CHAPTER II

Life, Travels, and Adventures

Rizal’s Early Travels, and

Undertakings

Jose Rizal: The Adventurous Voyager

HE DID GO PLACES!

Jose Rizal’s thrilling experience during his first lake-and-river voyage perhaps
inspired him to travel more.
          Riding in a ‘casco’, Jose temporarily left his hometown Calamba on June 6,
1868. He and his father went on a pilgrimage to Antipolo and afterward visited his
sister Saturnina in Manila, who was at the time a student at La Concordia. Across
Laguna de Bay and the Pasig River, Jose had an unforgettably amazing trip that he
did not fail to record the journey in his memoir.

In Biñan and Manila

A year after, Paciano brought Jose to the nearby town Biñan to attend the school of
Maestro Justiniano Aquino Cruz. Except for occasional homecomings, he stayed in
the town for a year and a half of schooling, living in an aunt’s house where his
breakfasts generally consisted of a plate of rice and two dried sardines (‘tuyo’).

Don Francisco sent Jose to Manila in June 1872 to enroll in Ateneo Municipal.
Paciano found Jose a boarding house in Intramuros though Jose later transferred to a
house on Calle Carballo in Santa Cruz area. The following year, Jose transferred
residence to No. 6 Calle Magallanes. Two years after, he became an intern (boarding
student) in Ateneo and stayed there until his graduation in the institution.

From 1877 to 1882, Rizal studied in the University of Santo Tomas, enrolling in the
course on Philosophy in Letters, but shifted to Medicine a year after. During his first
year in UST, he simultaneously took in Ateneo a vocational course leading to being an
expert surveyor. He boarded in the house of a certain Concha Leyva in Intramuros,
and later in “Casa Tomasina,” at Calle 6, Santo Tomas, Intramuros. In ‘Casa
Tomasina’, his landlord-uncle Antonio Rivera had a daughter, Leonor, who became
Jose’s sweetheart.

In Europe

Sick and tired of the discriminatory and oppressive Dominican professors, Rizal
stopped attending classes at UST in 1882. On May 3 of that year, he left for Spain to
complete his studies and widen his political knowledge through exposure to
European governments. It’s funny that his departure for Spain had gone down to
history as a ‘secret departure’ although at least ten sure people—including his three
siblings and an uncle—collaborated in his going away, exclusive of the unnamed and
unnumbered ‘Jesuit priests’ and ‘intimate friends’ who co-conspired in the plan.

On his way to Madrid, Rizal had many stopovers. He first disembarked and visited

the town of Singapore. Onboard the steamship ‘Djemnah’ he passed through Punta
de Gales, Colombo, and Aden. En route to Marseilles, he also went across the historic
waterway of Suez Canal and visited the Italian city of Naples. He left Marseilles,
France for Barcelona in an express train.
After some months, Rizal left Barcelona for Madrid and enrolled in Medicine and
Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Central de Madrid on November 3, 1882.
In Rizal’s letter dated February 13, 1883, he informed Paciano of his meeting with
other Filipinos: “The Tuesday of the Carnival we had a Filipino luncheon and dinner
in the house of the Paternos, each one contributing one ‘duro’. We ate with our
hands, boiled rice, chicken adobo, fried fish and roast pig.”

Ironically, a year after that sumptuous

feasting, Rizal became penniless as his family encountered economic regression. One
day in June 1884, Rizal who failed to eat breakfast still went to school and even won a
gold medal in a contest. At night, he attended the feast held in honor of two award-
winning Filipino painters, Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. In the
occasion, he delivered a daring liberal speech which became so controversial that it
even caused sickness to his worrying mother. Perhaps, being broke and hungry could
really make one braver and more impulsive. As one student commented, “Hayop
man, ‘pag gutom, tumatapang.” 

In 1885, Rizal who had finished his two courses in Madrid went to Paris, France.
From November 1885 to February 1886, he worked as an assistant tothe celebrated
ophthalmologistDr. Louis de Weckert.

In February 3, 1886, he left Paris for Heidelberg, Germany. He attended lectures and
training at the University of Heidelberg where he is said to have completed his eye
specialization.Afterward, Rizal settled for three months in the nearby village,
Wilhemsfeld, at the pastoral house of a Protestant pastor, Dr. Karl Ullmer. It was also
during this time that the correspondence and long-distance friendship between Jose
and Ferdinand Blumentritt began. Rizal wrote a letter in German and sent it with a
bilingual (Spanish and Tagalog) book ‘Aritmiteca’ to Blumentritt who was interested
in studying Jose’s native language.

Jose traveled next to Leipzig and attended some lectures at its university. Having
reached Dresden afterward, he met and befriended Dr. Adolph B. Meyer, the Director
of the Anthropological and Ethnological Museum. Also a Filipinologist, Meyer
showed Rizal some interesting things taken from tombs in the Philippines.

In November 1886, he went to Berlin and further enhanced his skills and knowledge
in ophthalmology. In that famous city, not only did he learn other languages but also
became member of various scientific communities and befriended many famed
intellectuals at the time. On February 21, 1887, he finished his first novel and it came
off the press a month later.

Grand Europe Tour

With his friend Maximo Viola who loaned him some amount to cover for the printing
of the ‘Noli’, Rizal traveled to various places in Europe. Through Paciano’s
remittance, Jose had paid Viola and decided to further explore some places in Europe
before returning to the Philippines. They went first to see Potsdam, a city southwest
of Berlin which became the site of the Potsdam Conference (1945) at which the
leaders of powerful nations deliberated upon the postwar administration of Germany.

On May 11, 1887, they left Berlin for Dresden and witnessed the regional floral
exposition there. Wanting to visit Blumentritt, they went to Leitmeritz, Bohemia
passing through Teschen (Decin, Czechoslovakia). Professor Blumentritt warmly
received them at Leitmeritz railroad station. The professor identified them through
the pencil sketch which Rizal had previously made of himself and sent to his
European friend. Blumentritt acted as their tour guide, introducing them to his
family and to famous European scientists like Dr. Carlos Czepelak and Prof. Robert
Klutschak.

