Rizal Midterm Reviewer
Dapitan town to attend to his other patients there
EXILE, TRIAL, AND DEATH
The deportee could have stayed in the
Dapitan parish convent had he retracted his anti-
Catholic pronouncements 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 the commandant's
residence called "Casa Real."
The commandant Captain Ricardo
Carnicero and Jose Rizal became such good
friends 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, 000. 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 1293 started with only three pupils
and had about more than 20 students at the time
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
the whole morning. Rizal would return to Talisay
to take his lunch. Teaching his pupils would begin
at about 2 p.m. 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 efforts, 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
1. Improving the town's drainage and
constructing better water system using empty
bottles and bamboo joints.
2. He also taught the town folks about health
and sanitation to avoid the spread of
diseases.
3. With his Jesuit priest friend Sanchez, Rizal
made a huge relief map of Mindanao in
Dapitan plaza.
4. he bettered the forest there by providing
evident trails, stairs, and some benches.
5. He invented a wooden machine for the mass
production of bricks. Using the bricks he
 produced, Rizal built a water dam for the
community with the help of his students.
6. 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, tuberculosis, and even leprosy
(Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 112).
7. Rizal also helped in the livelihood of the abaca
farmers in Dapitan by trading their crops in
Manila. He gave them lessons in abaca-
weaving to produce hammocks.
8. Noticing that the fishing method by the locals
was inefficient, he taught them better
techniques, like weaving and using better
fishing nets.
9. As a Scientist and Philogist
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 some 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.
Spies and Secret Emissary
Not just once did Rizal learn that his
•enemies• sent spies to gather incriminating
proofs that 'he was a separatist and an insurgent.
Perhaps disturbed by his conscience. a physician
named Matias Arrieta revealed his covert
mission and asked for forgiveness after he was
cured by Rizal (Bantug & Ventura. 1997, p. 1161)
In March 1895. a man introduced himself
to Rizal as Pablo Mercado. Claiming to be
Rizal’s relative, this stranger eagerly volunteered
to bring Rizal’s letters to certain persons in
Manila. Made suspicious by the visitor’s
insistence, Rizal interrogated him, and it turned
out that his real name was Florencio Nanaman
of Cagayan de Misamis, paid as a secret agent by
the Recollect friars. But because it was raining
that evening, the
kind Rizal did not command Nanaman out of his
house but even let the spy spend the rainy night
in his place (Bantug & Venturm 1997, p. 117).
In June the next year. a different kind of
emissary was sent to Rizal. Doctor Pio Valenzuela
was sent to Dapitan by Andres Bonifacio—the
Katipunan leader who believed that carrying out
revolt had to be sanctioned first by Rizal.
Disguised as a mere companion of a blind patient
seeking treatment from Rizal, Valenzuela was able
to discreetly deliver the Katipunan's message for
Rizal. But Rizal politely refused to approve the
uprising, suggesting that peaceful means was far
better than violent ways in obtaining freedom.
Rizal further believed that a revolution would be
unsuccessful without arms and monetary support
from wealthy Filipinos. He thus recommended
that if the Katipunan were to start a revolution, it
had to ask for the support of rich and educated
Filipinos, like Antonio Luna who was an expert on
military strategy (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 133)
Visited by loved ones
Rizal was in Dapitan when he learned that
his true love Leonor Rivera had died. What
somewhat consoled his desolate heart was the
visits of his mother and some sisters.
In August 1893, Dona Teodora, along
with daughter Trinidad. joined Rizal in Dapitan
and resided with him in his casa cuadrada
(square house). The son successfully operated on
his mother's cataract,
At distinct times, Jose's sisters Maria and
Narcisa also visited him. Three of Jose's
nephews likewise went to Dapitan and had their
early education under their uncle: Maria's son
Mauricio (Moris) and Lucia's sons Teodosio
(Osio) and Estanislao (Tan). Jose's niece
Angelica, Narcisa’s daughter, also experienced
living for some time with her exiled uncle in
Mindanao.
In 1895, Dona Teodora left Dapitan for
Manila with Don Francisco who was getting
weaker. Shortly, after his mother left, Josephine
Bracken came to Jose’s life. Josephine was an
orphan with Irish blood and the stepdaughter of
Jose's patient from Hong Kong(George Tauffer).
Rizal and Bracken were unable to obtain a church
wedding because Jose would not retract his anti-
Catholic views. He nonetheless took Josephine as
his common-law wife who kept him company and
kept house for him. Before the year ended in
1895, the couple had a child who was born
prematurely. The son who was named after
Rizal's father (Francisco) and died a few hours
after birth.
Goodbye Dapitan
In 1895, Blumentritt informed Rizal that
the 'revolution-ridden Cuba, another nation
colonized by Spain, was raged by a 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 "Espana" 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!" as 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" (as cited in
G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, p. 242).
From Dapitan to Trial in Fort Santiago
Various significant events happened
during Rizal's trip from Dapitan to Manila. Leaving
Dapitan for Manila on July 31, 1896, the steamer
Espana 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 many 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
As the steamer approached Luzon, there
was an attempt by the Katipuneros to help
Rizal escape (Bantug & Ventura, 1997. p. 135).
The Katipunero Emilio Jacinto, disguising
himself as a ship crew member, had 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 was said to have refused to be
rescued by Katipunan's envoys. (Another version
of this story claims that the rescue attempt
happened when Rizal's ship was already docked
at
Manila Bay.)
