This month of October as the world observes the day (October 24) on which the foundational treaty of the Charter of the United Nations became in force, Philippine Studies pays tribute to a great Filipino.

That Filipino is General Carlos P. Romulo (14 January 1899, Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines – 15 December 1985, Manila, Philippines) – diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist, educator, and author.

Below is an extract from Wikipedia about the man who helped shape the future of the United Nations.

In his career in the United Nations, Rómulo was a strong advocate of human rights, freedom and decolonization.

During the selection of the UN’s official seal, he looked over the seal-to-be and asked, “Where is the Philippines?” US Senator Warren Austin, head of the selection committee, explained, “It’s too small to include. If we put the Philippines, it would be no more than a dot.” “I want that dot!” insisted Romulo.

Today, a tiny dot between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea can be found on the UN seal.

In 1948 in Paris, France, at the third UN General Assembly, he strongly disagreed with a proposal made by the Soviet delegation headed by Andrei Vishinsky, who challenged his credentials by insulting him with this quote: “You are just a little man from a little country.” In return, Romulo replied, “It is the duty of the little Davids of this world to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!”, leaving Vishinsky with nothing left to do but sit down.

President of the UN General Assembly

He served as the President of the Fourth Session of United Nations General Assembly from 1949–1950, and chairman of the United Nations Security Council.

He had served with General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific, was Ambassador to the United States, and became the first non-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in Correspondence in 1942.

The Pulitzer Prize website says Carlos P. Romulo of Philippine Herald was awarded “For his observations and forecasts of Far Eastern developments during a tour of the trouble centers from Hong Kong to Batavia.” He was a candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary-General in 1953, but did not win.

Rómulo served eight Philippine presidents, from Manuel L. Quezon to Ferdinand Marcos, as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and as the country’s representative to the United States and to the United Nations. He also served as the Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives during the Commonwealth era.

General Romulo died, at 86, in Manila on 15 December 1985 and was buried in the Heroes’ Cemetery (Libingan ng mga Bayani). He was honored as the Philippines’ greatest diplomat in the 20th Century.

In 1980, he was extolled by United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim as “Mr. United Nations” for his valuable services to the United Nations and his dedication to freedom and world peace.

Dr. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896, Bagumbayan), was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era.

He is considered a national hero of the Philippines, and the anniversary of Rizal’s death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal’s 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.

The seventh of eleven children born to a wealthy family in the town of Calamba, Laguna, Rizal attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts. He enrolled in Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas and then traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He attended the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg.

Rizal was a polyglot conversant in at least ten languages. He was a prolific poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist whose most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. These are social commentaries on the Philippines that formed the nucleus of literature that inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish colonial authorities.

As a political figure, Jose Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution.

Chronology of Events

1848, June 28 Rizal’s parents married in Kalamba, La Laguna: Francisco Rizal-Mercado y Alejandra (born in Biñan, April 18, 1818) and Teodora Morales Alonso-Realonda y Quintos (born in Sta. Cruz, Manila, November 14, 1827)

1861, June 19 Rizal born, their seventh child

1861, June 22 Christened as José Protasio Rizal-Mercado y Alonso-Realonda

1870, age 9 In school at Biñan under Master Justiniano Aquin Cruz

1871, age 10 In Kalamba public school under Master Lucas Padua

1872, June 10, age 11 Examined in San Juan de Letran college, Manila, which, during the Spanish time, as part of Sto. Tomás University, controlled entrance to all higher institutions

1872, June 26 Entered the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, then a public school, as a day scholar

1875, June 16, age 14 Became a boarder in the Ateneo

1876, March 23, age 15 Received the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, with highest honors, from Ateneo de Manila

1877, June Entered Sto. Tomás University in the Philosophy course

1877, November 29 Awarded diploma of honorable mention and merit by the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country, Amigos del País, for the prize poem

1878, June, age 16 Matriculated in the medical course. Won Liceo Artistico-Literario prize, in poetical competition for “Indians and Mestizos”, with the poem “To the Philippine Youth”

Wounded in the back for not saluting a Guardia Civil lieutenant whom he had not seen. The authorities ignored his complaint

1880, April 23, age 19 Received Licco Artístico-Literariodiploma of honorable mention for the allegory, “The Council of the Gods”, in competition open to “Spaniards, mestizos and Indians”. Unjustly deprived of the first prize

1880, December 8 Operetta “On the Banks of the Pasig” produced

1881, age 20 Submitted winning wax model design for commemorative medal for the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country centennial

1882, May 3, age 21 Secretly left Manila taking a French mail steamer at Singapore for Marseilles and entering Spain at Port Bou by railroad. His brother, Paciano Mercado, furnished the money

1882, June Absence noted at Sto. Tomás University, which owned the Kalamba estate. Rizal’s father was compelled to prove that he had no knowledge of his son’s plan in order to hold the land on which he was the University’s tenant

1882, June 15 Arrived in Barcelona

1882, October 3 Began studies in Madrid

1886 Received degree of Licentiate in Medicine with honors from Central University of Madrid on June 19 at the age of 24

- Clinical assistant to Dr. L. de Wecker, a Paris oculist.

