Jose Rizal
JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born
on June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11
children , 9 girls and 2 boys His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom
Rizal called "a model of fathers," came from Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y
Quintos, a highly cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent
mother," was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. Both his parents were educated and belonged to
distinguished families.
Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II
and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.
Namely: Saturnina rizal, eldest child of the rizal-alonzo marriage. Paciano rizal, only
brother of jose rizal and the second child. Narcisa rizal, the third child. Olympia rizal, the fourth
child. Lucia rizal, the fifth child. Maria rizal, the sixth child. Jose rizal, the second son and the
seventh child. Concepcion rizal, the eight child. Died at the age of three. Josefa rizal, the ninth
child. An epileptic, died a spinster. Trinidad rizal, the tenth child. Died a spinster and the last of
the family to die. Soledad rizal, the youngest child.
EDUCATION
The first teacher of Rizal was his mother, On her lap, he learned at the age of three the
alphabet and the prayers.
Private Tutors of Rizal
-Maestro Celestino -Maestro Lucas -Leon Monroy
Rizal goes to Binan,Laguna on June 1869 -He was taught by Maestro Justiniano -In academic
studies, Rizal beat all Binan boys in Spanish, Latin, and other subjects
Rizal entered in 1872 in Ateneo
-He was considered as an inferior, by the end of the month he became the emperor and received a
prize, a religious picture -He graduated on March 23, 1877 and Received the degree of bachelor
of arts, with highest honors not a valedictiorian
University of Sto. Thomas was under the Dominicans. -As a Thomasian he won more literary
laurels -During his first term in 1877-1878 in UST, he studied Cosmology, Metaphysics , Theodicy
and History of Philosophy. -It was during the school term 1878-1879 that Rizal pursued his studies
in medicine.
In May of 1882, Jose Rizal got on a ship to Spain without informing his parents of his intentions.
He enrolled at the Universidad Central de Madrid. Inspired by his mother's advancing blindness,
Rizal next went to the University of Paris and then the University of Heidelberg to complete further
study in the field of ophthalmology.
RIZAL'S LIFE IN EUROPE
Jose Rizal lived in Europe for 10 years. During his European sojourn, he also began to
write novels. Rizal finished his first book, Noli Me Tangere.
JOSE RIZAL'S LOVE LIFE
There were about nine significant women in Rizal's life. They were: Segunda Katigbak,
Leonor Valenzuela, Leonor Rivera, Consuelo Ortega, O-Sei San, Getrude Beckette, Nelly
Boustead, Suzanne Jacoby, and Josephine Bracken.
EXPERTISE
Having traveled extensively in Asia, Europe and America, he mastered 22 languages.
These include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian,
Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native
dialects. A versatile genius, he was an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator,
economist, ethnologist, farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, nationalist,
novelist, opthalmologist, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist, sculptor, sociologist,
theologian and others
JOSE RIZAL'S LAST HOURS
On December 26, 1896, the military court tried Jose Rizal and later found him guilty of
rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy. The Spanish authorities believed that Rizal's writings "fatally
and necessarily" incited the rebellion which, by 1896, had already become a revolution. On
December 29 at 6 a.m., Capt. Rafael Dominguez read before Rizal his death sentence. At around
7 a.m. of December 29, Rizal was transferred to his death cell in Fort Santiago. By 6:30am, He -
in his black suit, black necktie, black hat, black shoes and white vest - calmly walked from his
prison cell in Fort Santiago to the execution site, In his right arm was a rosary which he kept on
holding until his final breath. At 7 a.m. on December 30, 1896 at Luneta, Manila, the 35-year-old
patriot was shot in the back by a firing squad. He hesitated, turned halfway around to face his
executioners, and fell on his back to face the Philippine sun in the east
JOSE RIZAL'S LEGACY
Jose Rizal is remembered today throughout the Philippines for his brilliance, his courage,
his peaceful resistance to tyranny, and his compassion. Filipino school children study his final
literary work, his two famous novels noli and el filibusterismo Spurred on by Rizal's martyrdom,
the Philippine Revolution continued until 1898.
The son of a prosperous landowner, Rizal was educated in Manila and at
the University of Madrid. A brilliant medical student, he soon committed
himself to the reform of Spanish rule in his home country, though he never
advocated Philippine independence. Most of his writing was done in Europe,
where he resided between 1882 and 1892.
In 1887 Rizal published his first novel, Noli me tangere (The Social Cancer), a
passionate exposure of the evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines. A
sequel, El filibusterismo (1891; The Reign of Greed), established his
reputation as the leading spokesman of the Philippine reform movement. He
published an annotated edition (1890; reprinted 1958) of Antonio
Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, hoping to show that the native people
of the Philippines had a long history before the coming of the Spaniards. He
became the leader of the Propaganda Movement, contributing numerous
articles to its newspaper, La Solidaridad, published in Barcelona. Rizal’s
political program included integration of the Philippines as a province of Spain,
representation in the Cortes (the Spanish parliament), the replacement of
Spanish friars by Filipino priests, freedom of assembly and expression, and
equality of Filipinos and Spaniards before the law.
Rizal returned to the Philippines in 1892. He founded a nonviolent-reform
society, the Liga Filipina, in Manila, and was deported to Dapitan in
northwest Mindanao. He remained in exile for the next four years. In 1896
the Katipunan, a Filipino nationalist secret society, revolted against Spain.
Although he had no connections with that organization and he had had no part
in the insurrection, Rizal was arrested and tried for sedition by the military.
Found guilty, he was publicly executed by a firing squad in Manila. His
martyrdom convinced Filipinos that there was no alternative to independence
from Spain. On the eve of his execution, while confined in Fort Santiago, Rizal
wrote “Último adiós” (“Last Farewell”), a masterpiece of 19th-century Spanish
verse.
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 those
of a disciplinary nature, to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act. The Board shall
promulgate rules and regulations providing for the exemption of students for reasons of
religious belief stated in a sworn written statement, from the requirement of the provision
contained in the second part of the first paragraph of this section; but not from taking the
course provided for in the first part of said paragraph. Said rules and regulations shall
take effect thirty (30) days after their publication in the Official Gazette.
SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all schools, colleges and universities to keep in their
libraries an adequate number of copies of the original and unexpurgated editions of the
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as of Rizal’s other works and biography.
The said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their
translations in English as well as other writings of Rizal shall be included in the list of
approved books for required reading in all public or private schools, colleges and
universities.
The Board of National Education shall determine the adequacy of the number of books,
depending upon the enrollment of the school, college or university.
SECTION 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 Rizal into English,
Tagalog and the principal Philippine dialects; cause them to be printed in cheap, popular
editions; and cause them to be distributed, free of charge, to persons desiring to read
them, through the Purok organizations and Barrio Councils throughout the country.
SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amendment or repealing section
nine hundred twenty-seven of the Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion of
religious doctrines by public school teachers and other person engaged in any public
school.
SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be
appropriated out of any fund not otherwise appropriated in the National Treasury to carry
out the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: June 12, 1956
Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 52, No. 6, p. 2971 in June 1956.
