Rizal’s Life: Exile, Trial, and Execution

Rizal’s Arrest and Imprisonment in Fort Santiago

• Date of Arrest: On Wednesday, July 6, 1892, Jose Rizal visited Malacañan Palace for a series of interviews with the governor general.
• Discovery of Incriminating Materials: During the interview, Governor General Despujol presented Rizal with printed leaflets titled Pobres Frailes (Poor Friars).
  • Authorship and Printing: The leaflets were allegedly written by "Fr. Jacinto" and printed by the Imprenta de Los Amigos del Pais, Manila.
  • Content: The leaflets were a satire targeting wealthy Dominican friars who had accumulated significant wealth, which Rizal noted was contrary to their monastic vow of poverty.
• Rizal’s Defense: Rizal vigorously denied ownership of the leaflets. He stated they were not in his or his sister Lucia’s baggage. He highlighted that custom authorities had thoroughly searched their belongings upon arrival from Hong Kong and found nothing.
• Legal Demand: Rizal demanded an investigation in accordance with the due process of law.
• Detention: Despite his denials, he was placed under arrest and escorted to Fort Santiago by Ramon Despujol, the nephew and aide of the Governor General. In Fort Santiago, Rizal was kept incommunicado.
• Public Reaction: On July 7, the Gaceta de Manila published the news of the arrest. This caused an "indignant commotion" among Filipinos, specifically members of the recently founded Liga Filipina.

Arbitrary Deportation to Dapitan

• The Decree: The July 7, 1892 issue of the Gaceta included Governor General Despujol’s decree to deport Rizal to "one of the islands in the South."
• Official Reasons for Deportation:
  1. Publication of books and articles abroad showing disloyalty to Spain, characterized as "frankly anti-Catholic" and "imprudently anti-friar."
  2. The discovery of the Pobres Frailes handbills in his luggage shortly after his arrival in Manila, which satirized Filipino generosity and accused religious orders.
  3. The dedication of his novel, El Filibusterismo, to the memory of the three "traitors" (Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora), and the assertion on the title page that the only salvation for the Philippines was separation from the mother country due to Spanish administrative errors.
  4. The overarching goal of his writings to remove the Catholic faith from the hearts of loyal Filipinos.

Exile in Dapitan ($1892$-$1896$)

• Arrival: Rizal arrived in Dapitan on board the steamer Cebu on July 17, 1892.
• Location Context: Dapitan was a remote town in Mindanao serving as a Spanish politico-military outpost.
• Commandant: Captain Ricardo Carnicero headed the outpost and eventually became Rizal’s friend. He allowed Rizal freedom to explore the area, provided he reported to his office once a week.
• Diverse Activities and Pursuits:
  • Professional: He practiced medicine and ophthalmology.
  • Scientific and Artistic: He conducted scientific studies, sculpture, painting, sketching, and poetry.
  • Education: He established a school for boys.
  • Linguistic: He studied the Malayan language and other Philippine languages.
  • Entrepreneurial: He engaged in farming and commerce and invented a wood machine for making bricks.
• The Lottery Win: On September 21, 1892, Rizal won the second prize in a lottery (ticket number $9736$).
  • Partners: He shared the prize with Ricardo Carnicero and Francisco Equilior.
  • Share Amount: Rizal’s share was $6,200\,\text{pesos}$.
  • Distribution: He gave $\text{P}2,000$ to his father and $\text{P}200$ to his friend Basa in Hong Kong. He used the remainder to purchase land in Talisay, roughly one kilometer outside Dapitan.
• The Talisay Estate: On his land by the seashore, Rizal built a house, a school, and a hospital.
• Rizal’s Daily Routine (described in a letter to Blumentritt, Dec 19, 1893):
  • Structures: A square house (residential for himself, his mother, sister Trinidad, and a nephew), an octagonal house (for his students and recovery patients), and a hexagonal house (for his chickens).
  • Timeline:
  • 5:00 AM: Wake up, visit fields, feed chickens, wake others.
  • 7:30 AM: Breakfast (tea, pastry, cheese, sweets).
  • Morning: Treat patients arriving at his land; travel to town via baroto to treat others.
  • 12:00 PM: Return for lunch.
  • Afternoon: Teach students until 4:00 PM, followed by farming.
  • Evening: Reading and studying.
• Community Development Projects:
  • Relief Map: He created a large relief map of Mindanao in the town plaza to teach geography.
  • Infrastructure: He constructed a water system for drinking/irrigation and installed lampposts at town corners.
• Relationship with Josephine Bracken:
  • George Taufer traveled from Hong Kong to see Rizal for an eye ailment, accompanied by his adopted daughter, Josephine Bracken.
  • Rizal and Josephine fell in love, but Father Antonio Obach refused them the sacrament of marriage because Rizal would not retract his anti-church statements.
  • They lived as husband and wife in Rizal's octagonal house.

