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| (photo courtesy of google) |
In comparing the life of our two great Filipinos, one can clearly see the differences in their background. Rizalwas talented, but moreover, blessed to be born into a good family who can afford to send him to prestigiousschools. Bonifacio, on the other hand, was born into a poor family. One can clearly point out that the reason for the different courses of action taken by the two are very well linked with their backgrounds. Rizal is theIdealist, wherein he used his intellect in making known his feelings. Through his writings, he was able to define what he saw wrong. Switching sides, Bonifacio, although intelligent himself, resorted to physicalwarfare as the means of making his beliefs known to the public. No matter how much we want to identify which of the two men was better, there’s no point in doing so. They may be similar in their goals, but their ways were different.
In our opinion, the national hero should be the one with the greatest influence. For this reason, we believe that Rizal is the worthy one, since he himself influencedBonifacio to act up. A hero should exude an aura which is definitely hard to avoid and be influenced by. This is what Jose Rizal was all about.
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| (photo courtesy of google) Background:Bonifacio In the mere sense of finding our true national hero, we must first rewind and go back to our history. For what is now happening in the present is the result of our past. We ask ourselves why there is a need to rethink who ournational hero should be. The answer is simple. For in the past, we uncover the events that led to this decision. The situation at that time resulted in the conflict that we are tackling today. The decision of whether it is Rizal orBonifacio would forever be debated upon. One thing is for sure – these two men stood up for what they believed in using the best possible way that they knew how to, and given the current situation that they were faced with. since both come from different backgrounds, yet both managed to make a difference in our country’s fate. So should there be a clear cut comparison of who is the better hero of the two? First though, one must take a closer look at the lives and contributions of Rizal andBonifacioANDRES BONIFACIO - was born in a shack in Tondo, Manila on November 30, 1863. - At the age of 14, his father and mother died, forcing him to quit his studies and to look after his younger brothers and sisters - made wooden canes and paper fans, which he sold in the streets.- completed only what we call grade four- learned how to read and write by himself. - the books he read were Rizal's novels, the lives of presidents, Victor Hugo's Le Miserables, the ruins of Palmyra, and the French Revolution. Those books prodded his spirit of rebellion and gave him impulse to organize the Katipunan.- Bonifacio presided the conference to establish theRepublic of the Philippines- Emilio Aguinaldo was elected President, Mariano Trias, Vice-President and Bonifacio- Daniel Tirona questioned Bonifacio's qualifications, and Bonifacio was offended. - Bonifacio moved to Naic, Cavite and started to form his own government and army. - Aguinaldo sent men to arrest him, but Bonifacioresisted arrest and was wounded. He faced a trial for acts inimical to the existence of the new government and was given the deathAguinaldo's men executed him in the mountains of Maragondon, Cavite on May 10, 1897. - Bonifacio, who got insulted during the Tejeros Convention for his lack of diploma, was fluent enough in Spanish to translate Jose Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adiosin Tagalog. He also wrote the head-stirring poem,Pagibig sa Tinubuang Lupa, and most probably, was well-versed in French and English. |
Contradiction
So in essence, refering to the last post, there are also a lot of Filipinos in our past who qualify as heroes. One of them is Andres Bonifacio. It would be interesting to look and compare Bonifacio with our national hero Rizal. Their views and opinions were truly different from each other, giving way for us to challenge which of the two would be a better national hero. First point, if one looks at the national hero of other countries, they would find that their heroes were the leaders of theirRevolution. We have Che Guevarra for Argentina, George Washington for America, and Ho Chi Minhof Vietnam just to name a few. SO why then does our country have a national hero that was not a leader of theRevolution? Clearly if this were the case, then Andres Bonifacio would be our national hero. He was theFather of the Philippine Revolution. Instead, we have a hero that was actually against the revolution.Rizal wanted nothing but for the Philippines to beequals with Spain. He did not want to be free from it. He felt that the country was not yet ready to beindependent. In other words, his plan of attack was different. On the other hand, Bonifacio created theKatipunan in goal of freeing the whole nation fromSpanish rule, whether it meant having to use physical means of warfare. Even before he started theKatipunan movement, Bonifacio sent Pio Valenzuela to Dapitan, where Rizal was exiled. This was in hopes of convincing Rizal or rather asking for his blessing to start the revolution. However, Rizal
We have to focus on what separated the strategy of our two heroes here. In the first place, Rizal was an educatedilustrado. Any educated man during that time would not revert to physical violence in order to beindependent of the mother nation. Instead, he would choose reform. This was evident in Rizal’s novels, saying that being liberated was different from being independent. In other words, he felt that the country’s status could improve even without being free fromSpain. Actually, what Rizal really wanted was for thePhilippines to be a province of Spain. Warfare was certainly not his style; it was education. He felt that onceFilipinosSpain would find no use in colonizing the country, and therefore would jus opt to leave us alone. This was quite logical for the Philippines’ economy was booming at that time. Bonifacio, on the other hand, was a self educated man. This man experienced what the normal indio felt at that time. He was the bravest of them all who decided to stand up against the Spaniards. It is a shame, however, that this man died in the arms of his own brothers. That internal conflict between himself and Aguinaldo caused his untimely death;Bonifacioindependence from Spain. Had he died during one of the battles against Spain, then it would have been a totally different story. There would have been more reason for Bonifacio to be a national heroside by side to Rizal. turned the offer down. were educated, then did not live to witness the country’s.
