RIZL111: THE LIFE, WORKS, AND WRITINGS OF RIZAL

TOPIC: THE 1896 REVOLUTION, END OF DAPITAN EXILE ARREST, TRIAL AND MARTYRDOM
2ND SEMESTER | S.Y 2023-2024
LECTURER: Ma’am Raquelize Orillaza
TOPIC last resort, it must be prepared for another five to ten
SUBTOPIC years to ensure victory.
SUB SUBTOPIC • He advised Valenzuela to seek the leadership of Antonio
Luna, a man of military expertise. The KKK must also
seek the financial support of the Japanese
THE 1896 REVOLUTION
• In 1895, the Cubans revolted against the Spaniards.In
1896, the Filipinos also staged their revolt against Spain. END OF RIZAL’S EXILE
The Filipinos thought that it would be advantageous for
• Rizal applied as a volunteer war physician to the Cuban
them because Spain would have divided attention and
revolution hoping to end his Dapitan exile. His letter
strength.
was finally approved after months of waiting.
• NOTE: Prior to the execution of Jose P. Rizal on Dec. 30,
• On July 31, 1896, he left Dapitan together with
1896, there was the so-called "First Cry of Philippine
Josephine, Narcisa, three nephews and a niece on board
Independence" on April 10, 1895, in Montalban, Rizal.
the steamer España. This ended his Dapitan exile.
The more famous Cry of Balintawak was on Aug. 26,
• The Arrival of España in Manila was delayed. The Isla de
1896. The Filipino rebels fired the first shots of the
Luzon had left. Rizal was told to wait for the Isla de
revolution on the same day.
Panay which will arrive in 28 days. Rizal was transferred
• May 2, 1896 – Dr. Pio Valenzuela was sent by the KKK
to the Castilla, manned by Enrique Santalo, where he
Supreme Council to convince Rizal in Dapitan to join and
would wait for another 26 days.
lead the Katipunan, he being the recognized leader and
• Aboard a launch Caridad, some KKK members sneaked
savior of the Filipinos.
in and made a last ditch attempt to rescue Rizal. Jacinto
• Rizal did not adhere to the idea of the KKK. He believed
introduced himself and told Rizal he would be rescued.
the KKK would fail to defeat the powerful Spanish army
Rizal politely refused the offer saying he knew what he
because of several reasons…
was doing.
• Reasons why Filipinos would fail according to Dr. Jose
• Inside the Castilla, while waiting for the arrival of the
Rizal:
Isla de Panay, the Katipunan was discovered.
- The KKK does not have enough weapons to fight
• On the 26 of August, Bonifacio and the rest of the KKK
against the fully equipped Spaniards
raised the “Cry of Pugadlawin,” which marked the start
- The KKK members do not have enough skills and
of the Philippine Revolution.
training to fight a professional army tested in war
• Rizal expected this to happen.
- The KKK hierarchy lacks credibility which would
• On August 30, 1896, Rizal finally received the letter of
result to confusion in the chain of command
Gov. Blanco, expressing his congratulations and
- The enemy has allies which necessitates that the
recommendation.
revolutionaries must have foreign aid to ensure
• On September 3, aboard the Isla de Panay, he left for
sufficient funds
Spain. The ship proceeded to Singapore. His co-
- Naval ships are needed, especially in an archipelago
passengers Pedro and Periquin Roxas escaped and he
like the Philippines for communication purposes
was encouraged to do the same. Rizal refused because
• Rizal believed that it was not yet time for a revolution. It
he didn’t want to become a fugitive.
must not be held solely on the basis of sentiment and
• The discovery of the KKK led to the uncovering of its
burning passion. It must be launched on the context of
secrets. Bulks of documents were uncovered. Many of
the ability to succeed in the end. If the revolution is the
these documents implicated Rizal to the KKK. Pictures,
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 copies of the Noli and Fili were also found. Documents
declaring Rizal as the KKK honorary president were
likewise discovered.