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
Patino to Mariano Gil, 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 assaults happened
on August 29 and 30 when the Katipuneros
attacked the Civil Guard garrison in Pasig and
more significantly the 100 Spanish soldiers
protecting the powder magazine in San Juan. But
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 some other suburban
Manila areas on that same day prompted the
governor-general to proclaim a state of war in
Manila and seven other nearby provinces.
On the same day (August 30), Blanco
issued letters of recommendation on Rizal's behalf
to the Spanish Minister of War and the
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
worse 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 with 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 some
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 p.m. 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 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 interrogations 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
1290. Those who were coerced to testify against
Rizal were not allowed to be cross-examined by
the accused. Rizal was 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 & Ventura, 1997, p. 141).
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 Pena. After examining the case,
Pena recommended that :
a. Rizal be instantly brought to trial,
b. he be kept in jail.
c. an order of attachment be issued against his
property, and
d. 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
Malacanang. Concerned 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 Pena 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 the morning of December 26, 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 Espafia. 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 &
Ventura, 1997, 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 was 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 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 that 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. The
jury unanimously voted for the death sentence.
The trial ended with the reading of the sentence
— Jose Rizal was found guilty, and 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.
Last 25 hours
Accounts on Jose 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.
From 6 am to 12 Noon
Standard biography 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 "I’m little of
a Marian, Father” ("Rizal's Last Hours:
n.d„ para. 5).
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 a heated discussion about religion as
witnessed by Rosell ("Rizal's Last Hours: n.d..
para. 8).
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 an 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 & Ventura.
1997, p. 147).
At 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 ("Rizal's Last Hours” n.d.,
para. 10). Refusing to receive visitors for the
mean time, 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” (cited in Cueto,
2012, para. 7).
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 (G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, p.
265). Rizal then wrote letters and dedications and
rested shortly.
At 4 p.m. the sorrowful Dona Teodora
and Jose's sisters went to see the sentenced
Rizal. The mother was not allowed a last embrace
by the guard, but her beloved son, in quiet grief,
managed to press a kiss on her hand.
Dominguez was said to have been moved with
compassion at the sight of Rizal's kneeling before
his mother and asking for forgiveness ("Rizal's
Last Hours," n.d., para. 14). 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 (Bantug &
Ventura, 1997, p. 149)
The Dean of the Manila Cathedral, Don
Silvino Lopez Tunon, went to see Rizal to
exchange some views with him at about 5:30
p.m. Balaguer and March then left, leaving
Vilaclara and Tunon 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 with each other ("Rizal's
Last Hours," n.d., para. 16).
The Night of December 29
At 7 p.m., Faura returned and convinced
Rizal to trust him and some other Ateneo
professors. After some quiet moments, Rizal
purportedly confessed to Faura ("Rizal's Last
Hours," n.d., para: 17).
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 Cestano
arrived and had an amiable talk with Rizal.
Historians Gregorio and Sonia Zaide
alleged that at 10 p.m. Rizal and some. Catholic
priests worked on the hero's retraction (1984. pp.
265-266). Supposedly, Balaguer brought to Rizal
a retraction draft made by Archbishop
Bernardino Nozaleda, 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 was said that he wrote his
retraction renouncing freemasonry and his
anti-Catholic ideas. (Zaides' book, 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 30, perhaps praying
and meditating once in a while.
The Early Morning of December 30
The Zaides alleged that at 3 a.m., Rizal
heard Mass, confessed sins, and took Communion
(1984, p. 266). At about 4 a.m., Rizal 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 & Ventura, 1997, pp.
151-152). Historian Ambeth R. Ocampo, on the
other hand, wrote "three hardboiled eggs" and
related that Rizal "did not have any breakfast"
(Ocampo, 2012, p. 227). Both historians
nevertheless 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" (as
cited in G. Zaidé & S. Zaide, 1984, pp. 266-267).
Though some accounts, state that
Bracken was forbidden from seeing Rizal on this
fateful day the Zaides 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" (1984 p.
267).
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 (as cited in G. Zaide &
S. Zaide, 1984, p. 268):
To my very dear Mother,
Sra. Dona. Teodora Alonso
6 0'clock in the morning, December 30,
1896.
Jose Rizal
Slow Walk to Death
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 guards of armed soldiers and behind
them was 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 on that morning, many 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,
2012, p. 228).
Once in a while, Rizal conversed with the
priests, commenting on things like his happy
years at 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 take a walk here with my
sweetheart" (Ocampo, 2012, p. 228).
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 finally agreed to turn his back to
the firing squad on the condition that he would
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. The curious doctor was startled to
find Rizal's pulse 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"
(Ocampo, 2012, p. 228).
When the command had been given, the
executioners' long guns barked at once. Rizal
yelled Christ's two last words "Consummatum
est!” (It is finished!) as he simultaneously
exerted a final effort to twist his bullet-pierced
body halfway around. Facing the sky, Jose Rizal
fell on the ground dead at exactly 7:03 on
the morning of December 30, 1896.
Silence was all over. Unfortunately, the
Captain did not keep his words about the request
made by Rizal of not shooting his head, but one
of his men came near to the body and gave Rizal
“tira de gracia” or the mercy shot in the head
to make sure that Rizal is dead. The Spaniard
shouted, “Viva Espana! Muerte a los
Traidores!” But the crowd did not respond. To
break the ice, the military band played “Marcha
de Cadiz” and so they cheered
NOLI ME TANGERE
Comprising 63 chapters and an
epilogue, Jose Rizal's first novel Noli Me Tangere
exposes the abuses and inequities of many
Spanish Catholic friars and government officials
during his time.
