JOSE RIZAL AND PHILIPPINE

NATIONALISM: Bayani
and Kabayanihan
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Interpret views and opinions about bayani and
kabayanihan in the context of Philippine history
and society.
2. Assess the concepts of bayani and kabayanihan
in the context of Philippine society.

131 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
10 JOSE RIZAL AND PHILIPPINE NATIONALISM: BAYANI AND KABAYANIHAN
What is the first word that comes to your mind when you see the picture
below? Why do you say so? Explain your answer in not more than five (5) sentences.

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q=AVENGERSandsxsrf=ACYBGNQTKMBBGMygXLujDO1gAxCAAooVjg:1578121013294andsource=lnmsandtbm=ischandsa=Xandved=2ahUKEwjztaPzrunmAhX3w osBHeW-

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Is the word you wrote above the

same as the first word that comes to
your mind when you see this picture?

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nmAhUgyYsBHcS0B64Q_AUoAXoECBIQAwandbiw=1707andbih=821#imgrc=KwASVDIeUARaTM:

Write the first word that comes to your mind when you see this second picture and
explain why you think that word best describes the photo.
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132 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
 Rizal valued nationalism, patriotism and heroism ( kabayanihan). Serving as a
role model and inspiration to every Filipino, he has manifested versatility and
flexibility while sustaining a strong sense of moral uprightness. Indeed, he is our
national hero. But what exactly is the definition of the word, “hero”?

HERO vs. BAYANI

In mythology, a hero is someone who possesses great courage, strength, and
is favored by the gods. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines "hero" as "a
mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great
strength or ability; an illustrious warrior; a person admired for achievements and
noble qualities; one who shows great courage.”
The Filipino counterpart, bayani, has a similar meaning but with some
contextual distinctions. Bayani is someone who fights with his ‘bayan’ or
community. The Vicassan's Dictionary (Santos, 1978) provides the following
meanings for bayani:"... hero, patriot ("taong makabayan"), cooperative endeavor,
mutual aid, a person who volunteers or offers free service or labor to a cooperative
endeavor, to prevail, to be victorious, to prevail ("mamayani"), leading man in play
(often referred to as the "bida"--from the Spanish for life, "vida"--who is contrasted
with the villain or "kontrabida" from the Spanish "contra vida", against life)” as cited
in Ocampo, 2016.
UP Diksiyonariyong Filipino (2001) gives three meanings for 'bayani': (1) a
person of extraordinary courage or ability; (2) a person considered to possess
extraordinary talents or someone who did something noble (" dakila");
and (3) a leading man in a play (Ocampo, 2016).
The Vocabulario de la lengua Tagala by the Jesuits Juan de Noceda and
Pedro de Sanlucar (1755 and1860) lists these meanings for bayani:
"someone who is brave or valiant, someone who works towards a common task or
cooperative endeavor ("bayanihan") ( as cited in Ocampo, 2016).
History professor Ambeth Ocampo sees it significant that bayani comes a few
words under bayan, which is also defined as: "the space between here and the
sky." Bayan is also a town, municipality, pueblo, or nation, and can refer to people
and citizens (mamamayan) who live in those communities, or those who originate or
come from the same place (kababayan). Bayan (Ocampo, 2016) also refers to the
day (araw) or a time of a day (malalim ang bayan) or even to the weather, good
or bad (masamang bayan). Ocampo, thus, concludes that "hero" and bayani do
not have the same meaning. Bayani is a richer word than hero because it may be
rooted in bayan as place or in doing something great, not for oneself but for a
greater good, for community or nation.

THE CHANGING FORMS AND DEFINITIONS OF BAYANI AND KABAYANIHAN

Anchored on the definitions given by old dictionaries, mga bayani may
historically (and profoundly) refer to those who contributed to the birth of a nation.
In the early times, heroes are the warriors and generals who serve their cause with
sword, distilling blood and tears; they are those, for the Filipinos, who served their
cause with a pen, demonstrating that the pen is as mighty as the sword to redeem
a people from their political slavery.
However, the modern-day bayani may refer to someone who contributes to a
nation in a global world.
In modern definitions, a Hero is: someone who has distinguished courage and
ability, someone who do good deeds for the greater good of others, and mostly