- Visited Universities of Heidelberg, Leipzig, and Berlin

1887, Feb. 21, age 26 Finished the novel Noli Me Tangerein Berlin

- Traveled in Austria, Switzerland and Italy

1887, July 3 Sailed from Marseilles

1887, August 5 Arrived in Manila. Traveled in nearby provinces with a Spanish lieutenant, detailed by the Governor-General, as escort

1888, Feb Sailed for Japan via Hong Kong

1888, Feb. 28 to April 13, age 27 A guest at the Spanish Legation, Tokyo, and traveling in Japan

1888, April-May Traveling in the United States

1888, May 24 In London, studying in the British Museum to edit Morga’s 1609 Philippine History

1889, March, age 28 In Paris, publishing Morga’s History. Published “The Philippines A Century Hence” in La Solidaridad, a Filipino fortnightly review, first of Barcelona and later of Madrid

1890, February to July, age 29 In Belgium finished El Filibusterismowhich is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere.

- Published “The Indolence of the Filipino” in La Solidaridad

1890, August 4 Returned to Madrid to confer with his countrymen on the Philippine situation, then constantly growing worse

1891, January 27 Left Madrid for France

1891, November, age 30 Arranging for a Filipino agricultural colony in British North Borneo

- Practiced medicine in Hong Kong

1892, June 26, age 31 Returned to Manila under Governor-General Despujol’s safe conduct pass

- Organized a mutual aid economic society: La Liga Filipina on July 3.

1892, July 6 Ordered deported to Dapitan, but the decree and charges were kept secret from him.

- Taught school and conducted a hospital during his exile, patients coming from China coast ports for treatment. Fees thus earned were used to beautify the town. Arranged a water system and had the plaza lighted

1896, August 1, age 35 Left Dapitan en route to Spain as a volunteer surgeon for the Cuban yellow fever hospitals. Carried letters of recommendation from Governor-General Blanco

1896, August 7 to September 3 On Spanish cruiser Castilla in Manila Bay

- Sailed for Spain on Spanish mail steamer and just after leaving Port Said was confined to his cabin as a prisoner on cabled order from Manila. (Rizal’s enemies to secure the appointment of a governor-general subservient to them, the servile Polavieja had purchased Governor-General Blanco’s promotion.)

1896, October 6 Placed in Montjuich Castle dungeon on his arrival in Barcelona and the same day re-embarked for Manila. Friends and countrymen in London by cable made an unsuccessful effort for a Habeas Corpuswrit at Singapore. On arrival in Manila was placed in Fort Santiago dungeon

1890, December 3 Charged with treason, sedition and forming illegal societies, the prosecution arguing that he was responsible for the deeds of those who read his writings

- During his imprisonment Rizal began to formulate in his mind his greatest poem who others later entitle, “My Last Farewell.”(later concealed in an alcohol cooking lamp)

December 12 Rizal appears in a courtroom where the judges made no effort to check those who cry out for his death

1896, December 15 Wrote an address to insurgent Filipinos to lay down their arms because their insurrection was at that time hopeless. Address not made public but added to the charges against him

1896, December 27 Formally condemned to death by a Spanish court martial

- Pi y Margall, who had been president of the Spanish Republic, pleaded with the Prime Minister for Rizal’s life, but the Queen Regent could not forgive his having referred in one of his writings to the murder by, and suicide of, her relative, Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria.

1896, December 29 Completes and puts into writing “My Last Farewell.” He conceals the poem in an alcohol heating apparatus and gives it to his family. He may have also concealed another copy of the same poem in one of his shoes but, if so, it is lost in decomposition in his burial

1896, December 30, age 35 years, 6 months, 11 days Roman Catholic sources allege that Rizal marries Josephine Bracken in his Fort Santiago death cell to Josephine Bracken; she is Irish, the adopted daughter of a blind American who came to Dapitan from Hong Kong for treatment.

