LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL

Rizal Law (RA 1425) – SEN. CLARO M. RECTO

• SB no. 438 – Senate Committee on Education (JOSE P. LAURE)
▪ Opposed by the Catholic church
▪ Compulsory reading of the texts
• House Bill No. 5561 (Rep. Jacobo z. Gonzales)
▪ Debates started in the Congress
▪ Reading the unexpurgated versions was challenged.
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 following are the objectives of the Rizal Law:
• Develop civic conscience
• Promote intellectual development
• Promote sense of nationalism
Amendments – a change or addition to the terms of a contract, law, government
regulatory filing, or other documents.
1. Removal of the compulsory reading of Rizal's novels
2. Inclusion or addition of Rizal's other works.

TIMELINE
• April 3, 1956
▪ Senate Bill No. 438 was filed by the Senate Committee on Education
• April 17, 1956
▪ House Bill No. 5561 was filed by Representative Jacobo Z. Gonzales.
• May 2, 1956
▪ The House Committee on Education approved the bill without amendments,
• May 9, 1956
▪ Debates commenced
FOR (supported the Rizal Law)
“Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo must be read by all Filipinos. They must be taken
to heart, for in their pages we see ourselves in a mirror, our defects as well as our strength,
our virtues as well as our vices. Only then would we become conscious as a people and
so learn to prepare ourselves for painful sacrifices that ultimately lead to self-reliance,
self-respect, and freedom.” – SENATOR JOSE P. LAUREL

AGAINST (opposed the Rizal Law)

“A vast majority of our people are, at the same time, Catholic and Filipino citizens. As
such, they have two great loves: their country and their faith. These two loves are not
conflicting loves. They are harmonious affections, like the love for his father and for his
mother. This is the basis of my stand. Let us not create a conflict between nationalism
and religion, between the government and the church.” – SENATOR FRANCISCO
“SOC” RODRIGO

TIMELINE
• May 9, 1956
▪ Senator Jose P. Laurel proposed amendments to the bill.
• May 14, 1956
▪ Similar amendments were adopted to the House version.
• May 17, 1956
▪ The Senate and House versions were approved
• June 12, 1956
▪ President Magsaysay signed the bill into law which became RA 1425.

SOCIAL CLASSES
• Peninsulares – Spaniards born in Spain.
• Insulares – Spaniards born in the Philippines.
• Indio – Pure Filipinos.
• Creole – Half Spanish, half Indio or Chinese.
• Principalia – Wealthy Filipinos.
• Ilustrado – Middle-class Filipinos who studied and/or lived in Europe.

PEN NAMES OF PROMINENT FILIPINO FIGURES

• Jose Rizal – Dimasalang, Laong Laan
• Marcelo Del Pilar – Plaridel, Dolores Manapat
• Graciano Lopez Jaena – Diego Laura
• Mariano Ponce – Tikbalang, Naning, Kalipulako
• Antonio Luna – Taga-ilog
• Emilio Jacinto – Dimasilaw, Pingkian
• Pio Valenzuela – Madlang Awa
• Andres Bonifacio – Agapito Bagumbayan, Maypagasa
• Emilio Aguinaldo – Magdalo
• Jose Maria Panganiban – JoMapa

THE KATIPUNAN
• Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan
• Founded by Andres Bonifacio
• Francisco Dagohoy – the leader of the longest revolt in the Philippines
• Rafael Izquierdo – The governor general who signed the execution of GomBurZa
• Andres Bonifacio – Supremo | Ama ng Katipunan
• Gregoria De Jesus – Lakambini of Katipunan
• Melchora Aquino – Tandang Sora | Ina ng Katipunan
• Marcella Agoncillo – The Mother of the Katipunan
• Apolinario Mabini – Utak ng Rebolusyon | Dakilang Lumpo
• Julian Felipe – composed the music of the Philippine Anthem
• Jose Palma – Wrote the poem “Filipinas” which became the lyrics

8 LALAWIGAN NA UNANG NAG-ALSA

1. Nueva Ecija 3. Pampanga
2. Laguna 4. Tarlac
5. Cavite 7. Bulacan
6. Batangas 8. Maynila

PROCLAMATION OF INDEPENDENCE
• Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista y Altamira – also known as Don Bosyong, was a
Filipino lawyer and author of the Declaration of Philippine Independence
• Date: June 12, 1898
• Place: Kawit, Cavite, Philippines
• San Francisco de Malabon Band "Marcha Nacional Filipina."

