TOPIC 5 RIZAL'S EXILE TRIAL & DEATH

Evidences for Jose Rizal's crime (Sedition, Rebellion, Association) - Make sure na alam
niyo differences niyang tatlo to categorize the evidences.
 TOPIC 6 RIZAL'S ANNOTATION ON ANTONIO MORGA
Read and analyze the versions of Morga and Rizal.
MORGA RIZAL
GEOGRAPHY
Location
The Philippine islands are numerous, large and small. It It is exactly from 25 degrees and 40 minutes
lies within the tropic of cancer and extend from North latitude North, until 12 degrees latitude South,
latitude and up to the equinoxial line. There are many if we are to include in the group Formosa,
others on the line within the tropic of Capricorn, which inhabited also by the same race. Ptolomey in
extend up to twelve degrees, South latitude. Most of the his geography indicates three islands, their
islands are DESERTED and UNHABITABLE. inhabitants, which in the Latin text are called
SindaeGilolo, and Amboina. So Philippines, in
fact, is habitable at that time.
The Oriental Islands: Philippines
The Oriental Islands as described by Morga are found However, as annotated by Rizal the Island
from the West to the East when navigated from the Tendaya is difficult to determine because the
India of Portugal. These islands of the Philippines island is either referring to the chief called
(Oriental Islands) are all extensive and principal. Luzon, Tandaya or to the southeastern part of Samar
Mindoro, Tendaya, Capul, Burias, Masbate, Marinduque, called Ibabao or Zibabao (Rizal, 1962:241).
Leyte, Samar, Ibabao, Cebu, Panay, Bohol, Cranduanes,
Calamianes, and Mindanao are the known islands

Plants and Species

There is an abundance of the ginger which is eaten raw, In Tagalog, it is called kasubha. It comes from
in vinegar or pickled, likewise much ‘cachumba’, a plant the Sanskrit Kasumbha. Malay, Kasumba.
giving both taste and color, used in cooking in the place Everybody knows the fruit is not of the betel or
of saffron and species, and the buyo or betel which is buyo but of the bonga. Not quicklime but very
made out of a leaf, are all abundant. Coupled with a seed hydrated lime.
or nut is called bonga, cut lengthwise into slices and
placed inside the rolled betel leaf with a bit of very
quick lime.

FAITH
Beliefs in Crocodiles
The natives build on the border of their rivers and Perhaps for the same reason, other nations
streams in their settkements where they bathe – traps have great esteem for the lion and bear, putting
and fences with thick enclosures and bars of bamboo them on their shields and giving them
and timber within which they do their bathing and honorable epithets. The mysterious life of the
washing, secure from these monsters which they fear crocodile, the enormous size that it sometimes
and respect to the degree of veneration as if they were reaches, its fatidical aspect, without counting
somehow superior to them. anymore its voraciousness, must have
influenced greatly the imagination of the
Malayan Filipinos.
God has permitted those who have sworn falsely or
broken their promise, to become victims of the There had been friars eaten by crocodiles while
crocodiles, in the view of their violation. the Indios who accompanied them were able to
escape; in this case, however, historians give a
favorable explanation of the happening and a
different one when the victim is an Indio.
Healers
Morga said that sorcerers and wizard deceived people Rizal speaks out that there are some evidences
and has the ability to communicate them whatever the and experience throughout the Spaniards
wish. Natives believe the superstitious so that they about the cure and it is effective.
could tell whether the people were lived or die.
Custom of Dead
They buried their dead in their own houses, keeping Filipinos find it much more natural and pious
their bodies and bones for a long time in boxes, and for them to venerate the remains of the parents
venerating their skulls. In their funeral rites, neither to whom they own everything, than to venerate
pomp nor processions played any part, except only the memory, bones, hair, etc. of certain saints.
those performed by members of the household of the Idolatry for idolatry, we prefer that of our
dead. After grieving, they indulged in eating and parents to that of some dirty friar or fanatical
drinking to the degree of intoxication among martyr whom we don’t know and with whom
themselves. we have no dealings and who probably will
never remember us.
ECONOMY
Cotton
Cotton is raised throughout the islands, and they spin it Not only did they have large harvest of rice but
into thread and sell it by skeins to the Chinese and other also of cotton which they wove into textile for
nationals who come over to trade in it. They also weave their garments and which is very much
blankets in various ways which they also sell or trade. esteemed in New Spain. Out of cotton textile
alone, there was an encomendero who left a
fortune of more than 50, 000 accumulated in a
few years.
Artifacts
The natives of the islands sell articles to the Japanese Rizal agreed based on what he have read from
and as matter of fact, these vases have become very Dr. Jagor, these jars have very interesting
scarce owing to great demand there is for them. history, shape and value with some scorned
with the price of 100,000 pesos offered for one
 of them. Dr. Jagor himself was able to get one in
Ligmanan (Camarines Sur). It is a pity that
those objects had not been studied better.
Golds
Throughout the islands are certain places where there The Indios on seeing that wealth aroused the
is an abundance of rich gold deposits, and other mineral capacity of the encomenderos and soldiers,
products which are connected by the natives through abandoned the work in the mines, and priest
washing or placer mining. But after the Spaniards had historians relate that, in order to save them
settled in the land, the natives became laxer in the from vexations, they recommended to them
mining of gold, contenting themselves with what they such procedure.
already had, in the form of jewelry and ancient ingots of
gold, inherited from their forebears, which were
abundant in themselves.