133 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
works alone. One case in point is our Overseas Filipino Workers ( OFWs) — Filipinos
who are working in foreign countries who basically travel abroad in pursuit of
better employment to provide for the needs of their respective families in the
Philippines. The OFWs’ sacrifices play a vital role in the progress of the Philippines’
economic status — by remitting their savings back to the country, they help the
government in pulling up the economy through the overall dollar reserve. The
money that they send provides the much-needed hard currency, saving the country
from defaulting debt obligations. Aside from this, they also help stabilize the
Philippine Peso in relation to peso-dollar exchange, which in turn, contributes to the
country’s Gross National Product (GNP) growth. Truly, when they work abroad, they
are taking risks (pakikipagsapalaran) and in recognition of their sacrifices, they are
named Bagong Bayani or “Modern-Day Heroes”, acknowledging their contributions
every December as the Month of Overseas Filipino Workers.
Many Filipino bayani have fought and died for the Philippines, some of which
are Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, and many more. They can be
considered as traditional Bayani, someone who fought for the people of his
community and for their greater good, and died in exchange. But in our modern
world, does our country need a bayani who will sacrifice his/her life for the country?
Without a doubt, the concept of bayani and kabayanihan have evolved
through the years. To better understand this evolution, let us compare the notion
of OFWs as modern-day heroes to the early definitions of bayani. Its etymology is
explained in an online article entitled, “Ang Salitang Bayani sa Pilipinas” (n.d.).
“Ang salitang “bayani” ay isang Austronesian na salita na dinala ng ating mga katutubo
sa ating bayan. Ang mga bayani ay ang mga mandirigma kung saan sila ay nangunguna sa
pagtatanggol ng pamayanan laban sa mga kinakaharap na mga kaaway at panganib. Ang ilan
sa mga diribatibo ng salitang bayani ay bajani, majani, bagabnim, bahani.
Sa kultura nating mga Pilipino, ang pagiging bayani ay nasusukat sa katapangan at sa
bilang ng napapatay na kaaway. May iba’t-iba itong antas. Ang mga antas na ito ay
kinikilala bilang: 1) Maniklad, ang pinakamababang uri ng bayani na nakapatay ng isa o
dalawang kaaway, karaniwang siya ay nakasuot ng putong na pula at dilaw; 2) Hanagan
naman kung tawagin ang nasa ikalawang antas, siya ay sumasailalim sa ritwal na kung saan
ay dapat siyang sapian ni Tagbusawa, ang diyos ng pakikidigma at kainin ang atay at puso ng
mga kaaway. Karaniwang nagsusuot ang mga ito ng pulang putong; 3) Kinaboan naman
kung tawagin ang makakapatay ng dalawampu hanggang dalawampu’t pito at karaniwang
nakasuot ng pulang pantalaon; 4) Luto naman kung tawagin ang makakapatay ng limampu
hanggang 100 na kaaway at karaniwang nagsusuot ng pulang jacket; 5) Lunugum naman
ang pinakapaborito ng diyos na si Tagbusaw dahil dito maipapakita niya ang kanyang
katapangan sa pakikipagdigma kung saan napatay niya ang kanyang kaaway sa sarili nitong
tahanan. Itim ang karaniwang suot ng mga ito.
Father of New Philippine Historiography and Pantayong
Pananaw (For-Us-From-Us Perspective) Proponent, Dr. Zeus A.
Salazar gives a different definition of the term bayani. In fact, he
believes that bayani is different from “heroes.” For him, “ang mga
bayani ay mga taong naglalakbay at bumabalik sa bayan… ang mga
bayani ay lumalaban ng may kooperasyon [samantalang] ang mga hero
(western concept) ay lumalaban mag-isa… Ang bayani ay hindi
kailangang mamatay upang maging bayani... Kailangan niya lang
gumawa ng magagandang impluwensya at mga gawain sa bayan upang
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134 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
tawaging bayani (Ang Salitang Bayani sa Pilipinas, n.d.).
This definition gives us hope that anyone of us can be a bayani, too, in our
respective communities.
Thus, we should now realize that a modern bayani can be anyone who
sacrifices even the littlest of things for the benefit of others. A good example for a
modern bayani is Efren Peñaflorida, who sacrificed his time and effort just to teach
out-of-school youths in a simple pushcart classroom. He may not have died for the
country, but he responded to the needs of others – education.

Efren Peñaflorida and his Pushcart Classroom

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“Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search
it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.”
– Efren Peñaflorida

Today, anyone can be a bayani. A bayani who can sacrifice the simplest of
things like: time, effort, and knowledge for those who are in need. We do not need
to die like our traditional heroes, rather, a simple act of kindness can be worth a lot
to someone.
So, how can you be a Bayani of your time?

WHY IS RIZAL OUR GREATEST HERO?

