ASEAN Cultural tours
series
I would like you to know about tourism
of country in ASEAN that is Rizal Park, The Philippines.
Philippines
Head of country: President Benigno S.
AquinoIII
Capital:
Manila
Languages: Filipino, English, Spanish
Currency: Peso
Our destination is Rizal Park, a recreation area situated
right in the heart of the Philippines capital of Manila.
The park is name after a Filipino hero Jose Rizal, a polymath
in a variety of fields including medicine, poetry and painting. He was also a
polyglot competent in 22 languages. He plated an important role in demanding
independent from Spain, the colonial power which has been ruling the Philippines for
over three centuries. On December 30, 1896, he was arrested on charges of
rebellion, sedition and conspiracy. As a result, Spanish authorities sentenced
him to death. The place in which he was executed is the present-day Rizal Park.
His unjustified death was one of the causes for the revolution from within the populace,
which successfully toppled the Spanish regime in 1898.
One of the triggers making Rizal a thorn in the side of the
Spanish government was the novel he had produced. It was called Noli Me
Tangere, meaning “Don’t touch me”. The
content was about the corruption and the abuse of the Spanish government and clergy. This fiction caused him to be
expelled to Dapitan, a town in the south of the country, arrested and execute in the period
mentioned earlier. Nowadays it has been translated in to Thai language.
Covering an
area of 329 rai (1600
m/ rai), this park contain many points of
interest. The attraction which you cannot miss is the Rizal Monument. Built to
commemorate Jose Rizal, it comprises the bronze statue of Jose Rizal and behind
him the obelisk bearing three stars at its pinnacle. At the pedestal, his ashes
are treasured and guarded day and night by two soldiers known as “the Knights of Rizal.
At a certain specified time, the Changing of the Guard Ceremony takes place. It kindles
active interest among visitors as well as locals.
At
the Rizal Park, the tallest flagpole in the country can be found. Reaching a
height of 107 meters, its history dates back to 1946. It was at this very place
that the Filipinos proclaimed complete in dependence. Many may wonder why it
was in 1946, since the Philippines should have been a sovereign state since
1898. Actually, that was not the case
since, in that year, Spain has lost a war with US and has to sign the Paris
Treaty. It required that
Spain cede several colonies including the Philippines to US. Later during World
War II from 1939 -1945, the Philippines, like other neighboring countries, was
occupied by Japanese troops.
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