solon files bill officially declaring president aquino

8/2/2019 Solon Files Bill Officially Declaring President Aquino

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/solon-files-bill-officially-declaring-president-aquino 1/5

Solon files bill officially declaring President Aquino, Rizal, 8 othersnational heroes

Despite being honored through nationwide commemoration of their death orbirth anniversaries, not one among the country’s revered martyrs in Philippinehistory, including Jose Rizal, has been officially declared by Congress as

national heroes.

And if House Joint Resolution No. 42 were to be adopted by both Houses of Congress, the late President Corazon C. Aquino will be the first hero in thecountry to be proclaimed by Congress.

In a privilege speech, Camarines Norte Rep. Liwayway Vinzons Chato disclosedthat Rizal and eight other martyrs recognized by Filipinos have not beenproclaimed by Congress as national heroes.

Also, there remains no congressional proclamation declaring assassinated Sen.Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. a national hero although the country observes his

death anniversary as a national holiday based on a law approved by PresidentArroyo.

Vinzons-Chato’s revelation confirmed earlier statements made by Quezon CityRep. Matias Defensor who pointed out that there is no need for a congressionalimprimatur to acknowledge heroes in the country.

“General Emilio Aguinaldo and (President Ramon Magsaysay) became heroeseven without congressional imprimatur. You make a hero because the Filipinopeople in all generations will consider a hero a hero,” Defensor told reportersduring the Usaping Balita News Forum at Serye Café in Quezon City.

Chato filed House Joint Resolution No. 43 to proclaim President Aquino’shusband a national hero. She also sought the adoption of House JointResolution 44 proclaiming Rizal and eight other martyrs in the same categorywith the Bagumbayan martyr as the “premiere national hero.”

Included in the list were Andres Bonifacio, founder of the secret organizationKatipunan, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, first president of the country; ApolinarioMabini, dubbed as the “Great Plebeian”; painter Juan Luna; Marcelo H. del Pilar,Ilocano heroine Gabriela Silang; Melchora “Tandang Sora” Aquino and Muslimrevolutionary leader Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat.

“I made a surprising discovery that there is no law proclaiming any Filipino

historical figure a national hero. Even Jose Rizal, has not been explicitlyproclaimed a national hero,” said Chato.

According to Chato the death anniversary of Rizal has been declared byAguinaldo a national holiday while Republic Act 2946 was passed by Congressto commemorate Bonifacio’s death anniversary as National Heroes Day.



Meanwhile, Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza, co-author of HJR 42, urged hisHouse colleagues to swiftly adopt the proposal by signing in as co-author themeasure seeking to declare Mrs. Aquino a national hero.

“It will take another lifetime, perhaps even more, to have another CorazonCojuangco-Aquino again, and so before our time is up, on behalf of a grateful

people, I urge my colleagues in this chamber to join me in proclaiming CorazonCojuangco-Aquino as a national hero as contained in House Joint Resolution No.42,” he said.

He added: “The life and death of Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, while givenimportance by an admiring nation, can have greater value and significance byinternalizing the virtues and the values by which she lived. Only then can thepath of heroism be relevant and beneficial to all.”

Jose Rizal, An American-Sponsored Hero?

Somehow, yes, Jose Rizal is an American-sponsored Hero because it’s not the

Filipinos who chose Jose Rizal to be the National Hero of the Philippines,furthermore, it’s not the Filipino people who suggested that the PhilippineIslands should have a National Hero. It’s the Taft Commission or the SecondPhilippine Commission who suggested and declared Jose Rizal to be ourNational Hero. They chose Rizal over Aquinaldo, Bonifacio and Mabini.

But the fact that Jose Rizal is still our National Hero shows that he is still theone who the Filipinos want to be called our National Hero despite that otherFilipinos believe that Andres Bonifacio should be our National Hero.

Who made Rizal our foremost hero and why?

William Howard Taft, as the head of the Second Philippine Commission or alsoknown as the Taft Commission suggested that the Philippines should have anational hero. The American officials chose Jose Rizal among the fourcandidates including Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabinibecause he enlighten the Filipinos especially Bonifacio trough his writings andwithout using any brutal ways or risking other’s life.

• A year after Rizal’s execution, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo & the otherrevolutionary chiefs exiled to Hong Kong held a commemorativeprogram there on 29 Dec 1897 on the occasion of the 1st anniversary of the hero’s execution & martyrdom. (20)

• Then on 20 Dec 1898 at the revolutionary capital of Malolos, Pres.Aguinaldo issued the 1st official proclamation making 30 Dec of that yearas "Rizal Day". The same proclamation ordered the hoisting the Filipinoflags at half-mast "from 12:00 noon on 30 Dec 1898" and the closing of "all offices of the government" during the whole day of 30 Dec. actually,the impressive Rizal Day program, sponsored by the Club Filipino, washeld in Manila on 30 Dec 1898.



In his Rizal Day Lecture on Dec. 30, 1969, titled “Veneration Without

Understanding,” the historian Renato Constantino noted it was American

Governor General William Howard Taft who in 1901 suggested to the Philippine

Commission the naming of a national hero for Filipinos.

