Joze Rizal’s Birthday in Laguna Date in the current year: June 19, 2024

José Rizal was a prominent Filipino nationalist, author and polymath. He advocated for political reforms as a member of the Propaganda Movement, and his writings are believed to have inspired the Philippine Revolution, although Rizal himself distanced himself from the rebellion because he believed in liberty through peaceful means.

José Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna province. He showed a precocious intellect from an early age and was an excellent student. Rizal obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and finished a pre-law course at the University of Santo Tomas at the same time, but decided to switch to medicine upon learning his mother was losing her sight.

Having finished his medical training at the medical school of Santo Tomas, Rizal traveled to Europe, where he received a medical degree from the Universidad Central de Madrid and attended medical lectures in Paris and Heidelberg. In addition to medicine, he was skilled in other sciences and the arts, and was conversant in 22 languages. It was during his time in Europe that Rizal wrote and published his first novel, Noli Me Tángere, that explored the inequalities in Philippine society caused by Spanish colonization.

Rizal returned to the Philippines in 1892 and formed La Liga Filipina, a secret society that advocated for social and political reforms. Soon after, Rizal was arrested by Spanish authorities and exiled to Dapitan. Four years into his exile, Governor-General Ramón Blanco allowed Rizal to leave for Cuba, where he was supposed to work as a doctor, helping victims of yellow fever.

However, on his way to Cuba Rizal was arrested in Barcelona and charged with conspiracy, sedition, and rebellion. The court-martial found him guilty on all charges and sentenced Rizal to death. On December 30, 1898, Rizal was executed by a squad of Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army.

Although Rizal did not approve of the Philippine Revolution due to its methods, revolutionaries admired him and his writings, and he is widely regarded as the greatest national hero of the Philippines. The anniversary of Rizal’s death has been celebrated annually since 1898 and was officially declared a public holiday in 1902. His birthday was first declared a holiday in 1961 by President Carlos P. Garcia. It was a one-off celebration in honor of the centenary of Rizal’s birth. Fifty years later, President Benigno Aquino III did the same in honor of the hero’s 150th birth anniversary.

Finally, in 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte declared Rizal’s birthday an annual special non-working holiday in the province of Laguna, where Rizal was born. Special non-working holidays in the Philippines usually follow the “no work, no pay” principle, but those employees who do work are entitled to 130% of their regular daily wage.