Rizal Monument

The Rizal Monument, originally titled "Motto Stella" (Latin for "guiding star"), is a memorial in Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, built to commemorate the executed Filipino nationalist José Rizal. The monument consists of a standing bronze sculpture of Rizal with an obelisk set on a stone base within which his remains are interred. He is holding his two famous novels, El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere. A plaque on the pedestal's front reads: "To the memory of José Rizal, patriot and martyr, executed on Bagumbayan Field December 30, 1896. This monument is dedicated by the people of the Philippine Islands." The perimeter of the monument is guarded continuously by the Philippine Marine Corps Marine Security and Escort Group, with the changing of the guard having become a daily ritual. About 100 m north-northwest of the monument is the exact location where Rizal was executed, marked by life-size dioramas depicting his final moments. The landmark is the most recognizable monument in Luneta. The Rizal Monument holds significant national heritage for Filipinos, commemorating the heroic acts of Jose Rizal for his country.

There is also an official explanation of the meaning of the monument's details. The monument depicts Rizal in an overcoat holding a book that has the title "NOLI ME TÁNGERE" inscribed. The obelisk is usually taken to mean Rizal's Masonic background, while the three stars are said to stand for Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The figures at the back of the monument, such as leaves and a pot, are said to symbolize the country's natural resources. The consensus is that the figures beside Rizal—a mother rearing her child and two young boys reading—signify family and education.

The Rizal Monument was planned and constructed during the American colonial period of the Philippines in the early 20th century. On September 28, 1901, the United States Philippine Commission approved Act No. 243 that granted the right to use public land upon the Luneta in the city of Manila where the monument was erected to commemorate the memory of José Rizal, Philippine patriot, writer, and poet. The act stated that the monument would not only bear a statue of the hero but would also house his remains.

The act also created a committee on the Rizal monument that consisted of Pascual Poblete, Paciano Rizal (José’s brother), Juan Tuason, Teodoro R. Yangco, Mariano Limjap, Máximo Paterno, Ramón Genato, Tomás G. del Rosario, and Ariston Bautista. The members were tasked, among others, with raising funds through popular subscriptions.

The committee held an international design competition between 1905 and 1907 and invited sculptors from Europe and the United States to submit entries with material preference produced in the archipelago. The estimated cost of the monument was $100,000. The insular government donated $30,000 for the fund. By January 1905, that goal had been oversubscribed. When the campaign closed in August 1912, the amount collected had reached ₱135,195.61.

On January 8, 1908, the judging committee, composed of then Governor-General James F. Smith, John T. MacLeod, and Máximo M. Paterno, officially announced its decision through the press. The first prize winner was Carlo Nicoli of Carrara, Italy, for his scaled plaster model titled "Al Mártir de Bagumbayan" (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan), besting 40 other accepted entries. Nicoli won the ₱5,000.00 first prize for his design depicting a monument rising 18 meters high with a base of 12 meters. The base was to be rendered in two shades of gray marble, while the pedestal was to be in two shades of white marble. Among his other plans were the use of marble from Italy and the incorporation of more elaborate figurative elements.

The contract was awarded to second placer Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling for his "Motto Stella" (Guiding Star). Many accounts explained why the contract landed to Kissling; one is Nicoli’s inability to post the required performance bond of ₱20,000 for the duration of the monument’s construction. Some sources say that Nicoli failed to show up at the designated date for the signing of the job contract. Another narrative declared Kissling’s quotation was lower than that of Nicoli. A complaint was reportedly filed by Nicoli through the courts of justice.

More than twelve years after the Philippine Commission's approval of the Act, the shrine was finally unveiled on December 30, 1913, during Rizal’s 17th death anniversary. The remains of Rizal interred in the monument consisted of bones because after his execution, he was secretly buried without a coffin at Paco Cemetery. There was an account of how his sister Narcisa ultimately discovered the burial site and how she bribed the caretaker to mark the site with RPJ (Rizal's initials in reverse). His poem, now popularly known as "Mi Último Adiós" (My Last Farewell), is inscribed on the memorial plaque.

During World War II in 1943, the Japanese government issued invasion money to occupied territories in the Pacific area of operations, one of which was the Philippines. Out of three series, the second was issued in 1, 5, 10, and 100 pesos only. All have the Rizal Monument vignette on the banknote.

In Rizal’s birth centenary year of 1961, a stainless steel pylon was superimposed over the granite obelisk, increasing the structure’s height from 12.7 meters to 30.5 meters. The remodeling undertaken by the Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission (JRNCC) was widely criticized. The shaft was removed two years later. The pylon was relocated to the median of Roxas Boulevard at the Pasay/Parañaque boundary, but since 1995 it had disappeared and its fate remains unknown.

Rizal Monument as well as Rizal Park is administered by the National Parks Development Committee, an attached agency of the Department of Tourism. The Rizal Monument is a national monument and the tomb of Philippine hero Jose Rizal. Designed by Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling and unveiled in 1913, it is a sculptural group consisting of a cast bronze statue of Rizal with allegorical figures and a granite obelisk on a base where his remains are interred. It is located in Rizal Park or Luneta, formerly Bagumbayan, Ermita, Manila, near the site of Rizal’s execution and is adjacent to the Independence Flagpole and across the Kilometer Zero marker.

In September 28, 1901, the United States US Philippine Commission passed Act No. 243 granting the right to use public land upon the Luneta upon which to erect a statue to Jose Rizal. The act also created a committee to raise funds for its erection by public subscriptions. Two other legislative acts facilitated its construction: Act No. 893 enacted by the Philippine Commission on September 19, 1903, appropriated 15,000 US dollars as contribution of the Insular Government; On January 9, 1906, the Philippine Commission further approved Act No. 1436 granting free entry of the materials for the monument. An international competition for the design of the monument was announced on March 15, 1905.

Winning entries among the 40 scale models were disclosed on December 16, 1907, with Italian Carlos Nicoli’s _Al Martir de Bagumbayan_ (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan) and Kissling’s _Motto Stella_ (Guiding Star) garnering the first and second prizes. The contract was eventually awarded to Kissling on October 11, 1910, reportedly due to Nicoli’s failure to sign the contract according to his agreement.

In 1912, Rizal’s remains, which were contained in an urn, were reinterred in the monument. They were transferred from his sister Narcisa’s house in Binondo to the Ayuntamiento in Intramuros and finally to the base of the monument. The monument was inaugurated the following year during Rizal’s 15th death anniversary. The classical depiction of Rizal in an overcoat appears to have been partially based on his studio portrait with Marcelo del Pilar and Mariano Ponce taken in Madrid. The inclusion of a book alludes to his novels and other writings. Other figures on the base encircling the three sides of the monument include a woman cradling an infant and a man with a boy reading a book. All figures emphasize the importance of education.

On September 1961, as part of the National Cultural Shrine project of the Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission, the Rizal monument was remodeled by superimposing a stainless steel shaft over the granite obelisk increasing the height of the monument from 12.7 m to 30.5 m. However, the modernist design of Juan F. Nakpil and Sons was criticized by some government officials and members of the press, notably Secretary of Education Alejandro R. Roces and National Library director Carlos Quirino. The shaft was eventually removed in April 1963. Since the 1960s, honor guards from the Philippine Marine Corps have been posted at the monument. It has likewise become customary for visiting heads of state to lay wreaths at the monument. During its centenary in 2013, the Rizal monument was declared a national cultural treasure and a national monument by the National Museum of the Philippines and by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines respectively.