A country evolves so much throughout its history that it produces unforgettable events, questionable issues, and extraordinary individuals. These individuals give their countrymen and future generation someone to look up to, emulate, or even pattern lives after. It is no question that the Philippines created a lot of these types of individuals. They are the heroes of the country. However, someone has to stand up above all the others. There is a need to acknowledge the best individual in terms of his or her actions, attitude, and legacy left to the future generation. For us Filipinos, this hero above all heroes is Dr. Jose Rizal. He is our national hero, for reasons of his many contributions to our country. We see him as the perfect role model; the pride for which we are proud to be of the same race. There is so much toRizalJose Rizal is the most spoken of among all our national heroes.
To add to this matter, our law even requires tertiary level students to take up a course on his life and works. The late Claro M. Recto was one of the crucial reasons for this being so. Mr. Recto fought for the passage of making the Rizal course a mandated law by passing theRepublic Act 1425, or better known as the Rizal law. For this reason, college students study about him. Who knows how many research papers have been made aboutRizal. One thing is for sure, Rizal was, is, and may always be a part of the Filipino way of education. Why shouldn’t he be? He’s but our national hero. that countless books have been written about him. We even have a province named after him. In addition, we have a college with his name on it. It is no wonder that
Rizal Laws
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RA 1425
An act to include in the curriculum 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. |
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RA 229An act to prohibit cockfighting, horse racing and jai-alai on the thirtieth day of December of each year and to create a committee to take charge of the proper celebration of rizal day in every municipality and chartered city, and for other purposes
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Memorandum Order No. 247
Directing the Secretary of Education, Culture and Sports and the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education to fully implement Republic Act No. 1425 |
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CHED Memorandum No. 3, s. 1995
Enforcing strict compliance to Memorandum Order No. 247
SOME THOUGHTS
!!!The truth it was General Aguinaldo, and not the second Philippines Commission headed by Civil GovernorTaft, who first recognized Dr. Jose Rizal as "national day of mourning" in memory of Rizal and other victims of Spanish tyranny. Full text of these decree in two languages, Tagalog and Spanish, appeared in the government organ, El Heraldo dela Revolution on
It is interesting to recall that the first celebration of Rizal Day in the
!!!No law, executive order or proclamation has been enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipinohistorical figure as a national hero. However, because of their significant roles in the process of nation building and contributions to history, there were laws enacted and proclamations issued honoring these heroes.
Even Jose Rizal, considered as the greatest among theFilipino heroes, was not explicitly proclaimed as anational hero. The position he now holds inPhilippine history is a tribute to the continued veneration or acclamation of the people in recognition of his contribution to the significant social transformations that took place in our country. Aside from Rizal, the only other hero given an implied recognition as a national hero is Andres Bonifaciowhose day of birth on November 30 has been made a national holiday. Despite the lack of any official declaration explicitly proclaiming them as national heroes, they remain admired and revered for their roles in Philippine history. Heroes, according to historians, should not be legislated. Their appreciation should be better left to academics. Acclamation for heroes, they felt, would be recognition enough. 
REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT OF THE
In recognition of the aspirations of the Filipino nationand in proclaiming its noble and patriotic sentiments, I hereby decree.
Article 1. In memory of the Filipino patriots, Dr. Jose Rizal and the other victims of the past Spanish domination, I declare the 30th of December as a national day of mourning. Article 2. On account of this, all national flags shall be hoisted at half-mast from Article 3. All offices of the on December 29, as a sign of mourning.Revolutionary Government shall be closed during the whole day of December 30.
Given in Malolos,
(Signed) EMILIO AGUINALDO |
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