canal Company when it bought up
the stock of the new Ottoman governor of
Egypt. Seven years later, in 1882, Britain
invaded Egypt, beginning a long occupation of
the country. The Anglo-Egyptian treaty of
1936 made Egypt virtually independent, but
Britain reserved rights for the protection of the
canal.
After World War II, Egypt pressed for
evacuation of British troops from the Suez
Canal Zone, and in July 1956 Egyptian
President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the
canal, hoping to charge tolls that would pay for
construction of a massive dam on the Nile
River. In response, Israel invaded in late
October, and British and French troops landed
in early November, occupying the canal zone.
Under pressure from the United Nations,
Britain and France withdrew in December, and
Israeli forces departed in March 1957. That
month, Egypt took control of the canal and
reopened it to commercial shipping.
Ten years later, Egypt shut down the
canal again following the Six Day War and
Israel’s occupation of the Sinai Peninsula. For
the next eight years, the Suez Canal, which
separates the Sinai from the rest of Egypt,
existed as the front line between the Egyptian
and Israeli armies. In 1975, Egyptian President
Anwar el-Sadat reopened the Suez Canal as a
gesture of peace after talks with Israel. Today,
an average of 50 ships navigate the canal daily,
carrying more than 300 million tons of goods a
year.
TOPIC 3: RIZAL’S FAMILY AND CHILDHOOD
Rizal and his family
José Rizal, in full José Protasio Rizal
Mercado y Alonso Realonda, (born June 19,
1861, Calamba, Philippines—died December merchant who immigrated to the Philippines in
30, 1896, Manila), patriot, physician, and man the late 17th century. Lam-Co traveled to
of letters who was an inspiration to the Manila from Xiamen, China, possibly to avoid
Philippine nationalist movement. the famine or plague in his home district, and
The son of a prosperous landowner, more probably to escape the Manchu invasion
Rizal was educated in Manila and at the during the Transition from Ming to Qing. He
University of Madrid. A brilliant medical finally decided to stay in the islands as a
student, he soon committed himself to the farmer.
reform of Spanish rule in his home country, In 1697, to escape the bitter
though he never advocated Philippine anti-Chinese prejudice that existed in the
independence. Most of his writing was done in Philippines, he converted to Catholicism,
Europe, where he resided between 1882 and changed his name to Domingo Mercado and
1892. married the daughter of Chinese friend
In 1887 Rizal published his first novel, Augustin Chin-co. On his mother's side, Rizal's
Noli me tangere (The Social Cancer), a ancestry included Chinese, Japanese and
passionate exposure of the evils of Spanish Tagalog blood. His mother's lineage can be
rule in the Philippines. A sequel, El traced to the affluent Florentina family of
filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed), Chinese mestizo families originating in Baliuag,
established his reputation as the leading Bulacan.[15] José Rizal also had Spanish
spokesman of the Philippine reform movement. ancestry. His grandfather was a half Spaniard
He published an annotated edition (1890; engineer named Lorenzo Alberto Alonzo(Zaide,
reprinted 1958) of Antonio Morga’s Sucesos de 1998).
las Islas Filipinas, hoping to show that the 2. Rizal’s Early Childhood
native people of the Philippines had a long José Rizal was born in 1861 to
history before the coming of the Spaniards. He Francisco Rizal Mercado y Alejandro and
became the leader of the Propaganda Teodora Alonso Realonda y Quintos in the
Movement, contributing numerous articles to town of Calamba in Laguna province. He had
its newspaper, La Solidaridad, published in nine sisters and one brother. His parents were
Barcelona. Rizal’s political program included leaseholders of a hacienda and an
integration of the Philippines as a province of accompanying rice farm by the Dominicans.
Spain, representation in the Cortes (the Both their families had adopted the additional
Spanish parliament), the replacement of surnames of Rizal and Realonda in 1849, after
Spanish friars by Filipino priests, freedom of Governor General Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa
assembly and expression, and equality of decreed the adoption of Spanish surnames
Filipinos and Spaniards before the law. among the Filipinos for census purposes
(though they already had Spanish names).