Igorrots felt that their gold was kept more securely in

the ground than in their own homes or settlements. Rizal supported what Morga said by stating
that the Igorrots in truth were right.

Philippines Seasons
Climate
As described by Morga, the temperature on these In the annotation of Rizal, he corrected Morga
islands change from various regions and provinces. for considering rainy seasons as winter and the
From the month of June up to September heavy rest of the year belongs to summer season. He
downpour of rains, whirl-winds, and storms are also added that Manila by months of December,
experienced. From the month of October up to the end January, and February the thermometer goes
of May, the skies are clear and the sea is smooth. But in down more than in the months of August and
some provinces, winter or cold season and heavy rains September (Rizal, 1962:242)
begin earlier than in others.

Ruler of the Philippines

GOVERNMENT
Morga said that there are no queen and king in different Rizal agree that there are no such king and
islands instead they considered high rank among the Lords, in the view of the lack of
natives. Instead, they considered principals among the communications, governance would be hard in
natives, some having own followers and henchmen case.
forming barrios and families who obeyed and respect
them.

Culture of the Philippines

CULTURE AND SOCIETY
Body Tattoo
The inhabitants – the native – who residing in the place Rizal agree, that is, drawing first on the skin
known as Visayans, otherwise called the “tattooed ones” what has to be tattooed. As it will be seen
for the reason that the most important male residents further, the Bisayans used the same method
there have since their childhood, decorated their entire the Japanese use today.
by painting their skins, following a pattern drawn and
by putting certain black powder where the blood oozes
out, and this can never be removed.
Clothing
In the middle of their waist they wore “bahaque” and “Bahag” is a rich colored cloth and quite often
their foreheads wrapped with a potong. with gold strips and they put moro styles like
turban.
Food
He said, they eat beef and fish which they know is best But Rizal said, this is called “Bagoong”and
when it has started to rot and stink. those who have eaten it and tasted it know that
it either is not should be rotten.
Drinking
Natives drink heavily and end up drunk during wedding They drink a lot but no matter how inebriated
feasts. they seem to be after a gathering they seem to
be after a gathering or a feast they can always
find their way home.

Bahandin – Bahayin & Inasawa – Asawa

Marriage, Family and Household

The groom contributes a dowry, which he received from A Filipino woman helps her husband and is not
his parents. The bride does not bring anything until she seen as a burden.
inherits from her parents.

The house where the parents and children lives are In Tagalog, a house is called pamamahay. It is
called bahandin. impossible that bahandin is printed for
bahayin.

Inasawa is a wife married to a native man.

