Putting Back The Pieces Aside from the films and activities that we had done in order to catalyze

learning in KASPIL1, we also had group reportings. Here, we tried to look at Rizal from the different perspectives of the Filipinoswhich each category trying to at least understand critically the life of the most circulated face in the Philippines. Rizal and the Reform Movement Looking back in the context of the 19th century, the Filipinos, also known as the indios, were deemed as the lower race, because of the Spanish colonizers living in our country. With the peninsulares in the top of the class hierarchy, the illustrados and other Filipinos were limited to various privileges and rights, ironically, in their own country. But, because of the sudden rise of the clase media, as well as the ideals of liberalism brought about by the countries in Europe which emancipated the thought of openness and freedom, the Reform Movement was finally born. Our national hero was actually one of the leading Propagandists in the Reform Movement, and truly participated actively for the cause. Here, one of his aims was not for the Philippines to gain independencebut to be assimilated and to be a province of Spain. He, also, with the other propagandists, amended for the secularization of the Church. Another aim that he wanted for us was for country to have a proper representation in the Spanish Cortes. He wanted us to receive equal rights and privileges in comparison to the citizens of Mother Spain. Although the main objective of Rizal which is to assimilate the Philippines and to make it a country of Spain seems to be in contrary of what a national hero should have done, I still believe that he did what is right for our country. I know that he did this in order for us to be honored and treated justly, because he cannot see us Filipinos endure pain from the hands of the country he dearly treated as his own Motherland. The Political Philosophy of Rizal Delving and exploring his two famous novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, we can really see the political philosophies of Rizal through the characters as well as the setting he used in the narration of the story. Using the character of Crisostomo Ibarra, he expressed his own ideals about education which is depicted in a chapter of Noli Me Tangere where he wanted to build a school for the children. As we all know, Rizal deeply valued education, and according to what he had said: Pen is mightier than the sword. Therefore, we can really see from the novel that Rizal wanted the Filipinos to have the right education, because he believes that through their bright ideas, the Philippines would be able to defend themselves from the Spaniards.

In his books, he also exposed the current situation in his time. One of these characters was Huli. In the story, Huli jumped in the window of the Church after she engaged in sexual intercourse with Padre Camorra. To add to this, is the pahalik or the indulgencia being given by the Filipinos to the friars to ensure a place in heaven. Here, we can see the profanity being done by the Church, especially the friars to us Filipinos. Another character in the story which showed the crookedness of the colonizers is Placido Penitente. In the chapter Ang Klase sa Pisika, it is depicted that the materials and the apparatuses used in order to hasten learning in class are in glass cabinetswhich clearly shows the kind of education the Filipinos were having at that time. Aside from exposing the current norms of the society in his era, he used the book also to awaken the minds of the Filipinos. In the book Noli Me Tangere, he used Crisostomo Ibarra in order to talk peacefully with the Spaniards. But contrary to his ideals of a peaceful revolution, in the next book El Filibusterismo, he used Simoun, a jeweler blinded by anger and revenge, in order to start a revolution against the Spaniards. In the end, the revolution wasnt successful, which clearly shows that Rizal is never in favor of a bloody revolution and still thinks that a peaceful revolution will solve any issue or dispute. Rizal the Radical In this stage, the radical nature of Rizal blossomed due to the negative experiences he had with the Spaniards. Here, he expressed these radical ideas into his writings, namely: The Philippines a Century Hence, The Letter to the Young Women of Malolos, and On the Indolence of the Filipinos. In the Philippines a Century Hence, he expressed his ideas on what will happen in the country after a hundred years. The first scenario that he thought would happen is that the Philippines would be assimilated and would be a province of Spain. The next was that the Philippines will gain freedom after a revolution. And the last one, which actually happened, was that the Philippines will be colonized by another country. Also, he pointed out in the essay that in order for Spain to maintain its hold on the Philippines, it should amend and tackle the reforms the colony needs. In his Letter to the Young Women of Malolos, he expressed his gratitude in the women for pursuing their desire of learning Spanish. Also, in the letter, he explained the wrong deeds being done by the friars, and said that religiousness does not consist of long periods spent on your knees, nor in endless prayers, big rosarios, and grimy scapularies [religious garment showing devotion], but in a spotless conduct, firm intention and upright judgment (Zaide, 1997). Also, in his letter, he said that these young women, should they have children later on, should be like that of a Spartan mother. He wants these women to be an example to her children in order to develop and empower the future youth. And lastly, in his essay On the Indolence of the Filipinos, he explained that the Spaniards were the ones who caused the Filipinos to have a backward thinking. He reasoned that these

