Lesson Three

Rizal’s Life: Exile, Trial and Death

By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
Discuss the factors that led to Rizal’s execution.
Analyze the effects of Rizal’s execution on Spanish colonial rule and the
Philippine Revolution.
Assess the concepts of bayani and kabayanihan in the context of Philippine
society.
VOCABULARY

steamer – a boat or ship that is powered by steam

interno - or living -in student
Ilustrado – a term which literally means “enlighted ones” or the Filipinos educated in
Europe
freemasonry – fraternal organization which strives for moral betterment
Pedagogical Activities:
1. Multi-Media Instruction
1.1 Published module for Lesson 3 in canvas
1.2 Power Point Presentation on Module 3: Lesson 3
2. Discussion/Lecture - Exchange of opinions and ideas on people and events
that influenced Rizal’s life, growth as a propagandist and identifying the factors
that led to his execution.

Explore

Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines, is not only admired for

possessing intellectual brilliance but also for taking a stand and resisting the Spanish

colonial government. While his death sparked a revolution to overthrow the tyranny,

Rizal will always be remembered for his compassion towards the Filipino people and the

country. Jose Rizal is, in the annals of heroism, an anomaly. He was a man of science,

a scholar and writer, and to many young Filipinos is idealized as a model son and

something of a ladies’ man.

Unlike other national heroes, he did not bear arms or lead an army. Indeed, he

preached against an armed rebellion, believing his countryfolk were yet unprepared for

battle and so concluded that a revolution was bound to fail. But neither was he a
milquetoast. While in Madrid, he challenged fellow propagandist Antonio Luna to a duel

after Luna disparaged Nellie Boustead while in a drunken rage. Nellie apparently

favored Rizal over Luna, and hearing the young lady maligned, Rizal challenged Luna

to a gun duel. The gunfight did not proceed, fortunately, after Luna sobered up. Reports

have it that, while a superior swordsman, Luna was not as good with a pistol as Rizal

was.

Rizal also challenged to a duel Wenceslao Retana, a minor official in the Spanish

colonial bureaucracy who became the foremost opponent of Filipino propagandist in

Spain. In an article in an anti-Filipino newspaper in Madrid, Retana claimed that the

reason Rizal’s family and friends were ejected from their Calamba properties was that

they failed to pay rent. It was an injustice that rankled Rizal deeply, especially since

stories reached him that his beloved mother was paraded before the townsfolk with her

hands in shackles. It is believed to have sparked Rizal’s simmering anti-Spanish

sentiment.

And so, an incensed Rizal challenged the Spaniard to a duel, a challenge left

unmet after Retana retracted his claims in a later article. The Spaniard would later

become an ardent devotee, and after the hero’s death wrote the first book-length

biography of Rizal.

LESSON PROPER

Exile in Dapitan (1892-1896)

Rizal arrived in Dapitan on board the steamer Cebu
on July 17, 1892. Dapitan (now a city within
Zamboanga del Norte) was a remote town in
Mindanao which served as a politico-military outpost
of the Spaniards in the Philippines. It was headed by
Captain Ricardo Carnicero, who became a friend of
Rizal during his exile. He gave Rizal the permission
to explore the place, engage in different activities and
required him to report once a week in his office.
The quiet place of Dapitan became Rizal’s home from 1892 to 1896. Here, he
practiced medicine, pursued scientific studies, and continued his artistic pursuits in
sculpture, painting, sketching, and writing poetry. He established a school for boys and
promoted community development projects. He also found time to study the Malayan
language and other Philippine languages. He engaged himself in farming and
commerce and even invented a wooden machine for making bricks.
On September 21, 1892, Rizal won the second prize amounting to twenty
thousand pesos (P20,000) in a lottery together with Ricardo Carcinero and another
Spaniard by the name of Francisco Equilor, residing in the neighboring town of Dipolog.
His share amounted to six thousand two hundred pesos (P6,200). He gave two
thousand pesos (P2,000) to his father, two hundred (P200) to his friend Jose Basa in
Hongkong who supported Rizal in numerous times during his stay in Hongkong and the
remaining amount of Rizal’s winnings was used in purchasing land approximately one
kilometer away from Dapitan in a place known as Talisay. He built his house on the
seashore of Talisay as well as a school and a hospital within the area.
In his letter to Blumentritt (December 19, 1893), Rizal described his daily
activities in Dapitan:
I am going to tell you how we live here. I have a square house, another
hexagonal, and another octagonal – all made of bamboo, wood and nipa.
In the square my mother, sister Trinidad, and nephew and I live. In the
octagonal my boys live – some boys whom I teach arithmetic, Spanish
and English – and now and then a patient who has been operated on. In
the hexagonal are my chickens. From my house I hear the murmur of the
crystalline rivulet that comes from the high rocks. I see the beach, the sea
where I have two small crafts – two canoes or barotos, as they call them
here. I have many fruit trees – mangoes, lanzones, guyabanos, baluno,
nangka, etc. I have rabbits, dogs, cats, etc. I get up early – at 5:00. I visit
my fields, I feed the chickens. I wake up my folks, and start them moving.
At 7:30 we take breakfast - tea, pastry, cheese, sweets, etc. Afterwards I
treat my patients who come to my land. I dress and got to the town in my
baroto, I treat the people there and I return at 12:00 and take lunch.
Afterwards, I teach the boys until 4:00 and I spend the afternoon farming. I
spend the evening reading and studying.

