Republic of the Philippines

BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE

PI 100 (LECTURE -LESSON 5)

(Lesson 5 RIZAL’S LIFE: Exile, Trial, and Death)

As soon as Rizal arrived in Manila on June 26,1892, he was welcomed by

Apolinario Mabini, Andres Bonifacio, Ambrosio Salvador, Pedro Serrano Laktaw,
Deodato Arellano, and other patriots, who, altogether founded La Liga Filipina (The
Filipino League). They wanted to discuss the plan for La Liga Filipina which was
held in a house on Calle Ylaya. That time, Rizal was able to talk to Governor-
General Despujol on July 1892, saying his gratitude for lifting the order of exile for
his sisters.
Dapitan is a remote town in Mindanao, which served as an outpost of the
Spaniards in the Philippines. Dapitan became the only witness to Rizal’s fate since
July 1896. During his exile, Rizal became close with Captain Ricardo Carnicero for
allowing him to roam the place on the condition that Rizal will relay his activities in
his office once a week. In Dapitan, he continued his medicine, research and
continued his talent in sculpture, painting, sketching and poetry writing. He put up a
school for boys and introduced projects for the community. As a gift to Captain
Carnicero, Rizal wrote a poem entitled, “A Don Ricardo Carnicero” on August 26,
1892.
Rizal helped the people of Dapitan with their livelihood — he did farming and
business and even invented a wooden equipment in making bricks. On September 21,
1892, Rizal together with Carnicero and another Spaniard, won a lottery ticket. The
amount given to him as his share was P6,200. Part of his share was used to buy a land
in Talisay. He built a house, a clinic and a school within the area. He sent letters to
Blumentritt, narrating his daily activities in Dapitan: He wrote poems, performed
operation on his mother’s eyes, and studied on medicinal plants of Dapitan to be
prescribed to his patients.
That time, Rizal had been known to be one of the best ophthalmologist. Upon
hearing this, George Tauffer who had an eye ailment, together with her adopted
daughter, Josephine Bracken, traveled from Hong Kong to Dapitan. Rizal developed
an attraction with Josephine and soon, they became husband and wife even if it
was against Father Obach and both their relatives.
Another project of Rizal for Dapitan was the creation of a big map of Mindanao at
the plaza to be used for geography class. He explained the position of Dapitan to the
town people in relation to other places in Mindanao. With the help of Rizal’s students, he
invented a water system that gave the town people water for their drinking and irrigation.
He also helped the people in putting-up lamp posts in every corner of the town.
When revolution commenced in Manila in 1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela together
with Raymundo Mata, a blind man, visited Rizal in Dapitan to narrate to him the
founding of Katipunan and its plan for revolution. For awhile, Rizal sent letters to
Governor General Ramon Blanco from 1894 to 1895. He wanted his case be
reviewed so Blumentriit proposed that Rizal may offer his services as a surgeon to
the Spanish government in Cuba to end his exile. That time, Cuba was also a
colony of Spain and was raged by a yellow-fever epidemic. On July 30,1896,
Governor-General Ramon Blanco granted Rizal’s request to go to Cuba. Rizal left
Manila, embarked the steamer España and on September 3, 1896 he went to Barcelona
boarded the steamer Isla de Panay. When he arrived at the port,
Governor-General Despujol told Rizal that there was a command to return him back
to Manila. Rizal was arrested while on his trip at the Mediterranean Sea. He was put
into prison in Barcelona, Spain and was brought back to the Philippines. Safely
guarded while on the way from Barcelona to Manila, Rizal reached the capital on
November 3,1896 and was soon brought to be imprisoned at Fort Santiago.

TRIAL AND DEATH OF RIZAL

On November 20, 1896, the assigned Judge tosummon Rizal was Colonel Francisco
Olive, an Advocate of the Spanish military tribunal. The preliminary investigation began, and
a five-day investigation was conducted. He was blamed for being the leader of the
revolution by increasing the people’s ideas about rebellion and making illegal organizations.
As expected, Rizal was not given the chance to interrogate his witnesses. He was only
allowed to choose his lawyer from a list of young Spanish officers who were not into law. He
chose Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, who was the bodyguard of Rizal when he first
came home. There were two kinds of evidences presented to him during the
investigation: documentary and testimonial. There were fifteen documents against
Rizal and ten witnesses for testimonial. All efforts were made by Lt. Taviel de
Andrade to defend Rizal of his innocence but as obvious as it may have seemed,
Rizal was still found guilty.
Note that Rizal cited twelve points to prove his innocence:
1. Rizal was against rebellion as testified by Pio Valenzuela.
2. No letter consisting of revolutionary elements was addressed to the Katipunan
was written
3. Without his consent, the Katipunan used his name as one of the passwords.
4. If he was guilty, he could have left the country while in exile; he would not
have built a home, and would not have bought a parcel of alnd to put up a
hospital in Dapitan.
5. The revolutionists could have consulted him if he was the leader.
6. He did not deny that he wrote the by-laws of the Liga Filipina, but to make
things clear, it is a different organization from Katipunan. The former being a
civic association and the latter being a revolutionary society.
7. After the first meeting of the Liga, the association banished because of his
exile in Dapitan and it did not last long.
8. He had no idea, that the Liga was reorganized nine months after.
9. If the Liga had a revolutionary purpose, then Katipunan should not have been
founded.
10. If the Spanish authorities found his letters offending, it was because in 1890,
his family has been persecuted.
11. He lived a good life in Dapitan - the politico military commander and
missionary priest in the province could attest to it.
12. The witnesses said that if the speech delivered at Doroteo Ongjunco’s house
had inspired the revolution, he should be given a chance to confront these
persons. If he was in the revolution, the Katipunan should not have sent an
unfamiliar emissary to him in Dapitan. For this, his friends knew that he never
promoted violence.

