Dr Jose P Rizal – We Did Not Realize This Until Now, But He Had Medicines For The Good Of A Great Many Of Us Filipinos! Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Farming, Medicine, Poetry, Science, Teaching

Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ National Hero, was not only a bonafide Doctor of Medicine (University of Santo Tomas); Rizal was also a Farmer, Poet, Scientist, Teacher, and a True Patriot. (image from sg.video.search.yahoo.com).

Poet Misunderstood – When he was only 8 years old, he wrote the poem “Sa Aking Mga Kabata” (“To The Kids Of My Own Time”) – and innocently fooled the adults as to its real message. The adults thought it was for love of the Tagalog language – No! It was love for the independence of his country (See my article, “Thinking 2021 Of Jose Rizal, First Thinking Filipino” (06 June 2021, Frank A Hilario. frankahilario.wordpress.com). You will agree with me if you reread the last stanza of Kabata. And yes, I came to that realization first and independently of any of Rizal’s admirers.

Both Farmer & Scientist Unrecognized – Ben O De Lumen writes of Rizal’s exile at Dapitan (“Rizal The Scientist,” 20 June 2006, PhilStar, philstar.com):

The last major episode of his life was spent in exile in Dapitan, in northern Mindanao, where he was (exiled) by Spanish authorities after he returned to the Philippines in 1892. As one author wrote, it was one of the most extraordinary exiles in human history. (Because Rizal made it so! FAH) In Dapitan, there was no water system, no school, no street lighting, no hospital; the land was fertile but farming techniques were primitive. But Rizal with his characteristic creativity and self-discipline, tackled these problems in 4 years.

As a scientist, here is Rizal in Dapitan; Joseph Sebastian Javier writes: “What Rizal Did in Dapitan: Collecting Local Fauna, Establishing a Boarding School, and Healing the Sick” (01 July 2021, Esquire, esquiremag.ph). Mr Javier misses 1 essential fact in Rizal’s life in Dapitan – he was a farmer: see Eufemio Agbyani III’s article, “Rizal As A Farmer: The Dapitan Experience” (National Historical Commission of the Philippines, nhcp.gov.ph). I myself have written: “Jose Rizal – We Forgot That He Lived A Farmer’s Life, And He Was Extraordinary” (19 June 2020, THiNK Journalism, ithinkjournalism.blogspot.com; source of combined image, bottom)

Today, I say:

June 19, the birthdate of our National Hero Jose Rizal, is not an 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,” “Rizal & PH flag” from STI).

Preciosa Soliven writes about “Rediscovering Dr Jose P Rizal As A Teacher” (11 July 2019, A Point Of Awareness, PhilStar,philstar.com). Ms Soliven describes Rizal as a “Master Teacher” (my term). She says, Rizal gave the Dapitan folks lessons in “Applied Engineering” and “Business Entrepreneurship.”

So, how much did you learn about the Philippine National Hero today?

Jose Rizal, the multi-talented National Hero of the Philippines!@517