UNIT III: JOSE RIZAL’S LIFE

LESSON 1: Family, Childhood, and Early Education

OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify Rizal’s family, childhood, and early education through a timeline.
2. Evaluate the people and events and their influence on Rizal’s early life.

➢ The Mercado – Rizal Family

The Rizals are considered one of the biggest families of their time. Domingo Lam-co, the
family’s paternal ascendant was a full-blooded Chinese who came to the Philippines from
Amoy, China in the closing years of the 17th century and married a Chinese half-breed by
the name of Ines de la Rosa.
Researchers revealed that the Mercado-Rizal family had also traces of Japanese, Spanish,
Malay, and Even Negrito blood aside from Chinese.
Jose Rizal came from a 13-member family consisting of his parents, Francisco Mercado II
and Teodora Alonso Realonda, and nine sisters and one brother.
Jose Rizal’s thirteen-member family consisted of his father Francisco Mercado II, his
mother Teodora Alonso Realonda, himself, nine sisters, and one brother.
Jose Rizal came from a wealthy family in Calamba, Laguna, considered one of the largest
families in those times, the 13-member-family consisted of his father Francisco Mercado II,
his mother Teodora Alonso Realonda, himself, nine sisters, and one brother.
➢ Rizal’s Lineage
The Rizal paternal ascendant was Domingo Lam-co, a full-blooded Chinese who lived in
Amoy, China, and arrived in the Philippines in the closing years of the 17th century.
Domingo Lam-co was married to a Chinese half-breed named Ines de la Rosa. The
Mercado-Rizal family had also Japanese, Spanish, Malay and Negrito blood aside from
their Chinese blood.

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 ➢ Rizal’s Parents
Jose Rizal’s father Francisco was the youngest of 13 children of Juan and Cirila Mercado.
He was born in Binan, Laguna, studied at San Jose College of Manila and died in Manila.
Teodora, the mother of Jose Rizal, was a business-minded, religious, and hardworking
individual who was born in Santa Cruz, Manila on November 14, 1827. She was the second
child of Brijida de Quintos and Lorenzo Alonso. Teodora had Spanish and Japanese
ancestors while the father of Teodora was a half-Spaniard engineer known as Lorenzo
Alberto Alonzo. She studied at the Colegio de Santa Rosa. Teodora died in Manila in 1913.
The parents of Jose Rizal were both farmers who were granted by the Dominicans the
lease of a hacienda together with a rice farm.
➢ Rizal’s Siblings
Saturnina Rizal was the eldest of the offspring of Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso
Realonda. She married Manuel Hidalgo who hailed from Tanauan, Batangas.
The only brother of Jose Rizal was Paciano Rizal and was the second child. Paciano studied
at the San Jose College in Manila and worked as a farmer and later as a general of the
Philippine Revolution.
The other sisters of Jose Rizal were Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, Maria, Concepcion, Josefa,
Trinidad, and Soledad. Soledad was the youngest child and later married Pantaleon
Quintero.
➢ How Jose Obtained the ‘Rizal’ Last Name
The Rizal surname was obtained by Francisco Mercado as suggested to him by a provincial
governor after the Governor General of the Philippines, Narciso Claveria, issued a decree
in 1849 by which native Filipino and immigrant families were to adopt Spanish surnames
from a list of Spanish family names.
Jose Rizal also obtained the surname Rizal after dropping three other names that made up
his full name. Jose Rizal also retained Protasio as his other family name. His family never
actually recognized their Rizal surname, but Jose Rizal was forced to use it so that he can
travel freely and disassociate himself from his brother Paciano, who was notorious
because of his links with native priests who were executed after they were found to be
subversives.

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LESSON 2: Higher Education and Life/ travels abroad
OBJECTIVES:
1. Discuss the importance of studying the educational background of Rizal.
2. Describe appropriately the different travels of Rizal.