• Spanish authorities learned that Rizal was used as a rally
cry of the members. He was regarded as their true
leader and hero. These documents, together with many
letters and testimonies from those arrested led to the
conclusion that Rizal was part of the revolutionary
group.
DR. JOSE RIZAL ORDERED TO BE ARRESTED
• As per instruction of Gov. Blanco and the prodding of
Manila Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda, Rizal was
ordered to be arrested and detained inside the ship
• On September 30, 1896, Capt. A. Alemany followed the
order and kept Rizal in his cabin during the remainder of
the trip
• On October 6, the ship reached Barcelona. Rizal was
imprisoned at the Montjuich detention cell. Eulogio
Despujol, the former Philippine governor who banished
him to Dapitan visited later that day.
• On October 7, Rizal was transferred to a new ship the SS
Colon bound for Manila. Rizal kept records of the
Philippines since he left for Barcelona
• He was implicated by the Madrid newspapers to the
bloody revolution. He thought of coming home to
confront his accusers and vindicate his name.
• Few friends from Europe and Singapore tried to help
Rizal escape his present predicament. Ma. Regidor and
Lopez sent a telegram to Atty. Hugh Fort asking him to
file a writ of habeas corpus in Rizal’s behalf. Chief
Justice Lionel Cox, however, denied the writ for lack of
jurisdiction by the Singaporean government.
• On November 20, 1896, the preliminary investigation
(arraignment) on Rizal began. During the five-day
investigation, Rizal was informed of the charges against
him before Judge Advocate Colonel Francisco Olive. He
was put under interrogation without the benefit of
knowing who testified against him. Presented before
him were two kinds of evidences – documentary and
testimonial.
• There were a total of fifteen exhibits for the
documentary evidence. Testimonial evidences, on the
other hand, were comprised of oral proofs provided by:
- Martin Constantino
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- Aguedo del Rosario
- Jose Reyes
- Moises Salvador
- Jose Dizon
- Domingo Franco
- Deodato Arellano
- Pio Valenzuela
- Antonio Salazar
- Francisco Quison
- Timoteo Paez
• These evidences were endorsed by Colonel Olive to
Governor Ramon Blanco. Blanco designated
Capt. Rafael Dominguez as the Judge Advocate assigned
with the task of deciding what corresponding action
should be done. Dominguez, after a brief review,
transmitted the records to Don Nicolas de la Peña, the
Judge Advocate General. Judge Advocate General
Peña's recommendations were as follows:
- Rizal must be immediately sent to trial
- He must be held in prison under necessary security
- His properties must be issued with order of
attachment, and as indemnity, Rizal had to pay one
million pesos
- Instead of a civilian lawyer, only an army officer is
allowed to defend Rizal
• Rizal chose Lt. Don Luis Taviel de Andrade, 1st Lt. of the
Spanish Artillery to be his defense lawyer. Rizal
discovered that the said lieutenant was the brother of
Lt. Jose Taviel de Andrade who worked as Rizal's
personal body guard in Calamba in 1887.
• On the 11th of December 1896, in the presence of his
Spanish counsel, charges against Rizal were read:
- Rebellion – punishable by death
- Sedition – also punishable with death
- Illegal Association – punishable with reclusion
perpetua or lower
• He was accused of being the principal organizer and the
living soul of Filipino insurrection. The founder of
societies, periodicals and books dedicated to fomenting
and propagating ideas of rebellion.
• When asked regarding his sentiments or reaction on the
charges, Rizal replied that:
- He 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
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 - He had nothing to admit on the declarations of the
witnesses, he had not met nor knew, against him.
• Two days after, Rizal's case was endorsed to Blanco's
successor, Governor Camilo de Polavieja, who had the
authority to command that the case be court martialed.
