Claro M. Recto and Jose P. Laurel sponsored and fought for the passage of Republic Act 1425, better known as the Rizal Law. This is the law that made the study of the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal compulsory in all schools in the Philippines.
In order to appreciate the importance of RA 1425, we must remember that it originally had two versions, one from Congress, the other from the Senate and thus, one has to go through the thick volumes of the Congressional Record and the Record of the Senate for the transcriptions of the heated debates that went into the crafting of the law as we have it today. There is also a lot of materials related to the law in the newspapers of the period that record the opposition of the Catholic Church to the bill, which equals its current opposition to artificial methods of birth control.
Going through the preamble of RA 1425 we see the reason for such legislation:
“Whereas, today, more than other period of our history, there is a need for a re-dedication to the ideals of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died.
“Whereas, it is meet that in honoring them, particularly the national hero and patriot, Jose Rizal, we remember with special fondness and devotion their lives and works that have shaped the national character.”...
RA 1425 was meant to honor Rizal and other heroes. As a matter of fact, Ramos in preparation for the Philippine Centennial called for a consultative meeting of historians in order to draft a law that would officially declare National Heroes. Contrary to popular belief, there is no law making Rizal our national hero. He is such by tradition and acclamation. At best, Rizal was made “official” when the Department of Education in the 1950s made a list of distinct icons of national nature: the national tree is narra, the national flower is sampaguita, the national animal is the carabao, the national hero is Jose Rizal, etc.
This law turned half-century last year, and one wonders how much of it has been
complied with, how much of it is continuously being applied. True, Jose Rizal is studied
in school, but the manner of teaching is inconsistent, the textbooks and reading materials while voluminous vary a great deal in quantity and quality.
complied with, how much of it is continuously being applied. True, Jose Rizal is studied
in school, but the manner of teaching is inconsistent, the textbooks and reading materials while voluminous vary a great deal in quantity and quality.
Young people today are different from the youth half a century ago. Can we force
Generation X to read the novels when their generation is more attuned to moving pictures than hard text? Would it help if the “Noli” and “Fili” were available as graphic novels or short YouTube video clips? With the continuing decline in English and the nearly extinct reading proficiency in Spanish, how can we make Rizal’s novels better known, better read?
Generation X to read the novels when their generation is more attuned to moving pictures than hard text? Would it help if the “Noli” and “Fili” were available as graphic novels or short YouTube video clips? With the continuing decline in English and the nearly extinct reading proficiency in Spanish, how can we make Rizal’s novels better known, better read?
I agree that Rizal's novel be presented digitally, but it does not mean we need to spend million for production, it may be done by students as projects. It's true that youth today don't care much for their history and society, most of them don't even listen to news, they preferred music instead, that's why they often commit same mistakes which can be avoided if properly informed. This trend happens in many part of the world even in developed countries like the U.S. where more than half of the population are ignorant about history and society, for example more than half of matured normal people don't even know such simple question as supreme law of their land. Educated population seldom abused because they know their rights and laws protecting them, also abusive people think twice before doing if they know that they were surrounded by a community who were not ignorant. Events portrayed by Rizal in Noli and Fili can be seen in our society till today,abusive priests, police, military, politicians, government officials and employees. Our rotten educational system maybe responsible for it, or Friars in Rizal's time were right that we are lazy? You may brand me a leftist if say that I agree with many things Jose Maria Sison said in his book Philippine Economy and Politics, but exploring it you'll find that those were facts. Ernesto Guevara exposed these abuses in the Americas in his book Motorcycle Diaries, also Gabriel Garcia Marquez in One Hundred Years of solitude, but it's sad little has changed. Do we still need a modern Rizal for a change, or we really deserve bad system? I want to tell our youth what Simoun said to Basilio "What are you doing for the country that made you what you are, that gives you life and knowledge? Don't you realize that a life which is not dedicated to a great idea is useless? It is a pebble lost in the field, when it should form part of some building.", but not how he intended, it's enough to be a productive citizen and not a parasite of society. Our rotten culture were like ball and chains in our ankles preventing us from moving forward. How could we educate people who were not interested, maybe Father Florentino is right "With or without Spain they would be the same, and perhaps worse", too bad after a hundred years have not matured.
ReplyDelete