Rizal Law and Rizal, In His Times

Republic Act 1425

The Republic Act 1425 requires all schools, colleges and universities in the Philippines, whether private or public, to include the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal in the curriculum.

Republic Act No. 1425
House Bill No. 5561
Senate Bill No. 438

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.

According to the Section 1 of the Act, in the collegiate courses, the basic texts to be used is the original or unexpurgated edition of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their English translations. Thus, on the Section 2 of the act, the schools, colleges and universities are required to house enough number of copies of the original and expurgated, unexpurgated and Rizal’s biography, works and other writings on the library.

My Concept of a Hero

A Hero, for me, is someone who has a good heart; who took care of the nation more than himself. Someone who saves the planet, country, nation or community in  danger in any ways. A Hero for me is not like an ancient Greek Hero that needs to be a dead person and a religious figure.

Jose Rizal, An American-Sponsored Hero?

Somehow, yes, Jose Rizal is an American-sponsored Hero because it’s not the Filipinos who chose Jose Rizal to be the National Hero of the Philippines, furthermore, it’s not the Filipino people who suggested that the Philippine Islands should have a National Hero. It’s the Taft Commission or the Second Philippine Commission who suggested and declared Jose Rizal to be our National Hero. They chose Rizal over Aquinaldo, Bonifacio and Mabini.

But the fact that Jose Rizal is still our National Hero shows that he is still the one who the Filipinos want to be called our National Hero despite that other Filipinos believe that Andres Bonifacio should be our National Hero.

Who made Rizal our foremost hero and why?

William Howard Taft, as the head of the Second Philippine Commission or also known as the Taft Commission suggested that the Philippines should have a national hero. The American officials chose Jose Rizal among the four candidates including Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini because he enlighten the Filipinos especially Bonifacio trough his writings and without using any brutal ways or risking other’s life.

What were the international events that could have influenced Rizal’s philosophies during his time?

Discuss the evil practices that happened in the Spanish administration in the Philippines and compare it to the present administration.

During the Spanish Administration, people that against the government are being killed. Now, in some parts of the Philippines like Maguindanao, some killings still happens because of politics. Writing against the Administration during Spanish time are not allowed, today journalist, I believe, has the freedom of speech though are still being killed. There was no freedom during the Spanish era unlike now, we are in a democratic country.

Noli Me Tangere Summary

Having completed his studies in Europe, young Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra y Magsalin came back to the Philippines after a 7-year absence. In his honor, Don Santiago de los Santos, a family friend also known as Capitan Tiago, threw a get-together party, which was attended by friars and other prominent figures. One of the guests, former San Diego curate Father Dámaso Vardolagas belittled and slandered Ibarra. Ibarra brushed off the insults and took no offense; he instead politely excused himself and left the party because of an allegedly important task.

The next day, Ibarra visits María Clara, his betrothed, the beautiful daughter of Captain Tiago and affluent resident of Binondo, Manila. Their long-standing love was clearly manifested in this meeting, and María Clara cannot help but reread the letters her sweetheart had written her before he went to Europe. Before Ibarra left for San Diego, Lieutenant Guevara, a guardia civil, reveals to him the incidents preceding the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra, a rich hacendero of the town.

According to Guevara, Don Rafael was unjustly accused of being a heretic, in addition to being a filibuster — an allegation brought forth by Father Dámaso because of Don Rafael's non-participation in the Sacraments, such as Confession and Mass. Father Dámaso's animosity against Ibarra's father is aggravated by another incident when Don Rafael helped out on a fight between a tax collector and a child fighting, and the former's death was blamed on him, although it was not deliberate. Suddenly, all of those who thought ill of him surfaced with additional complaints. He was imprisoned, and just when the matter was almost settled, he got sick and died in jail. Still not content with what he had done, Dámaso arranged for Don Rafael's corpse to be dug up from the Catholic church and brought to a Chinese cemetery, because he thought it inappropriate to allow a heretic a Catholic burial ground. Unfortunately, it was raining and because of the bothersome weight of the cadaver, the undertakers decided to throw the corpse into a nearby lake.[1]

Revenge was not in Ibarra's plans; instead he carried through his father's plan of putting up a school, since he believed that education would pave the way to his country's progress (all over the novel the author refers to both Spain and the Philippines as two different countries, which form part of a same nation or family, being Spain the mother and the Philippines the daughter). During the inauguration of the school, Ibarra would have been killed in a sabotage had Elías — a mysterious man who had warned Ibarra earlier of a plot to assassinate him — not saved him. Instead the hired killer met an unfortunate incident and died. The sequence of events proved to be too traumatic for María Clara who got seriously ill but was luckily cured by the medicine Ibarra sent.