On May 16, the two Filipinos left Leitmeritz for Prague where they saw the tomb of
the famous astronomer Copernicus. They stopped at Brunn on their way to Vienna.
They met the famed Austrian novelist Norfenfals in Vienna, and Rizal was
interviewed by Mr. Alder, a newspaper correspondent. To see the sights of the
Danube River, they left Vienna on a boat where they saw passengers using paper
napkins. From Lintz, they had a short stay in Salzburg. Reaching Munich, they tasted
the local beer advertised as Germany’s finest. In Nuremberg, they saw the infamous
torture machines used in the so-called Catholic Inquisition. Afterward, they went to
Ulm and climbed Germany’s tallest cathedral there. They also went to Sttutgart,
Baden, and then Rheinfall where they saw Europe’s most beautiful waterfall.

In Switzerland, they toured Schaffhausen, Basel, Bern, and Lausanne before staying
in Geneva. Rizal’s 15-day stay in Geneva was generally enjoyable except when he
learned about the exhibition of some Igorots in Madrid, side by side some animals
and plants. Not only did the primitive Igorots in ‘bahag’ become objects of ridicule
and laughter, one of them (a woman) also died of pneumonia.

On June 19, 1887, Rizal treated Viola for it was his 26 th birthday. Four days after, they
parted ways—Viola went back to Barcelona while Rizal proceeded to Italy. In Italy,
Rizal went to see Turin, Milan, Venice, and Florence. In Rome, he paid a visit to the
historical places like the Amphitheatre and the Roman Forum. On June 29, he had
seen the glorious edifices, like the St. Peter’s Church, in the Vatican City. Literally and
figuratively speaking, Rizal did go places. As a co-professor commented, “Nag-gala
talaga ang lolo mo!” 

First homecoming

Despite being warned by friends and loved ones, Jose was adamant in his decision to
return to his native land. From a French port Marseilles, he boarded on July 3 the
steamer ‘Djemnah’ which sailed to the East through the Suez Canal and
reached Saigon on the 30th of the month. He then took the steamer ‘Haiphong’ and
reached Manila near midnight of August 5.

After meeting some friends in Manila, he returned to Calamba on August 8.

Restoring his mother’s eyesight, he began to be dubbed as “German doctor” or
“Doctor Uliman” (from the word ‘Aleman’ which means German) and made a lot of
money because people from different places flocked him for a better vision. Because
of his enemies’ allegation that ‘Noli’ contained subversive ideas, Rizal was summoned
by the Governor General Emilio Terrero. Seeing no problem in the book, Terrero
nonetheless assigned to Rizal a body guard, Don Jose Taviel de Andrade, to protect
the ‘balikbayan’ from his adversaries.

In December 1887, the Calamba folks asked Rizal’s assistance in collecting

information as regards Dominican hacienda management. It was in compliance to
the order of the government to investigate the way friar estates were run. So Rizal
had reported, among others, that the Dominican Order had arbitrarily increased the
land rent and charged the tenants for nonexistent agricultural services. The enraged
friars pressured the governor general to ‘advise’ the author of the ‘Noli’ to leave the
country. (In other words, “napuno na talaga sa kanya ang nga pari”)

Second Travel Abroad

What Rizal failed to accomplish in his six-month stay in the country was visiting his
girlfriend Leonor Rivera in Pangasinan. His father strongly opposed the idea, sensing
that the visit would put Leonor’s family in jeopardy.
On February 3, 1888, Rizal sailed to Hongkong onboard ‘Zafiro’ and just stayed
inside the ship during its short stop at Amoy. He stayed at Victoria Hotel in
Hongkong (not in Sta. Mesa) and visited the nearby city Macao for two days along
with a friend, Jose Maria Basa. Among other things, Rizal experienced in Hong Kong
the noisy firecracker-laden Chinese New Year and the marathon lauriat party
characterized by numerous dishes being served. (The ‘lauriat’ combo meal in
‘Chowking’ originated from this Chinese party.)

From Hong Kong, he reached Yokohama, Japan on February 28 and proceeded to

Tokyo the next day. He lived in the Spanish legation in Tokyo upon the invitation of
its secretary, Juan Perez Caballero. In March 1888, he heard a Tokyo band nicely
playing a European music and was astonished to find out after the gig that some of its
members were Filipinos (Zaide & Zaide, p. 130). We can surmise from this that even
during Rizal’s time, some Filipinos were already entertainers in Japan (‘Japayuki’ or
‘Japayuko’).

But if there were a person who was truly entertained at the time, it was Rizal himself
who was amused by the Japanese girl who used to pass by the legation everyday. The
23-year old Seiko Usui whom he fondly called ‘O-Sei-San’became his tour guide and
sweetheart rolled into one.

Sail to the West

Because he loved his mission more than O-Sei-San, he boarded the ‘Belgic’ on April
13, 1888. In the vessel, he had befriended Tetcho Suehiro, a Japanese novelist and
human rights fighter who was also forced by his government to leave his country. The
ship arrived in San Francisco on April 28. For a week, they were however
quarantined, allegedly because of the cholera outbreak in the Far East. In reality,
some politicians were just questioning the arrival of the Chinese coolies in the ship
who would displace white laborers in railroad construction projects.

On May 6, he went to Oakland. Onboard a train, he took his evening meal at

Sacramento and woke up at Reno, Nevada. He had visited also the states of Utah,
Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, and finally reached New York on May 13. On Bedloe
Island, he had seen the Statue of Liberty symbolizing freedom and
democracy. Inconsistently, Rizal observed that there was racial inequality in the land
and real freedom was only for the whites. But if Rizal were alive today, he would be
surprised that the Americans have already allowed a black guy to become their
president for two terms.

