UNIT 9

FOUNDING OF THE LA LIGA FILIPINA

DAPITAN EXILE

LEARNING OUTCOMES: The learners are expected to:

 Analyze the rationale of the founding of the La Liga Filipina

 Assess the factors that led to Rizal’s exile in Dapitan; and
 Examine the significance of Rizal’s exile to the local populace.

LEARNING CONTENT:

A. FOUNDING OF THE LIGA FILIPINA

On July 3, 1892, on the evening of Sunday, following his morning interview with
Governor General Despujol, Rizal attended a meeting with patriots at the home
of the Chinese-Filipino mestizo, Doroteo Ongjunco, on Ylaya Street, Tondo,
Manila.

Rizal explained the objectives of the Liga Filipina, a civic league of Filipinos,
which he desired to establish and its role in the socio-economic life of the people.

The officers of the new league were elected, as follows:

o Ambrosio Salvador (President)

o Deodato Arellano (Secretary)
o Bonifacio Arevalo (Treasurer)
o Agustin de la Rosa (Fiscal)

The motto of the Liga Filipina: Onus Instar Omnium (One Like All)

The governing body of the league was the Supreme Council which had
jurisdiction over the whole country. It was composed of a president, a secretary,
a treasurer, and a fiscal. There was a Provincial Council in every province and a
Popular Council in every town.

The duties of the Liga members are as follows (1) obey the orders of the
Supreme Council (2) to help in recruiting new members (3) to keep in strictest
secrecy the decisions of the Liga authorities (4) to have symbolic name which he
cannot change until he becomes president of his council (5) to report to the fiscal
anything that he may hear which affect the Liga (6) to behave well as befits a
good Filipino (7) to help fellow members in all ways.

Rizal Arrested and Jailed in Fort Santiago

On July 6, 1892, Wednesday, Rizal went to Malacañang Palace to resume his

series of interviews with the governor-general. He was asked about the Pobres
Frailes (Poor Friars) incriminatory leaflets which allegedly found in Lucia’s pillow
cases. it is under the authorship of Fr. Jacinto and printed by the Imprenta de
los Amigos del Pais, Manila.

Rizal was placed under arrest and escorted to Fort Santiago by Ramon
Despujol, nephew and aide of Governor General Despujol

On July 7, 1892, the Gaceta de Manila published the story of Rizal’s arrest which
produced indignant commotion among the Filipino people, particularly the
members of the newly organized Liga Filipina. The same issue of the Gaceta
(july 7, 1892) contained Governor General Despujol’s decree deporting Rizal to
“one of the islands in the South.”

On July 14, 1892, shortly after midnight (that is 12:30AM of July 15, 1892), Rizal
was brought under heavy guard to the steamer Cebu which was sailing for
Dapitan. This steamer under Captain Delgras departed at 1:00AM, July 15,
sailing south, passing Mindoro and Panay and reaching Dapitan on Sunday, the
17th of July at 7:00PM. Captain Delgras handed Rizal to Captain Ricardo
Carnicero, Spanish commandant of Dapitan. So, July 17, 1892, Rizal began his
exile in lonely Dapitan, until July 31, 2896, for a period of four years.

B. JOSE RIZAL’S PERSECUTION AND EXILE IN DAPITAN

Jose Rizal's arrival in Manila on June 26, 1892 had become very sensational
among the Filipinos. His popularity feared the Spaniards, and as such, paid
careful attention to his every move – all houses where he had been searched
and the Filipinos seen in his company were suspected. As he had planned, on
July 3, 1892 he founded the La Liga Filipina in the house of Doroteo Ongjunco in
Tondo, Manila.
Four days after the civic organization's foundation, Jose Rizal was arrested by
the Spanish authorities on four grounds:

1. for publishing anti-Catholic and anti-friar books and articles;

2. for having in possession a bundle of handbills, the Pobres Frailes, in which
advocacies were in violation of the Spanish orders;
3. for dedicating his novel, El Filibusterismo to the three “traitors” (Gomez,
Burgos and Zamora) and for emphasizing on the novel's title page that “the
only salvation for the Philippines was separation from the mother country
(referring to Spain)”; and
4. for simply criticizing the religion and aiming for its exclusion from the Filipino
culture.

Aboard the steamer Cebu and under heavy guard, Rizal left Manila, sailing to
Mindoro and Panay, until he reached Dapitan at seven o'clock in the evening of
July 17.

From that day until July 31, 1896, Dapitan became the bear witness to one of the
most fruitful periods in Rizal's life. His stay in the province was more than “he”
living in exile – it was the period when Rizal had been more focused on serving
the people and the society through his civic works, medical practices, land
development and promotion of education.

