Rizal's shirtless 'selfie' goes viral

Thanks to the huge success of Maria Clara at Ibarra, there has been a lot of renewed interest not just in the works of our national hero, Jose Rizal, but interest in the national hero himself as well.

There's no better sign of this than the latest post by historian Ambeth Ocampo, who posted a shirtless “selfie” of the national hero on his Facebook page. In the caption to the photo, Ocampo said that the shirtless self-portrait came from Austin Craig's "Life, lineage and labors of Jose Rizal" published in 1913, although the actual drawing itself is believed to have been lost in the 1945 Battle for Manila.

As of this writing, the post has been shared more than 9,000 times, garnered more than 25,000 reactions, and has amassed more than 600 comments.

Reactions varied in the comments section of the post, with one person in particular speculating about what Rizal would be like if he lived in modern times.

Another comment speculated as to what Rizal would have been thinking as he drew himself in the mirror.

Yet another declared that Rizal had the “rizz,” which is current Internet slang for a person's skill in charming or seducing a potential romantic partner.

Another commenter made the connection with the current craze for Korean actors and idols, making a pun of Rizal Park.

Meanwhile, another commenter said that Rizal was so handsome that the Spaniards had no choice but to kill him.

Rizal was a well-known womanizer during his time, and one commenter pointed out that based on the self-portrait, he would probably be on dating apps like Tinder and Bumble if he was around today.

MEANWHILE, TAKE A LOOK AT PAMBANSANG GINOO DAVID LICAUCO WORKING OUT IN THE GALLERY BELOW.