REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1425AN ACT TO INCLUDE IN THE CURRICULA OF ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES COURSES ON THE LIFE, WORKS AND WRITINGS OF JOSE RIZAL, PARTICULARLY HIS NOVELS NOLI ME TANGERE AND EL FILIBUSTERISMO, AUTHORIZING THE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION THEREOF, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSESWHEREAS, today, more than any other period of our history, there is a need for a re-dedication to the ideals of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died;WHEREAS, it is meet that in honoring them, particularly the national hero and patriot, Jose Rizal, we remember with special fondness and devotion their lives and works that have shaped the national character;WHEREAS,the life, works and writing of Jose Rizal, particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, are a constant and inspiring source of patriotism with which the minds of the youth, especially during their formative and decisive years in school, should be suffused;WHEREAS,all educational institutions are under the supervision of, and subject to regulation by the State, and all schools are enjoined to develop moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience and to teach the duties of citizenship; Now, therefore,SECTION 1. Courses on the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal, particularly his novel Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, shall be included in the curricula of all schools, colleges and universities, public or private: Provided, That in the collegiate courses, the original or unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their English translation shall be used as basic texts.The Board of National Education is hereby authorized and directed to adopt forthwith measures to implement and carry out the provisions of this Section, including the writing and printing of appropriate primers, readers and textbooks. The Board shall, within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate rules and regulations, including those of a disciplinary nature, to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Act. The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the exemption of students for reasons of religious belief stated in a sworn written statement, from the requirement of the provision contained in the second part of the first paragraph of this section; but not from taking the course provided for in the first part of said paragraph. Said rules and regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days after their publication in the Official Gazette.SECTION 2.It shall be obligatory on all schools, colleges and universities to keep in their libraries an adequate number of copies of the original and unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as of Rizals other works and biography. The said unexpurgated editions of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo or their translations in English as well as other writings of Rizal shall be included in the list of approved books for required reading in all public or private schools, colleges and universities.The Board of National Education shall determine the adequacy of the number of books, depending upon the enrollment of the school, college or university.SECTION 3.The Board of National Education shall cause the translation of the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, as well as other writings of Jose Rizal into English, Tagalog and the principal Philippine dialects; cause them to be printed in cheap, popular editions; and cause them to be distributed, free of charge, to persons desiring to read them, through the Purok organizations and Barrio Councils throughout the country.SECTION 4.Nothing in this Act shall be construed as amendment or repealing section nine hundred twenty-seven of the Administrative Code, prohibiting the discussion of religious doctrines by public school teachers and other person engaged in any public school.SECTION 5.The sum of three hundred thousand pesos is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any fund not otherwise appropriated in the National Treasury to carry out the purposes of this Act.SECTION 6.This Act shall take effect upon its approval.Approved: June 12, 1956SenatorClaro M. Rectowas the main proponent of the Rizal Bill. He sought to sponsor the bill at Congress. However, this was met with stiff opposition from the Catholic Church. During the1955 Senate election, the church charged Recto with being a communist and an anti-Catholic. After Recto's election, the Church continued to oppose the bill mandating the reading of Rizal's novelsNoli Me TngereandEl Filibusterismo, claiming it would violatefreedom of conscienceandreligion.[1]In the campaign to oppose the Rizal bill, the Catholic Church urged its adherents to write to their congressmen and senators showing their opposition to the bill; later, it organized symposiums. In one of these symposiums, Fr. Jesus Cavanna argued that the novels belonged to the past and that teaching them would misrepresent current conditions. Radio commentator Jesus Paredes also said that Catholics had the right to refuse to read them as it would "endanger their salvation".[1]Groups such as Catholic Action of the Philippines, theCongregation of the Mission, theKnights of Columbus, and the Catholic Teachers Guild organized opposition to the bill; they were countered by Veteranos de la Revolucion (Spirit of 1896), Alagad in Rizal, the Freemasons, and theKnights of Rizal. The Senate Committee on Education sponsored a bill co-written by bothJos P. Laureland Recto, with the only opposition coming fromFrancisco Soc Rodrigo,Mariano Jess Cuenco, andDecoroso Rosales.[2][3]TheArchbishop of Manila,Rufino Santos, protested in apastoral letterthat Catholic students would be affected if compulsory reading of the unexpurgated version were pushed through.[4]Arsenio Lacson, Manila's mayor, who supported the bill, walked out of Mass when the priest read a circular from the archbishop denouncing the bill.[5]Rizal, according toCuenco, "attack[ed] dogmas, beliefs and practices of the Church. The assertion that Rizal limited himself to castigating undeserving priests and refrained from criticizing, ridiculing or putting in doubt dogmas of the Catholic Church, is absolutely gratuitous and misleading." Cuenco touched on Rizal's denial of the existence ofpurgatory, as it was not found in the Bible, and that Moses and Jesus Christ did not mention its existence; Cuenco concluded that a "majority of the Members of this Chamber, if not all [including] our good friend, the gentleman from Sulu" believed in purgatory.[3]The senator from Sulu, Domocao Alonto, attacked Filipinos who proclaimed Rizal as "their national hero but seemed to despise what he had written", saying that theIndonesiansused Rizal's books as their Bible on their independence movement;Pedro Lpez, who hails from Cebu, Cuenco's province, in his support for the bill, reasoned out that it was in their province the independence movement started, whenLapu-LapufoughtFerdinand Magellan.[4]Outside the Senate, the Catholic schools threatened to close down if the bill was passed; Recto countered that if that happened, the schools would be nationalized. Recto did not believe the threat, stating that the schools were too profitable to be closed.[1]The schools gave up the threat, but threatened to "punish" legislators in favor of the law in future elections. A compromise was suggested, to use the expurgated version; Recto, who had supported the required reading of the unexpurgated version, declared: "The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools would blot out from our minds the memory of the national hero. This is not a fight against Recto but a fight against Rizal", adding that since Rizal is dead, they are attempting to suppress his memory.[6]On May 12, 1956, a compromise inserted by Committee on Education chairman Laurel that accommodated the objections of the Catholic Church was approved unanimously. The bill specified that only college (university) students would have the option of reading unexpurgated versions of clerically-contested reading material, such asNoli Me TngereandEl Filibusterismo.[1][4][6]The bill was enacted on June 12, 1956,[4]Flag Day.