JOSE PROTACIO RIZAL MERCADO Y ALONZO REALONDA

• Birthday: June 19, 1861
• Birthplace: Calamba, Laguna
• Nickname: Pepe or Ute
• FATHER RUFINO COLLANTES – Baptized Rizal
• REV. PEDRO CASAÑAS – Godfather of Rizal

THE RIZAL HOME

• It was one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during the Spanish times- it
was a two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and hardwoods
and roofed with red tiles by day, it hummed with the noises of children at play and the
songs of the birds in the garden; by night, it echoed with the dulcet notes of family
prayers.
• The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town aristocracy in Spanish
Philippines.

RIZAL’S FAMILY
FRANCISCO MERCADO (1818-1898)
Father of Jose Rizal who was the youngest of 13 offsprings of Juan and Cirila Mercado.
Born in Biñan, Laguna on April 18, 1818; studied in San Jose College, Manila; and died
in Manila.
TEODORA ALONSO (1827-1913)
Mother of Jose Rizal who was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos.
She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. She was a business-minded woman,
courteous, religious, hard-working and well-read. She was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on
November 14, 1827 and died in 1913 in Manila.
SATURNINA RIZAL (1850-1913)
Eldest child of the Rizal-Alonzo marriage. Married Manuel Timoteo Hidalgo of Tanauan,
Batangas.
PACIANO RIZAL (1851-1930)
Only brother of Jose Rizal and the second child. Studied at San Jose College in Manila;
became a farmer and later a general of the Philippine Revolution.
NARCISA RIZAL (1852-1939)
The third child. married Antonio Lopez at Morong, Rizal; a teacher and musician.
OLYMPIA RIZAL (1855-1887)
The fourth child. Married Silvestre Ubaldo; died in 1887 from childbirth.
LUCIA RIZAL (1857-1919)
The fifth child. Married Matriano Herbosa.
MARIA RIZAL (1859-1945)
The sixth child. Married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Biñan, Laguna.
JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)
The second son and the seventh child. He was executed by the Spaniards on December
30,1896.
CONCEPCION RIZAL (1862-1865)
The eight child. Died at the age of three.
JOSEFA RIZAL (1865-1945)
The ninth child. An epileptic, died a spinster.
TRINIDAD RIZAL (1868-1951)
The tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of the family to die.
SOLEDAD RIZAL (1870-1929)
The youngest child married Pantaleon Quintero.
SURNAME OF RIZAL
• CLAVERIA DECREE OF 1849
• FRANCISCO MERCADO = RIZAL
• TEODORA ALONSO QUINTOS = REALONDA
• Rizal's family acquired a second surname – Rizal – which was given by a Spanish
alcalde mayor (provincial governor) of Laguna, who was a family friend
• Originally "Ricial" which means "the green of young growth"

RIZAL’S CHILDHOOD
• Calamba was named after a big native jar -Calamba- was a hacienda town which
belonged to the Dominican Order, which also owned all the lands around it.
• Jose - Body was frail and sickly.
• At the age of 3 - Learned Alphabet
• At the age of 5- Could read and write. He began to make sketches with his pencil and
to mold in clay and wax objects which attracted his fancy
• Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town) - a poem about Rizal's beloved
town written by Rizal in 1876 when he was 15 years old and was student in the Ateneo
de Manila
• Pets of Rizal
▪ Usman – Big Black Dog
▪ Alipato – Pony

