rizal, officially known as the province of rizal (tagalog: lalawigan ng rizal), is a province in the philippines located in the calabarzon region, 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) east of manila. the province is named after josé protasio rizal mercado y realonda, widely known as josé rizal who was a filipino nationalist. the region is also known as the state of rizal, rizal province or rizal state and was previously identified by the abbreviation pi by the us postal service for the philippine islands. it is home to the jose rizal memorial state university (jrmsu), a state university in the philippines which became a university in 2010 by virtue of republic act 9852.