WHAT IS THE RIZAL LAW? The Rizal Law, also known as RA 1425, mandates the study of Rizal’s life and works, as shown in section 1. This Republic Act calls for an increased sense of nationalism from the Filipinos during a time of a dwindling Filipino identity. According to the judicial system, a republic act is a law that has already been passed and implemented. In contrast to this, a bill is merely a proposed law, in other words it may or may not be passed by the Congress. The Republic Act was signed by the President on June 12, 1956. From the notes preceding the body of the document, one may infer that the bill was originally proposed in the Legislative arm of the Philippine Republic, in the Senate and House of Representatives. According to the Official Gazette, the law was made effective thirty days after its implementation. The mere fact that the Act was passed on the date of our independence seeks to stir up a greater sense of fervor in the Filipino, to believe in their own country and national identity—who we are as a nation. It was this time when the Philippines was heavily dependent on the American government for support and guidance. Also, based on the fact that Jose Rizal is honored by the Philippines as the Philippine national hero, it is but appropriate that the document written to commemorate his accomplishments is written here, in the land of his birth. It is Senator Claro M. Recto who authored the Rizal Bill. While Senator Jose P. Laurel, Sr., who was then the Chairman of the Committee on Education, sponsored the bill in the Senate. Both of them were known for their great sense of nationalism. This nationalism served as the foundation to come up with this republic act, to set our country free from the hands of others and stand up on our own—exactly the ideals and values that Rizal strove to fight for. It was written for the Filipino people, specifically the Filipino youth, who may have lost their sense of nationalism. The writers endeavored to rekindle a lost spark in each Filipino’s belief in their country. A republic act as drastic as the Rizal Law, which requires the study of Rizal’s life and works—something that does not need to be required in the first place—can only be born out of the fact that Rizal and his works were not given a high priority in the educational system of the country prior to the release of this act. It is clear that the government had to make drastic changes to resolve the issue. This is evident in section 3 of the act, legalizing all forms of translations for Rizal’s works, as well as section 2, obligating all schools, colleges and universities to keep an adequate number of copies of Rizal’s works. This makes them more accessible to a greater audience. It is hard to make out any form of emotion from any legal document; however, the choice of words is still able to convey a fiery passion. To highlight this, they also use words or concepts that can easily relate to the common Filipino man. Such passion is vital, as the audience is presumably of dwindling nationalism. In this regard, the writer attempts to show the audience the identity they have slowly been losing, and show them how they can undo this. There are important points that the author cited in this republic act that is worth noticing. First, “Whereas, today, more than other period of our history, there is a need for a re- dedication to the ideals of freedom and nationalism for which our heroes lived and died.” This document was written in the year 1956 during Magsasyay’s regime when the country