By Hannah L. Torregoza
At A Glance
- Senator Loren Legarda reminded Filipinos that Dr. Jose Rizal's vision for Philippines remains unfinished, and it is the duty of Filipinos to carry out the national hero's aspiration of freedom and dignity.
- The senator thanked the people of Wilhelmsfeld and Heidelberg, the Ullmer family, and the Knights of Rizal for keeping Rizal's memory alive in Germany through the Rizal Historic Trail, commemorative programs, and generations of care for the places that shaped his life and work.
Senator Loren Legarda reminded Filipinos that Dr. Jose Rizal’s vision for Philippines remains unfinished, and it is the duty of Filipinos to carry out the national hero’s aspiration of freedom and dignity. Speaking at Wilhelmsfeld, Germany, where Rizal once longed for home and completed the novel that awakened a nation’s thirst for independence and self-determination, Legarda called on Filipinos to accomplish what Rizal had originally set out to do.
Legarda noted that Wilhelmsfeld holds a unique place in Philippine history, saying it was here, in 1886, that Rizal lived as a guest of Pastor Karl Ullmer, studied in nearby Heidelberg, and completed Noli Me Tangere, the novel that would awaken the Filipino national consciousness.
Rizal, the senator said, is a living force whose ideals of freedom, dignity continue to guide the Filipino people.
“So why mark his birthday in Wilhelmsfeld? Because this is where he found shelter,” Legarda said.
“We did not come to Wilhelmsfeld just to speak about Dr. Jose Rizal from a distance. We came to stand on the ground that opened its doors to a young Filipino far from home and gave him a place to belong,” she said.
Legarda thanked the people of Wilhelmsfeld and Heidelberg, the Ullmer family, and the Knights of Rizal for keeping Rizal’s memory alive in Germany through the Rizal Historic Trail, commemorative programs, and generations of care for the places that shaped his life and work.
The lawmaker further emphasized that the story of Rizal's stay in Wilhelmsfeld demonstrates how a simple act of kindness and welcome of a German family can leave a lasting mark on a nation’s history.
“A small German town that welcomed a young Filipino far from home became part of the story of a nation,” Legarda noted.
Moreover, she said Rizal’s life in Germany underscored that nation-building is never accomplished in isolation.
While Rizal's aspirations were firmly rooted in his love for the Philippines, his life also showed the importance of dialogue among peoples, cultural exchange, and international friendship.
“For more than a decade, I have tried to bring Rizal home to his own people, by way of Germany,” Legarda said as she recounted efforts to retrace Rizal's footsteps and give honor to his legacy.
“When I first visited Wilhelmsfeld and met Dr. Fritz Hack Ullmer, I left with a wish that the house where Rizal wrote his novel would one day be preserved for the people he loved,” she said.
“To this town and to the Ullmer family, who have kept Rizal's story alive across generations, the Filipino people are very grateful,” she also said.
The veteran legislator also emphasized that Rizal's significance lies not only in what he accomplished during his lifetime but in the continuing responsibility of succeeding generations to carry forward the ideals he championed.
“Dr. Jose Rizal, 165 years from the day you were born, we are here to remember you not as a man we mourn. You are a man whose vision is still ours to build,” she said.
“As the Knights of Rizal say, Non Omnis Moriar. Not all of you have died, and in our homeland, in Wilhelmsfeld, and in every mind still awakened by your words, you live on,” she reiterated.