In Great Britain

On May 16, 1888 on the ship ‘City of Rome’ Rizal sailed for Liverpool and arrived on
May 24. A day after, he reached London and stayed briefly at Dr. Antonio Ma.
Regidor's home. He then boarded at the Beckett family where he fell in love
with Gertrude, the oldest daughter of his landlord.

In June 1888, Rizal made friends with Dr. Reinhold Rost and his family. Expert in
Malayan language, Rost had in his house a good Filipiniana library. Our national
hero was described by Rost as “a pearl of a man” (‘una perla de hombre’).

In London, Rizal manually copied and annotated Morga’s ‘Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas’, a rare book available in the British Museum. He also became the honorary
president ofthe patriotic society Asociacion La Solidaridad (Solidaridad Association)
and wrote articles for the ‘La Solidaridad’. In his 10-month stay in London, he had
short visits in Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona. In Spain, he met Marcelo H. del Pilar for
the first time.

In France

Leaving London for good, he went to Paris in March 1889. He shortly lived in the
house of a friend, Valentin Ventura before transferring in a little room where e had as
roommates two Filipinos, one of which was Jose Albert, a student from Manila. In
Paris, Rizal frequented the Bibliotheque Nationale, working on his annotation of the
‘Sucesos’.

He spent his spare hours in the houses of friends like Juan Luna and his wife Paz
Pardo de Tavera. Rizal witnessed the Universal Exposition of Paris, having as its
greatest attraction the Eiffel Tower.He formed the ‘Kidlat Club’, a temporary social
club which brought together Filipinos witnessing the exposition. He also organized
the ‘Indios Bravos’, an association which envisioned Filipinos being recognized for
being admirable in many fields, and the mysterious Redencion de los
Malayos (Redemption of the Malays) which aimed to propagate useful knowledge. In
Paris, Rizal also finished and published his annotation of the ‘Sucesos.’

In Belgium

After celebrating the Yuletide season in Paris in 1889, Rizal shortly visited London for
the last time. With Jose Albert, Rizal left Paris for Brussels on January 28, 1890. The
two stayed in a boarding house administered by the Jacoby sisters (Suzanne and
Marie) where Rizal met and had a transitory affair with Petite, the niece of his
landladies.

In Belgium, Rizal busied himself with writing the ‘Fili’ and contributing for La
Solidaridad using the pen names Dimas Alang and Laong Laan. When he heard the
news that the Calamba agrarian trouble was getting worse, Rizal decided to go home.
But Paciano told him through a letter that they lost the court case against
the Dominicans in the Philippines and they intended to bring the case to Madrid.
This prompted Jose to go to Madrid instead to look for a lawyer and influential
people who would defend the Calamba tenants.

In Madrid

Rizal traveled to Madrid in August 1890. Along with his lawyer, Marcelo H. Del Pilar,
he tried to seek justice for his family but could not find anyone who could help him.  

          Rizal encountered many adversities and tribulations in Madrid. He heard that

his family was forced to leave their land in Calamba and some family members were
even deported to far places. One day, Rizal challenged his friend Antonio Luna to a
duel when he (Luna), being unsuccessful in seeking Nellie Boustead’s love, gave
negative comments on the lady. Rizal also dared to a duel Wenceslao Retana of the
anti-Filipino newspaper ‘La Epoca’ who wrote that Rizal’s family did not pay their
land rent. Both duels were fortunately aborted—Luna became Rizal’s good friend
again and Retana even became rizal’s first non-Filipino biographer.

In Madrid, Rizal also heard the news of Leonor Rivera's marriage with an
Englishman Henry Kipping who was the choice of Leonor’s mother. As if
‘misfortunes’ were not enough, there emerged the Del Pilar-Rizal rivalry for
leadership in the Asociacion Hispano Filipino. The supposedly healthy election for a
leader (‘Responsible’) produced divisive unpleasant split among the Filipinos in
Madrid (the Rizalistas vs. the Pilaristas). Rizal thus decided to leave Madrid, lest his
presence results in more serious faction among Filipinos in Madrid.  

In Biarritz, Paris, and Brussels

Rizal proceeded to take a more than a month vacation in Biarritz, a tourist town in
southwestern France noted for its mild climate and sand beaches. Arriving there in
February 1891, Rizal was welcomed as a family guest in the house of the Bousteds,
especially by Nellie whom he had a serious (but failed) romantic relationship.

            In Biarritz, he continued to worked on his ‘El Fili’ and completed its
manuscript on March 29, the eve of his departure for Paris. Valentin Ventura hosted
his short stay in Paris, and the Jacobies, especially Petite Suzanne, cordially
welcomed his arrival in Brussels in April 1891. In Brussels, Rizal revised and
prepared for printing his second novel until the end of May. By June 1891, he was
already looking for a printing firm to print the ‘El Filibusterismo.’

In Ghent

Rizal went to Ghent in July 1891 because the cost of printing in the place was
cheaper. He lived in a low-cost boarding house where he had as roommate Jose
Alejandro, an engineering student in the University of Ghent. Tightening their belts,
they rented a room exclusive of breakfast. They bought a box of biscuit, counted the
contents, and computed for their daily ration for a month. In just 15 days, Alejandro
had eaten up all his shares whereas Rizal frugally limited himself to his daily
allocation.

            The publisher F. Meyer-Van Loo Press, No. 66 Viaanderen Street agreed to
print the ‘El Fili’ on installment basis. Despite pawning all his jewels and living
tightfistedly, Rizal run out of funds and the printing had to be suspended on August
6. But through Valentin Ventura’s ‘salvific’ act, the ‘El Filibusterismo’ came off the
press on September 18, 1891. Two weeks after, he visited Paris for the last time to bid
goodbye to his friends and compatriots.

In Hong Kong and Sandakan

In October 1891, Rizal left Europe for Hong Kong onboard the ship ‘Melbourne’ on
which he began writing his third (but unfinished) novel. He arrived in Hong Kong on
November 20 and resided at No. 5 D’ Aguilar Street, No. 2 Rednaxela Terrace. (In
case you did not notice, ‘Rednaxela’ is ‘Alexander’ spelled reversely).

