Jose Rizal is the national hero of The Philippines. The First Filipino is the award-winning biography. It was awarded the first prize in the Rizal Centennial biography competition. The author is Ambassador Leon Ma. Guerrero, who also translated the widely-acclaimed translations of Rizal's novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.Painstakingly researched and referenced, this is a standard text in Rizal studies and has been continuously in print since its first publication in 1962.