Rizal remembered at first monument

MANILA, Philippines - As THE Filipino nation prepares to commemorate the 117th martyrdom of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal tomorrow, townsfolk in the Bicol region are setting an equally historic observance in the spot where the first-ever Rizal Day was proclaimed.

The province of Camarines Norte and the municipality of Daet will jointly celebrate this annual observance at the First Rizal Monument in Daet.

Provincial government officials and employees led by Governor Edgar Tallado, Vice Governor Jonah Pimentel and Daet Mayor Tito Sarion will lead the wreath-laying and commemorative rites.

They will be joined by members of the Knights of Rizal, Masonic Lodge, youth from various schools and organizations, and representatives of civil society groups who will renew their pledge to keep the libertarian ideals of Rizal alive to help in nation-building.

Tallado said that the people of Camarines Norte have accorded the national hero the highest honor, although he had never set foot in the province.

Known locally as Bantayog, the 20-foot first Rizal monument is the first to be erected in honor of the national hero on Dec. 30, 1898 in observance of the first-ever Rizal Day decreed by then President General Emilio Aguinaldo in the “Free Philippines.”

Lt. Colonels Antonio Sanz and Ildefonso Alegre of the Republican Army led the construction of the monument which was built through the financial contributions of the townsfolk of Camarines Norte and the Bicol region.

Designed by Sanz, a Mason, it is composed of a three-tiered stone pylon which used to be part of the municipal prison were Katipuneros were incarcerated after the outbreak of the 1896 Revolution. Inscribed on its square podium are Rizal’s popular novels – “Noli Me Tangere,” “El Filibusterismo” and “Morga,” a tribute to Antonio de Morga, author of “Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas,” an important book on the Spanish colonization of the Philippines.

Completed in February 1899, the Bantayog was erected 13 years ahead of the monument at the Rizal Park in Manila, which was only inaugurated in 1912.

The Bantayog, one of Camarines Norte’s tourist icons, became the inspiration of the province’s founding anniversary in April, which also coincides with the commemoration of the Daet Revolt which sparked the uprising of Bicolanos against Spain in 1898.