            Having escaped the friars’ persecution, Don Francisco, Paciano, and Silvestre
Ubaldo (Jose’s brother-in-law) also arrived in Hong Kong. Shortly after, Doña
Teodora and children Lucia, Josefa, and Trinidad also came, and the Rizal family had
a sort of family reunion in the Yuletide season of 1891.

           In Hong Kong, Jose opened a medical clinic. A Portuguese friend, Dr. Lorenzo
P. Marques helped him to have plentiful patrons of various nationalities. His
successful operation on his mother’s left eye allowed her to read again.

In March 1892, he went to Sandakan (East Malaysia) aboard ‘Menon’ to negotiate

with British authorities concerning the founding of a Filipino colony in North Borneo
(now called Sabah). On March 21, Rizal asked Governor General Eulogio Despujol
through a letter to allow the landless Filipinos, especially the deported Calamba
tenants, to establish themselves in North Borneo. Rizal was back in Hon Kong in
April, 1892.

Second homecoming

Wanting to confer with Despujol concerning his North Borneo colonization project,
Rizal left Hong Kong on June 21, 1892 along with his sister Lucia. Without his
knowledge, the Spanish consul in Hong Kong sent a cablegram to Despujol stating
figuratively that “the rat is in the trap”. A secret case against Rizal was thus filed in
Manila for anti-religious and anti-patriotic public campaign.
            Rizal and his sister arrived in Manila at 12:00 noon of June 26, 1892. At 7 pm,
he was able to confer in Malacañan with Despujol who agreed to pardon his father
and told him to return on June 29. He then visited sisters and friends in Manila. 

            On June 27, he took a train and visited his friends in Central Luzon. He had a
stopover at the Bautista mansion in Malolos, Bulacan and spent the night in the
house of Evaristo Puno in Tarlac, Tarlac, about 30 kilometers away from the
residence of Leonor Rivera-Kipping in Camiling. He also went to San Fernando and
Bacolor, Pampanga and returned to Manila on June 28, at 5 pm. On June 29, 30, and
July 3, he had other interviews with Despujol. The colonization project was rejected
though Rizal’s request to lift the exile of his sisters was granted.

            On the evening of July 3, Rizal spearheaded the meeting in the house of
Doroteo Ongjunco on Ylaya Street, Tondo, Manila of  at least 20 Filipinos, including
Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini. Rizal explained the aims of the civic
association ‘La Liga Filipina’. Officers were then elected, having Ambrosio Salvador
as the president, thereby officially establishing the league.

            Just three days after though, Rizal was arrested during his interview with the
governor general. Despujol showed him anti-friar leaflets ‘Pobres Frailes’ (Poor
Friars) allegedly discovered in his sister Lucia’s pillow cases. Imprisoned in Fort
Santiago for almost ten days, Rizal was brought at 12:30 am on July 14 to the steamer
‘Cebu’. Passing through Mindoro and Panay, the vessel docked at Dapitan in
Zamboanga del Norte on the evening of July 17. True, Dapitan is a scenic place with
fine beaches, perhaps a soothing place for a ‘balik-bayan’ like Rizal. But Jose was not
there as a tourist or a vacationer—he was an exile. The ship captain Delgras handed
him over to the local Spanish commandant, Ricardo Carnicero and that signaled the
start of Rizal’s life as a deportee in Dapitan. (© 2013 by Jensen DG. Mañebog)

Jose Rizal's Bitter Sweet Life in

Dapitan
THE DEPORTEE could have stayed in the Dapitan parish convent should he
retracted his ‘religious errors’ and made a general confession of his past life. Not
willing to accede to these main conditions set by the Jesuits, Jose Rizal instead opted
to live at commandant’s residence they called ‘Casa Real’.

The commandant Captain Ricardo Carnicero and Jose Rizal became good friends so
much so that the exile did not feel that the captain was actually his guard. Later in his
life in Dapitan, Rizal wrote a poem ‘A Don Ricardo Carnicero’ honoring the kind
commandant on the occasion of his birthday on August 26, 1892.

In September 1892, Rizal and Carnicero won in a lottery. The Manila Lottery ticket
no. 9736 jointly owned by Rizal, Carnicero, and a Spanish resident of Dipolog won
the second prize of Php 20, 0000. Rizal used some part of his share (Php 6, 200) in
procuring a parcel of land near the coast of Talisay, a barrio near Dapitan.

On a property of more than 10 hectares, he put up three houses made of bamboo,

wood, and nipa. He lived in the house which was square in shape. Another house,
which was hexagonal, was the barn where Rizal kept his chickens. In his octagonal
house lived some of his pupils—for Rizal also established a school, teaching young
boys practical subjects like reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and Spanish and
English languages. Later, he constructed additional huts to accommodate his
recovering out-of-town patients.

Daily life as an exile

During his exile, Rizal practiced medicine, taught some pupils, and engaged in
farming and horticulture. He grew many fruit trees (like coconut, mango, lanzones,
makopa, santol, mangosteen, jackfruit, guayabanos, baluno, and nanka) and
domesticated some animals (like rabbits, dogs, cats, and chickens). The school he
founded in 1893 started with only three pupils, and had about more than 20 students
at the time his exile ended.

          Rizal would rise at five in the morning to see his plants, feed his animals, and
prepare breakfast. Having taken his morning meal, he would treat the patients who
had come to his house. Paddling his boat called ‘baroto’ (he had two of them), he
would then proceed to Dapitan town to attend to his other patients there the whole
morning.

Rizal would return to Talisay to take his lunch. Teaching his pupils would begin at
about 2 pm and would end at 4 or 5 in the afternoon. With the help of his pupils,
Rizal would spend the rest of the afternoon in farming—planting trees, watering the
plants, and pruning the fruits. Rizal then would spend the night reading and writing.
Rizal and the Jesuits

The first attempt by the Jesuit friars to win back the deported Rizal to the Catholic
fold was the offer for him to live in the Dapitan convent under some conditions.
Refusing to compromise, Rizal did not stay with the parish priest Antonio Obach in
the Church convent.

