CHAPTER 8

RIZAL’S LIFE EXILE,

TRIAL AND DEATH
An Exile: Haven or Wrath

Even the history and the bible prescribed the exile of

Israelites Kingdom to the birth of Jesus Christ. Since exile is
an early motif in ancient Greek tragedy, they conserved the
integrity of their belief. In the ancient Greek world, this was
seen as a fate worse than death. Before a death sentence
was pronounced, a Roman citizen could escape by voluntary
exile. Later, the parameters of exile were introduced,
including temporary or permanent exile, exile with or without
loss of citizenship, and exile with or without confiscation of
property.
• Exile means to be away from one’s country, being explicitly
refused permission to return or being threatened with
imprisonment or death upon return.
• Exile is a form of prolonged absence from one’s country
imposed by vested authority as a punitive measure.
• It can be a form of punishment and solitude.
• It is common to distinguish between “internal exile” and
“external exile”.

Internal exile – which the person if forced resettlement within

the country of residence.
External exile – wherein the person is forcibly deported
outside of the country of his residence.
The exile gives a huge impact to the society, where they
belong and a cornerstone to evaluate the positive and
negative product such kind of punishment or reward.

Several personalities experienced such kind of release

from internal and external punishment. Dr. Jose P. Rizal, our
national hero, is a concrete example of he exiled person. He
opt to live away from his family just to present Filipino values.
Moreover, he intent to prove to his motherland that she is
worth living for.
 Jose Rizal’s: Trial and
Martyrdom at Bagumbayan
September 2,1896 – a week after the outbreak of he
Philippine Revolution, Jose Rizal left Manila to Spain.

 Going back to Governor General Ramon Blanco’s last letter

to Rizal, the former approved the latter’s request that he be
sent to Cuba as military doctor.

 As such, Rizal was to go Spain first before going to Cuba.

But even before he reached his first destination, he was
arrested by the Spanish authorities on board, jailed in
Barcelona and shipped back to Manila and was jailed at
Fort Santiago for the last 3 months of his life.
Rescue Attempt by the Katipunan

While Rizal was still in exile in Dapitan, Dr. Pio Valenzuela (The
Katipunan emissary) – informed the former of the secret organization’s
attempt to rescue him and to sneak him on a ship destined to Japan.
However, Rizal was not in favor of this plan as he had no plan of
breaking his promises to the Spanish authorities.

For the second time, in August 1896, during Rizal’s stopover in

Manila Bay, Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto and other selected
Katipuneros disguised as sailors of the motor Caridad so that they can
easily penetrate the cruiser Castilla, then harbored at Manila Bay. Rizal
was on deck at that time when he was approached by Jacinto who
whispered that they were Katipuneros and were there to rescue him.
However, despite the opportunity given to him, Rizal refused to be
rescued.
On board Castilla, Rizal heard of the outbreak of the revolution
and was not surprised. However, his worry was that Spanish
authorities might think that he incited the said struggle. Two
recommendation letters form Governor Blanco diverted Rizal’s
anguish – one for the Minister of War, General Marcelo de
Azcarraga ; and the second, for the Minister of Colonies.

Aboard the steamer, Isla de Panay, Rizal left Manila for

Spain on September 2, 1896, not knowing that this will be his
last travel abroad. The night before his departure, he wrote a
letter to Dońa Teodora Alonzo telking her that his task required
strength and dedication, and if he died, at least he had done
something good for mankind.
By the eve of September 7, the steamer reached Singapore
and on the 30th, while Isla de Panay was on its voyage
along the Mediterranean Sea, a telegraphic message was
received by Captain A. Alemany, the ship skipper, ordering
him to arrest and confine Jose Rizal in his cabin until the
arrive in Barcelona on the 3rd of October.