- Shot on the Luneta, Manila, at 7:03 a.m., and buried in a secret grave in Paco Cemetery. (Entry of his death was made in the Paco Church Register among suicides.)

1887, January Commemorated by Spanish Free-masons who dedicated a tablet to his memory, in their Grand Lodge hall in Madrid, as a martyr to Liberty

1898, August Filipinos who placed over it in Paco cemetery, a cross inscribed simply “December 30, 1896″, sought his grave, immediately after the American capture of Manila. Since his death his countrymen had never spoken his name, but all references had been to “The Dead”

1898, December 20 President Aguinaldo, of the Philippine Revolutionary Government, proclaimed December 30th as a day of national mourning

1898, December 30 Filipinos held Memorial services at which time American soldiers on duty carried their arms reversed

1911, June 19 Birth semi-centennial observed in all public schools by an act of the Philippine Legislature

1912, December 30 Rizal’s ashes transferred to the Rizal Mausoleum on the Luneta with impressive public ceremonies

Source: Order of the Knights of Rizal

“Sharpen, perfect, polish then your mind and fortify and educate your heart.” – Dr. Jose Rizal

From September 3 to 5, 2010, Knights of Rizal from all over the world converged in Las Vegas to attend the Knights of Rizal 3rd USA Regional Assembly, mainly to exchange ideas on the theme: “Proper Education: The Key To People’s Freedom From Poverty And Ignorance”.

The theme leads us to ask: What is ‘proper education’ from Rizal’s perspective?

In a letter from Dapitan to his nephew Alfredo T. Hidalgo dated 20 December 1893, Dr. Rizal encouraged his nephews to study, thus: “Go ahead then; study, study and meditate well what you study. Life is a very serious thing and only those with intelligence and courage go through it worthily. To live is to be among men and to be among men is to struggle. But this struggle is not a brutal and material struggle with men alone; it is a struggle with them, with one’s self, with passions and one’s own, with errors and preoccupations. It is an eternal struggle with a smile on the lips and tears in the heart. On this battlefield man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but his heart. Sharpen, perfect, polish then your mind and fortify and educate your heart.” (Epistolario Rizalino, IV, No. 617, p. 184.)

In essence, this letter says that on the battlefield of life man has no better weapon than his intelligence, no other force but his heart; to be prepared, one has to sharpen, perfect, and polish the mind [reason] and fortify and educate the heart [passions].

It can also be added that this approach—impeccable logic under wise values—should straighten crooked ratiocinations as well as tame unbridled emotions running helter-skelter as knee-jerk reactions to various stimuli from changing environments.

[pullquote]Out of their stupidity comes sin; evil thoughts flood their hearts.”(Psalm 73:7) “… the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person …[/pullquote]

From this understanding, it can be submitted that “proper education”, in the Rizalian perspective, has the dual and intertwined meaning of sharpened and polished reason (mind) as well as strengthened and educated passion (heart).

A closer look at this formulation would give us a new appreciation. It does not seem to imply that “mind directs heart” but rather “heart directs mind”. For a strong and wise heart propels and navigates, while a sharp and smooth mind cuts and pierces. Heart is force; intelligence is weapon.

Could Dr. Rizal have been on to something that our nation and educational system have overlooked or neglected, namely: equal, if not more, focus on strong and wise hearts, not just sharp and pointed minds? Could not the continuing problems of the Philippines like massive poverty, political corruption and environmental degradation be connected to too much mental sharpness exercised in the absence of heart wisdom?

However, we Filipinos are not alone.

Albert Einstein viewed mental faculties as intuitive and rational. He said: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Einstein is also quoted as saying: “The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking…the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind.” Furthermore, he wrote: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

I submit that a person with Rizal’s ‘educated heart’ would have an intuitive mind, wise thoughts and unlimited imagination.

The Holy Bible teaches that the heart is the first faculty with which to love and seek the Lord and wisdom; it is also a well from which so many not-so-good things spring forth.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:30) “… the wise man’s heart knows times and judgments; for there is a time and a judgment for everything.” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6) “Happy are those who observe God’s decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart. They do no wrong; they walk in God’s ways. (Proverbs 113: 2-3) “Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:13) “Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others…” (Colossians 3:23)

“Out of their stupidity comes sin; evil thoughts flood their hearts.”(Psalm 73:7) “… the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person …” (Matthew 15:16-20)

