DID RIZAL RETRACT?

CASE STUDY 3
 To know the meaning of Retraction.
 To know the Retraction letter of Rizal.
 To know and learn the truth about
Retraction of Rizal.
Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado Y Alonzo Realonda

 He is identified as a hero of the revolution for his

writings that center on ending colonialism and
liberating Filipino minds to contribute to creating
the Filipino nation.
 His essays vilify not the Catholic religion, but the
friars, the main agents of injustice in the
Philippine society.
 The great volume of Rizal’s work was committed
to this end, particularly the more influential ones,
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
 What is Retraction?
A public statement made about an earlier
statement that withdraws, cancel, refutes or
reverses the original statement or cease and
desists from publishing the original statement.

The letter, dated December 29, 1896, was said

to been signed by the National Hero himself
 Historical Context
Dr. Jose Rizal was arrested, tried and sentenced to death by the
Spanish court martial being implicated as a leader of the Philippine
Revolution.

December 30 1896, accounts exist that Rizal allegedly retracted his

Masonic ideas and his writings and reconverted to Catholicism
following several hours of persuasion by Jesuit priests.

On December 28, 1896, Governor-General Camilo De Polovieja Signed

a court decision that Jose Rizal be executed by firing squad on
December 30, 1896, at 7:00 in the morning.
 Historical Context
A few hours before he was shot , Rizal signed a
document stating that he was a Catholic and
retracted all his writings against the church. The
document was known as the retraction.

The last days of Rizal in Fort Santiago revealed

that he is an affectionate son, a supportive
brother, a devoted lover, a prolific writer who is
worthy of emulation.
About the Author
and Accounts
May 18, 1935
I declare myself a Catholic and in this religion in which I
was born and educated I wish to live and die.
I retract with all my heart whatever in my words,
writings, publications and conduct has been contrary
to my character as son of the Catholic Church. I
believe and I confess whatever she teaches and I
submit to whatever she demands. I abominate
Masonry, as the enemy which is of the Church and as
a society prohibited by the church. The Diocesan
Prelate may, as the Superior Ecclesiastical Authority,
make public this spontaneous manifestation of mine
in order to repair the scandal which my acts may have
caused and so that God and people may pardon me.
Manila 29 of December 1896
Jose Rizal
Four Iteration of the text of this retraction
1. The first was published in La Vos Española and Diario de Manila on the day of
the execution, December 30,1896

2. The Second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the magazine La Juventud,

a few months after the execution , 14 of February 1897, from an anonymous
writer who was later on revealed to be Fr, Vicente Balaguer.

3. The third one that was said to be the “original text”, was discovered in the
archdiocesan archives on May 18 1935, after it disappeared for about 4 decades
from the day were Rizal was shot.

4. Appeared in El imparcial on the day after Rizal’s execution, a short formula of

the retraction.
Fr. Balaguer was born in Alicante, Spain on January 19 1851. He joined the Society
of Jesus on July 30 1890 and went to the Philippine in 1894. His first Missionary
assignment was in Surigao, and he transferred to Dapitan in 1896. A year later he
was assigned to Davao after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1898, He founded
the catechetical center in tondo. He returned to spain in 1899 and died in Orihuela
on October 1 1922.

Fr. Vicente Balaguer, a Jesuits missionary who befriended the hero during his
exile in Dapitan, according to his testimony Rizal accepted a shorter retraction
document prepared by the superior of the Jesuit Society in the Philippines, Fr. Pio
Pi.
 Balaguer Testimony
According to his testimony, Rizal woke up several
times, confessed four times, attended a mass,
received communion, and prayed the rosary, all of
which seemed out of character.

Doubts on the retraction document abound,

especially because only one eyewitness account of
the writing of the document exists- that of the
Jesuit friar Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
 Rene R. Escalante .

Another eyewitness account surfaced in 2016, through the

research of Professor Rene R. Escalante. In his research,
documents of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia included a report
on the last hours of Rizal, written by Frederico Moreno.
The report details the statement of Cuerpo de Vigilancia
to Moreno.
What do we mean by Cuerpo de Vigilancia?

