Title:

Dr. Jose Rizal’s Martyrdom in Bagumbayan

Objective:

At the end of the lesson, the learners shall be able to:

a) Know the sacrifice that Dr. Jose Rizal has done for our country to gain the
freedom it long dream about.
b) Appreciate the heroic deed that Dr. Jose Rizal has done even if it is in
exchange of his life.
c) Reflect from the final moments of our hero’s life.

Content:

After being court-martialed, Rizal returned to his cell in Fort Santiago to prepare his rendezvous
with destiny. Dec. 30, 1896 – he was busy meeting visitors which includes his family and
friends. He was also able to write his last poem – his final contribution for the emancipation of
the Filipino people. Rizal’s Last Hours December 29, 1896 6:00 A.M. – Captain Rafael
Rodriguez read Rizal’s death sentence – he will be shot at the back by firing squad at 7:00 A.M.
in Bagumbayan. 7:00 A.M. – Rizal was moved to the prison chapel where he spent his last
moments. His first visitors were Jesuit priests. 7:15 A.M. – Rizal reminded Fr. Luis Viza the
statuette of the Sacred Heart of Jesus whom he carved as a student in Ateneo. 8:00 A.M. – Rizal
had a breakfast with Fr. Antonio Rosell. After breakfast, his attorney, Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade
came. 9:00 A.M. – Fr. Frederico Faura arrived. Rizal reminded the priest of his earlier
‘prophecy’ about Rizal. 10:00 A.M. – More Jesuit priests had visited him. After then, he was
interviewed by Santiago Mataix for the newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid. 6:00 A.M. – Captain
Rafael Rodriguez read Rizal’s death sentence – he will be shot at the back by firing squad at 7:00
A.M. in Bagumbayan. 7:00 A.M. – Rizal was moved to the prison chapel where he spent his last
moments. His first visitors were Jesuit priests. 7:15 A.M. – Rizal reminded Fr. Luis Viza the
statuette of the Sacred Heart of Jesus whom he carved as a student in Ateneo. 12:00 – 3:30 P.M.
– Rizal was left alone in his cell. He took his lunch and continued writing his farewell poem
which he hid in an alcohol cooking stove. He also wrote his last letter to Professor Blumentritt.
3:30 P.M. – Father Vicente Balaguer returned to his cell and discussed with Rizal his retraction
letter. Father Antonio Rosell Fr. Frederico Faura. 4:00 P.M. – Teodora Alonzo visited him. They
had a very emotional encounter. Rizal gave the alcohol cooking stove to Trinidad which contains
his farewell poem. Several priests have visited him afterwards. 6:00 P.M. – Don Silvino Lopez,
dean of the Manila Cathedral visited him. 8:00 P.M. – Rizal had his last supper. He told Captain
Dominguez that he forgave his enemies including the military judges. 9:30 P.M. – Rizal was
visited by Don Gaspar Cestano, fiscal of the Royal Audience de Manila. 10:00 P.M. – The draft
of the retraction letter sent by the anti-Filipino Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda was given by
Fr. Balaguer to Rizal for his signature. He had rejected it. Upon Rizal’s death, his supposedly
‘retraction letter’ became of one of the most controversial docu- ments in our history. This
‘retraction letter’ allegedly contains his renunciation of the Masonry and his ‘anti-Catholic
religious ideas.’ Depending on whose side you are on, some Rizalists claims that it is fake while
some believe it to be genuine. There had been some evidences but so far these had only heated
up the debate between the two factions. “Now I am about to die, and it is to you I dedicate my
last lines, to tell you how sad I am to leave you alone in life, burdened with the weight of the
family Teodora Alonzo and our old parents.” December 30, 1896 5:30 A.M. – Josephine
Bracken arrived together with Rizal’s sister, Josefa, with tears in her eyes, bade him farewell.
Rizal embraced her for the last time, and before she left, Rizal gave her a last gift – a religious
book, Imitation of Christ by Father Thomas Kempis. 6:00 A.M. – As the soldiers were getting
ready for the death march to Bagumbayan, Rizal wrote his last letter to his beloved parents. “My
beloved Father, pardon me for the pain with which I repay you, for sorrows and sacrifices for my
education. I did not want it nor did I prefer it. Goodbye Father, goodbye.” “To my very dear
Mother, Sra. Dona Teodora Alonso 6 o’oclock in the morning, December 30, 1896.” At about
6:30 A.M., a trumpet sounded at Fort Santiago, a signal to begin the death march to
Bagumbayan. Rizal walked calmly with his defense counsel and two Jesuit priests at his sides.
He was dressed elegantly in a black suit, black derby h at, black shoes, white shirt and black tie.
His arms were tied behind from elbow to elbow. There a lot of spectators lining the street from
Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan. As he was going through the narrow Postigo Gate, Rizal looked at
the sky and said to one of the priests: “How beautiful it is today, Father. What morning could be
more serene! How clear is Corregidor and the mountains of Cavite! On mornings like this, I used
to take a walk with my sweetheart.” While he was passing in front of the Ateneo, he saw the
college towers above the walls. He asked: “Is that the Ateneo, Father?” “Yes”, replied the priest.
A Spanish military physician, Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo, asked his permission to feel his pulse. He
was amazed to find it normal, showing that Jose Rizal was not afraid to die. The death ruffles of
the drums filled the air. Above the drum beats, the sharp command “Fire” was heard, and the
guns of the firing squad barked. Rizal, with supreme effort, turned his bullet-riddled body to the
right, and fell on the ground dead – with face upward facing the morning sun. It was exactly 7:03
in the morning – aged 35 years, 5 months and 11 days. 