✓ Rizal’s Education
Jose Rizal’s first teacher was his mother, who had taught him how to read and pray and
who had encouraged him to write poetry. Later, private tutors taught the young Rizal
Spanish and Latin, before he was sent to a private school in Biñan.
When he was 11 years old, Rizal entered the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He earned
excellent marks in subjects like philosophy, physics, chemistry, and natural history. At this
school, he read novels; wrote prize-winning poetry (and even a melodrama “Junto al
Pasig” and practiced drawing, painting, and clay modeling, all of which remained lifelong
interests for him.
Rizal eventually earned a land surveyor’s and assessor’s degree from the Ateneo Municipal
while taking up Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas. Upon learning
that his mother was going blind, Rizal opted to study ophthalmology at the UST Faculty of
Medicine and Surgery. He, however, was not able to complete the course because “he
became politically isolated by adversaries among the faculty and clergy who demanded
that he assimilate to their system.”
Without the knowledge of his parents, Rizal travelled to Europe in May 1882. According to
his biographer, Austin Craig, Rizal, “to obtain a better education, had had to leave his
country stealthily like a fugitive from justice, and his family, to save themselves from
persecution, were compelled to profess ignorance of his plans and movements. His name
was entered in Santo Tomas at the opening of the new term, with the fees paid, and
Paciano had gone to Manila pretending to be looking for this brother whom he had
assisted out of the country.”
Rizal earned a Licentiate in Medicine at the Universidad Central de Madrid, where he also
took courses in philosophy and literature. It was in Madrid that he conceived of writing
Noli Me Tangere. He also attended the University of Paris and, in 1887, completed his eye
specialization course at the University of Heidelberg. It was also in that year that Rizal’s
first novel was published (in Berlin).
Rizal is said to have had the ability to master various skills, subjects, and languages. Our
national hero was also a doctor, farmer, naturalist (he discovered the Draco rizali, a small
lizard; Apogania rizali, a beetle; and the Rhacophorus rizali, a frog), writer, visual artist,
athlete (martial arts, fencing, and pistol shooting), musician, and social scientist.

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LESSON 3: Rizal’s selected poems
OBJECTIVES:

1. Identify and analyze the impact of Rizal’s poems.

2. Develop the aesthetic sense of the poems.
3. Describe the thought and imagination contained in the poems.

Sa Aking mga Kabata Education gives luster to Motherland

My Retreat To the Filipino Youth

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 My Last Farewell

SA AKING MGA KABATA

Jose P. Rizal

Kapagka ang baya’y sadyang umiibig

Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit,
Sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit
Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Pagka’t ang salita’y isang kahatulan

Sa bayan, sa nayo’t mga kaharian,
At ang isang tao’y katulad, kabagay
Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.

Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita

Mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda,
Kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusa
Na tulad sa inang tunay na nagpala.

Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin

Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitang anghel,
Sapagka’t ang Poong maalam tumingin
Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.

Ang salita nati’y huwad din sa iba

Na may alfabeto at sariling letra,
Na kaya nawala’y dinatnan ng sigwa
Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una.

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 EDUCATION GIVES LUSTER TO THE MOTHERLAND
Jose P. Rizal

Wise education, vital breath

Inspires an enchanting virtue.
She puts the Country in the lofty seat
Of endless glory, of dazzling glow,
And just as the gentle aura's puff
Do brighten the perfumed flower's hue:
So education with a wise, guiding hand,
A benefactress, exalts the human band.

Man's placid repose and earthly life

To education he dedicates
Because of her, art and science are born
Man; and as from the high mount above
The pure rivulet flows, undulates,
So education beyond measure
Gives the Country tranquillity secure.

Where wise education raises a throne

Sprightly youth are invigorated,
Who with firm stand error they subdue
And with noble ideas are exalted;
It breaks immortality's neck,
Contemptible crime before it is halted:
It humbles barbarous nations
And it makes of savages champions.
And like the spring that nourishes
The plants, the bushes of the meads,
She goes on spilling her placid wealth,
And with kind eagerness she constantly feeds,
The river banks through which she slips,
And to beautiful nature all she concedes,
So whoever procures education wise
Until the height of honor may rise.

From her lips the waters crystalline

Gush forth without end, of divine virtue,
And prudent doctrines of her faith
The forces weak of evil subdue,
That break apart like the whitish waves
That lash upon the motionless shoreline:
And to climb the heavenly ways the people
Do learn with her noble example.

In the wretched human beings' breast

The living flame of good she lights
The hands of criminal fierce she ties,
And fill the faithful hearts with delights,
Which seeks her secrets beneficent

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And in the love for the good her breast she incites,
And it's the' education noble and pure
Of human life the balsam sure.