The Philippine Revolution and Departure for Cuba

• Dr. Pio Valenzuela’s Visit: On June 21, 1896, Valenzuela visited Dapitan to inform Rizal of the Katipunan’s plan for revolution.
• Rizal’s Objection: Rizal opposed Andres Bonifacio’s plan, believing the revolution was premature because:
  1. The people were not yet ready.
  2. Arms and funds had not been sufficiently collected.
• Refusal of Escape: Rizal refused the Katipunan's offer to rescue him from exile, as he had given his "word of honor" to the Spanish authorities.
• Volunteerism for Cuba: Rizal wrote to Governor General Ramon Blanco in 1894 and 1895 asking for a case review. He volunteered to serve as a surgeon for the Spanish army in the Cuban revolution.
• Approval: On July 30, 1896, the request was approved. He left Dapitan on the steamer Espana on July 31, 1896.

The Journey to Spain and Arrest

• Attempted Rescue: Near Luzon, Emilio Jacinto (disguised as a crew member) and Guillermo Masangkay attempted to rescue Rizal. Rizal refused to leave.
• Wait in Manila: Arriving on August 6, 1896, Rizal missed the mail boat Isla de Luzon. He requested isolation from the public and was moved to the cruiser Castilla in Cavite.
• Outbreak of Revolution: On August 19, Teodoro Patino confessed the Katipunan plot to Fr. Mariano Gil. This led to arrests and the start of the armed revolt (tearing of cedulas).
• Commendation and Betrayal: On August 30, Governor Blanco wrote recommendation letters for Rizal, clearing him of connection to the revolt. However, Blanco was secretly exchanging telegrams with ministers in Spain to arrange Rizal’s arrest.
• The Voyage on Isla de Panay:
  • Departed September 3, 1896.
  • Singapore: Friends Don Pedro Roxas and Don Manuel Camus urged him to stay in British territory. Rizal refused, trusting Blanco.
  • En Route: Passengers became aloof as news of the Philippine uprising spread. On September 30, Rizal was ordered to stay in his cabin.
• Arrest in Barcelona: Arrived October 3, 1896. He was guarded by General Eulogio Despujol and held in Monjuich prison on October 6. He was ordered back to Manila on the ship Colon that same evening.

Trial and Preliminary Investigation

• Return to Manila: Arrived as a prisoner on November 3, 1896, and was detained in Fort Santiago.
• Investigation: Colonel Francisco Olive conducted the interrogation. He used tortured testimonies from Rizal's associates and his brother Paciano.
• Evidence Presented:
  • 15 Documentary Evidences: Including letters from Marcelo del Pilar and Antonio Luna, the poem Kundiman, a masonic document, speeches by Emilio Jacinto and Jose Turiano Santiago, and the poem A Talisay.
  • 13 Testimonial Evidences: Oral testimonies from figures like Ambrosio Salvador, Deodato Arellano, and Pio Valenzuela.
• Legal Recommendations by Nicolas de la Peña:
  • Immediate trial.
  • Continued imprisonment.
  • An attachment of property amounting to $1,000,000\,\text{pesos}$ as indemnity.
  • Defense by an army officer, not a civilian lawyer.
• Defense Counsel: Rizal chose Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade from a list of $100$ officers.
• Formal Charges: On December 11, charges were read: being the "principal organizer and the living soul of the Filipino insurrection" and founding illegal societies/books. Rizal pleaded not guilty.
• Shift in Government: On December 13, General Camilo G. de Polavieja replaced the more humane Blanco as Governor General, being supported by Dominican friars. This sealed Rizal's fate.
• Final Appeals: On December 15, Rizal wrote a manifesto to Filipinos to stop the bloodletting and seek liberty through education; the Manifesto was suppressed by the government to prevent its misinterpretation.

The Court-Martial and Execution

• The Mock Trial: Held on December 26, 1896, at the Cuartel de Espana.
  • President: Lt. Col. Jose Togores Arjona.
  • Prosecutor: Enrique de Alocer, who called for the death penalty and an indemnity of $20,000\,\text{pesos}$.
  • Defense: Lt. Andrade argued for the natural yearning for liberty. Rizal read a "complementary defense" proving La Liga was civic and that the revolutionists used his name without consent.
• Verdict: The military court unanimously voted for death by firing squad.
• The Death Sentence: Signed by Governor General Polavieja on December 28. Execution set for 7:00 AM, December 30, 1896, at Bagumbayan.
• The Last Poem: Rizal composed his longest poem, later known as Mi Ultimo Adios, hiding it within a gas lamp given to his sister Trinidad.
• The Death March:
  • Started at 6:30 AM on December 30, 1896, leaving Fort Santiago.
  • Rizal walked in a black suit, black derby hat, and white shirt, with his arms tied behind him but moving loosely.
  • He was accompanied by Lt. Andrade and Jesuit priests (Father March and Father Vilaclara).
• The Final Moments:
  • Rizal requested to face the firing squad; the request was denied due to orders to shoot him in the back.
  • Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo checked Rizal’s pulse and found it normal.
  • Time of Death: At exactly $7:03\,\text{AM}$, Rizal was executed. He was $35\,\text{years}$, $6\,\text{months}$, and $11\,\text{days}$ old.
  • Interesting Fact: In 1883, exactly 14 years prior, Rizal had recorded a dream in his diary predicting he would die on December 30th.
• Aftermath: Spanish spectators shouted "Viva España!" and the military band played the Marcha de Capiz. Despite his physical death, his writings fueled the nationalism that eventually ended Spanish rule.