Timeline of Jose Rizal’s Arrest, Trial and Martyrdom (August 1, 1896 to December 30, 1896)

August 1, 1896 He arrived in Dumaguete. He visited his friend and former classmate - Herrero
Regidor. He also visited his other friends, including the Periquet and Rufina
families. The following day he reached Cebu

In Cebu, Rizal was fascinated by the entrance which he considered “beautiful”. He

met an old couple whom he had known in Madrid at the house of Attorney Mateos.
He did two operations of strabotomy – one ears then the other one is tumor.

August 3, 1896 Rizal landed in Iloilo and visited Molo

From Iloilo, Rizal’s ship sailed Capiz. After a brief stopover, it proceeded towards
Manila via Romblon

August 6, 1896 The Espaňa arrived in Manila Bay early in the morning of Thursday,
Unfortunately, Rizal was not able to catch the mail ship Isla de Luzon for Spain

Rizal was transferred to the Spanish cruiser Castilla, by order of Governor General
Blanco. He was given good accommodation by the gallant captain, Enrique
Santalo

Rizal stayed in the cruiser for about a month. From August 6 to September 2

August 26, 1896 the “Cry of Balintawak” was raised by Bonifacio and his valiant Katipuneros

August 30, 1896 revolutionist attacked San Juan

Governor General Blanco proclaimed a state of war in the first eight provinces
(Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac).
Rizal worried for two reasons: 1. The violent revolution which he sincerely
believed to be premature and would only cause much suffering and terrible loss of
human lives and property. 2. It would arouse Spanish vengeance against all
Filipino patriots

August 30, 1896 Rizal received two letters from Governor General Blanco (The Ministers of Wars,
The Ministers of Colonies)

September 2, 1896 Rizal was transferred to the steamer Isla de Panay which was sailing for Barcelona,
Spain.
September 3, 1896 the steamer left Manila Bay

Fellow passengers on board were Don Pedro Roxas (rich Manila creole
industrialist and is friend) and his son named Periquin

Isla de Panay arrived Singapore

He have observed some changes like there are more Chinese merchants and less
Indian

September 7, 1896 Don Pedro and his son disembarked at Singapore in the evening

He advised Rizal to stay behind too and take advantage of the protection of the
British law but Rizal did not heed his advice. He also ignored their appeal because
he had given his word of honor to Governor General Blanco

September 8, 1896 The Isla de Panay left Singapore at 1 pm

September 25, 1896 He saw the steamer Isla de Luzon, leaving the Suez Canal, crammed with Spanish
troops.

September 27, 1896 He heard that a telegram arrived from Manila reporting the execution of Francisco
Roxas, Genato, and Osorio

September 28, 1896 a passenger told Rizal the bad news that he would be arrested by order of Governor
General Blanco and would be sent in Cueta (Spanish Morocco), opposite Gibraltar

September 30, 1896 He was officially notified by Captain Alemany that he should stay in his cabin
until further orders from Manila

The steamer anchored in Malta

October 3, 1896 Isla de Panay arrived in Barcelona. The trip from Manila to Barcelona lasted
exactly 30 days.

His jailor was the Military Commander of Barcelona, who happened to be General
Eulogio Despujol

On his second day in Barcelona, he noticed the city celebration of the feast of St.
Francis of Asisi
October 6, 1896 Rizal was awakened by the guards and escorted to the grim and infamous prison-
fortress named Monjuich

With the same date Rizal was interviewed by General Despujol. In the interview ,
the brusque general told Rizal that he would be shipped back to Manila on board
the trasnport ship Colon which was leaving that evening

October 8, 1896 a friendly officer told Rizal that the Madrid newspaper were full of stories about
the bloody revolution in the Philippines and were blaming him for it

October 11, 1896 before reaching Port Said, Rizal’s diary was taken away and was critically
scrutinized by the authorities, but then nothing dangerous was found in its content

November 2, 1896 the diary was returned to him

November 3, 1896 the Colon reached Manila. Rizal was quietly transferred under the heavy guards
from the ship to Fort Santiago

Spanish authorities fished evidence against Rizal. Many Filipino patriots, including
Deodato Arellano, Dr. Pia Valenzuela, Moises Salvador, Jose Dizon, Domingo
Franco, Temoteo Paez, and Pedro Serrano Laktaw, were brutally tortured to
implicate Rizal.

November 20, 1896 the preliminary investigation began. Rizal, appeared before the Judge Advocate,
Colonel Francisco Olive

Two kinds of evidence were presented: documentary and testimonial

Documentary evidence, as follows:

1. A letter of Antonio Luna to Mariano Ponce, showing Rizal’s connection with

the Filipino reform campaign in Spain

2. A letter of Rizal to his family, stating that the deportations are good for they will
encouraged the people to hate tyranny

3. A letter from Marcelo H. del Pilar to Deodato Arellano, implicating Rizal in the
Propaganda camapaign in Spain

4. A poem entitled Kundiman

5. A letter of Carlos Oliver to an unidentified person, describing Rizal as the man

to free the Philippines from Spanish oppression

6. A Masonic document, honoring Rizal for his patriotic services

 7. A letter signed Dimasalang (Rizal pseudonym) to Tenluz (Juan Zulueta’s
pseudonym), stating that he was preparing a safe refuge for Filipinos who may be
presented by the Spanish authorities