And like a rock that rises with pride

In the middle of the turbulent waves
When hurricane and fierce Notus roar
She disregards their fury and raves,
That weary of the horror great
So frightened calmly off they stave;
Such is one by wise education steered
He holds the Country's reins unconquered.
His achievements on sapphires are engraved;
The Country pays him a thousand honors;
For in the noble breasts of her sons
Virtue transplanted luxuriant flow'rs;
And in the love of good e'er disposed
Will see the lords and governors
The noble people with loyal venture
Christian education always procure.

And like the golden sun of the morn

Whose rays resplendent shedding gold,
And like fair aurora of gold and red
She overspreads her colors bold;
Such true education proudly gives
The pleasure of virtue to young and old
And she enlightens out Motherland dear
As she offers endless glow and luster.

MY RETREAT
Jose P. Rizal

Beside a spacious beach of fine and delicate sand

and at the foot of a mountain greener than a leaf,
I planted my humble hut beneath a pleasant orchard,
seeking in the still serenity of the woods
repose to my intellect and silence to my grief.

Its roof is fragile nipa; its floor is brittle bamboo;

its beams and posts are rough as rough-hewn wood can be;
of no worth, it is certain, is my rustic cabin;
but on the lap of the eternal mount it slumbers
and night and day is lulled by the crooning of the sea.

The overflowing brook, that from the shadowy jungle

descends between huge bolders, washes it with its spray,
donating a current of water through makeshift bamboo pipes
that in the silent night is melody and music
and crystalline nectar in the noon heat of the day.

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If the sky is serene, meekly flows the spring,
strumming on its invisible zither unceasingly;
but come the time of the rains, and an impetuous torrent
spills over rocks and chasms—hoarse, foaming and aboil—
to hurl itself with a frenzied roaring toward the sea.

The barking of the dog, the twittering of the birds,

the hoarse voice of the kalaw are all that I hear;
there is no boastful man, no nuisance of a neighbor
to impose himself on my mind or to disturb my passage;
only the forests and the sea do I have near.

The sea, the sea is everything! Its sovereign mass

brings to me atoms of a myriad faraway lands;
its bright smile animates me in the limpid mornings;
and when at the end of day my faith has proven futile,
my heart echoes the sound of its sorrow on the sands.

At night it is a mystery! … Its diaphanous element

is carpeted with thousands and thousands of lights that climb;
the wandering breeze is cool, the firmament is brilliant,
the waves narrate with many a sigh to the mild wind
histories that were lost in the dark night of time.

‘Tis said they tell of the first morning on the earth,

of the first kiss with which the sun inflamed her breast,
when multitudes of beings materialized from nothing
to populate the abyss and the overhanging summits
and all the places where that quickening kiss was pressed.

But when the winds rage in the darkness of the night

and the unquiet waves commence their agony,
across the air move cries that terrify the spirit,
a chorus of voices praying, a lamentation that seems
to come from those who, long ago, drowned in the sea.

Then do the mountain ranges on high reverberate;

the trees stir far and wide, by a fit of trembling seized;
the cattle moan; the dark depths of the forest resound;
their spirits say that they are on their way to the plain,
summoned by the dead to a mortuary feast.

The wild night hisses, hisses, confused and terrifying;

one sees the sea afire with flames of green and blue;
but calm is re-established with the approach of dawning
and forthwith an intrepid little fishing vessel
begins to navigate the weary waves anew.

So pass the days of my life in my obscure retreat;

cast out of the world where once I dwelt: such is my rare
good fortune; and Providence be praised for my condition:
a disregarded pebble that craves nothing but moss
to hide from all the treasure that in myself I bear.

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I live with the remembrance of those that I have loved
and hear their names still spoken, who haunt my memory;
some already are dead, others have long forgotten—
but what does it matter? I live remembering the past
and no one can ever take the past away from me.

It is my faithful friend that never turns against me,

that cheers my spirit when my spirit’s a lonesome wraith,
that in my sleepless nights keeps watch with me and prays
with me, and shares with me my exile and my cabin,
and, when all doubt, alone infuses me with faith.