RIZAL’S REMAINING DAYS AND THE LAST FAREWELL

When Rizal heard the court decision, he knew that there will be no chance of
changing his fate. At six o’ clock in the morning of December 29, 1896, Captain
Rafael Dominguez, read him the official notice of his execution. Rizal spent his last
hours by going to the prison chapel. His mother and sisters visited him on the same
day.
He then gave them his remaining possessions, reached out for the gas lamp
and gave it to his sister, Trinidad and carefully whispered, “There is something
inside.” Then Trinidad and his sister Maria got a copy of Rizal’s last poem from the
lamp. Unfortunately, it was said that on his last days that Rizal was not allowed to
embrace his mother.
He took time to write his last letter to his best friend Bluementrit. The last poem
he composed was the longest he ever written, it was entitled “Mi Ultimo Adios” or My
Last Farewell.
My Last Farewell
Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caressed
Pearl of the Orient seas, our Eden lost!,

Gladly now I go to give thee this faded

life's best,
And were it brighter, fresher, or
more blessed
Still would I give it thee, nor count
the cost.

On the field of battle, 'mid the

frenzy of fight, Others have given their
lives, without doubt or heed; The place
matters not-cypress or laurel or lily
white,
Scaffold or open plain, combat or martyrdom's plight,
T is ever the same, to serve our home and
country's need
.
I die just when I see the dawn break,
Through the gloom of night, to
herald the day; And if color is lacking
my blood thou shalt take,
Pour'd out at need for thy dear
sake
To dye with its crimson the waking
ray.

My dreams, when life first opened

to me, My dreams, when the hopes of
youth beat high, Were to see thy lov'd
face, O gem of the Orient sea From
gloom and grief, from care and sorrow
free;
No blush on thy brow, no tear in
thine eye.

Dream of my life, my living and

burning desire, All hail ! cries the soul
that is now to take flight;
All hail ! And sweet it is for thee to
expire ;
To die for thy sake, that thou mayst
 aspire;
And sleep in thy bosom eternity's
long night.

If over my grave some day thou

seest grow,
In the grassy sod, a humble
flower,
Draw it to thy lips and kiss my soul so,
While I may feel on my brow in the cold
tomb below
The touch of thy tenderness, thy breath's
warm power

Let the moon beam over me soft and

serene,
Let the dawn shed over me its radiant
flashes,
Let the wind with sad lament over me
keen ;

And if on my cross a bird should

be seen,
Let it trill there its hymn of peace to
my ashes.

Let the sun draw the vapors up to the sky,

And heavenward in purity bear my
tardy protest
Let some kind soul o 'er my untimely
fate sigh,
And in the still evening a prayer be
lifted on high
From thee, 0 my country, that in God I
may rest.
Pray for all those that hapless have died,
For all who have suffered the unmeasur'd pain;
For our mothers that bitterly their woes have cried,
For widows and orphans, for captives by torture tried
And then for thyself that redemption thou mayst gain.

And when the dark night wraps the

graveyard around
With only the dead in their vigil to see
Break not my repose or the mystery profound
 And perchance thou mayst hear a sad
hymn resound
'It is I, O my country, raising a song
unto thee.

And even my grave is remembered

no more
Unmark'd by never a cross nor a
stone
Let the plow sweep through it, the spade
turn it o'er
That my ashes may carpet earthly
floor,
Before into nothingness at last they
are blown.
Then will oblivion bring to me no
care
As over thy vales and plains I sweep;
Throbbing and cleansed in thy space and air
With color and light, with song and
lament I fare,
Ever repeating the faith that I
keep.

My Fatherland ador'd, that sadness to my

sorrow lends
Beloved Filipinas, hear now my last good-
by!
I give thee all: parents and kindred and friends
For I go where no slave before the oppressor bends,
Where faith can never kill, and God reigns
e'er on high!