Asawa is a term, called for the wife of a native
man.
Morga explains the structure of the house and how is
the classification of it by whom is the owner of the
house. Rizal explains that in Tagalog house is just
called “bahay”
These principalias or high social stations, were
inherited by succession from father to sons and heirs,
and in their default, to brethen and olateral kinsmen. Rizal classified Timaguas as Timawa
They were the acting governance. Under his are the
nobles and the Timaguas or plebians.
TOPIC 7 NOLI & EL FILI
Differences of the novels
Lesson 3: Comparison of Noli and El Fili
Rizal wrote the El Filibusterismo about four years after the Noli. The experiences he
had in those four years spelled a lot of differences in the way he treated his two novels.
In depicting the social conditions in the country both novels employ satire and
caricatures. El Fili however is more serious as there is less humor and more bitterness in
the treatment of situations.
In the Noli, the author reveals the cruelty and exploitation suffered by the natives at
the hands of the colonizers. In El Fili, Rizal depicts a society at the brink of rebellion as the
native’s minds have been awakened and revolutionary forces have been found formed.
Generally, El Fili presents a gloomier depiction of the country under the Spanish
regime. More radical and revolutionary, the novel has less idealism and romance than the
Noli. The El Fili manifest Rizal’s more mature and less hopeful attitude toward the
sociopolitical situation in the country. The grimmer outlook and more tragic mood can be
attributed to the persecutions and sufferings the author and his family experienced from
the Spanish friars and officials in the years he was writing the novel.
Notwithstanding the sufferings caused by the Spaniards to the Rizal family, the Fili
its author claimed, is not a matter or revenge. Jose wrote to Blumentritt: “I have not written
in it [Fili] any idea of vengeance against my enemies, but only for the good of those who
suffer for the rights of Tagalogs.
Some of Rizal’s friends like Blumentritt and Graciano Lopez Jaena, expressed that
Fili was superior to Noli. Rizal himself apparently once believed in the superiority of the
Fili. When its printing had to be stopped for lack of funds, he wrote to Basa: “It is a pity
because it seems to me that this second part [the Fili] is more important than the [Noli]”
(“The El Filibusterismo,”2013)
After the Fili was published, nonetheless, Rizal appeared to have a change of heart.
In his October 13, 1891 letter to Marcelo Del Pilar, he said: I appreciate what you say about
my work, and I value your opinion highly that considered my Filibusterismo inferior to the
Noli I, too frankly, without irony or words with a double meaning share your opinion. For
me, the Filibusterismo as a novel is inferior to the Noli. You are the first one to tell me the
truth and I agree with you. This flatters me as it proves that I still know how to judge
myself (“Rizal and Other Reformers,”)
As regards his friends who told him that Fili was better, Rizal explained in the same letter
“Blumentritt, all those in Paris and Barcelona, for their benevolence towards me say the Fili
is superior, I attribute it only to their benevolence”
Saviors of the novels
the honor of being called “the savior of the “Fili” had gone to Valentin Ventura, Rizal’s
friend who partially financed the novel’s publication.
Characters, Plot, Publication
The Publication of the Noli
As a sojourner in Europe, Rizal participated in the movement of the ilustrados to
utilize propaganda to campaign from reforms in the Philippines. Utilizing their intellectual
prowess, the ilustrados released various written outputs from news bits, to feature articles,
and commentaries. They also produced creative outputs from satirical pieces to world-
class paintings. Within this artistic and literary collection, Rizal’s exemplary mastery of
words are clearly evident in one of his most celebrated works, his first novel, Noli Me
tangere.
The idea of publishing a book was not alien to Rizal. In a meeting of the illustrados in
1884, he proposed to write a book project to be done collaboratively with his fellow
writers. Unfortunately, the project did not materialize. He eventually decided to write a
novel on his own. He started to work on the project in 1884 and completed in 1887 and
published in Berlin, Germany.
Many of his biographers cite several works that influenced Rizal in the writing of the
Noli. One of these is Juan Luna’s painting, Spoliarium, which depicted the sufferings faced
by the humanity in the face of inequalities. Another is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel by Harriet
Beecher Stowe that dealt with slavery in America.
Rizal finished the first half of the novel in Spain, supposedly the other half in France,
then completed the draft in 1886. The novel was published the following year in Germany.
Lack of funds delayed the book’s publication until a fellow ilustado, Maximo Viola, insisted
on lending him 300 pesos for the printing of the first 2,000 copies. By 1887, Rizal was
already sending out copies of the Noli to his friends and the book began to take flight.
The Plot