RIZAL'S UNCLES AND OTHER INFLUENCE

1. TIO JOSE ALBERTO
He studied for eleven years in a British school in Calcutta, India and had traveled in
Europe inspired Rizal to develop his artistic ability.
2. TIO MANUEL
Has a husky and athletic man, encouraged Rizal to develop his frail body by means of
physical exercises.
3. TIO GREGORIO
He is a book-lover, who intensified Rizal's voracious reading of good books.
4. FATHER LEONCIO LOPEZ
He is the old and learned parish priest of Calamba, fostering Rizal's love scholarship and
Intellectual honesty.

STORY OF THE MONTH

• The story made the profoundest impression on Rizal- "died a martyr to its illusions"
• Amigo De los Nios - The Children's Friend, a story book.
• Donya Lolay scolded Jose for drawing on the pages of the story book.
• She then read him a story in it to teach him the value of obedience to his parents

THE EDUCATION OF RIZAL

RIZAL'S PRIVATE TUTORS
• MAESTRO CELESTINO - was Jose's first private tutor.
• MAESTRO LUCAS PADUA - was the second private tutor.
• LEON MONROY - Tutor in Spanish and Latin. He was a classmate of Don Francisco.
EARLY EDUCATION IN CALAMBA AND BINAN
Padre Francisco De Paula Sanchez – Rizal’s favorite teacher
1. Calamba
• Doña Teodora - First Teacher
▪ Taught Jose Rizal the ABC's
▪ Stimulated her son's imagination by telling many stories
▪ Encouraged to write poems
2. Biñan, Laguna
• First formal Schooling (June 1869)
• Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz - Strict disciplinarian. Rizal's teacher in a
private school in Biñan-Rizal described his teacher as follows: He was thin, long-
necked, with a sharp nose and a body slightly bent forward.
THE IMPRISONMENT OF DOÑA TEODORA
• Arrested for an alleged attempt to poison her sister-in- law.
• She was around 45 years old
• Walk 50 km around Laguna
• Imprisoned for 2 years without trial
THE DEATH OF GOMBURZA
• were executed at sunrise of February 17, 1872, by order of Governor General
Izquierdo.
• 200 workers staged a mutiny led by Fernando La Madrid
• Mariano Gomez - Bacoor Priest
• Jacinto Zamora - Marikina Priest
• Jose Burgos - Manila Priest
3. Ateneo De Municipal – Bachelor of Arts
• Excellent School for boys
• Bachelor of Art Degree - Sobresaliente
• He was admitted because of the intervention of Manuel Xeres Burgos.
• TWO GROUPS IN ATENEO DE MUNICIPAL
▪ Roman Empire - internos (boarders)
▪ Carthaginian Empire - externos (nonboarders)
• Emperor - the best student in each "empire"
• Tribune - the second best
• Decurion - the third best
• Centurion - the fourth best
• Stand-bearer - the fifth best
• FIRST YEAR IN ATENEO
▪ Father Jose Bech - Rizal's first professor in Ateneo whom he described as
a "tall thin man, with a body slightly bent forward, a harried walk, an ascetic
face, severe and inspired, small deep-sunken eyes, a sharp nose that was
almost Greek, and thin lips forming an arc whose ends fell toward the chin.
▪ A RELIGIOUS PICTURE - Rizal's first prize for being the brightest pupil in the
whole class.
• SECOND YEAR IN ATENEO
▪ At the end of the school year, Rizal received excellent grades in all subjects
and a gold medal.
 • THIRD YEAR IN ATENEO
▪ Rizal grades remained excellent in all subjects but he won only one medal - in
Latin.
• FOURTH YEAR IN ATENEO
▪ Rizal became an interno in the Ateneo.
▪ Padre Francisco de Paula Sanchez - a great educator and scholar, one of
Rizal's professors who inspired him to study harder and to write poetry.
• LAST YEAR IN ATENEO
▪ Father Jose Vilaclara - advised Rizal to stop communing with the Muse and
pay more attention to more practical studies.
▪ Rizal studied painting under the famous Spanish painter, Agustin Saez, and
sculpture under Romualdo de Jesus, noted Filipino sculptor.
▪ Rizal carved an image of the Virgin Mary on a piece of batikuling (Philippine
hardwood) with his pocket-knife.
▪ Father Lleonart - impressed by Rizal's sculptural talent, requested him to
carve for him an image of Sacred Heart of Jesus.
4. University of Sto. Tomas
• April 1877 - Philosophy and Letters
• Father Pablo Ramon - Rector of Ateneo whom Rizal asked for advice (medicine)
• Land surveying
• He took the vocational course leading to the title of perito agrimensor (expert
surveyor).
• UNHAPPY DAYS IN UST
▪ the Dominican professors were hostile to him
▪ the Filipino students were racially discriminated against by the Spaniard
▪ the method of instruction was obsolete and repressive.
• RIZAL'S WRITTEN WORKS IN UST
▪ A La Juventud Filipina - poem
▪ El Consejo de los Dioses (The Councils of the Gods) - allegorical drama
▪ Junto al Pasig (Beside the Pasig) - zarzuela CHL
▪ A Filipinas - sonnet
 ▪ Abd-el-Azis y Mahoma - poem
▪ AI M.R.P. Pablo Ramon – poem

