Returning to the Philippines

Returning to the Philippines, Rizal established architectural and ecological parks, and local health education. He also advocated interracial marriages and later married an Irish woman before his political execution in 1896. At that time, only the most sophisticated elite and rich Filipino students were admitted to the oldest university of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas. At the time, only a few colleges offered limited science and social courses, and absolutely no sexuality or health education. All university and college courses placed a heavy emphasis on religious subjects. Between 1600 and 1824, the colonial Catholic Church had a total monopoly over education that kept the people ignorant of the advances in science, technology, and political organization that were taking shape in the Western world.

In 1898, when Americans colonists replaced the Spanish, public education was drastically altered and some individual freedoms were granted. In 1916, the Filipinos elected a Senate and House of