and universities, public or private: Provided that in the

Republic Act No. 1425: “An Act to include in the collegiate courses, the original or unexpurgated
curricula of all public and private schools, colleges and editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or
universities courses on the life, works and writings of their English translation shall be used as basic texts.
Jose Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and The Board of National Education is hereby authorized
El Filibusterismo, authorizing the printing and and directed to adopt forth with measures to implement
distribution thereof, and for other purposes." Third and carry out the provisions of this Section, including
Congress of the Philippines: 12 June 1956 the writing and printing of appropriate primers, readers
and textbooks. The Board shall, within sixty (60) days
WHEREAS, today, more than any other period of our from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate rules and
history, there is a need for a rededication to the ideals regulations, including those of disciplinary nature, to
of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act.
and died;
The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations
WHEREAS, it is meet that in honoring them, particularly providing for the exemption of students for reason of
the national hero and patriot, Jose Rizal, we remember religious belief stated in a sworn written statement, from
with special fondness and devotion their lives and the requirement of the provision contained in the
works that have shaped the national character; second part of the first paragraph of this section; but
not from taking the course provided for in the first part
WHEREAS, the life, works, and writings of Jose Rizal, of said paragraph. Said rules and regulations shall take
particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El effect thirty (30) days after their publication in the
Filibusterismo, are a constant and inspiring source of Official Gazette.
patriotism with which the minds of the youth, especially
during their formative and decisive years in school, Sec. 2. It shall be obligatory on all schools, colleges
should be suffused; and universities to keep in their libraries an adequate
number of copies of the original and unexpurgated
WHEREAS, all educational institutions are under the editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo,
supervision of, and subject to regulation by the State, as well as of Rizal's other works and biography.
and all schools are enjoined to develop moral
character, personal discipline, civic conscience, and to The said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere
teach the duties of citizenship; Now, therefore: and El Filibusterismo or their translations in English as
well as other writings of Rizal shall be included in the
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of list of approved books for required reading in all public
Representatives of the Philippines in Congress or private schools, colleges and universities.
Assembled:
The Board of National Education shall determine the
Section 1. Courses on the life, works, and writings of adequacy of the number of books,depending upon the
Jose Rizal, particularly his novel Noli Me Tangere and enrollment of the school, college, or university.
El Filibusterismo, shall be included in the curricula of all
schools, colleges Sec. 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 ● The Knights of Rizal
Rizal into English, Tagalog, and the principal Philippine ● The Women Writers of the Vernacular
dialects; cause them to be printed in cheap, popular ● Magtanggul Asa
editions; and cause them to be distributed, free of ● Fr. Joaquin Jaromillo
charge, to persons desiring to read them, through the ● Rizalist group Spirit of 1896
Purok organizations and Barrio Councils throughout the ● The Association of Public Secondary
country. School
● Administrators
Sec. 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as ● The Philippine Public School Teachers
amending or repealing section nine hundred Association
twenty-seven of the Administrative Code, prohibiting ● Religious group Bathalismo
the discussion of religious doctrines by public school ● The Batangas provincial government
teachers and other person engaged in any public ● Philippine Veterans Legion of Cavite
school. ● The Baguio City Council

● Sec. 5. The sum of three hundred Against the Rizal Bill

thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be ● Archbishop of Manila Rufino Santos and
appropriated out of any fund not otherwise other Catholic bishops
appropriated in the National Treasury to ● Senator Decoroso Rosales
carry out the purposes of this Act. ● Senator Mariano Cuenco
● Senator Francisco Rodrigo
Sec. 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. ● The Catholic Action of the Philippines
Approved: June 12, 1956 ● The Holy Name Society of the Philippines
● The Legion of Mary
End Note ● The Knights of Columbus
1. FN Republic Act No.1425, originally House Bill No. ● The Daughters of Isabela
5561 and Senate Bill No. 438, was approved by the ● Catholic Welfare Organization
Philippine Congress on 12 June 1956
THE STORY OF RIZAL BILL
THE DEBATE OVER THE RIZAL BILL
(1) Senator Jose P. Laurel filed Senate Bill 438
In Favor of the Rizal Bill on April 17, 1956. The bill aimed to make
Noli and Fili required reading for public and
● Senator Jose P. Laurel and Senator Claro private colleges and universities.
M. Recto
● Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson (2) Laguna Rep. Jacabo Gonzales told
● Judge Guillermo Guevarra Senator Laurel he would introduce a
● Former Justice Roman Ozaeta similar measure in the House (House Bill
● Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia 5561).
● 100 UP faculty members
● The College Editors’ Guild
(3) Senator Laurel argued that the reading of (9) Senator Rosales, although conceding that
Rizal’s two books would teach the people Rizal is the greatest of Filipino heroes, said
to resist tyranny and oppression of all that the novels were partially rotten apples
forms. that everyone would be compelled to eat.

