LA LIGA FILIPINA AND EXILE IN DAPITAN

Arrival in Manila and La Liga Filipina

Rizal and Lucia arrived in Manila on June 26, 1892, went to the Malacañan Palace to
talk to Despujol, where the latter agreed to pardon his father but not the rest of his family. He
was told to return three days later. After the interview, he visited Narcisa and Saturnina; the
next day, traveled through train to Malolos, San Fernando, Tarlac, and Bacolor to visit friends.
The next day, he went back to Manila. During his travels, he was spied on by the Guardia Civil,
who raided the homes Rizal visited and seized copies of Rizal’s novels.

He was interviewed again by Despujol on June 29, June 30, and July 3. They talked
about the lifting of the exile of his sisters and the Borneo colonization (which he opposed).

On the evening of July 3, he attended a meeting of patriots at the home of Doroteo

Ongjunco, a Chinese-Filipino mestizo, on Ylaya St., Tondo, Manila. Among those who attended
were the following:

1. Pedro Serrano Laktaw (Panday Pira), Mason and school teacher;

2. Domingo Franco (Felipe Leal), Mason and tobacco shopkeeper
3. Jose Ramos (Socorro), engraver, printer, owner of Bazar Gran Bretaña, and first
Worshipful Master of Nilad, the first Filipino Masonic lodge
4. Ambrosio Salvador, Mason and gobernadorcillo of Quiapo
5. Bonifacio Arevalo (Harem), Mason and dentist
6. Deodato Arellano, civilian employee in the Army
7. Ambrosio Flores (Musa), retired lieutenant of infantry
8. Agustin de la Rosa, Mason and bookkeeper
9. Moises Salvador (Araw), Mason and contractor
10. Luis Villareal, Mason and tailor
11. Faustion Villaruel (Ilaw), Mason and pharmacist
12. Mariano Crisostomo, landlord
13. Numeriano Adriano (Ipil), Mason and notary public
14. Estanislao Legaspi, Mason and artisan
15. Teodoro Plata, Mason and court clerk
16. Andres Bonifacio, warehouse employee
17. Apolinario Mabini (Katabay), Mason and lawyer
18. Juan Zulueta, playwright, poet, and government employee

The group founded La Liga Filipina, an idea originally conceived by Jose Ma. Basa. The
Constitution of the Liga was presented and the officers were elected. Salvador was the
president, Arellano the secretary, Arevalo the treasurer, and de la Rosa the discal. The
Constitution that the members embodied were the following:

1. To unite the whole archipelago into one vigorous and homogenous organization;
2. Mutual protection in every want and necessity;
3. Defense against all violence and injustice
4. Encouragement of instruction, agriculture, and commerce; and
5. Study the application of reforms.

With the motto Unus Instar Omnium (One Like All), the members had a Supreme
Council (governing body for the whole country), Provincial Council for every province, and a
Popular Council for every town. All Filipinos can be members, with an entrance fee of two
pesos and a monthly due of ten centavos.

The duties of the members are:

1. Obey the orders of the Supreme Council

2. Help recruit new members
3. Keep the decisions of the Liga authorities secret
4. Have a symbolic name which he cannot change until he becomes the president
of the council
5. Report to the fiscal anything that might affect the Liga
 6. Behave well as a good Filipino
7. Help fellow members in all ways

Three days after the founding of Liga, Rizal went back to the Malacañan Palace to
resume his interviews with Despujol. During the interview, Despujol showed him leaflets entitled
Pobres Frailes (Poor Friars) which was allegedly found under Lucia’s pillow cases. The leaflets,
written under the authorship of Fr. Jacinto and printed in Manila, were a satire against rich
Dominican friars who amassed riches. Rizal denied these and demanded an investigation, but
he was arrested and was escorted to Fort Santiago by Ramon Despujol, nephew and aide of
the governor general. The next day, the story of his arrest and Despujol’s decree of Rizal’s
deportation, was published the next day on Gaceta de Manila, which produced commotion
among Filipinos, especially Liga members. The decree gave the following reasons for Rizal’s
deportation:

