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EDITORIAL
Infocen
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BY Teofilo H. Montemayor
www.JoseRizal.ph
 JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the
Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on June 19, 1861, in
the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11
children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and
belonged to distinguished families.
His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal,
an industrious farmer whom Rizal called “a model of fathers,” came from
Biñan, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly
cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called “loving and prudent
mother,” was born in Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age of 3, he
learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and
write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his
family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his
moldings of clay. At the age 8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, “Sa Aking Mga
Kabata,” the theme of which revolves on the love of one’s language. In
1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an
average of “excellent” from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same
year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo
Tomas, while at the same time took courses leading to the degree of
surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the latter
course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyor’s examination on May
21, 1878; but because of his age, 17, he was not granted license to
practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878, he enrolled in
medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies
when he felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated upon by
their Dominican tutors. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he
continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21,
1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in
Medicine and on June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course
in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of “excellent.”
Having traveled extensively in
Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages. These include
Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew,
Italian, Japanese, Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit,
Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A versatile genius, he was
an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist,
ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist,
linguist, musician, mythologist, nationalist, naturalist, novelist,
opthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist,
sculptor, sociologist, and theologian.
He was an expert swordsman and a good
shot. In the hope of securing political and social reforms for his
country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest
apostle of Filipino nationalism, published, while in Europe, several
works with highly nationalistic and revolutionary tendencies. In March
1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical novel exposing the
arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin;
in 1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morga’s SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS
with his annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization
worthy to be proud of even long before the Spaniards set foot on
Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his second
novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than
the latter, was printed in Ghent. Because of his fearless exposures of
the injustices committed by the civil and clerical officials, Rizal
provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his
relatives and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the
country. As a consequence, he and those who had contacts with him, were
shadowed; the authorities were not only finding faults but even
fabricating charges to pin him down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort
Santiago from July 6, 1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-friar
pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister Lucia who arrive with
him from Hong Kong. While a political exile in Dapitan, he engaged in
agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operated a
hospital; he conducted classes- taught his pupils the English and
Spanish languages, the arts.
The sciences, vocational courses
including agriculture, surveying, sculpturing, and painting, as well as
the art of self defense; he did some researches and collected specimens;
he entered into correspondence with renowned men of letters and sciences
abroad; and with the help of his pupils, he constructed water dam and a
relief map of Mindanao - both considered remarkable engineering feats.
His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of
even those assigned to guard him; his good manners and warm personality
were found irresistible by women of all races with whom he had personal
contacts; his intelligence and humility gained for him the respect and
admiration of prominent men of other nations; while his undaunted
courage and determination to uplift the welfare of his people were
feared by his enemies.
When the Philippine Revolution
started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing him
down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt
and these were never allowed to be confronted by him. Thus, from
November 3, 1986, to the date of his execution, he was again committed
to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled poem, now
known as “Ultimo Adios” which is considered a masterpiece and a living
document expressing not only the hero’s great love of country but also
that of all Filipinos. After a mock trial, he was convicted of
rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal association. In the cold
morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had
been packed with varied activities which proved that the Filipino has
capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat him as a slave, was
shot at Bagumbayan Field.
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(NOTE: All stories, write-ups and photographs used were lifted from the
Jose Rizal website maintained by the Jose Rizal University (www.jru.edu/)
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