Senate bill 438known asRizal Billwhich was first authored by SenatorClaro M. Recto- requiring the inclusion in the curricula of all private and public schools, colleges and universities the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal particularly his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - is considered as one of the most controversial bills in the Philippines. Normally, before the bill was approved and implemented in all schools and was signed into a law known as Republic Act 1425, it had been brought to the Upper and Lower House of the Congress for deliberations. But what made it controversial is that the bill was not just fiercely opposed by people from Legislative Arm but also by the Catholic Church due to the inclusion of compulsory reading of Rizal's novels in which according to them, catholic dogmas are humiliated.Senator Recto brought the bill to the Senate and SenatorJose B. Laurel Sr.who was then the Chairman of the Committee on Education sponsored the bill that consequently led to exchange of arguments from the Congress. The bill was headedly opposed by three senators namely SenatorFrancisco Rodrigowho was a former Catholic Action President, SenatorMariano Cuencoand SenatorDecoroso Rosaleswho was the brother ofJulio Rosales, an archbishop. Other oppositors were from Lower House namely CongressmenRamon Durano,Marciano Lim,Jose Nuguid,Manuel Soza,Godofredo Ramos,Miguel Cuenco,Lucas Paredes, CongressmenCarmen ConsingandTecia San Andres Ziga. The Catholic Church was indirectly included in the debates and played a major role for the intervention of signing of the bill into a law. Allied with the church in battle against Rizal Bill were theHoly Name Society of the Philippines,Catholic Action of the Philippines,Legion of Mary,Knights of ColumbusandDaughters of Isabela.Oppositions argued that the bill would go against freedom of conscience and religion, TheCatholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines(CBCP) submitted a pastoral letter to which according,RizalviolatedCanon Law 1399which forbids or bans books that attack or ridicule the catholic doctrine and practices. Oppositors argued that among the 333 pages ofNoli Me Tangere, only 25 passages are nationalistic while 120 passages are anti-catholic. While upon scrutiny of thetwo novels by some members of catholic hierarchial, 170 passages inNoli Me Tangereand 50 inEl Filibusterismoare against catholic fatih. Furthermore, oppositors pointed out that Rizal admitted that he did not only attack the friars who acted deceptively on the Filipinos but also the catholic faith itself. They suggested a reading material for students as to what they called Rizalian Anthology, a collection of Rizal's literary works that contain the patriotic philosophy excluding the two novels.Of course, Recto and Laurel defended the bill and argued that the only objective of the bill is to keep the memory of the national hero alive in every Filipino's mind, to emanate Rizal as he peacefully fought for freedom, and not to go against religion. SenatorsLorenso Tanada,Quintin ParedesandDomocao AlontoofMindanaoalso defended Rizal Bill which was also favored by Representatives from the House namely CongressmenJacobo Gonzales,Emilio Cortez,Mario Bengson,Joaquin Roxas,Lancap LagumbayandPedro Lopez. Other supporters of the bill wereMayor Arsenio Lacsoncall anti-rizal bill "bigoted and intolerant" and walked out of a mass when the priest read a pastoral letter from the Archbishop denouncing the Rizal Bill aqnd General Emilio Aguinaldo with groups like theKnights of Rizal,Women Writers of the Verrnacular,Philippine Veterans Legion,Colleger Editors' GuildandPhilippine School Teachers' Association.Excitement and intense scnenes were eventually arisen in settling the Rizal Bill. One of which was the debate ofCebuRepresentativeRamon DuranoandPampangaRepresentativeEmilio Cortesthat ended with a fistfight in Congress.Bacolod CityBishopManuel Yapthreatened to campaign against pro-rizal bill legislators nad to punish them in future elections. Catholic Schools Representatives threatened to close down their schools if the Rizal Bill was passed. Recto told them that if they did, the State could nationalize the catholic schools. When there was a proposal to use the expurgated novels as textbooks and put the original copies under lock and key in the school libraries, Recto rejected this amendment and expressed:"The people who would eliminate the books of Rizal from the schools...would bot out from our minds the memory of the national hero...this is not a fight against Recto but a fight against Rizal...now that Rizal is dead and they can no longer attempt at his life, they are attempting to blot out his memory."Due to apparently never-ending debate on the Rizal Bill, approved amendments were formulated through ideas of three senators.Senator Laurel'created an amendment to the original bill in which, other thatNoli Me TangereandEl Filibusterismo, works written by Rizal and works wriiten by others about Rizal would be included and reading of the unexpurgated revision of the two novels would no longer be compulsory to elementary and secondary levels but would be strictly observed to college level.Senator Limsuggested the exemption to those students who feel that reading Rizal's novels would negatively affect his or her faith. Senator Primicias created an additional amendment that promulgates the rules and regulations in getting an exemption only from reading the two novels through written statement or affidavit and not from taking the Rizal Course. According to historianAmbeth Ocampo, no student has ever availed of this exemption. After the revised amendments, the bill was finally passed on May 17, 1956 and was signed into law asRepublic Act 1425by PresidentRamon Magsaysayon June 12 of the same year.