1. Rizal had published books and articles abroad which showed disloyalty to Spain
and which were “frankly anti-Catholic” and “imprudently anti-friar”.
2. A few hours after his arrival in Manila “there was found in one of the packages…
a bundle of handbills entitled Pobres Frailes in which patient and humble
generosity of Filipinos is satirized, and which accusation is published against the
customs of the religious orders”.
3. His novel El Fili was dedicated to the memory of three “traitors”, and on the title
page he wrote that in view of the vices and errors of the Spanish administration,
“the only salvation for the Philippines was separation from the mother country”.
4. “ The end which he pursues in his efforts and writings is to tear from the loyal
Filipino breasts the treasures of our holy Catholic faith”.

On July 15, 1892, Rizal was brought to the steamer Cebu, under Captain Delgras,
bound to Dapitan.

Exile in Dapitan

Rizal was handed by Captain Delgras to Captain Ricardo Carnicero, Spanish

commandant of Dapita, upon arrival on July 17, 1892. With Rizal came a letter from Fr. Pablo
Pastells, Superior of the Jesuit Society in the Philippines, to Father Antonio Obach, Jesuit priest
of Dapitan. The letter informed Fr. Obach that Rizal can stay at the parish convent with the
following conditions:

1. That Rizal publicly retract his errors concerning religion, and make statements that
were clearly pro- Spanish and against revolution.
2. That he perform the church rites and make a general confession of his past life.
3. That henceforth he conduct himself in an exemplary manner as a Spanish subject
and a man of religion.

Rizal did not agree, and he lived with Carnicero. They became good friends, and he
reported good things about Rizal to Despujol. Rizal was given complete freedom, reporting only
to the office of the captain once a week. Rizal even wrote him a poem A Don Ricardo
Carnicero on August 26, 1892, the captain’s birthday.

On September 21, 1892, the ship Butuan approached Dapitan informing the town that
the Lottery Ticket No. 9736 owned by Carnicero, Rizal, and Francisco Equilor (a Spaniard from
Dipolog) won second prize of P 20, 000 in the Manila Lottery. Rizal’s share was P 6, 200. P 2,
000 went to his father, P 200 went to Basa, and the rest was invested to agricultural lands in
Talisay.

During his exile in Dapitan, Rizal had long debates regarding religion with Fr. Pastells. It
started when the priest sent him a book by Sarda, advising Rizal to desist from his foolishness
in viewing religion from individual judgment and self-esteem. In his letters with the priest, Rizal
revealed that he has anti-Catholic ideas. He said that individual judgment is a gift from God and
everybody should use it and that self-esteem saves man from unworthy acts. He also said that
different religions may lead to the same truth. The priest said that faith supersedes everything;
intelligence is limited and so we need the guidance of God. Despite this, they remained good
friends and Rizal still continued to be Catholic.
 Father Pastells also instructed two other priests, Father Obach fro Dapitan and Father
Jose Vilaclara of Dipolog to bring Rizal back within the Catholic fold. He also assigned Father
Francisco Paula de Sanchez to Dapitan, who was the only Spanish priest to defend Noli in
public. When he arrived, he tried to carry theological arguments with Rizal. Again, he failed.
However, they remained friends, and Rizal gave the priest a manuscript Estudios sobre la
lengua tagala (Studies on the Tagalog Language) on the priest’s birthday.

He was also involved with a quarrel against a French businessman, Juan Lardet. Lardet
purchased some logs from Rizal’s lot, some of which are of poor quality. Lardet wrote to
Antonio Miranda, expressing his disgust, and the letter was forwarded by Miranda to Rizal.
Rizal, sensitive that he is, became angry and challenged Lardet to a duel. Carnicero urged
Lardet to apologize (since he will not win), which the Frenchman heeded by writing Rizal on
March 30, 1893. Rizal accepted his apology.