A Cuerpo de Vigilancia or Security Corps was the

intelligence service that the Spanish colonial government
created in 1895. It was organized primarily to gather
information on the activities of Katipunan members and
supporters.
 Cuerpo de Vigilancia Testimony
"Most Illustrious Sir, the agent of the Cuerpo de
Vigilancia stationed in Fort Santiago to report on
the events during the [illegible] day in prison of the
accused Jose Rizal, informs me on this date of the
following: "At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal
entered death row accompanied by his counsel,
Señor Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest
Vilaclara. At the urgings of the former and
moments after entering, he was served a light
breakfast. At approximately 9, the Assistant of the
Plaza, Señor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted
anything. He replied that at the moment he only
wanted a prayer book which was brought to him
shortly by Father March."
Señor Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long
while with the Jesuit fathers, March and Vilaclara. regarding
religious matters, it seems. It appears that these two presented
him with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he
refused to sign. They argued about the matter until 12:30 when
Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken. Afterwards he
asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself.
At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal
handed him what he had written. Immediately the chief of the
firing squad. Señor del Fresno and the Assistant of the Plaza,
Señor Maure, were informed. They entered death row and
together with Rizal signed the document that the accused had
written. It seems this was the retraction."
Michael Charleston Chua
“Retraction ni Jose Rizal: Mga Bagong Dokumento
at Pananaw” GMA News Online Published on 29 of
December 2019.
-born in January 19,1984
-Filipino Historian
-Assistant professorial lecturer at the De la Salle University History Department at the UP
department of broad cast communication.
-He finished his Bachelor's and Master's degree in history.
-He served as Vice-president and Public Relations Officer of the Philippine Historial
Association.
-He is co-author of "Bonifacio:Ang Unang Pangulo" and was historical consultant of the
television show "History with Lourd", "Katipunan" and "Ilustrado".
- He created the "Xiao Time" television segment for the government television channel
episodes of which are still accessible online.
-He is the most active Historian in the Philippine media.
-He brought history to life as he tackled more on ancient Filipino beliefs and shared the life of
the national heroes Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio through primary sources.
 The Last Hours of Rizal
• “Retraction ni Jose Rizal: Mga Bagong Dokumento at
Pananaw” GMA News Online Published on 29 of
December 2019.
• This account corroborates the existence of the
retraction document, giving it credence. However,
nowhere in the account was Fr. Balaguer mentioned,
which makes the friar a mere secondary source to the
writing or the document.
 Relevance to the Philippine History
Due to Rizal’s writings and because of his prohibited
organizations, Rizal was accused as the principal planner
of revolution. He underwent trial under martial court with
Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade as his lawyer. He pleaded not
guilty. Nevertheless, on December 26, 1896, he was
sentenced to death by firing squad.

The execution of Rizal ignited the flame of the desire to be

independent from the Spanish colonizers. It is considered
as a significant turning point in the history of Philippine
Revolution
 It is indisputable that the La Liga Filipina, which Rizal created
and which had Andres Bonefacio as a member, was the
forerunner of the katipunan as a group. A few days after Rizal
was exiled to Dapitan by the Spaniards on July 7, 1892, former
members of La Liga Filipina agreed to form a group to organize
the Katipunan. However, La Liga Filipina was short-lived.
 Although he wasn't a formal member of the Katipunan, the
katipunero was quite appreciative of his labor toward the same
objectives. Thirteen of the 28 members of the Katipunan
leadership from 1892 to 1896 had previously played for La Liga
Filipina. Rizal's name was even employed by Katipuneros as a
password.
 Evidences that Rizal really retracted
 The letter of Rizal to his mother received on January 5,
1893.
 Testimony of the Eyewitness
 The retraction is a significant document bacause it
established the act of marriage between Jose Rizal and
Josephine Bracken.
 After marriage, Rizal dedicated a Catholic Devotional
book to his two sisters, Josefa and Trinidad.
 Arguments Against Rizal’s Retraction
 Rizal’s body after the execution
was not handled in Catholic
manner

 The original letter was not

shown to the public
 The family was not made known about the
retraction either by Rizal or by the Friars
 Errors in Balaguer’s account, specifically the
failure to mention about the Rizal’s last peom.
 There is no marriage certificate or public record
on Rizal and Josephine Bracken.
 No effort was made to save Rizal from death
penalty even after saying his execution.
Thank you!!
References
https://pepealas.wordpress.com/2019/12/30/rizals-retraction-full-original-text/
https://prezi.com/p/3nusfwuy7jrz/case-study-3-did-rizal-retract/
https://www.ipl.org/essay/Summary-Of-Jose-Rizals-Retraction-Controversy-
F37Y6WH4SCFR
https://www.studocu.com/ph/n/16522715?sid=01668666849
JOHN EDCEL VERDEJO, LPT, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p9ui-Ob-
2kJI68CEbCbrbmKNIIFbF9Dq/view
https://intramuros.gov.ph/2020/05/12/meet-our-ils-speaker-xiao-chua/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_Chua
Plaridel J0urnal, https://www.plarideljournal.org/may-akda/chua-michael-charleston-
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