Early morning of October 6, Rizal was transferred to

Montijuich Castle where he was visited by Eulogio Despujol
who was then the military Commander of Cataluńa. By 8
o’clock in the evening, aboard the steamer Colon, Rizal left
Barcelona for Manila.
Such occurences had already been known among Rizal’s
friends in Europe and Singapore. His friends form London, Dr.
Antonio Ma. Regidor and Sixto Lopezexerted all their efforts to
find a lawyer in Singapore who could aid their friend in need.
They sent a telegraph to a certain Atty.

Hugh Fort whom they requested to do the task of

rescuing Rizal – by issuing writ of habeas corpus on the
steamer Colon. Unfortunately, the judge in Singapore denied
Fort’s request and contention that Rizal was illegally detained
in the said steamer because the voyage cannot be delayed
since it was, according to the judge, was warship carrying
Spanish troops to Manila.
Thus, on November 3, Colon arrived in Manila – Jose
Rizal, under heavy security was brought immediately to
Fort Santiago. During his stay, Spanish authorities were
searching for evidence against him. In fact, Filipinos
who had been recognized at his side were brutally
tortured to implicate him. Some of them were as follows:
Deodato Arellano, Dr. Pio Valenzuela, Moises Salvador,
Jose Dizon, Domingo Franco and Timoteo Paez. Even
his only brother, Paciano was arrested and inflicted with
pains which the latter endured for his younger brother’s
sake.
Exile in Dapitan
Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, is not only
admired for possessing intellectual brilliance but also for taking a
stand and resisting the Spanish colonial government. He had been
very vocal against the Spanish government, but in a peaceful and
progressive manner. For him, “the pen was mightier than the
sword.” And through his writings, he exposed the corruption and
wrong doings of government officials as well as the Spanish friars.

While in Barcelona, Rizal contributed essays, poems,

allegories, and editorials to the Spanish newspaper, La Solaridad.
Most of his writings, both in his essays and editorials, centered on
individual rights and freedom, specifically for the Filipino people.
As part of his reforms , he even called for the inclusion of the
Philippines to become a province of Spain.
But, among his best work, two novels stood out from the rest –
Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not ) and El Filibusterismo ( The
Reign of the Greed ).

In both novels, Rizal’s harshly criticized the Spanish colonial

rule in the country and exposed the ills of Philippine society at the
same time. And because he wrote about the injustices and
brutalities of the Spaniards in the country, the authorities banned
Filipinos from reading the controversial books, if, they were not
able to ban it completely. As more Filipinos read the books, their
eyes opened to the truth that they were suffering the unspeakable
abuses in the hands of the friars. These two novels by Rizal, now
considered his literary masterpieces, are said to have indirectly
sparked the Philippine Revolution.
While his death sparked a revolution to overthrow the tyranny,
Rizal will always be remembered for his compassion
towards the Filipino people and the country.

Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, is not

exempted and different from other exiled personality in our
civilization. Due to strong conviction a a propagandist and
reformist, the Spaniards led him to be exiled in Dapitan, July
1892, after being implicated in nascent rebellion. He had
promised the Spanish governor that he would not attempt to
escape. It is a knowledge that Dapitan is a remote part of the
country, it would have been relatively easy for him to escape
but he faced his fate with bravery and trust to his God.
Dr. Rizal believes and blatantly expresses that the plan of the
Spaniards to exile him to Dapitan , a province of Zamboanga del
Norte is a form of comfortable exile or social exile of people who
have been excluded from the mainstream society. Such people are
considered “aliens” or internal “others” on the grounds of their
religious, racial, ethnic, linguistic or caste – based identity and
therefore they migrate to a comfortable space elsewhere after
having risked their lives to restore representation, identity and civil
rights in their own country and often capture a comfortable identity
to being part of a dominant religion, society or culture.