It is of great importance that students understand the rationale behind having to take up a Rizal course in college. For high school students, the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo are injected into the Filipino subject as part of the overall curriculum. In tertiary education, however, Rizal is a subject required of any course, in any college or university in the Philippines.

Usually, during the first day of the course, the professor asks the well-overused questions:

Why study Rizal?What is the importance of studying Rizal?Why is Rizal one of the minor subjects taken up in college?Why is Rizal included in the course outline?What relevance does Rizal have in college education?

The answer to such questions can be summed up in two points:

1. First and foremost, because it is mandated by law.2. Secondly, because of the lessons contained within the course itself.

Let us discuss those reasons one by one:WHY STUDY RIZAL: BECAUSE IT IS MANDATED BY LAWThe teaching of Jose Rizals life, works, and writings is mandated by Republic Act 1425, otherwise known as the Rizal Law. Senator Jose P. Laurel, the person who sponsored the said law, said that since Rizal was the founder of Philippine nationalism and has contributed much to the current standing of this nation, it is only right that the youth as well as all the people in the country know about and learn to imbibe the great ideals for which he died. The Rizal Law, enacted in 1956, seeks to accomplish the following goals:1. To rededicate the lives of youth to the ideals of freedom and nationalism, for which our heroes lived and died2. To pay tribute to our national hero for devoting his life and works in shaping the Filipino character3. To gain an inspiring source of patriotism through the study of Rizals life, works, and writings.

WHY STUDY RIZAL: BECAUSE OF THE LESSONS CONTAINED WITHIN THE COURSEAside from those mentioned above, there are other reasons for teaching the Rizal course in Philippine schools:1. To recognize the importance of Rizals ideals and teachings in relation to present conditions and situations in the society.2. To encourage the application of such ideals in current social and personal problems and issues.3. To develop an appreciation and deeper understanding of all that Rizal fought and died for.4. To foster the development of the Filipino youth in all aspects of citizenship.