Meanwhile, in Capitan Tiago's residence, a party was being held to announce the upcoming wedding of María Clara and Linares. Ibarra, with the help of Elías, took this opportunity to escape from prison. Before leaving, Ibarra spoke to María Clara and accused her of betraying him, thinking that she gave the letter he wrote her to the jury. María Clara explained that she would never conspire against him, but that she was forced to surrender Ibarra's letter to Father Salvi, in exchange for the letters written by her mother even before she, María Clara, was born. The letters were from her mother, Pía Alba, to Dámaso alluding to their unborn child; and that María Clara was therefore not Captain Tiago's biological daughter, but Dámaso's.

It was Christmas Eve when Elias woke up in the forest fatally wounded, as it is here where he instructed Ibarra to meet him. Instead, Elias found the altar boy Basilio cradling his already-dead mother, Sisa. The latter lost her mind when she learned that her two sons, Crispin and Basilio, were chased out of the convent by the sacristan mayor on suspicions of stealing sacred objects. (The truth is that, it was the sacristan mayor who stole the objects and only pinned the blame on the two boys. The said sacristan mayor actually killed Crispin while interrogating him on the supposed location of the sacred objects. It was implied that the body was never found and the incident was covered-up by the parish priest, Father Salvi).

Elias helped Basilio bury his mother and while he lay dying, he instructed Basilio to continue dreaming about freedom for his motherland with the words: "I shall die without seeing the dawn break upon my homeland. You, who shall see it, salute it! Do not forget those who have fallen during the night." He died thereafter.

In the epilogue, it was explained that Kapitan Tiago became addicted to opium and was seen to frequent the opium house in Binondo to satiate his addiction. Maria Clara became a nun where Father Salvi, who has lusted over Maria Clara from the beginning of the novel, regularly used her to fulfill his lust. One stormy evening, a beautiful crazy woman was seen at the top of the convent crying and cursing the heavens for the fate it has handed her. While the woman was never identified, it is is suggested that the said woman was Maria Clara.

Another Summary is...

Crisostomo Ibarra is the heir of a wealthy clan. He returns to the Philippines after studying for seven years abroad. He hears news/gossip about the death of his father, Don Rafael Ibarra. Don Rafael was sent to prison in connection with the death of a tax collector. Since Don Rafael stopped receiving holy communion for a long time, he was refused a Catholic/Christian burial by Padre Damaso, the parish priest of their town.

Crisostomo (let's just call him Ibarra from hereon) sees the lack of progress in his town and decides to build a school to teach and prepare his townspeople. Tandang Tacio (the old philosopher) notes that there have been many attempts to build a school in the past, but all these had failed. Padre Salvi opposes the plan because he is secretly worried that the school project will threaten the power he wields over their town.

Ibarra almost gets killed while he is laying the cornerstone of the school, but Elias saved him. Elias is the mysterious fellow who also saved Ibarra previously.

With so many powerful enemies, Ibarra eventually gets implicated in a staged revolution, and is hunted down by the guardia civil. Maria Clara, Ibarra's sweetheart, unwittingly adds to Ibarra's woes when she switches Ibarra's letter with another letter that reveals her true nature.

The guardia civil catch up with Ibarra, and drizzle him and Elias with bullets near the lake. Ibarra survives and buries Elias in the forest owned by the clan of Ibarra. The guardia civil think Ibarra drowned and died in the lake and promptly leave the scene.

Maria Clara thinks Ibarra really died, gets depressed, and enters the nunnery. She does not follow the advice of Padre Damaso to marry Linares.

Cover Page of Noli Me Tangere Book Symbolism and Meaning

Elaborate and romantic indeed but also faintly sadomasochistic. Intentionally or not, the cover also plays a trick on the eye of its beholder -- stare at the cover long enough and you'll see a fantastic creature, a chimera really, with the head of a Spanish- India mestiza and the legs of a Spanish friar. The text itself is the torso that the title -- "Touch Me Not" -- bars us, literally and figuratively, from seeing in full. Could this be a grotesque portrait of Rizal's patria adorada? One could argue that the cover is evocative of Philippine colonial society       in general -- the feminine "elevated" but also placed in shadow; the religious orders "running" everything "behind" the scenes; and death, cruelty, and bondage amid the lush tropical vegetation.

But one could also argue (unoriginally) that the Noli's cover offers a pictorial summary of the main text. Each element of the cover then refers to specific passages in the novel.

Which passages? Here are some suggestions. All the passages below are from the mass market paperback edition of the Noli translated by Lacson-Locsin and published by Bookmark in 1996.

The Silhouette of a Girl's Head

"'Padre Cura! Padre Cura!' [Padre Salvi] the Spaniards cried to him; but he did not mind them. He ran in the direction of the Capitan Tiago's house. There he breathed a sigh of relief. He saw through the transparent gallery an adorable silhouette full of grace and the lovely contours of Maria Clara and that of her aunt bearing glasse and cups." (366)

Two Hairy Calves Protruding from a Habit, The Feet Encased in Sandals:

"However, Padre Damaso is not mysterious like those monks; he is jolly and if the sound of his voice is brusque like that of a man who has never bitten his tongue and who believes everything he utters is sacrosanct and cannot be improved upon, his gay and frank laughter erases this disagreeble impression, even to the extent that one feels bound to forgive him his sockless feet and a pair of hairy legs which would fetch the fortune of a Mendiata in the Quiapo fair."

