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THE LIFE AND WORKS OF JOSE RIZAL

As mandated by Republic Act 1425, this course covers the life and works of the country's national hero,
Jose Rizal. Among the topics covered are Rizal's biography and his writings, particularly the novels Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, some of his essays, and various correspondences.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Discuss Jose Rizal's life within the context of 19th century Philippines;
2. Analyze Rizal's various works, particularly the novels Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo;
3. Organize Rizal's ideas into various themes;
4. Demonstrate a critical reading of primary sources;
5. Interpret the values that can be derived from studying Rizal's life and works;
6. Display an appreciation for education and love of country.

INTRODUCTION

What is Republic Act 1425 or Rizal Law?

- House Bill No. 5561

- Senate Bill No. 438.
- It is commonly known as the Rizal Act, established on 12th of June 1956 by Senator Claro M. Recto.
- It requires the curricula of private and public schools, colleges and universities courses to include,
works and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
- It was made effective on August 16, 1956.

As stated in the preamble of RA 1425/Rizal Law;

“Whereas, today more than other period f or history, there is a need for a re-dedication to the
ideals of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died.”

“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.”

The law requires all schools, colleges, universities ,private or public to include in their curricula
courses on the life and works of Rizal. It also states that all schools are required to have an
adequate number of copies of the copies of the original and unexpurgated editions of El
Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere, as well as other works and biographies of Rizal.

- The purpose of Batas Rizal is to rekindle the flame of nationalism in the hearts of the Filipino,
particularly the youth. We are forgetting what our patriots have done and given to fight for our freedom.
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Factors in Determining of a Person

● Just
● Patient
● Courageous
● Bearer of Wisdom
● Respectful
● Nationalist

Criteria in Choosing the Philippine National Hero according to National Historical Commission
● Filipino citizen
● Patriot/nationalist
● Has already been dead
● Patient

Personalities Nominated to be our National Hero

● Marcelo H. del Pilar
● Emilio Jacinto
● Graciano Lopez-Jaena
● Antonio Luna

Issues about the Proclamation of Dr. Jose Rizal as National Hero

1. He was the illegitimate son of Adolf Hitler

2. He should not be proclaimed as the national hero because of his cowardice to fight the
colonizers through revolution.
3. He was regarded as an ―American-made hero.
● First Philippine Commission was formed by the United States President headed by the
American Governor-General William Howard C. Taft.
● Declaration of Dr. Jose Rizal as our national hero was only their strategy to hinder our
nationalistic feelings.

Philippines: Spanish Period

● Emergence of political unrest in Spanish Politics

1. It started during the reign of King Ferdinand VII

2. Spanish political instability resulted to frequent shifts of colonial policies
and unfixed terms of government officials in the Philippines.

● Representation in the Spanish Cortes

● Deprivation of Human Rights to the Filipino
● Corrupt Spanish Official
● Inequality
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● Racial Discrimination
● Land ownership and Feudalism

Chapter 1

DR. JOSE PROTACIO MERCADO RIZAL ALONZO Y REALONDA

MEANINGS OF NAME

· Doctor- completed his medical course in Spain and was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine by
the Universidad Central de Madrid
· Jose- was chosen by his mother who was a devotee of the
Christian saint San Jose (St. Joseph)
· Protacio- from Gervacio P. which come from a Christian
calendar
· Mercado- adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the paternal
great-great-grandfather of Jose Rizal) which the Spanish term
mercado means ‘market’ in English
· Rizal- from the word ‘Ricial’ in Spanish means a field where
wheat, cut while still green, sprouts again
· Alonzo- old surname of his mother
· Y- and
· Realonda- it was used by Dona Teodora from the surname of
her godmother based on the culture by that time
· June 19, 1861- moonlit of Wednesday between eleven and
midnight Jose Rizal was born in the lakeshore town of Calamba, Laguna
· June 22, 1861- aged three days old, Rizal was baptized in the Catholic church
· Father Rufino Collantes- a Batangueno, the parish priest who baptized Rizal
· Father Pedro Casanas- Rizal’s godfather, native of Calamba and close friend of the Rizal family
· Lieutenant-General Jose Lemery- the governor general of the Philippines when Rizal was born

RIZAL’S PARENTS

Don Francisco Mercado (1818-1898)

-born in Binan, Laguna on May 11, 1818
-studied Latin and Philosophy at the College of San Jose in Manila
-became a tenant-farmer of the Dominican-owned hacienda
-a hardy and independent-minded man, who talked less and worked more, and was strong in body
and valiant in spirit
-died in Manila on January 5, 1898 at the age of 80
-Rizal affectionately called him “a model of fathers”

Dona Teodora Alonso Realonda (1826-1911)

-born in Manila on November 8, 1826
-educated at the College of Santa Rosa, a well-known college for girls in the city
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-a remarkable woman, possessing refined culture, literary talent, business ability, and the fortitude
of Spartan women
-is a woman of more than ordinary culture: she knows literature and speaks Spanish (according to
Rizal)
-died in Manila on August 16, 1911 at the age of 85

