THE RIZAL Law emerged amid postwar concerns that growing American influence was distancing Filipinos from their history, culture, and national values, according to a historian.
“The senators were very scared about the change in Philippine culture going on then. It had already transitioned to English, I would say,” said Paul Dumol, professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, in a lecture titled “Reevaluating Rizal Law at 70” on Aug. 14.
The Rizal Law sought, in part, to address concerns that Filipino youth would become disengaged from their historical background and lose values associated with the formation of the Philippine nation, Dumol said.
However, Dumol pointed out that earlier definitions of Filipino culture were limited, particularly because they often excluded indigenous peoples from the national narrative.
He cited the decline of Spanish-language education as another major shift in Philippine education.
Dumol recalled that Spanish was once required in universities, with students taking as many as 24 units before the requirement was reduced and eventually removed as a compulsory subject in the late 1980s.
The historian said these changes contributed to a “very different world” from the one in which the Rizal Law was enacted in 1956, saying that foreign-language education was no longer closely associated with nationalism and patriotism.
The Republic Act No. 1425, also known as the Rizal Law, requires all private and public schools, universities, and college institutions to include in their curricula the life and works of Jose Rizal, particularly “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.”
Dumol said the law remains necessary 70 years after its enactment, particularly since history and literature continue to lose ground in the Philippine education system.
“The worse the Philippine society becomes, the more it is needed,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
Dumol also criticized the reduced time allotted to “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” in the curriculum, saying that students always ended up studying the novels through lists of characters, events, and vocabulary rather than engaging with them as literary studies.
“Anong klaseng pag-aaral ‘yan ng literature, panitikan?” he said.
(What kind of literature education is that?)
Dumol called attention to the implementation of Rizal courses in college, which he said were often assigned to history teachers who might not have sufficient background in literature.
Known for his playwriting, Dumol wrote “Ang Paglilitis kay Mang Serapio” and co-authored the book “The Nation as Project: A New Reading of Jose Rizal’s Life and Works.”
Victorino Manalo, head of the National Archives of the Philippines, exhibited hiscollection of books on Rizal.
The lecture was part of Solidaridad Bookshop’s literary series, which continues the cultural legacy of the bookstore founded by the late National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose.
Since November 2025, the bookstore has been owned by Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste.
“Pinagpapatuloy lang natin ang cultural legacy ng lugar, bilang isang independent bookshop, na malaya tayong magkaroon ng mga talakayan,” bookshop consultant Kristian Cordero told the Varsitarian.
The series opened on July 16 with a poetry reading and discussion featuring Ivatan poet and cultural worker Dorian Merina. The next event, “Translation, Decolonization and Philippine Education,” is set on Aug. 28.
Solidaridad, in partnership with the Office of Sen. Loren Legarda and Rex Publishing House, hosted the literary series. E. J. C. Castro
