Rizal lived in exile in far-away Dapitan, a remote town in Mindanao which was

under the missionary jurisdiction of the Jesuits, from 1892 to 1896. This four-year
inter regnum in his life was tediously unexciting, but was abundantly fruitful with
varied achievements. He practiced medicine, pursued scientific studies, continued his
artistic and literary works, widened his knowledge of languages, established a school
for boys, promoted community development projects, invented a wooden machine for
making bricks, and engaged in farming and commerce. Despite his multifurious
activities, he kept an extensive correspondence with his
family, relatives, fellow reformists, and
eminent scientists and scholars of Europe, including
Blumentritt, Reinhold Rost, A. B. Meyer, W. Joest of Berlin, S. Knuttle of
Stuttgart, and N.M. Keihl of Prague.

Dapitan City Mayor Joseph Cerick O. Ruiz
at Rizal's Casa Redonda
Beginning of Exile in Dapitan
The streamer Cebu which brought Rizal to Dapitan carried a letter from
Father Pablo Pastells, Superior of the Jesuits parish priest of Dapitan.
In this letter, Father Superior Pastells informed Father Obach that Rizal could live
at the parish convent on the following conditions:
1."That Rizal publicly retract his errors concerning religion, and make statements
that
were clearly pro-Spanish and against revolution".
2."That he perform the church rites and make a general confession of his past life".
3.That henceforth he conduct himself in an exemplary manner as a Spanish subject
and
a man of religion."
Rizal did not agree with these conditions. Conse-
quently, he lived in the house of the commandant, Captain Carnicero. The
relations between Carnicero (the warden) and Rizal (the prisoner) were warm
and friendly. Carnicero came to know that Rizal was not a common felon,
much less a filibustero. He gave good reports on his prisoner to Governor Despujol.
He gave him complete freedom to go anywhere, reporting only once a week at
his office, and permitted Rizal, who was a good equestrian, to ride his chestnut
horse. Rizal on his part, admired the kind, generous Spanish captain. He then
wrote a poem, A Don Ricardo Carnicero, on August 26, 1892 on the occassion of
the captain's birthday.
Wins in Manila Lottery
On September 21, 1892 the mail boat Butuan was approaching the town of
Dapitan carrying a Lottery ticket No. 9736 jointly owned by Captain
Carnicero, Dr. Rizal and Francisco Equilior (Spanish resident of Dipolog, a
neighboring town of Dapitan) won the second prize of P20,000 in the government-
owned Manila Lottery.
Rizal's share of the winning lottery ticket was P6,200, He gave P2,000 to his
father and P200 to his friend Basa in Hong Kong and the rest he invested well by
purchasing agricultural lands along the coast of Talisay about one kilometer away
from Dapitan.
Rizal's winning in the Manila Lottery reveals an aspect of his lighter
side. He never drank hard liquor and never smoked but he was a lottery addict.
"This was his only vice," commented Wenceslao E. Retana, his first Spanish
biographer and former enemy.

