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First of all we should clarify the meaning of a hero to 
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make it quite simple to understand how Rizal became According to Renato Constantino, when the American
one. A hero symbolizes goodness. Rizal gave us government conquered the island of the Philippines
freedom by using goodness. from the Spanish government in 1896, the American
Jose Rizal became the Philippine national hero government established a commonwealth
because he fought for freedom in a silent but government after the Spanish revolutionary
powerful way. He expressed his love for the government ceased to govern the country. At this
Philippines through his novels, essays and articles time of the Philippine history, Filipinos under the
rather than through the use of force or aggression. commonwealth government started to frame up
He was a very amazing person at his time. He was Filipino national identities. When the question on
humble, fighting for reforms through his writings who would be the national hero arose, whether Rizal
instead of through a revolution. He used his or Bonifacio, the American government "guided" the
intelligence, talents and skills in a more peaceful way Filipino people to choose Rizal. The American
rather than the aggressive way. rationale was based on Rizal's peaceful propaganda
=== === and diplomatic approaches in attaining Philippine
Rizal became a National Hero because he passed the freedom and independence, unlike Bonifacio who
criteria by being a National Hero during the American chose a bloody revolution.
period. Whether this assessment is accurate or not, Dr. Rizal
1. He must be a Filipino. has been considered a hero of the Philippines from
2. He is already dead. the outset: a public holiday was declared honouring
3. He displayed unconditional love for his country. Dr. Rizal in 1898, whereas that for Bonifacio was not
4. He has low temper. declared until 1921. Dr. Rizal was considered to be
5. He had died dramatically. his inspiration by Bonifacio himself. Even without the
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   assistance of US propaganda, Rizal would have been
!!"!#!" $$%$!&&"' honoured as a hero in the Philippines. Perhaps the
No law, executive order or proclamation has been effect of the propaganda was less to boost Rizal and
enacted or issued officially proclaiming any Filipino more to denigrate Bonifacio.
historical figure as a national hero. However, because c3
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of their significant roles in the process of nation c

 

building and contributions to history, there were c
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laws enacted and proclamations issued honoring

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these heroes.
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Even Jose Rizal, considered as the greatest among the
Filipino heroes, was not explicitly proclaimed as a
national hero. The position he now holds in
Philippine history is a tribute to the continued
veneration or acclamation of the people in
recognition of his contribution to the significant
social transformations that took place in our country.
Aside from Rizal, the only other hero given an
implied recognition as a national hero is Andres
Bonifacio whose day of birth on November 30 has
been made a national holiday.
Despite the lack of any official declaration explicitly
proclaiming them as national heroes, they remain
admired and revered for their roles in Philippine
history. Heroes, according to historians, should not
be legislated. Their appreciation should be better left
to academics. Acclamation for heroes, they felt, would
be recognition enough.
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Historians and laymen can produce many reasons
why Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines.
Below are some of the most frequently cited ones.
5  -6  
What set Rizal apart from the others were his
methods. Instead of relaying on the sword, he relied
on the might of the pen. Using this method he was
able to produce novels and poems that touched the
Filipinoǯs soul.
Without resorting to violence, he made Filipinos
realize the oppression they were going through
under the Spaniards. In his poems he also made it
clear how important it was to love oneǯs country.
It was a noble approach and something unique.
Instead of raising arms, he embedded in the Filipino
an idea. Unlike warriors, an idea cannot be killed. It is
this reason why Jose Rizal is the national hero of the
Philippines.
c Rizal was a brilliant writer and poet. He was able to
speak several languages and highly skilled. He was
able to use his intelligence to set forth his beliefs and
opinions clearly. As such, he was able to show his
countrymen and the world what the Filipino could be
capable of. By becoming a novelist, engineer, writer
etc Rizal showed that there was no limit to the ability
of the Filipino.
races, citing the enormous complexity of classifying
races. The concept of a "Malay race" differs with that
of the Malay ethnic group centered around Malaysian
Malay Peninsula and parts of the Indonesian island of
Sumatra.
The term Malay race, was commonly used in the late
96c  6:9
Through his works, Rizal was able to revolutionize
the way that the Filipino thought. That is another
reason why Jose Rizal is the national hero of the
Philippines. Even without making rousing speeches
or bold declarations, he was able to stir the peopleǯs
inner spirit.
He showed that without killing another man, one can
fight oppression. He also demonstrated how the
power of the pen could be stronger than the sword.
He also showed how someone could bring about
change without resorting to violence.
19th century and early 20th century. These peoples
occupy an area that is generally coextensive with the
area dominated by Austronesian peoples.[2] The
Malayan race are Austronesian people, though some
used to claim they were a subrace of the Mongolian
race.[3]
With new scientific evidence presented by HUGO
(Human Genome Organization: through genetic
studies of the Asian races, the facts points to a single
Asian migration from the South East Asian regions
(which is predominantly populated by Austronesian
races: travelling northwards and slowly populating
&:
 East Asia (China, Korea and Japan: instead of the
Rizal was also different from the other other way around as usually depicted.[4]
revolutionaries in other ways. He didnǯt just want
freedom for the people. He wanted reforms. Through
his works he wanted to show how important it was
for the Philippines to be civilized.
The reason why Jose Rizal is the national hero of the
Philippines is because he looked far beyond
overthrowing the Spaniards. He was interested in the
long term situation of the country.
- 6:(
4 
Even though he carried no arms, Rizal was very brave
and courageous. He used his pen to expose the
hypocrisy of the Spanish authorities. He was not
afraid of the authorities even when they threatened
him with execution.
In the end, his written works cost him his life. But he
knew that his death was not in vain. The man knew
that while they could kill his mortal body, the idea of
freedom was forever in the minds of the people.
It was a concept that would burn in the minds of
every man. As long as the ideal was burning in the
heart, the death of Rizal would only be in the physical
sense. In spirit, he was in every individual.
The ideals that he fought for are still alive today.
There are many challenges facing the Filipino. But the
reasons why Jose Rizal is the national hero of the
Philippines continues to inspire the Filipino to march
on.

1  
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61 2
The concept of a 1   (Malay: ±
 
  : was proposed by the German scientist
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752Ȃ1840:, and
classified as the brown race.[1] Since Blumenbach,
many anthropologists have rejected his theory of five