Synchronicity of a Rizal Monument Movement in America, Part 1

While many are still enjoying the holiday season, an important event will take place tomorrow, December 29, 2025, at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco. This occasion could influence the Filipino American community for years to come. It marks the kickoff ceremony for the Dr. Rizal Legacy Monument in Daly City, which coincides with the 129th anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal’s martyrdom—executed on December 30, 1896, in Bagumbayan, Philippines.

A six-foot bronze monument honoring Dr. Jose P. Rizal, created by Filipino sculptors Elaine Bordeaux and Fritz Silorio, will be installed in Daly City thanks to a city resolution designating Serramonte Library Plaza as its future site. This historic public art project celebrates the life and legacy of the Philippine national hero. The initiative was sponsored by Daly City's City Council, led by Councilmember Juslyn Manalo and Mayor Rod Raña Daus-Magbual. The Dr. José Rizal Legacy International Foundation, a nonprofit committed to cultural preservation, humanitarian work, and social justice through art and education, will collaborate with the city and local partners to plan, fund, and install this sculpture.

Why does the Rizal Monument matter in Daly City? Here are several reasons:

• In 2025, Daly City officially approved the monument's location.

• Daly City has the largest Filipino American population in the U.S., often called the "New Filipinotown," making it symbolically significant for the diaspora.

• The project is led by the Dr. Jose P Rizal Legacy International Foundation, a Filipino organization dedicated to culture, education, and advocacy, reflecting Rizal’s values.

• Serramonte Library Plaza is a meaningful spot, highlighted for its role in education and fitting for a memorial to a writer and advocate for enlightenment.

• Daly City’s Filipino civic leadership is groundbreaking—the monument’s approval involved Councilmember Juslyn Manalo (first Filipina mayor) and Mayor Dr. Rod Daus‑Magbual (Filipino educator and historian), demonstrating political empowerment in a city with a history of Filipino marginalization.

• The monument follows a growing trend of commemorating Filipino diaspora in the U.S.; similar monuments exist, like one in Colorado Springs, building a network of memory sites.

• Daly City is a sister city to Quezon City, linking the monument to broader Filipino national identity.

• Daly City maintains Filipino culture through language, media, cuisine, and traditions—a Rizal monument publicly affirms this living heritage.

Why does a Rizal Monument in Daly City in 2026 matter? These points frame its significance:

A. Daly City serves as the largest Rizal-inspired community outside the Philippines, living out his ideals of education, civic duty, and anti-colonial critique.

B. The monument highlights Filipino political rise—from laborers and immigrants to leaders and educators.

C. It allows the diaspora to reclaim public space and assert their presence in local narratives.

D. Placing the monument at a library poetically aligns with Rizal’s belief in literacy as liberation.

E. In 2026, the installation will coincide with both the 130th anniversary of Rizal’s martyrdom and the U.S. Semiquincentennial (America250).

The America250 initiative, coordinated by the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, aims for a yearlong national reflection on values, history, and the contributions of diverse communities.

Looking ahead to 2026 for Filipinos in America:

It also marks the 130th anniversary of the Cry of Pugad-Lawin, when the Katipunan began the Philippine Revolution against Spain. Though Rizal did not join or lead the uprising, he became its intellectual and moral compass; his ideas fueled the revolution, and his execution galvanized the movement. He provided its vision for nationhood, shaping goals such as:

• Building a nation through education, dignity, and civic virtue

• Creating a Filipino identity based on shared history rather than colonial labels

• Envisioning self-governance rooted in moral responsibility

These are the same objectives championed by the Dr. Jose Rizal Legacy International Foundation.

America250 is not just a celebration of the Declaration of Independence — it is a national reflection on democracy, freedom, exclusion, and the unfinished work of the United States.

Rizal’s 1888 visit to the United States (April 28–May 29) highlights several important themes:

• Rizal observed contradictions in American democracy.

• His visit marks an early chapter in Filipino American history.

• The trip foreshadows the U.S.–Philippine imperial encounter (1898–1902).

• His stay at San Francisco’s Palace Hotel is commemorated.

• Rizal’s critique of America adds depth to the America250 self-reflection theme.

In 2025, I introduced “Monuments and Movements, Markers and Framers” during my involvement with SoMa Pilipinas and the San Francisco Arts Commission’s “Shaping Legacy” project. This initiative reassesses the city’s public monuments—including the Dewey Tower, which commemorates the Battle of Manila Bay—and acknowledges that monuments shape collective memory and civic identity.

The kickoff event for the Rizal Monument in Daly City can help integrate Filipino heritage into America250 programming and San Francisco’s Shaping Legacy initiative, further weaving the Filipino narrative into the American story.

Facebook post 12/28/2025