RIZAL
PARK
Between Burnham Park and the City Hall of
Baguio is a rectangular piece of city property known as
Rizal Park. The park was erected in honor of Dr. Jose P.
Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines and is similar
to numerous other parks that are found in towns and cities
all over the Philippines which are also named in his honor.
It is on this site that the annual celebration honoring
Rizal every 30th of December is held.
Rizal is said to be one of the greatest
Filipinos who ever lived. At a time when the Philippines
was under the oppressive rule of the Spaniards who came
to colonize the country, Rizal's brilliance and dedication
to his country served as inspiration for the Filipinos to
fight for their independence. Rizal was a believer in the
potential of the Filipino to seek the greatest heights amid
adversity, and he lived a life that proved this.
Rizal was an academician, a linguist, historian,
writer, a scientist, and a medical doctor. He wrote a book
titled "Noli Me Tangere" where he depicted the
condition Filipinos were living in under the hostile and
oppressive rule of the Spanish friars. His books were banned
by the Spanish friars in the country at that time since
it sought to expose their corruption and greed. Rizal’s
second novel was the "El Filibusterismo" which
was the sequel to his first book and where he clarified
his political ideas.
Dr.
Rizal had thoughts of eventual independence for his country.
He was a believer in non-violent resistance even before
India’s Mahatma Gandhi made it fashionable. He refused
to endorse an armed uprising against Spain, fearing that
the poorly equipped Filipino revolutionaries would be slaughtered.
Instead he believed that quality education held the key
to the liberation of his beloved land.
It does sound ironic that the revolution
which started in his lifetime was attributed by the Spaniards
to Rizal although he never had a hand in it. He was falsely
accused as the supreme leader of the "Katipunan"
which was looked upon by the Spaniards as an illegal and
subversive organization at that time. The Spanish military
court found Rizal guilty of rebellion and sedition and was
executed by a firing squad in Bagungbayan Field (Luneta
Park) on December 30, 1896. Rizal's execution served as
an inspiration to his compatriots and fueled the Philippine
revolution, telling the world that here was a people yearning
to be free.