          Just a month after Rizal was deported to Dapitan, the Jesuit Order assigned to
Dapitan the priest Francisco de Paula Sanchez, Rizal’s favorite teacher in Ateneo.
Many times, they engaged in cordial religious discussions. But though Rizal
appreciated his mentor’s effort, he could not be convinced to change his mind.
Nevertheless, their differences in belief did not get in the way of their good
friendship.

          The priest Pablo Pastells, superior of the Jesuit Society in the Philippines, also
made some attempts by correspondence to win over to Catholicism the exiled
physician. Four times they exchanged letters from September 1892 to April 1893. The
debate was none less than scholarly and it manifested Rizal’s knowledge of the Holy
Scriptures for he quoted verses from it. Though Rizal consistently attended mass in
Dapitan, he refused to espouse the conventional type of Catholicism.

Achievements in Dapitan

Rizal provided significant community services in Dapitan like improving the town’s
drainage and constructing better water system using empty bottles and bamboo
joints. He also taught the town folks about health and sanitation so as to avoid the
spread of diseases. With his Jesuit priest friend Sanchez, Rizal made a huge relief
map of Mindanao in Dapitan plaza. Also, he bettered their forest by providing evident
trails, stairs, and some benches. He invented a wooden machine for mass production
of bricks. Using the bricks he produced, Rizal built a water dam for the community
with the help of his students.

          As the town’s doctor, Rizal equally treated all patients regardless of their
economic and social status. He accepted as ‘fees’ things like poultry and crops, and at
times, even gave his services to poor folks for free. His specialization was
ophthalmology but he also offered treatments to almost all kinds of diseases like
fever, sprain, broken bones, typhoid, and hernia.

          Rizal also helped in the livelihood of the abaca farmers in Dapitan by trading
their crops in Manila. He also gave them lessons in abaca-weaving to produce
hammocks. Noticing that the fishing method by the locals was inefficient, he taught
them better techniques like weaving and using better fishing nets.

As a scientist and philologist

Aside from doing archaeological excavations, Rizal inspected Dapitan’s rich flora and
fauna, providing a sort of taxonomy to numerous kinds of forest and sea creatures.
From his laboratory and herbarium, he sent various biological specimens to scientists
in Europe like his dear friend Doctor Adolph B. Meyer in Dresden. In return, the
European scholars sent him books and other academic reading materials.

          From the collections he sent to European scholars, at least three species were
named after him: a Dapitan frog (‘Rhacophorus rizali’), a type of beetle (‘Apogonia
rizali’), and a flying dragon (Draco rizali).

          Having learned the Visayan language, he also engaged himself in the study of
language, culture, and literature. He examined local folklores, customs, Tagalog
grammar, and the Malay language. His intellectual products about these subjects, he
related to some European academicians like Doctor Reinhold Rost, his close
philologist friend in London ... (continue reading)

 Goodbye Dapitan

In 1895, Blumentritt informed Rizal that the revolution-ridden Cuba, another nation
colonized by Spain, was raged by yellow fever epidemic. Because there was a shortage
of physicians to attend to war victims and disease-stricken people, Rizal in December
1895 wrote to the then Governor General Ramon Blanco, volunteering to provide
medical services in Cuba. Receiving no reply from Blanco, Rizal lost interest in his
request.

            But on July 30, 1896, Rizal received a letter from the governor general
sanctioning his petition to serve as volunteer physician in Cuba. Rizal made
immediate preparations to leave, selling and giving as souvenirs to friends and
students his various properties.

          In the late afternoon of July 31, Rizal got on the ‘España’ with Josephine,
Narcisa, a niece, three nephews, and three of his students. Many Dapitan folks,
especially Rizal’s students, came to see their beloved doctor for the last time.
Cordially bidding him goodbye, they shouted “Adios, Dr. Rizal!” and some of his
students even cried. With sorrowing heart, He waved his hand in farewell to the
generous and loving Dapitan folks, saying, “Adios, Dapitan!”

          The steamer departed for Manila at midnight of July 31, 1896. With tears in his
eyes, Rizal later wrote in his diary onboard the ship, “I have been in that district four
years, thirteen days, and a few hours.” (© 2013 by Jensen DG. Mañebog)

JOSE RIZAL: From Dapitan to Bagumbayan

Submitted by admin on Thu, 06/13/2013 - 00:41

© 2013 by Jensen DG. Mañebog

 
VARIOUS SIGNIFICANT EVENTS happened during Rizal’s Dapitan-to-Manila trip.
Leaving Dapitan for Manila on July 31, 1896, the steamer ‘España’ with Rizal as a
passenger made some stopovers in various areas. In Dumaguete, Rizal had visited
some friends like a former classmate from Madrid and had cured a sick Guardia Civil
captain. In Cebu, he carried out four operations and gave out prescriptions to other
patients. Going to Iloilo, he saw the historical Mactan island. He went shopping and
was impressed by the Molo church in Iloilo. The ship then sailed to Capiz, to
Romblon, and finally to Manila.
 
In Manila
It is said that as the steamer approached Luzon, there was an attempt by the
Katipuneros to help Rizal escape (Bantug, p. 135). The Katipunero Emilio Jacinto,
disguising himself as a ship crew member, was supposed to have managed to get
close to Rizal, while another Katipunan member, Guillermo Masankay, circled the
ship in a boat. Firm in his aim to fulfill his mission in Cuba, Rizal accordingly refused
to be rescued by Katipunan’s envoys.
 
Rizal arrived in Manila on August 6, 1896, a day after the mail boat ‘Isla de Luzon’
had left for Spain, and so he had to stay in Manila until the next steamer arrived.
Afraid that his one-month stay onboard the ship might bring him troubles, he
requested the governor general that he (Rizal) be isolated from everyone except his
family. The government reacted by transferring him near midnight of the same day to
the cruiser ‘Castilla’ docked at Cavite.
 