1. Rizal’s Ancestry His family fondly called him Pepe. He
Like many families in the Philippines, the Rizals was christened at the church on June 22, 1861
were of mixed origin. José's patrilineal lineage when he was only 3 days old by Rev. Fr. Rufino
could be traced back to Fujian in China through Collantes, and his godfather was Rev. Fr. Pedro
his father's ancestor Lam-Co, a Chinese Casanas. His baptism was attested by the
parish priest of the town, Rev. Fr. Leoncio · Published Pascual Poblete’s tagalog
Lopez. translation of Noli Me Tangere.
· Died in 1913 at the age of 63.
Parents: 2. Paciano (1851-1930)
Dona Teodora Morales Alonzo Realonda y · Elder and only brother of Pepe.
Quintos (Mother) · Known as Ciano
· Born in Meisik, Manila on Nov. 9, 1827. · Studied at Colgio de San Jose.
· A native of Sta. Cruz, Manila. · Married to Severina Decena and had 2
· She was martinet, devoted, well-mannered children
and a diligent mother. · Died at the age of 79 because of tuberculosis
· Studied Spanish at Colegio de Santa Rosa. 3. Narcisa (1852-1939)
· Pepe considered her a remarkable woman. · 2nd daughter and 3rd child
· She demonstrated on how to keep families · Known as Sisa
together despite the turmoil of the Spanish · Believed to be the only sibling that could
Regime. narrate the poems of Pepe.
· She possessed business ability, a refined · Married to a teacher and musician named
culture, literary giant, and the courage of a Antonio Lopez.
frugal woman. 4. Olimpia/Olympia (1855-1887)
· Known as Ypia.
Don Francisco Engracio Rizal Mercado y · Married to Silvestro Ubaldo.
Alejandra II (Father) 5. Lucia(1857-1919)
· Was born on May 11, 1818 at Binan, Laguna. · Married to Manuel Herbosa of Calamba,
· Yougest of Cirila Alejandro and Juan Mercado. Laguna.
· He was one of the 4th generations of a 6. Maria (1859-1945)
Chinese immigrant in the late 1600s named · Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan,
Domingo Lamco. Laguna.
· Pepe regarded him as “model of Fathers” · She was known as Biang
· He was a tenat and also a landowner of the 7. Jose Rizal (1861-1896)
Dominican state in Calamba, Laguna. 8. Concepcion(1862-1865)
· He died on January 5, 1898 at the house of his · She was called as Concha.
daughter Narcisa shortly after the execution of · Died at the age of 3.
his son Jose. 9. Josefa(1865-1945)
· Was an old maid who died at the age of 80.
Siblings · Known as Panggoy in her family.
1. Saturnina 10. Trinidad(1868-1951)
· Dona Saturnina(1850-1913) · Like her sister Panggoy, she died an old maid
· Also known as “Neneng” at the age of 83.
· Married to Manuel Hidalgo · She was the keeper of Rizal’s dirge Mi Ultimo
· Studied at La Concordia College Adios.
 11. Soledad (1870-1929)
· She became a teacher.
· She was known as Choleng.
· Married to Pantaleon Quintero
LESSON 4: RIZAL’S EARLY EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
Education
Education opens up the mind, expands
it and allows you to improve your life in so
many ways. It has evolved through the years.
Before, traditional ways of teaching were
introduced, however, these days a lot of things
changed.
Rizal’s Early Education
Rizal’s education started at home with
the guidance of her mother. Teodora Alonso,
Rizal’s mother was an educated woman having
been educated in Manila. She instilled into
Pepe the importance of education at an early
age. Her mother taught him basically the four
R’s (Reading, Writng, Arithmetics, and Religion
during his early childhood days. These skills
were the compulsory among children during
those days, most especially, religion since we
were under the Spanish colonial rule.
At an early age of three years old, Rizal
was already advanced for his age. He was able
to read at such age and was taught how to
solve arithmetic problems and most especially
recite prayers in Latin. He was also given a lot
of storytelling by her mother. The story of the
Moth was the most memorable and touching
story that Pepe liked the most.