THE RIZAL CHILDREN

-Eleven children—two boys and nine girls

1. Saturnina (1850-1913)
-oldest of the Rizal children
-nicknamed Neneng
-married Manuel T. Hidalgo of Tanawan, Batangas

2. Paciano (1851-1930)
-older brother and confident of Jose Rizal
-was a second father to Rizal
-immortalized him in Rizal’s first novel Noli Me Tangere as the wise Pilosopo Tasio
-Rizal regarded him as the “most noble of Filipinos”
-became a combat general in the Philippine Revolution
-died on April 13, 1930, an old bachelor aged 79
-had two children by his mistress (Severina Decena)—a boy and a girl

3. Narcisa (1852-1939)
-her pet name was Sisa
-married to Antonio Lopez (nephew of Father Leoncio Lopez), a school teacher of Morong

4. Olimpia (1855-1887)
-Ypia was her pet name
-married Silvestre Ubaldo, a telegraph operator from Manila

5. Lucia (1857-1919)
-married to Mariano Herbosa of Calamba, who was a nephew of Father Casanas
-Herbosa died of cholera in 1889 and was denied Christian burial because he was a brother-in-law
of Dr. Rizal

6. Maria (1859-1945)
-Biang was her nickname
-married Daniel Faustino Cruz of Binan, Laguna

7. Jose (1861-1896)
-the greatest Filipino hero and peerless genius
-nickname was Pepe
-lived with Josephine Bracken, Irish girl from Hong Kong
-had a son but this baby-boy died a few hours after birth; Rizal named him “Francisco” after his
father and buried him in Dapitan
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8. Concepcion (1862-1865)
-her pet name was Concha
-died of sickness at the age of 3
-her death was Rizal’s first sorrow in life

9. Josefa (1865-1945)
-her pet name was Panggoy
-died an old maid at the age of 80

10. Trinidad (1868-1951)

-Trining was her pet name
-she died also an old maid in 1951 aged 83

11. Soledad (1870-1929)

-youngest of the Rizal children
-her pet name was Choleng
-married Pantaleon Quintero of Calamba

● Rizal always called her sisters Doña or Señora (if married) and Señorita (if single)
● Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso Realonda married on June 28, 1848, after which they settled
down in Calamba

● The real surname of the Rizal family was Mercado, which was adopted in 1731 by Domingo Lamco (the
paternal great-great grandfather of Jose Rizal), who was a full blooded Chinese)

● Rizal’s family acquired a second surname—Rizal—which was given by a Spanish alcalde mayor
(provincial governor) of Laguna, who was a family friend
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RIZAL’S ANCESTRY

· FATHER’S SIDE

MOTHER’S SIDE

Domingo Lamco
(a Chinese immigrant from
the Fukien city arrived in
Manila about 1690)

Francisco Mercad

Juan Mercado
(Rizal’s grandfath

Had th
Franc

Lakandula
(The last native king of Tondo)

Eugenio Ursua
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THE RIZAL HOME

● was one of the distinguished stone houses in Calamba during the Spanish times
● it was a two-storey building, rectangular in shape, built of adobe stones and hard-woods and
roofed with red tiles
● by day, it hummed with the noises of children at play and the songs of the birds in the garden; by
night, it echoed with the dulcet notes of family prayers
o The Rizal family belonged to the principalia, a town aristocracy in Spanish Philippines
o The Rizal family had a simple, contented and happy life

Chapter 2

CHILDHOOD YEARS IN CALAMBA

● Calamba was named after a big native jar

● Calamba was a hacienda town which belonged to the Dominican Order, which also owned all the
lands around it

● Un Recuerdo A Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)- a poem about Rizal’s beloved town
written by Rizal in 1876 when he was 15 years old and was student in the Ateneo de
Manila
● The first memory of Rizal, in his infancy, was his happy days in the family garden when he
was three years old
● Another childhood memory was the daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, Rizal related, his
mother gathered all the children at the house to pray the Angelus
● Another memory of Rizal’s infancy was the nocturnal walk in the town, especially when
there was a moon
● The death of little Concha brought Rizal his first sorrow
● At the age of three, Rizal began to take a part in the family prayers
● When Rizal was five years old, he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family bible
● The Story of the Moth- made the profoundest impression on Rizal
● “died a martyr to its illusions”
● At the age of five, Rizal began to make sketches with his pencil and to mold in clay and
wax objects which attracted his fancy
● Sa Aking Mga Kabata (To My Fellow Children)- Rizal’s first poem in native language at
the age of eight
● reveals Rizal’s earliest nationalist sentiment
● At the age of eight, Rizal wrote his first dramatic work which was a Tagalog comedy

INFLUENCES ON THE HERO’S BOYHOOD

(1) hereditary influence
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(2) environmental influence

(3) aid of Divine Providence

● Tio Jose Alberto- studied for eleven years in British school in Calcutta, India and had traveled in
Europe inspired Rizal to develop his artistic ability
● Tio Manuel- a husky and athletic man, encouraged Rizal to develop his frail body by means of
physical exercises
● Tio Gregorio- a book lover, intensified Rizal’s voracious reading of good book
● Father Leoncio Lopez- the old and learned parish priest of Calamba, fostered Rizal’s love for
scholarship and intellectual honest.