RIZAL’S ARREST

⚫ As per instruction of Gov. Blanco and

the prodding of Manila Archbishop
Bernardino Nozaleda, Rizal was ordered
arrested and detained inside the ship
⚫ September 30, 1896 - Capt. A. Alemany
followed the order and kept Rizal in his
cabin during the remainder of the trip
⚫ October 6 – the ship reached Barcelona
 RIZAL’S ARREST
⚫ Rizal was imprisoned at the Montjuich
detention cell
⚫ Eulogio Despujol, the former
Philippine governor who banished him
to Dapitan visited later that day
⚫ October 7 – Rizal was transferred to a
new ship, the SS Colon bound for
Manila
 RIZAL’S FINAL HOMECOMING
⚫ Rizal kept records of the Philippines since
he left for Barcelona
⚫ He was implicated by the Madrid
newspapers to the bloody revolution
⚫ He thought of coming home to confront
his accusers and vindicate his name
⚫ Few friends from Europe and Singapore
tried to help Rizal escape his present
predicament
 RIZAL’S FINAL HOMECOMING
⚫ Ma. Regidor and Lopez sent
a telegram to Atty. Hugh
Fort asking him to file a writ
Antonio Ma.
of habeas corpus in Rizal’s
Regidor
behalf
⚫ Chief Justice Lionel Cox
denied the writ for lack of
jurisdiction
Sixto
Lopez
 THE INVESTIGATION AND TRIAL
Preliminary Investigation (ARRAIGNMENT)
⚫ November 20, 1896, the preliminary investigation
on Rizal began
⚫ During the five-day investigation, Rizal was
informed of the charges against him before Judge
Advocate Colonel Francisco Olive
⚫ He was put under interrogation without the
benefit of knowing who testified against him.
 THE INVESTIGATION AND TRIAL
⚫ Presented before him were two kinds
of evidences – documentary and
testimonial.
⚫ There were a total of fifteen exhibits
for the documentary evidence.
⚫ Testimonial evidences, on the other
hand, were comprised of oral proofs
provided by:
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
⚫ Martin Constantino
⚫ Aguedo del Rosario
⚫ Jose Reyes
⚫ Moises Salvador
⚫ Jose Dizon
⚫ Domingo Franco
⚫ Deodato Arellano
⚫ Pio Valenzuela
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
⚫ These evidences were endorsed by Colonel
Olive to Governor Ramon Blanco
⚫ Blanco designated Capt. Rafael Dominguez as
the Judge Advocate assigned with the task of
deciding what corresponding action should be
done
⚫ Dominguez, after a brief review, transmitted the
records to Don Nicolas de la Peña, the Judge
Advocate General
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
⚫ Judge Advocate General Peña's recommendations
were as follows:
1. Rizal must be immediately sent to trial
2. He must be held in prison under necessary security
3. His properties must be issued with order of
attachment, and as indemnity, Rizal had to pay one
million pesos
4. Instead of a civilian lawyer, only an army officer is
allowed to defend Rizal
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
⚫ Rizal chose Lt. Don Luis Taviel
de Andrade, 1st Lt. of the
Spanish Artillery to be his
defense lawyer
⚫ Rizal discovered that the said Jose Taviel de
Andrade

