WeEK

2
The Life
and Works
of Jose
Rizal
CLARO MAYO RECTO
THE GREAT DISSENTER

https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/life-of-claro-m-recto-
a00293-20191002-lfrm
Why Claro M. Recto was considered
the ‘Great Dissenter’
Recto was a gadfly, a maverick, and a
true dissenter of the status quo that was
arguably backward and plagued with
myopic sentiments.
• As a statesman, Recto’s rhetoric was purely
intellectual, based on his strong principles of
nationalism.
• He always demanded the best for the Filipino from
anyone in government, regardless of stature.
• He opposed President Ramon Magsaysay, the
most popular Filipino president, on a number of
issues.
Recto was involved in politics at a young
age
• Recto graduated from the Ateneo de Manila with a bachelor’s
degree in the Arts, and then earned his master of laws degree at
the University of Santo Tomas in 1916.
• Shortly after graduating from UST, he immediately launched his
career in politics by serving as a legal adviser to the Senate from
1916 to 1919.
• He finally decided to run for public office in 1919 as the
representative of the third district of Batangas at 29 years old.
• A mere five years into his political career, he would be selected as
one of the Philippines’ representatives in the US in framing the
Constitution.
• In 1931, Recto was elected to the Senate where he initially
served as minority floor leader for three years.
• In 1934, he was elected majority floor leader and president pro
tempore.
• US President Franklin Roosevelt appointed him Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court, for which Recto had to resign his position
as Senator.
• Recto would return to the Senate in 1941 and would lose a bid
for the presidency in 1957.
• Aside from crafting laws, Recto was also a prolific writer of
numerous legal treatises and literary works on nationalism
 Claro M. Recto faced down pro-American
politics during the framing of the Constitution
• In 1924, Recto travelled to America as part of the Philippines’
parliamentary independence mission, whose goal was to
lobby the US Congress into granting sovereignty to the
Philippines.
• Then, in 1934, the Tydings-McDuffie Act passed into law. It
provided a ten-year transition period for the Philippines to
become a fully independent nation.
• In accordance with its provisions, the Philippines formed a
constitutional convention.
• Recto's audacity and superior intellect, the convention succeeded in
framing a constitution, despite the prevalence of pro-American
sentiments even within the members of the convention.

Claro M. Recto served in the wartime cabinet

during
World War II
When World War II spread to Philippine soil, all of Recto’s hard work for Philippine
independence was abruptly thrown aside. Nevertheless, he toiled to protect
Filipinos’ interests by serving in the wartime cabinet of President José Laurel
• He was arrested and tried for collaboration after the war. To
clear his name, he wrote a 208-page book in 1946, aptly
titled Three Years of Enemy Occupation: The Issue of Political
Collaboration in the Philippines.

1. The case of the conduct of the Filipino elite during World

War II.
2. Recto eventually defended himself in a vicious legal battle
in court and was acquitted.

He was, after all, known as the Lawyer of Miracles.

 Recto fought the United States on a number
of national issues
• In 1949, three years after the Philippines gained independence from
the US, Recto began a salvo of offensives on the US government,
concerning a number of unfair agreements that the Philippines and
the US entered into.
1. He exposed the unfairness of the Military Bases Agreement of 1947
(the United States paid a pittance for the bases’ rent)
2. And the Philippine Rehabilitation Act, which required the
Philippines to grant Americans unlimited access to its natural
resources in exchange for funds to rebuild the country’s
infrastructure caused by World War II.
 Recto ran for president in 1957, but lost,
allegedly because of CIA intervention
• In 1957, Recto ran for president against Carlos P. Garcia.
Recto lost, allegedly because of the US’s Central Intelligence
Agency’s (CIA) covert operations.
• According to a lecture at the University of the Philippines in
2000, the CIA manufactured and distributed defective
condoms with labels that said “Courtesy of Claro M. Recto—
the Peoples’ Friend”.
 Recto died in 1957 after suffering a
heart attack immediately after his
meeting with two Caucasians in business
suits in Rome.
What is Claro M. Recto’s legacy as a
statesman?
• Claro M. Recto left a legacy of fighting for an independent
national government.
• He opposed numerous treaties that left the Philippines on the
losing end of the bargain, including the Laurel-Langley
Agreement with the US, the Ohno-Garcia reparations deal with
Taiwan
• The Philippine Rehabilitation Act which depleted the country’s
resources
• Other deals that allowed free entry of US goods into the local
economy, effectively drowning local products.
Who is Claro M. Recto?
 vocabulary
Bill a measure which, if passed through the legislative process,
becomes a law.

