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This Indonesian made me proud to be a Filipino

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By Raïssa Robles

Today is Dr. Jose Rizal’s 153rd birthday.

Dr. Rizal Sukma

Dr. Rizal Sukma, Executive Director at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta

In his honor, I am uploading this video interview I took of Dr. Rizal Sukma, an internationally prominent foreign policy expert and the Executive Director at Jakarta’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

I had heard before that Rizal was once a popular name in Indonesia. And when I met Dr. Sukma during the 1st Japan-ASEAN Journalists Conference held in Tokyo last January by the Japan Institute of International Affairs, I grabbed the chance to ask him why his parents named him Rizal. Because the only Rizal I had met in my life was a janitor at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

Dr. Sukma’s answer made me proud to be a Filipino.

It is difficult to be proud of being a Filipino today. Our government bureaucracy is shamefully riddled with corruption and creaking under red tape and inefficiencies. Most of our people remain as poor as their families have been for centuries. Foreigners who abused us tell us to our face that we are a lazy people with a “damaged culture” and we accept their assessment unquestioningly.

But our race was able to produce a Rizal. Not only a Rizal but also a Bonifacio, a Marcelo H. de Pilar, a Ninoy Aquino. Our list of heroes is long.

Yes, we have been abused as a people for so long. We won’t forget that but we will rise above that.

As our late hero Rizal once wrote,

“I don’t see why I should bow my head when I could hold it high, or place it in the hands of my enemies when I can defeat them.”

You can see why I think that if the late Dr. Jose Rizal were alive today, he would rank among the top global thinkers.

Now, do listen to Dr Rizal Sukma’s interview where he discusses why Rizal remains relevant to this day.

You can read more about Dr Sukma by clicking here. Sorry for the background noise. It was taken during the farewell dinner of the conference when everyone was animatedly exchanging views about Asia, the South China Sea, Japan and China.

______________________________

Related Story

Why I write and what this has to do with Rizal and Marcos

 

Comments

  1. There’s also a Yose Rizal on CSIS research staff

    QUOTE
    Yose Rizal Damuri, Head of the Department of Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies. His research activities focus on international trade, regional integration and globalization of value chain. He is active in several research and advisory networks both in Indonesia and in East Asia, such as Indonesia Service Dialogue (ISD) and Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT).

    Yose also teaches International Economics courses at the Faculty of Economics University of Indonesia. In addition, he occasionally writes in local and national newspapers. He received his Bachelor of Economics from the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia. He continued his study at the National Centre for Development Studies, Australian National University (ANU), Canberra and got his Master of Economics of Development (MEcDev). He received his PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI), Geneva, Switzerland.

  2. This too made me proud Raissa. I purchased two books, about fifteen years ago , two Nolis, gave one to my family, one I kept for myself. I have carried The Book for this long and had only finished reading it last year. It took me this ever long to read it, as I got carried away and be sorely affected by it as I read along. Then I put it away for years until last year. It is a book to study…not merely read. The relevancy and the Literary merits is incalculable. I challenged my nephew a 2nd yr high school student to read The Book, this after I had finished reading my copy. The challenged was meet , I rewarded him an iphone, but more than that, he got to read the whole book at his own time and at home. As a storybook would have it, or would not have it. The glossing over of this most important Literature, i say glossing over, because, i found out that the preferred method of study by present curriculum in highshool, as the book is parcelled, and chapters are assigned to different individual student, and one makes a report according to the chapter assigned. Such inadequacy a method for such an important book. My question is why ? I think, I know why.

    • I am aghast when Sisa is portrayed as an entertainment piece at worthless noontime show.

      • In a nutshell, because They too have read this Book. Not hard to imagine what it might do or rather, further do to the now eroding priestiandom as we know it. Take heart, it is eroding.

        Many Thanks Raissa.