In Dapitan, Rizal had a scholarly debate with Father Pablo Pastells regarding
religion. This exchange of heated arguments revealed the anti-Christian Rizal –
his bitterness on the abuses performed by friars, doing such under the name of
the sacred religion. Father Pastells tried his best to win Rizal back to the faith but
fortunately or unfortunately, in vain. These series of debate ended inconclusively
in which neither of them convinced the other of his judgments/arguments.

Rizal had maximized his stay in Dapitan by devoting much of his time in
improving his artistic and literary skills; doing agricultural and civic projects;
engaging in business activities, and writing letters to his friends in Europe,
particularly to Ferdinand Blumentritt and Reinhold Rost. His careers and
achievements in different fields were as follows:
As a Physician

Rizal provided free medicine to his patients, most of them were underprivileged.
However, he also had wealthy patients who paid him well enough for his
excellent surgical skill. Among them were Don Ignacio Tumarong who gave Rizal
3000 pesos for restoring his sight, an Englishman who gave him 500 pesos, and
Aklanon haciendero, Don Francisco Azcarraga, who paid him a cargo of sugar.
His skill was put into test in August 1893 when his mother, Doña Teodora
Alonzo, was placed under ophthalmic surgery for the third time. The operation
was a success, however, Alonzo, ignored her son's instructions and removed the
bandages in her eyes which lead to irritation and infection.

As an Engineer

Rizal applied his knowledge through the waterworks system he constructed in

Dapitan. Going back to his academic life, Rizal obtained the title of expert
surveyor (perito agrimensor) from the Ateneo Municipal. From his practical
knowledge as agrimensor, he widened his knowledge by reading engineering-
related books. As a result, despite the inadequacy of tools at hand, he
successfully provided a good water system in the province.

As an Educator

Rizal established a school in Dapitan which was attended by 16 young boys from
prominent families. Instead of charging them for the matriculation, he made the
students do community projects for him like maintaining his garden and field. He
taught them reading, writing in English and Spanish, geography, history,
mathematics, industrial work, nature study, morals and gymnastics. He
encouraged his students to engage in sports activities to strengthen their bodies
as well. There was no formal room, like the typical classroom nowadays. Classes
were conducted from 2 pm to 4 p.m. with the teacher sitting on a hammock while
the students sat on a long bamboo bench.

As an Agriculturist

Rizal devoted time in planting important crops and fruit-bearing trees in his 16-
hectare land (later, reaching as large as 70 hectares). He planted cacao, coffee,
sugarcane, and coconuts, among many others. He even invested part of his
earnings from being a medical practitioner and his 6000-peso winnings from a
lottery on lands. From the United States, he imported agricultural machinery and
introduced to the native farmers of Dapitan the modern agricultural methods.
Rizal also visualized of having an agricultural colony in Sitio Ponot, within the
Sindañgan Bay. He believed that the area was suitable for cattle-raising and for
cash-crops as the area had abundant water. Unfortunately, this plan did not
materialize.

As a Businessman

The adventurous Rizal, with his partner, Ramon Carreon, tried his luck in the
fishing, hemp and copra industries. In a letter to his brother-in-law, Manuel T.
Hidalgo, he pointed out the potential of the fishing industry in the province (as
the area was abundant with fish and good beach). He also requested that two
good Calamba fishermen be sent to Dapitan to teach the fisher folks of the new
fishing methods, using a big net called pukutan. But the industry in which Rizal
became more successful was in hemp, shipping the said product to a foreign firm
in Manila.

As An Inventor

Little was known of Rizal as an inventor. In 1887, during his medical practice in
Calamba, he invented a special type of lighter called sulpukan which he sent to
Blumentritt as a gift. According to Rizal, the wooden lighter's mechanism was
based on the principle of compressed air. Another of his inventions was the
wooden brick-maker can manufacture about 6,000 bricks a day.

As An Artist

Rizal had contributed his talent in the Sisters of Charity who were preparing for
the arrival of the image of the Holy Virgin. Rizal was actually the person who
modeled the image's right foot and other details. He also conceptualized its
curtain, which was oil-painted by a Sister under his instruction. He also made
sketches of anything which attracted him in Dapitan. Among his collections were
the three rare fauna species that he discovered (dragon/lizard, frog and beetle)
and the fishes he caught. He also sculptured the statuette called “The Mother's
Revenge” which represented his dog, Syria, avenging her puppy to a crocodile
which killed it.
As A Linguist

Rizal was interested in the languages used in Dapitan, thus, studied and made
comparisons of the Bisayan and Malayan languages existing in the region. In
fact, Rizal had knowledge in 22 languages: Tagalog, Ilocano, Bisayan, Subanun,
Spanish, Latin, Greek, English, French, German, Arabic, Malayan, Hebrew,
Sanskrit, Dutch, Catalan, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Swedish and
Russian.