Juan Crisostomo Ibarra is a young Filipino, who, after studying for seven years in
Europe, returns to his native land to find that his father, a wealthy landowner, has died in
prison as the result of a quarrel with the parish curate, a Franciscan friar named Padre
Damaso. Ibarra is engaged to a beautiful and accomplished girl, Maria Clara, the supposed
daughter and only child of the rich Don Santiago de los Santos, commonly known as
"Capitan Tiago," a typical Filipino cacique, the predominant character fostered by the friar
regime.
Ibarra resolves to forego all quarrelsand to work for the betterment of hispeople. To
show his good intentions, he seeks to establish, at his own expense, a public school in his
native town. He meets with ostensible support from all, especially Padre Damaso's
successor, a young and gloomy Franciscan named Padre Salvi, for whom Maria Clara
confesses to an instinctive dread.
At the laying of the corner-stone for the new schoolhouse a suspicious accident,
apparently aimed at Ibarra's life, occurs, but the festivities proceed until the dinner, where
Ibarra is grossly and wantonly insulted over the memory of his father by Fray Damaso. The
young man loses control of himself and is about to kill the friar, who is saved by the
intervention of Maria Clara.
Ibarra is excommunicated, and Capitan Tiago, through his fear of the friars, is forced
to break the engagement and agree to the marriage of Maria Clara with a young and
inoffensive Spaniard provided by Padre Damaso. Obedient to her reputed father's
command and influenced by her mysterious dread of Padre Salvi, Maria Clara consents to
this arrangement, but becomes seriously ill, only to be saved by medicines sent secretly by
Ibarra and clandestinely administered by a girlfriend.
Ibarra succeeds in having the excommunication removed, but before he can explain
matters an uprising against the Civil Guard is secretly brought, about through agents of
Padre Salvi, and the leadership is ascribed to Ibarra to ruin him. He is warned by a
mysterious friend, an outlaw called Elias, whose life he had accidentally saved; but desiring
first to see Maria Clara, he refuses to make his escape, and when the outbreak occurs he is
arrested as the instigator of it and thrown into prison in Manila.
On the evening when Capitan Tiago gives a ball in his Manila house to celebrate his
supposed daughter's engagement, Ibarra makes his escape from prison and succeeds in
seeing Maria Clara alone. He begins to reproach her because it is a letter written to her
before he went to Europe which forms the basis of the charge against him, but she clears
herself of treachery to him. The letter had been secured from her by false representations
coat in exchange for two others written by her mother just before her birth, which prove
that Padre Damaso is her real father. These letters had been accidentally discovered in the
convento by Padre Salvi, who made use of them to intimidate the girl and get possession of
Ibarra's letter, from which he forged others to incriminate the young man. She tells him
that she will marry the young Spaniard, sacrificing herself thus to save her mother's name
and captain Tiago's honor and to prevent a public scandal, but that she will always remain
true to him.
Ibarra's escape had been effected by Elias, who conveys him in a banka up the Pasig
to the Lake, where they are so closely beset by the Civil Guard that Elias leaps into the
water and draws the pursuers away from the boat, in which Ibarra has concealed.
On Christmas Eve, at the tomb of the Ibarras in a gloomy wood, Elias appears,
wounded and dying, to find there a boy named Basilio beside the corpse of his mother, a
poor woman who had been driven to insanity by her husband’s neglect and abuses on the
part of the Civil Guard, her younger son having disappeared some time before in the
convent, where he was a sacristan. Basilio, who is ignorant of Elias’s identity, helps him to
build a funeral pyre, on which his corpse and the madwoman’s are to be burned. Before
Elias died, he instructed Basilio to find the treasure of Ibarra buried in the cemetery and
use it to get an education. He reminded Basilio to never lose hope and if one day, freedom
and progress would come to his country, not to forget those who labored in the night.
Upon learning of the reported death of Ibarra in the chase on the Lake, Maria Clara
becomes disconsolate and begs her supposed godfather, Fray Damaso, to put her in a
nunnery. Unconscious of her knowledge of their true relationship, the friar breaks down
and confesses that all the trouble he has stirred up with the Ibarras has been to prevent her
from marrying a native, which would condemn her and her children to the oppressed and
enslaved class. He finally yields to her entreaties and she enters the nunnery of St. Clara, to
which Padre Salvi is soon assigned in a ministerial capacity.
Within the general contour of the narrative, Rizal wove a complex story and
subplots. Reading through the novel, different characters and their corresponding stories
unfolded as told through the voice of an unseen narrator. Truly, the pages of the Noli
reflected the lives of people living in the complicated world of colonial Philippines.

