The imposing monument of Philippine national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, in Madrid, Spain has been vandalized, Brother Jaazeal Jakosalem, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos property administrator, said yesterday.
Jakosalem, who is attending the 54th General Chapter of the Order of Augustinian Recollects in Spain, said he visited the Rizal’s monument in Madrid on Nov. 16 and the words “Mason de mierda!” roughly translated as “shit of Mason” or “Mason of Shit” are written on it in red paint.
The monument was inaugurated Dec. 5, 1996 along the Avenida de Las Islas Filipinas, to commemorate the 100th year of his death (1896-1996) and as part of the Centennial celebration of the Philippine Independence from Spain (1898-1998) in the presence of then President Fidel Ramos, Jakosalem said.
The statue was made by the late Filipino sculptor Florante “Boy” Caedo.
“Being in Spain, I visited the monument as a proud Filipino, and as a faithful disciple of the sculptor, I was shocked to discover that the monument is defaced with those dirty words,” Jakosalem said.
“Yes, Jose Rizal was a former Mason. But he was born a faithful and devoted Catholic, embracing masonry as a consequence of liberating his people, and only to embrace back the Catholic faith before his death – in the end, being forgiven and forgiving his executioners for the sake of freedom,” he added.
This is a wake-up call to our embassy officials, to take care of our cultural heritage, too, inside and outside of our country, he said.
“The Rizal Monument in Spain is a monument of our freedom,” he added*CPG
source:http://www.visayandailystar.com/2010/November/18/topstory6.htm