In an article entitled, “Who Made Rizal Our Foremost
National Hero and Why?,” the author, Esteban A. de Ocampo,
denies the claim that Rizal is a made-to-order national hero
manufactured by the Americans, mainly by Civil Governor William
Howard Taft. Instead, he defended Rizal as the country’s foremost
hero. This was done, allegedly, in the following manner:
"And now, gentlemen, you must have a national hero". These were sup-
posed to be the words addressed by Gov. Taft to Mssrs. Pardo de Esteban A. de Ocampo
Tavera, Legarda and Luzurriaga, Filipino members of the Philippine Photo taken from https://www.google.com/search?q=
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reported that "in the subsequent discussion in which the rival merits of the revolutionary
heroes (Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Gen. Antonio Luna, Emilio

135 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
Jacinto were considered, the final choice—now universally acclaimed wise one - was Rizal.
And so history was made."
De Ocampo’s justification is founded on the definition of the term “hero,” which
he took from the Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language ,
that a hero is "a prominent or central personage taking admirable part in any
remarkable action or event". Also, "a person of distinguished valor or enterprise in
danger". And finally, he is a man "honored after death by public worship, because
of exceptional service to mankind".
Why is Rizal a hero, more correctly, our foremost national hero? It was said in
the article that he is our greatest hero because he took an “admirable part” in the
Propaganda Campaign from 1882-1896. His Noli Me Tangere (Berlin, 1887)
contributed tremendously to the formation of Filipino nationality and was said to be
far superior than those published by Pedro Paterno’s Ninay in Madrid in 1885;
Marcelo H. del Pilar’s La Soberania Monacal in Barcelona in 1889, Graciano Lopez
Jaena’s Discursos y Articulos Varios, also in Barcelona in 1891; and Antonio Luna’s
Impresiones in Madrid in 1893. This claim was evident in the comments that Rizal
received from Antonio Ma. Regidor and Professor. Ferdinand Blumentritt. Regidor, a
Filipino exile of 1872 in London, said that "the book was superior" and that if "don
Quixote has made its author immortal because he exposed to the world the sufferings of
Spain, your Noli Me Tangere will bring you equal glory…"
Blumentritt, on the other hand, after reading Rizal’s Noli, wrote and
congratulated its author, saying among other things: "Your work, as we Germans say,
has been written w/ the blood of the heart... Your work has exceeded my hopes and I
consider myself happy to have been honored by your friendship. Not only I, but also your
country, may feel happy for having in you a patriotic and loyal son. If you continue so, you
will be to your people one of those great men who will exercise a determinative influence
over the progress of their spiritual life."
While Rizal’s friends and admirers praised him and his Noli with justifiable pride,
his enemies were equally loud and bitter in attacking and condemning the same.
Perhaps no other work has, up to this day, aroused as much hostile and spiteful
argument not only among our people but also among reactionary foreigners as
the Noli of Rizal. In the Philippines alone, De Ocampo shared in his article that
Rizal’s novel was attacked and condemned by a faculty committee of a Manila
university (UST) and by the permanent censorship commission in 1887 because the
committee found the book "heretical, impious, and scandalous to the religious order, and
unpatriotic and subversive to the public order, libelous to the government of Spain and to
its political policies in these islands", while the commission recommended that "the I
mportation, reproduction, and circulation of this pernicious book in the islands be
absolutely prohibited." Coming down to our time, during the congressional discus-
sions and hearings on the Rizal (Noili-Fili) in 1956, the proponents and opponents
of the bill also engaged themselves in a bitter and long drawn-out debate that
finally resulted in the enactment of a compromise measure, now known as RA 1425.
In the Spanish capital, attacks on Rizal’s Noli were also staged - Senator
Vida, Deputy (and ex-general) Luis de Pando and Premier Praxedes Mateo
Sagasta were among those who unjustly lambasted and criticized Rizal and
his Noli in the two chambers of the Spanish Cortes in 1888 and 1889.
But it was comforting to learn that 13 years later, Cong. Henry Allen Cooper
of Wisconsin delivered a eulogy of Rizal and even recited the martyr’s Ultimo
Pensamiento on the floor of the U. S. House of Representatives in order to prove the