“I, Wisdom, dwell with experience and judicious knowledge I attain… Mine are counsel and advice; Mine is strength; I am understanding. By me kings reign, and lawgivers establish justice; By me princes govern, and nobles; all the rulers of earth. Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. (Proverbs 8:1; 12; 14-18) Thinking thus within myself, and reflecting in my heart that there is immortality in kinship with Wisdom, and good pleasure in her friendship, and unfailing riches in the works of her hands, And that in frequenting her society there is prudence, and fair renown in sharing her discourses, I went about seeking to take her for my own. (Wisdom 8:17-18)

With this insight of heart (wisdom, intuitive mind, passion, art) guiding mind (science, reason, logic, rational mind, intelligence, brains), it might be advisable to use them, respectively, as strategic approach and primary weapon for unleashing and discarding chains that stunt progress, like poverty and ignorance, as indicated in the second part of the 3rd USA Regional Assembly’s theme.

[pullquote]The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking…the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind.[/pullquote]

In a letter to Marcelo H. del Pilar from Brussels, dated 4 April 1890, Rizal said: “I am assiduously studying the happenings in our country. I believe that nothing can redeem us except our brains.” (Epistolario Rizalino, III, No. 360, p. 8.), thus indicating that incisive intelligence should be the main weapon for Philippine redemption. Moreover, I hazard to submit in this case, that he must have been referring to both our intuitive and rational brains, long before Einstein coined those words.

In his poem “A La Juventud Filipina” Dr. Rizal wrote in the third stanza: “Baja, con la luz grata de las artes y ciencias, a la arena, juventud, y desata la pesada cadena que tu genio poetico encadena”. This stanza, translated into English by Nick Joaquin, reads: “Bearing the good light of art and science, to the battleground descend, o youth, and smite: loosen the heavy pound of chains that keeps poetic genius bound”

In other words, using art and science—or wise passion and sharp reason—our people (especially the youth) can unleash our own (poetic) genius for moral and material development!

Why moral and material development? Because it was Rizal’s magnificent obsession! His letter from Hongkong to the Governor and Captain General of the Philippines Islands dated 21 March 1892, in effect, says so: “…the thought of my whole life has always been love of my country and her moral and material development…” (Epistolario Rizalino, III, No. 527, p. 306)

Perhaps we, the Knights of Rizal and like-minded souls, should also make this obsession ours, here and now, given that the dawn he saw at his death has not yet really turned into a bright morning for Inang Bayan. Let’s work, as Rizal paraphrased a more common expression in a letter to Mariano Ponce: “Ad majorem Phil. gloriam” [To the greater glory of the Philippines] (Epistolario Rizalino, II, No. 191, p. 46.)

The indicators for the realization of Dr. Rizal’s dream were immortalized in his poem Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell), thus: “to behold you one day, Jewel of Eastern waters: griefless the dusky eyes: lifted the upright brow: unclouded, unfurrowed, unblemished, and unashamed!” (Nick Joaquin translation). Based on this, I submit, his compelling vision was to see the Filipino respected by himself, by fellow Filipinos, and by the rest of the world.

We are still quite far from the fullness of that kind of respect. For, beholding our country today to include expatriates, do we see a majority of self-respecting, self-esteeming individuals and communities, respecting fellow Filipinos and respected by a majority of other peoples? I’m sure we all have varying answers, as the perception of truth according to Rizal, is like the different perspectives of a group of artists viewing a statue. But, may be, we can have the consensus that, at minimum, there is room for improvement in the areas of self-respect, respect by fellow Filipinos and respect by other peoples.

Right values and wise hearts with incisive, impeccable logic, all for Inang Bayan’s moral and material development—this, it is respectfully submitted, is a vision and recipe for education that translates to R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

On this score, perhaps the KOR 3rd USA Regional Assembly might want to pass a Resolution urging President Noynoy Aquino and our Congress to revise the emphasis of our educational system so as to give priority to the unfoldment of wise hearts among our youth even as the sharpening of minds continues.

Of course, other interested and patriotic parties are encouraged to freely take initiatives along these lines.

*** Edwin D. Bael was Consul General of the Philippines in Los Angeles (2000 to 2002). He now works with ASK Law Group, an immigration law firm with offices in the States of California and Nevada. He serves as Member of the Board of Directors of the New Americans Immigration Museum and Learning Center and as Member of the Advisory Council of the Charles Hostler Institute of World Affairs, San Diego State U. He continues his linkages with the consular community as Emeritus Member of the Los Angeles Consular Corps and Associate Member of the San Diego Consular Corps.

SINCE July 1898, the Philippine Revolutionary Government headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo had been safely headquartered in Malolos, Bulacan. They were anticipating the establishment of a future Philippine Republic.

