Choose your leader: Rizal!

A century and twenty-two years after the account of a heroic act was done to unleash us from the chains of puppetry and to claim what’s really ours. The martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal became the end of an era of dictatorship and colonization. Finally, freedom was given to fellow Filipinos that is still experienced today (well, excluding the Martial Law era wherein Filipinos were again being manipulated by their fellow countrymen). He was hailed as the national hero, and is still recognized and followed for his sacrifices for the Philippines.

Dr. Jose Rizal’s leadership brought us the freedom and peace that was once stolen from us by foreign bloods. His intuition and comprehensive mind opened revolutionary. Rizal was the founder of various clubs and organizations such as Circulo-Hispano-Filipino (Spanish-Filipino Club) which was intended for Spanish-Filipino students who were up for brilliance and intelligence. He also initiated Kidlat Club to make the Filipinos know each other during the Paris expedition. A club for Malay race, Indios Bravos was also established to honor and defend them against discrimination and condemnation. One of the most known organizations, La Solidaridad, with the help of other Filipino heroes wrote and published propaganda to express their stand against the colony and to plea for reform. Lastly in this paragraph, La Liga Filipina was a civic society founded for unification, protection, defense, education, agriculture, and commerce of the nation which was later on diverged into two namely: Cuepros de Compromisarios and the well-known revolutionary organization, Katipunan. With this, the Filipino eyes were opened for resiliency.

Now if I would to become a leader, I would definitely be Rizal. Ever since I was a child, I really admired his excellence and sense of nationalism. He was one of the people who influenced me and shaped me to become expressive with my thoughts and to become a Filipino with a voice who can speak her opinions with eyes to see what’s behind the facade. We both like writing and we both love our country but Rizal’s love is more profound and proved; I wish I can do something more relevant for my country too in time. Aside from being a doctor, good leader, and an eloquent writer, I was also amazed by how he was able to date many women while not ruining any part of his expertise. Although, he was known as a chick boy, Rizal still respects women; his love for them was just intense and overflowing. He excels in everything he do yet he remained humble.

Rizal is definitely one of the most efficient leaders for me. His scope was for the whole country to serve. He even showed his love for the country by saying this on his letter, “Whatever happens, I shall die blessing her and desiring for her the dawn of her redemption”. Rizal, indeed died for patriotism and with conviction, and that’s what makes a true leader is—being able to set aside his self-interests but able to see the visibility of what is necessary and profound. Being a leader is not just making others follow you; it is how you follow what is good, right, and just for the majority—for the Filipinos particularly.