Jose Rizal Dances the Cha-cha.

148 years ago, on June 19, our national hero José Protacio Mercado Rizal Alonso y Realonda was born in Calamba, Laguna to Don Francisco Mercado and Doña Teodora.

Many titles honor him as the "Pride of the Malay Race," "the First Filipino", "Greatest Man of the Brown Race," and many others. He's a genuis and his works, writings and thoughts were ahead of his time.

Now what does it have to do with him dancing the cha-cha. It's not really the dance this time around but to what many people call as charter change. I just need to clarify that this doesn't have anything to do with term extensions. The cha-cha issue is more than that.

Then what does Rizal really have to do with cha-cha?

Well it is about an insight on our nation which he wrote as part of his article "Filipinas de cien años" or "The Philippines a Century Hence." In the translation by Charles E. Derbyshire, it reads:

"...when they once shake off the yoke, is to adopt the freest government, like a boy leaving school, like the beat of the pendulum or by a law of reaction, the Islands will probably declare themselves a federal republic."

If the United States had not entered the picture (which Rizal also saw as a possibility in the same article BTW), we could have easily become a federal republic after the Philippine Revolution.

Now remember that Rizal's ideas and insight were ahead of his time. He saw the good fit of the federal system of government for our country. I think it's time we heed his idea.

The only thing is, how we do that change he does not say. Con-Ass or Con-Con? Just don't be afraid (or paranoid). Any proposed change has to be approved by us through a plebiscite where we'll vote "Yes" or "No" to the proposed changes.

Is Rizal for federalism? I think he says "Yes."

(PS. To read the quoted text in its context just go to this Jose Rizal site, press Ctrl+F then type federal. The word federal will be highlighted and you can read the entire paragraph where he mentions the idea.)

Credits to Wikipedia, JoseRizal.info, and Flicker's Manfrommanila.