December 30th is the commemoration of the death anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ National Hero, whose execution by Spanish colonial authorities in 1896 triggered the Philippine Revolution. This year is his 113th death anniversary.

Rizal was executed by firing squad on Dec. 30, 1896 at Manila’s Luneta Park, now Rizal Park. His execution was meant to silence the then emerging defiance by Filipinos of their Spanish colonial masters but his death produced the opposite effects. It inspired the Filipinos to revolt.

Dr. Rizal advocated mass education for Filipinos, representation in the Spanish Cortes (parliament) and eventual independence from Spain via peaceful means. Spain today strongly considers the Philippines, which it ruled as a colony for nearly four centuries, as special daughter country.

Rizal’s advocacy of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution makes him Asia’s first modern non-violent proponent of political reforms.