Farewell to you all, from my soul torn

away,
Friends of my childhood in the home
dispossessed !
Give thanks that I rest from the wearisome day !
Farewell to thee, too, sweet friend that lightened my way;
Beloved creatures all, farewell! In death there is rest !
Rizal had his last supper in the evening of December 29, 1896. At that time,
he said to Captain Dominguez that he has already forgiven his enemies including
those who wanted him dead. At three in the morning on the day of his execution, he
prayed and confessed his sins in the chapel.

At exactly 5:30 in the morning, he had

his last breakfast of three hard boiled eggs. After breakfast, he singed some
memorabilia including religious pictures and books, some of which he gave to his
mother and sister, Trinidad. To his wife Josephine, he gave the Imitacion de Cristo as
a gift.
 He once again wrote a letter to his family, sisters and brother that said:
To my family, I ask you for forgiveness for the pain I cause you,
but some day I shall have to die and it is better that I die now in the
plentitude of my conscience.

Dear parents and brothers: give thanks to God that I may preserve
my tranquility before my death. I die resigned, hoping that with my
death you will be left in peace. Ah! It is better to die than to live
suffering. Console yourselves.
I enjoin you to forgive one another the little meanness of life and
try to live united in
peace and good harmony. Treat your old parents as you would like to
be treated by your
children later. Love them very much in my memory.
Bury me in the ground. Place a stone and a cross over it. My
name, the date of my birth and of my death. Nothing more. If later
you wish to surround my grave with a fence, you can do it. No
anniversaries. I prefer Paang Bundok.
Have pity on poor Josephine.
My Dear Brother, It is now four and a half years since we have
seen one another, or have we exchanged letters. This I think is not
because of any lack of love on my part or yours, but because, knowing
one another so well, we do not need to talk in order to be understood
by one another.
Now I am about to die, and it is to you I dedicate my last line, to
tell you how sorry I am to leave you alone in this life, burdened with
the weight of the family and of our old parents. I am thinking how
hard you have work to give me a career; I have tried not to waste my
time. My brother, if the fruit been bitter, it is not my fault, but the
fault of circumstances. I know that you have suffered much for me,
and I am sorry.
I assure you, brother, that I die innocent of this crime of
rebellion. That my former writings may have contributed toward it, I
cannot wholly deny; but then, I thought I had expiated for the pass in
my deportation.
Tell our father that I remember him, and how much! I
remember his affection and
his love since my earliest childhood. Ask him to forgive me for the
pain I have unwillingly
caused him.
(Signed)
Jose Rizal

Wearing a black suit, black pants, black bowler hat, and white shirt with his arms
tied behind his back, Rizal walked to Bagumbayan at 6:30 in the morning of December 30,
1896. He walked along with his defense lawyer, Andrade, and two Jesuits priests, March and
Vilaclara. In front of them were the advance guard of armed soldiers and behind them were
another group of military men. The sound of a trumpet signaled the start of the death march and
the muffled sound of drums served as the musical score of the walk.

Prior to his death, it was believed that Rizal has managed to remain calm. Spectators
said Rizal acknowledged the familiar faces in the crowd by nodding his head from left and right.
Some people even saw that Rizal smiled from time to time. At the time of his death, Rizal
refused to kneel and declined the traditional blindfold. Maintaining that he was not a traitor to
his country and to Spain, he even requested to face the firing squad. The Commander of the
firing squad denied his request but after some time, Rizal agreed to turn his back to the firing
squad but requested that he be shot not in the head — but in the small of the back instead.
When agreement has been reached, Rizal shook the hand of his defense lawyer. The military
physician asked permission to feel the pulse of the man who had only a few minutes to live and
the doctor was startled to find it normal.

Before leaving Rizal in his appointed place, the priests offered him a crucifix to kiss “but
he turned his head away and silently prepared for his death. When the command had been
given, the executioners’ guns barked at once. Rizal yelled Christ’s two words, “Consummatum
est!” (It is finished!) simultaneously with his final effort to twist his bullet-pieced body halfway
around. Silence was all over.

Unfortunately, the Captain did not keep his words about the request made by Rizal of
not shooting his head, but one of his men came near to the body and gave Rizal “tira de
gracia” or the mercy shot in the head to make sure that Rizal is dead.
The Spaniards shouted, Viva Espana! Muerte a los Traidores! But
the crowd did not respond. To break the ice,the military band played “Marcha de
Cadiz,” and so they cheered. Vilaclara. In front of them were the advance guard of armed
soldiers and behind them were another group of military men. The sound of a trumpet
signaled the start of the death march and the muffled sound of drums served as the musical
score of the walk.
People were lined up in the streets—”some were sympathetic to him, others,
especially the Spaniards, wanted nothing less than to see him die. Some observed that his
family or the katipuneros would make a last minute effort to sprint him from the trap”
(Ocampo, 2016).