The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Dapitan City government are building a 46-foot monument to Jose Rizal using large-scale 3D-printing technology.
Called “El Dapitanon,” the monument is being positioned as the world’s tallest 3D-printed Rizal statue. It will consist of a 26-foot figure of Rizal mounted on a 20-foot concrete pedestal at Rotonda Lawaan in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.
The DOST-Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) will produce the statue through its Advanced Manufacturing Center.
The agency will first scan a five-foot-four-inch sculpture created by University of the Philippines Diliman professor Jose Manuel “Manolo” Sicat and enlarge the digital model for printing.
The statue’s outer shell will be printed section by section using acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate or ASA, a weather-resistant plastic. The printed components will be installed around a steel structure and reinforced with concrete.
“[Portion by portion ang pag-print natin] mula sa baba, nakabalot na ‘yung outer shell around the steel structure, at bubuhusan ng semento. Tapos, panibago na namang layer hanggang sa umabot sa taas,” DOST-MIRDC director Robert O. Dizon said.
The 3D-printed figure will receive a bronze finish. Rizal will be depicted wearing a camisa de chino and plain trousers, with a copy of “Mi Retiro,” the poem he wrote during his exile in Dapitan, in one hand.
The city government said the monument would portray Rizal as residents may have known him — as a teacher, physician, scientist, artist, and community worker.
“This does not place Rizal above Dapitan, but walking with it; and recognized as one who lived, worked, dreamed, and served among them,” the city government said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
It added that Rizal “appears ready to take another step, undertake another task, solve another problem, and once again be of service.”
DOST previously used similar technology to construct “The Filipino Scientist,” a 12.5-foot Rizal monument at the agency’s compound in Bicutan, Taguig City. Sicat also designed that sculpture.
“This is an even bigger challenge, literally a bigger challenge, because what we had then was 12.5 feet (The Filipino Scientist). Challenge accepted. Kayang-kaya po namin ‘yan (El Dapitanon),” Dizon said.
The national government has allocated P9 million for the printing, materials, and transportation of the statue. The Dapitan City government will shoulder the materials needed to erect the monument.
“Hopefully, we will be launching this soon. One year is more than enough for us,” Dizon said. The project is targeted for completion in 2027.
DOST secretary Renato Solidum Jr. and Dapitan City mayor Evelyn Uy led the groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 13 during the Regional Science, Technology, and Innovation Week in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
“May [El Dapitanon] stand not only as a symbol of Rizal’s greatness, but also [as a] beacon of what Filipinos can achieve when science, technology, innovation, culture, and nation-building come together,” Solidum said.