As A Scientist

Rizal shared his interest with nature to his students. With his boys, they explored
the jungles and searched for specimens which he sent to museums in Europe,
particularly in Dressed Museum. In return, scientific books and surgical
instruments were delivered to him from the European scientists. He also made a
bulk of other researches and studies in the fields of ethnography, archaeology,
geology, anthropology and geography. However, Rizal's most significant
contribution in the scientific world was his discovery of three species:

1. Draco rizali – flying dragon

2. Apogonia rizali – small beetle
3. Rhacophorus rizali – rare frog

Rizal also partakes in civic works in Dapitan. Upon arriving in the province, he
noticed its poor condition. He drained the marshes of Dapitan to get rid of
malaria-carrying mosquitoes. He also provided lighting system – coconut oil
lamps posted in dark streets – in the province out of what he earned from being
a physician. He beautified Dapitan by remodeling the town plaza, with the aid of
his Jesuit teacher, Fr. Francisco Sanchez, and created a relief map of Mindanao
(footnote: using stones, soil and grass) right in front the church.

Rizal had always been missing his family and their happy moments together in
Calamba and his despair doubled upon the announcement of Leonor Rivera's
death. Not soon, to his surprise, an Irish girl enlightened his rather gloomy heart.
This girl was the 18-year old Josephine Bracken who, to Wenceslao Retaña’s
words, was “slender, a chestnut blond, with blue eyes, dressed with elegant
simplicity, with an atmosphere of light (gaiety).”
From Hong Kong, she arrived in Dapitan in February, 1895 with his blind foster
father, George Taufer, and a Filipina named Manuela Orlac. Rizal's fame as an
ophthalmic surgeon reached overseas, and one of Rizal's friends, Julio Llorente
referred the group to Rizal. Rizal and Bracken instantly fell in love with each and
in just one month, they agreed to marry which appalled and disturbed Taufer.
However, the parish priest of Dapitan, Father Pedro Obach, refused to do so
unless they be permitted by the Bishop of Cebu.

On the other hand, Taufer returned to Hong Kong uncured. Because no priest
was willing to marry the two, the couple exchanged their vows before God in
their own way, which scandalized Fr. Obach. In 1896, their love bears its fruit –
Josephine was pregnant. Unfortunately, Bracken gave birth to a one-month
premature baby boy who lived only for three hours. The child was buried in
Dapitan, bearing the name Francisco, after Rizal's father.

Prior to the outbreak of the revolution, the Katipunan leader, Andres Bonifacio,
seek the advice of Jose Rizal. In a secret meeting on May 2, 1896 at Bitukang
Manok near Pasig River, the group agreed to send Dr. Pio Valenzuela as a
representative to Dapitan who will inform Rizal of their plan to launch a revolution
against the Spaniards. On board the steamer Venus, Valenzuala left Manila on
June 15, 1892 and in 6 days, arrived at Dapitan with a blind companion,
Raymundo Mata. At night, Rizal and Valenzuela had a talk in the former's
garden. There, Valenzuela told him of the Katipunan's plan. Regarding this, Rizal
outspokenly objected Bonifacio's “premature” idea for two reasons:

1. The Filipinos were still unready for such bloody revolution; and
2. The Katipunan lacked machinery – before plotting a revolution, there must
be sufficient arms and funds collected.

Valenzuela also told Rizal of their plan to rescue him in Dapitan. Again, the
exiled hero disagreed because he had no plan of breaking his word of honor to
the Spanish authorities.

During the peak of the Cuban revolution, Rizal offered his services as a military
doctor to compromise with the shortage of physicians in the said country. It was
his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt who informed him of the situation in Cuba and
suggested that he volunteer himself as army doctor. On December 17, 1895,
Rizal sent a letter to Governor General Ramon Blanco rendering his service for
Cuba. But for months Rizal waited in vain for the governor's reply, and loss hope
that his request will be granted. It was only on July 30, 1896 when Rizal received
a letter from Governor Blanco, dated July 2, 1896, accepting his offer. The letter
also stated that Rizal will be given a pass so that he can go to Manila, then to
Spain where its Minister of War will assign him to the Army of Operations in
Cuba.

At midnight of July 31, 1896, Jose Rizal left Dapitan on board the steamer
España, together with Narcisa, Josephine, Angelica (Narcisa's daughter), three
nephews and six of his students. Many were saddened as the adopted son of
Dapitan left.

In Cebu, on their way to Manila, Rizal successfully performed an ophthalmic

operation to a merchant who paid him fifty silver p esos. After almost a week, on
August 6, 1896, España arrived in Manila. Rizal was supposedly to board the
Isla de Luzon for Spain, but unfortunately, left ahead of time. Instead, he was
transferred to the Spanish cruiser Castilla to stay and wait for the next sail boat
that would sail for Spain next month. He was prohibited from leaving the vicinity
but was allowed to accept visitors so long as they were his immediate family. Of
course, all these delays were part of the drama – Rizal has now fallen to the
critical/deadly Spanish trap.