Rizal Day: History Dec 30, 2022 Written by L RIZAL DAY'S HISTORY Dr. José Rizal is credited with launching the revolution against the Spanish colonists. He was born in the town of Calamba on June 16, 1861. Rizal was both a physician and a novelist. In his work "Noli me Tangere," published in 1887, he attacked Spaniards' corrupt governance of the Philippines. Many historians feel that his ideals in that novel and "El filibusterismo" (Reign of Greed) encouraged the revolution. Rizal was executed by firing squad on December 30, 1896, at Bagumbayan Field. Despite the fact that he never participated in any fighting, he was arrested and prosecuted for treason. Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, declared the first Rizal Day a national day of mourning for Rizal and all victims of Spanish colonial tyranny in the Philippines in 1898. Daet, Camarines Norte, was the first municipality to comply with the edict, erecting a monument designed by Lt. Col. Antonio Sanz and funded by the people of Camarines Norte and the rest of Bicol Region. Following America's triumph over the Spaniards in the Spanish-American War in 1901, the Americans seized sovereignty of the Philippines. The American Governor-General William Howard Taft called Rizal a Philippine national hero, demonstrating that they were more pro-Filipino than the Spaniards. A year later, on February 1, 1902, the Philippine Commission passed Act No. 345, establishing December 30 as Rizal Day. To assure the event's solemnity, President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 229 into law on June 9, 1948. Every December 30, the law outlaws cockfighting, horse racing, and jai-alai and demands that flags across the country remain at half staff during the day. On December 30, 1996, the centennial of Rizal's death included retracing Rizal's last steps from his cell at Fort Santiago to the execution site, followed by a reenactment of his death and a flag-raising ceremony. Source: Nat Today