    • Our Rizal was even quoted as one of the influential figures that contributed to the diversified culture of SIngapore. But the recent issue here about the supposed independence day celebration in a public place had really made a strong wave of criticism and racist noise. It was followed by hate blog giving against Filipinos . It was however quenched when the Singapore Police filed a case against the blogger and the blog was taken off the server. But just after a couple weeks of cool down, this video of a Filipina again made a noise and strong criticism in the Real Singapore facebook page.
      {https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=791390077572828} I have purposely added the
      curly brackets otherwise my comment will be pending. Just copy and paste the link to your browser to go to the facebook video link without the curly bracket of course.

  3. Raissa

    I think an Indonesian or Malaysian would name their son Rizal, in honor of the great Malay. Filipinos would simply use Jose as customarily observed and not a last name. by this i also think many Filipinos were equally named after Jose Rizal. On a similar note, the Philippines was named after Philip II, namesake of the current, and that South China Sea has nothing to do with China’s historic claim, otherwise Felipe will be king of the islands.

  4. More on Jose Rizal…just got the source from FB…thanks will try to post it here for us CPMers.

    “25 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Jose Rizal”…

    1. There are three animals named after Rizal. These species of animals were the ones he collected while he was an exile in Dapitan and include Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a type of small beetle; Draco Rizali (Wandolleck), a species of flying dragon; and Rachophorous Rizali (Boetger), a species of toad.

    2. Contrary to popular belief, the Rizal monument in Luneta was not made by a Filipino artist. The design was the work of Swiss sculptor named Richard Kissling who won second prize in an art competition that was held in 1907 to find the best scale model for the future Rizal monument. The first prize went to Italian sculptor Carlo Nicoli of Carrara but for some reason, the contract to build the monument was given to the second-prize winner.

    3. Rizal cured himself of tuberculosis, and was later recognized as a tuberculosis expert.

    4. He was already a terrific sculptor even at a very young age. In fact, Rizal carved a 9-inch statuette of the Sacred Heart out of batikuling wood when he was only 14 years old. The Jesuit fathers brought this statuette in Fort Santiago when they visited Rizal in December 1896. Aside from wood sculptures, Rizal also carved 40 amazing masterpieces out of plaster, terra-cotta, wax, and clay.

    5. When he was studying in Spain, Rizal had to pawn a ring owned by his sister Saturnina just to pay for his exams. But he didn’t want his family to get worried, so he only mentioned his victories and excellent grades in the letters addressed to his family.

    6. “Mi Retiro”, the name of his place of exile in Dapitan, was inspired by his favorite park in Spain, the Parque del Buen Retiro. [ We do have street named after this…near the WELCOME monument at Quezon City]

    [cannot put No. 7. I need the genuis Rizal to do this]

    8. Rizal is regarded by many as the “Father of Philippine Comics” because of some humorous illustrations he made in Germany. The said drawing, entitled “The baptism of two brothers”, was inspired by the German cartoon “Max and Moritz” and was made by Rizal to entertain the children of his landlord, Pastor Ulmer. The original copy is now preserved in the National Library of the Philippines.

    9. Rizal had psychic abilities. On his journal entry dated January 1, 1883, he shared about a “frightful nightmare” he had two nights before (i.e. December 30). In this dream, Rizal was imitating a dying actor and felt his “breath was failing” and his vision became very dim. Interestingly, Rizal would be executed 13 years later at the exact same date. Austin Coates, Rizal’s biographer, also underscored that there were many incidents written in both Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo that eventually happened to Rizal in real life.

    10. According to Faustino “Tinong” Alfon, Rizal’s former cook in Dapitan, our national hero’s favorite fruits were lanzones and mangoes. His meals back then usually consisted of three kinds of ulam. Rizal’s breakfast, on the other hand, was usually comprised of hot chocolate, rice, and sardinas secas, commonly known now as simply tuyo.

    [our VP Binay’s is paksiw]

    11. Rizal was widely featured in cigarette wrappers. Most of these wrappers, made with Art Deco or Art Nouveau designs, were produced in Binondo during the turn-of-the-century. An old cigarette label, Las Delicias, even went to the extreme by featuring Rizal smoking a cigar.