TOPIC 8 THE PHILIPPINES: A CENTURY HENCE Summary (Fill in

the blanks) Memorize and analyze

Jose Rizal’s Filipinas Dentro De Cien Añ os or the The Philippines a Century Hence
was serialized on September 30, October 31, December 15, 1889 and February 15, 1890 in
the fortnightly review La Solidaridad of Madrid. The essay talked about the glorious past of
the Philippines, recounted the deterioration of the economy and exposed the causes of the
natives’ sufferings under the cruel Spanish Rule. Part of the purpose in writing the essay
was to awaken the minds and the hearts of the Filipinos concerning the oppression of the
Spaniards and encouraging them to fight for their right.

TOPIC 9&10 NATIONAL SYMBOLS AND JOSE RIZAL AS

NATIONAL HERO
Republic Act 8491
National Flag
The Philippines national flag, as defined by the National Historical Commission of
the Philippines, is made of silk, had a white equilateral triangle at the left containing a
sunburst of eight rays at the center, a five-pointed star at each angle of the triangle, an
upper stripe of blue and a lower stripe of red. The sun stands for liberty; the sunburst of
eight rays for the first eight provinces to take up arms against Spain; and the three stars for
the three island groups of the Philippines – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The white
triangle signifies Filipino hope for equality; the upper blue stripe stands for peace, truth
and justice; while the lower red stripe stands for patriotism and valor. You don’t throw
away an old Philippine flag. Section 14 of Republic Act 8491 (Flag and Heraldic Code of the
Philippines) states that a flag worn out through wear and tear, shall not be thrown away. It
shall be solemnly burned to avoid misuse or desecration. The flag shall be replaced
immediately when it begins to show signs of wear and tear. That is why the CCP was doing
the right thing when it burned 100 worn-out out flags recently.

Banda San Francisco de Malabon

National Anthem For more than a year, the national anthem, Lupang Hinirang
remained without words. Our national anthem was just music when it was first played by
Banda San Francisco de Malabon on the occasion of the declaration of Philippine
Independence on June 12, 1898. The words of Jose Palma’s ―Filipinas, Letra Para La
Marcha Nacional‖ published on September 3, 1899 was used as lyrics for the national
anthem. In 1943, the Institute of National Language was ordered by the late President Jose
P. Laurel to translate the original Spanish text into Filipino and English. But a more
spontaneous translation was produced by a committee formed by the Department of
Education thirteen years later. This was entitled ―Lupang Hinirang.

National Symbols (Scientific names)

Sampaguita or Arabian Jasmine (Jasminium sambac)
Narra aka rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus)
Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jeffery)
Philippine Pearl (Pinctada Maxima) – national gem.
Arnis
Unofficial National Symbols:
Anahaw – national fruit
Mango – national fruit
Carabao – national animal
Bahay Kubo – national house
Bangus – national fish
Lechon – national dish
Barong Tagalog – national costume for men
 Baro’t Saya – national costume for women
Bakya - national footwear
Kalesa – national vehicle

Four Criterias/Consideration for Jose Rizal to be the National Hero

1. Progressive Education According to Kennedy, (2019), Progressive education is a
reaction to the traditional style of teaching. It's a pedagogical movement that values
experience over learning facts at the expense of understanding what is being taught.
When you examine the teaching styles and curriculum of the 19th century, you
understand why certain educators decided that there had to be a better way.
Talisay: the first progressive school in the Philippines upon his arrival in Dapitan,
Rizal lived in the house of the governor and military commandant, Capt. Ricardo
Carnicero, which was just across the town’s central plaza. He later bought, with
Carnicero and another Spaniard residing in Dipolog, a lottery ticket. This was to
prove fortuitous. Rizal’s lottery ticket won second prize—20,000 pesos— which was
awarded on September 21, 1892, and promptly divided among themselves by the
three men. From his share of 6,200 pesos, Rizal gave 2,000 pesos to his father and
200 pesos to pay his debt to his friend Basa in Hong Kong. With what remained of
his lottery earnings, Rizal was able to move to Talisay, a coastal barrio off the
Dapitan poblacion named after the talisay, a large deciduous tree that is usually
found along Philippine seashores. Rizal bought a 16-hectare piece of land. But, as he
noted in his February 8, 1893 letter to his brother-in-law Manuel 180 Hidalgo, there
were no talisay trees in Talisay, so Rizal thought of naming his place Balunò or
Baunò , after the large trees that actually grew there. The first thing he did was to
clear the land “to sow rice and corn”. Then he built a house, a clinic and a school for
local boyswho he described as mostly “poor and intelligent.” On March 7, 1893, he
wrote to Hidalgo saying: “My house will be finished either tomorrow or after
tomorrow. It is very pretty for its price (40 pesos) and it turned out better than
what I wanted. My lot cannot be better and I am improving it every day... I’m sure
that if you come, you will be pleased with my property. I have plenty of land to
accommodate at least five families with houses and orchards.”