Rizal-Pastells Debate on Religion
During his exile in Dapitan, Rizal had a long and scholarly debate
with Father Pastells on religion which revealed Rizal's anti-Catholic ideas
acquired in Europe and the embitterment at his persecution by bad friars. It is
understandable why he was bitter against the friars who committed certain abuses
under the cloak of religion. As he wrote to Blumentritt from Paris on January 20,
1890: "I want to hit the friars, but only friars who utilized religion not
only as a shield, but also as a weapon, castle, fortress, armor, etc.; I was forced
to attack their false and superstitious religion in order to fight the enemy who
hid himself behind it."
According to Rizal, individual judgment is a gift from God and everybody
should use it like a lantern to show the way and that self-esteem, if moderated by
judgment, saves man from unworthy acts. He also argued that the
pursuit of truth may lie in different paths, and thus "religions may vary, but they
all lead to the light."
Father Pastells tried his best to win back Rizal to the fold of Catholicism. Divine
faith, he told Rizal, supersedes everything, including reason, self esteem,
and individual judgment. No matter how wise a man is, he argued, his
intelligence is limited, hence he needs the guidance of God. He
refuted Rizal's attacks on Catholic dogmas as misconceptions
of rationalism and naturalism, errors of misguided souls.
This interesting debate between two brilliant pole- micists ended
inconclusively. Rizal could not be convinced by Pastells arguments so that he lived in
Dapitan beyond the pale of his Mother Church but inspire of their religious
differences Rizal and Pastells remained good friends. Father Pastells gave Riza l
a copy of the Imitacion de Cristo (Imitation of Christ), a famous Catholic book by
Father Thomas a Kempis. And Rizal in grateful reciprotion gave his Jesuit opponent
in debate a bust of St. Paul which he had made.
Although Rizal did not subscribe to Pastells' religious interpretation of
Catholic dogmas, he continued to be Catholic. He hears mass at the Catholic
Church of Dapitan and celebrate Christmas and other religious fiestas in the Catholic
way. His Catholicism, however was the Catholi- cism that inquires and enlightens,
the "Catholicism of Renan and Teilhard de Chardin".
Rizal Challenges A Frenchman to a Duel
Rizal was involved in a quarrel with a French acquaintance in Dapitan,
Mr. Juan Lardet, a businessman. This man purchased many
logs from the lands of Rizal and it so happened that some of the logs
were of poor quality.
Lardet, in a letter written to Antonio Miranda, a
Dapitan merchant and friend of Rizal, expressed his disgust with
the business deal and stated that "if he (Rizal - Z.) were a truthful man, he would
have told me that the lumber not included in the account were bad.
Miranda indiscreetly forwarded Lardet's letter to Rizal. When he read
Lardet's letter, he flared up in anger,
regarding the Frenchman's unsavory comment as an affront to his integrity.
Immediately, he confronted Lardet and challenged him to a duel
. When commandant Carcinero heard the incident, he told the frenchman to
apologize rather than accept the challenge, " My Friend, you have not a Chinaman's
chance in a fight with Rizal on a field of honor. Rizal is an expert in martial arts
particularly in fencing and pistol shooting.

Dapitan City Mayor Joseph Cerick O. Ruiz
at Rizal House
Heeding the commandant's advice, Lardet wrote to Rizal in French, dated
Dapitan, March 30,1893 apologizing for the insulting comment. Rizal,
as a gentleman and a well-versed in pun donor (Hispanic Chivalric Code)
accepted the apology, and good relations between him and the Frenchman were
restored.
It is interesting to know that one of the hero's weak- nesses is his sensitivity.
Rizal and Father Sanchez
Father Pastells, aside from his personal efforts to
persuade Rizal to discard his "errors of religion'', instructed two Jesuits in
Mindanao - Father Obach, cura of Dapitan and Father Jose Vilaclara, cura of
Dipolog to try their best to bring back Rizal within the Catholic fold. He assigned Fr.
Francisco de Paua Sanchez, Rizal's favorite teacher at the Ateneo de Manila, to
Dapitan. He was the only Spanish priest to defend Rizal's Noli Me Tangere in public.
Upon his arrival, Fr. Sanchez lost no time in meeting his former favorite
student. Of all the Jesuits, he was the
most beloved and esteemed by Rizal. They argued
theologically in a friendly manner but all the efforts of Sanchez were in vain.
Despite his failures to persuade Rizal to discard his unorthodox
views on the Catholic religion, Fr. Sanchez enjoyed the latters company and he
even assisted Rizal in beautifying the town plaza. On his birthday, Rizal gave
him a precious birthday gift - a manuscript entitled Estudios sobre la lengua
tagala (Studies on the Tagalog Language).




Idyllic Life in Dapitan
Since August 1893, members of his family took turns in visiting him in order
to assuage his loneliness in the isolated outpost of the Spanish power
in the Moroland. Among them were his mother, Sisters Trinidad, Maria, Narcisa;
and nephews Teodosio, Estanislao, Mauricio, and Prudencio. He built his house by the
seashore of Talisay, surrounded by fruit trees and another house for his school boys
and a hospital for his patients.

