SIR VOLTAIRE PROPOSES...

A proposal to sue the Supreme Council of the Order of the Knights of Rizal for violating Republic Act 640

Dear Fellow Rizalists,

This war of words between reformists (you know who they are) and loyalists to some personalities (You know who they are) Supreme Council has been going on forever.

As Rizalists who were in the movement to reform the Order of the Knights of Rizal and who have witnessed fellow reformists subjected to humiliation by members of the Supreme Council itself, we should now put an end to the continuing persecution of our comrades.

I think someone may have already proposed this in the past. But once more with feeling: I will support any ethical and legal move to sue the Supreme Council for acts in violation of its constitution and will ask for your support and the suppport of dissenting chapters of the Order and other Rizalist organizations including the Rizal Society of Ontario.

The relevant passage in RA 646 is in bold type.

Here are our challenges:

1. If we are to charge that members of the Supreme Council violated the teachings of our national hero provisions of the Act (or who by their silence are complicit), we want to know that:

• one, what those acts in violation are; and,
• two, those teachings exist explicitly in the writings of Rizal.

IF Sir Paras committed plagiarism, was he found guilty of it in any court of law? If not, shall we take him to court even if we are not directly the offended party? As it stands -- and I'm not a lawyer -- Paras was never charged and found guilty of plagiarism and remains only an accusation.

IF those teachings do not exist, we're in trouble. If they exist, they cannot be interpreted loosely but completely without contradiction and without ambiguity. I ask everyone to research and quote those teachings.

IMO, we can forget quoting his literary works -- Noli, Fili, Makamisa, etc. as they are subject to various interpretations. That's just my opinion. We need a lawyer. Maybe teh honoirable Sir Hilarion Davide is disgusted enough by the behaviour of his colleagues, he may just decide to get rid of all of them.

I think the constitution of the La Liga is the best document of what Rizal believed in. In fact, if anyone wanted to rebuild the Order of the Knights Of Rizal, it must adopt the La Liga as its template. It contains the beliefs of Rizal and his teachings.

The other writings are his opinions and I don't really know if they consist of his teachings.

Comments?

Voltaire

RSO

Republic Act No. 646

Charter of the Knights of Rizal
SECOND CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
S. No. 251 Second Session
Republic Act No. 646

AN ACT TO CONVERT THE ORDEN DE CABALLEROS DE RIZAL†INTO A PUBLIC CORPORATION TO BE KNOWN IN ENGLISH AS KNIGHTS OF RIZAL†AND; IN SPANISH AS ORDEN DE CABALLEROS DE RIZAL AND TO DEFINE ITS PURPOSES AND POWERS.

WHEREAS, a civic organization known as Orden de Caballeros de Rizal (Knights of Rizal) was incorporated under the Corporation Law of the Philippines in the year 1916 by patriotic citizens for the following purposes

(a) To develop the most perfect union among the Filipinos in revering the memory of Dr..Jose Rizal;

(b) To promote among the associated knights the spirit of patriotism and Rizalian chivalry;

(c) To study and spread the teaching of Dr. Jose Rizal and keep ever alive his consecrated memory and to make effective his exemplary and exalted principles; and

(d) To organize the annual festivities in honor of Dr. Jose Rizal.

SECTION 2. The purposes of this corporation shall be to study the teaching of Dr. Jose Rizal, to inculcate and propagate them in and among all classes of Filipino people, and by words and deeds to exhort our citizenry to emulate and practice the examples and teachings of our national hero; to promote among the associated knights the spirit of patriotism and Rizalian chivalry; to develop a perfect union among the Filipinos in revering the memory of Dr. Jose Rizal; and to organize and hold programs commemorative of Rizal nativity and martyrdom.

SECTION 3. The said corporation shall have perpetual succession, with power to sue and to be sued, to hold such real and personal property as shall be necessary for corporate purposes; to solicit and receive public contributions; to receive real and personal property by gift, device, or bequest; to adopt a seal and to alter the same at pleasure; to have offices and conduct its business and affairs in the city of Manila and elsewhere; to make and adopt by-laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of the Philippines, and generally to do all such acts and things including the establishment of regulations for the election of associates and successors as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Act and to promote the purposes of the said corporation. The existing By-Laws of the Orden de Caballeros de Rizal insofar as they are not inconsistent with this Act shall remain in force as the By-Laws of the corporation until repealed or amended.

SECTION 7. Any donation or contribution which from time to time may be made to the corporation by the Government or any of its subdivisions, branches, offices, agencies, or instrumentalities, or by any other person or entity shall be expended by the Supreme Council solely to promote the purposes for which the corporation is organized.

SECTION 8. From and after the passage of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any person to falsely and fraudulently call himself as, or represent himself to be, a member of, an agent for, the Knights of Rizal; and any person who violates any of the provisions of this Act shall be punished by imprisonment of not to exceed six months or a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Approved. June 14, 1951