Unexpurgated basically untouched. In the case of the novels of Rizal,

unexpurgated versions were those that were not changed or censored to
remove parts that might offend people

Bicameral involving the two chambers of Congress: the Senate and

the House of Representative
The Context of the Rizal Bill

HOW A BILL BECOMES

A LAW?
THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
• THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOLLOW
THE SAME LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE.
• LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS EMANATE FROM A NUMBER OF
SOURCES.
1. AUTHORED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OR SENATE
2. VARIOUS SECTORS
3. FROM THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH WITH THE PRESIDENT’S
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA.
PROCESSES
STEP 1: BILL IS FILED IN THE SENATE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
STEP 2: FIRST READING.
STEP 3: COMMITTEE HEARINGS (Discussion of the bill/Approval)
STEP 4: SECOND READING (Author delivers a speech/Debate/Amendments)
STEP 5: VOTING ON SECOND READING
STEP 6: VOTING ON THIRD READING (Final version/Approval)
STEP 7: CONSOLIDATION OF VERSION FROM THE HOUSE (Bicameral
conference committee)
STEP 8: TRANSMITTAL OF THE FINAL VERSION TO MALACANAN (Signing of
the president)
 In times of grappled situations of the Philippines,
prominent individuals who championed nationalism
came to action.

Republic Act No. 1425 or “The Rizal Law” which was a

set to address “a need for a re-dedication of the ideals
of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes live
and died.”
 FROM THE RIZAL BILL TO THE RIZAL
LAW
• On April 03, 1956, Senate Bill No. 438 was filed by the
Senate Committee on Education.
• On April 17, 1956, then Senate Committee on Education,
Chairperson Jose P. Laurel sponsored the bill
• Soon after, the bill became controversial to Catholic Church.
• April 23, 1956, Claro M. Recto, the main author, and his allies
entered into a fierce debate for the passage of SB 438.
• The debate is also ensued in the House of Representatives (House Bill No.
5561)
• On April 19, 1956, HB No. 5561 was filed by Jacobo Z. Gonzales
• On May 02, 1956, The House Committee on Education approved the bill.
• On May 9, 1956, the debate about the bill commenced (Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo)
• May 09, 1956, Senator Jose P. Laurel made an amendments to the bill
(Unexpurgated version)
• May 14, 1956, Similar amendments were adopted to the House version.
• The passage of the bill was almost hijacked by technicality.
• May 17, 1956, the Senate and the House versions were approved.
• June 12, 1956, President Magsaysay signed the bill into law which became RA
No. 1425.
• Jose P. Laurel, then senator who co-wrote the law, explained that
since Jose Rizal was the founder of the country’s nationalism and
significantly contributed to the current condition of the nation.

• Accordingly, the Rizal Law aims to accomplish the following

goals:
1. To rededicate the live of the youth to the ideals of freedom and
nationalism for which our heroes lived and died.
2. To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life and
works in shaping the Filipino character; and
3. To gain an inspiring source of patriotism through the study of
Rizal’s life, works, and writings.
 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ACADEMIC
SUBJECT
• The subject provides insights on how to deal with current problems.
• It helps us understand better ourselves as Filipinos.
• It teaches nationalism and patriotism.
• It provides various essential life lessons.
• It helps in developing logical and critical thinking.
• Rizal can serve as a worthwhile model and inspiration to every
Filipino.
• The subject is a rich source of entertaining narratives.
 According to the provision of the law
“…dapat magpatupad ng mga patakaran at regulasyon na
magpapalaya sa mga mag-aaral (sa sapilitang pagbasa) dahil
sa paniniwalang pangrelihiyon na nakasaad sa isang
sinumpaang nakasulat na pahayag… ngunit hindi sa pagkuha
ng kurso.”
 MANDATO LAYUNIN
1. PAGPAPABILANG NG KURSONG 1. PAGGUNITA AT PAGBUNYI SA MGA
RIZAL. BAYANI
2. PAGBASA NG MGA NOBELA NI 2. PAGPAPAIGTING SA NASYONALISMO
RIZAL
3. PAGBUO NG PAGKAKAKILANLAN AT
3. PAGKAKAROON NG KOPYA NG KATAUHAN
MGA LATHALAIN KAUGNAY KAY
RIZAL 4. PAGBUO NG KAMALAYANG SIBIKO
4. PAGPAPALIMBAG NG MGA 5. PAGPAPAHALAGA SA KALAYAAN
ISINULAT NI RIZAL. 6. PAGLINANG SA
5. PAGTAKDA NG WALANG PAGKAMAMAMAYAN
PAGLABAG
CONTENT REVIEW
QUIZ
• Who is Claro M. Recto?
• The Year he started serving as a legal adviser.
• The title of the Book with 208 pages he wrote in 1946.
• He is also known as the title of?
• Who is the US President that appointed him as the Associate Justice of the Supreme
Court?
• What is R.A 1425?
• What is the name of Rizal Law before as a Senate Bill?
• What is the name of Rizal Law before as a House Bill?
• TRUE OR FALSE. Jacobo Z. Gonzales filed the House Bill 5561 in April 19, 1956.
• Who is the President of the Philippines that signed the R.A. 1425?