LOOK: Tributes pour in for Dr. Jose Rizal on his 129th death anniversary

Tributes poured in for Dr. Jose Rizal as the Philippines marked the 129th death anniversary of its national hero on December 30.

A news release of the Presidential Communications Office said Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. encouraged Filipinos to follow Rizal's example of patriotism, responsible citizenship, and courage in standing up for what is right.

“Today, as Filipinos demand integrity and accountability from its leaders, we look up to his life to provide us with guidance and strength,” Marcos said in his Rizal Day message.

Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. According to the Philippine Folklife Museum, Rizal was the seventh out of 11 children of a wealthy couple — Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonzo y Quintos in Calamba, Laguna.

Rizal was an extraordinary and highly-educated person who wished for reforms in the way the Spaniards ruled the Philippines but never advocated for Philippine independence, his bio on the Encyclopedia Britannica summarized.

It mentioned that Rizal lived in Europe between 1882 to 1892, where he did most of his writing; his first novel, Noli Me Tangere, exposing the evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines, was published in 1887. Its sequel, El Filibusterismo was published in 1891.

He founded La Liga Filipina, a non-violent reform society, in Tondo, Manila in 1892. On social media, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines said La Liga Filipina was one of the earliest attempts to organize the country into a single nation.

"It was the brainchild of José Rizal who thought that Filipinos should directly participate in the struggle for the improvement of their lives. The group declined after Rizal’s exile. It was reorganized in April 1893 but was disbanded again in October. Some members, including Apolinario Mabini, organized themselves as the Cuerpo de Compromisarios which sent support to the reformist newspaper La Solidaridad for a few months," the NHCP said in its post.

Rizal was deported to Dapitan in Mindanao because of his involvement in La Liga Filipina. He was in exile there until 1896, when the Katipunan, the secret reform society founded by another national hero, Andres Bonifacio, revolted against Spain.

"Although he had no connections with that organization and he had had no part in the insurrection, Rizal was arrested and tried for sedition by the military. Found guilty, he was publicly executed by a firing squad in Manila," the Britannica entry on Rizal said.

Rizal died by firing squad on December 30, 1896. Every year, the Philippines recalls his patriotism and commemorates his death anniversary as a national holiday.

-Veronica Pulumbarit with Jamica Andrea Jimenez and Social Media Team/Paraluman News