By Henry F. Funtecha, Ph.D. – One of the surprising things about Dr. Jose Rizal that should be recognized by every Filipino is the relevance of his political thoughts in every step of our political development. This is particularly of great importance in the light of the many political issues and concerns that confront the [...]

Place Dr José Rizal, on Rue Maubeuge, Paris 14th district.
This year 2008, June 19 marked the first time that the commemorative plaques at sites in Paris visited by our national hero, Dr José Rizal, were decorated with flowers. Of the eleven sites in Paris, only six had the official plaques of the National Historical Commission.

By Jill D. Beltran - IT IS time for Filipinos to set aside Western superheroes like Superman, Spiderman and Batman as Philippine’s national hero Jose Rizal is about to conquer local screens with “Rizal is Alive” digital video disc (DVD).
The Organizational Change Consultants International Inc. (Occi) in collaboration with Knights of Rizal (KOR), Department [...]

By Sarreal D. Soquiño - The persistent call from farmers’ groups and the Church for the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program for another five to ten years coupled with the need for increased farm production due to the looming food crisis have once again underscored the importance of government support to the agriculture [...]

By Raymond C. Garcia
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The monument of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal will occupy the central part of this city’s Heroes Hall. Mayor Oscar Rodriguez revealed this during the recent press conference for the 110th Independence Day celebration being organized by the City Government in cooperation with the different agencies here.

Wife of Dr. Jose Rizal
By Isagani R. Medina, Ph.D.
Reprinted from the Summer 1997 issue of the Heritage Magazine
Born of Irish parents, James Brown and Elizabeth MacBride, Josephine Leopoldine or Joserina as she was affectionately called by Filipinos, was born in Victoria City, Hong Kong on August 9, 1876. She took the family name Bracken from [...]

By Go Bon Juan – The Chinese ancestry of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, and his family is well known. Some people may also know that Rizal’s father had a house on Estraude Street near Juan Luna Street, and his mother lived in a house on San Fernando Street. Both locations are in [...]

By Ambeth Ocampo
PARIS—In a city where labor strikes and protest demonstrations are as common as breathing, May 1, Labor Day, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker in the church calendar, was relatively quiet. All around town one can still see remnants of the protests against the Beijing Olympics and the passing of the Olympic [...]

By Ambeth Ocampo
PRAGUE—Readers who are growing tired of this series tracing Jose Rizal’s footsteps in foreign lands will be relieved to know that all this comes to an end this week. Seasoned columnists advised me to take a break when traveling, but with handy Internet connection almost anywhere on the globe, there is no excuse [...]

By Ambeth Ocampo
VIENNA, Austria—While there is not much funding available to support high-profile cultural projects, here the Philippine Embassy under Ambassador Linglingay Lacanlale has initiated contact with the Austrian National Library and Austrian National Museum of Ethnology. The National Library has a small but significant collection of rare Filipiniana, from 18th-century imprints like Jesuit reports [...]

By Ambeth Ocampo via Inquirer
PARIS, France—Some of the main sources for this column have been European travel accounts that describe the Philippines and the Filipinos over time, beginning with Antonio Pigafetta’s chronicle of the ill-fated Magellan expedition to current Tourist Guidebooks to the Philippines written and published by foreigners. In the age before YouTube, digital [...]