Aguinaldo was holding his presidential office at the Malolos Church Convent; the Revolutionary Congress, which was framing a Constitution for the future republic, was holding its sessions at the nearby Barasoain Church; while Aguinaldo’s generals were spearheading the liberation of towns, cities, and provinces from Spanish rule.

Aguinaldo regularly issued decrees and laws for the land. Some of those statues were penned by Apolinario Mabini, a lawyer who had been Aguinaldo’s most important political adviser since the previous June 12.

One decree dated Oct. 19, 1898, created a Literary University of the Philippines. This state university was to offer courses in the fields of law, medicine, pharmacy, surgery, and notary public. Its classes began the following December (The Laws of the First Philippine Republic, edited by Sulpicio Guevarra, Manila: National Historical Commission, 1972, pp. 49-61).

The establishment of this university must have stirred many people in various parts of the country because Emilio Jacinto, the former right-hand man of Andres Bonifacio, the Katipunan founder, was so eager to leave his home in Manila for Malolos to enroll in its law course.

Jacinto was an 18-year-old law student at the University of Santos Tomas (UST) in Manila when he joined the Katipunan in 1894. His brilliant mind catapulted himself to become Bonifacio’s most trusted man. He wrote documents for the Katipunan, and Bonifacio brought him along when consulting individuals relevant to the revolutionary cause. They used to visit Mabini at the latter’s house in central Manila.

When the revolution broke out in August 1896, Bonifacio and Jacinto were at each other’s side on the battlefield. Jacinto was then into his second year of law studies in UST. His childhood dream of becoming a legal luminary was abruptly curtailed by this untimely upheaval.

In December 1896, the two friends separated. Bonifacio went to Cavite to settle the issue of replacing the Katipunan with a new revolutionary government. Jacinto proceeded to Laguna to direct the local revolutionary forces there. (It is a wonder why the Katipunan’s second most important man had to descend from the highest echelon to lead a small town combat unit).

In Cavite, Bonifacio met his tragic fate. He lost the revolutionary leadership to Aguinaldo, and after breaking away from that new leadership, was ordered arrested by Aguinaldo, tried by a military tribunal, sentenced to die, and was executed on May 10, 1897. This death left a bitter rift between the Bonifacio and Aguinaldo sides.

Throughout that period, Jacinto stayed in Laguna. During a battle in February 1898, he was wounded in the thigh, was captured by the Spanish soldiers, and nursed in the convent of Santa Cruz, Laguna. When he had recovered, the Spanish authorities released him because he was able to convince them that he was a spy-agent of the Spanish government. He slipped back to Manila to hide (Filipinos in History, Vol. I, Manila: National Historical Institute, 1989, pp. 245-247).

Jose Rizal valued learning so much that the education of Filipinos emerged from being one of the dreams of his youth to become his supreme aspiration during his adulthood.

In 1876, when he was a 15-year-old student at the Ateneo Municipal of Manila, he wrote the poem Por la educación recibe lustre la Patria (Education Gives Luster to the Motherland), which affirmed that education was an instrument that “inspires an enchanting virtue and puts the country in the lofty seat of endless glory” and that whoever procured it may rise until the height of honor ? (Rizal’s Poems, Centennial Edition, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1962, pp. 12, 13). Since he was only a teen-ager, his keen desires for his motherland’s education had always been in his mind.

His first novel, the Noli Me Tangere (Berlin, 1887) sought radical changes in the country’s educational system, such as new curricula that would suit the people’s needs; more schools, books, and instructional equipment; better teaching methods; and good teachers and good benefits to them. It sought the teaching of both local and Spanish languages in order that pupils would understand what were being taught to them. It also asked the removal of the lash as the severe punishment to students who could not memorize and recite a whole catechism book in Spanish (without even understanding a single word of it).

On March 31, 1890, while in Brussels, he told in a letter to his Austrian friend Ferdinand Blumentritt:? “Yes, I believe that the time is approaching when I can return to the Philippines. Then, when I am already there, you will come with your whole family and you will live with me. I have a large library. I shall order a little house built on a hill. Then I shall devote myself to the sciences, I shall read and write history, I shall establish a school, and if you can stand the climate, you will be its director. Then we shall rest and devote our strength to the education of the people, which is my supreme aspiration ? (The Rizal-Blumentritt Correspondence, Centennial Edition, Part 1, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1961, pp. 343-344).

By that time, Rizal was already a matured 28-year-old young professional. His views on education had ripened too. It was now his supreme aspiration.