Rizal was a student of medicine at the
Universidad Central de Madrid when he
started writing it and was 26 years old at its
publication.
The author fittingly dedicated the novel to
the country of his people whose miseries and
sorrows he brought to light in an attempt to
awaken them to the truths concerning the ills of
their society. Paradoxically though, the novel was
originally written in Spanish, the language of the
colonizers and the educated at that time.
Published in early 1887 in Europe, the
novel is now commonly called by its shortened
name Noll; its English translation is usually titled
Touch Me Not and The Social Cancer. The
Latin title, which means "touch me not" was
taken from Christ's words. In a letter to Felix
Hidalgo, Rizal, however, made a mistake in
attributing the quotation to the Gospel of Luke,
for it was in fact recorded in John 20:17:
"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended
to my Father."
The Writing of the Novel
Influenced by Harriet Beecher Stowe's
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Jose Rizal planned to
publish a book that would reveal the ills of
Spanish-colonized Philippine society. Hence, in a
meeting of Filipinos in Madrid at the Paterno
residence in January 1884, Rizal suggested the
creation of the book. The proposal that all of
them would contribute papers on the various
facets of life in the Philippines was unanimously
approved by those, present at the reunion,
among whom were the Paternos (Pedro,
Maximino, and Antonio), Graciano Lopez
Jaena, Valentin Ventura, Eduardo de Lete,
Evaristo Aguirre, and Julio Llorente.
The plan, nonetheless, did not materialize,
“My proposal on the book,” Rizal explained in
his letter dated January 2, 1884, "was
unanimously approved. But afterwards
difficulties and objections were raised
which seemed to me rather odd, and a
number of gentlemen stood up and refused
to discuss the matter any further.” He
noticed that his compatriots were more interested
in writing about women instead and in spending
time gambling or flirting with Spanish women.
(Interestingly, those Filipinos must have included
Rizal's close friends like Jaena and Ventura.)
Sensing that it was improbable to count
on the support of his companions, Rizal started
writing alone the novel in Madrid toward the
end of the same year and finished about half
of it in the city. Leaving for France in 1885,
he had written the third quarter of the novel
in Paris. In Wilhelmsfeld, he penned the last
few chapters of Noli from April to June 1886.
The novel was completed in Berlin,
Germany at the end of 1886, and the final
draft was ready for publication at the onset
of the year 1887.
The Printing of Noli
The transition between 1886 and 1887
was perhaps one of the most stressful parts in
Rizal’s life. While painstakingly preparing the final
draft of the Noli, he actually had in his heart the
fear that it might not be published at all. For how
could he have it printed, if for his personal needs
alone, he had insufficient money? Rizal would not
ask his co-Filipinos in Europe for financial help,
especially because none of them supported him in
writing the Noli.
Thankfully however, a friend from a rich
family of San Miguel, Bulacan arrived in Berlin.
The paldo (loaded with money) Dr. Maximo
Viola went to Germany to invite Rizal to
accompany him on a Europe tour. But upon
learning Rizal's quandary, the kind Viola decided
to delay the tour and insisted on lending Rizal
some money so that the Noli could be published.
But even then, Rizal made some
adjustments in the novel to economize in its
printing. He deleted the chapter titled "Elias and
Salome," which was supposedly Chapter 25,
following the chapter, "In the Woods."
The P300 Viola lent to Rizal was thus
used to print the first 2,000 copies of the Noli.
Some references state that Noli Me Tangere
officially came off the press on March 29, 1887
although records also showed that by March 21,
Rizal was already sending Blumentritt a copy of
the novel.
For his generous act, Maximo Viola had
fittingly gone down in Philippine history as "the
savior of the Noli." As a token of gratitude,
Rizal gave him the galley proofs of the novel
rolled around the pen used in writing the Noli.
The author also gave the Noli savior the first copy
to come off the press on which Rizal inscribed a
dedication, which described Viola as the "first to
read and appreciate printing [Rizal's]
work."
EL FILIBUSTERISMO
El Filibusterismo is Jose Rizal’s second
novel written as the sequel of his Noli Me
Tangere. Commonly nicknamed El Fili or simply
Fili, the novel was written also in Spanish. Its
commonly known English alternative title is The
Reign of Greed.
The Writing and Printing of Fili
Rizal started writing El Filibusterismo in
October 1887 in Calamba during his first
homecoming. The novel was thus written against
the background of threats and oppressions he
and his family suffered because of the Noli and
the so-called Calamba agrarian trouble.
He continued working on it, making
some revisions, in London in 1888. Rizal then
went on to write the novel in Paris, and then in
Brussels where distractions were less, and the
cost of living was cheaper. Being able to focus on
finishing the book, Rizal had finally completed
it by March 29, 1891 in Biarritz.
Jose Alejandrino, Rizal's roommate in
Belgium related that he was the one who looked
for a printing press for El Fili. He delivered proofs
and revisions to F. Meyer van Loo in Ghent. For
his assistance, Rizal gave him the El Fili's
corrected proofs and the pen used in doing the
corrections. Unluckily, these historical souvenirs
were either lost or destroyed during the
revolution (Ocampo, 2012, p. 111). (For Rizal's
collaboration and relation with Jose Alejandrino,
read Appendix O: "Rizal's Relations with Other
Filipino Patriots and Heroes.")