(4) Catholic lay people and clergy opposed the (10)He also threatened that all Catholic
measure of hearings of the Senate schools would close if the Bill passed.
Committee on Education.They said the Recto said that the government would just
Noli and Fili have numerous attacks on nationalize all of them.
dogmas and practices of Catholicism.
(11) Senator Recto clarified that the Bill only
(5) Municipal councils sent in resolutions required students to read the books, not to
endorsing the Bill. Catholic organizations force them to believe Rizal’s opinions. He
also launched a national campaign against also said that professors and teachers
it. could challenge Rizal.

(6) Senator Recto branded criticism of Rizal’s (12)Senator Recto said that Rizal deserves to
novels by the Church as unfair and remain forever a “living and decisive
unjustified presentation of the national symbol” in the national life of the
hero’s writings.He pointed out that Rizal Philippines. He also believed that reading
wrote the books to inculcate civic his writings would lead to a revival of
consciousness, national dignity, personal national awareness.
pride and patriotism. He also said that the
charges leveled against Rizal by the (13)Senator Recto also pointed out that the
Filipino Church hierarchy were also the Vatican and the Catholic hierarchy in Spain
ones made by the Spanish friars. did not even place the Noli and Fili in the
Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
(7) Senator Recto also pointed out to Senator
Rodrigo that the Filipino Church hierarchy ● Senator Rodrigo proposed the following:
found 170 passages in the Noli and 50
instances in the Fili that are offensive to 1) school authorities would keep unexpurgated copies
the Catholic faith. of the books
2) use expurgated copies at the discretion of the school
(8) Fr. Joaquin Jaromillo was discredited by 3) include the two novels in their unexpurgated form
the Catholic Welfare Organization, saying in a list of required readings
he was not allowed by the Church 4) use of footnotes to explain controversial or
hierarchy to speak in the Senate in favor of derogatory portions
the Rizal Bill.
Bishop Manuel Yap of Bacolod reportedly said that: Filipinos be given a national hero, saying “And now,
Catholics should not read Rizal’s novels and warned gentlemen, you must have a national
that legislators in favor of the Rizal Bill would be voted hero.”
out of office in the next election.
• American colonial officials chose Rizal over Aguinaldo
Senator Recto blasted Bishop Yap and the Catholic (too militant), Bonifacio (too radical), and Mabini
hierarchy for wanting not only eternity, but also worldly (unregenerate).
possessions. He even offered to campaign for
supporters of the Rizal Bill in the next elections. • American sponsorship of Rizal as the national
hero resulted in the following:
At last, the Senate unanimously approved Senator
1) Act No. 137 which renamed Morong as the province
Laurel’s substitute measure on May 12, 1956, making of Rizal
the original and unexpurgated editions of the Noli and 2) Act No. 243 which authorized a public subscription
Fili basic texts in college courses. for the erection of the Rizal
monument at Luneta
As a compromise, a paragraph was inserted that 3) Act No. 346 which set aside the anniversary of his
college students could be exempted from reading the death as a day of observance
unexpurgated texts for reasons of religious belief.

• The Americans sponsored Rizal, according to Forbes,

PERSPECTIVES ON RIZAL AS THE NATIONAL because “Rizal never advocated independence, nor did
HERO he advocate armed resistance to the government. He
urged reform from within by publicity, by public
CONSTANTINO, VENERATION WITHOUT education, and appeal to the public conscience.”
UNDERSTANDING
• The attention lavished on Rizal relegated other heroes
• Unlike Washington, Lenin, Bolivar, Sun Yat Sen, Mao, to the background, since these heroes’ revolutionary
and Ho Chi Minh, who were leaders of their revolutions example and anti-American pronouncements might
and principal heroes of their peoples, Rizal was not the have stiffened Filipino resistance to American rule.
leader of the Philippine Revolution.
DE OCAMPO, WHO MADE RIZAL OUR FOREMOST
• Rizal’s pre-eminence among Filipino national heroes NATIONAL HERO, AND WHY?
was partly the result of American sponsorship, which
manifested in 1) encouraging a Rizal cult and 2) • Rizal is the Philippines’ foremost national hero
minimizing the importance of other heroes or vilifying because he took an “admirable part” in the Propaganda
them. Movement from 1882 to 1896.

