LIFE, WORKS, AND WRITINGS OF RIZAL MODULE 1: Rizal’s Concept of a Nation

MANUEL V. GALLEGO FOUNDATION COLLEGES Institute of Teacher Education Zulueta Street, Barangay Kapitan Pepe, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines

LIFE, WORKS, AND WRITINGS OF RIZAL MODULE 1: Rizal’s Concept of a Nation Introduction

Before we formally start our discussion, lets watch first this video about the Malolos Congress (1898) through this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBT-qSm-gJs. Please take note that this historical event will juxtapose all the modules up to the end of this course.

Rizal was considered by many scholars, writers, social scientists, and philosophers in the Philippines and abroad as ahead of his time. The notion lies not only in his emancipatory notion of history but also in his idea of the nationstate. At this point, we can say that his concept is far from the statist view of a nation, including history and society.

Source: https://rizalnetherlands.wordpress.com/jose-rizal/

Rizal’s concept of a nation-state is very much different from the concept of a nation-state produced by Europe’s finest intellectuals and movements. To some extent, he envisioned a community which operates within the parameters of ethical existence of which made him immortal in terms of the validity of his analogy.

The statist view of nation is “It is a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.”

State, on the other hand, is “A nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government. Examples are Germany, Italy, and other European states."

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Source: https://bookysh.wordpress.com/tag/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/

The current statist view of Philippines, based on Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, as nation is this: Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.

Section 3. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory.

Section 4. The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people.

The Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service.

Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.

Section 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.

But for Rizal, his view was the contrary: nation-state transcends beyond physical borders.

Lesson Outcomes

Critically discuss Rizal’s concept of a nation.

Critically discuss and differentiate Rizal’s view of a nation from the statist view.

Formulate Rizal’s concept of a nation.

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Content

Rizal’s vision was of the nation as an ethical community. It is a vision of a nation without borders.

In this respect, Rizal was much ahead of his time, for he had envisioned a community, an international community, that is bounded together with the same concepts of ethical principles that become the basis for international rules – which is, the promotion of the common good and to resist and fight abuse and tyranny.

This concept of the state as an ethical community is very different from the traditional concept that is a sovereign state bounded by a territory and composed of racial and ethnic groups.

Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/edsa/the-ph-protest/

To elaborate on this traditional nation–state, I quote Floro Quibuyen in his book, A Nation Aborted (1999).

Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9726264-a-nation-aborted

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“The contemporary generation conceives of nationalism in either of two ways: (1) First, nationalism is conceived as a movement affirming and securing the ethnic-racial unity of a people. In other words, the concept of nation is that of people who belong to the same racial or ethnic community.”

This was evidenced, for example, by the “new nationalisms” of Serbia, Ukraine, Kurdistan, and Rwanda. This type, as the world now painfully knows, tends to degenerate into atrocities like “ethnic cleansing.” “Ethnic cleansing” is when one group commits genocide or mass killing of another group like the Hutus and Tutsis of the country of Rwanda.

(2) “Second, nationalism is conceived as a movement seeking to establish and secure a nation-state that has a specific territory and has boundaries bordering other states.”

One example is the country of Siam in Asia. The nationalist movement in the 19th century caused Siam to be split into several countries. Siam is now Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.

Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.

Source: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/sheer-terror-a-cambodian-recalls-escape-from-genocide-3865828.html

Similarly, when India was granted its independence in 1947 by Great Britain, nationalist movements split the country and new countries emerged such as Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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The dawn of Pakistan Movement for independence (1930).

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1338270

This type of state usually leads to a situation of corruption, repression, and human misery that rivals, if not exceeds the depredations of the colonial era.

Both types share the same obsession with the establishment of an independent state, which is regarded as the contemporary concept of the nation. “ As mentioned earlier, neither of these types represents what Rizal had envisioned.

At the core of Rizal’s concept was the creation of a community in which all the members were bound together by moral imperatives in which the common good is protected and promoted.

Evil is to be resisted and fought.

Anti-dictatorship protest in military ruled Myanmar.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56002730

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Pro-democracy protester in Myanmar calling for the release of democratic elect President Daw Aung San Su Kyi. Source: https://www.ft.com/content/2458ba6b-032e-4750-a4ba-cc7b30afa44f

Rizal believed that the existence of a national ethical community is what will prevent any government policy or measure that is harmful to the common welfare from being carried out.

Activity and Assessment

Short reflective essay Write an essay that answers the three (3) questions below: 1) What was Rizal’s concept of a nation?

2) How is it different from the traditional statist view?

3) Is Rizal’s concept of a nation applicable in the contemporary Philippine society amidst globalization?

Mechanics: 150-300 words in Arial font, size 12, and save the file in PDF. Note: Make sure that you will support your defense/ claim with tangible examples, research or citations from either primary or secondary sources, etc. that will make your position strong. Please defend it as much as possible.

References

1. Crudo, Eugene R. et al. The Life, Works, and Writings of Rizal. Quezon City: REX Bookstore, 2019 (pg. 2-6).

2. Maranan, Ruben D. Jose Rizal: First Global Filipino Hero. Quezon City: C&E Publishing, 2015 (pg. xiii-xxiii).

3. Quibuyen, Floro C. A Nation Aborted. Quezon City: Ateneo De Manila University Press, 1999.

Online Sources

1. Official Gazette. “A History of the Philippine Political Protest.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, 2016, www.officialgazette.gov.ph/edsa/the-ph-protest/.

---. “THE 1987 CONSTITUTION of the REPUBLIC of the PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE II | 2. GOVPH.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, 2019, www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-thePrepared by Mr. Rene Boy E. Abiva Page 6 of 7

republic-of-the-philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-thephilippines-article-ii/.

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