Rizal is not considered a revolutionary leader like figures such as Washington, Lenin, Bolivar, Mao, and Ho Chi Minh. While he opposed the 1896 uprising in the Philippines and advocated for reform through peaceful means, he was proclaimed the Philippine national hero in 1901 at the suggestion of American Governor William Howard Taft, as Rizal was safely dead and his martyrdom already made him a symbol of opposition to Spanish colonial rule. However, Rizal was not explicitly proclaimed the national hero through one decree, but through a series of decrees establishing monuments and naming places after him.

1. Taksil si Rizal sa Himagsikan at Pagkabansa?
Hindi dapat pambansang bayani si Rizal.

2. Washington
United States

3. lenin
Soviet Union

4. Bolivar
Latin America

5. Mao Tse-Tung
China

6. Ho Chi Minh
Vietnam

7. Lahat sila
Pinuno
Ng Rebolusyon

8. Pinuno?

9. “From the very beginning, when I first had notice
of what is being planned, I opposed it, fought it, and
demonstrated its absolute impossibility…
…I have written also (and I repeat my words)
that reforms, to be beneficial, must come from above,
and those which comes from below are irregularly
gained and uncertain.

10. Holding these ideas. I cannot do less than
condemn, and I do condemn this uprising-which
dishonors us Filipinos and discredits those that could
plead our cause. I abhor its criminal methods and
disclaim all part in it, pitying from the bottom of my
heart the unwary that have been deceived into taking
part in it.”
--José Rizal, Dec. 15, 1896

11. Rizal’s campaign for reforms with the
propaganda movement aimed for Hispanization of the
Philippines and not for complete separation from
Mother Spain.
--Wenceslao Emilio Retana & Austin Craig
Rizal’s first biographers

12. Bayani

13. Bakit?

14. American
Sponsored

15. Gov. William Howard Taft

16. In 1901, suggested that the
Philippine Commission to the Filipinos
be given a national hero.
“And now, gentlemen, you must have a
national hero.”
--Gov. W. H. Taft

17. Bakit si Rizal?

18. In the first place, he was safely
dead by the time the American
began their aggression.

19. Rizal’s dramatic martyrdom
had already made him the
symbol of Spanish oppression.

20. The Filipino members of
the Philippine Commission were
conservative ilustrados.

21. Rizal was not proclaimed to
be the national hero but with a
series of decrees.

22. Naming the province of
Morong as Rizal

23. The erection of monuments in
all town plazas

24. A contest for the design of the
national monument at the
Luneta

25. Pambansang
Bayani?