A Constabulary Helmet:

"The Alferez [Dona Consolacion's husband] picked up his helmet, straightened himslef a bit and marched off with loud giant strides. After a few minutes he returned, not making the least sound. He had removed his boots. The servants, accustomed to these spectacles [violent arguments between the Alferez and Dona Consolacion], were usually bored, but the removal of the boots called their attention. They winked at each other."

A Whip :

"Dona Consolacion took a few turns in the room twisting the whip in her calloused hands and, stopping all of a sudden in front of Sisa, told her in Spanish, 'Dance!'

"...Dona Consolacion raised the whip -- that terrible whip familiar to thieves and soldiers, made in Ulango and perfected by the Alferez with twisted wires... And she started to whip lightly the naked feet of the mad woman, whose face contracted with pain,obliging her to defend herself with her hands."

Elias -- "Since he was poor and could not pay for able lawyers, he was condemned to be scourged in public and taken through the streets of Manila. Not long long ago this was in use, this infamous punishment the people call "caballo y vaca," a thousand times worse than death itself. My grandfather, abandoned by all except his young wife, was tied to a horse, followed by a cruel multitude, and flogged on every street corner, before other men, his brothers, and in the neighborhood if the numerous temples of a God of peace."

A Length of Chain:

"Then you see the streets being tamped down by a chain gang of prisoners with shaved heads, clad in short-sleeved shirts and drawers reaching to the knees, with numbers and letters in blue; chains around their legs, half-wrapped in dirty rags to reduce the abrasion, or perhaps the coldness of the iron; joined in pairs, sunburnt, prostrate from heat and fatigue, given lashes, and beaten with a club by another prisoner who perhaps found comfort in ill-treating others."

Thorny Bamboo Branches:

"Bamboo clumps of luxuriant foliage grew alongside the highway. In other times she would stop in their shade. Here she [Sisa] and her lover would rest; with a tender exchange of words he would relieve her of her basket of fruits and vegetables -- ay! that was like dream. The lover became husband; the husband was made into a barangay head and then misfortune started knocking at her door. "As the sun's heat was becoming intense, the soldiers asked her if she wanted rest.

"'No, thank you!' she replied with a shudder.

"When they approached the town she was seized with terror; she looked in anguish around her; vast ricefields, a small irrigation canal, thin trees -- there was not a precipice or a boulder in sight against which she could smash herself."

Flowers and a Graveyard Cross:

"Ibarra descended, followed by an old man-servant. He dismissed the carriage with the gesture and headed towards the cemetery, silent and grave.

"'My sickness and my preoccupations have not allowed me to return,'the old man was saying timidly. 'Capitan Tiago said he would have atomb built, but I planted flowers and had a cross made.

"...Ibarra proceeded towards the gravedigger who was regarding them with curiosity, and greeted them, removing his salakot.

"'Can you tell is which is the grave that had the cross?' asked the servant.

"'A big cross?'

"'Yes, a big one,' happily confirmed the servant, looking meaningfully at Ibarra, whose features had brightened.

"'A cross with designs on it, tied with rattan?' the gravedigger asked again.

"'That's it, that's it! Like this, like this,' the servant traced on the earth the shape of a Byzantine cross.

"'And over the grave were flowers planted?'

"'Adelfas, sampagas, and pensamientos, that's it!' added the servant filled with joy. He offered him a cigar.

"'Tell us which is the grave and where the cross is.'

"The gravedigger rubbed his ears and replied yawning: 'Well, the cross -- I have already burned it.'

"'Burned it? Why did you burn it?'

"'Because the chief parish priest so ordered.'"

To summarize everything...

At the top, all that is best in Philippine life: woman, symbolizing constancy, religious faith symbolized by the tombstone, with a laurel (courage) and the flower of the pomelo, worn by bride and groom at a wedding and symbolizing purity.

The words partly covered by the title are the secret, inner dedication by Rizal to his parents, the complete text being probably: 'A mis P(adres.) al escribir e(sta obra he estado) pensando continuamente e(n vosotros que me) habeis
infundido los (primeros pensamientos) y las primeras ideas; a (vosotros os dedi)co este manuscrito de me (joventud com p)rueba de amor. Berlin, (21 de Febrero de) 1887.

To the left of the title, the flower mirasol, representing youth seeking the sun. The author's name, meaning the green of renewal, mounting up into the green of the most enduring of all Philippine trees, the bamboo. At the bottom, all that is worst in Philippine life: the helmet of the Civil Guard, the whip and instruments of torture, and the foot of a friar.