Republic of Philippine

City of Olongapo City

Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Republic of the Philippines

City of Olongapo
COMTEQ Computer Business College
COLLEGE OF COMPUTER STUDIES

“DID RIZAL RETRACT”

A Research Paper

Presented to Mr Patrick Sean Pagalan

Researchers

Justin Vrixs Flores

Kurt Jhon Garcia

Kenneth Lopez

Emmanuel Aparis

Adrian Visnjake Amado

Eric Torres

Chris Mervyn Paguio

Elisha Pamesa

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 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to thank the following people, including the institution that helped us made this

research possible to do.

To our readings in the Philippine History instructor, Sir Patrick Sean Pagalan, the researchers would like to

send gratitude for the guidance and supervising the researchers in order for the fulfilment of this study.

Most importantly, an expression and gratitude for the almighty God, who gave the researchers passion and

spirit needed to continue doing this study, would have not been possible.

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 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to discover did Rizal Retract or not, until this day, people are trying to

discover the truth about history thus researching about issues. Refraction of Rizal would be possible? Even there

are some evidence that retraction letter was signed together with Dr. Rizal.

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 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Archive - is an accumulation of historical records or the physical place they are located.

Archbishop - In Christianity, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In some cases, like the Lutheran

Church of Sweden.

Catholic - relating to, or forming the ancient undivided Christian church or a church claiming historical continuity

from it.

Colonial-relating to, possessing, or inhabiting a colony or colonies.

Controversy - is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion

or point of view.

Execution-the act of killing someone especially as punishment.

Imitation - is an advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates another's behavior.

Martyr-a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a

religion.

Nationalism - is an ideology and movement characterized by the promotion of the interests of a particular nation.

Newspaper - a newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is
often typed in black ink with a white or gray background

Retraction- to say publicly that you will not do something you had said you would do, or to admit that something

that you had said was true is false.

Revolution- is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which

occurs when the population revolt against the government.

pg. 4
 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Acknowledgement……………………………………………………………………………………………2
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………………………………………...4
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………………………….....5

II. COLLECTING DATA…………………………………………………………………………………..6

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………… ….....6
Data Gathered………………………………………………………………………………………………...7

III. ANALYZING DATA…………………………………………………………………………………...9

Interpretation of Findings…………………………………………………………………………………… 9
Summary………………………………………………………….…………………………………………..9
Reference ……………………………………………………………………………………………………10

pg. 5
 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER II

INTRODUCTION

One of the most intriguing of all was the issues of Jose Rizal was his alleged retraction which was all about

his reversion to the Catholic Faith and all other issues linked to it such as his marriage to Josephine Bracken. That

issue was claimed to be true by the Roman Catholic defenders but asserted to be deceptive by anti-retractonists.

They claim that the retraction document is a forgery, but handwriting experts concluded a long time ago that it is

genuine.

Rizal was arrested by the Spanish authorities on several grounds, including founding a society, publishing

books and newspapers that spread rebellious and seditious ideas to the public, possessing a bundle of handbills that

violated the Spanish orders, criticizing the religion spread by the Spaniards and spreading filibusterism in the

Philippines.

Jose Rizal’s greatest impact on the development of a Filipino national consciousness, however, was his

publication of two novels--Noli Me Tangere (Touch me not) in 1886 and El Filibusterismo (The reign of greed) in

1891. Reasons why Rizal wrote the Noli Me Tangere The reader's get acquainted with the social forces which

opposes each other, thus preventing the realization of Rizal's aspiration for the Filipinos to regain their human

rights, especially human dignity, justice and freedom.

Even though Rizal was sent to Dapitan as a prisoner, his years of stay in the province served as one of the

most fruitful periods of his career as a doctor, agriculturist, businessman, engineer, teacher, scientist and linguist.

He used his remaining days in Dapitan to improve his literary and artistic skills. It was also in Dapitan that Rizal

met and married Josephine Bracken, the daughter of a retired Hong Kong engineer. The two had one son, who died

shortly after birth.

pg. 6
 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

DATA GATHERED

 On May 18, 1935, the lost "original" document of Rizal’s retraction was discovered by the archdeocean

archivist Fr. Manuel Garcia, C.M.

 Instead of ending doubts about Rizal’s retraction, has in fact encouraged it because the newly discovered

text retraction differs significantly from the text found in the Jesuits ’and the Archbishop’s copies.

