JOSE RIZAL, AND THE AMERICAN

MADE HERO CONTROVERSY

Batangas State University-Pablo Borbon

 INTRODUCTION

• This lesson consists of discussion who gave Jose

Rizal official recognition. This was to make them
conform to the new government. Rizal acquired
the official title of Philippine National Hero in
1901 under the country’s first American civil
governor, William Howard Taft.
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

• 1. Discuss the different issues that tend to

denigrate the status of Rizal as our national hero. 2.
Articulate own opinion regarding Rizal’s issues
and controversies of heroism.
• 3. Critically understand Rizal’s heroism and realize
the significance of his ideas in the present time.
 CHECKPOINT

• Let’s check your knowledge! POST your answer

IN THE CHATBOX.
• 1. Why do you think the Americans promoted
Rizal as the National hero instead of Bonifacio or
Aguinaldo?
 CHECKPOINT

• As the choice of Rizal as the Philippine national hero made

by the Filipino people or was it the Americans who made
him so?
• To which Ocampo replied: You cannot legislate heroism.
Rizal was already a hero before the Americans came to the
Philippines. Wherever you ask Filipinos, Rizal is their hero.
In short, it’s a kind of consensus that shouldn’t be
questioned. No elaboration was offered.
 CHECKPOINT

• Then it came as a realization to some in the

audience that there’s no law declaring Rizal the
country’s national hero.
 CHECKPOINT

• There is, in fact, research done on this issue of American

involvement in selecting Rizal as the Philippine national
hero, putting him in the league of George Washington of
the United States, Mahatma Ghandi of India, Jose Marti of
Cuba, Sun Yan Sen and Mao Zedong of China, etc. In the
interest of historical research, I am quoting substantially
from Renato Constantino’s book, Dissent and Counter-
Consciousness .
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• We have magnified Rizal’s role to such an extent that we have lost our
sense of proportion and relegated to a subordinate position our other
great men and the historic events in which they took part. Although Rizal
was already a revered figure and became more so after his martyrdom, it
cannot be denied that his pre- eminence among our heroes was partly the
result of American sponsorship. This sponsorship took two forms: on
one hand, that of encouraging a Rizal cult, on the other, that of
minimizing the importance of other heroes or even of vilifying them.
There is no question that Rizal had the qualities of greatness.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• History cannot deny his patriotism. He was a martyr

to oppression, obscurantism and bigotry. His
dramatic death captured the imagination of our
people. Still, we must accept the fact that his formal
designation as our national hero, his elevation to his
present eminence so far above all our other heroes
was abetted and encouraged by the Americans.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• It was Governor William Howard Taft who in 1901

suggested that the Philippine Commission that the
Filipinos be given a national hero. The Free Press
of December 28, 1946 gives this account of a
meeting of the Philippine Commission:
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• “And now, gentlemen, you must have a national hero.’ In

these fateful words, addressed by then Civil Governor W.
H. Taft to the Filipino members of the civil commission,
Pardo de Tavera, Legarda, and Luzuriaga, lay the genesis
of Rizal Day….. ‘In the subsequent discussion in which
the rival merits of the revolutionary heroes were
considered, the final choice-now universally acclaimed as
a wise one-was Rizal. And so was history made.”
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• Theodore Friend in his book, Between Two Empires, says that Taft “with other
American colonial officials and some conservative Filipinos, chose him (Rizal)
as a model hero over other contestants – Aguinaldo too militant, Bonifacio too
radical, Mabini unregenerate.” This decision to sponsor Rizal was implemented
with the passage of the following Acts of the Philippine Commission: (1) Act
No. 137 which organized the politico-military district of Morong and named it
the province of Rizal “in honor of the most illustrious Filipino and the most
illustrious Tagalog the islands had ever known, “ (2) Act No.243 which
authorized a public subscription for the erection of a monument in honor of Rizal
at the Luneta, and (3) Act No. 346 [p.128] which set aside the anniversary of his
death as a day of observance.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• This early example of American “aid” is summarized by Governor W.

Cameron Forbes who wrote in his book, The Philippine Islands: It is
eminently proper that Rizal should have become the acknowledged
national hero of the Philippine people. The American administration has
lent every assistance to this recognition, setting aside the anniversary of
his death to be a day of observance, placing his picture on the postage
stamp most commonly used in the islands, and on the currency …. And
throughout the islands the public schools teach the young Filipinos to
revere his memory as the greatest of Filipino patriots. (Underscoring
supplied)
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• The reason for the enthusiastic American attitude becomes clear in the
following appraisal of Rizal by Forbes:
• “Rizal never advocated independence, nor did he advocate armed
resistance to the government. He urged reform from within by publicity,
by public education, and appeal to the public conscience. (Underscoring
supplied) Taft’s appreciation for Rizal has much the same basis, as
evidenced by his calling Rizal “the greatest Filipino, a physician, a
novelist and a poet (who) because of his struggle for a betterment of
conditions under Spanish rule was unjustly convicted and shot…. “
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• The public image that the Americans desired for a Filipino national
hero was quite clear. They favored a hero who would not run
against the grain of American colonial policy. We must take these
acts of the Americans in furtherance of a Rizal cult in the light of
their initial policies 94 which required the passage of the Sedition
Law prohibiting the display of the Filipino flag. The heroes who
advocated independence were therefore ignored. For to have
encouraged a movement to revere Bonifacio or Mabini would not
have been consistent with American colonial policy.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• Several factors contributed to Rizal’s acceptability to the Americans as the