Guide Questions:

1. What happen during the last hours of Jose Rizal?

2. How did the Death March of Jose Rizal to Bagumbayan happened?
3. How did the martyrdom of our hero Jose Rizal change the lives of Filipinos?
4. What happen after the death of our National Hero?

Self-Learning Activities:

Open Ended Questions. Instruction: Read each question carefully and answer it with your own
words honestly and thoughtfully. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. How did you feel after reading what happens to Dr. Jose Rizal after all his efforts to save
our country?
2. Did you feel his bravery in facing his death? Cite concrete evidence.
3. What would you do if you were in the lace of our National Hero Jose Rizal when he is
about to be shot?
4. Do you think Rizal deserve such cruel death? Defend your side.
5. How do you feel when he is saying farewell to all his love ones?
 6. What can you say about Rizal’s death, has it change the lives of Filipinos? Prove your
view.
7. How far Rizal did influence all Filipinos? Cite examples observed today.
8. How Rizal did showed his love for the country even in his last breath?
9. Will you sacrifice your life for the country’s sake?
10. How will you your gratitude towards our National Hero-Jose Rizal?

Answers to Guide Questions:

1. In his last hours Rizal read the Bible and Thomas à Kempis’s Imitation of Christ, which
he later dedicated to Josephine Bracken. He also wrote the poem “Mi Ultimo Adiós,”
which he concealed in an alcohol burner. When his family came to see him, he asked
pardon from his mother and talked to his sisters as they entered his cell one by one. He
also wrote letters. In his last letter, addressed to Paciano Rizal, he asked his brother to ask
their father for forgiveness for all the pain he had caused him. To his friend Ferdinand
Blumentritt, he wrote: “When you receive this letter, I shall be dead by then….
Tomorrow at seven, I shall be shot; but I am innocent of the crime of rebellion…. I am
going to die with a tranquil conscience.” At 7 a.m. on December 30, 1896 at Luneta,
Manila, the 35-year-old patriot was shot in the back by a firing squad. He hesitated,
turned halfway around to face his executioners, and fell on his back to face the Philippine
sun.
2. Rizal walked calmly with his defense counsel and two Jesuit priests at his sides. • He was
dressed elegantly in a black suit, black derby hat, black shoes, white shirt and black tie.
His arms were tied behind from elbow to elbow. • There a lot of spectators lining the
street from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan. Death March to Bagumbayan 17Martyrdom at
Bagumbayan
3. Today, Dr. Rizal’s brilliance, compassion, courage, and patriotism are greatly
remembered and recognized by the Filipino people. His two novels are continuously
being analyzed by students and professionals.
4. After his death, the Philippine Revolution continued until 1898. And with the assistance
of the United States, the Philippines declared its independence from Spain on June 12,
1898. This was the time that the Philippine flag was waved at General Emilio
Aguinaldo’s residence in Kawit, Cavite.