[SS041] Life and Works of Jose Rizal

• Why we need to study Rizal

  • So we will have something to say to the foreigners
  • He is the father of the filipino Nation
  • He inspired the revolution that set us free
  • It is mandated by law
  • So the spirit of nationalism will live on in us and in the next generation
• Before Spaniards


  • Each barangay looks at another barangay as another state/kingdom
  • There was no concept of nation, no idea that they belong to one big country
  • The people in barangay A do not consider the people in barangay B as country-mates
  • The term "Filipino" was not yet invented
• Terms introduced by the Spaniards

  • Indio
  • Peninsulares
  • Insulares
• Indio


  • Natives of the islands
  • The Malayans
  • Stupid, inferior, barbaric
  • There were many kinds of indios
  • The Spaniards never told the indios that they belong to one country, one nation
• Peninsulares


  • Spaniards born in Spain
  • From the root word "Peninsula"
  • Spain is a Peninsula
  • Peninsulares means "born in the peninsula"
• Insulares


  • Spaniards born in the Philippines
  • Children of Spanish government officials and spanish soldiers in the Philippines
  • From the root word "insula" = detached
  • Sounds like "isla"
  • Isla — land detached from the mainland
  • Insulares means "born in the Islas"
• Who were the Filipino? — The Insulares
• The Spaniards used the term "Filipino" for 300+ years. The Natives were not called Filipinos but rather Indios.
• Jose Rizal Changed Things

  • He started to call himself "Filipino"
  • Argued that the term "Filipino" must be applied to the natives, not to the Spaniards born in the islands
  • The true Filipinos are the brown-skinned people of these islands
  • In his essay "Indolence of the Filipinos" he referred to the natives as the "Filipinos"
  • In all his writings, Rizal never used the word "indio" to refer to him and his country-mates. He always used "Filipino"
  • Jose Rizal's civic organization, La Liga Filipina has this objective: to unite the people of Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao into one brotherhood, each one realizing that we belong to one big family, one race, one nation
• Rizal


  Got the nickname "The father of the Filipino Nation" and "The First Filipino"
• How Rizal inspired the Revolution that set us free

  1. Rizal wrote the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo

  2. Although he denied that he inted to start a revolution with these novels, it became the spark for it

  3. Andres Bonifacio read these novels

  4. He was moved by these writings to plan a revolution

  5. The KKK has a portrait of Rizal in every base camp

  6. Rizal was the password of Katipuneros when they go to meetings

  7. "Mabuhay si Doctor Jose Rizal!" was their battle cry when they charge at the Spaniards

  8. After Rizal's execution, more FIlipinos were motivated to join the KKK

  9. The Revolution ended with the declaration of independence in 1898
• Republic Act 1425 (RA1425) says that all college students regardless of program, must take up a Rizal course.
• How RA1425 was passed

  1. This law was made in the 1950s

  2. Senator Claro M. Recto was the main author of this bill, together with Senator Jose P. Laurel as Committee Chair

  3. It was signed into law by President Ramon Magsaysay

  4. You cannot graduate without taking up this subject

  5. The bill underwent great scrutiny, bloody debates, and controversy before it was approved

  6. The Cathloic Church doesn't want this approved

  7. They threatened that lawmakers who would favor this bill would lose votes in the next election

  8. But Recto stood unfazed

  9. When Rizal was still alive, the Church wanted him dead

  10. The Church wanted the Noli and Fili to be excluded in the study of Rizal. But Recto wouldn't agree

  11. The Church suggested a toned-down censored version of the wto novels to be used in the Rizal Course

  12. The Senate agreed to the Church-inspired suggestion to include this clause in the final bill: "A student is exempted to read the 2 novels if he thinks that they can corrupt his faith"
• Why studying Rizal is important

  • By Studying Rizal, we will add up to your being a filipino
  • You will have more pride in being a Filipino
  • You will love your country more
  • You will pass this virtue to your children
  • Contribute to this goal