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 of their English translation shall be used as basic texts.cralawThe 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 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.
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.cralawThe Board of National Education shall determine the adequacy of the number of books, depending upon the enrollment of the school, college or university.
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.
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. cralaw.
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.cralaw Sec.
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.cralaw Approved: June 12, 1956 Senate bill 438 known as Rizal Bill which was first authored by Senator Claro M. Recto – requiring the inclusion in the curricula of all private and public schools, colleges and universities the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo – is considered as one of the most controversial bills in the Philippines.
Normally, before the bill was approved and implemented in all schools and was signed into a law known as Republic Act 1425, it had been brought to the Upper and Lower House of the Congress for deliberations. But what made it controversial is that the bill was not just fiercely opposed by people from Legislative Arm but also by the Catholic Church due to the inclusion of compulsory reading of Rizal’s novels in which according to them, catholic dogmas are humiliated.
As stated in the preamble of Republic Act 1425 or the Rizal Law, “Whereas, today, more than 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, 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;” The law states and requires all schools, colleges, universities, private or public to include in their curricula courses on the life works ofRizal. It also states that all schools are required to have an adequate number of copies of the original and unexpurgated editions of El Filibusterismo and Noli me Tangere, as well as other works and biographies of Rizal.
The purpose of Batas Rizal is to rekindle the flame of nationalism in the hearts of Filipinos, particularly the youth. We are forgetting what our patriots have done and given to fight for our freedom. Ang pinakalayunin ng batas na ito ay upang maipanatiling buhay sa bawat Pilipino ang ating damdaming makabayan.the way only people can lean.
The Rizal Law and Its Significance Today – Today, nationalism seems to be an alienated word to Filipinos. It is not often heard nor spoken by people and many would not consider it an essential part of the world that they live in. In reality, nationalism is a huge part of being a Filipino. It compels people to their country and without it, nothing would become of any nation and unity will never be accomplished.
Since most Filipinos are unaware about nationalism, a bill was created of requiring the youth to indulge themselves with Rizal’s famous novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, which clearly showed nationalism among its readers. This bill was soon revised and made into a law which is known today as, Republic Act 1425. Republic Act 1425 is an act, written by Senator Jose P. Laurel, that was comprised version of House Bill no. 5561 and Senate Bill no. 428. It was approved on June 12, 1965 and was meant for the general public for them to gain knowledge about the newly passed bill. Provisions for this law are as follows.
First is to include all of Rizal’s works and writings especially his novels, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”, to the curriculum of all public and private schools, colleges, and university courses.Second, all schools, colleges and universities are obligated to have adequate number of copies of Rizal’s two novels and his other literacy pieces. Lastly, the National Board of Education is assigned to translate Rizal’s writings into English, Tagalog and other principal Philippine dialects. A fine of three hundred pesos is issued if the act was violated.
The bill that was used as basis in order to create this act was written by Claro M. Recto and was called the Noli-Fili Bill. Unlike the RA 1425, this bill required only Rizal’s novels, “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo”, to be made compulsory for private, college and universities. The novels must be original and unexpurgated and the Department of Education will be responsible for the implementation of this bill.
This bill will not also limit the study of other Filipino heroes. Violators are still going to be punished but instead of a fine like in RA 1425, the head of any public or university will be dismissed or disqualified. The proponents were then given several readings related to the RA 1425 and the Noli-Fili Bill to be examined and analysed. First, they used the two levels of historical criticism in order to identify of the documents were primary or secondary sources.
They looked into the content and the condition of each source.Second, they started extracting data from each source and they were able to conduct a document analysis which was later presented in front of an audience. Lastly, the proponents created a historical essay using the documents that were given to them. As the proponents analysed the documents, they were able to uncover how the bill came to be.
The Republic Act No. 1425 started out as the Senate Bill No. 438 that was filed on April 3, 1956 by the Committee on Education. An identical copy called the House Bill No. 5561 was introduced on April 19, 1956 in the House of Representatives. The RA No. 1425 went through several trials, from being assailed as an attempt to discredit Catholicism to getting a substitute bill so that the act can pass with its sole objective having Rizal’s written works be read by Filipinos in unexpurgated form. After the bill was issued, the Church wrote a pastoral letter saying that if the bill was passed, unity can never be formed from within the country.
This became a huge controversy for both sides argued regarding the passage of the bill. People who were in favour of this bill were Claro Recto and Senator Laurel while those people against it were Mariano Cuenco, Francisco Rodrigo and Decoroso Rosales. Claro M. Recto claimed that without Rizal’s works, there would not be a Filipino bishop today.
His novels showed the people’s desire for political freedom and social order. Rizal’s aim was to encourage Filipino nationalism and his means of doing it was writing the actual situation of the Philippines. Also, Senator Laurel stated that Rizal’s novels contain strengths and weakness, virtues and vices of Filipinos and by understanding these novels, they can learn more about these traits and prepare themselves for what is about to happen.On the opposition, Rodrigo, Cueno and Rosales claimed that unity will never be established and it would only result to a crisis.
They suspect that the bill was filed not because of Rizal’s sake but for the sake of political expediency and that it would lead to a huge commotion between the people and the Church. The opposition described it as “an instrument of vengeance” against the Catholic community. According to Rogrigo, Rizal didn’t become the Philippines’ national hero because of his works. He became a hero because of the suffering he endured and thus, he implied that it is unnecessary to read his novels.
Apart from what was mentioned above, the opposition also commented that people who will read the novel were said to lose religious faith since the novel implies the cruelty of the church and it contained errors of the church doctrine. The novel reveals a false idea of the country’s condition towards the reader.Thearguments of the two sides are both understandable but Claro Recto’s claims were more believable. The novel was not intentionally created to attack religion or the church for that matter.
Its soul purpose was to open the eyes of the Filipino about their situation before and it is possible to have no relation to the present. After knowing that Rizal’s works and writings showed nationalism among Filipinos, the proponents ponder about other forms of nationalism that can be used to encourage today’s youth. One is the Philippine national anthem.The youth should be taught not just to read and sing this but also to understand and appreciate the beauty of the Philippines.
Another is to have the museums and exhibitions of Filipino culture also become a source of nationalism. They would be able to understand the history of Filipino culture and how the country turned out to be what it is now. Lastly, looking into Filipino history books, Filipino myths and legends and fables can also be considered a possible way of showing nationalism towards the youth. They give the opportunity to visualize the past and create an image of Filipino pride.
Indeed Rizal’s work showed Filipino nationalism and the proponents believed that it is still considered significant as it was before. Rizal’s work especially his novels showed a part of history that people can reflect back into. It has once changed society in the past and the proponents believe that it could still have a similar impact now because Filipino traits and culture were evidently seen in those works. It is a symbol of nationalism.
They can also serve as guidance for the Filipino youth. The primary purpose of Jose Rizal’s works, namely the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo, was to arouse Filipino nationalism so that the Filipinos will not forget who they are and that they have their own identity as a nation.When Claro M. Recto wrote this bill, oppositional forces which mostly came from the Church became obstacles to the passing of the bill.
