Maquilan, Jaylord P.
RIZAL 031 K01-AP1
RIZAL: Life, Works & Writings
Assignment #1
Questions:
1. In what reasons why Claro M. Recto authored the Senate Bill 438 or otherwise known
as Rizal Bill of 1956.
The late Senator Claro M. Recto authored the Senate Bill 438 to honor the heroic
deeds of Rizal. The late senator, as well as the Committee of Education and the supporters
of the bill, wanted to pass it into law because they believe that by having it, the people,
especially the youth, will develop a sense of nationalism and patriotism towards their
country. That sense of nationalism and patriotism are the two important qualities of a
Filipino that Rizal wanted all of us to have. It is the nationalism and patriotism that
provoked him to start a peaceful revolution against the Spanish regime that enlightened
the Filipino people on the violations made by the Spaniards. The supporters also argued
that with this law, the lives of the youth will be rededicated to the ideals of freedom and
nationalism, and they will have an inspiring source of patriotism. Hence, after all the
oppositions, the bill was passed into law and mandates all the schools both private and
public to teach the life, works, and writings of Jose Rizal in all levels.
2. What are the arguments of the oppositions of the Bill and why they don’t want the bill
to be passed into law?
The Senate Bill 438 underwent many trials before it passed into law. The
organizations such as the Catholic Action of the Philippines, the Congregation of the
Mission, the Knight of Columbus, and the Catholic Teachers Guild organized their
opposition for the bill. The Roman Catholic Church was the main opposition, they strongly
opposed the bill considering that the unexpurgated version of Noli Me Tangere, and El
Filibusterismo will be required to all students. Father Jesus Carvanna claimed that the
works of Rizal attacks the Catholic Church and it is not good to the religious order. Thus,
they collectively argued that it will be harmful to the Catholic faith, since the uncensored
version will force heresy on them, and will violate their freedom of conscience. They also
emphasized that the works of Rizal were written in the past, therefore, it is not applicable
in the present time due to the change of learning preferences made by the students.
3. Explain the significance of the passage of R.A. 1425 which is known as the Rizal Law.
The Rizal Law that mandates all public and private schools to have the academic
subject on the life, works, and writings of Jose Rizal was not directed by law for nothing.
Nowadays, most students consider this course as impractical. Even so, the Rizal course
offers many benefits, especially when taught properly. This law aims to reawaken
nationalism, open the eyes of Filipinos from colonial mentality, pay tribute to Rizal and
other heroes, and to make us proud of the history. Through the works of Dr. Jose Rizal,
we will attain the following; understand better ourselves as Filipinos, teach us nationalism
and patriotism, and essential life lessons. The past behaviors and history of our nation
will help us better understand ourselves as Filipinos, and the process on how we attained
independence. Rizal teachings on nationalism and patriotism will help to foster the
development of the Filipino youth in all aspects of citizenship. Lastly, the essential life
lessons of Rizal will help us deal with the problems and help us to have the capabilities
to make an impact to other's life.
4. Why Jose Rizal is considered foremost National Hero and not Andres Bonifacio nor
Emilio Aguinaldo.
Jose Rizal became a foremost National Hero because he fought for independence
in a silent but powerful way. It was Rizal who enlightened the Filipino people about the
offenses made by the Spanish Government through his novels, essays, and articles. He
used his intelligence, talents, and skills in his peaceful protest and not used an aggressive
force like what Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo used in their protest. He was
chosen as the national hero because he was non-violent and reformist, unlike Bonifacio
or Aguinaldo. It is true that Rizal is an American-sponsored hero. The Americans strategic
plan was to make him the national hero because he didn’t want a bloody revolution.
Subsequently, he will be a good model to the Filipinos and will not cause them to revolt
against the Americans. The Greatest Malayan Filipino is another astonishing title of Rizal
due to his undying contribution in the struggle to revive human dignity and self-respect
to subjugated people all over the world. Lastly, Rizal’s nationalism and patriotism cannot
be questioned and these would be enough to considered him as the foremost National
Hero.
5. If you are one of the senators during the debate over the Bill, will you support or
opposed the Bill. Why or Why not?
If I were one of the senators during the debate, I will oppose the Bill. Recognizing
the heroic deeds of Jose Rizal and celebrating important events of his life would be
enough to show how much we value him as our national hero. I would agree to the
opposition who argued that the teachings of Rizal were written in the past, therefore, it
must be left in the past. There will be lapses in the implementation. If the bill will be
passed into law, the way of teaching the course will be inconsistent, thus, the aims of
this law became impossible to meet. Also, I will oppose, due to the problems I expected
on the consistency of the distribution to the public. Nowadays, the law was not given
greater importance by the youth and in fact, students only take the course for compliance,
without the intention of applying Rizal teachings in their life. The world is different today,
so, we cannot force the new generation to read the novels due to their different learning
preferences.