8. A letter of Dimasalang to an unidentified committee, soliciting the aid of the

committee in the “patriotic work”

9. An anonymous and undated letter to the Editor of the Hong Kong Telegraph,
censuring the banishment of Rizal in Dapitan

10. A letter of Ildefonso Laurel to Rizal, saying that the Filipino people look up to
him (Rizal) as their savior

11. A letter to Ildefonso Laurel to Rizal, informing an unidentified correspondent

of the arrest and banishment of Doroteo Cortes and Ambrosio Salvador

12. A letter of Marcelo H. del Pilar to Don Juan A. Tenluz (Juan Zulueta),
recommending the establishment of a special organization, independent of
Masonry, to help the cause of the Filipino people

13. Transcript of a speech of Pingkian (Emilio Jacinto), reunion of the Katipunan

in which the following cry was uttered “Long Live the Philippines! Long live
Liberty! Long live Doctor Rizal! Unity!”

14. Transcript of a speech of Tik-Tik (Jose Turiano Santiago) in the same

Katipunan reunion, where in the katipunerus shouted: Long live the eminent
Doctor Rizal! Death of the oppressor nation!”

15. A poem by Laong Laan (Rizal), entitled A Talisay, in which the author makes
the Dapitan schoolboys sing that they know how to fight for their rights

The testimonial evidence consisted of the oral testimonies of Martin Constantino,

Aguedo del Rosario, Jose Reyes, Moises Salvador, Jose Dizon, Domingo Franco,
Deodato Arellano, Ambrosio Salvador, Pedro Serrano Laktaw, Dr. Pio Valenzuela,
Antonio Salazar, Francisco Quison and Timoteo Paez

November 26, 1896 Colonel Olive transmitted the records of the case to Governor General Blanco, and
the letter appointed Captain Rafael Dominguesz as special Judge Advocate

Immediately, Dominguez made a brief resume and transmitted it to the Judge

Advocate General, Don Nicolas de la Peňa

After Peňa studied the papers, he submitted the following recommendations:

1. The accused be immediately brought to trial

 2. He should be kept in prison

3. An order of attachment be issued his property to the amount of one million

pesos as indemnity

4. He should be defended in court by an army officer, not by a civilian lawyer

December 8, 1896 Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, a list of 100 first and second lieutenants
in the Spanish Army was presented to Rizal

He choose Don Luis Taviel de Andrade, 1st Lt. of the Artillery because the name
was familiar to him and Rizal proved that Lt. Luis is the oldest brother of Jose
Taviel de Andrade his bodyguard in Calamba in 1887

December 11, 1896 the information of charges was formally read.

“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
fomenting and propagating ideas of rebellion”

December 13, 1896 Dominguez forwarded the papers of the Rizal case to Malacaňan Palace, same date
when General Camilio G. de Polavieja, with the help of powerful Dominican
friars, became Governor General of the Philippines

December 15, 1896 Rizal wrote a manifesto to his people appealing to them to stop the necessary
shedding of blood and to achieve their liberties by means of education and industry

Fortunately for Rizal, Judge Advocate General Nicolas de la Peňa recommended to

the Governor General Polavieja that the manifesto be suppressed. Thus Rizal was
“saved from the shame of his manifesto’s being misinterpreted and disobeyed by
the Filipino in arms

December 25, 1896 All Christendom joyously celebrated the birthday of Christ, but Rizal celebrated it
with a dark and cheerless Christmas

Truly, the Christmas of 1896, his last on earth, was the saddest in Rizal’s life

Brooding over his hopeless case, he wrote a letter to Lt. Taviel de Andrade

December 26, 1896 the court-martial of Rizal started in the military building called Cuartel de Espaňa.
Seated in a long table were the seven members of the military court, dressed in
their respective army uniforms, as follows: Lt. Col. Jose Togores Arjona
(president), Capt. Ricardo Muňoz Arias, Capt. Manuel Reguera, Capt. Santiago
Izquierdo Osorio , Capt. Braulio Rodriguez Nuňez, Capt. Manuel Diaz Escribano,
and the Fermin Perez Rodriguez
Also present at the courtroom were Rizal, Lt. Taviel, Capt. Rafael Dominguez
(Judge Advocate), Lt. Enrique de Alcocer (Prosecuting Attorney), and the
spectators. Among the spectator were Josephine Bracken, some newspapermen,
and many Spaniards

The court asked Rizal whether he had anything to say. Rizal then read a
supplement to his defense, by twelve points

1. He could not be guilty of rebellion, for he advised Dr. Pio Valenzuela in Dapitan
not to rise in revolution.

2. He did not correspond with the radical, revolutionary elements

3. The revolutionists used his name without his knowledge. If he were guilty he
could have escaped in Singapore

4. If he had a hand in revolution, he could have escaped in a Moro vinta and would
not have build a home, a hospital, and bought lands in Dapitan.