Filipinos also have dreams for themselves, and that if given the choice, they would also want to improve their lives. Also, he reasoned that, if analyzed critically, the Spaniards are more indolent as compared to us because they are the ones who wake up late in the morning and are surrounded by slaves who do the work for them. Pivotal Period of Rizal in Dapitan This part is the pivotal period in Rizals life, because after a while, he was kept silenced by the Spaniards for a short period of time. Also, this part was where the Retraction Controversy was discussed, because this is the place where he met Josephine Bracken. Josephine Bracken is an Irish woman who went to Dapitan alongside his stepfather Mr. Taufer to seek for Rizals service in the field of ophthalmology. There, they got to know each other a bit more and in the end, decided to get married, but because Rizal has not yet disowned his two novels, they were denied a church wedding. Then the Retraction Controversy started to blossom. According to Fr. Balaguer and Fr. Obach, Rizal had signed the Retraction Letter they prepared for him. Also, according to Josephine Bracken, they had exchanged their vows and got married, although she wasnt able to present any document that would prove her marriage to Rizal. Up to date, the two issues were not yet resolved, and the truth about both of the issues is still debatable. Described by Miss Adoptante as the most boring topic, I still think it is interesting because of the love story of Rizal and Josephine Bracken. Also, the Retraction Controversy gave an additional flavor to the supposed-to-be tedious discussion on the life of Rizal. Rizal as Model of Nationalism In this chapter, we discussed how history from books are structuredfrom the Golden Age to the Dark Age, and then to the Rise of Nationalistic Consciousness and finally to the Suppressed Nationalism. Also, we discussed Dr. Hilas Critical Questions on Nationalism: A Historians View. Here in this text, Ive learned that the way we study history is linear, which although convenient, closes opportunities to questions. Also, I have known that the history we know now came from the illustradosand can be pictured out as concentric circles, because the further you are from the center, the lesser your history has been told. That is the reason why the illicit associations, the bandits, and the tulisanes are not tackled too much in our history, and is not considered a factor in the rise of the Philippine nationalism. Also, we tackled and discussed Armando J. Malays Veneration With Understanding in comparison to Professor Renato Constantinos Veneration Without Understanding. Here, we discussed and countered the points presented by Constantino in relation to Malays text. According to Constantino, a hero must work among his people in order to know them better, but according to Malay, a hero does not lead a revolution, but is admired for his achievements and

noble qualities, citing Gandhi as an example. He furthered that the totality of achievements is a better criterion in selecting a national hero, and that a hero should not be limited in the field of revolution by saying that, If a man could serve his country working from the outside, then more honor to him than the one who elects to stay in his country where he can virtually do nothing because of despotism. The last essay we tackled was Who Made Rizal Our Foremost National Hero? by Esteban de Ocampo. Here, we discussed why Rizal was chosen as our foremost national hero using the definitions of a hero. Also, using a table presented by Miss Adoptante in class, we were able to compare his ideals and principles to that of Bonifacio and Aguinaldo. Rizal as The Tagalog Christ This topic is the one reported by our group. Here, we used the context of Prospero Covars Ang Pagtanggap ng Samahang Milinaryan Kay at Dr. Jose P. Rizal and Reynaldo Iletos Rizal and the Underside of Philippine History. The one I reported was that of Covar. There, I discussed the basis of the Rizalistas on their beliefs. Also, I discussed the instances where they found the similarities of Rizal and Jesus Christ. And finally, in my report, I was able to discuss how the Rizalistas were able to conclude that Rizal was really the Tagalog Christ. On the other hand, Iletos text discussed about the myths that were a vital part in the beliefs of the Rizalistas. Also, they discussed why these people turned out to be pobres y ignorantes. In the end, our group summarized and compared the ideas of the two texts which actually have similarities. Also, in the end, we demystified the theories and beliefs of the Rizalistas which helped to avoid confusion and possible accumulation of Rizalistas in our KASPIL1 class.