    [maybe Destirelia Limtuaco saw this Ads]

    12. Rizal was exceptional and prolific in a wide range of subjects–except music. This is because he already realized early in life that his singing “sounded like the braying of an ass.”

    13. Vital statistics: Rizal was about five feet three inches tall and had a waistline of about 25″ to 26″. He also had a big head: His hats were 6 1/2″ across and the interior measures 8″ from front to back. He didn’t look odd, though, as his broad shoulders and developed neck compensated for it.

    14. Rizal’s original execution photo features a dog, the mascot of the firing squad. It is said that the dog ran around the corpse whining after a soldier fired one last shot in Rizal’s head to make sure he was dead.

    15. It was rumored that both Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong were the illegitimate sons of Jose Rizal. Read more: 8 Mind-Boggling Myths About Jose Rizal.

    16. Only one of Rizal’s skeletal remains was not buried under the monument in Luneta. A vertebra or a piece of the backbone where Rizal was allegedly hit by the bullet was claimed by his family and is now displayed in Rizal Shrine, Fort Santiago.

    17. During Rizal’s execution, a total of 8 Filipinos armed with Remingtons formed the firing squad. There were also 8 Spanish soldiers with Mausers behind them, ready to shoot the Filipino soldiers if they refused to execute Rizal.

    18. A descendant of one of the executioners, Adolfo Pastor Quetcuti, revealed that only one of the rifles was loaded with bullets. He explained that this is to ease their guilt as they already knew in the beginning that Rizal was innocent.

    19. Rizal stuffed unknown papers in his pockets and shoes on the eve of his execution. He did this, assuming that his corpse would be turned over to his family after the execution. But as we all know, his body was dumped by Spanish officials in an unmarked grave in Paco cemetery. The papers had since deteriorated, the contents of which were never identified.

    20. Rizal had a third, unfinished novel. Known among historians as “Makamisa”, this unfinished work was started by Rizal in Hongkong in 1892. Makamisa was not actually the title of Rizal’s work, but only the title of a single chapter of the unfinished Tagalog novel.

    21. Rizal once sent a love letter written in invisible ink to Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. The message could only be deciphered if you put the letter over a lamp or candle. Leonor Valenzuela was one of Rizal’s first sweethearts. Unfortunately, they parted ways when Rizal had to leave for Spain.

    22. “A la Senorita C.O. y R.”, one of Rizal’s best poems, was dedicated to Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, a pretty daughter of Don Pablo Ortiga whom Rizal fell in love with when he was in Madrid. However, Rizal backed out of the blossoming relationship because he was good friends with Eduardo de Lete who was in love with Consuelo. He also wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera who would eventually marry Englishman Henry Kipping.

    23. Rizal composed a farewell song for Leonor Rivera just before his departure for Europe. The song, entitled “Leonor”, became very popular “that many were heard singing it in the streets and during social gatherings. The moment they saw Leonor, the children would sing the song.” Here is the English translation of the song:

    And so it has arrived: the fatal instant,
    the dismal injunction of my cruel fate;
    and so it has come at last: the moment, the date,
    when I must separate myself from you.Goodbye, Leonor, goodbye! I take my leave,
    leaving behind with you my lover’s heart!
    Goodbye, Leonor: from here I now depart.
    O melancholy absence! Ah, what pain!

    24.Rizal played a key role in the identification of Oncomelania cuadrasi, a Philippine snail that harbors the parasite that causes schistosomiasis. The said snail was named after a certain Mr. Cuadrasi, a known naturalist in Manila and to whom Rizal sent his specimens of animals and insects for identification.

    [SCHISTOSOMIASIS is in river -banks along PALO, LEYTE and beyond some neighboring towns. When you see young kids with bloated stomach…yellowish complexions…that’s it! Hunters BEWARE! The disease reaches the BRAIN and kill.]