JOURNEY OF RIZAL TO SPAIN

• May 3, 1882 - Rizal departed on board the Spanish steamer Salvadora bound for
Singapore.
• May 8, 1882 - Rizal saw a beautiful island, fascinated by its scenic beauty, he
remembered "Talim Island with the Susong Dalaga"
• May 11, 1882 - Rizal transferred to another ship, Djemnah, a French steamer, which
left Singapore for Europe.

5. Madrid
• Me Piden Versos (They Ask Me For Verses) - declaimed during the New Year's Eve
reception of the Madrid Filipinos held in the evening of December 31, 1882-in this sad
poem, Rizal poured out the cry of his agonizing heart.
• Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Eugene Sue's The Wandering Jew -
these two books aroused Rizal's sympathy for the oppressed and unfortunate people.

UNIVERSITIES ATTENDED BY RIZAL FOR SEMINAR / TRAINING / PART-TIME JOB

• University of Paris
▪ France
▪ Dr. Louis de Weckert (Leading French Ophthalmologist)
• University of Heidelberg
▪ Germany
▪ Dr. Otto becker and Wilhelm Kuehne
• Wilhelmsfeld, Heidelberg
▪ Germany
▪ Dr. Karl Ullmer (Kind protestant Pastor)
• University of Leipzig
▪ Germany
▪ Dr. Friedrich Ratzel (German Historian) Dr. Hans Meyer (German Anthropologist)
• Dresden
▪ Germany
▪ Dr. Adolph Meyer (Director of Anthropological and Ethnological Museum)
• Berlin
▪ Germany
▪ Dr. Feodor Jagor, Dr. Rudolf Virchow and Dr. Karl Ernest Schweigger (Well- known
as an Ophthalmologist)

RIZAL'S CAREER
• Actor • Ichthyologist
• Agriculturist • Japanophile
• Ambassador of Good Will • Journalist
• Animal Lover • Ichthyologist
• Anthropologist • Lover of truth
• Archeologist • Musicians
• Ascetic • Mythologist
• Bibliophile • Nationalist
• Botanist • Ophthalmologist
• Businessman • Orientalist Pharmacologist
• Cartographer • Philologist
• Chess Player • Philosopher
• Cosmopolitan man • Physical Culturist
• Commentator • Poet
• Conchologist • Politician
• Educator • Polyglot
• Ethnologist • Proofreader
• Father of Community School • Propagandist
• Fencer • Public Relation man
• Freemason • Reformer
• Humorist • Sinologist
• Researcher • Sociologist
• Revolutionist • Sodalist
• Rhetorician • Sportsman
• Rural Reconstruction Worker • Tourist and Traveler
• Scientist • Tuberculosis Expert
• Sculptor • Youth Leader
• Sharpshooter • Zoologist

