'If alive today, Rizal probably a blogger'

MANILA, Philippines - If Dr. Jose Rizal were alive today, he would have been a blogger.

Order of the Knights of Rizal supreme commander Reghis Romero II believes that if the country’s national hero were living among today’s Filipinos, he would have been an active blogger writing his poetry and sentiments about today’s society and posting these in cyberspace.

To mark Rizal’s 151st birth anniversary yesterday, the Knights of Rizal launched two topics on Rizal on Twitter – #asaltoparakaypepe and #buhayinsiRizalsabawatPilipino.

The topics on Twitter, according to Romero, are in tune with the values espoused by Rizal such as love of country, being industrious, and honesty.

Bloggers are also encouraged to raise discussions about the national hero, he said.

“Do you know that if Rizal were alive today, I am 100 percent sure that he would have been the number 1 blogger. Just look at the volumes of his letters to his friends, his family and his articles in La Solidaridad. He almost had something to write every day,” Romero said.

To the bloggers, he said, “You have taken to the electronic media as a source of your social interactive life, giving a new dimension to our quest. You represent the young, energetic, ever curious, and dynamic generation whose interest and hopefully love of our country and admiration of Dr. Jose Rizal would bring our quest to a new level of accomplishment.”

Those interested can also post comments on the Knights of Rizal’s Facebook account or can visit “just like Rizal” where clicking “like” would signify that they appreciate and accept Rizalian values.

“The ‘just like Rizal’ is also a call for each one of us to be like Rizal – to practice what he taught to actualize his ideals and become the new Rizal of today,” Romero said.

In Calamba, Laguna where Rizal was born, yesterday’s commemoration was joined by hundreds of public and private students, teachers and residents who received the so-called Rizal’s Laguna map prepared by the provincial board’s committee on education, tourism and history headed by board member Neil Andrew Nocon.

Nacon said the map, printed as a two-by-three-foot glossy poster, features the personalities, events, and places associated with the life and works of Rizal. – With Ed Amoroso