Get to Know José Rizal

   He’s more than just a face on our coins or a name on parks and streets. José Rizal was a writer, a doctor, a traveler—and a hero who used words instead of weapons. Here are some interesting facts that show just how amazing he really was.

• Rizal Had a Really Long Name

    José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna. His parents were Francisco Rizal Mercado and Teodora Alonso, both from wealthy landowning families.

• He Was a Certified Eye Doctor

   Rizal studied medicine in Manila, got his degree in Madrid, and later specialized in ophthalmology in Paris and Germany to treat his mother’s eye condition.

• He Could Speak 22 Languages

   Rizal was a true polyglot — fluent in Filipino, Spanish, Latin, Greek, French, German, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Sanskrit, and more.

• He Wrote Two Novels That Shook the Colonizers

 He authored “Noli Me Tangere” (1887) in Berlin and “El Filibusterismo” (1891) in Ghent. These exposed the injustices of Spanish rule in the Philippines.

• He Believed in Peaceful Reform, Not War

  Rizal sought changes like representation in the Spanish Cortes, civil rights, and the replacement of Spanish friars with Filipino priests, without using violence.

• He Was Executed, Even If He Wasn’t a Rebel

   Although Rizal didn’t join the revolution, he was arrested, tried for sedition, and executed by firing squad on December 30, 1896, in Bagumbayan.

• His Death Sparked the Philippine Revolution

  His martyrdom became a turning point. Rizal’s ideas and sacrifice inspired Filipinos to continue the struggle for independence.

• There Are Monuments of Him Around the World

  You can find Rizal monuments in Germany, Spain, France, Japan, and the US — not just in the Philippines!

• He’s Literally the Center of Philippine Roads

  His ashes were interred in Luneta (Rizal Park) under the iconic monument in 1912 — which now marks Kilometer Zero of the country’s road system.

• The Navy Named a Warship After Him

  The BRP José Rizal (FF-150) is the Philippine Navy’s first guided missile-capable warship, commissioned in 2019.

• He Wrote a Goodbye Poem and Hid It in a Lamp

  Rizal wrote “Mi Último Adiós” the night before his execution and hid it in an oil lamp, which was secretly passed to his sister.

• He Was More Than a Hero — He Was an Artist and Scientist Too

  Rizal sketched, sculpted, collected plant specimens, and even operated on his mom’s eyes using a German ophthalmoscope.