• On December 15, inside his cell at Fort Santiago, Rizal
wrote a controversial letter, The Manifesto addressed
to his countrymen. The Manifesto was a letter
denouncing bloody struggle, and promoting education
and industry as the best means to acquire
independence.
• Judge Advocate General Nicolas de la Peña requested to
Gov. Polavieja that the publication of the manifesto be
prohibited.
THE TRIAL OF DR. JOSE RIZAL
• The Spanish colonial government accused Rizal of three
crimes:
- The founding of La Liga Filipina, an “illegal
organization,” whose single aim was to “Perpetrate
the crime of rebellion”.
- Rebellion which he promoted through his previous
activities.
- Illegal association. The penalty for those accusations
is life imprisonment to death.
• The prosecution drew information from the dossier on
Rizal which detailed his “subversive activities” some of
which are the following:
- 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 in order to win independence. 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.
- The establishment of masonic lodges which became
the propaganda and fund raising center to support
subversive activities and the establishment of
centers in Madrid, Hong Kong 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
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the charges against him before Judge advocate Colonel
Francisco Olive.
• Two kinds of evidences were endorsed by Colonel Olive
to Governor Ramon Blanco:
- Documentary evidences-fifteen exhibits
- Testimonial evidences-provided 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.
• The Judge Advocate Rafael Dominguez was assigned
with the task of deciding what corresponding action
should be done. After a brief review, he transmitted the
records to Don Nicolas de la Pena.
• Pena’s recommendations were as follows:
- Rizal must be immediately sent to trial
- He must be held in prison under necessary security
- His properties must be issued with order of
attachment
- And as indemnity, Rizal had to pay one million pesos
- Instead of a civilian lawyer, only an army officer is
allowed to defend Rizal
THE EXECUTION OF DR. JOSE RIZAL
• Despite all valid pleadings, the military court, vindictive
as it was, unanimously voted for the sentence of death.
Governor Polavieja affirmed the decision of the court
martial and ordered Rizal to be shot at 7:00 in the
morning of December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan field.
• A Jesuit priest now came running and 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 HOURS
• 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 and old petroleum lamp and
whispered to her in English that there is something
inside the lamp. Thus is Rizal’s famous Farewell poem,
“Mi Ultimo Adios”, (“My Last Farewell”) was found.
• On December 29, 1896, 6 AM: Capt. Rafael Rodriguez
was assigned by Gov. Gen. Camilo Polavieja to read
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 Rizal’s death sentence, - to be shot at Bagumbayan by a
firing squad at 7am the next day.
• At 7AM: Rizal moved to the prison chapel, where he
spent his last moments
• dedicate my last lines, to tell you how sad I am to leave
• At 7:15AM: Rizal reminded Fr. Luis Viza the statuette of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus whom he carved as a student
in Ateneo.
• By 9AM: Fr. Federico Faura arrived. Rizal reminded him
that he said that (Rizal) would someday lose his head for
writing the Noli. “Father, you are indeed a prophet.”
• At 10AM: Fr. Jose Villaclara and Fr. Vicente Balaguer
visited Rizal then discussed with him his retraction
letter. Santiago Mataix, a Spanish journalist, followed
for the newspaper, El Heraldo de Madrid.
• From 11AM- 3PM: Rizal stayed in his cell. He was busy
writing poems and letters. He hid his farewell poem in
an alcohol cooking stove. He also wrote his last letter to
Professor Blumentritt.
• At 4PM: Teodora Alonzo visited him. They had a very
emotional encounter. Rizal gave the alcohol cooking
stove to Trinidad which contains his farewell poem.
Several priests have visited him afterwards.
• At 6PM: Don Silvino Tuňon, the Dean of the Manila
Cathedral visited Rizal.
• At 8PM: Rizal had his last supper. He told Captain
Dominguez that he forgave his enemies including the
military judges.
• At 9:30PM: Rizal was visited by Don Gaspar Cestaňo,
fiscal of the Royal Audience de Manila.