136 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
capacity of the Filipinos for self- government. He said in part: "It has been said that, if
American institutions had done nothing else to furnish to the world the character of
George Washington, that alone would entitle them to the respect of mankind. So Sir, I say
to all those who denounces the Filipinos indiscriminately as barbarians and savages, with-
out possibility of a civilized future, that this despised race proved itself entitled to their
respect and to the respect of mankind when it furnished to the world the character of Jose
Rizal." The result of this appeal was the approval of what is popularly known as the
Philippine Bill of 1902. The preceding paragraphs, De Ocampo claimed, have
shown that by the Noli alone Rizal, among his contemporaries, had become the
most prominent/ the central figure of the Propaganda Movement.
Ask again, why did Rizal, become the greatest Filipino hero? De Ocampo fur-
ther justifies that [no Filipino has yet been born who could equal or surpass Rizal as
a "person of distinguished valor/enterprise in danger, fortitude in suffering."] Of
these traits of our hero, let us see what a Filipino and an American biographer said:
"What is most admirable in Rizal," wrote Rafael Palma, is his complete self-denial,
his complete abandonment of his personal interests to think only of those of his country.
He could have been whatever he wished to be, considering his natural endowments; he
could have earned considerable sums of money from his profession; he could have lived
relatively rich, happy, prosperous, had he not dedicated himself to public matters. But in
him, the voice of the species was stronger than the voice of personal progress or of private
fortune, and he preferred to live far from his family and to sacrifice his personal affections
for an ideal he had dreamed of. He heeded not his brother, not even his parents, beings
whom he respected and venerated so much, in order to follow the road his conscience had
traced for him.
He did not have great means at his disposal to carry out his campaign, but that did
not discouraged him; he contented himself w/ what he had. He suffered the rigors of the
cold winter of Europe, he suffered hunger, privation, and misery; but when he raised his
eyes to heaven and saw his ideal, his hope was reborn. He complained of his countrymen,
he complained of some of those who had promised him help and did not help him, until
at times, profoundly disillusioned, he wanted to renounce his campaign forever, giving up
everything. But such moments are evanescent, he soon felt comforted and resumed the
task of bearing the cross of his suffering." (8)
Dr. Frank C. Laubach, an American biographer of Rizal, spoke of the hero’s
courage in the following words:
“His consuming life purpose was the secret of his moral courage. Physical courage,
it is true, was one of his inherited traits. But that high courage to die loving his murderers,
w/c he at last achieved--that cannot be inherited. It must be forged out in the fires of
suffering and temptation. As we read through his life, we can see how the moral strength
and fiber grew year by year as he faced new perils and was forced to make fearful
decisions. It required courage to write his two great novels telling nothing that no other
man has ventured to say before, standing almost alone against the powerful interests in the
country and in Spain, and knowing full well that despotism would strike back. He had
reached another loftier plateau of heroism when he wrote those letters to Hong Kong,
"To be opened after my death", and sailed to the "trap" in Manila without any illusions.
Then in his Dapitan exile when he was tempted to escape, and said "No", not once but
hundreds of times for four long years, and when, on the way to Cuba, Pedro Roxas
pleaded with him to step off the boat of Singapore upon British territory and save his life,
what an inner struggle it must have caused him to answer over and over again, "No, no,