Faith do I have, and I believe the day will shine

when the Idea shall defeat brute force as well;
and after the struggle and the lingering agony
a voice more eloquent and happier than my own
will then know how to utter victory’s canticle.

I see the heavens shining, as flawless and refulgent

as in the days that saw my first illusions start;
I feel the same breeze kissing my autumnal brow,
the same that once enkindled my fervent enthusiasm
and turned the blood ebullient within my youthful heart.

Across the fields and rivers of my native town

perhaps has traveled the breeze that now I breathe by chance;
perhaps it will give back to me what once I gave it:
the sighs and kisses of a person idolized
and the sweet secrets of a virginal romance.

On seeing the same moon, as silvery as before,

I feel within me the ancient melancholy revives;
a thousand memories of love and vows awaken:
a patio, an azotea, a beach, a leafy bower;
silences and sighs, and blushes of delight …

A butterfly a thirst for radiances and colors,

dreaming of other skies and of a larger strife,
I left, scarcely a youth, my land and my affections,
and vagrant everywhere, with no qualms, with no terrors,
squandered in foreign lands the April of my life.

And afterwards, when I desired, a weary swallow,

to go back to the nest of those for whom I care,
suddenly fiercely roared a violent hurricane
and I found my wings broken, my dwelling place demolished,
faith now sold to others, and ruins everywhere.

Hurled upon a rock of the country I adore;

the future ruined; no home, no health to bring me cheer;
you come to me anew, dreams of rose and gold,
of my entire existence the solitary treasure,
convictions of a youth that was healthy and sincere.

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No more are you, like once, full of fire and life,
offering a thousand crowns to immortality;
somewhat serious I find you; and yet your face beloved,
if now no longer as merry, if now no longer as vivid,
now bear the superscription of fidelity.

You offer me, O illusions, the cup of consolation;

you come to reawaken the years of youthful mirth;
hurricane, I thank you; winds of heaven, I thank you
that in good hour suspended by uncertain flight
to bring me down to the bosom of my native earth.

Beside a spacious beach of fine and delicate sand

and at the foot of a mountain greener than a leaf,
I found in my land a refuge under a pleasant orchard,
and in its shadowy forests, serene tranquility,
repose to my intellect and silence to my grief.

TO THE PHILIPPINE YOUTH

Jose P. Rizal
Hold high the brow serene,
O youth, where now you stand;
Let the bright sheen
Of your grace be seen,
Fair hope of my fatherland!
Come now, thou genius grand,
And bring down inspiration;
With thy mighty hand,
Swifter than the wind's violation,
Raise the eager mind to higher station.

Come down with pleasing light

Of art and science to the fight,
O youth, and there untie
The chains that heavy lie,
Your spirit free to blight.
See how in flaming zone
Amid the shadows thrown,
The Spaniard'a holy hand
A crown's resplendent band
Proffers to this Indian land.

Thou, who now wouldst rise

On wings of rich emprise,
Seeking from Olympian skies
Songs of sweetest strain,
Softer than ambrosial rain;
Thou, whose voice divine
Rivals Philomel's refrain
And with varied line
Through the night benign
Frees mortality from pain;

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Thou, who by sharp strife
Wakest thy mind to life;
And the memory bright
Of thy genius' light
Makest immortal in its strength;

And thou, in accents clear

Of Phoebus, to Apelles dear;
Or by the brush's magic art
Takest from nature's store a part,
To fig it on the simple canvas' length;

Go forth, and then the sacred fire

Of thy genius to the laurel may aspire;
To spread around the fame,
And in victory acclaim,
Through wider spheres the human name.

Day, O happy day,

Fair Filipinas, for thy land!
So bless the Power to-day
That places in thy way
This favor and this fortune grand!

LAST FAREWELL
Jose P. Rizal

Farewell, dear Fatherland, clime of the sun caress'd

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 blest
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,

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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 someday 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
'T 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!

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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!

LESSON 4: Exile, Trial, and Death

OBJECTIVES:

1. Analyze the factors that led to Rizal’s execution.

2. Describe and analyze the effects of Rizal’s execution on Spanish
colonial rule and the Philippine Revolution.

Today in Philippine History, December 6, 1896, the trial of Dr. Jose Rizal by a Spanish
military court for sedition, rebellion, and conspiracy, began on December 6, 1896, the trial
of Dr. Jose Rizal by a Spanish military court for sedition, rebellion, and conspiracy began.
This leads to his execution and martyrdom.

