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Who Made Rizal Our Foremost National Hero, and Why? BY: ESTEBAN A. DE OCAMPO A Summary Dr. Jose Rizal Mercado y Alonso, or simply Jose Rizal (1861-1896), is a well-known personality that has been mentioned in the annals of Philippine history. Dr. José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, is not only admired for possessing intellectual brilliance, but also for taking a stand and resisting the Spanish colonial government. His birth and death is remembered and recognized by the Filipino people. His name can be found in almost all corners of the Philippines. Roads, schools and even province are named after him. His image can be found in peso bills and coins. Monuments are erected in his name (foremost of this can be found in Rizal Park in Manila). These are manifestations of the country's reverence accorded to Jose Rizal as a national hero. Who is the Filipino writer whose teachings have been frequently invoked & quoted by authors on almost all occasions? None but Rizal. And why is this so? Because as biographer Rafael Palma said, "The doctrines of Rizal are for all epochs. They are as valid today as they were yesterday…” and for the future. Rizal was a unique man of outstanding talents. A patriot and a poet, a novelist and an educator. Above all, he was a man of conviction. His love for his country, and his observations of Spanish rule impassioned him to speak out about injustice. He was a peaceful man and used the power of the pen to express himself. However, there are Filipinos believing that Rizal's becoming the national hero was the result of American sponsorship wherein fact, the American government, especially Gov. W. H. Taft only "guided" the Filipino people to choose Rizal. The American rationale was based on Rizal's peaceful propaganda and diplomatic approaches in attaining Philippine freedom and independence. This is shown by his pacifism where he fought the Spanish tyranny through a propaganda battles by means of using his pen in critiquing and exposing the defects of Spanish governance. Alarmed over the threat posed by the two novels of Rizal, angry Spanish officials pushed for Rizal's arrest and exile in Dapitan. Despite that, Rizal promised the Spanish governor that he would not attempt an escape, which, in that remote part of the country, would have been relatively easy. He was spontaneously acknowledged not only by his own people, but also the elite of other lands who intimately knew his patriotic labors. Also, immediately after his execution, his own people had justly acclaimed him as their foremost hero & martyr. Dr. Frank C. Laubach, an American biographer of Rizal, spoke of the hero’s courage and I quote, 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 & temptation.

The question why Dr. Jose Rizal is our foremost National Hero was answered three times in the article of Esteban. First, why is Rizal a hero, nay, our foremost national hero? He was a prominent figure in the propaganda campaign and took admirable part in the movement and also, his writing "Noli Me Tangere" that no other writings or author that aroused up to this day acrimonious debates. As exemplified by his two great novels which no other literary works could surpass, he proved that the pen is mightier than the sword. Choosing a single work of a Filipino Author that contributed tremendously to the formation of Filipino nationality, we shall have no hesitation in choosing Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere because none of the other books had evoked such favorable & unfavorable comments from friends & foes alike as did Rizal’s Noli. Blumentritt, after reading Rizal’s Noli, wrote & 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 & I consider myself happy to have been honored by your friendship.” If Rizal’s friends & admirers praised w/ justifiable pride the Noli & its author, his enemies were equally loud in condemning the same. Rizal’s novel was condemned by a faculty committee of a Manila university (UST). The committee said that it found the book "heretical, & scandalous to the religious order, & unpatriotic to the public order, libelous to the govt. of Spain." During the congressional hearings on the Rizal (Noli-Fili) in 1956, the proponents and opponents of the bill engaged themselves in a bitter drawn-out debate that finally resulted in the enactment of a compromise measure, now known as RA 1425. It is comforting to learn however, that about 13 years later, Cong. Henry Allen Cooper of Wisconsin delivered an eulogy of Rizal & even recited the martyr’s Ultimo Pensamiento on the floor of the U. S. House of Representatives in order to prove the capacity of the Filipinos for self- government. The result of this appeal was the approval of what is popularly known as the Philippine Bill of 1902. Again, we ask the question: why did Rizal, become the greatest Filipino hero? As stated by Esteban in his article, no other Filipino that has yet been born who could or surpass Dr. Jose Rizal as "a person of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude of suffering. We can all agree about the fact that not one citizen of the country had yet to show the same characteristics, or had done the bravest of acts for his country as Dr. Jose Rizal. His ideas exposed the social malady affecting the country and redeemed his people from their miserable conditions. He instilled native pride and dignity to Filipinos and the willingness to sacrifice for motherland through his economic and political ideas which are vividly inscribed in his novels. He preferred dying for the country than to live his life with his principles ruined. His influence to the Filipino race through his intellect is as well not a sufficient basis to say that he deserves the title but his complete self-denial. Although gifted with immeasurable talents, he completely abandoned his personal interests in order to think only of those of his