Alejandro, who later became a general in
the Philippine revolution have possibly been the
first person to read the novel aside from the
author the honor of being called “the savior of
the Fili” had gone to Valentin Ventura – Rizal’s
friend who partially financed the novel's
publication (Ventura’s steal of the title, one may
argue, is another classic elucidation of the
expression. “That's what money can do.”)
Initially, Rizal financed El Fili’s printing by
pawning his properties. In a letter to Jose
Basa dated July 9, 1891, he related: “For the
past three months I have not received
single centavo, so I have pawned all that I
have in order to publish this book. I will
continue publishing it as long as I can; and
when there is nothing to pawn I will
stop…” (“El Filibusterismo,” n.d.)
Rizal’s next letter to Basa carried the sad
news that the printing had to be suspended for
lack of funds, and it was at this point where
Valentin Ventura came into the picture. Having
known Rizal's predicament, Ventura offered him
financial help. In hindsight, we can assume that
Ventura was bothered by his conscience, hence
his generous monetary assistance for Rizal’s
novel. Remember that Ventura was one of the
Filipinos who promised to co-author Rizal’s
proposed first book but ended up contributing
nothing.
But even with Ventura's help, Rizal found
it necessary to fundamentally shorten the novel
erasing 47 whole pages from the 279-page
manuscript to save expenses (Ocampo, 2012. P.
111). Thus, the printed El Fili, which came off the
press by the middle of September 1891
turned out comprising only 38 chapters
compared with the 64 of the Noli—contrary to his
original plan to make a longer sequel.
For Ventura's salvific act, Rizal gave him
the novel's original manuscript, a pen, and an
autographed printed copy. In 1925, the
Philippine government bought the El Fili
manuscript from Ventura for a large sum of
10,000 pesos (G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, p.
194). It is now being kept in the National
Library.
Filibustero and Gomburza
The Filibusterismo in the novel's title is
derived from the simpler term filibuster. Rizal
defined the word ('filibustero') to his friend
Ferdinand Blumentritt who encountered but did
not fully comprehend the word in the Noli. Rizal,
thus. explained in a letter ("El Filibusterismo,"
2011): "The word filibustero is little known
in the Philippines heard it for the first time
in 1872 when the tragic executions [of the
Gomburza] took place. I still remember the
panic that this word created. Our father
forbade us to utter it, as well as the words
Cavite, Burgos (one of the executed
priests), etc. The Manila newspapers and
the Spaniards apply this word to one whom
they want to make a revolutionary suspect.
The Filipinos belonging to the educated
class fear the reach of the word. It means a
dangerous patriot who will soon be hanged
or well, a presumptuous
man."
The word filibustero thus, contextually
means subversive, dissident, revolutionary,
seditious, insurrectionary, and treasonous.
Fittingly, Rizal dedicated the book to the
memory of the Gomburza, the three Filipino
patriotic priests who were accused of being
filibustero and, thus, executed. In his
dedication, Rizal fearlessly declared his conviction
that the Spanish officials’ treatment of the priests'
case was unjust -as [their] complicity in the
Cavite Mutiny is not clearly proved."
The dedication partly reads: "To the
memory of the priests, Don Mariano Gomez
(85 years old), Don Jose Burgos (30 years
old), and Don Jacinto Zamora (35 years
old). Executed in the Bagumbayan Field on
the 28th of February, 1872… I have the
right to dedicate my work to you as victims
of the evil which I undertake to combat…”
(“El Filibusterismo,” n.d.) Rizal however, made
mistakes in indicating the ages of the priests and
the date of their execution. During their
martyrdom on the 17th (not 28th) of
February 1872, Gomez was then 73 (not
85), Burgos was 35 (not 30) and Zamora
was 37 (not 35). Like many other students
today (especially men), Rizal was perhaps not  passenger had know the uprising in
that good in memorizing historical details, like the Philippines.
dates and ages.  Monjuich prison fortress
The foreword of the Fill was nonetheless  Rizal’s Barcelona Detainment
addressed "To The Filipino People and Their
 Colon
Government.”
 a ship from Barcelona back to Manila
The original manuscript also included a
"warning" and an “inscription” on the title  Fort Santiago
page written by the author's friend, Ferdinand  Rizal’s Manila Detainment
Blumentritt.
Mga Person HAHHAHAHA
 Captain Ricardo Carnicero
 Rizal’s guard during exile
 “A Don Ricardo Carnicero”
 born on August 26, 1892
 Rizal’s co-winner in a lottery
 Priest Antonio Obach
 Parish priest in Dapitan convent
 Francisco de Paula Sanchez
 Rizal’s favorite teacher in Ateneo
 couldn’t convince Rizal to change his
mind.
 Together with Rizal, they made a
huge relief map of Mindanao.
 Pablo Pastells
 Superior of the Jesuit Society in the
Mga Things HAHAHAHHAHA Philippines
 Casa Real  Exchange letter with Rizal (09/92’-
 Ricardo Carnicero’s residence 04/93’)
 Barotto  Doctor Adolph B. Meyer
 Rizal’s Boat (he had 2)  a friend from Dresden, Europe
 Rhacophorus Rizali  Biological aspect
 a Dapitan frog  He sent Rizal some book and other
 Apogonia Rizali academic reading materials.
 type of beetle  Doctor Reinhold Rost
 Draco Rizali  Rizal’s close philologist friend in
 a flying dragon London.
 Espana  Language aspect
 A streamer used to transport Rizal and  Physician Matias Arrieta
his family from Dapitan to Manila  revealed his covert mission.
