Reviewer in RPH

CHAPTER 9 - RETRACTION CONTROVERSY OF JOSE RIZAL

• JOSE PROTACIO REALONDA ALONSO MERCADO RIZAL
- born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna and died last December 30, 1896 exactly
07:03 AM with face upward facing the morning sun.
- Went to Hong Kong in 1891 to practice his medical profession.
- In 1892, Jose Rizal formed “LA LIGA FILIPINA”, a secret organization.
- In 1895, he was the acquaintance of Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken.

DAYS BEFORE THE EXECUTION

● DECEMBER 26, 1896 - Rizal was accused and tried before a military tribunal for the
alleged crimes of rebellion, sedition, and legal association.
● DECEMBER 28, 1896 - Governor General affirmed the death sentence and set the
execution of Rizal on December 30 at 7:00 am.
● DECEMBER 29, 1896 - Rizal was notified of his death sentence; Day of the alleged
retraction of Rizal.
● DECEMBER 30, 1896 - Bracken and Rizal were married between the hours of 5:00
am and 6:00 a.m. After their marriage, Rizal was brought to the execution site from
Fort Santiago and was executed by musketry.

RETRACTION - the action of drawing something back or the withdrawal of one’s actions,
statements, and/or accusations imposed upon them; formal withdrawal or correction of a
previously published statement, article, paper, or other form of communication.

The alleged retraction of Jose Rizal was his reversion to the Catholic Faith and withdrawal of
his masonic affiliation - linked to his last love, Josephine Bracken.

MOMENTS BEFORE THE EXECUTION

1. 6:00 am to 7:00 am - Governor General Rafael Dominguez read the death sentence
to Rizal.
2. Rizal was brought to his death cell at Fort Santiago where he was visited by Spanish
officials and several priests (assumed to urge Rizal to retract).
3. 11:30 pm - Rizal wrote and signed the retraction in which he adhered Masonry.
4. It was said to be witnessed by the following: Juan del Fresno, a Chief of the Guard
Detail and Eloy Moure, an Adjutant of the Plaza.
5. After signing the retraction, it was said that Rizal confessed to Father Villaclara and
rested.

LETTER OF RIZAL’S RETRACTION

- The "original" discovered by Fr. Manuel Garcia, C.M. on May 18, 1935.
- Wrote last December 29, 1896.

FOUR DIFFERENT SOURCES

SOURCE 1 (DECEMBER 30, 1896)
- The first text was published in La Voz Espanola and Diaro de Manila on the very day
of Rizal's execution, Dec. 30, 1896.
SOURCE 2 (DECEMBER 31, 1896)
- The second text appeared in El Imparcial on the day after Rizal's execution. It is the
short formula of the retraction.
-
SOURCE 3 (FEBRUARY 14, 1897)
- The third text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, on February 14, 1897, in the fortnightly
magazine La Juventud. It came from an anonymous writer who revealed himself
fourteen years later as Fr. Balaguer.
SOURCE 4 (MAY 18, 1935)
- The alleged "original" text was discovered by Fr. Manuel Garcia, C.M. on May 18,
1935 in the Archdiocesan archives after it disappeared for thirty-nine years from the
afternoon of the day when Rizal was shot.

ANALYSIS OF RIZAL’S RETRACTION LETTER

- Fr. Balaguer said he received an exact copy of retraction written and signed by Rizal
- Balaguer handed it to Father Pio Pi for further validation, but the signature within the
letter was not proved to be of Rizal.
- According to Father Balaguer, Father Pi handed it to Archbishop Nozaleda, who
handed it to his secretary Gonzales Feijoo and kept it in the box of confidential
documents
- There was also an account that Father Balaguer himself was the one who
solemnized the marriage of Josephine Bracken and Jose Rizal hours before the
hero’s execution.
- Marriage was deemed to be the reason why Rizal wanted to retract from his masonic
deeds.
- Father Balaguer also required Rizal to sign a profession of faith to be approved by
Cebu Archbishop if he were to marry Josephine Bracken.
- This 'marriage' claim was opposed by a historian named Xiao Chua.
- Chua made investigations and found out that among the 2 priests and a counsel that
entered Rizal’s cell that day, (Father March and Father Villaclara with Adrade) no one
said about Father Balaguer in there.
- Aside from Father Balaguer’s claims of seeing Rizal’s retraction letter, no one else
claimed to have seen it except the publisher of La Voz Espaniola.
- The lost original document was found last May 18, 1935 but differed from those
found in Jesuits and Archbishops copies

SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO COPIES

COPY 1 – Fr. Balaguer’s Text, (January COPY 2 - La Voz Española, (December

1897) 30, 1896)
- Calidad - Cualidades
- La Iglesia - La Iglesia Catolica
- La Misma Iglesia - La Iglesia
- 2nd Paragraph - 2nd Paragraph
- Commas - Commas
- Names Mentioned - Names Mentioned
- Jose Rizal - Jose Rizal
- Jefe Del Piquete
- Juan Del Fresno
- Ayudante De Plaza
- Eloy Moure

ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS
- Twenty years later, Father Balaguer made a notarized testimony where he
named the witnesses.
- Furthermore, Fr. Balaguer claimed to possess the "exact" copy of the
Rizal-signed retraction in a letter to Fr. Pi in 1910, but he made no mention of
the witnesses.
How was Rizal's retraction obtained by Fr. Balaguer?
- Archbishop had prepared a long formula for the retraction
- Fr. Pi had written a short formula; No mention of Father Balaguer having a copy of
himself.
 - Fr. Balaguer only penned one copy, and it was the one that was included in his first
narrative of Rizal's retractions.
Where did Fr. Balaguer’s "exact" copy came from?
- The "exact copy" according to Fr. Balaguer may be just from the ArchBishop. "Exact"
because he was taught to believe that it was the copy that most accurately
represented the original.
- Fr. Pi's version was "shorter" than the Arch Bishop's because it removed some
sentences from the former in order to secure Rizal's signature.
ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS
Dapitan Retraction: Rizal had published a retraction in Dapitan about two years
prior to his death sentence
- Josephine Bracken traveled to Dapitan in 1895 with her adoptive father to be
treated by Dr. Rizal for his blindness
- Rizal fell in love with Josephine and desired to wed her in a canonical
ceremony, but he was forced to write a retraction and sign a declaration of
faith, both of which needed the Bishop of Cebu's approval.
- Rizal created a form of retraction that needed to be accepted by the Bishop of
Cebu in order for him to wed Josephine.
- Fr. Antonio Obach told his friend Prof. Austin Craig about this event, and
Professor Craig recorded what the priest had said in 1912:
- "The paper (the retraction), included with the priest's letter, was ready for the
mail when Rizal came running to reclaim it ."
- Fr. Pi and the Archbishop did not see the original retraction paper.
- The original was maintained by certain friars, and what they saw was a copy
made by someone who could replicate Rizal's handwriting.
RIZAL’S HANDWRITING
Mr. Ambeth R. Ocampo
- handwriting in the letter is Rizal's
Doctor Ricardo R. Pascual
- who claims it to consist of forgery of Rizal’s handwriting and signature.
- one of the people who was given permission by the archbishop to examine
the document.
-
THE CLAIM OF RAFAEL PALMA
- it did not reflect Rizal’s true character and beliefs
- Palma's reasons:
⚬ hidden and secret documents of retraction
⚬ no original copy of the document and no certificate of canonical marriage
⚬ undisclosed burial of Rizal
⚬ no moral motive for the conversion
CHAPTER 10 - THE CRY
The Cry of Pugad Lawin
- a.k.a “CRY OF BALINTAWAK” was the beginning of the Philippine Revolution against
the Spanish Empire.
- refer to the tearing of community tax certificates (cedulas personales) by the rebels to
mark their separation from Spain.
- Tagalog: Sigaw ng Pugad Lawin
- Spanish: Grito de Pugad
- In late August 1896, members of the Katipunan led by Andrés Bonifacio revolted
somewhere around Caloocan, which included parts of the present-day Quezon City.
- AUGUST 1896, in sitio of Pugad Lawin in Balintawak, now a part of Quezon City, The
Katipuneros Led by Andres Bonifacio rose up in revolt by tearing up their “cedulas”
which became a sign of defiance in Spain’s Allegiance.
- The term “cry” referred to the first clash between the KATIPUNEROS and CIVIL
GUARDS (GUARDIA CIVIL)
 - The “cry” could also refer to the tearing up of “COMMUNITY TAX CERTIFICATES” in
defiance of their allegiance to Spain.
- The inscriptions of "Viva la Independencia Filipina" can also be referred to as the
term for the cry.
- From 1908 until 1963, the event was thought to have occurred on August 26 in
Balintawak. In 1963, the Philippine government declared August 23 to be the date of
the event in Quezon City.
- The term "Cry" is translated from the Spanish el grito de rebelion (cry of rebellion) or
el grito for short.