• William Howard Taft supposedly suggested to the • Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere contributed tremendously to
Philippine Commission in 1901 that the formation of Filipino nationality more than any
single work by a Filipino writer.
• No Filipino has yet been born who could equal or MALAY, VENERATION WITH UNDERSTANDING
surpass Rizal as “a person of distinguished valor or
enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering.” • A man becomes a hero, or a national hero, not
because he leads a revolution, but because He is
• Rizal is the greatest Filipino hero because he is “a admired for his achievements and noble qualities, and
man honored after death by public worship, because of considered a model or ideal.
exceptional service to [hu]mankind.”
• A man becomes a hero, or a national hero, if he
accomplishes some achievement or achievements that
• Even before the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution, his people admire so much that they would place him in
Rizal’s leadership was already recognized by Filipinos higher regard than any man of the country.
in the Philippines and abroad.
• Malay contests Constantino’s criterion that
• The Katipunan recognized Rizal’s leadership and “revolutionary leadership” should govern the choice of
greatness by making him its Honorary who the national hero is. He further criticizes
President and using “Rizal” as the password for Constantino’s contention that Our veneration of Rizal
third-degree members. as the national hero is “veneration without
understanding.”
• On December 29, 1897, General Emilio Aguinaldo
commemorated Rizal’s death in Hong Kong. • Rizal continues to be venerated with understanding
because the masses continue to admire him for his
• On December 20, 1898, Aguinaldo proclaimed achievements and noble qualities, and consider him a
December 30 as Rizal Day and held a Rizal Day model or ideal.
program on December 30 in Manila.
• With regard to Rizal being an American-sponsored
hero:
• Dr. T.H. Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino, was the one who
said that Morong should be renamed as the province of 1) Rizal was already honored when Aguinaldo declared
Rizal. December 30, 1898 as a day of mourning.

• Americans Justice George A. Malcolm and Dr. Frank 2) The Katipunan already regarded Rizal as a sort of
C. Laubach both denied that Rizal was made a hero by national hero. He was the honorary president of the
the Americans. Katipunan, and Rizal’s picture was displayed in meeting
rooms.
• Even if Rizal was chosen by the Taft Commission as
the national hero, he was already • To say that Rizal was chosen by the Americans is an
accepted by the Filipino people as the foremost hero insult to the masses who, according to Rizal’s
and martyr of the Philippines. detractors, have allowed themselves to be duped for so
long.
• Detractors also underestimate the intelligence and The new rich were labeled “brutes loaded with gold.”
understanding of the masses, for they know that Rizal Displaying their intelligence and aspirations, they sent
lived and died for all of us, not only for an elite class. their sons to study in Manila and later abroad, and
acquired furniture and other articles of luxury for their
personal use.

Economic Conditions in Rizal’s Time The new rich went to Manila to make their purchases
from the leading merchants, who welcomed their
A characteristic of the 19th century was the shift of patronage.
trade from low-bulk high-priced commodities like spices
to bulky goods of low unit-value like sugar, coffee, In the 19th century, the Philippines greatly expanded its
fibers, and oil seeds. volume of foreign trade and diversified its economic
structure, with the new money flows circulating far into
The Philippines rode the wave of bulk commodity the countryside and giving an impulse to the formation
trading that characterized 19th-century of a native middle class.
commerce.Exports rose from one million pesos in 1825
to 36.6 million pesos in 1895; imports from 1.85 million Those who controlled large rice-, sugar-, and abaca-
pesos to 25.4 million pesos in the same years. growing lands in Central Luzon, Batangas, parts of the
Bikol region, Negros, and Panay profited the
The British and American merchants made both spot most.
purchases and crop advances and even stimulated
some development, as the Americans did with abaca. These included not only the Filipino hacienderos of
Pampanga, Batangas, and Western Visayas, and the
friar orders owning the large haciendas of
There was some correlation between geographic Bulacan,Laguna, and Cavite, but also the inquilinos
concentration and commodity concentration. The top (lessees) of the friar haciendas.
four exports—sugar, abaca, tobacco, and
coffee—made up between 56 percent and 95 percent The prosperity which the new export economy had
of total exports. brought to some may be illustrated by the case of
Rizal’s Chinese ancestry Domingo Lam-co. When he
For imports, textiles made up 30-60 percent of the had come to the Biñan hacienda in the mid-18th
imports. century, the average holding of an inquilino was 2.9
Hectares.