He knew where he would begin the education of the people. It would be in his hometown of Calamba, which had hills, plains, streams, and forests, and which was facing Laguna Lake. Its calm environment was very conducive to learning. The large library was their family library, which had more than 1,000 volumes of books, aside from scholarly journals and periodicals.

His writings revealed that his aspiration would:

OUR national hero, Jose Rizal, loved his country deeply. He had been to free, lovely, prosperous, and developed nations, yet he always preferred to return to his own. Love of country, the native land, the motherland, and the land of birth – this was the very character that defined his personality.

He was about 21 years old when he went to Spain for the first time in May 1882. While traveling, he recorded in his diary that his motherland was the seat of all his affection and that he loved it that no matter how beautiful Europe would be, he would still like to go back to her (Reminiscences and Travels of Jose Rizal, Centennial Edition, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1961, pp. 44, 74).

Days after he arrived in Barcelona in June 1882, he wrote the essay El Amor Patrio (Love of Country), which contained the reasons behind that deep fondness for his land of birth. He wrote:

“It is a very natural feeling because there in our country are our first memories of childhood, a merry ode, known only in childhood, from whose traces spring forth the flower of innocence and happiness; because there slumbers a whole past and a future can be hoped. ”

“Is it because love of country is the purest, most heroic[,] and most sublime human sentiment? It is gratitude; it is affection for everything that reminds us of something of the first days of our life; it is the land where our ancestors are sleeping; it is the temple where we have worshipped God with the candor of babbling childhood; it is the sound of the church bell which had delighted us since [we were children]; they are the vast fields, the blue lake, the picturesque banks of the river? (Rizal’s Prose, Centennial Edition, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1962, pp. 16, 17).

Rizal added that love of country was a great emotion that had been sung for centuries by all men, free or slaves, because it: “ … is never effaced once it has penetrated the heart, because it carries with it a divine stamp which renders it eternal and imperishable. … It has been said that love has always been the most powerful force behind the most sublime actions. Well then, of all loves, that of country is the greatest, the most heroic[,] and the most disinterested” (ibid., p. 18).

Rizal asked the readers to read history, the annals, and the traditions to find that because of this love:? Some have sacrificed for her their youth, their pleasures; others have dedicated to her the splendor of their genius; others shed their blood; all have died, bequeathing to their Motherland an immense fortune: Liberty and glory? (ibid., p. 19).

JOSE Rizal’s famous message for the youth is that the youth is fair hope of the nation. What he exactly said was the youth was “bella esperanza de la Patria mia” or “fair hope of my fatherland” (Rizal’s Poems, Centennial Edition, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1962, p. 15).

He did not say that the youth was the country’s sole hope. That he said so is misquoting him. Fair hope is very different from being the only hope. This message was in his poem A la Juventud Filipina (To the Filipino Youth), which won the first prize in a literary contest sponsored in 1879 by the Artistic-Literary Lyceum of Manila, a society composed of the leading writers and artists in Manila. He was given a feather-shaped silver pen and a diploma during the awarding ceremonies held on November 29, 1879. Only 18 years old, he bested both the indios (native Filipinos) and mestizos (Filipinos with mixed races) who joined in this contest.

Some people misunderstand Rizal because they have not read the 25-volume Escritos de Jose Rizal (Writings of Jose Rizal), which contains nearly all of his writings and philosophical thoughts. He will be misquoted once he is interpreted through one poem only. Critics should first read him thoroughly before attacking him.

They claim that Rizal was wrong because the youth cannot be the nation’s hope, for they are still dependent on their parents, do not have a voice in national affairs, and are still struggling with their lessons in schools. He was totally wrong, they add, because the young are delinquent, addicted to illegal drugs, join violent and criminal gangs, suffer from unwanted pregnancies and abortion, or give in to smoking, drinking, gambling, and other vices. For them, the faults of some young people frame the general picture of today’s youth.

When Rizal wrote A la Juventud Filipina, it was already the 314th of the 333-year Spanish colonization of the Philippines (1565-1898) – already the decadent era of Spain’s imperial glory.

Under Spain, Filipinos did not have freedom and security for their lives and properties. They were forced to submit themselves and the fruits of their labor to the flag of Spain, the colonial government, and the Roman Catholic Church.

Those who fought for their rights could be stripped of their belongings, arrested, tortured, exiled, or executed. The government taxed them heavily, and the friars taxed them more. They were also obliged to render labor without pay in building roads, highways, bridges, government buildings, church edifices, galleons, and other public works.

