6 Myths, Rumors, And Untruths About Jose Rizal, The National Hero Of The Philippines

"Ang hindi magmahal sa sariling wika, daig pa ang hayop at malansang isda." This is a quote often attributed to Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. It's a line from the poem Sa Aking Mga Kababata which is being taught in schools all over the archipelago as a piece written by the celebrated hero when he was just 8 years old.

However, there's very little evidence proving that Rizal wrote the poem. In fact, evidence shows that he didn't pen it. In his book Rizal Without the Overcoat, historian and essayist Ambeth Ocampo made a convincing case that the poem was written by someone not named Jose Rizal. This and other myths, Jose Rizal rumours, and untruths about the national hero are discussed below.

1) Rizal is the father of Adolf Hitler.

If you put alongside each other photos of Rizal and Hitler, it's not that difficult to see bits of resemblance. They're both small of stature. They have dark hair and dark eyes. Rizal also did a stint studying at the Heidelberg University in Germany. Maximo Viola, a friend of Rizal, once wrote about an encounter between Rizal and an Austrian woman and theorists claim that their union may have produced Hitler. These are just some of the instances that are causing people to believe that Rizal fathered Hitler.

However, as Ambeth Ocampo pointed out in his book Rizal Without the Overcoat, Hitler was born in 1889 and Rizal left Germany for good in 1887. Babies are born only 9 months after conception. You do the math.

2) Rizal is the dreaded Jack the Ripper.

Source: thedungeons.com

Rizal was in London from May 1888 to January 1889. Jack the Ripper was planting fear and havoc in the streets of London around this time. According to believers of the connection between the two, the killings suddenly stopped when Rizal left the city.

Furthermore, Jack the Ripper is known for his surgical precision in murdering his victims which suggested that he had medical training. It so happened that Rizal was a doctor. Also, Jose Rizal's initials J.R. match those of Jack the Ripper. But, aside from these dismissible evidence, there's absolutely no reason to believe that Rizal was the Ripper.

3) Rizal wrote the poem Sa Aking Mga Kababata when he was eight years old.

Filipino students are being taught that Rizal wrote the poem in Calamba when he was merely eight years old. However, there is enough evidence to suggest that this is not the case. The poem was first published 10 years after Rizal's execution. Herminigildo Cruz, the man who published the poem said he got it from a certain Gabriel Beato Francisco who in turn got the poem from a certain Saturnino Raselis. Raselis allegedly received the poem from Rizal himself. This claim has been completely debunked by Ambeth Ocampo in his essay Rizal Did Not Write Sa Aking Mga Kabata.

In Ocampo's words, "No original manuscript, in Rizal's own hand, exists for "Sa Aking Mga Kabata" traditionally believed to be his first poem. Rizal had 35 years to publish or assert authorship but he did not." A popular quote from the poem in question goes, "Ang hindi marunong magmahal sa sariling wika, masahol pa sa hayop at malansang isda." Well, based on evidence, it's highly unlikely that Rizal ever said this.

4) Rizal is alive and divine.

Source: faithology.com

There are people who believe that Rizal is alive and well. Majority of these people are members of the Rizalista movement, a religious group who believes that Rizal has turned divine and would come in glory to the Philippines after the end of the world. Why do these people think that Rizal is alive? It seems that they took their cues from a report written by an agent of the Spanish governor-general three months after Rizal's execution.

According to the report, soldiers who loaded Rizal's body into a carriage, upon reaching the gates of the cemetery, discovered that the body has disappeared. Even more unbelievable, there was reportedly a white cock that has taken the place of Rizal's body. These were all nothing but rumors of course.

5) Rizal is a psychic and has prophetic abilities.

Source: filipiknow.net

The irony of this myth is that it grew because of the writings of Ambeth Ocampo, the go-to guy when it comes to topics related to Rizal. It's ironic because Ocampo has debunked a lot of the myths and misconceptions about Rizal, yet he is the culprit when it comes to the growing popularity of the suggestion that Rizal has psychic powers. Although Ocampo has taken his cues from the writings of Austin Coates, Leon Ma. Guerrero, and Guillermo Tolentino with regards to Rizal's psychic powers, his own writings are the ones that are most accessible to people. So it was Ocampo who propagated to the greater public the myth that Rizal is a psychic.

The growth of the myth aside, is there evidence to suggest that Rizal is a psychic? There's absolutely none. If you are to look into the writings of Ocampo, Coates, Guerrero and Tolentino that allude to such psychic gifts, these can be satisfactorily explained by good reasoning and logic without having to bring out the psychic card.

6) Rizal wrote his famous poem Ultimo Adios on the eve of his execution.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Students in the country are often taught that the night before he was executed, Rizal penned his masterful poem Ultimo Adios. Although this sounds very dramatic, it's simply difficult to believe because Rizal couldn't have written the poem on the night before he was shot. According to the account being taught in schools, Rizal handed the poem to his sister Trinidad on the day before he was executed.