    25. While in Dapitan, Rizal wrote an extensive written discourse on kulam. Entitled “La curacion de los hechizados” (The treatment and cure of the bewitched), this lesser-known work of Rizal explores the psychological treatment for kulam and even explained that witches were not always women who are old or ugly. He also discussed the difference between hiloanon of the Visayas, who gives poison to her victims, and the manggagaway, the ‘traditional’ witch who uses rag doll and pins.

    References
    abs-cbnNEWS.com, (2011). Jose Rizal was a sculptor, too. [online] Available at: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/07/06/11/jose-rizal-sculptor-too [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    CUPIN, B. (2014). The hero and the human that is Jose Rizal. [online] GMA News Online. Available at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/241498/lifestyle/peopleandevents/the-hero-and-the-human-that-is-jose-rizal [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Fernandez, R. (2009). Little known facts on Rizal as an agriculturist. [online] Asianjournalusa.com. Available at: http://asianjournalusa.com/little-known-facts-on-rizal-as-an-agriculturist-p5353-87.htm [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Himig.com.ph, (2014). Rizal’s Verses for Leonor and Maria Clara. [online] Available at: http://www.himig.com.ph/features/47-rizals-verses-for-leonor-and-maria-clara [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Joserizal.ph, (2014). Jose Rizal [Different Characters]. [online] Available at: http://www.joserizal.ph/ch01.html [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Joserizal.ph, (2014). Jose Rizal [Love Life]. [online] Available at: http://www.joserizal.ph/lv01.html [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Myrizal150.com, (2011). The story of the Rizal Monument | MyRizal150. [online] Available at: http://myrizal150.com/2011/06/the-story-of-the-rizal-monument/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Ocampo, A. (2012). Looking Back 5: Rizal’s Teeth, Bonifacio’s Bones. 1st ed. Mandaluyong City: Anvil, pp.9-10.

    Ocampo, A. (2012). Rizal Without the Overcoat. 2nd ed. Mandaluyong City: Anvil, pp.61, 64, 77, 155, 157.

    Ocampo, A. (2014). Things you won’t ever know about Rizal. [online] Newsinfo.inquirer.net. Available at: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/16114/things-you-won%E2%80%99t-ever-know-about-rizal [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    Philstar.com, (2014). Rizal’s execution: Little known facts | Headlines, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com. [online] Available at: http://www.philstar.com:8080/headlines/643170/rizals-execution-little-known-facts [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    PULUMBARIT, V. (2014). 10 little-known facts about Dr. Jose Rizal’s life in Spain. [online] GMA News Online. Available at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/341828/pinoyabroad/news/10-little-known-facts-about-dr-jose-rizal-s-life-in-spain [Accessed 19 Jun. 2014].

    http://www.filipiknow.net/jose-rizal-facts/
    .

  5. Watching the ‘live tv’ re Bong’s surrender at the court…rather than enforce the WA.

    …our VIPs appears what?: scared? hiya? something so big in their lives to be arrested.

    …sa USA, their VIPs don’t give a shitta bang; handcuffs or not, it’s just a part of bad experience in life!

    …sa atin dito…masyadong may so sensitivities to be burdened with it. No greatness!

    Jose Rizal underwent the same. History said his mother underwent the same…worst she was tied to a carromata pulled by a carabao on suspicion of attempted murder, made to walk around Calamba town for that. She suffered a lot on that.

    Jose was finally executed for being that young moth! Cool to the last moments. No caravan of 10 carromata and 10 carabaos to Fort Santiago for detention!.

    Greatness Jose achieved. Hero.

    • Is there a big comparison/difference of Rizal’s detention cell at Ft. Santiago vs the bungalow-houses-cells of these suspects PDAF scams?

      ….the former [re cells] made of adobe stones having seen it years ago; haven’t seen these bungalows cells specially made for the scam suspects except on tv or news photos.