Rizal saw the miseries of his people. He himself suffered cruelty one night when a Spanish lieutenant attacked him because he failed to give him the mandatory salute. Rizal did not see him because it was very dark. Despite the wound that he got, he was still imprisoned. Only 17, he appealed to the governor general, but the highest Spanish official in the land only brushed him aside (The Rizal-Blumentritt Correspondence, Centennial Edition, Manila: Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, 1961, Part 1, p. 62).

JOSE Rizal poured most of his literary talent into the novel. He wrote two powerful novels that are now associated with his heroism and greatness: Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (Subversion).

He began writing the Noli in late 1884, when he was still studying in Madrid, Spain, and finished it on February 21, 1887, in Berlin, Germany, while in poverty amidst a harsh winter. Only 25 years old then, he had already produced a 465-page manuscript. It went into publication in March 1887 in Berlin, when its printer churned out its first 2,000 hardbound copies.

Those copies were worth around P300 in all; hence, the printing cost for each copy was 15 cents or less. Rizal sold each copy for five pesetas (one peso) and gave a ten per cent commission to his friends who acted as distributors and sellers (Rizal’s Correspondence with Fellow Reformists, Centennial Edition, Manila: National Heroes Commission, 1963, pp. 126-127).

The Noli is a social novel portraying the Philippines in the years 1882-83, part of the remaining two decades of the waning Spanish rule. It was written in the Spanish language, had 63 chapters and an epilogue, and was dedicated by Rizal to his motherland.

Taken from John 20:17 of the Bible, its title is a Latin phrase which means “touch me not.” In the novel, the one saying it was the malignant social cancer that was pestering the nation. The cancer was saying it because before the Noli, no one wanted to examine or “touch” it. Rizal was the first person to touch it and offer its remedies.

Rizal said that he wrote the Noli to awaken Filipino patriotism and to ask the Spanish authorities in the Philippines and Spain to cure that cancer through drastic reforms in the government, clergy, church, military, and education (ibid., pp. 252, 83-84).

Themes. The two major themes of the Noli are the patriotism of its heroes and the battle between good and evil in which evil prevailed in the end. The evil (wicked priests and government officials) did all their best to defeat the good (heroes).

Though it won convincingly in the end, the evil did not eclipse the other themes of the novel, such as the romances and hopes of its good-natured characters, the defects of the less educated, and the wit, humor, and laughter of its hilarious figures.

Characters. There are two heroes in the novel: Juan Crisostomo Ibarra and Elias. Ibarra was a 23-year-old son of Spanish-Filipino parentage, highly educated, and belonged to a wealthy family. Elias was a poor young man who suffered tyrannies from the Spaniards. They both loved their native land and committed their lives for her betterment.

Ibarra preferred that the Philippines remain a Spanish colony and praised its authorities for attempting to improve its rule. Elias had already lost his faith in the government, yet he still wanted peaceful means to attain reforms. But if they were no longer possible, only then would he opt for an armed resistance to win the country’s independence. Their differing beliefs did not hinder them from becoming friends.

WHEN Jose Rizal was still alive, his countrymen had already looked up to him as their guide towards reforms, revolution, and independence from Spanish rule. And when he had died, it was also the Filipino people who eventually recognized him as their greatest national hero.

In the 1880’s, the Filipino propagandists in Spain and other countries in Europe claimed that Rizal was the only one capable of uniting them, a model Filipino, the personification of Spanish Oceania, the titular head of the Filipinos, their illustrious countryman, a distinguished Filipino literary man, and author of various works that had merited general applause.

They also elected him unanimously as the honorary president of their society, Asociación La Solidaridad (Solidarity Association), founded on December 31, 1888, in Barcelona, Spain. Marcelo Del Pilar, his main rival, had to salute his moral and intellectual leadership.

Rizal Cult

In the Philippines, Andres Bonifacio established the Rizal cult or the tradition of venerating Rizal.

As the supreme leader of the Katipunan, he ordered that the word Rizal be used as the password of Bayani (Patriot), the highest-grade Katipunero; that Rizal’s pictures be hung in the meeting hall of the Katipunan Supreme Council and in other meeting places; and that Rizal’s name be used as a Katipunan cry for unity and liberty. He also elected Rizal as the Katipunan honorary president, and solicited Rizal’s views regarding their plans against Spain.

In early 1897, while in Cavite trying to reconcile the local Katipunan factions, Bonifacio issued a proclamation condemning the Spanish atrocities against Filipinos, and “the brutal execution of our most beloved countryman, the Honorable Jose Rizal.”