Describing his life in Dapitan, Rizal wrote to Blumentritt on Dec. 19, 1893:
I shall tell you how we live here. I have three
houses; one square, another hexagonal, and a third octagonal, all of bamboo, wood
and nipa. In the square house we live, my mother , sister Trinidad, a nephew and I;
in the octagonal live my boys or some good youngsters whom I teach arithmetic,
Spanish and English; and in the hexagonal live my chickens.
From my house I hear the murmur of a crystal clear brook which comes from
the high rocks ; I see the seashore , the sea where I have small boats, two canoes or
barotos, as they say here. I have many fruit trees, mangoes, lanzones, guayabanos,
baluno, nangka, etc. I have rabbits, dogs, cats,etc. I rise early - at five - visit my plants,
feed the chickens, awaken my people and put them in movement. At half-past seven we
breakfast with tea, pastries, cheese, sweetmeats, etc. Later I treat my poor patients
who come to my land; I dress, I go to the town in my baroto, treat the people there,
and return at 12 when my luncheon awaits me. Then I teach the boys until 4 P.M.
and devote the after- noon to agriculture. I spend the night reading and studying.

Rizal's Encounter with the Friar's Spy
During the early days of November 1893 Rizal was living peacefully and
happily at his house in Talisay when suddenly jolted by a strange incident involving
a spy of the friars. The spy with the assumed name of "Pablo Mercado" and
posing as a relative, secretly visited Rizal at
his house on the night of November 3, 1893. He introduced himself as a
friend and a relative, showing a photo o f Rizal and a pair of buttons with
the initials "P.M."(Pablo Mercado) as evidence of his kinship with the Rizal family.
In the course of their conversation the strange visitor offered his
services as a confidential courier of Rizal's letter and writings for the patriots in
Manila. Rizal, being a man of prudence and keen perception became suspicious.
Irked by the mpostor's lies, he wanted to throw him out of the house, but mindful
of his duty as a host and considering the late hour of the night and the heavy
rainfall, he hospitably invited the unwanted visitor to stay at his house for the night.
And early the next day, he sent him a way.
Later, he learned that the rascal was still in Dapitan, telling people that he was
a beloved relative of Dr. Rizal. Losing his cool, he went to the comandancia and
denounced the impostor to Captain Juan Sitges (who
succeeded Captain Carnacio on May 4, 1893 as
commandant of Dapitan). Without much ado, Sitges
ordered the arrest of "Pablo Mercado" and instructed Anasticio Adriatico, to
investigate him immediately.
The truth came out during this investigation and the real name of "Pablo
Mercado" was Florencio Namanan. He was a native of Cagayan de Misamis, single
and about 30 years old. He was hired by the Recollect friars to a secret mission in
Dapitan to filch the letters and writings of Rizal which
might incriminate him in the revolutionary movement.
Commandant Sitges quashed the investiga- tion and released the spy. He
promptly forwarded the transcripts of the investigation together with his official
report to Governor General Blanco who kept the documents highly confidential.
Rizal requested for a copy of the proceedings of the investigation but Sitges denied his
request. As now declassified and preserved at the Biblioteca Nacional in
Madrid, these documents contain certain mysterious deletions.
These documents have been quoted by three Rizalist biographers -
Retana(1907), Palma(1949), and Jose Baron Fernandez(1982). But none of
these biographers quoted the text of another document which is more reliable and
valuable in clarifying the whole incident. It is Rizal's letter to his brother-in-law,
Manuel T. Hidalgo written in Dapitan, December 20, 1893, as follows:

My Dear Brother-in-Law Maneng,
I was unable to write you by the previous mail for lack of time, for the boat left
unexpectedly.
With regards to Pablo Mercado, I tell you that he came here presenting himself as
a courteous friend in order to get from me my letters, writings, etc; but I found him out
soon, and if I did not throw him out of the house brusquely, it was because I always want
to be nice and polite to everyone. Nevertheless, as it was raining, I let him
sleep here, sending him away very early the next day. I was going to let him alone in
contempt but the rascal went around saying secretly that he was my cousin or brother-in-
law, reported him to the commandant who had him arrested. It was revealed in his
declaration that he was sent by the Recollects who gave him P72 and promised him
more if he succeeded in wrestling from me my letter for certain persons in Manila. The
rascal told me that he was the cousin of Mr. Litonjua, son of Luis Chiquita, according
to him and brother-in-law of Marcia no Ramirez. He wanted me to write
these gentlemen. He brought along besides a picture of mine, saying that it was given to
him by one Mr. Legaspi of Tondo or San Nicolas. I don't remember him exactly. It
seems that he belongs to a good family of Cagayan de Misamis. Be
careful of him, he is a tall boy, somewhat thickset, slightly squint-eyed, dark, slender,
broad shoulders, and of impudent manners. He smokes much, spits more and has thin lips.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Your brother-in-Law who loves you,
(Signed) Jose Rizal