He retained, to the very end, a faith in the decency of Spanish “

men of honor,” which made it difficult or him to accept the
revolutionary course of the Katipunan. Revolution had broken out
in Cuba in February 1895,
Revolution had broken out in Cuba in February 1895, and Rizal
applied to the governor to be sent to that yellow fever-infested
island as an army doctor, believing that it was the only way he
could keep his word to the governor and yet get out of his exile.
His request was granted, and he was preparing to leave for Cuba
when the Katipunan revolt broke out in August 1896. An informer
had tipped off a Spanish friar about the society’s existence, and
Bonifacio, his hand forced, proclaimed the revolution, attacking
Spanish military installations on August 29, 1896. Rizal was
allowed to leave Manila on a Spanish steamship. The governor,
however, apparently forced by reactionary elements, ordered
Rizal’s arrest en route, and he was sent back to Manila to be tried
by a military court as an accomplice of the insurrection.
The rebels were poorly led and had few successes against colonial
troops. Only in Cavite Province did they make any headway.

Commanded by Emilio Aguinaldo, the twenty-seven-year-old

mayor of the town of Cavite who had been a member of the
Katipunan since 1895, the rebels defeated Civil Guard and regular
colonial troops between August and November 1896 and made the
province the center of the revolution.

During his confinement or stint in Dapitan, numerous

communication had been constant with Ferdinand Blumentritt, a
teacher and closet friend of the propagandist. The communications
made by the propagandist to Bluementritt were amazing
experiences and emersed himself into a boondocks habitat , as
described:
“ I have three houses: a square house, a sis-sided house, and an eight-sided house.
My mother, my sister Trinidad, a nephew and I lived in the square house; my
students-boys who I am teaching math, Spanish and English-and a patient. My
chickens lived in the six-sided house. From my house, I could hear the murmur of a
crystalline rivulet that drops from high rocks. I could see the shore, the sea where I
have two small boats or barotos, as they were called here. I had many fruit trees:
mangoes, lanzones, guyabanos, batuno, Langka, etc. I had rabbits, dogs, cats, etc.

I got up early, at 5 in the morning inspect my fields, fed the chickens, woke up my
farm-hands and got them to work. At half past 7, we had breakfast consisting of tea,
pastries, cheese, sweets, etc. Then, I held clinic examining patients and training the
poor patients who came to see me. I dressed and went to town in my baroto to visit
my patients there.I returned at noon and had lunch that had been prepared for me.
Afterwards, I tought the boys until 4 and spent the rest of the afternoon in the fields.
At night, I read and studied.”
Describing all these realization, the propagandist together
with 2 friends (Capt. Carnicero and Francisco Equilor) won
2nd prize worth P20,000 from manila lottery, and divided it
equally. The apportion of the prize was able to procure a
parcel of land near the Talisay in March 1983. He practiced
all kind of jobs while exploring the haven of Dapitan, such as
a farmer, entrepreneur, educator, inventor, painter, sculptor,
archaeologist, linguist, grammarian, architect, poet, biologist,
composer, surveyor, environmentalist, and most importantly,
a practicing physician.
The Proceedings
and Trials
After being held prisoner in Barcelona, Rizal was ordered by
General Eulogio Despujol that he would be shipped back to
Manila via the transport ship Colon. On board the vessel, Rizal
was told that the Madrid newspapers were full of stories about
the revolution in the Philippines and were blaming him for it.
News of Rizal’s predicament reached his friends in Europe and
Singapore. They dispatched telegrams to an English lawyer in
Singapore to rescue Rizal from the Spanish steamer by means
of a writ of habeas corpus. The writ, however, was denied and
Rizal remained prisoner in the ship.
 The Colon reached Manila on November 3, 1896 and Rizal
was then quietly transferred to Fort Santiago where other
patriots, including his bother Paciano were being tortured to
implicate Rizal. Paciano refused to sign anything that can
dispute for the conviction of his brother, despite his body
broken and hand crushed. The preliminary investigation was
held on November 20,1896 with the presence of Colonel
Francisco Olive acting as the Judge Advocate. Colonel Olive
investigation lasted for five days. He did not allow the
witnesses to appear on the trial or hearing. Two kinds of
evidence were presented against Rizal, categorically divided
into the two, the documentary and the testimonial.
Martyrdom at
Bagumbayan
 Upon hearing the court’s decision, Rizal already knew that there is
no way that his destiny would be changed – Rizal knew it was his
end and had accepted his fate. Inside the chapel, Rizal busied
himself by witing correspondences to friends and family, bidding
everyone farewell; and conversing with his Jesuit priests friends. He
had a lot of visitors, arriving one or two after the other:

1. Fr. Miguel Saderra Mata – the rector of the Ateneo Municipal;

arrved in the priso early in the morning.

