The Philippine Province of Rizal is a monument to the memory of Dr. Jos? P. Rizal y Mercado, who founded the Liga Filipina (in Hong Kong) in 1891, was active in the leadership of the Young Filipino Party, and wrote vigorously condemning the dominance of the Catholic religious orders over the country's economy and other oppressions of the Filipinos. A rebellion--not the first, as we have seen--against the Spanish authority broke out in Cavite in August 1896. It was suppressed within two months, and the Spanish, apparently thinking to scotch the snake at the head, subjected Rizal to a pro-forma trial and executed him in December. Rebellion immediately broke out again, and spread rapidly. Spanish authority never recovered. In 1901 the Province of Rizal was created. In 1975 almost half the province was taken to form the National Capital Region, and what was taken included the city of Pasig, the provincial capital. There are indications that the town of Antipolo, with about 350,000 inhabitants much the most populous town in the residual province, has been chartered as a city and made the new capital. Current and reliable information would certainly be welcome. Dr. Rizal, by the way, was of partial Chinese descent (Chinese had been trading with, and settling in, this part of the Philippines centuries before the Spanish arrived), and was a native of Laguna Province.
Rizal Province extends eastward from the Manila area east of the Pasig River to Laguna de Bay, now, with the decline of Spanish and the ascendancy of English, often called Laguna Lake. Rizal's population is some 1,689,000 by the 2000 census. Its area is 1,860 sq.km. Its chief agricultural products are rice, cacao, coffee, citrus, and cashews. Some 57,000 hectares of Laguna de Bay, including its only large island, belong to Rizal. Fish-farming yields massive amounts of fish that mostly go to feed Manila, and ducks and livestock are grown in considerable quantity for the same market. The forests yield rattan and firewood. Shoes are made in large quantities for export, and industry is spreading steadily from Manila. Products include pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and textiles, among others. There seems to be considerable tourist trade, with plenty of scenery, caves, water, waterfalls, and fresh air.