Relative to Rizal’s project to improve and beautify Dapitan, he made a relief map
of Mindanao in the plaza and used it to teach geography. With this map, which still
exists today, he discussed to the town people the position of Dapitan in relation to other
places of Mindanao. Assisted by his pupils, Rizal also constructed a water system to
supply the town with water for drinking and irrigation. He also helped the people in
putting up lampposts at every corner of the town.
 Having heard of Rizal’s fame as an ophthalmologist, George Taufer who was
suffering from an eye ailment traveled from Hongkong to Dapitan. He was accompanied
by his adopted daughter, Josephine Bracken, who eventually fell in love with Rizal.
They lived as husband and wife in Rizal’s octagonal house after being denied the
sacrament of marriage by Father Obach, the parish priest of Dapitan, due to Rizal’s
refusal to retract his statements against the Church and to accept other conditions.
On the eve of June 21, 1896, Dr. Pio Valenzuela visited Rizal in Dapitan and
informed him about the founding of Katipunan and the planned revolution. Rizal
objected to it, citing the importance of a well-planned movement with sufficient arms.
Meanwhile, Rizal had been sending letters to then Governor-General Ramon
Blanco. Twice he sent letters, one in 1894 and another in 1895. He asked for a review
of his case. He said that if his request would not be granted, he would volunteer to
serve as a surgeon under the Spanish army fighting in the Cuban revolution.
On July 30, 1896, Rizal’s request to go to Cuba was
approved. The next day, he left for Manila on board
the steamer España. And on September 3, 1896, he
boarded the steamer Isla de Panay which would bring
him to Barcelona. Upon arriving at the fort, however,
Governor-General Despujol told him that there was an
order to ship him back to Manila. On November 3,
1896, Rizal arrived in Manila and was immediately brought to Fort Santiago.

Trial and Execution

The preliminary investigation of Rizal’s case began on November 20, 1896. He

was accused of being the main organizer of the revolution by having proliferated the
ideas of rebellion and of founding illegal organizations. Rizal pleaded not guilty and
even wrote a manifesto appealing to the revolutionaries to discontinue the uprising.
Rizal’s lawyer. Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, tried his best to save Rizal. However, on
December 26, 1896, the trial ended and the sentence was read. Jose Rizal was found
guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.
The documentary and testimonial evidences were presented against Rizal. The
15 documentary evidences were as follows:
1. The October 16, 1888 letter of Antonio Luna to Mariano Ponce which implied that
Rizal had something to do with the Filipino reform movement in Spain.
2. The August 20, 1890 letter of Rizal to his family in Calamba which mentioned
that deportations have a positive effect because Filipinos will be encouraged to
hate the Spaniards’ cruel ways.
3. The January 7, 1889 letter of Marcelo H. del Pilar to Deodato Arellano showing
Rizal’s connection with the Propaganda Movement in Madrid.
4. The poem Kundiman written on September 12, 1891, by Rizal which mentioned
that his beautiful country is bound in chains, is an oppressed slave of tyrants, and
is longing for liberty.
5. The September 18, 1891 letter of Carlos Oliver to an unknown individual which
stated that Rizal will be the Philippines’ savior from the Spaniards tyrannical rule.
6. The February 9, 1892 Masonic document which glorified Rizal for his services to
his beloved country.
7. The May 24, 1892 letter signed Dimasalang (Rizal’s pen name) to Tenluz (pen
name of Juan Zulueta) which mentioned a refuge place for Filipinos oppressed
by the Spaniards.
8. The June 1, 1892 letter signed by Dimasalang to a group of persons and
requesting for their help for “patriotic services.”
9. An undated letter from an unidentified person to the Hongkong Telegraph
complaining about Rizal’s exile in Dapitan.
10. The September 3, 1892 letter of Ildefonso Laurel to Rizal stating that Rizal was
considered by the Filipinos as their savior.
11. The September 17, 1892 letter of a certain Rizal Segundo to an unknown
correspondent informing him of the arrest and exile of two Filipinos, Doroteo
Cortes and Ambrosio Salvador.
12. The June 1, 1893 letter of M.H. del Pilar to Don Juan Tenluz (Juan Zulueta)
suggesting the formation of an organization, free from Masonry, that could help
the Filipino people.
13. The transcript of a speech of Pingkian (Emilio Jacinto) delivered in a reunion of
Katipuneros on July 22, 1893nwhich mentioned subversive cries, “Long live the
Philippines, long live liberty, long live Dr. Rizal! Unity!”
 14. The transcript of a speech of Tiktik (Jose Turiano Santiago) delivered in a
reunion of Katipuneros on July 22, 1893 which also mentioned anti-Spanish cries
of the said group of people “Death to the oppressor nation! Long live the eminent
Doctor Rizal!”
15. A poem written by Laong Laan (Rizal’s other pen name) with the title A Talisay
wherein the students in Dapitan in the form of a song, chanted that “they know
how to fight for their rights.”