2. Fr. Luis Viza – came with Fr. Mata; the priest to whom Rizal
asked for the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he made
during his stay in Ateneo.
3. Fr. Antonio Rosell – another friend of Rizal who gladly ate
a fine breakfast with him; returned in the afternoon to resume
his talk with Rizal.

4. Lt. Taviel de Andrade – Rizal extended his appreciation

for Andrade’s services as his defense counsel.

5. Fr. Federico Faura – had prophesied earlier rather

comically that Rizal would lose his head for writing the Noli
Me Tangere, and the latter “congratulated” the priest for being
right.
6. Fr. Jose Villaclara – Rizal’s former teacher in Ateneo; ate
lunch with him.

7. Fr. Vicente Balaguer – accompanied Fr. Villaclara; ate

lunch with Rizal as well.

8. Santiago Mataix – contributor in the El Heraldo de Madrid

9. Teodora Alonzo - Rizal knelt before his beloved mother,
begging for forgiveness and understanding; the mother and
son were seperated by the strong grip of the prison guard.

10. Trinidad – arrived when Doňa Teodora left the chapel; to

her, Rizal handed don an alcohol cooking stove and
whispered that something was inside it (turned out to be his
last piece, the Mi Ultimo Adios, written in a small piece of
paper.)

11. Gaspar Castaňo – fiscal of the Royal Audencia; had a

good conversation with Rizal.
On november 26, the records of the case were handed – over to
Governor General Ramon Blanco who then appointed Captain Rafael
Dominguez a special Judge Advocate.

The information of charges was later on formally read to Rizal in his

prison cell. He was accused of being “the principal organizer and the
living soul of the Filipino insurrection, the founder of societies, periodicals
and books dedicated to formenting and propagating ideas of rebellion.
“Rizal raised no objections to these charges; however, he pleaded not
guilty to the crime of rebellion.

On 8 December, Dr. Rizal was given the chance to choose only

among army officer from a list that can be his defender or his counsel on
the court or proceedings, he choose the brother of his friend, Lt. Luis
Taviel de Andrade to become his trial lawyer.
Rizal spent his 24 hours in his death cell where he received
members of his family and wrote his letter of farewell, as
labelled for his family and for his friend that he considered as
his second brother, Ferdinand Bluementrit.

On 11 December, inside his prison cell there was a

preliminary trial, Rizal was read the charges against him, as
follows: “principal organizer and the living soul of the Filipino
insurrection, the founder of societies, periodicals and books
dedicated to formenting and propagating the ideas of
rebellion.”
Dr. Rizal, was given a few minutes to rebut on the accusation
or charges read, and replied:

1. He does not question the jurisdiction of the court

2. He has nothing to amend except that during his exile in

Dapitan in 1892, he had not dealt in political matters.

3. He has nothing to admit on the charges against him.

4. He had nothing to admit on the declaration of the

witnesses. He had not met now knew against him.
On the 13 of December, the Governor General Ramon Blanco,
was replaced by Governor General Camilo G. de Polavieja, a
more ruthless character, as Governor General of the Philippines.
Capt. Rafael Dominguez as special judge advocate submitted
the papers of the Rizal case to Malacaňang Palace.

On the 15 of December, Rizal wrote a manifesto in his prison

cell at Fort Santiago appealing to his people to stop the
necessary shedding of blood and to achieve their liberties by
means of education and industry. General de la Peňa, however,
recommended, to the newly installed Governor General Camilo
de Polaviejo, that the manifesto be supressed. Thus, it was new
issued to the people.
Dr. Rizal considered this 25th of December a saddest
Christmas ever, away from family and friends.