On November 3, 1893, Rizal, happily living in Talisay with Doña Teodora, Narcisa,
Trinidad, and his nephews, was visited by a certain Pablo Mercado, who introduced himself as a
relative ad friend, with a photo of Rizal as an evidence. The man offered to be his letter courier
for the patriots in Manila. He was suspicious and wanted to throw him out of the house, but
because it was late at night at raining, he invited him in. The next day, he sent him away. He
learned that the man was still in Dapitan, introducing himself as a relative of Rizal. Rizal went to
the comandancia and denounced the impostor to Captain Juan Sitges (who succeeded Captain
Carnicero). The captain ordered for the arresr of the man and Anastacio Adriatico was asked to
investigate. The man, it turned out, was Florencio Namanan, a 30-year old single man of
Cagayan de Misamis who was asked by the Recollect friars to spy on Rizal. The captain
squashed the investigation, sent the man away, and sent the transcripts and report of the
investigation to General Blanco. Rizal requested for these documents, but Sitges denied the
request.

Life in Dapitan

Rizal lived an exemplary life in Dapitan. From August 1892, family members took turns
visiting him, including his mother, Trinidad, Maria, Narcisa, and nephews Teodosio, Estanislao,
Mauricio, and Prudencio. He built his home in Talisay, a home for his school boys, and a
hospital since he practiced medicine. He gave the poor free medicine and the rich paid him for
his surgical skills.

Doña Teodora and Maria even lived with him for a year and a half from August 1893.
During this time, he operated on his mother’s right eye (who removed her bandages
prematurely causing infection, but fortunately, nothing too bad happened). His fame as a
physician spread, and many visited him from around the country and even from Hong Kong.
Satisfied clients included Don Ignacio Tumarong and Don Florencio Azacarraga. He was also
interested in the use of local medicinal plants, and prescribed them if no medicines can be
afforded.

In addition to becoming a physician, Rizal applied his knowledge in engineering and

surveying by constructing a system of waterworks to supply clean water to the people of
Dapitan. He alkso drained marshes to get rid of mosquitos that give the people of Dapitan
malaria, equipped the town of a lighting system using coconut oil lamps, remodeled the town
plaza, and made a relief map of Mindanao in front of the church.

He also established a school in 1893, which grew from having three students to 21.
Instead of paying tuition, Rizal made them work in his gardens, field, and construction projects.
The boys were taught reading, writing, Spanish, English, geography, history, arithmetic,
geometry, industrial work, nature study, morals, and gymnastics. He trained them to collect
specimens of plants and animals, to love work, and to behave like men. Lesson started at 2:00
PM and end at 4:00 PM, while Rizal was sitting on a hammock and the biys sitting on a long
bamboo bench. He did the lessons Ateneo style. During recess, the boys built fires to drive
insects away, pruned fruit trees, and manured soil. When not in class, he encouraged them to
play games such as gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, stone-throwing, swimming, boating, and
arnis.
 During his stay in Dapitan he explored jungles and coasts with his pupils in a baroto
(sailboat). He sent the specimen he collected during these explorations to the Dresden
Museum in exchange for books and surgical instruments. He built a collection of 246 shells
representing 203 species and discovered some rare specimen that were named in his honor.
These include Draco rizali (a flying dragon), Apogonia rizali (a small beetle), and Rhacophorus
rizali (a rare frog). He also invented a cigarette lighter made of wood called sulpukan and a
machine for making 6, 000 bricks daily.

He continued language studies, learning Bisyan, Subanum, and Malay languages. He

wrote a Tagalog grammar, made a comparative study of Bisayan and Malay languages, and
studied Bisayan and Subanum languages. He also conducted anthropological, ethnographical,
archaeological, geological, and geographical studies.

