Who made jose rizal our national hero?
I agree with the facts given by paolylo, however i oppose the connotation of his statements, as cited from a very famous anti-rizal historian, renato constantino. Rizal was indeed endorsed by the americans, but after 62 long years after our independence (freedom from any form of US control) was recognized by the international community, I would wanna believe that Rizal SIMPLY DESERVED the honor..otherwise we could have easily changed it – it was as easy as signing a bill. We do these things with street names, airport names, with other national symbols (nat’l bird, dance, etc), even legitimate governance are being ousted once the ‘majority’ deems it as unworthy. I vehemently disagree that Jose Rizal became a hero and REMAINED a national hero for more than a century, MERELY because of the US endorsement — such a statement is a direct insult and an extreme underestimation of the intelligence and judgment of the Filipinos.