137 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
no!" When the sentence of death and the fateful morning of his execution brought the
final test, he walked with perfect calm to the firing line as though by his own choice, the
only heroic figure in that sordid scene."
To the bigoted Spaniards in Spain and in the Philippines, Rizal was the most
intelligent, most courageous, and most dangerous enemy of the reactionaries and
the tyrants; therefore he should be shot publicly to serve as an example and a
warning to those of his kind. This was the reason why Rizal, after a brief mock trial,
was sentenced to death and made to face the firing squad at Bagumbayan Field,
now Luneta, in the early morning of December 30, 1896.
And for the last time, we repeat the question: Why is Rizal the greatest Filipino
hero that ever lived? De Ocampo claims that "he is a man honored after death by
public worship, because of exceptional service to mankind". It was said that even
before his execution, Rizal was the already acclaimed by both Filipinos and
foreigners as the “foremost leader of his people".
From Barcelona, M. H. del Pilar wrote to the Great Malayan on March 10,
1889 and said: "Rizal no tiene aun derecho a morir: su nombre constituye la mas pura e
immaculada bandera de aspirationes y Plaridel los suyos no son otra causa ma que
immaculada unos voluntarios que militan bajo esa bandera."
Fernando Acevedo, who called Rizal his distinguido amigo, compañero y
paisano", wrote the letter from Zaragoza, Spain, on October 25, 1889 and said: "I
see in you the model Filipino; your application to study and you talents have placed on a
height w/c I revere and admire."
The Bicolano Dr. Tomas Arejola wrote Rizal in Madrid on February 9, 1891,
saying: "Your moral influence over us is indisputable." And Guillermo Puatu of
Bulacan wrote this tribute to Rizal, saying: "Vd. a quien se le puede (llamar) con razon,
cabeza tutelary de los Filipinos, aunque la comparacion parezca algo ridicula, porque posee
la virtud la atraer consigo enconadas voluntades, zanjar las discordias y enemistades
renorosasnreuniren fiestas a hombres que no querian verse ni en la calle…”
Among the foreigners who recognized Rizal as the leading Filipino of his time
were Blumentritt, Napoleon M. Kheil, Dr. Rheinhold Rost, and Vicente Barrantes. Prof.
Blumentritt told Dr. Maximo Viola in May 1887 that "Rizal was the greatest product of
the Philippines and that his coming to the world was like the appearance of a rare comet,
whose rare brilliance appears only every other century." Napoleon Kheil of Prague,
Austria, wrote to Rizal and said: "admiro en Vd. a un noble representante de la España
colonial." Dr. Rost, distinguished Malayologist and librarian of the India office of
London, called Rizal "una perla hombre" , while don Vicente Barrantes had to admit
that Rizal was “the first among the Filipinos."
Even before the outbreak of the revolution against Spain in 1896, many
instances can be cited to prove that his country here and abroad recognized
Rizal’s leadership. In the early part of 1899 he was unanimously elected by the
Filipinos in Barcelona and Madrid as Honorary President of La
Solidaridad. Some months later in Paris, he organized and became Chief of
the Indios Bravos. In January 1891, Rizal was again unanimously
chosen Responsable (chief) of the Spanish-Filipino Association. He was also the
founder and moving spirit in the founding of La Liga Filipina on Manila in July 3,
1892.
History tells us that the revolutionary society known as Katipunan likewise
acknowledged Rizal’s leadership and greatness by making him its honorary

138 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
President and by using his family name Rizalas the password for the third-degree
members.
A year after Rizal’s execution, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and the other
revolutionary chiefs exiled to Hong Kong held a commemorative program on
December 29, 1897 on the occasion of the First Anniversary of the hero’s execution
and martyrdom.
Of utmost significance in the public’s appreciation for Rizal’s patriotic labors
in behalf of his people were the tributes paid by the revolutionary government to
his memory. In his opening address at the congress assembled at Malolos, Bulacan
on September 15, 1898, Pres. Aguinaldo invoked the spirits of the departed heroes
of the fatherland, thus: “Illustrious spirits of RIZAL, Lopez Jaena, of Marcelo del Pilar!
August shades of Burgos, Pelaez and Panganiban! Warlike geniuses of Aguinaldo!
(Crispulo---O.), and Tirona, of Natividad and Evangelista! Arise a moment from your un-
known graves!
Then on December 20, 1898 at the revolutionary capital of Malolos, Pres.
Aguinaldo issued the first official proclamation making December 30 of that year as
"Rizal Day". The same proclamation ordered the hoisting the Filipino flags at
half-mast "from 12:00 noon on December 30, 1898" and the closing of "all offices of
the government" during the whole day of December 30. Actually, the impressive
Rizal Day program, sponsored by the Club Filipino, was held in Manila on December
30,1898.
Two of the greatest of Filipino poets in the Spanish language paid glowing
tributes to the martyr of Bagumbayan in acknowledgement of the hero’s labors and
sacrifices for his people. Fernando Ma. Guerrero wrote on September 25, 1898,
thus: "No has muerto, no. La Gloria es tu destino; tu corona los fuegos de la aurora, y tu
inviolable altar nuestra conciencia." Cecilio Apostol, on December 30 of the same
year, wrote these lines:
"!Duerme en paz las sombras de la nada,
Redentor de una Patria esclavizada!
!No llores de la tumba en el misterio
Del español el triunfo momentaneo:
Que si Una bala destrozo tu craneo,
Tambien tu idea destrozo un emperio!
The Filipinos were not alone in grieving the untimely death of their hero and
idol, for the intellectual and scientific circles of the world felt keenly the loss of Rizal,
who was their esteemed colleague and friend. Dr. Camilo Osias and Wenceslao E.
Retaña both spoke of the universal homage accorded to Rizal immediately after his
death.
Among the scientific necrological services held especially to honor Rizal, the
one sponsored by the Anthropological Society of Berlin in November 20, 1897 at
the initiative of Dr. Rudolph Virchow, its president, was the most important and
significant. Dr. Ed Seler recited the German translation of Rizal’s "My Last Farewell"
on that occasion.
The newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals throughout the civilized
world – in Germany, Austria, France, Holland, London, the US, Japan, Hong Kong
and Macao, Singapore, Switzerland, and in Latin American countries — published
accounts of Rizal’s martyrdom in order to render homage to his greatness (De
Ocampo, n.d.).
Perhaps the following quotation from the late William Cameron Forbes, an

