Why is Dr. Jose Rizal your national hero?

Dr. Jose Rizal is the national hero of the Filipinos because he was an advocate of the Philippine independence. He sought reforms from the Spaniards through peaceful means. This was by his literary works and not by leading a revolution. His novels- Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Subversive) made the Filipinos to realize that reforms should be made so as to stop the abuses of the Spaniards towards them at that time.

Rizal is a Filipino martyr for independence and freedom and he richly deserved to be a hero.