For the whole Philippines, cane sugar production rose When Rizal’s father moved to the Calamba hacienda,
from 6,000 tons in 1810 to 233,000 tons in 1894.The the Rizal family in the 1890s rented over 390 hectares
trade in domestically grown crops meant that the from the hacienda.
effects of international commerce reached far into the
countryside and drew new participants into the money
economy.
Politics in the Spanish Philippines his right to engage in trade.

The king or queen of Spain was the ruler of the • Under the provincial government was the municipal
Philippines. The country was ruled through Mexico via government. A town or pueblo was headed by a
the Consejo de las Indias or Council of the Indies. The gobernadorcillo, also called capitan municipal or simply
governor general represented the king or queen. He capitan.
had blanket authority during typhoons, floods,
epidemics, earthquakes, etc. • There were gobernacillos de naturales and
gobernadorcillos de mestizos in some towns.In
The Real Audiencia was the supreme court. It was Binondo, they were also gobernadorcillos de chinos.
composed of oidores (judges) who checked the
activities of the governor general. He was voted by thirteen electors, composed of six
former cabezas de barangay (village heads), six current
The Real Audiencia gave power to the Residencia to cabezas and the outgoing gobernadorcillo.The parish
check the governor general. However, the governor priest had to approve the election of a gobernadorcillo.
general was also honorary head of the Real Audiencia. If approved, his name was sent to the alcalde mayor
and afterwards forwarded to the governor general for
There was a union of Church and State during the final approval.
Spanish Occupation, meaning the Church could
meddle in government matters and the government • Gobernadorcillos and cabezas were in charge of the
could meddle in Church matters. The governor general collection of taxes. They had to be rich because they
was also vice-patron of the Church. had to pay for the taxes of people who went to the
mountains.

The ayuntamiento in Intramuros was the office of the • The highest position a Filipino could occupy
governor general. Malacañang Palace was his summer was that of gobernadorcillo.
Residence. Only a peninsular (a Spaniard who was
born in Spain) could become governor general. An Social and Cultural Conditions Under Spain
insular (a Spaniard born in the Philippines)
and a mestizo could not. • Spanish influence made its impact on our indigenous
culture. It can be seen through the change in Filipino
There were two kinds of provinces: names, intermarriages, the plaza complex, fiestas and
the corregimiento and the alcaldia. other religious rituals, attire and ornaments, house
styles, religion and education.
A corregimiento, headed by a corregidor, still had
resistance and could not pay taxes. A corregidor • Many Filipinos did not change their names. They used
had to be a man knowledgeable in military strategies. names such as Gatmaitan, Gatbonton,
Dimalanta,Dimagiba, Bayani, Magtanggol, Magiting,
• An alcalde mayor also had to be a peninsular. etc.
Most of the time, he was also a lawyer. What
made an alcalde mayor rich and powerful was
•At first, the Spaniards did not attempt to change our •However, in 1863 primary and secondary schools were
naming practices. Those who became Christians chose opened to Filipinos. Despite the move, many children
Spanish names, usually the names of saints. were afraid to go to school because teachers were
often brutal.
•Many Filipinos still did not have surnames so
confusion arose. To remedy the situation, Governor •With the rise of the middle class, many Filipinos were
General Narciso Claveria issued a decree in 1849 able to go to colleges such as Ateneo Municipal and
allowing Filipinos to change their names. San Juan de Letran. Later, they were admitted to UST.

