GEC 9-LIFE, WORKS AND WRITINGS OF RIZAL

LEARNING MODULE I

1. TITLE OF THE MODULE- CHAPTER 1: THE STUDY OF RIZAL COURSE AND

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425

2. INTRODUCTION

The study of Life, Works, and Writing of Rizal has been mandated by Republic
act no. 1425 known as Rizal Law. It is “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”

The law itself had been criticized by many friars because of the issues
concerning their image. According to Claro M. Recto, it was his belief that the readings
of Rizal’s novels would strengthen the Filipinism of the youth and foster patriotism. Also,
Senator Laurel one of the supporters of the bill mentioned that the object of the
measure was to disseminate the ideas and ideals of the great Filipino patriot through
the reading of his works, particularly “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”

3. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

• Explain the rationale of Rizal law and its important provisions

• Critically assess the effectiveness of the Rizal Law
• Compare and contrast the sides of the Authors and Oppositions in R.A 1425
• Discuss the historical context of Rizal Law
• Relate the passage of Rizal law to nation building, patriotism, and nationalism

4. LEARNING CONTENT

Among the many illustrious Filipinos who have distinguished themselves for
service to their country, the first place of honor belongs, by universal consent, to Dr.
José Rizal. He devoted himself to “dispelling the ignorance of his people, raising their
moral standards, and combating the injustices and inequality under which they labored.

Republic Act No. 1425

June 12, 1956
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425
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
WHEREAS, today, more than any 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;

WHEREAS, the life, works and writing of Jose Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, are a constant and inspiring source of patriotism with
which the minds of the youth, especially during their formative and decisive years in
school, should be suffused;

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; Now,
therefore,

SECTION 1. Courses on the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly his novel
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, shall be included in the curricula of all schools,
colleges and universities, public or private: Provided, That in the collegiate courses, the
original or unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their
English translation shall be used as basic texts.

The Board of National Education is hereby authorized and directed to adopt forthwith
measures to implement and carry out the provisions of this Section, including the writing
and printing of appropriate primers, readers and textbooks. The Board shall, within sixty
(60) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate rules and regulations, including
those of a disciplinary nature, to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act. The
Board shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the exemption of students for
reasons of religious belief stated in a sworn written statement, from the requirement of
the provision contained in the second part of the first paragraph of this section; but not
from taking the course provided for in the first part of said paragraph. Said rules and
regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days after their publication in the Official Gazette.

SECTION 2. It shall be obligatory on all schools, colleges and universities to keep in

their libraries an adequate number of copies of the original and unexpurgated editions of
the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as of Rizal’s other works and
biography. The said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
or their translations in English as well as other writings of Rizal shall be included in the
list of approved books for required reading in all public or private schools, colleges and
universities.
The Board of National Education shall determine the adequacy of the number of books,
depending upon the enrollment of the school, college or university.

SECTION 3. The Board of National Education shall cause the translation of the Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as other writings of Jose Rizal into English,
Tagalog and the principal Philippine dialects; cause them to be printed in cheap,
popular editions; and cause them to be distributed, free of charge, to persons desiring to
read them, through the Purok organizations and Barrio Councils throughout the country.

SECTION 4. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amendment or repealing section

nine hundred twenty-seven of the Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion of
religious doctrines by public school teachers and other person engaged in any public
school.

SECTION 5. The sum of three hundred thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be

appropriated out of any fund not otherwise appropriated in the National Treasury to
carry out the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 12, 1956

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 52, No. 6, p. 2971 in June 1956.

The most valuable of Rizal’s ideas are contained in his two novels. But since
there is a widespread impression that these novels are looked upon with disfavor by the
Catholic Church as attacking the Catholic faith, we want to give our views. The Catholic
Church in itself is never against the legitimate political and social aspirations of any
people. Hence it follows that the clear and even forceful expression of such aspirations
can never be injurious to the Catholic Church.

The authors argued that the sole objective of the bill or the Rizal law to foster the
better appreciation of Rizal’s times and of the role he played in combating Spanish
tyranny in this country. Denying that novels had any religious motivation. Rizal himself
asserted that it was not the church itself but the abuses he was attacking as may be
seen from his letter to a friend, Resurrección Hidalgo:

“I have unmasked the hypocrisy of those who under the cloak of religion have come
amongst us to impoverish and brutalize us. I have distinguished the true religion from
the false, from superstitious religion, from the religion that traffics with the Gospel to
extract money, to make us believe in nonsense at which the Catholic Church would
blush, if it ever came to her knowledge.” (Retana 1907, 125–26)

Let us then heed the warning of Rizal and not confound the abuses of religion with
religion itself. There were scandals in the church in Rizal’s time. Why should we deny it?
There were unfaithful priests, like the Apostles Peter and Judas. But that fact does not
make Catholic doctrine untrue. However, we must not exaggerate the evil. As to the fact
of these evils, the Church awaits the sober judgment of history. But the history of that
period is only imperfectly known and thus people take fictional narratives like Rizal’s
novels as history. Especially with the young, we foresee in the indiscriminate and
undirected reading of the novels a danger, since the young are “too apt to take as
literally true whatever they see in print. Moreover, they cannot be expected to make the
necessary distinctions between what the persons in a novel say in conformity with their
characters and what the author of the novel says on his own account, between what is
said ironically and what is seriously stated; between the condemnation of the individual
and the condemnation of the society or organization to which that individual belongs.

Hence we judge that Rizal’s novels not only can but should by all means be made
familiar to our students; the editions of them which are assigned as reading matter
should be accurate translations of the Spanish text, should be properly annotated by a
competent scholar familiar with the ecclesiastical and civil history of Rizal’s period, and
should, ordinarily, be commented on and explained by the teacher in charge.

In conclusion we say, first, that we find nothing in [these novels] that constitutes a
serious danger to the faith or morals of the mature well instructed Catholic, but much in
conformity with the teachings of the Gospel and right reason. Secondly, prudence
demands that they should not be given as reading matter to the young without proper
direction and guidance in the form of annotations to the printed text and explanations by
the living teacher. If this prescription of prudence is complied with the salutary political
and social ideas of our national hero will strike deep roots in the minds and hearts of our
people.