CRY OF REBELLION
- sweeping Spanish colonies.
- marked the beginning of the Philippine Revolution in 1896 which ultimately led to
Philippine Independence in 1898.
CRY OF DOLORES
- Spanish: Grito de Dolores
- occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810 when Roman Catholic priest
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered
the Mexican War of Independence.
CRY OF YPIRAGA
- On September 7th, 1822 in Brazil, near the Ipiranga river, a Portuguese prince
claimed Brazil’s Independence.
- Shouting “Independence or Death!” he uttered the famous “Cry of Ipiranga”, declaring
the colony’s Independence.
- a well-known expression in Portuguese, still in use today, meaning Freedom.
CRY OF MATANZA
- In Cuba (February 24, 1895).
- In August 1896, northeast of Manila, Filipinas similarly declared their rebellion
against the Spanish historian, who institutionalized the phrase for the Philippines in
his 1897 book, La Insurreccion en Filipinas.
Manuel Sastron
- Spanish historian, who institutionalized the phrase for the Philippines in his 1897
book, La Insurreccion en Filipinas.

THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION

- On August 19, 1896, Katipunan was discovered by a Spanish friar, which resulted in
the start of the Philippine Revolution
- The Philippine Revolution, called the Tagalog War by the Spanish, was a revolution,
a civil war and subsequent conflict fought between the people and insurgents of the
Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities.
KKK (Kataas-taasang, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan)
English: Supreme and Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation
Spanish: Suprema y Honorable Asociación de los Hijos del Pueblo
Predecessor
- La Liga Filipina
- Formation: July 07, 1892
- Founders: Deodato Arellano, Andres Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, Jose
Dizon and Teodoro Plata
- It was a secret organization until it was discovered in 1896

How did the Cry of Balintawak or Cry of Pugad Lawin start?

- Spaniards had ruled the Philippines for over 300 years
- Members of Katipunan secret society (Katipuneros) -
- Andres Bonifacio was the leader of Katipunan frontlining the revolution.
- The Katipuneros led by Andres Bonifacio rose up in August 1896.
DIFFERENT VERSION OF FIRST CRY OF THE REVOLUTION
CRY OF PUGAD LAWIN
- authorized by no other than Dr. Pio Valenzuela (the eyewitness of the event) -
- Prime staging point of the Cry was in Balintawak on Wednesday of August 26, 1896.
- He wrote his Memoirs of the Revolution without consulting the written documents of
the Philippine revolution Valenzuela claimed that the “Cry” took place at Pugad Lawin
on August 23, 1896.
CRY OF BALINTAWAK
- The version is written by the Katipunan General Guillermo Masangkay (eyewitness of
the historic event and a childhood friend of Bonifacio).
- According to him, the first rally of the Philippine Revolution happened on August 26,
1896 at Balintawak.
CRY OF BAHAY TORO
- another version that was launched by Santiago Alvarez.
- son of Mariano Alvarez and a relative of Gregoria de Jesus. -
- Santiago Alvarez was a prominent katipunan warlord of Cavite; not an eyewitness of
the historic event.
- August 24, 1896
THE CRY
- by Gregoria De Jesus.
- Also known as Aling Oriang;
- wife of Andres Bonifacio
- Lakambini ng Katipunan
- The “First Cry” happened at Caloocan on August 25, 1896 - generally signified as the
“first call rebellion”

BALINTAWAK OR PUGAD LAWIN?

- TEODORO AGONCILLO - author of the book “The Revolt of the Masses” (wrote in
1956)
- He said that the cry took place in Pugad Lawin, prior to the statements made by Pio
Valenzuela.
- Teodoro Agoncillo said that Bonifacio scheduled a general assembly of the Katipunan
for Aug. 24, 1896,
- The Feast of San Bartolome in Malabon.
- Bonifacio and his men were in Balintawak on August 19.
- AUGUST 21 – left Balintawak for Kangkong
- AUGUST 22 (AFTERNOON) – proceed to Pugad Lawin
- AUGUST 23 - in the yard of Juan Ramos or Tandang Sora, The Katipuneros listened
to the speech of Bonifacio and tore their cedulas and vowed to fight.