 Isla de Luzon  asked for forgiveness, after Rizal
 a streamer supposed to use to cured him.
transport Rizal for Spain, but it left a  Florencio Nanaman
day earlier.  introduced himself as Pablo
 Castilla Mercado
 used to separate Rizal to his family  from Cagayan de Misamis, a paid
while waiting for the next steamer secret agent
going to Spain.  Doctor Pio Valenzuela
 Isla de Panay  Sent to Dapitan by Katipunan Leader
 used to transport Rizal from Manila to – Andres Bonifacio
Barcelona  successfully deliver then Katipunan’s
 Port Said, Egpyt message.
 Stopover  Leonor Rivera
  Rizal’s true love, who died when
Rizal is in Dapitan.
 Visited by loved ones
 Dona Teodora, Trinidad, Narcisa
and Maria visited Rizal in Dapitan.
 Maria’s Son – Mauricio (Moris)
 Lucia’s Sons – Teodosio (Osio) and
Estanislao (Tan)
 Narcisa’s Daughter – Angelica
 Josephine Bracken
 was an orphan with Irish Blood.
 common-Law Wife of Rizal
 had a premature son with Rizal, who
was named after Rizal’s father.
 George Tauffer
 Stepfather of Bracken
 Rizal’s ex patient in HongKong
 Ferdinand Blumentritt
 informed Rizal’s about the Yellow-
fever epidemic in Cuba.
 Governor-General Ramon Blanco
 sanction Rizal’s request to serve as a
volunteer physician in Cuba.
 disguised himself as a ship crew
member, had managed to get close
with Rizal.
 issued a letter of recommendation
for Rizal (innocence)
 Katipunero Guillermo Masankay
 circled the ship in a boat
 Mariano Gil
 Augustinian cura of Tondo
 who got the confession from a
certain Teodoro Patino (Katipunan)
 Don Pedro Roxas and Don Manuel
Camus
 co-passenger of Rizal in Isla de
Panay
 urged Rizal to stay in Singapore – a
British controlled territory.
 General Eulogio Despujol
 guarded Rizal in Barcelona
 the same person who deported Rizal
to Dapitan
 Colonel Francisco Olive
 Investigate Rizal
 Same judge who led the troops that
forced Rizal family to vacate their
Calamba home.
 Captain Rafael Dominguez
 was assigned as special Judge
Advocate in Rizal’s Case
 made a summary on Rizal’s case
 General Don Nicolas dela Pena
 Judge Advocate who recommend (a-
d)
 Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade
 chosen attorney of Rizal
 Jose Taviel Andrade
 Father of Lt. Luis
 Camilo G. de Polavieja
 replaced Blanco as governor general
 Cuartel de Espafia
 trapped rat
 Filipino patriot, who was tried.
 Lt. Col. Jose Togores Arjona
 acting president inside the court
against Espafia
 Miguel Saderra Mata and Luis Visa
 visited Rizal
 brought Medal of the Ateneo’s
Marian Congregation,
 and the wooden statue of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus.
 Antonio Rosell
 had breakfast with Rizal
 Santiago Mataix
 of Spanish newspaper El Heraldo de
Madrid interviewed Rizal
 Federico Faura
 advised Rizal to forget about his
resentment and marry Josephine
canonically.
 had heated discussion about religion
 Jose Vilaclara and Vicente Balaguer
 tried to convince Rizal to write a
retraction.
 Estanislao March
 joined Vilaclara and Balaguer
 Padro de Taveras
 gift Rizal’s the alcohol bottle (Mi
Ultimo)
 Don Silvino Lopez Tunon
 exchange some views with Rizal
 Dean of the Manila Cathedral
 Don Gaspar Cestano
 had a amiable talk with Rizal
 Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda
 wrote Rizal’s supposed rectraction.
 Jesuit Pio Pi
 made a shorter ractration
Noli Me Tangere
 John 20:17
 “Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to my Father”
 Touch Me Not and The Social Cancer
 English Translation of Noli
 Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 authored by Harriet Beecher Stowe
 Influenced Rizal to wrote a book
 Paterno Residence
 Meeting place
 Paternos (Pedro, Maximino, and
Antonio)
 Graciano Lopez Jeana, Valentin
Ventura
 Eduardo de Letre, Evaristo Aguirre,
and Julio Llorente
 Doctor Maximo Viola
 A paldo
 “the savior of Noli”
 Characters in Noli
 Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y nothing to endear him or develop
Magsalin
A wealthy young mestizo who
has just returned to the Philippines
after seven years of studying in
Europe, Ibarra is sophisticated,
highly esteemed, and very
idealistic. The priests of San Diego
all view him with great wariness on
account of his highly liberal
education and connections. He is
shocked upon learning of his
beloved father’s demise. His father,
the equally idealistic Don Rafael,
was labeled a subversive and a
heretic by the corrupt priesthood
and incarcerated, ultimately leading
to his death. He seeks to fulfill his
father’s wishes of putting up a
school in San Diego---one that will
not be influenced by the friars.
 Maria Clara
A woman of high social
standing, she is the adoptive
daughter of Capitan Tiago and
goddaughter to the vile Fr.
Damaso. The truth however is that
she is actually the biological
daughter of Fr. Damaso, the
product of a scandalous
relationship between the old priest
and Capitan Tiago’s wife, Pia Alba.