If Rizal gave the poem to Trinidad on December 29, how could he have written it on the eve of his execution. The most logical explanation is that Rizal wrote the poem much earlier than the night of December 29. Rizal scholar Ambeth Ocampo doubts the popular account. So does Gregorio C. Brillantes, N.V.M. Gonzales, Austin Craig, Jaime C. de Veyra and Nick Joaquin.

These myths and rumors about Jose Rizal will likely continue to circulate in the coming years. Hopefully, this article will help in dispelling such misleading claims. If you have anything to add to what we discussed above, feel free to leave your comments, reactions, and suggestions in the comments section below.

ABS-CBN Seeks Health Advice From A Tarot Reader For Their Medical Television Program "Salamat Dok"

One of the things about Philippine media that is deeply saddening is the prevalence of pseudoscience being pushed down people's throats. The writers and journalists manning the country's newspapers, radio stations, and television stations are very lazy when it comes to policing the superstitious stuff that they put out there for public consumption.

A perfect example of the Philippine media's incompetence when it comes to dealing with the superstitious is the claimed demonic possession of over a dozen students in Cebu last November. News outlets in the country feasted on the story with headlines such as 14 Students Possessed (Philippine Star), 'Demonic Possessions' Result In Cancellation Of Classes (Sun Star), and Exorcism In Cebu After Students 'Possessed' By White Lady (ABS-CBN News).

Notice how overly enthusiastic these new sources were in putting the words "possession" and "possessed" in their reports. Dave Tumulak, a councilor and chairperson of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reviewed the incident and made the suggestion that it's a case of mass hysteria. This is the most logical explanation to what transpired. However, you don't see the phrase "mass hysteria" in the media reports.

What's worse, superstition is also rampant in Philippine television. It's fine if they are part of fiction programs or paranormal-based shows. But it's outright wrong to find them being pushed in medical shows like what just transpired on Salamat Dok, a long-running medical television program on ABS-CBN.

You would think that since the show's goal is to teach people how to stay healthy, they'd be showing stuff that are science-based. This is not the case. In a recent segment of Salamat Dok, they brought a certain Master Hanz Cua to teach their viewers some health lessons. Cua doesn't work in the field of health or medicine. His website says he practices feng shui, astrology, chakra meditation, tarot reading, and face reading.

Screengrab from ABS-CBN's show Salamat Dok.

The obvious question here is why is a tarot reader giving health advice in a medical show called Salamat Dok? They should change their program's title to Salamat Tarot Reader. There are people who would read this article and probably say it's just for fun and we should not think too much about it. No. This man is out of place. Let real doctors give advice in Salamat Dok. Cua can give his in shows that deal with his tarot stuff.

Getting a tarot reader to give health advice in a medical program is like inviting a creationist to explain evolution in a science program.

You can watch the segment featuring Cua here. It runs for nearly eight minutes and he talks about your health being affected by your birth time and birth date, health stars, problematic illness stars, ...... basically things that don't belong in a medical show.

To All Tourists Visiting Baguio City, Please Read This

Before anything else, I would like to extend my gratitude for your interest in spending time in our beloved city. I'm fully aware of the undeniable fact that a huge chunk of the reason why Baguio City continues to grow and develop is because of the economic benefits that tourists have poured into the city through the years. Baguio City has reached its status as a top tourist destination in the Philippines partly through word-of-mouth. And at the forefront of this word-of-mouth campaign are the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flock to the city every year.

So thanks again, tourists. You are a major part of the lifeblood of this city. You are directly embedded into the complicated system that has been keeping the city afloat since its founding over a hundred years ago.

But here's the thing. Being a tourist destination is a double-edged sword. It has its dark side. Tourists can harm a place just as much as they can help it grow and improve. Thus this humble letter to tourists planning to visit or are currently in Baguio City.

When I logged into Facebook this morning, I saw a lot of people complaining about the state of Baguio City this holiday season. People are crawling like thick ants in the streets that there is barely space to breathe. Vehicular traffic is so slow you'd be lucky if you are able to move 10 meters within an hour. Garbage is in every nook and corner of the city. Visitors are not respecting city rules and regulations.

I thought to myself, it couldn't be this bad? So I went to town to sort of verify the teeth-gnashing I've read on Facebook. I reside in the nearby town of La Trinidad so I had to commute to town. It took me nearly two hours to reach Baguio City. This commute on average would take me 30 minutes. This shows how bad the traffic has become because of the congestion within the city. And yes, when I reached the city, trash is indeed everywhere and city rules and regulations are being violated left and right.

Photo courtesy of Vickie Jaurigue via the Save Baguio Facebook page.