On December 26,1896 at the Cuartel de Espaňa, the trial

of Dr. Jose Rizal held in a Spanish military court composed of
alien military officers, Prosecutor Lt. Enrique de Alcocer. The
proscutor Alcocer. Recognized the presence of the witness of
Dr. Jose Rizal, he had given an ample time to prepare and
presented the testimony.
On said hearing, Puio Valenzuela pleaded was granted to
present his testimonies and manifested the following statements:

1. He had not written a letter addressed to the Katipunan

comprising revolutionary element;

2. Without his knowledge, his name was used by the Katipunan; if

he really was guilty, he could have escaped while he was in
singapore;

3. If he was guilty, he should have left the country while in exile.

Moreso, he shouldn’t have built a home, bought a parcel of land
or established a hospital in Dapitan;
4. If he was really the leader of the revolution, the revolutionist
should have consulted him;

5. He did not deny that he wrote the by-laws of bthe La Liga

Filipina, but to make things clear, the organization was a civic
association not a revolutioary society;

6. After the first meeting of La Liga , the association banished

because of his exile in Dapitan, thus, did not last long;

7. If the La Liga wa recognized nine months later, he had no idea

about it;
8. If the La Liga had a revolutionary purpose, then the Katipunan should
have not been organized.

9. If the Spanish authorities found his letters having bitter atmosphere, it was
because in 1890, his family was being persecuted resulting to their
dispossession of properties and deportation of all his brothers-in law;

10. He lived an exemplary life in Dapitan, the politico-military commanders

and missionary priests in the province could attest to that;

11. If according to witnesses the speech he delivered at Doroteo Ongjunco’s

house had inspired in the revolution, then he want to confront these person’s.
If he really was the revolutionist, then why did the Katipunan send n
unfamiliar emissary to him in Dapitan. If is so, because all his friends were
aware that he never advocated violence.
The Prosecutor, made a long summarized speech after the
presentation of the testimony of Valenzuela. In his speech, he
mentioned the charges against Dr. Rizal and urged the court to
give the verdict of life imprisonment-death penalty for sedition
and rebellion, and correctional imprisonment and a fine of 325-
3250 pesetas for illegal association or conspiracy findings.

On the 28 of December, despite all valid pleadings, the military

court, vindictive as it was, unanimously voted for the sentence of
death. Governor General Camilo G. de 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.
Pronouncement and
Journey Toward His
Patriot
Deathbed

The pronouncement of the Governor General Camilo G. de

Polavieja was executory on the basis found during the trial
and presentation of the testimonies. The guardia civil was tasked
to promulgate the imposed the verdict.

The schedules prior to the last journeyof Dr. Rizal’s life, as follows:

29 December, 6:00 AM - Rizal was read his verdict by Captain

Rafael Dominguez: “To be shot the next day at 7:00 AM at the
Luneta de Bagumbayan (Rizal Park).
29 December, 7:00 AM – Rizal was transferred to the chapel
cell. His first visitors were Jesuit priests Fathers Miguel Saderra
Mata and Luis Viza, handed-over a religious images to convince
him to go back to the Catholic fold.

29 December, 7:15 AM – After Fr. Saderra left, Rizal put out a

piece from his pocket a Sacred Heart statute and asked Fr. Viza
to blessed the statute which he had carved when he was an
Ateneo student.

29 December, 8:00 AM – Fr. Viza was relieved by Fr. Antonio

Rosell who joined Rizal for breakfast. Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade
joins them.
29 December, 9:00 AM – Fr. Federico Faura, came and reminisce his
reminder to Dr. Rizal that would lose his head for writing the Noli Me
Tangere. Rizal told him, “Father you are indeed a prophet.”

29 December, 10:00 AM - Father Jose Vilaclara and Estanislao March

visited Rizal, followed by a Spanish journalist, Santiago Mataix of El
Heraldo de Madrid, for an interview.