official hero of the Filipinos. In the first place, he was safely dead by the time
the American began their aggression. No embarrassing anti-American
quotations could ever be attributed to him. Moreover, Rizal’s dramatic
martyrdom had already made him the symbol of Spanish oppression. To focus
attention on him would serve not only to concentrate Filipino hatred against
the erstwhile oppressors, it would also blunt their feelings of animosity toward
the new conquerors against whom there was still organized resistance at that
time. His choice was a master stroke by the Americans. The honors bestowed
on Rizal were naturally appreciated by the Filipinos who were proud of him.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• At the same time, the attention lavished on Rizal relegated

other heroes to the background-heroes whose revolutionary
example and anti-American pronouncements might have
stiffened Filipino resistance to the new conquerors. The
Americans especially emphasized the fact that Rizal was a
reformer, not a separatist. He could therefore not be invoked
on the question of Philippine independence. He could not be
a rallying point in the resistance against the invaders.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• It must also be remembered that the Filipino

members of the Philippine Commission were
conservative ilustrados. The Americans regarded
Rizal as belonging to this class. This was, therefore,
one more point in his favor. Rizal belonged to the
right social class — the class that they were
cultivating and building up for leadership.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• It may be argued that, faced with the humiliation of a second

colonization, we as a people felt the need for a super-hero to
bolster the national ego and we therefore allowed ourselves to be
propagandized in favor of one acceptable to the colonizer. Be that
as it may, certainly it is now time for us to view Rizal with more
rationality and with more historicity. This need not alarm anyone
but the blind worshipper. Rizal will still occupy a good position in
our national pantheon even if we discard hagiolatry and subject
him to a more mature historical evaluation.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• A proper understanding of our history is very important to us because it

will serve to demonstrate how our present has been distorted by a faulty
knowledge of our past. By unraveling the past we become confronted with
the present already as future. Such a re-evaluation may result in a
downgrading of some heroes and even a discarding of others. It cannot
spare even Rizal. The exposure of his weaknesses and limitations will also
mean our liberation, for he has, to a certain extent become part of the
superstructure that supports present consciousness. That is why a critical
evaluation of Rizal cannot but lead to a revision of our understanding of
history and of the role of the individual in history.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• Orthodox historians have presented history as a succession of exploits of

eminent personalities, leading many of us to regard history as the product of
gifted individuals. This tendency is strongly noticeable in those who have tried
of late to manufacture new heroes through press releases, by the creation of
foundations, or by the proclamation of centennial celebrations. Though such
tactics may succeed for a limited period, they cannot insure immortality where
there exists no solid basis for it. In the case of Rizal, while he was favored by
colonial support and became good copy for propagandists, he had the
qualifications to assume immortality. It must be admitted however, that the study
of his life and works has developed into a cult distorting the role and the place of
Rizal in our history.
 AN AMERICAN-SPONSORED HERO

• For the complete copy of “Dissent and Counter-

consciousness,” go to http://fc-wjnet.com and at the section
“Betrayal of the Revolution – 1897 November” click on
[Download PDF] after
• “Dissent and Counterconsciousness” by Renato Constantino.
• https://philippinereporter.com/index.php/2019/06/14/was-
rizal-an-american-sponsored-hero/
 ORAL ASSESSMENT

• Activity 1: Let’s test your knowledge. Essay

Writing or extemporaneous speech about a
particular value Rizal Advocated. Refer to the
given rubrics below. Students choose a key issue
(e.g. heroism and the notion of sacrifice; literature
and national consciousness; ethics and our concepts
of leadership; ethnicity and national belongingness.
 REFERENCES

• De Ocampo, Esteben "Who Made Rizal our Foremost National Hero, and Why?" in Jose
Rizal: Life, Works, and Writings of a Genuis, Writer, Scientist and National Hero, edited
by Gregorio Zaide, 1984.
• Other References
• Claudio, Eric G.,. Et.al., Life and Works of Rizal . Panday Lahi Publishing House Inc.,
2018
• De Viana, Augusto V., et.al., Jose Rizal: Social Reformer and Patriot. Study of His Life
and Times Philippine Copyright 2018 by Rex Book Store, Inc.
• Fadul, Jose A. A Workbook for a Course in Rizal Third Edition. Published in 2016 by
C&E Publishing, INC. Francisco, Virlyn Jaime. (2015). Jose P. Rizal: A College
Textbook on Jose Rizal’s Life and Writings. Mindshapers, Co. Inc.. Manila