Now, it would be completely unfair to blame all of these problems to tourists. City residents also have a part in it. However, it would be fair to say that the biggest contributors to these problems (at least this holiday season) are the tourists.

I'm going to make this brief and clear. As a concerned individual, I've listed below some of the things that I would love tourists to do and not to do. Take these as friendly suggestions.

1) Don't treat Baguio City as if it's a huge waste basket. It's utterly disappointing to walk around Burnham Park and see trash and litter everywhere - under the flower beds, under the park benches, on the picnic grounds, etc. When I walked up to SM, I passed a lot of trash on the flower beds between the police station and Banco De Oro below the shopping mall. Candy wrappers and empty soda cups were deliberately thrown into the flower beds.

It's highly recommended that you carry bags with you where you can place your trash. There are garbage bins distributed around the city but these aren't enough to accommodate all the litter produced by the thousands of residents and tourists. If you see a full garbage bin, don't just throw your trash around or near it because such act will cause others to do the same. Before you know it, the bin will turn into a mounting garbage dump.

2) Follow traffic and pedestrian rules. Most Baguio residents know how and when to cross the street especially within the central business district (CBD). They know what red, orange and green lights mean. With the influx of tourists, Session Road has turned into a mad house. The traffic lights seem to be non-existent. People walk and cross the street whenever they wish.

3) Don't bring your cars into Baguio City. As much as possible, try to take the bus. Baguio City has very narrow streets and nearly zero parking facilities. The city is having a very difficult time dealing with the number of resident cars already. Bring tourist cars into the picture and the city will literally choke.

4) Make sure that you have a place to stay before you travel to the city. At this time of the year, most hotels, inns and lodges are fully-booked. So if you come here without an advanced booking, you will likely find yourself stranded with no place to stay. Tourists often take this for granted but this is a very serious problem. Worse, there are scammers out there who prey on stranded tourists. Consider yourself warned.

5) Do a bit of research and read about the city and its people before you come here. You have no idea how insulting and saddening it can be to hear tourists say, "Asan na mga Igorot? Gusto ko makakita ng Igorot!". There's nothing wrong with the question per se but in the context of the rampant ignorance about indigenous peoples in the Cordillera, it's rather insulting. The truth is you are walking among them in Session Road, eating among them at a nearby fast food restaurant, etc. Or better yet, go to City Hall. The Congressman, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and majority of the councilors are Igorots.

These aren't too much to ask. Do keep them in mind.

So, welcome to the Summer Capital of the Philippines, enjoy your stay, have a blast, and always remember to put your trash in their rightful place. Thank you.

Bill Nye The Science Guy Explains The Theory Of Evolution Using Emoji

The usage of emoji continues to rise as more and more people get connected to the internet to communicate and interact with other people. First gaining widespread use in Japan, emoji is now spreading all over the world. Basically ideograms and stylized smileys, emoji have jumped from Japanese electronic messages to global usage through phones like iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. They're also widely used in a lot of emailing services and social media sites.

Bill Nye, the American science educator and author more well-known for his nickname The Science Guy has teamed up with the technology company General Electric to create what they call an Emoji Table of Experiments. In the table of experiments, you can find several science tutorials like igniting lead, needle in a balloon, bubbles & dry ice, and so much more. Check out the tutorials here.

In the following video brought to you by Mashable, Nye explains the basic concepts of the theory of evolution using emoji. He explains how every living thing on earth evolved from simple molecules over millions of years to their current form.

Bill Nye has recently written a book which was published last November by the St. Martin's Press. Called Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation, the book was inspired by Nye's controversial debate with Young Earth Creationist (YEC) Ken Ham in February of this year.

Iligan City Congressman Vicente Belmonte Jr. Injured, 4 Others Dead In Laguindingan Airport Ambush

A lawmaker and his convoy were ambushed at an airport in Misamis Oriental between 1:00 and 2:00 PM on Thursday afternoon (December 11). The lawmaker along with two others were wounded. Four people were less fortunate as they perished in the attack.

Congressman Vicente Belmonte Jr., the representative of the lone district of Iligan City, just came from Manila. Along with his convoy, they just left the premises of the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental when the ambush occurred.

Still unidentified men came out of nowhere and opened fire at them. Killed on the spot were Belmonte's driver, the driver of the backup vehicle, and two of the lawmaker's police bodyguards.

During a television interview right after the attack, Belmonte said that the ambush is likely to be politically-motivated.  Belmonte and the two others who were wounded were brought to a hospital near the Laguindingan Airport for medical aid and treatment. The lawmaker suffered a minor injury on his hands.

Responding security forces were dispatched to the site. The authorities are now conducting an investigation into the matter. Who were the attackers and what motivated them to attempt such a thing.

Belmonte is serving his third term as Congressman of Iligan City. He is also the chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs in the House of Representatives.