29 December, 12;00-3:30 – Rizal’s time alone in his cell. He had lunch,

wrote letters and last poem for about 14 stanzas. He used his flowing
handwriting in a very small piece of paper. He hid his writings inside his
alcohol stove. The untitled poem was later known as Mi Ultimo Adios (My
Last Farewell). In its second stanza, he already praised the revolutionaries
in the battlefield for giving their lives “without doubt, without gloom”.
My Last Farewell
(Mi Ultimo Adios)
My last Farewell was Rizal’s last and greatest poem written
before his execution, December 29, 1896, this poem is
considered as a priceless gem of the Philippine literature.

The poem was given by Rizal his sisters at the eve of his
execution. Rizal gave to Trinidad, his sister, the alcohol stove
through the guard , and said, “There is something inside”. The
sisters discovered inside the stove an untitled poem with 14
stanzas. The sister reproduced the poem and sent it to Rizal’s
friend abroad. Later Maraino Dacanay, a filipino priest, entitled
the poem Mi Ultimo Adios and published it in La Independencia
of Antonio Luna on September 25, 1898.
The Mi Ultimo Adios could be the most translated poem in the world.
Presently, it has been translated into 40 languages/dialects. The
languages are: Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese, Czech,
Danish, Dutch, English, Fijian, Filipino,French, German, Greek,
Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hidi, Hungarian, Igbo, Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Javanese, Korean, Latin, Maori, Norwegian, Portuguses,
Romanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Somali, Tahitian, Thai, Tongan, Turkish
Urdu, Vietnamese, Wolof, and Yoruba.

Brief Explanation (My Last farewell)

The poem shows Jose Rizal’s thoughts and sentiments in the

time of trial and execution. The succeeding are the interpretations for
each stanza:
On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,
It is the same if asked by home and Country.

I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show

And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,

My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,
Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient,
Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane
Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.
My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,
Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity!

If over my tomb some day, you would see blow,

A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses,
Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so,
And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow,
Warmth of your breath, a whiff of your tenderness.

Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry,

Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light,
In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh,
And should a bird descend on my cross and alight,
Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site.
Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize
And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky;
Let a friend shed tears over my early demise;
And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high,
Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I.

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,

For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see your own redemption.

And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry

And only the dead to vigil there are left alone,
Don't disturb their repose, don't disturb the mystery:
If you hear the sounds of cittern or psaltery,
It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.
And when my grave by all is no more remembered,
With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:

Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.
My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, hearken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,

Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.
29 December, 4:00 PM – He had a from his family: Dona Teodora
Alonso, mother and followed by his siblings Narcasia, Lucia,
Josefa, Maria and son Mauricio Cruz. Leoncio Lopez Rizal,
Narcisa’s eleven-year-old-son, was not allowed to enter the cell.
Then Rizal’s sister Trinidad entered to get her mother and Rizal
whispered to her in English referring to the old petroleum lamp or
alcohol stove, and said “There is something inside…

Thus is Rizal’s famous farewell poem “Ultimo Adios”, (Last

Farewell) was found. While leaving for their carriages, an official
handed over the alcohol stove to Narcisa. After their visit, Fathers
Vilaclara and March returned to the cell followed by Father Rosell.
29 December, 6:00 PM – Rizal was visited by the Dean of the
Manila Cathedral, Don Silvino Lopez Tuňon. Father March and
Father Vilaclara left Dr. Rizal to be with Don Tunon.

29 December, 8:00 PM – Rizal’s last supper where he informed

Captain Dominguez that he already forgave those who condemned
him.

29 December, 9:30 PM – Rizal was visited by the fiscal of the

Royal Audencia of Manila, Don Gaspar Cestaňo with whom Rizal
offered the best chair of the cell. According to accounts, the fiscal
left with a written “a good impression of Rizal’s intelligence and
noble character.”
30 December, 5:30 AM – According to Lt. Luis Taviel de
Andrade, Dr. Rizal took his last breakfast meal while eating
he threw some eggs in the corner of a cell for the “poor
rats,” “Let them have their fiesta too.” He relates this event to
Narcisa.

