JOSE RIZAL AND PHILIPPINE

NATIONALISM:
NATIONAL SYMBOL
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. Examine the values highlighted by the various
representations of Rizal as a national symbol.

2. Advocate the values Rizal’s life encapsulates

Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, which is also
known as Republic Act 8491.
1) sampaguita as national flower,
2) narra as national tree,
3) the Philippine eagle as national bird,
4) Philippine pearl as national gem and
5) arnis as national sport.
MAKING A
NATIONAL SYMBOL
OFFICIAL
FILIPINOS
AS
NATIONAL Rizal Law
SYMBOL
RIZAL AS A
NATIONAL
SYMBOL
“The day of his birth and the day of his execution are fittingly commemorated by
all classes of our people throughout the length and breadth of this country and
even by Filipinos and their friends abroad. His name is a byword in every Filipino
home while his picture adorns the postage stamp and paper money of widest
circulation. No other Filipino hero can surpass Rizal in the number of towns,
barrios, and streets named after him; in the number of educational institutions,
societies, and trade names that bear his name; in the number of persons, both
Filipinos and foreigners, who were named "Rizal" or "Rizalina" because of their
parents’ admiration for the Great Malayan; and in the number of laws,
Executive Orders and Proclamations of the Chief Executive, and
bulletins, memoranda, and circulars of both the bureaus of public and private
schools. Who is the Filipino writer and thinker whose teachings and noble
thoughts have been frequently invoked and quoted by authors and public speakers
on almost all occasions? None but Rizal. And why is this so? Because as
biographer Rafael Palma said, "The doctrines of Rizal are not for one epoch but
for all epochs. They are as valid today as they were yesterday. It cannot be said
that because the political ideals of Rizal have been achieved, because of the
change in the institutions, the wisdom of his counsels or the value of his doctrines
 VALUES DERIVED FROM
RIZAL’S LIFE
From the various representations of Rizal as a national symbol, one may
learnsignificant ideals and principles that may be of good use in everyday
life. By studyingRizal’s life and works, the following values may be captured
(as adopted from Mañeboget. Al, 2018):
 1. NATIONALISM AND
PATRIOTISM

Nationalism involves the desire to attain freedom and political independence,

especially by a country under a foreign power. Jose Rizal’s life, works and writings,
especially his novels, radiate this value.
 2.
PATRIOTISM

Patriotism denotes proud devotion and loyalty to one’s nation. Rizal’s visions
andproposals on how the people of our country could be on the road to
progress are commendable. The aim, of course, is so that the Filipinos could enjoy the
fullness of nationhood, especially politically, culturally, and economically, under
the mantle of national solidarity.
 3. FAITH IN
GOD

When Rizal was studying in Madrid, Spain, he assured his mother, through his letter,
of his faith in God. When his sister Olympia dided of childbirth in 1887, Rizal
pronounced, “I console myself saying that it was the will of God and what He does
must be the best.”
 4. LOVE OF
FELLOWMEN

Rizal advocated thinking well of our fellowmen. His life exemplified the principle
that love of neighbor entails involvement in his or her behalf. Rizal’s thought on love
for our fellowmen is biblical and timeless.
 5. LOVE OF
PARENTS

Rizal’s love for his parents is great and very admirable. He studied medicine and
ophthalmology just to cure his mother’s failing eyesight. Rizal also adored his father. In 1881,
he made a clay bust of his father. About six years later, he carved a life-size wood sculpture of
Don Francisco as an expression of his love for him. In his novels, Noli and El Fili, the
character of Ibarra has also shown his love for his father.
 6. DEVOTION TO
TRUTH

Rizal is a believer of revealing the truth. He believed that it was not good to hide the truth.
Rizal’s persevering search for truth in serving his country was a motivating virtue. Wishing to
get a t the cause of his people’s backwardness, Rizal did intensive studies and carried out broad
observations on the progress of other nations.
 7. PURITY AND
IDEALISM

Rizal was a person guided not only by practical considerations but also by ideals.
Extraordinary also was his insistence on purity of thoughts.
8. NOBLE THOUGHT AND
CONDUCT

Rizal’s works and writings promoted good conduct, clean conscience, and
upright thinking. In his writings, for instance, he advised mothers to awaken the mind of the
children and prepare them for every good and desirable thought and deed.
 9.
CHARITY

Rizal seemed to feel happy when he could give joy to somebody. All his
sacrifices for his country were charitable acts for his fellowmen.
 10. DEDICATION TO
DUTY

Dedication to one’s duty was another splendid virtue of Rizal. He virtually

dedicated his whole life in securing freedom for his country and happiness for
his people, a commitment historically unequaled in the history of his country.
 11. MORAL
COURAGE