The Court asked Rizal if he wanted to add other things to Lt. Taviel de Andrade’s
defense of his case. Rizal answered in the affirmative and read his supplementary
defense, which consisted of twelve statements:
1. He cannot be accused of rebellion because he was not in favor of a
revolution; this was his advise to Dr. Pio Valenzuela, the emissary of the
Katipuneros, who visited him in Dapitan.
2. He had no contact with the radical revolutionary groups.
3. His name was used by the revolutionary elements, without his permission; if
he was guilty, he could have escaped.
4. His very peaceful life in Dapitan, where he built a house, a hospital and
bought lands, were proofs of his noninvolvement in revolutionary activities.
5. He was not consulted by the revolutionists when they started their uprising.
6. Although he wrote the by-laws of the La Liga Filipina, he could not be
accused of rebellion because this was just a civic organization.
7. La Liga Filipina did not last long because he was already exiled in Dapitan.
8. If La Liga Filipina was reorganized nine months after he was banished to
Dapitan, he did not know anything about it.
9. La Liga Filipina did not serve the purpose of the rebels otherwise this could
have taken the place of the Katipunan.
10. If he wrote bitter comments in his letters, these were written in 1890 when his
family was dispossessed of their lands and his brother and brother-in-law
were deported and exiled.
11. His exemplary life in Dapitan was witnessed by Spanish politico-military
commanders and missionary priests and they could attest to it.
12. He denied that his speech at the house of Doroteo Onjunco inspired the
revolution, as alleged by some witnesses. People who really knew him were
aware that he would never support any violent uprising.
The military court, in spite of Rizal’s additional defenses, remained indifferent. Lt.
Col. Togores Arjona, the president of the military court, closed the trial and ordered the
clearing of the court hall. After a short deliberation, the seven members of the military
court voted unanimously for the death sentence of Dr. Jose Rizal.
On December 26, 1896, Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja signed the court
decision. He later decreed that Rizal be executed by firing squad at 7:00 am of
December 30.
Rizal, on his last remaining days, composed his longest poem, Mi Ultimo Adios,
which was about his farewell to the Filipino people. When his mother and sisters visited
him on December 29, 1896, Rizal gave away his remaining possessions. He handed his
gas lamp to his sister Trinidad and murmured softly in English, “There is something
inside.” Eventually, Trining and her sister Maria would extract from the lamp the copy of
Rizal’s last poem.
At 6:30 in the morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, in black suit with his arms
tied behind his back, walked to Bagumbayan. The orders were given and shots were
fired. Consummatum est! (“It is finished!”) Rizal died offering his life for his country and
in freedom.
Dr. Rizal’s death was welcomed by the Spanish spectators, as they shouted:
Viva España! or “Long Live Spain!” but the Filipinos, as expected, were very sad and
angry at the same time. Rizal, their defender, died a martyr to Filipino freedom.

Evaluate

Activity 1. Briefly answer the following:

1. What were Rizal’s activities in Dapitan and their impact?
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2. How would you assess Rizal’s objection to the revolution?
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3. Briefly summarize the documentary and testimonial evidences presented against
Rizal?
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4. State in a paragraph the affirmation and supplementary defense made by Jose
Rizal?
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5. Based on your readings and knowledge of the life of Rizal from childhood to his
execution give some personal views on how it affects you as a student and as a
person.
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References:

Adanza, Estela G. and Libert A. Acibo. Jose P. Rizal: Ang kanyang buhay, ginawa at
naging bahagi sa Himagsikang Pilipino. Manila: Rex Book Store, 2002.
Obias, Rhodalyn, Mallari, Aaron and Janet Estella. The Life and Works of Rizal. Quezon
City: C & E Publishing, 2018.
Ravin, Tracy B. Philippine National Hero and Ophthalmologist, 2001.
[Link]
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