On August 19, the Katipunan plot to revolt against the Spanish authorities was
discovered through the confession of a certain Teodoro Patiño to Mariano Gíl,
Augustinian cura of Tondo. This discovery led to the arrest of many Katipuneros. The
Katipunan led by Bonifacio reacted by convening many of its members and deciding
to immediately begin the armed revolt. As a sign of their commitment to the
revolution, they tore their cedulas (residence certificates). Katipunan’s first major
assault happened on August 30 when the Katipuneros attacked the 100 Spanish
soldiers protecting the powder magazine in San Juan. Because Spanish
reinforcements arrived, about 150 Katipuneros were killed and more than 200 were
taken prisoner. This bloody encounter in San Juan and the uprisings in other
suburban Manila areas on that same day prompted the governor general to proclaim
a state of war in Manila and other seven nearby provinces.
 
On the same day (August 30), Blanco issued letters of recommendation on Rizal’s
behalf to Spanish Minister of War and Minister of Colonies with a cover letter
clearing Rizal of any connection to the raging revolution. On September 2, he was
transported to the ship ‘Isla de Panay.’
 
Going to Spain
The steamer ‘Isla de Panay’ left Manila for Barcelona the next day. Arriving in
Singapore on September 7, Rizal was urged by some Filipinos like his co-passenger
Don Pedro Roxas and Singaporean resident Don Manuel Camus to stay in the
British-controlled territory. Trusting Blanco’s words, Rizal refused to stay in
Singapore. Without his knowledge however, Blanco and the Ministers of War and the
Colonies had been exchanging telegrams, planning his arrest upon reaching
Barcelona.
 
As ‘Isla de Panay’ made a stopover at Port Said, Egypt on September 27, the
passengers had known that the uprising in the Philippines got worsen as thousands
of Spanish soldiers were dispatched to Manila and many Filipinos were either killed
in the battle, or arrested and executed. Rizal had the feeling that he had already been
associated to the Filipino revolution as his co-passengers became aloof to him. A day
after, he wrote a letter to Blumentritt informing him that he (Rizal) received an
information that Blanco had an order to arrest him. Before reaching Malta on
September 30, he was officially ordered to stay in his cabin until further orders from
Blanco come.
 
With Rizal as a prisoner onboard, the ‘Isla de Panay’ anchored at Barcelona on
October 3, 1896. He was placed under heavy guard by the then Military Commander
of Barcelona, General Eulogio Despujol, the same former governor general who
deported Rizal to Dapitan in 1892. Early in the morning of October 6, he was
transported to Monjuich prison-fortress. In the afternoon, he was brought to
Despujol who told him that there was an order to ship him (Rizal) back to Manila in
the evening.
 
He was then taken aboard the ship ‘Colon’ which left for Manila at 8 pm. The ship
was full of Spanish soldiers and their families who were under orders not to go near
or talk to Rizal. Though he was allowed to take walks on deck during the journey, he
was locked up and handcuffed before reaching any port.
 
Last homecoming
Arriving in Manila as a prisoner on November 3, 1896, Rizal was detained in Fort
Santiago where he had been imprisoned four years ago. To gather pieces of evidence
against him, some of his friends, acquaintances, members of the ‘La Liga,’ and even
his brother Paciano were tortured and forcibly questioned. As a preliminary
investigation, Rizal underwent a series of interrogation administered by one of the
judges, Colonel Francisco Olive—the same military leader who led the troops that
forced the Rizal family to vacate their Calamba home in 1890. Those who were
coerced to testify against Rizal were not allowed to be cross-examined by the accused.
 
Rizal is said to have admitted knowing most of those questioned, “though he would
deny to the end that he knew either Andres Bonifacio or Apolinario Mabini” (Bantug,
p. 139).
Fifteen pieces of documentary evidence were presented—Rizal’s letters, letters of his
compatriots like Marcelo del Pilar and Antonio Luna, a poem (Kundiman), a Masonic
document, two transcripts of speech of Katipuneros (Emilio Jacinto and Jose Turiano
Santiago), and Rizal’s poem ‘A Talisay.’ The testimonial evidence involved the oral
testimonies of 13 Filipinos notably including that of La Liga officers like Ambrosio
Salavador and Deodato Arellano, and the Katipunero Pio Valenzuela.
 
Olive submitted the reports to Blanco on November 26 and Captain Rafael
Dominguez was assigned as special Judge Advocate in Rizal’s case. Dominguez made
a summary of the case and delivered it to Blanco who subsequently sent the papers to
Judge Advocate General Don Nicolas Dela Peña. After examining the case, Peña
recommended that (1) Rizal be instantly brought to trial, (2) he must be kept in jail,
(3) an order of attachment be issued against his property, and (4) a Spanish army
officer, not a civilian lawyer, be permitted to defend him in court.
 
On December 8, Rizal was given the restricted right to choose his lawyer from a list of
100 Spanish army officers. He chose Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade who turned out to be
the younger brother of his bodyguard-friend in Calamba in 1887, Jose Taviel de
Andrade. Three days after (December 11), the formal charges were read to Rizal in his
prison cell, with Andrade on his side. In short, he was accused of being the main
organizer and the ‘living soul’ of the revolution having proliferated ideas of rebellion
and of founding illegal organizations. He pleaded not guilty to the crime of rebellion
and explained that ‘La Liga’, the constitution of which he wrote, was just a civic
organization.
 
On December 13, the day Camilo G. de Polavieja replaced Blanco as governor general,
papers of Rizal’s criminal case were sent to Malacañang. Concern about the welfare of
his people, Rizal on December 15 wrote a manifesto appealing to the revolutionaries
to discontinue the uprising and pursue to attain liberty instead by means of education
and of labor. But de la Peña interpreted the manifesto as all the more advocating the
spirit of rebellion as it ultimately willed the Filipino liberty. Polavieja thus disallowed
to issue Rizal’s manifesto.
 