Rizal’s courage in working for the betterment of his country, despite all odds, is a virtue
that is so essential even today. His moral courage to do the best for his people is worth
imitating by our present leaders.
 12.
WILLPOWER

Willpower is the ability to control or restrain oneself. Although the Spanish

colonizers instilled in Rizal’s generation inferiority complex and the idea that locals were better
governed by the Spaniards, Rizal worked on the opposite idea that his people could be great
and deserved freedom.
 13.
INTEGRITY

Integrity refers to the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. In many
aspects, Rizal is a model of moral uprightness and honesty. These virtues he held were the
result of his constant love and search for the truth.
 14.
SINCERITY

Sincerity is essentially linked to humility as it makes us know the truth about

ourselves, to accept the truth whatever it may be, and live according to it.
Rizal’s sincerity is manifested in his acceptance that whatever he possessed, he owed them to
God who had planned a duty he had to carry out
 15. SELF-
DENIAL

Rizal gave up his personal desires for a better cause, that is, working for the
welfare of his country. His self-denial involved self-sacrifice and altruism.
 16.
PERSEVERANCE

It refers to the steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving

success. In serving his country, Rizal showed mental and moral strength in meeting and
enduring pain, adversity and peril.
17. DISCIPLINE AND SELF-
CONTROL

Discipline is the suppression of base desires, and is typically understood to be synonymous

with self-restraint and control. In many instances, Rizal used reason to determine the best
course of action regardless of his desires. In fact, he deprived himself of many
unsound pleasures.
 18.
INITIATIVE

Initiative is the ability to assess and initiate things independently. Patriotic as he was, Rizal
manifested the power to act or take charge before others do, especially in nationalistic pursuits.
 19.
PRUDENCE

Prudence is care, caution and good judgment, as well as wisdom in looking ahead.
Rizal showed prudence in choosing the best means of accomplishing things. He had the habit
of selecting the most courteous and profitable course of action.
20. CHIVALRY, COURTESY AND
POLITENESS

Chivalry is the combination of qualities expected of an ideal gentleman,

especially courtesy and readiness to help the weak or women. Rizal’s sense of chivalry
prompted him to challenge Antonio Luna to a duel when the intoxicated Luna made negative
comments against a woman. Nellie Boustead. Being well-bred, Rizal was courteous
as he was gracious and considerate towards others.
 21.
FRUGALITY

Rizal was careful about spending money and any other resources and in using thing when he
did not need to. He practice frugality when he was a student Madrid; he would have his shoes
repaired instead of buying new ones. To economize in the printing of his Noli, Rizal deleted the
chapter “Elias and Salome,” which was supposed to be Chapter 25.
 22. LOVE FOR
JUSTICE

Justice refers to fairness in the way people are dealt with. Having a good
conscience, Rizal found joy in being just and in fighting for justice. He died fighting for
njustice not only for himself and his family but also for his people.
CRITERIA
FOR
NATIONAL
HEROES
 Nation a l He ro e s
Com m i t t e e (N H C )
The criteria is composed of 10 standards and they are as follows:
Adopted from Galang (2012):
1. The extent of a person’s sacrifices for the
welfare of the country
2. The motive and methods employed in the attainment of
the ideal (Was his ideal purely for the welfare of the country
and without any taint of self-interested motives,most of all the
method of attainment should be morally valid)
The criteria is composed of 10 standards and they are as follows:
Adopted from Galang (2012):

3. The moral character of the person

concerned (the person should not have
any immorality issue that affected his ideal)

4. The influence of the person concerned on his age and or the

succeeding age.
The criteria is composed of 10 standards and they are as follows:
Adopted from Galang (2012):

5. Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and

thereafter aspire and struggle for the nation’s freedom
(they must have desired the country’s freedom in any
situation especially when there’s a threat of invasion in
any form).
6. Heroes are those who define and contribute to a system of life of
freedom and order for a nation (one who helps in the orderliness and
betterment of the country).
The criteria is composed of 10 standards and they are as follows:
Adopted from Galang (2012):

7. Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life

and destiny of a nation.

8. A hero is part of the people’s expression (the citizen must have

recognized and acknowledged the person as a hero)
The criteria is composed of 10 standards and they are as follows:
Adopted from Galang (2012):

9. A hero thinks of the future, especially the future

generations, his concern for the future generations must be
seen in his decisions and ideals).

10. The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an

episode or events in history, but of the entire process that made this
particular person a hero.
“The field from which a national hero would spring is not limited to the
field of revolution. Maybe, in some new African nation, the national hero
would be the one who invents a vaccine that would forever banish
a debilitating disease (as cited in De Ocampo, n.d.).”
Thank You
for listening!