      Rizal’s detention facility is at the tip of the Pasig River out into the sea…some says if sea tides are high you are wading in the sea water. He must have had a better cell so as not to drown him early. I am sure the bungalows’ cells or rooms will have AIR-CONDITIONER soon, big TV screens; PCs laptops desktops etc.; microwave ovens, High Speed Internet connections; all the amenities of a rich living style.

      What’s the difference? They are NOT AT HOME but in CAMP CRAME. No sweat. Luxury is still in reach. Go to Q.C. Police detention cell…over crowded! Go to Manila City detention cell it over crowded and gets FLOODED…cells mates look at their SKINS…mosquito-bites all over them.

      That’s a difference…a big one.

    • I am fascinated by the drama of all this, the tears, the heartfelt compassion of Revilla’s followers and family. Hello! Accountability is a nasty fellow, eh? The reality of it all.

      I wonder if anyone is learning anything at all, or if the failure to accept reality runs so deep that they can’t quite get it. I read where Mayor Estrada implied it is the secretaries’ fault, not his son’s, if the money did not go where it was supposed to. And if you listened to Revilla (sorry, the Mr. get’s dropped when he enters jail), you would think that President Aquino stole the money and is simply pinning the whole thing on the his political opponents. No, no. The political philosophy of UNA is steeped in power and favor, not law. Sorry bout that. Here’s a hankie.

      • @Joe…the hankie, came from under arm or breast? Filipinos, poor or rich, have a specialty…DRAMATICS!

        Can’t blame them. It’s a part of being. Example: Burying our dead at the cemetery, sometimes you actually experience sudden jolts in your quite spot watching the last rites sprinkling of the Holy Water, raising of the coffin, into the small opening…ARRRRRRRRRRAHHHHHH! WAAAAAAAAHHHHH! It’s SOOO LOUDDDD!

        …yea, you got jolted! Now, I can call it ‘EXPLOSION!’ [from a Drone]

        Love our race. Btw, Bong’s not a burial yet…just HANKIE=PANKY! I bet he’s having a good sleep now since last night couldn’t get one.

        Super dramatic being in the movies.

        • Bong’s first meal served in jail was fried fish and sauteed mungo beans, same as the tiamzons in nearby cells.

          The difference between them is the tiamzons are garbed in prison orange jumpsuit just like all detainees while bong brought his own bagfull of clothes.

          I look forward to seeing bong in orange suits – and also jinggoy who is expected to join bong tomorrow.

          No doubt their families suffer more than them but they deserve such humiliation and ignominy for unconscionable looting of public funds which they’ve sworn to protect in their oaths of office.

  6. Today is June 20th a day after Rizal’s birthday. His greatness continues on…

    I am lucky to have kept and preserve my copy of this book about Jose P. Rizal: The Pride of the Malay Race, a biography. By Dr. Rafael Palma & Roman Ozaeta. Prentice-Hall, Inc. NY 1949 Edition. This my father’s copy actually way back June 4, 1950. I was ‘browsing’ on our book shelves one day in the 70s at our ancestral home, spotted this Book. Viola! Cherished it since then.

    …on the 3rd page is printed in Italics –

    “. . . never was the human sentiment of patriotism magnified and elevated to such height as in the story of this obscure man of the belittled Malay race.”

    … on the 4th page is this famous portrait of Jose Rizal, in black and white. He is wearing his black suit with white collar. His eyes looking far beyond. To where? Maybe to the future of hiis country and people.

    …on the 5th page is this DEDICATION [ it doesn’t tell who between the 2 authors wrote it ]. It goes like this:

    ‘To the Filipino Youth:
    To whom could I dedicate this better than to you where Rizal first inspiration and his last pre-occupation? I have made you a purely human portrait of Rizal so that, recognizing the common atmosphere of home and family which binds you to him, you could more easily take him as model and inspiration’

    …on page 7, a paragraph reads:

    ‘In this situation Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861. His advent was not preceded by prophecies. It was not announced by any mysterious constellation. No wise men foretold his good fortune. There were no augural signs which might forebode that that boy was going to perturb the peace of a world that the Spaniards considered ideal’

    …a sentence follows after –

    ‘They [his parents] baptized him on the third day and called him Jose, probably because his birth occurred on a day commemorative of Saint Joseph. Two bands of musicians accidentally in the town enlivened the occasion.’

