Dr. Jose Rizal fought the oppressive colonizing Spaniards in the Philippines, Europe and in the street of the oppressors own country of Spain. He believed then before anyone else in Asia that freedom can be attained thru peaceful means. His writings and personal campaigns in Europe, Spain and the Philippines awakened the world and the Filipinos at the time and panicked the Spaniards who made a terrible mistake of turning Rizal into a martyr in the morning of December 30, 1896 that infuriated the Filipino people and took up arms and overthrow the foreign power. Every December 30th around the world the martyrdom is commemorated by the Knights of Rizal (KoR) and in the Philippines by the whole nation led by KoR and government officials.
In Winnipeg Dr. Jose Rizal’s martyrdom was commemorated with two part events, a wreath laying event at Rizal’s memorial bench at midday on the grounds of Chapel Lawn at 4000 Portage Avenue, organized by Deputy Chapter Commander and his Lady Rosabelle de Leon. The joint Commemoration and 2012 Youth Recognition Awards was held at PCCM with flower and candle offerings and by recognizing the success of the young Filipino adults that graduated from high school who graduated with honours having a GPA of 90% and above, and duly nominated by their high schools.
This year’s program reflected the very reason why KoR was organized and continues to flourish, the speakers messages spoke to the point.
I truly believe that you are only as good as the people you are surrounded by. For me, being here and standing in front of you tonight, is a significant result of this. When I was younger, I had a severe speech impediment. The speech therapist told my parents, “there is nothing they could do, that I just had a significantly lower IQ level and thus will be delayed for my entire life”. Yet, here I am. I am a Queen’s university student, an International Baccalaureate Diploma graduate, the coordinator of several clubs and initiatives, and an aspiring doctor. The unconditional love and perseverance shown by my parents, my sister Monique, my teachers, and everybody else in my life, is what continues to inspire me to be the best person I can be. As shown by Jose Rizal, ambition and hard work is only meaningful with the intention of serving the greater good. We are gathered here today, not merely to recognize the hard work and dedication to our education shown by my peers and I, but to recognize the continuation of Jose Rizal’s torch; his philosophy in nurturing intelligence, leadership, and service within youth in order to better serve the future. (A short passage of Ms. Marie Carlin Sereneo’s touching response speech.)
In my brief research about the man, I have learned that one of his “philosophies in life” is directly in agreement with mine, and I’m sure most of yours – that is: if we delve into the past with its notable life experiences and learn from them, they will help shape our lives and the “personality of who we are and the nation we live in and have helped to create. If we don’t know our “Heritage”, that is, from where we’ve come, we probably will get lost in finding the better future we all seek.
His educational philosophy as we can expect from a person of so many professional accomplishments was that education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress. He felt that education in youth creates a desire to cultivate their intelligence.
From this educational philosophy espoused by the national hero of the Philippines, Dr. Jose Rizal, it is no wonder that we are gathered here this evening with the focus being “youth and education” by an organization that has, as a part of its name, Rizal. (Mr. Larry Vickar’s speech, Mr. Vickar is the Owner and President of Vickar’s Community of Auto Dealerships a very good friend of the Knights of Rizal and the Filipino Community in Winnipeg and a very generous benefactor of the Filipino Community’s projects here and in the Philippines, and a long time supporter of Youth Recognition Awards.)
Though only 35 years at his demise, Rizal was already immortal in his pursuit of justice and liberty. He went to his death not knowing that in death, he would give birth to a new nation; but he did so as an example of necessary risk that must be taken to guarantee that such institutions are founded, defended, and perpetuated. Can there be any greater reason to live?
The story of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr. José Rizal, and his family, is representative of the courageous spirit and moral intellect, the sublime quality of leadership that makes possible the emergence of an independent nation from colonialized, disunited, or economically looted territories. Rizal’s life and works catalyzed anti-colonial politics in Asia during the latter years of the 19th Century. Dr. José Rizal is rightly referred to as “The First Filipino”. (Two paragraphs of Councillor Mike Pagtakhan’s speech, Councillor Mike is the Councillor for Point Douglas Ward of the City of Winnipeg, Canada)
The day was also capped with an announcement from Councilor Mike Pagtakhan on the approval of KoR-W Rizal Memorial Committee’s project of installing a larger than life statue, of Dr. Jose Rizal in a highly visible location in Winnipeg. It was noted that the KoR-W Memorial Committee was successful in working with a residential developer and the City of Winnipeg to agree on locating the Dr. Jose Rizal statue in a prominent location in a new residential subdivision called Waterford Green. The said statue will be a 7 feet bronze statue of Dr. Jose Rizal mounted on a 5 feet cenotaph, and will be located in the City of Winnipeg right of way at the corner of Dr. Jose Rizal Way and Old Commonwealth Road. The statue could be us as early as the fall of 2014. The announcement also included the extension and road twinning of Dr. Jose Rizal Way all the way up to the new extension of the Chief Peguis Trail. The last part of the announcement was the naming of a neighbourhood green space at the corner of Sewa and Khalsa to Dr. Jose Rizal Park. We the Rizal Memorial Committee and the Knights of Rizal membership extend our heartfelt appreciations to Councilor Mike Pagtakhan, Councilor Devi Sharma, Councilor Ross Eadie, Mayor Sam Katz, the rest of the City of Winnipeg Council and their staff for their hard work and support for the above projects. A special note of gratitude also goes to Lombard North Developments for their generosity to cover the costs of production and installation of the statue, estimated to be approximately $225,000.00