country. He chose to live far from his family, forego his personal affections and profession for an ideal that he ought for. He could have settled stable being endowed with riches, valor and intellect, but he wished to fight for his country utilizing these natural endowments. He then died in front of the Spanish and Filipino crowds by a firing squad on December 30, 1896 due to a false accusation of instigating Philippine revolution and because he was the most dangerous enemy of the reactionaries & the tyrants. Thus, his charisma for the elite and intellectuals are proven strong. And for the 3rd & the last time, we repeat the question: Why is Rizal the greatest Filipino hero that ever lived? Rizal is the greatest Filipino hero that ever lived because he is a man honored after death by public worship, because of his exceptional service to mankind especially to his countrymen. Due to Rizal’s ability and love for our homeland, he stood bold to battle for our opportunity despite the fact that his life was on the line so as to spare his nation for enduring the Spaniards. That is the motivation behind why Dr. Jose Rizal turned into our national legend. Even before the outbreak of the revolution against Spain in 1896, many instances can be cited to prove that his country & abroad recognized Rizal’s leadership. (1) He was elected by the Filipinos in Barcelona & Madrid as honorary pres. of la Solidaridad. (2) He became chief of the Indios Bravos. (3) Rizal was again unanimously chosen Responsable (chief) of the Spanish-Filipino Association. (4) He was also the founder of la Liga Filipina in Manila on July 3, 1892. (5) He became honorary President of Katipunan. A year after Rizal’s execution, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo & the other revolutionary chiefs exiled to Hong Kong held a commemorative program there on 29 Dec 1897 on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of the hero’s execution & martyrdom. Pres. Aguinaldo issued the 1 st official proclamation making 30 Dec 1898 as "Rizal Day". The same proclamation ordered the hoisting the Filipino flags at half-mast "from 12:00 noon on 30 Dec 1898" and the closing of "all offices of the government" during the whole day of 30 Dec. Many paid tribute for Rizal’s greatness as to honor his death. However, his death did not finish his mission. It has just begun. For his death inspired many others and became the rallying force of the revolutionary leaders who were also willing to sacrifice and die for the country, if necessary. The Taft Commission, which functioned as the US colonial administration in the Philippines from 1900 to 1904, passed Act No. 37, creating the Province of Rizal out of the military district of Morong in honor of Dr. Rizal. The act did not formally declare Rizal a national hero, nor proclaim a national holiday in his honor. However, while Taft commission chose Rizal out of several great Filipinos as the No. 1 hero of his people, still we can say that what the commission did was merely to confirm a sort of what has already been decided, and that was Jose Rizal had already been acclaimed by his countrymen and the scientific world as the foremost hero and martyr of the land of his birth. Nay, we can go even farther and concur w/ Prof. Blumentritt, who said in 1897:

Not only is Rizal THE MOST PROMINENT MAN OF HIS OWN PEOPLE but THE GREATEST MAN THE MALAYAN RACE HAS PRODUCED. Rizal wrote the historically famous novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” that spoke against the tyranny of the Spanish regime in our country. After his death, a lot of books from different parts of the world have been written about him. But there have been constant debates from generation to generation that Andres Bonifacio is more deserving to be called our national hero than Rizal. Many would claim that unlike Rizal, Andres Bonifacio is a true revolutionary. While Rizal wanted change through peaceful means, Bonifacio believed change is only possible through violence and it was through war that the Spanish gave up. Thus, leading to a conclusion that Bonifacio should be the national hero, and Rizal should only be credited for helping. Most of the world Heroes was elevated as such because of their war exploits. Rizal never did it. Rafael Palma has very well stated the case of Rizal versus Bonifacio in these words: It should be a source of pride & satisfaction to the Filipinos to have among their national heroes one of such excellent qualities & merits w/c may be equaled but not surpassed by any other man. 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. Napoleon himself, who was a great conqueror & ruler, said: "There are only two powers in the world; the sword & the pen; and in the end the former is always conquered by the latter".

Going back to our main question, who made Rizal the foremost hero of the Philippines? His struggles, sacrifices and notable contributions to today’s independence were held accountable for making Dr. Jose Rizal our national hero. Of course, Rizal himself, his own people, and the few influential foreigners all together contributed to make him the greatest hero and martyr of his people. Jose Rizal, considered as the greatest among the Filipino heroes, was not explicitly proclaimed as a national hero. His exceptional dedication and conviction to his life’s purpose are beyond the realm of imagination knowing that he sacrificed his own life, not having the assurance that his sacrifices will be worth it. If he hadn’t, and among other noteworthy heroes of our history fought for our well-deserved freedom, maybe we’ll still be in the hands of our unjust captors. His “excellent qualities and merits” (Rafael Palma) made him Our Foremost National Hero. Jose did many good deeds and tried to accomplish his goals; he wanted to free his country. He was well-known enough to even have his own special holiday which celebrates the anniversary of his death. Few people have had a leader who so entirely gave of himself as he did, and who asked so little for himself in return. He is a hero....