CHAPTER 5 RIZAL’S LIFE: EXILE, TRIAL AND DEATH LEARNING OUTCOMES > Analyze the factors that led to Rizal’s execution. > Analyze the effects of Rizal’s execution on Spanish colonial rule and the Philippine Revolution.© against their vow of poverty. In spite of his protests and denial of having those materials, Rizal was exiled to Dapitan in Mindanao. a, j ie r b Exile in Dapitan 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 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 Janguages. 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 in a lottery together with Ricardo Carnicero and another Spaniard. His share amounted to 6,200 pesos. A portion of Rizal’s Wirinings 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. 2 In his letter to Blumentritt (December 19, 1893), Rizal described his daily activities in Dapitan: lam 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, a nephew and I live. In the octagonal my boys live—some boys whom1. 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 a 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 poor patients who come to my land. I dress and go 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 big 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 Hong Kong 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.a , . 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. ul . erm 8 eee } 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 Espafia. 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 {6 ‘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. José Rizal was found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad. On December 28, 1896, Governor-General Camilo de ‘Polavieja signed the court decision. He later decreed that Rizal be executed by firing squad at 7:00 a.m. of December 30.Ae e Rizal, on his last remaining days, comppsed 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 its freedom.ACTIVITY: Film Showing: Option 1: Jose Rizal, GMA Films, directed by Marilou Diaz Abaya Option 2: Rizal sa Dapitan, directed by Tikoy Aguiluz ASSESSMENT: Reflection paper about the film. Guide Questions: > Describe the life of Jose Rizal as represented in the film. > Based on your reading, what can you say about the film’s representation of Jose Rizal? > What is the main question that the film seeks to answer? > What is your own reflection based on the film and your understanding? a