MariaClara had grown up alongside
the younger Ibarra and planned to
marry but Fr. Damaso disapproved
of the union. Her interfering
guardians set her up to be wed to
Linares, a wealthy young man of
Spanish descent. She keeps mum
about her arranged marriage to
keep from angering her father, the
weak-willed Capitan Tiago. When
Ibarra is put on trial for sedition
she is coerced into surrendering
the letters Ibarra has sent her as
evidence of his guilt.
 Father Damaso
An old, power-hungry, and
shamelessly corrupt Spanish priest
who has lived among the native
Filipinos for nearly two decades; in
spite of having spent all that time
among them the years have done
any sympathy for his “flock.” Petty
and vindictive, he thinks nothing of
using his considerable influence to
ruin the lives of those who have
slighted him, regardless of how
small the offense is. He
masterminded the death of Don
Rafael Ibarra then brazenly taunted
the younger Ibarra, alluding to
having a hand in his father’s death.
The insult is too much for
Crisostomo Ibarra to let slide; he
attacks the old friar prompting his
excommunication and the
dissolution of their would-be
wedding.
 Elias
A mysterious character, Elias is
a man on the run from the law---a
wandering insurgent---resentful of
both the Spanish colonial
government and the Catholic
Church, he crosses paths with the
more temperate Crisostomo Ibarra
when he bravely saves his life from
a marauding crocodile. He pledges
his life to the young man,
promising to protect him from his
manifold enemies. He takes on the
identity of a laborer to gather
intelligence for his new friend,
uncovering a plot against Sr.
Ibarra’s life. He and Ibarra have
several long conversations
regarding the ethics of politics and
 governance with Elias taking a
more definite revolutionary stand.
 Don Rafael Ibarra
Crisostomo Ibarra’s father is
posthumously mentioned in the
novel. A great supporter of liberal
education for all and a vocal critic
of the corrupt practices of the
Spanish friars, he earns the ire of
the vitriolic Fray Damaso who
accuses him of sedition and heresy.
He dies in prison having contracted
pneumonia. His remains are buried
in the catholic cemetery in the
town of San Diego but the hateful
Fr. Damaso hires a gravedigger to
disinter his body to have him
buried at the Chinese cemetery
because of his status as a heretic.
The gravedigger, unwilling to make
the long journey he instead throws
the body into the lake, deciding
that it would make a more
honorable final resting place than
the Chinese cemetery
 Crispin
A young lad studying to be a
church caretaker, he together with
his brother Basilio, ceaselessly work
to send support money for their
beleaguered mother, Sisa. Crispín is
blamed for stealing money from
the church coffers by the head
sexton and is kept a virtual prisoner
until the debt is paid. On the night
that he and his sibling were to visit
their mother the head sexton
forbids them, keeping them until
the curfew, effectively barring the
brothers from travelling. Crispín
reasons out to the head sexton, it
infuriates him and he proceeds to
drag the young boy away to beat
him. He is never seen again
afterwards, and one can assume
that he has died at the hands of
the cruel head sexton.
 Basilio
Eldest of Sisa’ brood, he, like his
younger brother are sextons in
training. Basilio makes a desperate
run for their home the night Crispín
is dragged away. He attempts to
locate his younger brother the day
after but his search efforts come up
fruitless. The following day the Civil
Guard comes looking for him and
his brother. Fearing for his life he
makes a mad dash for the forest
where he goes into hiding, living
with kind family until Christmas Eve
where he planned to return to his
mother. When he finally locates
Sisa, but learns that the poor
woman has gone mad from grief
and is thusly unable to identify her
son. He follows her to the forest
where she regains her wits
temporarily recognizing her son,
and then dies from the shock.
 Father Salvi
A younger, more cunning
Spanish priest who assumes control
over Fr. Damaso’s post as friar
curate of San Diego; he is in many
regards more dangerous that his
precursor as he is a more canny
strategist who knows how to
leverage the multiple dirty little
secrets each of the members of
San Diego’s high society circle has.
 Don Santiago de los Santos
Capitan Tiago is a rarity in that
he is a wealthy native-born Filipino
socialite; he keeps close ties with
high-ranking members of the
Catholic Church, despite actually
having no love for them. His primary
concern is to marry off his daughter,
the lovely Maria Clara, to an affluent
man from an influential family. This
is one of the main reasons that he is
quick to toss aside his loyalties to
Crisostomo Ibarra when he is labeled
a subversive. His predilection for
advantageous social pairings makes
him quick to assent to Linares as a
potential new match for his
daughter.
 The Ensign
The nameless head of the Civil
Guard of the township of San
Diego; a man of Spanish descent
he is in a constant bitter feud with
Fr. Salví as he has come to hate the
sly priest’s manipulations. In
 retaliation the ensign imposes
curfews that make it all but
impossible for the citizens of San
Diego to attend mass at the proper
schedule. A drunkard and a
braggart, he is actually a cuckolded
man married to a fiery, feisty, and
foul-mouthed Filipina, Doña
Consolación.
 Donya Consolacion
The pugnacious wife of The
Ensign, Doña Consolación is an
older, cantankerous Filipina woman
who constantly lectures her
husband. Their fights are the stuff
of legend and it is an open secret
that it is she, not her husband who
makes he decisions for the
organization. She is described as
an exceptionally vulgar woman and
exceedingly ugly almost bordering
on caricature prompting the less
charitable members of the Civil
Guard to facetiously call her “The
Muse of Civil Guard.” Doña
Consolación sees herself to be a
person of great standing in society,
even if she is the only one who
holds this opinion, and even if she
is wholly Filipino she feigns inability
to speak Tagalog, her native dialect
insisting instead on speaking very
poor, nearly pidgin Spanish.