Rizal, who was imprisoned first in Barcelona and later in Fort Santiago, was implicated in
the revolution which was launched in August 1896 by the Katipunan led by Andres
Bonifacio, whose aim was to liberate the country from Spanish colonization.

At the time of his arrest, Rizal was supposed to leave for Cuba after he was allowed by
Spanish Governor-General Ramon Blanco, who was sympathetic to him, to serve as a
military surgeon in Cuba, where there was also a revolution against Spain.

Before he left his exile in Dapitan for Manila and then for Spain, Rizal had issued a
manifesto disavowing the revolution and declaring that the education of Filipinos and their
achievement of a national identity were prerequisites to freedom.

Rizal was arrested while en route to Spain, imprisoned in Barcelona, and sent back later to
Manila to stand trial. He was charged with being a traitor to Spain and the mastermind of
the revolution. He pleaded his innocence but he was still convicted on all three charges of
rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy and sentenced to death.
Earlier, Rizal was already considered as an enemy of the state by the Spanish authorities
with the publication of his two great novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Thus,
Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896, in Bagumbayan (Luneta), which has been
renamed Rizal Park in his memory.

“The Trial and Execution of Dr. Jose Rizal”

Martyrs are rare stars in the vast firmament of humanity. Every Instance of martyrdom is
distinct in magnitude and direction. Indeed, martyrs are the meteors of history, they flash
across the sky and light the world and in the process consume themselves. They are the

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person who is put to death or made to suffer greatly for other beliefs because of religion.
Other elements of martyrdom are the usefulness of life and dedication to a high purpose.

Rizal’s death was an emotional event in our history as it produced A “martyr” and resulted
in some form of social change or transformation in our lives as a people. Rizal was put to
death for “subversion” by the dominant political forces. He presented a sector of society
that had begun to trouble and therefore constituted a real Threat to the existing social
order.

“The Trial of Dr. Jose Rizal”

The Spanish colonial government accused Rizal of three crimes:

a. The founding of La Liga Filipina, an “illegal organization” whose single aim was to
“Perpetrate the crime of rebellion”.
b. Rebellion which he promoted through his previous activities.
c. Illegal association

The penalty for those accusations is life imprisonment to death and correctional
imprisonment and a charge of 325 to 3,250 Pesetas.

The prosecution drew information from the dossier on Rizal which Detailed his” subversive
activities” some of which are the following:

1. The writing and publication of “Noli me Tangere”, the Annotations to Morga’s

History of the Philippines, “El Filibusterismo”, and the various articles which criticized the
friars and suggested their expulsion to win independence.
2. The El Filibusterismo was dedicated to the three martyr priests who were
executed as traitors to the Fatherland in 1872 because they were the moving spirit of the
uprising of that year.
3. The establishment of masonic lodges which became the propaganda and
fundraising center to support subversive activities and the establishment of centers in
Madrid, Hongkong, and Manila to propagate his ideas.

After finishing as much evidence as possible on November 20, 1896, the preliminary on
Rizal began. During the five-day investigation, Rizal was informed of the charges against
him before Judge advocate Colonel Francisco Olive.
Two kinds of Evidence Endorsed By Colonel Olive to Governor

Ramon Blanco:
1. Documentary: fifteen exhibits
2. Testimonial: Provide by Martin Constantino, Aguedo del Rosario, Jose Reyes, Moises
Salvador, Jose Dizon,Domingo Franco, Deodato Arellano, Pio Valenzuela , Antonio Salazar,
Francisco Quison, and Timoteo Paez. Judge Rafael Dominguez’s advocate assigned the task

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of deciding what the corresponding action should be done. After a brief review
transmitted the records to Don Nicolas de la Pena.

Pena’s recommendations were as follows:

1. Rizal must be immediately sent to trial.

2. He must be held in prison under necessary security 3. His properties must be
issued with an order of attachment and
3. as indemnity, Rizal had to pay one million pesos instead of a civilian lawyer, only
an army officer is allowed to defend Rizal.