The rat in the kangaroo court
On December 26 morning, the Filipino patriot who was once figuratively referred to
by Spanish officials as a ‘trapped rat’ appeared in the kangaroo court inside the
military building, Cuartel de España. He was tried before seven members of the
military court with Lt. Col. Jose Togores Arjona acting as the president.
            Judge Advocate Dominguez presented Rizal’s criminal case followed by the
lengthy speech of Prosecuting Attorney Enrique de Alcocer. To appeal to the
emotions of the Spanish judges, Alcocer went as far as dramatically mentioning the
Spanish soldiers who had died in the Filipino traitorous revolt and discriminately
describing Rizal as “a typical ‘Oriental,’ who had presumed to rise from a lower social
scale in order to attain powers and positions that could never be his” (Bantug, p. 144).
At the end, Alcocer petitioned for a death sentence for Rizal and an indemnity of
twenty thousand pesos.
            Rizal’s defense counsel, Lt. Andrade, then took the floor and tried his very best
to save his client by reading his responsive defense, stressing too that it’s but natural
for anyone to yearn for liberty and independence. Afterward, Rizal was allowed to
read his complementary defense consisting of logical proofs that he could have not
taken part in the revolution and that La Liga was distinct from Katipunan. He argued,
among others, that he even advised the Katipunan emissary (Valenzuela) in Dapitan
not to pursue with the plan to revolt; the revolutionists had used his name without
his knowledge; he could have escaped either in Dapitan or Singapore if he were
guilty; and the civic group La Liga which died out upon his exile did not serve the
purpose of the uprising, and he had no knowledge about its reformation.
            Lt. Col. Arjona then declared the trial over. Expectedly, the entire defense was
indifferently disregarded in Rizal’s mock trial as it instantaneously considered him
guilty and unanimously voted for the death sentence.
 
The trial ended with the reading of the sentence. Doctor Jose Rizal was found guilty.
The sentence was death by firing squad.
 
On December 28, Governor General Polavieja signed the court decision and decreed
that the guilty be executed by firing squad at 7 a.m. of December 30, 1896 at
Bagumbayan (Luneta). Because Rizal was also required to sign the verdict, he
stoically signed his own death sentence ... (Continue reading) 
(© 2013 by Jensen DG. Mañebog)
 
 

Jose Rizal’s Last 25 Hours

 September 15, 2020 40 Views
© by Jensen DG. Mañebog

Accounts on Rizal’s last hours vary and largely depend on the historian one is
reading. What happened in Rizal’s life from 6 a.m. of December 29, 1896 until his
execution was perhaps the most controversial in his biography, for the divisive claims
—like his supposed retraction and Catholic marriage with Bracken—allegedly
occurred within this time frame.
Standard biography nonetheless states that at 6 a.m. of December 29, Judge
Advocate Dominguez formally read the death sentence to Rizal. At about 7 a.m., he
was transferred to either his ‘death cell’ or ‘prison chapel’. He was visited by Jesuit
priests, Miguel Saderra Mata and Luis Viza. They brought the medal of the Ateneo’s
Marian Congregation of which Rizal was a member and the wooden statue of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus he had carved in the school. Rizal put the wooden image on his
table while he rejected the medal saying “Im little of a Marian, Father.” (“Last Hours
of Rizal”).

At 8 a.m., the priest Antonio Rosell arrived, after his co-priest Viza left. Rizal shared
his breakfast with Rosell. Later, Lt. Andrade came and Rizal thanked his defense
lawyer. Santiago Mataix of the Spanish newspaper ‘El Heraldo de Madrid’
interviewed Rizal at about 9 a.m. Then came the priest Federico Faura at about 10
a.m. He advised Rizal to forget about his resentment and marry Josephine
canonically. The two had heated discussion about religion as witnessed by Rosell
(“Last Hours of Rizal”).

Two other priests, Jose Vilaclara and Vicente Balaguer (missionary in Dapitan) also
visited Rizal at about 11 a.m. The Jesuits tried to convince Rizal to write a retraction.
Though still believing in the Holy Scriptures, Rizal supposedly refused to retract his
anti-Catholic views, exclaiming, “Look, Fathers, if I should assent to all you say and
sign all you want me to, just to please you, neither believing nor feeling, I would be a
hypocrite and would then be offending God.” (Bantug, p. 148).

At 12 noon, Rizal was left alone in his cell. He had his lunch, read the Bible, and
meditated. About this time, Balaguer reported to the Archbishop that only a little
hope remained that Rizal would retract (“Last Hours of Rizal”). Refusing to receive
visitors for the meantime, Rizal probably finished his last poem at this moment. Rizal
also wrote to Blumentritt his last letter in which he called the Austrian scholar “my
best, my dearest friend”.
He then had a talk with priests Estanislao March and Vilaclara at about 2 p.m.
Balaguer then returned to Rizal’s cell at 3:30 p.m. and allegedly discussed (again)
about Rizal’s retraction (Zaide, p. 265). Rizal then wrote letters and dedications and
rested for short.
At 4 p.m., the sorrowful Doña Teodora and Jose’s sisters came to see the sentenced
Rizal. The mother was not allowed a last embrace by the guard though her beloved
son, in quiet grief, managed to press a kiss on her hand. Dominguez is said to have
been moved with compassion at the sight of Rizal’s kneeling before his mother and
asking forgiveness. As the dear visitors were leaving, Jose handed over to Trinidad an
alcohol cooking stove, a gift from the Pardo de Taveras, whispering to her in a
language which the guards could not comprehend, “There is something in it.” That
‘something’ was Rizal’s elegy now known as “Mi Ultimo Adios.”