RIZAL'S LOVELIFE
1. Segunda Katigbak
• Rizal first romance that was then sixteen years old, a pretty fourteen-year old
Batangueña from Lipa. The love of Rizal and Segunda was indeed "a Love at first
sight."
2. Miss L (Jacinta Ibardo Laza)
• A young woman in Calamba. Rizal described her as "fair with seductive and
attractive eyes."
3. Leonor Valenzuela (Orang)
• Charming daughter of Capitan Juan and Capitana Sanday Valenzuela from
Pagsanjan, Laguna, a tall girl with a regal bearing-Rizal sent her love notes written
in invisible ink
4. Leonor Rivera (Taimis)
• Rizal's cousin from Camiling, Tarlac. • She was a frail, pretty girl "tender as a
budding flower with kindly, wistful eyes
5. Consuelo Ortiga Y Perez
• A young woman in Madrid-prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga y Rey's daughters.
6. Seiko Usui (O Sei San)
• A pretty Japanese girl that Rizal saw walking past the legation gate. Rizal was
attracted by her regal loveliness and charm.
7. Gertrude Beckett
• a buxom English girl with brown hair, blue eyes, and rosy cheeks and also a
daughter of a landlord in London.
 • Rizal affectionately called her "Gettie", in reciprocation; she fondly called him
"Pettie" but they had a short relationship
8. Nellie Boustead
• The prettier and younger daughter of Eduardo Boustead. Rizal found her to be a
real Filipina, highly intelligent, vivacious in temperament, and morally upright, also
called Nelly.
9. Josephine Bracken
• An Irish girl of sweet eighteen, "slender, a chestnut blond, with blue eyes, dressed
with elegant simplicity, with an atmosphere of light gayety." Born in Hong Kong on
October 3, 1876 of Irish parents-James Bracken, a corporal in the British garrison
and Elizabeth Jane Macbride.

WRITINGS AND NOTABLE WORKS OF RIZAL

1. NOLI ME TANGERE
• March 21, 1887
• Berlin, Germany
• Touch Me Not
• Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Maximo Viola
• It is a romantic novel, a "work of the heart" a book of feeling", it has freshness,
color, humor, lightness, and wit, and it contains 64 chapters.
• CHARACTERS IN NOLI ME TANGERE
▪ Maria Clara
▪ Crisostomo Ibarra
▪ Elias
2. EL FILIBUSTERISMO
• September 18, 1891
• Ghent, Belgium
• The Reign of Greed
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Valentin Ventura
 • It is a political novel, a "work of the head" - a book of thought, it contains bitterness,
hatred, pain, violence, and sorrow, and it contains 38 chapters.
• CHARACTERS IN EL FILIBUSTERISMO
▪ Simoun
▪ Isagani
▪ Tiburcio de Espadaña