    Jose first met severe discipline in his early education…from his mother Teodora Alonso but no corporal punishment. He loved and worshipped her. [page 8]

    …on page 9 – ‘Jose remembered a lesson of his mother’ xxx ‘became engraved in his memory, for he could tell all its details after the lapsed of many years’

    He was with his mother. ‘The rest of the family had retired and the lights had been put out’ [page 9] …’The hall was dimly lighted by an oil lamp’

    ‘He remained alone with his mother, who was teaching him to read in “Amigo de los Ninos.”
    [a scolding on him for drawing funny pictures on the pages of the book]

    Jose did not understand Spanish at the time. He could not read expressively. ‘Pay attention’ said his mother. ‘She was going to read it for him.’ But since Jose did not understand Spanish, ‘he entertained himself by observing the flame of the lamp around which a multitude of insects were fluttering. His mother, upon noticing his lack of interest, told him the fable about an old moth and a young moth’ […still on page 9]

    After his mother told him of this fable, ‘Jose himself relate to us:

    “My attention increased from the first sentence. I looked towards the light and fixed my gaze on the moths which were circling around it. The fable could not have been more opportune. At the end my mother repeated the warning of the old moth. She commented on it and wished to apply it to me. I heard her but – how curious! – the light seemed to me each time more beautiful; the flame, attractive. I really envied the fate of the insects. They frolicked so joyously in its enchanting splendor that the ones which fell into the oil did not cause me any dread.’

    “xxx The fate of the two insects interested me greatly. The flame rolled its golden tongue and caught an insect, which, after trying to make some movements, remained still. That seemed to me a great event. It produced in me an emotion which I have always noticed in myself whenever anything stirred my feelings. The flame and the insect seemed to dissipate into thin air, and my mother’s voice sounded strange and uncanny. I did not notice when she ended the fable. My attention was fixed on what happened to the insect. I watched it with my whole soul. I thought of it. It died a victim of its illusions.” […page 10]

    Jose’s mother told him: ‘Do not behave like the young moth. Do not be disobedient or you will perish in the flame as it did.’

    Jose learned ‘why moths flutter toward the flame.’

    Jose ‘xxx thought more of the death of the restless moth. In the bottom of my heart I did not blame it. The light was so beautiful! My mother’s cares did not have the result she desired.’
    […page 11]

    So, from early age, Jose was desiring into greatness. The flame is beautiful. He did it. Greatness!

    How many of our leaders have this desire? How many among us have it? One, ten, hundreds? Maybe, yes, somewhere in many corners of our towns and cities, we have.

    The flame is still among us. We are like the insects fluttering toward this flame. Desirous towards it. Why do moths flutter toward the flame?

    Jose learned why. Tell our youths the reason why. And that is the reason why they do and ….e!

    Jose Rizal is a great Filipino.

  7. In a related story “Why I write and what this has to do with Rizal and Marcos.” Raissa wrote in 2011 that Marcos is an unfinished business.

    There would never be a closure to the Marcos business unless Marcos is buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. That event would happen only when Binay, who recommended to PNoy the Marcos’ burial into that hallowed ground, or when a Marcos descendant becomes our president. And the vaunted Marcos wealth would remain a myth.

  8. If I’m not mistaken, Dr. Rizal was of the Malay race, or a grand stewpot of races, but was incredibly dedicated to the well-being of the Filipino nation and its downtrodden people. I consider him a man of the world, actually, given his explorations in the U.S. and Europe and Asia, and the friendships he developed. So I believe fully justified in claiming him as one of my heroes, too. How can one person learn to speak so many languages in such a short time? Learn to piece the words together in such eloquent and rich meanings? Find the insights that most of us, blind to what we are doing, miss? Amazing.