lieutenant was the brother of

Lt. Jose Taviel de Andrade who
worked as Rizal's personal
body guard in Calamba in
Luis Taviel de
1887. Andrade
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
⚫ On the 11th of December 1896, in the
presence of his Spanish counsel,
charges against Rizal were read.
1. Rebellion – punishable by death
2. Sedition – also punishable by death
3. Illegal Association – punishable with
reclusion perpetua or lower
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
⚫ He was accused of being:
⚫ The principal organizer and the living soul of
Filipino insurrection
⚫ The founder of societies, periodicals and books
dedicated to fomenting and propagating ideas
of rebellion
⚫ When asked regarding his sentiments or reaction
on the charges, Rizal replied that:
 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
1. He does not question the jurisdiction of the
court
2. He has nothing to amend except that during
his exile in Dapitan in 1892, he had not dealt
in political matters;
3. He has nothing to admit on the charges
against him
4. He had nothing to admit on the declarations of
the witnesses, he had not met nor knew,
against him.
 MANIFESTO TO THE PEOPLE
⚫ Two days after, Rizal's case was endorsed
to Blanco's successor, Governor Camilo de
Polavieja, who had the authority to
command that the case be court
martialed.
⚫ On December 15, inside his cell at Fort
Santiago, Rizal wrote a controversial letter,
The Manifesto addressed to his
countrymen.
 MANIFESTO TO THE PEOPLE
⚫ The Manifesto was a letter
denouncing bloody struggle, and
promoting education and industry as
the best means to acquire
independence.
⚫ Judge Advocate General Nicolas de la
Peña requested to Gov. Polavieja that
the publication of the manifesto be
prohibited
 THE TRIAL OF RIZAL
⚫ December 26, about 8 o'clock in the
morning, the court-martial of Rizal
commenced. The hearing was actually a
kind of moro-moro , a planned trial
wherein Rizal, before hearing his verdict,
had already been prejudged.
⚫ Unlike other accused, Rizal had not been
allowed to know the people who witnessed
against him.
 THE TRIAL OF RIZAL
⚫ The trial took place at Cuartel de
España, a military building, with a
court composed of seven military
officers headed by Lt. Col. Jose
Togores Arjona.
⚫ Present at the courtroom were Jose
Rizal,
⚫ Six other officers in uniform
 THE TRIAL OF RIZAL
⚫Lt. Taviel de Andrade,
⚫ Judge Advocate Capt. Rafael Dominguez,
⚫ Lt. Enrique de Alcocer (Prosecuting Attorney)
and
⚫ a number of spectators, including Josephine
Bracken.
 THE TRIAL OF RIZAL
⚫ Judge Advocate Dominguez opened the
trial
⚫ It was followed by Atty. Alcocer's
reiteration of the charges against Rizal,
urging the court that the latter be
punished with death.
⚫ Accordingly, the three crimes accused to
him were rebellion, sedition and illegal
association.
 THE TRIAL OF RIZAL
⚫Lt. Taviel de Andrade, on the other
hand, later took the floor reading his
speech in defense of Rizal.
⚫To supplement this, Rizal read his
own defense which he wrote in his
cell in Fort Santiago.
RIZAL MILITARY TRIAL
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
⚫According to Rizal, there are twelve
points to prove his innocence:
1. As testified by Pio Valenzuela,
Rizal was against rebellion
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
2. He had not written a letter addressed
to the Katipunan comprising
revolutionary elements
3. Without his knowledge, his name
was used by the Katipunan; if he
really was guilty, he could have
escaped while he was in Singapore
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
4. If he was guilty, he should have left the
country while in exile; he shouldn't have
built a home, bought a parcel of land or
established a hospital in Dapitan.
5. If he was really the leader of the
revolution, the revolutionists should
have consulted him.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
6. He did not deny that he wrote the
by-laws of the La Liga Filipina, but
to make things clear, the
organization was
a civic association, not a
revolutionary society.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
7. After the first meeting of La Liga, the
association banished because of his
exile in Dapitan, thus, did not last
long.
8. If the La Liga was reorganized nine
months later, he had no idea about it
9. If the La Liga had a revolutionary
purpose, then Katipunan should not
have been organized.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
0. If the Spanish authorities found
his letters having bitter
atmosphere, it was because in
1890 his family was being
persecuted resulting to their
dispossession of properties and
deportation of all his
brothers-in-law.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
11. He lived an exemplary life in
Dapitan – the politico-military
commanders and missionary
priests in the province could
attest to that.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S DEFENSE
2. If according to witnesses the speech he
delivered at Doroteo Ongjunco's house
had inspired the revolution, then he want
to confront these persons. If he really
was for the revolution, then why did the
Katipunan sent an unfamiliar emissary to
him in Dapitan? It is so because all his
friends were aware that he never
advocated violence.
 SPANISH GOVERNOR-GENERALS