 The fact that the texts of the retraction which appeared in the Manila newspapers could be shown to be the

exact copies of the "original" but only imitations of it.

 The friars who controlled the press in Manila (for example, La Voz Española) had the "original" while the

Jesuits had only the imitations.

Significant differences between the "original" and the Manila newspapers texts of the retraction on the one

hand and the text s of the copies of Fr. Balaguer and Fr. Pio Pi on the other hand.

1. Instead of the words "mi cualidad" (with "u") which appear in the original and the newspaper texts, the

Jesuits’ copies have "mi calidad" (with "u").

2. The Jesuits’ copies of the retraction omit the word "Catolica" after the first "Iglesias" which are found in the

original and the newspaper texts.

3. The Jesuits’ copies of the retraction add before the third "Iglesias" the word "misma" which is not found in

the original and the newspaper texts of the retraction.

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 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

4. With regards to paragraphing which immediately strikes the eye of the critical reader, Fr. Balaguer’s text

does not begin the second paragraph until the fifth sentences while the original and the newspaper copies

start the second paragraph immediately with the second sentences.

5. Whereas the texts of the retraction in the original and in the manila newspapers have only four commas, the

text of Fr. Balaguer’s copy has eleven commas.

6. The most important of all, Fr. Balaguer’s copy did not have the names of the witnesses from the texts of the

newspapers in Manila.

Controversy

 Fr. Balaguer said "this retraction was signed together with Dr. Rizal by Señor Fresno, Chief of the Picket,

and Señor Moure, Adjutant of the Plaza."

 Fr. Balaguer said that he had the "exact" copy of the retraction, which was signed by Rizal, but his made no

mention of the witnesses. In his accounts too, no witnesses signed the retraction.

 Fr. Balaguer also said “I preserved in my keeping and am sending to you the original texts of the two

formulas of retraction, which they (You) gave me; that from you and that of the Archbishop, and the first

with the changes which they (that is, you) made; and the other the exact copy of the retraction written and

signed by Rizal. The handwriting of this copy I don’t know nor do I remember whose it is, and I even

suspect that it might have been written by Rizal himself.”

pg. 8
 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

CHAPTER III

INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS

Basing from the collected data, most of the data bases in the statement of Fr. Balaguer. He said that retraction

was signed together with Dr. Rizal but his made no mention of the witnesses. In his accounts too, no witnesses

signed the retraction. There aren’t enough evidences to support the claim that the letter is true.

Some of those who argues that Rizal never retracted argued that they believed so as Rizal would not benefit

anything from it even he changed his mind set by the last hours of his life! According to them, Rizal would still be

executed even though he retracted, which means if Rizal was scared to die by that time, Rizal known to be an

intelligent man knows that he would gain nothing even if he retracted so the probability of the retraction to exist

would be impossible.

SUMMARY

Retraction regarding a letter made by Rizal confirming that he is a Catholic and reading everything he said

against the church. Although the letter was found that in 1935, the document was still in controversy due to the

eyewitness Padre Vicente Balague.

Fr. Balaguer said that he received two original texts of the retraction. The first, which came from Fr. Pi,

contained "the changes which you (Fr. Pi) made"; the other, which is "that of the Archbishop" was "the exact copy

of the retraction written and signed by Rizal" (underscoring supplied). Fr. Balaguer said that the "exact copy" was
pg. 9
 Republic of Philippine
City of Olongapo City
Comteq Computer Business & College
4/F Savers Bldg. #1200 Rival Ave. East Tapinac Olongapo City
_____________________________________________________________________________________

"written and signed by Rizal" but he did not say "written and signed by Rizal and himself" (the absence of the

reflexive pronoun "himself" could mean that another person-the copyist-did not). He only "suspected" that "Rizal

himself" much as Fr. Balaguer did "not know nor ... remember" whose handwriting it was.

There aren’t enough evidences to support the claim that the “text of retraction “is true. This can only

be proven, if there is still an eyewitness that may prove that the retraction of Padre Vicente Balaguer is true.

REFERENCE

Internet

http://www.joserizal.ph/rt03.html

https://hanbadilles.blogspot.com/2013/09/controversial-issue-retraction-of-rizal.html

http://nhcp.gov.ph/the-rizal-retraction-and-other-cases/

https://www.coursehero.com/file/13312664/Analysis-of-Rizals-Retraction/

https://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/01/15/rizal-and-federalism/

http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6a/entry-3839.html

http://countrystudies.us/philippines/10.htm

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