5. If he were the chief of the revolution, why was he not consulted by the
revolutionists?

6. It was true that he wrote the by-laws of the Liga Filipina, but this is a civic
association – not a revolutionary society

7. The Liga Filipina did not live long, for after the first meeting he was banished to
Dapitan and it died out

8. If the Liga was recognized nine months later, he did not know about it.

9. The Liga did not serve the purpose of the revolutionists, otherwise they would
not have supplanted it with the Katipunan.

10. If it were true that there were some bitter comments in Rizal’s letters, it was
because they were written in 1890 when his family was being persecuted, being
dispossessed of houses, warehouse, lands, etc. and his brother and all his brothers-
in-law were deported.

11. His life in Dapitan had been exemplary as the politico-military commanders
and missionary priests could attest

12. It was not true that the revolution was inspired by his one speech at the house
of Doroteo Ongjunco, as alleged by witnesses whom he would like to comfort. The
military court, prejudiced as it was, remained indifferent to Rizal’s pleading.
 The president considered the trial over and ordered the hall cleared. The military
court unanimously voted for the sentence of death. On the same day, the court
decision was submitted to Gov. Gen. Polavieja, and he immediately sought the
opinion of Judge Advocate General de la Peňa on the court decision. The latter
affirmed the death verdict.

December 28, 1896 Polavieja approved the decision of the court-martial and ordered Rizal to be shot at
7:00 o’clock in the morning of December 30 at Bagumbayan Field (Luneta).

For signing the fatal document ordering the execution of Dr. Rizal, Polavieja won
the eternal odium of the Filipino people.

The death of Rizal will evermore remain as obnoxious villains in Philippine

history.

December 29, 1896 Capt. Rafael Dominguez was designated by Polavieja to take charge of all
arrangements for the execution of Rizal – to be shot at the back by a firing squad at
7 AM in Bagumbayan (Luneta)

At 7:00 AM – an hour after reading the death squad, Rizal was moved to the prison
chapel, where he spent his last moments. First visitors were Fr. Miguel Saddera
Mata (Rector of Ateneo Municipal) and Fr. Luis Viza, Jesuit teacher.

At 7:15 AM – Rector Saderra left. Rizal, in a jovial mood reminded Fr. Viza of the
statuette of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

At 8:00 AM – Fr. Antonio Rosell arrived to relieve Fr. Viza. Rizal invited him to
join the breakfast, which he did. After breakfast, Rizal thanked his defense counsel
for his gallant services

9:00 AM – Fr. Federico Faura arrived. He reminded him about his writing the Noli
that (Rizal) would someday lose his head.

At 10:00 AM – Fr. Jose Vilaclara and Fr. Vicente Balaguer visited the hero. After
them came the Spanish journalist, Santiago Mataix, interviewed Rizal for his
newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid.

From 12:00 AM to 3:30 PM – Rizal was left alone in his cell. He took his lunch,
after which he was busy writing. It was probably during this time when he finished
his farewell poem and hid it inside the his alcohol cooking stove. At the same time
he wrote his last letter to Professor Blumentritt.

At 3:30 PM – Fr. Balaguer returned to Fort Santiago and discussed with Rizal
about his retraction of the anti-Catholic ideas.
 At 4:00 PM – Rizal’s mother arrived. Both mother and son were crying as the
guards separate them. Afterwards Trinidad entered the cell to fetch her mother.
Rizal gave to Trinidad the alcohol cooking, whispering to her in English, “There is
something inside.”

At 6:00 PM – Rizal received a new visitor, Don Silvino Lopez Tuňon, the Dean of
the Manila Cathedral.

At 8:00 PM – Rizal had his last supper. He informed Capt. Dominguez who was
with him that he forgave his enemies.

At 9:30 PM – Rizal was visited by Don Gaspar Cestaňo, the fiscal of the Royal
Audiencia of Manila.

At 10:00 PM – the draft of the retraction sent by the anti- Filipino Archbishop
Bernardino Nozaleda (1890-1903) was submitted by Fr. Balaguer to Rizal for
signature. This document is now a controversial for the Rizalist scholars who are
either Masons or anti-Catholic.

At 5:30 AM – He took his breakfast on earth. After this, he wrote two letters, the
first addressed to his family and the second to Paciano.

December 30, 1896 At 3:00 AM – Rizal heard mass, confessed his sins, and took Holy Communion

At 5:30 AM – Josephine Bracken, accompanied by a sister of Rizal (Josefa),

arrived. Rizal embraced her for the last time and before she left, Rizal gave her last
gift – a religious book, Imitation of Christ by Fr. Thomas a Kempis.

At 6:00 AM – as the soldiers were getting ready, Rizal wrote his last letter to his
beloved parents.

At about 6:30 AM, a trumpet sounded at Fort Santiago, a signal to begin the death
march to Bagumbayan

Rizal walked calmly with his counsel defense on one side and two Jesuit priests
(Fr. March and Fr. Vilaclara) on the other

Rizal was dressed elegantly in a black suit, black derby hat, black shoes, white
shirt and black tie. His arms were tied behind elbow to elbow, but the rope is quiet
lose

They reached the Bagumbayan Field. It was a grassy lawn by the shore of Manila
Bay, between two lamps