Rizal’s Timeless Legacy: A Perpetual Imprint on Filipino History

Not one nor two, but many Filipinos fought for the independence of our beloved country, the Philippines. But there’s a hero who leaves a lot of lessons and realizes a lot about the Filipinos during his time. This hero stands out because of how he fought our country against its enemies, using his words to wake up the Filipinos. José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, also known as Jose Rizal, is often hailed as the national hero of the Philippines. He inspired a lot of people during his days and also in today’s century.

He was a Filipino nationalist, writer, and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. Born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna. His works left an incredible mark on history and on people’s lives. Because this serves a lot of lessons that may encourage us to be patriotic.

From an early age, Jose Rizal was excellent in many different fields. His academic excellence is really awesome since he studies medicine (ophthalmologist), philosophy (pre-law), and literature. He also wrote many literary pieces; he’s also smart and can speak many languages.

Rizal’s literary works are Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo; these works are very important. The Noli Me Tangere, or Touch Me Not, explores perceived inequities in law and practice in terms of the treatment by the ruling government and the Spanish Catholic friars of the resident peoples in the late 19th century. This work states about the cancer of society that Filipinos need to wake up and give justice for themselves and the country. And El Filibusterismo, or The Filibusterism, is a novel to deal with and reform the Spanish system and its issues. His last work is Mi Ultimo Adios, or My Last Goodbye. It contains his message to the people of the Philippines during his time, which made him a revolutionary.

Moreover, Rizal also believed that "Ang kabataan ay ang pag-asa ng bayan", or the youth were the hope of the nation. He expressed that society needs to care for and protect the youth. Youth are important since they will provide a bright future in the country. And therefore, they should be given good education, support, and opportunities to showcase their skills and intelligence.

However, Rizal was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after the Philippine Revolution broke out because it was inspired by his writings in Dapitan on December 30, 1896. Because of his execution, he became a martyr and a symbol of resistance to colonial oppression. Since even so he is dead, his works are still alive because it’s very inspiring that lead to many realizations and thoughts. 

Ultimately, Jose Rizal is a very great hero. He used a pen and his paper as his weapons because of his emphasis on education, wisdom, and culture as weapons in the fight against the Spanish invaders. Rizal’s legacy leads us to the need to open our eyes on the issues and understand social issues that we need to address in order to make the country a better place. We need to be the voice to aim for a better and greater future.

 References

PAOLO CHUA. The 15 Best Jose Rizal Quotes.  Dec 27, 2019.

            15 Best Jose Rizal Quotes of All Time (esquiremag.ph)

Panay News. Birth of a hero. June 19, 2019

            Birth of a hero (panaynews.net)

Cathlyn Aira Cervitillo. Rizal a Great Filipino Hero. January 24, 2021

Rizal a Great Filipino Hero. https://www.google.com/search?q=Rizal+a+… | by Cathlyn Aira Cervitillo | Medium

Wikipedia. Noli Me Tángere (novel). Retrieved from.

Noli Me Tángere (novel) -Wikipedia 

Wikipedia. El filibusterismo. Retrieved from.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_filibusterismo

Weebly. The Jose Rizal. Retrieved from.

Literary Works of Rizal -The Jose Rizal (weebly.com)

Wikipedia. José Rizal. Retrieved from. 

           José Rizal - Wikipedia

DepEd. Planting the Seed of Hope: Instilling Child's Right in Education. Retrieved from.

Planting the Seed of Hope: Instilling Child’s Rights in Education | Department of Education (deped.gov.ph)