The parents of the Mercado siblings
assured the education of their children. They
hired private tutors, especially for Pepe, to
provide good and knowledgeable lessons at
home. Maestro Celestino was his first tutor and
Maestro Lucas Padua was his second tutor. For
his third tutor, Don Francisco later hired his
former classmate, Leon Monroy, to teach Pepe
Spanish and Latin. He was a hired stay-in tutor
but died after five months. The death of Senor
Leon Monroy caused Pepe’s parents to send
him to a private school in Binan.
The Story of the Moth
Rizal’s Mother, Teodora Alonzo, was
the first teacher of Rizal who taught him to
read and write. Most times, when Rizal got
tired reading, Teodora Alonzo was the one
reads a story to Rizal while Rizal is listening.
They use a lamp most of the time to provide
light while reading. One night, seeing that
Rizal is tired her mother started to read a story.
The story goes like this:
Mayroon daw dalawang gamugamo,
isang matanda at isang bata. Maibigin silang
maglaro sa tabi ng ilaw na kandila. Isang gabi
ang batang gamugamo ay lumipad nang
lubhang malapit sa ningas ng kandila.
“Mag-ingat ka!” ang tawag ng matandang
gamugamo. “Baka masunog ang pakpak mo ay
hindi ka na makalipad.”
“Hindi ako natatakot,” ang mayabang
na sagot ng batang gamugamo. At nagpatuloy
siya ng palipad sa paligid-ligid ng magandang
ningas. Minsan, sa kanyang paglipad ay nadikit
sa ningas ang kanyang pakpak at siya ay
nalaglag sa mesa.
“Sinabi ko na nga ba sa iyo,” ang sabi
ng matandang gamugamo. “Ngayon ay hindi ka
na makalilipad na muli. Samantalang nakikinig
si Rizal sa kwento nalilibang naman siya sa
maliliit na gamugamong naglalaro sa kanilang
ilaw. Napansin nya ang malaking hangad ng
maliliit na kulisap na makalapit sa ilaw sa
paghanap ng liwanag kahit mapanganib. At
nang masunog ang pakpak at malaglag sa
mesa ang batang gamugamo sa kwento ay siya
ring pagkasunog ng pakpak at pagkalaglag ng
isang tunay na gamugamo sa langis ng
tinghoy.
Rizal was too focused on watching the
moth in the flame that he didn’t notice that her
mother was done reading the story. Then
there’s one thing that he learned that is very
important in history since it helped mold Rizal
to becoming a hero for our nation. He never
thought that a moth could give him a lesson
that he would carry forever.
“Ang mga gamugamo pala ay hindi
natatakot mamatay sa paghanap ng liwanag.”
That lesson struck Rizal until he grew
older. Hindi siya tumigil na hanapin ang
liwanag para iligtas ang bansang Pilipinas na
kahit ito ay kanyang ikamatay. Ang maliit na
kulisap ay parang si Rizal, hindi siya natakot
lumapit sa liwanag kahit na marami pang
banta o balakid ang naroroon, kahit pa ito’y
ikamatay niya.
Naging matigas man ang ulo ni Rizal sa
di pagsunod sa pangaral ng kanyang ina na:
“Huwag mong paparisan ang ginawa
ng batang gamugamo. Makikinig ka sa
pangaral upang ikaw ay hindi mapahamak.”
Ngunit, ito naman ang nagturo kay
Rizal upang maging matapang sa
pakikipaglaban para sa kanyang inang bayan.
First Formal Schooling- Binan, Laguna
(1870-1871)
Sunday afternoon in June 1870, Pepe
left Calamba for Binan for his first schooling.
He was accompanied by Paciano and they rode
in a carromata, and headed to their aunt’s place
where Pepe was to stay. In Binan, Pepe and his
cousin Leandro went for sightseeing around
the town.
Pepe’s life in Binan was marked by
happines. Pepe nurtured his skills on painting.
Senor Juancho taught him how to do drawing
and painting. His classmate, Jose Guevarra
joined Pepe for drawing and painting lessons
during their free time.
Pepe, along with his classmates,
concentrated much of their learning on
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Religion.
They focused on Religion, since it was more
rigid and their teacher was overly strict. They
were forced to memorize each lessons and
discipline was imposed with a whip. Jose
excelled on all the subjects and lessons. There
well jealousy occurred among them, and by
that they made wrong stories about Pepe
which caused him with five to six blows as he
was laid out on a school bench.