He also continued his artistic pursuits. He contributed his painting skills to the Sisters of
Charity, made sketches, and sculpted a bust of Father Guerrico, statue of a girl called “The
Dapitan Girl”, bust of St. Paul which he gave to Fr. Pastell, woodcarving of Josephine Bracken,
and a statuette called “The Mother’s Revenge”. He carved the statuette to stress the moral of
an incident: the puppy of Syria, Rizal’s dog, was devoured by a crocodile when his students
secretly went to Dapitan to Talisay when the puppy followed. The statuette is the mother-dog
killing the crocodile. He also wrote a hymn entitled Himno A Talisay, the poem Mi Retiro (which
was requested by her mother and was acclaimed to be the best that Rizal has written),
Josephine, Josephine dedicated to his wife, and El Canto del Viajero (The Song of the
Traveler), written as an expression of his joy when his exile was lifted.

He also devoted time to agriculture. He planted cacao, coffee, sugarcane, coconuts,

hemp, and fruit trees in the 16-hectrare land he bought. His land grew to 70 heactares. He also
engaged in business, with ventures in fishing, copra, lime, and hemp industries (his mosr
profitable business venture) with Ramon Carreon. To break Chinese monopoly, he organized
the Cooperative Association of Dapitan Farmers on January 1, 1985. The Cooperative aimed to
improve farm products, obtain better outlets for these products, collect funds for purchase, and
establish stores where commodities can be bought at moderate prices.

Rizal and Josephine Bracken

The death of Leonor Rivera on August 28, 1893 left a void in Rizal’s heart, and he
needed somebody to cheer him during his exile. This came in the person of Josephine
Bracken, an 18-year old Irish girl. Born on October 3, 1876 in Hong Kong, her parents were
James Bracken,a corporal in the British garrison, and Elizabeth Jane MacBride, who dies during
childbirth. Bracken was later adopted by George Taufer, who became blind.

Taufer and Bracken sought Rizal in Dapitan, together with Manuela Orca. They
presented a letter of introduction by Rizal’s friend, Julio Llorente. Rizal and Bracken fell in love
immediately. After one month, they decided to get married. Father Obach, however, refused to
marry the two without the permission of the Bishop of Cebu, because of the short engagement
period. When Taufer knew of this plan, he was very angry and tried to commit suicide by cutting
off his throat using a razor. Rizal prevented this to happen. To avoid any more tragedy,
Bracken and Taufer went back to Manila without Taufer being treated (since his blindness was
venereal in nature).

Bracken stayed in Manila while Taufer went home to Hong Kong alone. She later went
back to Dapitan to marry Rizal. But no priest wanted to marry them, so they married
themselves.

By early 1896, Josephine was expecting a baby. Unfortunately, Rizal frightened

Bracken as a prank, causing the premature birth of an eight-month old baby boy who only lived
for three hours. The boy named Francisco was buried in Dapitan.

Rizal and the Katipunan

Around the time of his son’s death, the Katipunan was founded on July 7, 1892. In a
meeting of the Katipunan in Bitukang Manok near Pasig on May 2, 1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela
was named emissary to Dapitan to talk to Rizal about the launch of the revolution to gain the
nation’s freedom. On June 15, Valenzuela boarded Venus together with a blind man named
Raymundo Mata and a guide to camouflage his mission. He arrived six days later. Valenzuela
told Rizal of the revolution, but Rizal objected because the people were not ready for a
revolution and arms and funds should be collected first. He also did not want to be rescued so
as not to break his word to the Spanish authorities.

End of Exile in Dapitan

Months before his visit from Valenzuela, he sent a letter to Governor General Ramon
Blanco to offer his services as a military doctor in Cuba, which, at that time, was having a yellow
fecver epidemic and a revolution. He wrote on December 17, 1895 and received a reply on July
1, 1896, where Blanco accepted the offer. He would be given a pass to come to Manila and
safe-conduct to Spain to assign him to the Medical Corps of the Army Operations in Cuba.

Rizal was so happy that he was free to travel to Europe and Cuba. His four-year exile
ended on July 31, 1896. At midnight, he boarded the steamer España with Josephine, Narcisa,
Angelica (Narcisa’s daughter), three nephews, and six pupils. The Dapitan folks were sad, and
played Funeral March of Chopin as a farewell music.