 Doctor Tiburcio de Espadaña
A fraud and a hustler, the
Spaniard who calls himself Doctor
Tiburcio de Espadaña was actually
a customs officer who was
dismissed from his post shortly
after arriving in the Philippines.
Despite having no medical
experience or money he travels to
the countryside to posing as a
doctor, charging extortionate fees
for his so-called services. His
patients eventually catch wind of
his schemes and he is forced to
relocate to another area where he
is all but unknown. He finds his
was to San Diego and as luck
would have it the unfortunate
Maria Clara falls ill and he is once
again called to resume his
duplicitous medical practice.
 La Doctora Victorina de los
Reyes de Espadaña
A brazen and determined
Filipina social climber Doña
Victorina is the spouse of the
counterfeit doctor, Tiburcio de
Espadaña. She well past her prime
and relies on garish make-up to
carry on a façade of youth. Her
tastes in fashion are mercurial as
are her patterns of speech,
mimicking the speech and manner
of dress of members of high
society. An accomplished hustler
herself it is she that devises that
Dr. Tiburcio treat Maria Clara as
well as matching her up with his
nephew Linares.
 Lt. Guevara
A morally upright man of
Spanish descent who holds both
Crisostomo Ibarra and the late Don
Rafael in high esteem, he is also
the lieutenant of the Civil Guard.
He is one of the few who openly
supported the Ibarra’s and was
vocal about his dislike of Fray
Damaso’s control. He was the one
who informed Crisostomo Ibarra of
the fate of his father and how Fr.
Damaso was involved in his death.
 Linares
Dr. de Espadaña’s nephew, a
respectable young Spanish man,
quite gifted and possesses a law
degree; a near polar opposite of his
uncle, a matter that endears him to
his uncle’s social-climbing wife.
 The Schoolmaster
A teacher that Don Rafael
housed thus allowing him to
suitably attend to the task of
instructing students; he informs
Crisostomo Ibarra of the sorry state
of education of San Diego since the
passing of his father. The friars
closely watch the material being
taught in the school, forbidding him
from teaching Spanish, even if
there was an edict stating that
Spanish must be taught. The
 Schoolmaster is grateful to the
Ibarra family but he expresses no
optimism that he’d make head way
in getting any lasting educational
reforms happen.
 Don Filipo (Filipo Lino)
Don Filipo Lino is
representative of the younger, less
religiously shackled generation of
movers and shakers in San Diego,
he also serves as the vice mayor of
the town. He despises the idea of
spending lavish amounts of money
on the numerous feast days that
mark the religious calendar seeing
it as both wasteful
burdensome to the citizens as it
often puts them under great
financial stress, may even going
under debt just to be able to
celebrate. His words however fall
on deaf ears as he is only deputy
mayor---the Mayor,
commanding officer---is
dedicated follower of the Catholic
church and the de facto
mouthpiece of the friars.
 Sisa
The long-suffering mother of
sextons in training Crispin and
Basilio, she goes mad upon the loss
of her sons. Impoverished and
married to a violent drunkard her
sons were the only ray of sunshine
in her life. She wanders the town,
clothes tattered and
disheveled, calling out for her sons.
When she actually does meet
Basilio she cannot recognize him
but when her wits do return she
dies from surprise and sudden joy.
 Fr. Sibyla
A priest serving in the Binondo
district in the city of Manila, Fr.
Sibyla serves as a foil to the
otherwise largely corrupt Fray
Dámaso and the perverse Fray
Salví as he is rational and calm. Fr.
Sibyla is an adept and shrewd
orator who takes obvious delight in
antagonizing the pompous Fr.
Dámaso at Ibarra’s return party.
 The Gravedigger
A cemetery worker who
exhumes Don Rafael’s remains
upon the insistence of Fr. Damaso;
moved by pity and laziness he
dumps Don Rafael’s body in the
lake seeing it as a more fitting
a resting place for such a respected
man. Ibarra grills him, anxious for
information about his father.
EL FILIBUSTERISMO
 The Reign of Greed
 English translation of El Fili
 Jose Alejandro
 Rizal's roommate in Belgium related
and that he was the one who looked for
a printing press for El Fili. He
delivered proofs and revisions to F.
Meyer van Loo
 Valentin Ventura
 “The savior of Fili”
 GOMBURZA
his  Don Mariano Gomez
a  Don Jose Burgoz
 Don Jacinto Zamora
 Characters of El Fili
 Simoun
He is Crisóstomo Ibarra in
disguise, presumed dead at the end
of Noli Me Tangere and has returned
as the wealthy jeweler Simoun. He
appears to be tanned, with sparse
beard, long white hair, and large
blue-tinted glasses. His manners
were described to be crude and
hair confrontational, presenting an
arrogant elitist on the outside but
secretly plans a violent revolution in
order to avenge himself for his
misfortunes as Crisóstomo Ibarra, as
well as hasten Elias' reformist goals.
He could represent the portion
of the Filipino society who got tired
of the oppressors’ rule, desperately
wanted to overthrow the said rule at
all cost. Because of his past failures
and disappointments, he turned
cynical and revolutionary but had no
systematic plan for the new society,
if the old one is overthrown.