• At 10PM: The draft of the retraction letter sent by the
anti- Filipino Archbishop Bernardo Nozaleda was given
by Fr. Balaguer to Rizal for his signature. He had
rejected It.
• Upon Rizal’s death, his supposedly Retraction Letter
became of one of the most controversial documents in
our history. This Retraction Letter allegedly contains his
renunciation of the Masonry and his ‘anti-Catholic
Religious Ideas’ Depending on whose side you are on,
some Rizalists claim that it is fake while some believe it
to be genuine. There had been some evidences but so
far these had only heated up the debate between two
factions.
• On December 30, 1896, 3AM: Rizal heard Mass,
confessed his sins and took Holy Communion.
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• By 5:30AM: He took his last breakfast. After which he
wrote his last letters for his family and his brother,
Paciano.
• Rizal said, “Now I am about to die, and it is to you I
you alone in life, burdened with the weight of the family
and our old parents.”
• At 5:30AM: Josephine Bracken arrived together with
Rizal’s sisters, Josefa, with tears in her eyes, bade him
farewell. Rizal embraced her for the last time, and
before she left, Rizal gave her a last gift, a religious
book, “Imitation of Christ” by Father Thomas Kempis.
• By 6AM: As the soldiers were getting ready for the
death march to Bagumbayan, Rizal wrote his last letter
to his beloved parents.
• “My beloved Father, pardon me for the pain with which
I repay you, for sorrows and sacrifices for my education.
I did not want it nor did I prefer it. Goodbye, Father,
goodbye!”
• At 6:30 AM: a trumpet sounded at Fort Santiago to
signal the death march to Bagumbayan. Rizal walked
calmly with his defense counsel and two Jesuit priest at
his sides. He was dressed elegantly in a black suit, black
derby hat, black shoes, white shirt and black tie. His
arms were tied behind from elbow to elbow.
• There’s a lot of spectators lining the street from Fort
Santiago to Bagumbayan. As he was going through the
narrow Postigo Gate, Rizal looked at the sky and said to
one of the priests: “How beautiful it is today, Father.
What morning could be more serene! How clear is
Corregidor and the mountains of Cavite! On mornings
like this, I used to take a walk with my sweetheart.”
• While he was passing in front of Ateneo, he saw the
college towers above the walls. He asked: “Is that
Ateneo, Father?” Yes”, replied the priest.
• Rizal bade farewell to his Fathers March and Villaclara
and to his defender, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade.
Although his arms were tied, he had firmly clasped their
hands in parting.
• One of the priests blessed him and offered him a
crucifix to kiss.
• He requested the commander of firing squad that he be
shot facing them. His request was denied for the captain
had implicit orders to shoot him at his back.
• A Spanish military physician, Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo,
asked his permission to feel his pulse. He was amazed to
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 find it normal, showing that Jose Rizal was not afraid to
die.
• The death ruffles of the drums filled the air. Above the
drum beats, the sharp command “fire” was heard, and
the guns of the firing squad barked. Rizal, with supreme
effort, turned his bullet- riddled body to the right, and
fell on the ground dead, with face upward facing the
morning sun. At exactly 7:03 am, Rizal shouted
“consummatum es” before the shot rang out. The
hero’s life ended. In the background could be heard,
“Viva Espaňa!”; “Morir es traidores!” On that fateful
day, Rizal was 35 years, 5 months and 11 days old.
• “I die just when I see the dawn break, through the
gloom of night, the herald the day; and if color is lacking
my blood thou shalt take, poured out at need for thy
sake, to dye with its crimson the waking ray…”
• It is interesting to note that 14 years before his
execution, Rizal predicted that he would die on
December 30th. He was then a medical student in
Madrid, Spain.
• 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 person who is put to death or made suffer
greatly or other beliefs because of religion. Other
elements of martyrdom are 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 which had
begun to trouble and therefore constituted a real threat
to the existing social order.

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