• The Spaniards as a rule did not intermarry with •Filipinos were given a chance to become lawyers,
Filipinos. There were exceptions to this rule, of course. physicians, teachers, etc., unlike people in other
A child of a Filipino woman and a Spaniard was called colonies.
mestizo Español. A child of a Chinese man and a
Filipino woman was called mestizo de Sangley.
THE RISE OF PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM
• Children of Filipinos were called indios
(Indians).Technically those who could be called Louis L. Snyder defines nationalism as “a condition of
Filipinos were the insulares, Spaniards born in the mind, feeling, or sentiment of a group of people living in
Philippines. a well-defined geographical area, speaking a common
language, possessing a literature in which the
Social Stratification aspirations of the nation have been expressed, being
1. Peninsulares attached to common traditions, and, in some cases,
2. Insulares having a common religion.”
3. Mestizos Españoles
4. Mestizos de Sangleyes A nation is, according to Benedict Anderson, an
5. Indios “imagined community.”
6. Chinos
7. Infieles (Infidels) A nation is limited because it has an official boundary. A
nation is sovereign because it has supreme authority
• The Spaniards introduced the type of house called inside its boundary.
antillean. They are now usually called bahay na bato.
The first floor of the house is made of stone, while the A nation is imagined because it allows members of the
second floor is made of first-class wood. nation to feel a connection with one another even
though they will never meet all other members of the
• Many Filipinos who had contacts with the Spaniards nation.
learned the Spanish language. Such contacts led to
adoptions of Spanish words among many Filipino A nation is a community because members of the
languages. nation have a deep horizontal comradeship regardless
of their background.
• During the early period of Spanish rule, education
was not available to the majority of Filipinos.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 resulted in the In the Philippines, the friars or members of religious
shorter route and travel time between the Philippines orders not only led evangelization among
and Spain. non-Christians but also held parishes.

Many progressive Spaniards migrated to the The friars had to administer the parishes because there
Philippines. were only a few seculars in the first century of Spanish
rule.
These Spaniards influenced some educated Filipinos
and soon both were advocating changes in the When Filipinos became seculars they were given
administration of the Philippines. subordinate positions because the friars refused to
vacate the parishes.
Another effect of the opening of the Suez Canal was
the influx of progressive books and periodicals to the This refusal led to controversy between the regulars
country. and the seculars. This controversy started when the
seculars asked for their right to administer the parishes.
Educated Filipinos who read about these ideas learned
about democratic practices in Europe such as freedom The first leader of the secularization campaign was Fr.
of the press and freedom of speech. Pedro Pablo Pelaez (1812-1863), a Spanish mestizo.
After his death, he was succeeded by Fr. Jose Burgos
Shorter travel time and distance encouraged and (1837-1872), also a Spanish mestizo.
allowed many educated Filipinos to study in European
universities. Other member priests of the campaign were Spanish or
Chinese mestizos or Filipinos. Among them were Fr.
The revolutionaries in Spain overthrew Queen Isabella Mariano Gomez and Fr. Jacinto Zamora.
II and established the Provisional Government in 1868.
At the height of the campaign, the Cavite Mutiny
The revolution brought some liberal and progressive occurred on January 20, 1872. This resulted from de
Spanish leaders to the Philippines. One of them was Izquierdo’s decision to take away the shipyard workers’
Governor-General Carlos Maria de la Torre, who exemption from the tribute and forced labor.
arrived in Manila in 1869.
The mutineers included Filipinos, mestizos and creoles.
De la Torre’s administration was significant because he The government ordered the arrest of Filipinos and
abolished censorship of the press, among other things. mestizos who were allegedly behind the rebellion.
Many priests who were part of the secularization
De la Torre’s tenure lasted until 1871. He was replaced campaign were arrested. Civilians were also arrested.
by Rafael de Izquierdo who boasted that he would rule
the Philippines “with a cross in one hand and a sword in Those arrested were exiled to Guam, while Fr. Gomez,
the other.” Fr. Burgos and Fr. Zamora was sentenced to death.

Priesthood during the Spanish Occupation was

composed of two classes: the regular and the secular.
During the trial of Gomburza, the government failed to
prove convincingly that they were part of the Cavite
Mutiny.

Governor-General de Izquierdo promised to present

documents that would prove the three priests’
involvement but he never did.

In spite of the lack of evidence, the three priests were

sentenced to death by garrote.

On February 17, 1872, the three priests marched from

Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan Field. Gomburza
maintained their innocence until the end. The
Spaniards fled towards Intramuros because they
thought the Filipinos were about to rebel.

The importance of Gomburza’s execution rested on the

fact that the Filipinos who witnessed the event began to
think of themselves as Filipinos, not Ilocanos, Tagalogs,
Visayans etc.

The Filipinos suspected that because they belonged to

a different race, the Spaniards (who thought
themselves superior to Filipinos) took them beasts of
burden.

From that time on, Filipinos began to feel the need for
unity. Jose Rizal, 11 years old in 1872, would later
dedicate El Filibusterismo to Gomburza.