139 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
ardent admirer of Rizal and the governor-general of the Philippines during the
construction of the Rizal Mausoleum on the Luneta, is appropriate at this point. He
said:
“It is eminently proper that Rizal should have become the acknowledged national
hero of the Philippine people. The American administration has lent every assistance to
this recognition, setting aside the anniversary of his death to be a day of his observance,
placing his picture on the postage stamp most commonly used in the Islands, and on the
currency, cooperating with the Filipinos in making the site of his school in Dapitan a
national park, and encouraging the erection by public subscription of a monument in his
honor on the Luneta in Manila near the place where he met his death. One of the longest
and most important street in Manila has been named in his memory—Rizal Avenue. The
Filipinos in many cities and towns have erected monuments to his name, and throughout
the Islands the public schools teach the young Filipinos to revere his memory as the
greatest of Filipino patriots.”
We are all aware of some Filipinos who, every now and then, argue that
Andres Bonifacio, and not Jose Rizal, deserves to be acknowledged and
canonized as our first national hero. They maintain that Rizal never held a gun, a
rifle, or a sword in fighting for the liberty and independence of our country in the
battlefield. They further assert that while the foremost national heroes of other
countries are soldier-generals, like George Washington of US, Napoleon I and Joan
of Arc of France, simon Bolivar of Venezuela, Jose de San Martin of Argentina,
Bernardo O’Higgins of Chile, Jimmu Tenno of Japan, etc., our greatest hero was a
pacifist and a civilian whose weapon was his quill. However, our people in
exercising their good sense, independent judgment, and unusual discernment, have
not followed the examples of other nations in selecting and acknowledging a
military leader for their greatest hero. Rafael Palma has very well stated the case of
Rizal versus Bonifacio in these words:
“It should be a source of pride and satisfaction to the Filipinos to have among their
national heroes one of such excellent qualities and merits which may be equaled but not
surpassed by any other man. Whereas generally the heroes of occidental nations are
warriors and generals who serve their cause with the sword, distilling blood and tears, the
hero of the Filipinos served his cause with the pen, demonstrating that the pen is as
mighty as the sword to redeem a people from their political slavery. It is true that in our
case the sword of Bonifacio was after all needed to shake off the yoke of a foreign power;
but the revolution prepared by Bonifacio was only the effect, the consequence of the
spiritual redemption wrought by the pen of Rizal. Hence not only in the chronological
order but also in the point of importance the previous works of Rizal seems to us superior
to that of Bonifacio, because although that of Bonifacio was of immediate results, that of
Rizal will have more durable and permanent effects.
In the preceding discussions, we have tried to establish that Rizal was not
only a great hero, but the greatest among the Filipinos. In summary, Prof. Blumentritt
judged him as "the most prominent man of his own people" and "the greatest man
the Malayan race has produced"; during his lifetime, Rizal was already acclaimed
by both Filipinos and foreigners as the foremost leader of his people and that this
admiration for him has increased with the passing of time since his dramatic death
at Luneta that fateful morning of December 30, 1896. Likewise, we attempted to
disprove the claim made by some quarters that Rizal is an American-made hero,
and we also tried to explain why Rizal is greater than any other Filipino hero,
including Andres Bonifacio.

140 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan
 The question now is, who made Rizal the foremost hero of the Philippines? De
Ocampo (n.d.) writes, “no single person or groups of persons were responsible for
making the Greatest Malayan the No. 1 Hero of his people. Rizal himself, his own people,
and the foreigners all together contributed to make him the greatest hero and martyr of his
people. No amount of adulation and canonization by both Filipinos and foreigners could
convert Rizal into a great hero if he did not possess in himself what Palma calls "excellent
qualities and merits" or what Retaña calls "la finura exquisite de su espiritu,…la nobleza
quijotesca de su corazon,… su psicologia toda, romantica, soñadora, buena, adorable, psi-
cologia que sintetizo todos los entimientos y aspiraciones de un pueblo que sufria, vien-
dose victima de su regimen oprobioso…."

141 The Life and Works of Jose Rizal Jose Rizal and Philippine Nationalism: Bayani and Kabayanihan