2. Social Entrepreneurship In addition to being Dapitan’s unofficial or non-

governmental public health provider, Rizal engaged in what we now call “social
entrepreneurship”, perhaps the first Filipino, if not the first Asian, to do so. Social
entrepreneurship is innovative business activity aimed principally at benefiting and
transforming the community in which it is undertaken (with most of the profit
reinvested back into the community). Rizal formed Dapitan’s first farmers’
cooperative, the Sociedad de Agricultores Dapitanos (SAD), where capital was to be
provided by “socios industriales” (industrial partners) and “socios accionistas”
 (shareholders). As stated in the Estatutos de la Sociedad de Agricultores Dapitanos,
1 Enero 1895, the SAD aimed to “improve/promote agricultural products, obtain
better profits for them, provide capital for the purchase of these goods, and help to
the extent possible the harvesters and laborers by means of a store (co-op) where
articles of basic necessity are sold at moderate prices”. Rizal also engaged in a joint-
venture with a certain Carreon (a Spanish businessman) for the construction and
operation of a lime-burner (for making building mortar), whereby Rizal would
provide capital and Carreon would mobilize and supervise labor whose wages were
to be paid by Rizal; these advances would be deducted from the sale proceeds of
lime, the profit thereof to be equally divided between Rizal and Carreon.

3. Community Development In his four years in Dapitan, Rizal played multiple roles:
doctor, social worker, farmer, social entrepreneur, public works engineer, town
planner, school founder, teacher and scientist. He worked with the people as a civic
volunteer, for he was unwaged and without an official title. Whatever earnings he
made from his social entrepreneurship and from his wealthy patients went to the
upkeep of his household, school and hospital. He took to his tasks with vigor and
vitality—mindful that they were all part of his pledge to do everything he could for
Dapitan. Rizal’s four years there are unparalled in the history of the Philippines, if
not Southeast Asia. The model community that Rizal built in Talisay has since been
made into a stale museum of replicas of his house, school and clinic, sitting like
fossilized relics on manicured lawns for the benefit of the uncomprehending tourist.
This shrine, which is overseen by the National Historical Commission (formerly the
National Historical Institute) but managed by the local government, comprises 10
hectares of Rizal’s original 16-hectare property in Talisay. The other six hectares
were gifted by Rizal to his pupil and valet Jose Acopiado in 1896, when he set off for
Manila enroute to Cuba. The Acopiado heirs now occupy some three hectares; the
rest have been taken over by squatters, among them a Rizalista cult. The beach is
littered with the plastic detritus of modern living. Many of Rizal’s community
projects must have been carried out through a system of cooperative labor that we
now call batarisan. We could likewise imagine that the 181 many recipients of
Rizal’s services as a medical doctor, a secondary school teacher, a community
worker, and organizer/manager of his farm cooperative ‘paid’ or reciprocated by
lending their labor-time to his community projects. Thus, even with minimal
financial resources, the projects were realized by sheer community spirit.

Rizal Awakened the Mind and Perspective Of Filipinos Towards Nationalism Rizal’s
chief aim was to reform Philippine society, first by uncovering its ills and second, by
awakening the Filipino youth. His enemies were the oppressive colonial
government, but especially the corrupt elements among the friars, members of the
religious orders that exerted the greatest influence over the government and
thereby held complete sway over the lives of the Filipinos. Rizal knew the best way
to awaken the youth and lead them toward right action was through education, but
especially foreign education. For local education, being controlled by the friars then
kept the Filipinos in the dark, ignorant of their rights and heritage- and meek in the
face of oppression. This was partly why he left for Spain in 1882, to continue his
studies there. Of his vision for the Filipinos, Rizal wrote his comrade Mariano Ponce
in 1888: “Let this be our only motto: For the welfare of the Native Land. On the day
when all Filipinos should think like him [Del Pilar] and like us, on that day we shall
have fulfilled our arduous mission, which is the formation of the Filipino nation”. To
Rizal that nation was a nation free of injustice, oppression and corruption. May the
Filipinos of today finally begin fulfilling this timeless challenge of Rizal. (Reyno,
2012).