Subsequently, the US-sponsored commission passed Act No. 346 which set the

anniversary of Rizal’s death as a “day of observance.”Constantino cites Theodore Friend in his book, “Between Two Empires,” as

saying that Taft “with other American colonial officials and some conservative

Filipinos chose him (Rizal) a model hero over other contestants—Aguinaldo too

militant, Bonifacio too radical, Mabini unregenerate.”

Filipinos chose him

The rationale for naming Rizal as the Filipinos’ national hero by the American

administration was articulated by US Governor General W. Cameron Forbes in

his book, “The Philippine Islands,” also cited by Constantino. Forbes wrote:

“It is eminently proper that Rizal should have become the acknowledged

national hero of the Philippine people. Rizal never advocated independence,

nor did he advocate armed resistance to the government. He urged reformfrom within by publicity, by public education, and appeal to the public

conscience.”

But in truth it was the Filipinos and not the Americans who first chose Rizal as

their national hero. It was revolutionary President Emilio Aguinaldo of the First

Philippine Republic—not Taft and the Second Philippine Commission—who first

designated Rizal as a national hero.

How Rizal Became The Philippine National Hero

In 1901, US President McKinley established a commission that sought to create

a Philippine national hero; this commission was headed by William H. Taft. Thepurpose of the commission was to unite the Philippines by showing a Filipinomodel. It must be noted that in these times the Philippines were divided due tothe fresh war that the Philippines had with its new colonizers, the Americans.

According to Charles Bohlen, one-time ambassador to the Philippines, "Taftquickly decided that it would be extremely useful for the Filipinos to have anational hero of their revolution against the Spanish in order to channel theirfeelings and focus their resentment backward on Spain. But he told hisadvisers that he wanted it to be someone who really wasn't so much of arevolutionary that, if his life were examined too closely or his works read toocarefully, this could cause us any trouble. He chose Rizal as the man who fit his

model." [source]

There were six (6) choices as to who would best fit to be the Philippine NationalHero. These were: Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Antonio Luna,Marcelo H. del Pilar, Apolinario Mabini.

The criteria for judging are as follows: 1) The person must be a Filipino, 2) Theperson must be dead, 3) The person must have a solid sense of patriotism, 4)

The person must be a calm thinking person.



Emilio Aguinaldo was instantly voted off the list since at that time he was stillalive. He cannot be awarded as the Philippine National Hero since he mighttarnish the award. The recognition must be made to a dead person so that hewill not anymore do any damage to that title. Remember that the purpose of the award: to unite the Filipinos. Moreover, Aguinaldo was a former General of

the Kataas-taasan Kagalanggalangang Katipunan (KKK) ng mga Anak ngBayan, a revolutionary group during the Spanish time. This group was againstthe colonial rule of Spain ang fought a bloody revolution in order to attainindependence. Unfortunately, the independence won by Aguinaldo was short-lived when the Americans started their "benevolent assimilation" right after"helping" the Philippines win its war. Clearly, Aguinaldo wasn't the type of person who the Americans wanted to be the figure shown to the public. If theychose him, they stand a problem of him being vocal of anti-Americansentiments.

Save for the last requirement, all others were possible candidates for the titleof Philippine National Hero. Yes... It was on the fourth requirement that Jose

Rizal outbid the others (Although Marcelo H. del Pilar was somewhat like Rizal,he wasn't considered nationalistic enough). He was a calm thinking person.Unlike the others who staged a revolution through bloody fights, Rizal was apacifist. Throughout his life, he found peaceful means in asking reforms for thePhilippines. He joined the La Solidaridad, a newspaper where Filipinos inanonymity freely wrote of their nationalistic sentiments. Also, he wrote twonovels: Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo which he sought to awaken theFilipinos in the quagmire they were in. Upon returning to the Philippines fromEurope, he formed a civil organization, La Liga Filipina, which sought toorganize a civil organization movement that will stand-up for the injustices of the Spaniards to the Filipinos. Yet, we cannot say that he was totally against abloody revolution. When he was visited in his exile in Dapitan, Dr. PioValenzuela, a member of the KKK, asked for Rizal's advise regarding arevolution planned by the KKK. He refused the revolution, not because of themere act of it, rather, he said the Filipinos were not yet ready and they were ill-equipped. He knew that the revolution was be planned well and it mustsucceed. Otherwise, it would be harder the second time around; also, the morereason would there for the Spaniards to torture the Filipinos.

Going back, Rizal was the one chosen by the commission. According to awebsite, Theodore Friend is quoted "Taft with other American colonial officialsand some conservative Filipinos, chose him (Rizal) as a model hero over othercontestants - Aguinaldo too militant, Bonifacio too radical, Mabiniunregenerate."

Critiques:

According to a website, "Rizal pointed out problems in the Spanish colonialsociety, but he did not want to drive out the Spanish. He never wantedindependence for the so-called Philippines. That was the important factorbecause it would be a contradiction for the so-called Filipino people to



advocate independence from the USA. He did not join Bonifacio and Katipunan.He was a conformist. He wanted better conditions for so-called Filipinos underSpanish rule. Taft also picked Rizal because he was already dead and he couldnot speak against the American neocolonialism."

solon files bill officially declaring president aquino

Documents