    That he was condemned and not help up as precious by the leaders of the time reflects how depraved a people we are. Even today, there are those amongst us who would raise up plundering lowlifes who steal from the poor, because they are “names”.

    Maybe Rizal shines because the rest of us are so blasted stupid.

  9. What’s worse today is that the oppressors are our own countrymen- heartless plunderers that don’t give a shit for our poor people. We need more Rizal’s.

    • I agree with you Percy, and also desperately needed is a judicial system that administers a punishment that fits a crime. Take these plunderers, give them a fair trial, then shoot the sorry bastards. Save the tax payers money, do not add insult to injury by placing then in a 5 star jail cell.

      Filipinos are very resourceful and resilient people. Imagine having the infrastructure to get fields irrigated, roads to markets, proper schools, books, educators, standards. My gosh, all it would take is one spark to ignite a bonfire within the next student to carry on Dr. Rizal’s legacy. Only if it was just one student.

      I watched in utter amazement two little girls, who were watching their mother select their school supplies. The expressions of the little girls, with all their intensity, led me to believe they were hoping their mommy would select a particular writing pad, and zip up plastic bag for their pencils, crayons, glue, you name it. I had to turn away in tears, knowing even with the love, care and concern of a mommy, they would still have to share a seat with another student in some decrepit public school because school funds were stolen. They are the future yet there is no ray of sunshine, shining down on them and their future. My gosh, what a tragedy, inflicted by the very ones who have no conscious when it comes to pilfering money intended for our most valuable resource.

      Dr Rizal, what a hero, what a legacy, what if there were more like you.

  10. I was born June 19, 1957 via a Hilot, my mom said, my birth was registered June 21, 1957, perhaps this is why I like poetry, songs and literature….

    Rizal’s un-corruptible and freedom loving life are factors in which any person, especially politicians should use as basis for serving Filipinos in every walks of life.

    What had happened ever since the establishment of Philippine government was corruption. The law was too soft and everyone were tempted to corrupt for their material progress, greed increased from government to government. If the initial Laws were already un-corruptible, we are now one of the best and rich country in the world. However, corruptions lingers until before PNOY rules…now is the start of cleansing and progressing our country by politicians to being truthful and renders good services to Filipinos as time goes by. Now we got new Rizal in the likes of Pres NOY, Sen Lacson, Sen Grace Poe, Sen Trillianes and others….like ourselves he he he amen…

  11. I admire José Rizal. He is my favorite hero. Today is his birthday. I am proud of our great heroes like him and Ninoy . If only we could eliminate our corrupt officials from this face of the earth, ours would be a great nation, a good place to live in.

  12. You meet Rizal, Raissa. I slept and lived with Rizal. He was my favorite journalist but he passed away 8 years ago. If he is alive today, he would have loved to meet you.

    Thank you for this article and all others that you have written. You do have a gift of making what seems to be complicated issues simple and understandable to lay persons like me. More power to you!

  14. Nice article Raissa. Today is Jose P. Rizal’s BIRTHDAY! Great Malayan.

    But here is Destileria Limtuaco…to USE NAMES of HISTORIC PERSONS, National Heroes etc.

    It could be: for GIN liquor – El FiliRizal; Brandy – NoliTangere; Whiskey – AndresBoni; Ladies’ Drink – Tandang Sora

    Destileria Limtuaco is CHINESE…why not name their LIQUORS like: MaoTseDong Brandy; or Whiskey – SunYatSen; or DengShiaoPing; or GIN -XiPing atbpa!

    Don’t use PH heroes to sell liquor – http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/06/15/14/dont-use-ph-heroes-sell-liquor-ncca

      • have you heard? there is a brand of vodka in germany and it’s called “Gorvachow”? no kidding. it sells good!