Based upon all these available documentary sources the incident of the
secret mission of "Pablo Mercado" in Dapitan was not an "Assassination Attempt
on Rizal". It was merely an espionage plot concocted by the friars.

As Physician in Dapitan
Rizal practiced medicine in Dapitan. He had many patients but most of
them were poor so that he even gave them free medicine. To his friend in Hong
Kong, Dr. Marquez, he wrote: "Here the people are so poor that I even
have to give medicine gratis." He had, however, some
rich patients who paid him handsomely for his surgical skill.
In August 1893 his mother and sister (Maria) arrived in Dapitan and lived with
him for one year and a half. He operated on his mother's right eye. The
operation was successful but Dona Teodora ignored her son's instruc- tions by
removing the bandages from her eyes, t hereby causing the wound to be
infected.Thus Rizal told Hidalgo his brother-in-law; "Now
I understand very well why a physician should not treat the members of his
family. Fortunately, the infection was arrested and Dona Teodora's sight was
restored.
Rizals fame as a physician particularly as an eye specialist pave way to
patients from different parts of the Philippines from Luzon, Bohol, Cebu, Panay,
Negros, and Mindanao and even from Hong Kong. Because of his ophthalmic skill
he was paid P3000 by Don Ignacio Tuma- rongin for
the restoration of his sight, P500 from an Englishman and a cargo of sugar given
as payment by a rich hacendero in Aklan, Don Florencio Azacarraga who was
cured of eye ailment.
Rizal became interested in local medicine and the use of medicinal plants. He
studied their curative values for the poor patients who could
not afford to buy imported medicine, he prescribed the local medicinal plants.





Water System for Dapitan
Rizal held the title of expert surveyor (perito
agrimensor), which he obtained from Ateneo. He
supplemented his training as a surveyor by reading engineering books. In
Dapitan, he applied his knowledge in engineering by constructing a system of
waterworks in order to furnish clean water to the townspeople.
Without any aid from the government, he succeeded in giving good water
system to Dapitan.
An American engineer, Mr. H. F. Cameron, praised Rizal's engineering feat
in the following words:
Another famous and well-known water supply is that of Dapitan, Mindanao,
designed and constructed by Dr. Rizal during his banishment
in that municipality by the Spanish authorities... this supply comes from a little
mountain stream across the river from Dapitan and follows the contour of
the country for the whole distance. When one considers that Doctor Rizal had no
explosives with which to block the hard rocks and no resources save his own ingenuity,
one cannot help but honor a man, who against adverse conditions, had the courage and
tenacity to construct the aqueduct which had for its bottom the fluted tiles
from the house roofs, and was covered with concrete made from limed burned from
the sea coral. The length of this aqueduct is several kilometers, and it winds in and out
among the rocks and is carried across gullies in bamboo pipes upheld by rocks or
brick piers to the distribution reservoir.

Community Projects for Dapitan
When Rizal arrived in Dapitan, he decided to improve it, to the best of his
God-given talents, and to awaken the civic
consciousness of its people. He wrote to Fr. Pastells: " I want to do all I can do for
this town."
Aside from constructing the towns first water system, he spent many months in
draining the marshes in order to get rid of malaria that infested Dapitan.
The P500 which an English patient paid him was used by him to equip the town
with its lighting system which consist of
coconut oil lamps placed in dark streets of
Dapitan. Electric lighting was unknown then in the
Philippines not until 1894 when Manila saw the first electric lights.
The beautification and remodeling of the town plaza with the help of Father
Sanchez enhances the beauty as jokingly remarked that it could "rival the best in
Europe". In front of the church, Rizal and Fr. Sanchez made a huge relief map of
Mindanao out of earth, stones, and grass. This map still adorns the town plaza of
Dapitan.