June 19, the birthdate of our National Hero Jose Rizal, is notan official, no-work day in the Philippines. But I value it more than the date of death, 30 December – because the Spaniards killed his body but could not stifle his spirit of being a Filipino, the very first one to feel that way, and his legacy lives on! (images: Rizal’s nipa hut in Dapitan from Pusang Gala[1], Rizal & PH flag from STI[2])
I have done my own research on the lives and loves of Rizal, and in fact wrote and published in December 2005 a book titled indios bravos! subtitled Jose Rizal As Messiah Of The Redemption, 188 pages 8.5” x 11”, which I myself edited and did the desktop publishing work. It was a labor of love, as was Rizal’s labors when he was in Dapitan.
But I was pleasantly surprised when I reread his La Liga Filipina in “The Social And Political Ideas Of Jose Rizal As Expressed In His Writings,” a thesis presented to the Faculty of the Department of Spanish University of Southern California by Adrienne von Zelinski, August 1943. 131 pages, for a Master of Arts degree.
The surprise came in the list of the 5 primary aims of the Liga:
1. To unite the whole archipelago into one compact, vigorous, and homogeneous body.
2. Mutual protection in every want and necessity.
3. Defense against violence and injustice.
4. Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce.
5. Study and application of reform.
#1, #2, #3 and #5 are radical enough, but I did not expect #4 – “Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce.” I forgot that when he was exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao, he lived there as a farmer. He got married too, to Josephine Bracken, a stranger from Hongkong who had accompanied Mr Taufer who visited Rizal for a medical purpose.
“Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce” – that today summarizes what Secretary of Agriculture William Dar is trying to do as head of the Department of Agriculture, DA, with 17 regional offices all over the Philippines. He calls it “The New Thinking For Agriculture” and supports it with what he calls “The 8 Paradigms”- and these are:
(1) Modernization. (2) Industrialization. (3) Promotion of exports. (4) Consolidation of small- and medium-sized farms (5) Infrastructure development. (6) Higher budget & investment. (7) Legislative support. (8) Roadmap development.
Moreover, My Hero! had a list of 15 Liga rules that all began with the word “Don’t” – and the last 6 should interest us greatly:
(10) Don’t abandon the poor man that has right on his side.
(11) Don’t forget those that although worthy have come to want.
(12) Don’t fail those without means that show application and ability.
(13) Don’t associate with immoral persons or with persons of bad habits.
(14) Don’t overlook the value to your country of new machinery and industries.
(15) Don’t cease at any time to work for the prosperity and welfare of our native land.
Wasn’t Jose Rizal great?!@517
[1]https://jayexiomo.wordpress.com/tag/zamboanga-del-norte/
[2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=WOx-n5A4NjM
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