LAST HOURS OF RIZAL

DECEMBER 29, 1896
• 6:00 AM
▪ Captain Rafael Dominguez read the death sentence to Rizal-to be shot at the back
on December 30,1896 by a firing squad at 7:00 am in Bagumbayan (Luneta).
• 7:00 AM
▪ Rizal was moved to the prison chapel, where he spent his last moments. His first
visitors were Father Miguel Saderra Mata (Rector of Ateneo Municipal), and Father
Luis Viza, Jesuit teacher.
• 7:15 AM
▪ Rizal reminded Fr. Viza of the statuette of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he had
carved with his pen knife as an Ateneo student.
• 8:00 AM
▪ Fr. Antonio Rosell arrived to relieve Father Viza. Rizal invited him to join him at
breakfast, which he did. After breakfast, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade (Rizal's defense
counsel) came, and Rizal thanked him for his gallant services.
• 9:00 AM
▪ Fr. Federico Faura arrived. Rizal reminded him that he said that (Rizal) would
someday lose his head for writing the Noli. "Father", Rizal remarked, "You are
indeed a prophet."
• 10:00 A. M.
▪ Father Jose Vilaclara (Rizal's teacher at the Ateneo) and Vicente Balaguer (Jesuit
missionary in Dapitan who had befriended Rizal during the latter's exile) visited the
 hero. After them came Spanish journalist, Santiago Mataix, who interviewed Rizal
for his newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid.
• 12:00 Noon to 3:30 P. M.
▪ Rizal was left alone in his cell. He took lunch after which he was busy writing. It
was probably during this time he finished his farewell poem and hid it inside his
alcohol cooking stove which was given to him as a gift by Paz Pardo de Tavera
(wife of Juan Luna) during his visit to Paris in 1890. At the same time, he wrote his
last letter to Professor Blumentritt in German.
• 3:30 P. M.
▪ Father Balaguer returned to Fort Santiago and discussed with Rizal about his
retraction of the anti-Catholic ideas in his writings and membership in Masonry.
• 4:00 P. M.
▪ Rizal's mother arrived. Rizal knelt down before her and kissed her hands, begging
her to forgive him. Trinidad entered the cell to fetch her mother. As they were
leaving Rizal gave Trinidad the alcohol cooking stove, whispering to her in English,
"There is something inside This 'something" was Rizal's farewell poem. After the
departure of Doña Teodora and Trinidad, Fathers Vilaclara and Estanislao March
entered the cell, followed by Father Rosell.
• 6:00 P. M.
▪ Rizal received a new visitor, Don Silvino Lopez Tuñon, the Dean of the Manila
Cathedral. Fathers Balaguer and March left, leaving Vilaclara with Rizal and Don
Silvino.
• 8:00 P.M.
▪ Rizal had his last supper. He informed Captain Dominguez who was with him that
he forgave his enemies, including the military judges who condemned him to
death.
• 9:30 P. M.
▪ Rizal was visited by Don Gaspar Cestaño, the fiscal of the Royal Audiencia of
Manila. As a gracious host, Rizal offered him the best chair in the cell. After a
pleasant conversation, the fiscal left with a good impression of Rizal's intelligence
and noble character.
• 10:00 P. M.
▪ The draft of the retraction sent by the anti-Filipino Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda
(1890-1903) was submitted by Father Balaguer to Rizal for signature, but the hero
rejected it because it was too long and he did not like it.
DECEMBER 30, 1896
• 3:00 A. M.
▪ Rizal heard Mass, confessed his sins, and took Holy Communion.
• 5:30 A. M.
▪ Rizal took his last breakfast on earth. After this, he wrote two letters, the first
addressed to his family and the second to his older brother Paciano. Josephine
Bracken, accompanied by a sister of Rizal (Josefa), arrived. Josephine, with tears
in her eyes, bade him farewell. Rizal embraced her for the last time and before she
left, Rizal gave her a last gift - a religious book, Imitation of Christ by Father
Thomas a Kempis.
• 6:00 A. M.
▪ As the soldiers were getting ready for the death march to Bagumbayan, Rizal wrote
his last letter to his beloved parents.
• About 6:30 A. M.
▪ A trumpet sounded at Fort Santiago, a signal to begin the death march to
Bagumbayan, the designated place for the execution. Rizal was dressed elegantly
in black suit, black derby hat, black shoes, white shirt and black tie. His arms were
tied behind from elbow to elbow. But the rope was quite loose to give his arms
freedom of movement.
• Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo
▪ A Spanish military physician, asked Rizal permission to feel his pulse and was
amazed to find it normal showing that Rizal was not afraid to die.
• 7:03 A. M.
▪ Rizal died in the bloom of manhood - aged 35 years, five months and 11 days.

CONSUMMATUM EST! – Rizal’s Final Words