The lawyer of Rizal is Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade Brother of Lt. Jose Traviel de Andrade who
worked as Rizal’s personal bodyguard in Calamba in 1887. In the presence of his Spanish
Counsel on December 11, 1896, charges against Rizal were read in the presence of his
Spanish counsel. When they asked about his sentiments or reaction to the charges, Rizal
replied that in his defense.

Rizal does not question the jurisdiction of the court. He has nothing to amend except that
during his exile in Dapitan in 1892, he had not dealt in political matters, He has nothing to
admit on the charges against him and had nothing to admit on the declarations of the
witnesses, he had not met nor new, against him.

The Execution of Dr.Jose Rizal

Despite all valid pleadings the military court, was vindictive as it unanimously voted for the
sentence of death. Polavieja affirmed The decision of the court martial and ordered to be
shot at 7:00 in the morning of December 30 1896 at Bagumbayan field.Rizal was heavily
guarded and was accompanied by the Jesuits as he walked from Fort Santiago to
Bagumbayan. He wore a black woolen suit and a derby hat, and his arms were tied behind
him.

During the walk, he recalled his youth and his student days. At the Ateneo. and in
Bagumbayan itself, the Spanish troops held Back the crowd while the artillery group stood
on alert to prevent any attempt to rescue Rizal. His brother Paciano who had joined the
Revolution forces was said to have discouraged groups who might want to save Rizal since
they would not be able to match Spanish Firepower. The captain in charge of the
execution instructed Rizal to position himself, turn his back against the squad, and Face
the sea.

However, Rizal requested to face the firing squad, as such position instructed was only
taken by traitors and he was not one of them. The captain could not do anything for he
was only following orders. Hence, failing to have his request granted, he asked to be shot
in the back instead of the head so that he may, in the end, turn his head and body sidewise
and fall with his face upward. The captain agreed, he also asked if he would like to kneel,
but Rizal refused, nor did he agree to be blindfolded. A Jesuit priest now came running and

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Asked Rizal to kiss the crucifix that he held. Rizal turned his back on the crucifix and thus,
against the firing squad. He was ready for the execution.

Dr. Jose Rizal’s last day and his execution

Rizal spent his 24 hours in his death cell where he received members of his family and
writes his letter, the first one to his “second brother” Ferdinand Blumentritt. He gave his
sister, Trinidad an old petroleum lamp and whispered to her in English that there is
something inside. The lamp. Thus is Rizal’s famous Farewell poem. “Ultimo Adios”, (Last
Farewell” was found.

Rizal was said to have married his Irish girlfriend according to Catholic rites in the very last
hours of his life, after living with her for some time in Dapitan. They were previously
married civilly. On the morning of December 30, 1896. Rizal set on the three priests who
had been killed in 1872, now Luneta Park, in the center of Manila at 6:30 O’clock. And
when the time to march to Bagumbayan Rizal he was ready to face his ultimate death
came, he was seen as a man of peace and bravery. At exactly 7:03 am RIZAL shouted
“Consummatum Est” before the shot run out. The hero’s life ended. In the background
could be heard, “Viva Espna! Death to traitors!

Rizal’s Family was not able to take hold of his body. The military had secretly buried the
body of Rizal at the Paco cemetery. Her sister Narcisa looked for the cadaver everywhere
but could not find it. She passed by the unused Paco cemetery and saw through the open
gate some civil guards. Finding this uncommon, she entered the cemetery and searched
the place. She saw a grave with freshly turned earth and knew at once he was her
brother’s body. With a little money, she asked the gravedigger to place a plaque on it with
her brother’s initial reverse. That is R.P.J. for Protacio Jose. That afternoon the books,
letter, and alcohol burner were delivered.

To Rizal’s family. At the base of the alcohol burner, they found Rizal’s last masterpiece the
MI ULTIMO ADIOS. The copies were given to each family member, and some are to the
Cavite insurgents. After the Americans had taken Manila, Narcisa requested the new
government to grant her permission to exhume the body of his brother.
They found out that the body was never placed in a coffin, nor even wrapped by anything.
Rizal’s family had possession of the body the remains were instituted at the base of the
Rizal monument which was erected at the center of the Luneta.

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