Darvy Ong

PI 100

2012-15776

Mr. Naval
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425

Republic Act No. 1425, more commonly known as the Rizal Law, is an act
that requires all public and private schools, colleges, universities to include in their
curricula a study of Jose Rizals life, works, and writings, namely Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo.
The author or main proponent of the Rizal Bill was Senator Claro M. Recto.
The bill was also sponsored by the then Chairman of the Committee of Education,
Senator Jose P. Laurel. With the goal of instilling upon the Filipino people a sense
of nationalism, the bill was passed and signed by President Magsaysay on the
date of our independence, June 12, in the year 1956. During those times, the
Filipino people lacked morale, what with having just been freed from the
occupation of the Spanish, there was a need for motivation, for something that
would help the people to once believe in their own country and to have a sense
of national identity once more.
The Rizal Bill faced dire opposition from members of the senate, the
congress, and the Roman Catholic Church from the moment it was presented.
Senator Francisco Rodrigo, a former Catholic Action President, Senator Mariano
Cuenco, and Senator Decoroso Rosales, brother of Julio Rosales, an archbishop
opposed the passing of the bill. Some of the oppositors in the Lower House are as
follows: Congressmen Ramon Durano, Marciano Lim, Jose Nuguid, Manuel Soza,
Godofredo Ramos, Miguel Cuenco, Lucas Paredes, Carmen Consing and Tecia
San Andres Ziga. Several religious organizations, such as the Holy Name Society of
the Philippines, Catholic Action of the Philippines, Legion of Mary, Knights of
Columbus, and Daughters of Isabela joined league with the Roman Catholic
Church to stand in opposition to the signing of the bill into a law.
The main argument against the bill was that it goes against the freedom of
conscience and religion. Another argument was that the novels were outdated
and that using them as teaching materials will lead to misrepresentation of the
current situation in the country. Yet another argument then was that Rizal not only
spoke badly of the friars who acted deceptively in the novels, that he was
attacking the catholic faith as a whole.
The opposition proposed that the law use works by Rizal containing patriotic
philosophy, excluding the two aforementioned novels, and also use writings
about Rizal from other sources. They wanted to remove the use of Rizals Noli Me
Tangere and El Filibusterismo on the grounds that they contain depictions of the

church as something other than holy, and by doing so, endangers the faith of the
people.
In light of the opposition, a compromise was reached. On May 12, 1956, the
bill was revised such that reading unexpurgated versions of Rizals novels would
not be required, but would be up to the reader to decide. It was also changed
so that students who feel that their faith would be badly affected by reading
Rizals novel could excuse themselves from doing so by getting a written
statement or affidavit. The Catholic Church agreed to this revision, and thus on
May 17, 1956, the bill was finally passed by the senate, and was signed into law
as Republic Act 1425 on June 12, 1956.

Sources:
[1] https://teamcrisostomo.wordpress.com/what-is-the-rizal-law/
[2] http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Republic_Act_No._1425
[3] http://www.gov.ph/1956/06/12/republic-act-no-1425/