Si Rizal nga Nagapampuayan sa Plaza (Rizal, The Thinker)

The old folks in Balete have misgivings on the manner Dr. Jose Rizal is portrayed on his monument right at the heart of the Rizal Park in the Balete Town Plaza. It's a culture thing. Old folks don't trust close figures especially if one is in a sober mood with his head resting on his hand. To them, he is inviting disaster to happen. Hence, they wanted that Dr. Rizal's statue be remodeled after the typical standing statues of him in other towns and cities. They hope that by doing so, we could exorcise negativity and maleficence out of our quiet town.

The monument itself was constructed as early as 1956. No one knows to date who made the statue though. I remember that it was desecrated by some delinquent individuals way back in the late 70's where Dr. Rizal's leg was amputated and the monument splattered with human waste. Yet the monument stands still. "Ueanon silakon, si Rizal man guihapon..." we used to chorus during our childhood days.

Personally, I find the statue unique for a Rizal monument. I recall that I wrote something about it as a cover story of an old souvenir program. It reminds me of Auguste Rodin's masterpiece, The Thinker. Perhaps, the sculptor (or the one who commissioned him) wanted to depict Rizal, the Thinker. Looking at it, one could discern an image of a man deep in thought. Really, ours is an explicit representation befitting our National Hero whose thought begot a revolution and the birth of the Filipino nation.