After passing all the necessary
requirement in his studies, Maestro Justiniano
informed the parents of Pepe that he had
learnt everything that he could teach him, and
recommended that Pepe should be sent to
college in Manila. Her sister Saturnina wrote to
Pepe about the arrival of the steamer Talim to
Binan, saying that he could board bound for
Calamba. Pepe was sad to left Binan and move
for another schooling. He left Binan at the 17th
of December 1870.
Imprisonment of his mother
The story of Dona Teodora’s
imprisonment started when she tried to help
and persuaded his brother, Senor Jose Alberto,
to just forgive his wife who went along with
another man and then after, abandoning and
leaving their children at home, in order to avoid
scandal. However, the woman connived with
TOPIC 5: RIZAL’S ATENEO EXPERIENCES
The right kind of education is not concerned
with any ideology, however much it may promise a
future utopia: it is not based on any system, however
carefully thought out, nor is it a means of
conditioning the individual in some special manner.
Education in the true sense is helping the individual
to be mature and free, to flower greatly in love and
goodness. That is what we should be interested in,
and not in shaping the child according to some
idealistic pattern. The highest function of education
is to bring about an integrated individual who is
capable of dealing with life as a whole.
- From the book Education and the
Significance of Life by J. Krishnamurti
Rizal went to Ateneo
After the execution of the GomBurZa and
the imprisonment of Dona Teodora, Pepe was sent
to Manila to study at the Ateneo de Municipal. On
his first day in Manila, he was accompanied by
Paciano. He took the entrance examination at the
College of San Juan de Letran. After returning and
attending the town fiesta in Calamba, Don Francisco
changed his mind about Pepe’s education. And
decided finally to attend at the Ateneo de Municipal.
At first, he was refused admittance in the
said school for 2 reasons: a) he was already late for
registration and b) he was so frail and sickly, aside
from being too small for his age. However, due to
the intervention of Manuel Xeres Burgos, Pepe was
finally admitted.
Pepe enrolled at Ateneo under the surname
“Rizal.” Ateneo was ruled by the Jesuits. The system
of education was more advanced than the other
schools during that time. The school offered
different subjects related to sciences, arts,
agriculture and even mechanics.
The students were divided into two the
externos (non-boarders) and the internos(boarders).
The internos were known as Roman Empire and the
externos were the Carthaginian Empire. The best
student in each group was called the Emperor.
The students are required to wear a
hem-fabric uniform trousers called rayadillo.
Pepe was assigned in the Carthaginian
Empire because he was an externos. He progressed
rapidly in the class and then became the Emperor.
He received his first ever prize for being the top in
their class, a religious picture and he was so happy.
Pepe attended private lessons in Spanish at
the San Isabel College. Although he was regarded
with excellent marks in the class, some professors
had remarks about him and that made Pepe disliked
it. He landed second place at the end, even with
excellent marks.
Pepe returned home to Calamba for a
vacation, but before that, he visited first his mother
and told her about his achievements in the school.
After, Pepe returned to school, met his former
classmates from Bina, and regain again the status of
being the Emperor.
After the school year, Pepe once again
visited her mother in the prison. Then he went back
to Calamba, to his family. By the time Pepe returned
again for his studies, as an adolescent, he begin
reading books and novels like the Count of
Montecristo by Alexander Dumas and “Travels in the
Philippines” by Dr. Feodor Jagor.
In June 1874, Pepe is in his junior year in
college. His mother was freed and arrived to met
him and informed him that she was freed. Pepe was
unhappy because he was not excellent the previous
year because of his grades in his Spanish course. In
the end of the school year, March 1875, he returned
to Laguna, dissatisfied with the result of his
performance in the school.
On June 16, 1875, Pepe became an interno
to Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez, who admired his
skills and intellectual capacity.
Pepe became the “Pride of the Jesuits”. He
graduated with flying colors. He received awards
and medals for attending and passing academic
subjects and extra-curricular activities; like Marian
Congregation and etc. Member of the Academy of
Spanish Literature
Academy of Natural Sciences (Zaide, 1998).
(ADDITIONAL INFO NAA SA TOPIC 5 ANG LINK)