Gov. Camilo de Polavieja Gov. Ramon Blanco

 THE FINAL VERDICT
⚫The military court remained indifferent to
the pleads of Rizal.
⚫After a short deliberation, he was
sentenced to be shot in musketry until
death at 7 o'clock in the morning of
December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan Field
(Luneta).
 THE FINAL VERDICT
⚫ The decision was submitted to Gov.
Polavieja who immediately sought the
opinion of Nicolas de la Peña – the
latter found the verdict just and final.
⚫ Two days later, the governor general
signed the court's decision and
ordered Rizal's execution.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫ Upon hearing the court's decision, Rizal
already knew that there's no way that his
destiny would be changed
⚫ Rizal knew it was his end, and had
accepted his fate
⚫ Captain Rafael Dominguez, at 6 o'clock in
the morning of December 30, 1896, read
before him the official notice of his
execution, scheduled the next day.
 DR. JOSE RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫ Rizal was immediately transferred to the
prison chapel where he spent his last
hours on earth.
⚫ Inside the chapel, Rizal busied himself by
writing correspondences to friends and
family, bidding everyone farewell
⚫ Conversing with his Jesuit priests friends.
He had a lot of visitors, arriving one or two
after the other.
 RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫ Fr. Miguel Saderra Mata – the Rector of
the Ateneo Municipal; arrived in the prison early in
the morning.
⚫ Fr. Luis Viza – came with Fr. Mata; the priest to
whom Rizal asked for the image of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus which he made during his stay in
Ateneo.
⚫ Fr. Antonio Rosell – another friend of Rizal who
gladly eaten a fine breakfast with him; returned in
the afternoon to resume his talk with Rizal.
 RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫ Lt. Taviel de Andrade – Rizal extended
his appreciation for Andrade's services
as his defense counsel.
⚫ Fr. Federico Faura – had prophesied
earlier rather comically that Rizal would
lose his head for writing the Noli Me
Tangere, and the latter “congratulated”
the priest for being right.
 RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫ Fr. Jose Villaclara – Rizal's former
teacher in Ateneo; ate lunch with
him.
⚫ Fr. Vicente Balaguer – accompanied
Fr. Villaclara; ate luch with Rizal as
well.
⚫ Santiago Mataix – contributor in
the El Heraldo de Madrid
 RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫Teodora Alonzo – Rizal knelt
before his beloved mother,
begging for forgiveness and
understanding; the mother and
son were separated by the strong
grip of the prison guard.
 RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫Trinidad – arrived when Teodora
left the chapel; to her, Rizal
handed down an alcohol cooking
stove and whispered that
something was inside it (turned
out to be his last piece, the Mi
Ultimo Adios, written in a small
piece of paper).
 RIZAL’S LAST HOURS
⚫Gaspar Castaño – fiscal of the Royal
Audiencia; had a good conversation with
Rizal.
⚫Late at night, around 10 o'clock, a
retraction letter prepared by
Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda was
presented to Rizal
 THE RETRACTION
⚫He rejected it for being too long
⚫Fr. Balaguer, on the other hand,
showed another draft from Fr. Pio
Pi
⚫Rizal liked it but wanted some
parts of which be changed
 THE RETRACTION
⚫By 11:30pm, Rizal wrote and
signed the retraction letter in
which he renounced the mason
movement
⚫Witnesses to this event were Juan
del Fresno (Chief of the Guard
Detail) and Eloy Moure (Assistant
of the Plaza)
 RETRACTION CONTROVERSY
⚫ ANTI-RETRACTIONISTS’ CONTENTION:
⚫ If Rizal was a Catholic before he died, why
then was he not given a Catholic burial? Where
is the death certificate?
⚫ If Josephine Bracken were married before the
former’s execution, where then is the marriage
certificate?
⚫ Where are the books that Rizal signed?
 RETRACTION CONTROVERSY
⚫ ANTI-RETRACTIONISTS’ CONTENTION:
⚫ There is an allegation that the retraction
document was a forgery.
⚫ Senator Rafael Palma, a former President
of the University of the Philippines and a
prominent Mason, argued that a retraction
is not in keeping with Rizal's character and
mature beliefs.
⚫ He called the retraction story a "pious
fraud."
 RETRACTION CONTROVERSY
⚫ RETRACTIONISTS’ CONTENTION:
⚫ Historians such as Austin
Craig, Gregorio Zaide, Ambeth
Ocampo, Joaquin, Leon Maria
Guerrero III, and Nicolas
Zafra of UP state that the retraction
document was deemed authentic by
Rizal expert, Teodoro Kalaw
 RETRACTION CONTROVERSY
⚫ RETRACTIONISTS’ CONTENTION:
⚫ They also refer to the 11
eyewitnesses present when Rizal
wrote his retraction, signed a
Catholic prayer book, and recited
Catholic prayers, and the multitude
who saw him kiss the crucifix before
his execution.
 RETRACTION CONTROVERSY
⚫ RETRACTIONISTS’ CONTENTION:
⚫ Supporters see in it Rizal's "moral
courage...to recognize his
mistakes," his reversion to the "true
faith," and thus his "unfading
glory," and a return to the "ideals of
his fathers" which brings his stature
as a patriot to the level of greatness.
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫ By 6:30am, Rizal's march
to Bagumbayan commenced. He – in his black
suit, black necktie, black hat, black shoes and
white vest – calmly walked from his prison cell
in Fort Santiago to the execution site.
⚫ He was with Lt. Taviel de Andrade on one
side, and Fathers Estanislao March and Jose
Villaclara, on the other side. They walked
behind four advanced guards armed with
bayonets.
RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫Jose Rizal was tied behind from
elbow to elbow, although, still had
the freedom to move his arms. In
his right arm was a rosary which he
kept on holding until his final breath.
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫In the Bagumbayan Field, Rizal
shook the hands of the two
priests and his defender,
bidding them farewell.
⚫A priest blessed and offered
him a crucifix which he gently
kissed.
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM

⚫Rizal had one request, that is,

that he be shot facing the firing
squad, however, in vain since
the captain of the squad ordered
a back shot.
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫A physician by the name of Dr.
Felipe Ruiz Castillo, was
amazed that Rizal's vital signs
were normal, particularly his
pulse rate – was Rizal really
unafraid to die?
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫The firing squad was commanded
in unison with drumbeats. Upon
the brisk command:
⚫“Preparar!”; “Apunte!”
⚫ “Fuego!” The guns of the squad
flared.
“Consumato es!”
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫Rizal, by his sheer effort and
remaining energy, twisted his body
around to face the firing squad,
and so, fell on the ground with his
face toward the blue sky, his head
slightly inclined toward the rising
sun in the east.
 RIZAL’S MARTYRDOM
⚫What can be heard from the
crowd of Spaniards was their
loud, audible voice, shouting
“Viva España!”(Long live Spain!)
“Morir el traidores!” (Death to
traitors!) Jose Rizal died at
exactly 7:03 in the morning of
December 30.
DR. JOSE RIZAL’S EXECUTION
 ST
126 DEATH ANNIVERSARY

DR. JOSE P. RIZAL

(DECEMBER 30, 1896-DECEMBER 30, 2022)
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE
⚫ Located at the outer circle is a
landmark that indicates the burial
place of National Hero Dr. Jose
Rizal after his execution in
Bagumbayan on December 30,
1896.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE
⚫ Unusual is how the initials of Jose P.
Rizal are inscribed in reverse (RPJ)
on the cross.
⚫ According to story, the day before
he was put to death, the family of
Rizal prevailed upon Spanish
authorities to turn over his corpse to
them later the next day.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE

⚫The pleas were met with refusal

after refusal because the
authorities feared the burial site
would be used a symbol of
martyrdom.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE
⚫ Finally, toward evening, the civil
governor of Manila, Manuel Luego,
took pity on Rizal’s mother and gave
her permission to take the body
after the execution.
⚫ Rizal’s sister Narcisa, made
arrangements for a coffin and
transportation.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE
⚫Once notified that the execution
was over, the family proceeded to
the execution site, but the remains
of Jose had already been removed.
⚫Narcisa searched in vain for the
body of his brother in all the
cemeteries in Manila.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE
⚫Passing through Paco Cemetery
in the afternoon, she came
upon some civil guards and
correctly surmised that their
presence indicated that her
brother had been buried there.
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING GRAVE
⚫She searched all over Paco
Cemetery until she found a
grave with freshly turned earth.
⚫She bribed the gravedigger to
place a plaque with Rizal initials
in reverse –R.P.J. to mark the
site.
FIRST GRAVE SITE OF RIZAL’S BODY

BEFORE
FIRST GRAVE SITE OF RIZAL’S BODY

AFTER
“Those who have lived a good life do not fear
death, but meet it calmly, and even long for it
in the face of great suffering.
But those who do not have a peaceful
conscience, dread death as though life means
nothing but physical torment.”
The challenge is to live our life so that we will
be prepared for death when it comes.
------ Unknown Source