Greatest Filipino Hero

On March 22, 1897, General Emilio Aguinaldo was elected president of the revolutionary government that replaced the Katipunan. In December 1897, after signing a peace treaty with the Spanish rulers, he and his companions left for Hong Kong; but since the Spaniards had no intent of honoring the treaty, they decided to return to the country. In April 1898, their comrades issued a proclamation, whose concluding part said:

“Our unworthy names are as nothing, but one and all of us invoke the name of the greatest patriot our country has seen, in the sure and certain hope that his spirit will be with us in these moments and guide us to victory¾our immortal Jose Rizal.”

Signed by the members of the Central Filipino Committee in Hong Kong, this document hailed Rizal as the greatest patriot of the Filipino people. The revolutionary leaders knew that he was their inspiration, their rallying cry, and their unparalleled countryman, hence the greatest patriot ever to come out of their native land.

It was the Filipino people who felt, recognized, and hailed that the most beloved Filipino and the most famous Filipino martyr was the greatest Filipino hero.

It was on August 19, 1878, that this great Filipino patriot was born in Baler, Tayabas (now Quezon) – a ‘dreamy little town bathed in the glow of the morning sun.’ He was the son of Lucio Quezon and Maria Dolores Molina, a beloved and highly respected of their town.

At the age of five, young Manuel was taught by his mother how to read and write Spanish and learn the catechism. Two years later, he lived with the parish priest of Baler, Fr. Teodoro Fernandez, under whom he studied religion. Latin, geography and grammar. Even as a youth Manuel had demonstrated traits which were to remain with him as his assets when he became the leader of his people. He was endowed with aptitudes and qualities, such as great ambition and pride, earnest desire to learn, readiness to render service, a good sense of humour and lack of inferiority complex. He was besides being handsome, naturally gifted with a strong personality and the fine presence and tact.

At the age of eleven, young Quezon was brought to Manila by his father to study at San Juan de Letran. At Letran, he was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1894 with the highest honors. In his study of law and jurisprudence in the University of Santo Tomas, he obtained again high scholastic honours along with Sergio Osmeña, his friend and rival, and with whom he later had a colourful political career.

At the time he was studying jurisprudence, the Revolution broke out. He laid aside his books and joined the forces of General Emilio Aguinaldo, and fought in the bloody battles of Tarlac, Pampanga and Bataan. Because of his bravery and heroism, he was promoted from second lieutenant to brigade captain and then to major. After the Revolution, he resumed his law studies and passed the bar, fourth place, in 1903. He had started a lucrative law practice in Manila and Tayabas when the Civil Government appointed him provincial fiscal of Mindoro and later, Tayabas, his native province. In 1905, he was elected Governor of Tayabas; and in 1907, first assemblyman from the same province to the First Philippine National Assembly.

In 1909, he was appointed Resident Commissioner to the United States. As a Commissioner, he obtained for the Philippines three important measures, namely, a Filipino majority in the Philippine Commission; the surrender of all legislative rights to the Filipinos by the creation of Philippine Senate; and the solemn pledge of independence for the Philippines by the Congress of the United States. For eight years he was a Resident Commissioner in the United States.

Despite a busy life, Quezon was not behind in bringing in a romantic chapter. It was at this time, when our gallant, generous and affectionate patriot sought the hand of his cousin, Aurora Aragon. Their romance culminated in a simple and unobtrusive ceremony in Hong Kong on December 14, 1918. Out of their happy successful wedlock, three children were born, namely: Zenaida, Maria Aurora, and Manuel, Jr.

At the end of his term as Resident Commissioner, he returned to the Philippines and became the President of the Philippine Senate. On September 17, 1935, he was elected first President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Having been re-elected in 1941, he assumed office at the outbreak of the Pacific War, and headed the Philippine Government-in-exile in the United States.

Death overtook Quezon in the midst of his war efforts in a foreign land. He died of tuberculosis on August 1, 1944, at Saranak Lake, New York. As a symbol of respect for President Quezon, the Americans caused his remains to be buried at Arlington Cemetery, in Virginia, where only American heroes lie. Two years later, the remains were brought to the Philippines and interred at North Cemetery, Manila.

Acknowledgment: This biography is from the files of the National Historical Institute, Manila, and contributed to emanila.com by Renato Perdon. We have retitled the file “Manuel L. Quezon (1878-1944)” to “Manuel L. Quezon – Ama ng Wikang Pambansa” on the occasion of Linggo ng Wika, August 2002.