30 December, 5:00 AM – Teary-eyed Josephine Bracken

and Josefa Rizal came. According to the testimony of the
agent of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia, Josephine and Rizal were
married. Josephine received a classic book with his
inscribed, “To my dear and unhappy wife, Josephine,
December 30th , 1896, Jose Rizal.” Then, they embraced for
the last time.
30 December, 6:00 AM – Rizal wrote his father, Francisco Mercado “My
beloved Father, Pardon me for the pain with which I repay ypu for sorrows
and sacrifices for my education. I did not want nor did I prefer it. Goodbye,
Father, goodbye… Jose Rizal.” To his mother, he had only these words, “To
my very dear Mother.

30 December, 6:30 AM – Death march from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan

begins. The same place where the three priests had been killed in 1872,
There were 4 soldiers with bayoneted rifles lead the procession followed by
Rizal, Lt. Taviel de Andrade, Fathers Vilaclara and March and other soldiers.

They passed by the Intramuros plaza, then turned right to the Postigo gate
then left at Malecon, the bayside road now kniws as Bonifacio Drive.

The long journey of suffering had ended, when they reached the
Bagumbayan. A place of haven for a convenorof peace and a brilliant Filipino.
Rizal’s Death and
Execution
30 December, 7:00 AM – Rizal, after arriving on the execution site at
the Luneta or Bagumbayan, Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillowas checked his
pulse. It was perfectly normla. Rizal once wrote, “I wish to show those
who deny us patriotism that we know how to die for our duty and our
convictions.” “Preparen.” “Apunten.” Rizal shouted.
“Consummatum est.” It is done.

30 December, 7:03 AM – With the captain shouting “Fuego!” Shouts

rang out from the guns of eight indio soldiers. Rizal, being a convicted
criminal was not facing the firing squad. As he was hit, he resists and
turns himself to face the Spanish authority set up the ceremony like a
fair. And even at the moment of his fall, Rizal turns his body so that he
ends up lying on his back, with his face to the sun.
Hundreds of men and women of the Spanish colony appeared
in their best clothes in order to celebrate the death of their
enemy. Troop units were paraded; a musical band celebrated
the death of Rizal by playing the national anthem continuously.
The firing squad was composed of Filipino soldiers of the
colonial army, but behind them stood a detachment of Spanish
soldiers with muskets leveled at their “Brown comrades” in
case they should refuse to shoot their countryman. The
elegant Spanish ladies wave their handkerchiefs, the
Gentlemen applaud. And while the Filipinos see the execution
in enraged silence, calls of “Viva Espaňa! Muerte a
lostraiddores!” resound tremendously. And he falls down, and
dies facing the sky.
 The Precious
Moment of His Life
The execution of Rizal stirred emotions all over the world. The
newspapers, which otherwise hardly took notice of this distant
country reported about the execution. The international prestige
of the Spanish colonialism, already discredited, suffered a
heavy blow. Indeed in the Philippines itself, the death of the
man, who for millions of people had been the embodiment of
uprightness, of tolerance , of kindness and helpfulness, but
above all of liberalism, of freedom and independence, had the
effect of a beacon. Thousands of those who hesitated, who
were undecided, who were afraid perceived the death of Rizal
as a mute call to join up with the revolutionaries whose ranks
swelled in the weeks and months that followed.
30 December 1896, afternnoon – Narcisa, after a long
search, discovered where her brother’s body was secretly
burried, at the old unused Paco Cemetery. She asked the
guards to place a marble plaque designed by Doroteo
Ongjungco containing Rizal’s initials in reverse – “RPJ.”

The Philippine Government declared December 30 as the

national Hero’s day in the commemorating the heroism of Dr.
Jose Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda.
Long Live Filipinas!!!!