 Basilio
Known to be the son of Sisa
and another character from Noli Me
 Tangere, he is now an aspiring and
so far successful physician on his last
year at the University in El FIli,
waiting for his license to be released
upon his graduation. After his
mother's death in the Noli, he
applied as a servant in Captain
Tiago's household in exchange for
food, lodging, and being allowed to
study. Eventually he took up
medicine, and with Tiago having
retired from society, he also became
the manager of Tiago's vast estate.
He is a quiet, contemplative man
who is more aware of his immediate
duties as a servant, doctor, and
member of the student association
than he is of politics or patriotic
endeavors. His sweetheart is Juli, the
daughter of Kabesang Tales whose
family took him in when he was a
young boy fleeing the Guardia Civil
and his deranged mother.
Aware of the rampant injustices
and cruelty against his own family,
he still
remains hostile to any revolution. As
a medical student, he is that
educated Filipino who has become
numbed and ignorant of the well-
being of his fellow Filipinos andhis
country because of his brutal
experiences in the past.
 Isagani
He is Basilio's friend and is
described as a poet, taller and more
robust than Basilio although younger.
He is the nephew of Padre
Florentino, but is also rumored to be
Florentino's son with his old
sweetheart before he was ordained
as a priest. During the events of the
novel, Isagani is finishing his studies
at the Ateneo Municipal and is
planning to take medicine. A
member of the student association,
Isagani is proud and naive, and
tends to put himself on the spot
when his ideals are affronted. His
unrestrained idealism and poeticism
clash with the more practical and
mundane concerns of his girlfriend,
Paulita Gomez. When Isagani allows
himself to be arrested after their
association is outlawed, Paulita
leaves him for Juanito Peláez. In his
final mention in the novel, he was
bidding goodbye to his landlords, the
Orenda family, to stay with
Florentino permanently.
His sense of unproven and
unpredictable idealism symbolizes
the educated Filipino youths at that
time. He may be inspired by his
ideals for his country but at crucial
moments, he unconsciously forgets
those ideals for selfish reasons.
 Captain Tiago
Also a character in the Noli, he had
several landholdings in Pampanga,
Binondo, and Laguna, as well as
taking ownership of the Ibarras' vast
estate, too. However, he fell into a
depression following María Clara’s
entry into the convent. He alleviated
this by smoking opium, which quickly
became an uncontrolled vice,
exacerbated by his association with
Padre Írene who regularly supplied
him with the substance. Tiago hired
Basilio as a capista, a servant who
was given the opportunity to study
as part of his wages. Tiago died of
shock upon hearing of Basilio's arrest
and Padre Írene's embellished
stories of violent revolt.
 Don Custodio
He is Custodio de Salazar y
Sánchez de Monteredondo, a famous
"contractor" who was tasked by the
Captain-General to develop the
students association's proposal for
an academy for the teaching of
Spanish, but was then also under
pressure from the priests not to
compromise their prerogatives as
monopolizers of instruction. Some of
the novel's most scathing criticism is
reserved for Custodio, who is
portrayed as an opportunist who
married his way into high society,
who regularly criticized favored ideas
that did not come from him, but was
ultimately, laughably incompetent in
spite of his scruples.
 As an average, unqualified after suffering from the
Spanish official who holds several maltreatments caused by the friars.
positions in the country, he does not  Juli
welcome any idea from others. In Her full name is Juliana de Dios,
the novel, Rizal portrayed him as one the girlfriend of Basilio, and the
who finds pleasure in developing a youngest daughter of Kabesang
feeling of inferiority among the Tales. When Tales was captured by
people. bandits, Juli petitioned Hermana
 Maria Clara Penchang to pay for his ransom. In
Symbolically speaking, she exchange, she had to work as
represents the friar-dominated Penchang's maid. Basilio ransomed
Filipino culture, which, at that time, her and bought a house for her
is ripe for revolution. After suffering family. When Basilio was sent to
from untold physical and spiritual prison, Juli approached Tiani's
abuse for at least 13 years, Maria curate, Padre Camorra, for help.
Clara dies — hence, there was no When Camorra tried to rape her
eventual union between Simoun and instead, Juli jumped to her death
Maria Clara, not even meeting from the church's tower. She
together since they parted 13 years symbolized love for honor and
ago (because Simoun was not chastity when she took her own life
permitted to do so). instead of submitting her
 Kabesang Tales womanhood to Fr. Camorra.
Also known as Telesforo Juan  Placido Penitente
de Dios, a former kabesa of Barrio Another young student who
Sagpang in Tiani. He was a desires to go abroad for a better life.
sugarcane planter who cleared lands Upon learning about Simoun’s
he thought belonged to no one, planned revolt, he got so scared that
losing his wife and eldest daughter he was undecided whether to join or
in the endeavor. When the not. He is that part of the Philippine
Dominicans took over his farm, he society who does not have a sense
fought to his last money to have it of nationalism or social conscience.
retained in his possession. While his
suit against the Dominicans was
ongoing, he was kidnapped by the
bandits while he was out patrolling
his fields. Having no money to pay
his captors, his daughter Juli was
forced to become a maid in
exchange for her mistress paying his
ransom. When his son Tano was
conscripted into the Guardia Civil,
Tales had no money (again) to pay
for Tano's exclusion from the draft.
When Tales lost the case, he not
only lost his farm but was also dealt
with a heavy fine. He later joined the
bandits and became one of their
fiercest commanders. Tandang Selo,
his father, would later on join his
band after the death of Juli.
He embodied those who join
the bandits for personal revenge