The Dean of the Manila Cathedral, Don Silvino Lopez Tuñon, came to exchange some
views with Rizal at about 5:30 p.m. Balaguer and March then left, leaving Vilaclara
andTuñon in Rizal’s cell. As Rosell was leaving at about 6 p.m., Josephine Bracken
arrived in Fort Santiago. Rizal called for her and they emotionally talked to each
other (“Last Hours of Rizal”). At 7 p.m. , Faura returned and convinced Rizal to trust
him and other Ateneo professors. After some quiet moments, Rizal purportedly
confessed to Faura (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
Rizal then took his last supper at about 8 p.m. and attended to his personal needs. He
then told Dominguez that he had forgiven his enemies and the military judges who
sentenced him to death. At about 9 or 9:30 p.m., Manila’s Royal Audiencia Fiscal Don
Gaspar Cestaño came and had an amiable talk with Rizal.

Historian Gregorio F. Zaide alleged that at 10 p.m. Rizal and some Catholic priests
worked on the hero’s retraction (Zaide & Zaide, pp. 265-266). Supposedly, Balaguer
brought to Rizal a retraction draft made by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda (1890-
1903) but Rizal did not like it for being long. A shorter retraction made by Jesuit Pio
Pi was then offered to Rizal which he allegedly liked. So it is said that he wrote his
retraction renouncing freemasonry and his anti-Catholic ideas. Zaide nonetheless
admitted that the supposed retraction is now a (very) controversial document. For
many reasons, Rizal’s assumed retraction and his supposed church marriage with
Bracken have been considered highly dubious by many Rizal scholars.

Rizal then spent the night resting until the crack of dawn of December, perhaps
praying and meditating once in a while. Zaide however alleged that at 3 a.m., Rizal
heard Mass, confessed sins, and took Communion.              

At about 4 a.m., he picked up the book ‘Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas a Kempis,

read, and meditated. At 5 a.m. he washed up, attended to his personal needs, read the
Bible, and contemplated. For breakfast, he was given three boiled eggs. Rizal’s
grandniece Asuncion Lopez-Rizal Bantug mentioned “three soft-boiled eggs” and
narrated that Rizal ate two of them (Bantug, pp. 151-152). Known historian Ambeth
R. Ocampo, on the other hand, wrote “three hard-boiled eggs” and related that Rizal
“did not have any breakfast” (Ocampo, p. 227). Both historians however wrote that
Rizal placed the boiled egg (or eggs) to a cell corner, saying in effect, “This is for the
rats, let them celebrate likewise!”

Afterward, Rizal wrote letters, one addressed to his family and another to Paciano. To
his family, he partly wrote, “I ask you for forgiveness for the pain I cause you … I die
resigned, hoping that with my death you will be left in peace…” He also left this
message to his sisters: “I enjoin you to forgive one another… Treat your old parents as
you would like to be treated by your children later. Love them very much in my
memory.” To Paciano, he partially wrote, “I am thinking now how hard you have
worked to give me a career … I know that you have suffered much on my account, and
I am sorry.”

Though some accounts state that Bracken was forbidden from seeing Rizal on this
fateful day, Zaide wrote that at 5:30 a.m., she and Rizal’s sister Josefa came. The
couple was said to have embraced for the last time and Rizal gave to Josephine the
book ‘Imitation of Christ’ on which he wrote the dedication:

“To my dear and unhappy wife, Josephine/ December 30th, 1896/ Jose Rizal”.

Before Rizal made his death march to Bagumbayan, he managed to pen his last
letters to his beloved parents. To Don Francisco, he wrote, “Pardon me for the pain
which I repay you … Good bye, Father, goodbye…”. Perhaps told by the authorities
that the march was about to begin, Rizal managed to write only the following to his
mother:

To my very dear Mother,Sra. Dña. Teodora Alonso6 o’clock in the morning,

December 30, 1896.Jose Rizal

At 6:30 a.m., Rizal in black suit and black bowler hat, tied elbow to elbow, began his
slow walk to Bagumbayan. He walked along with his defense lawyer, Andrade, and
two Jesuit priests, March and Vilaclara. In front of them were the advance guard of
armed soldiers and behind them were another group of military men. The sound of a
trumpet signaled the start of the death march and the muffled sound of drums served
as the musical score of the walk.

Early in that morning, plenty of people had eagerly lined the streets. Some were
sympathetic to him, others—especially the Spaniards—wanted nothing less than to
see him die. Some observed that Rizal kept keenly looking around and “it was
believed that his family or the Katipuneros would make a last-minute effort to spring
him from the trap” (Ocampo, p. 228).

Once in a while, Rizal conversed with the priests, commenting on things like his
happy years in the Ateneo as they passed by Intramuros. Commenting on the clear
morning, he was said to have uttered something like, “What a beautiful morning! On
days like this, I used to talk a walk here with my sweetheart.”

After some minutes, they arrived at the historic venue of execution. Filipino soldiers
were deliberately chosen to compose the firing squad. Behind them stood their
Spanish counterparts, ready to execute them also should they decline to do the job.

There was just a glitch in the proceeding as Rizal refused to kneel and declined the
traditional blindfold. Maintaining that he was not a traitor to his country and to
Spain, he even requested to face the firing squad. After some sweet-talk, Rizal agreed
to turn his back to the firing squad but requested that he be shot not in the head—but
in the small of the back instead.

When agreement had been reached, Rizal thankfully shook the hand of his defense
lawyer. The military physician then asked permission to feel the pulse of the man who
had only a few minutes to live and the doctor was startled to find it normal. Before
leaving Rizal in his appointed place, the priests offered him a crucifix to kiss “but he
turned his head away and silently prepared for his death” (Ambeth Ocampo, p. 228).

When the command had been given, the executioners’ guns barked at once. Rizal
yelled Christ’s two last words “Consummatum est!” (“It is finished!”) simultaneously
with his final effort to twist his bullet-pierced body halfway around.Facing the
sky, Jose Rizal fell on the ground dead at exactly 7:03 in the morning of December
30, 1896. (© 2014 by Jensen DG. Mañebog/ MyInfoBasket.com)