Chapter 5

Exile, Trial and Death

Melvin H. Saligumba
Bitter-Sweet
Life in Dapitan
Jose Rizal live at commandant’s residence they called ‘Casa
Real’.
The commandant Captain Ricardo Carnicero and Jose Rizal
became good friends 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, 0000. Rizal used some part of his share (Php 6, 200) in Portrait Bust of
Ricardo Carnicero by
procuring a parcel of land near the coast of Talisay, a barrio near Jose Protacio Rizal
Dapitan. Mercado y Alonzo
Realonda
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 1893
started with only three pupils, and had about more than 20 students at
the time his exile ended.
Paddling his boat called ‘baroto’ (he had two of them), he would then
proceed to Dapitan town to attend to his other patients there the whole
morning.
Rizal would return to Talisay to take his lunch. Teaching his
pupils would begin at about 2 pm 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
 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 effort, 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
Rizal provided significant community services in Dapitan like
improving the town’s drainage and constructing better water system
using empty bottles and bamboo joints. He also taught the town folks
about health and sanitation so as to avoid the spread of diseases.
With his Jesuit priest friend Sanchez, Rizal made a huge relief map of
Mindanao in Dapitan plaza. Also, he bettered their forest by providing
evident trails, stairs, and some benches. He invented a wooden
machine for mass production of bricks. Using the bricks he produced,
Rizal built a water dam for the community with the help of his students.
 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, and hernia (Luslos).
 Rizal also helped in the livelihood of the abaca farmers in
Dapitan by trading their crops in Manila. He also gave them
lessons in abaca-weaving to produce hammocks (Duyan).
Noticing that the fishing method by the locals was inefficient,
he taught them better techniques like weaving and using
better fishing nets.
As 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 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).
Dapitan frog (‘Rhacophorus rizali’) Beetle (‘Apogonia rizali’) 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.

Philology is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection
between textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics.
AS AN INVENTOR Little was known of
Rizal. In 1887, during his medical practice
in Calamba, he invented a special type of
lighter called sulpukan which he sent to
Blumentritt as a gift. According to Rizal, the
wooden lighter's mechanism was based on
the principle of compressed air. Another of
his inventions was the wooden brick-maker
can manufacture about 6,000 bricks a day.
Spies and
Secret Emissary
Not just once did Rizal learn that his ‘enemies’ sent spies to gather incriminating proofs
that Rizal 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, p. 115).
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 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.
 In July 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 was 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, p. 133).
Visited by
Loved Once
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, Doña 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 also 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 had experience living for some
time with her exiled uncle in Mindanao.
 In 1895, Doña Teodora left Dapitan for Manila to be with
Don Francisco who was getting weaker. Shortly after the
mother left, Josephine Bracken came to Jose’s life.
Josephine was an orphan with Irish blood and the
stepdaughter of Jose’s patient from Hongkong. 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) died a few hours after birth. (For detailed
discussion on Rizal-Bracken relationship, look for the section
“Josephine Bracken” under “Rizal’s love life”.)
Good bye
Dapitan
In 1895, Blumentritt informed Rizal that the revolution-ridden Cuba, another nation
colonized by Spain, was raged by 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 ‘España’ 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!” and 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.”
From Dapitan to
Trial in
Fort Santiago
Various significant events happened during Rizal’s Dapitan to
Manila trip.

Leaving Dapitan for Manila on July 31, 1896, the steamer ‘España’
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 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
It is said that as the steamer approached Luzon, there was an attempt by the
Katipuneros to help Rizal escape (Bantug, p. 135). The Katipunero Emilio Jacinto,
disguising himself as a ship crew member, was supposed to have 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 accordingly
refused to be rescued by Katipunan’s envoys.

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 Patiño to Mariano Gíl, 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 assault happened on August 30 when the Katipuneros attacked the 100 Spanish soldiers
protecting the powder magazine in San Juan. 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 other suburban Manila areas on that same day prompted the governor general
to proclaim a state of war in Manila and other seven nearby provinces.

On the same day (August 30), Blanco issued letters of recommendation on Rizal’s behalf to
Spanish Minister of War and 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 Governor General
Ramon Blanco
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 worsen 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 to 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 an 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 Ferdinand Bluementritt
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 pm. 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 General Eulogio Despujol
up and handcuffed before reaching any port.
Last
Homecoming
Arriving in Manila as a prisoner on November 3, 1896, Rizal was
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 interrogation 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 1890. Those who were coerced to testify against Rizal were
not allowed to be cross-examined by the accused.
Rizal is 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, p. 139).

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 Peña. After examining the
case, Peña recommended that (1) Rizal be instantly brought to trial,
(2) he must be kept in jail, (3) an order of attachment be issued
against his property, and (4) 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 Malacañang.
Concern 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 Peña interpreted
the manifesto as all the more advocating the spirit
of rebellion as it ultimately willed the Filipino liberty. Camilo G. de Polavieja
Polavieja thus disallowed to issue Rizal’s
manifesto.
The rat in the
Kangaroo court
On December 26 morning, 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 España. 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,
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’s 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 with 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 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
and unanimously voted for the death sentence.
The trial ended with the reading of the sentence. Doctor Jose Rizal was
found guilty. 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.
Rizal last
25 hours
Accounts on 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.
Standard biography nonetheless 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 "Im little of a Marian, Father.” (“Last Hours of Rizal”).
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 heated discussion about religion as witnessed by Rosell (“Last Hours of
Rizal”).
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 all 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, p. 148).
At 12 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 (“Last Hours of Rizal”). Refusing to receive visitors
for the meantime, 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 friend”.

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 (Zaide, p. 265). Rizal then wrote letters and dedications and
rested for short.
At 4 p.m., the sorrowful Doña Teodora and Jose’s sisters came to see the sentenced Rizal.
The mother was not allowed a last embrace by the guard though her beloved son, in quiet
grief, managed to press a kiss on her hand. Dominguez is said to have been moved with
compassion at the sight of Rizal’s kneeling before his mother and asking forgiveness. 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.”

The Dean of the Manila Cathedral, Don Silvino Lopez Tuñon, came to exchange some views
with Rizal at about 5:30 p.m. Balaguer and March then left, leaving Vilaclara andTuñon 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 to each other (“Last Hours of
Rizal”). At 7 p.m. , Faura returned and convinced Rizal to trust him and other Ateneo
professors. After some quiet moments, Rizal purportedly confessed to Faura (“Last Hours of
Rizal”).
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 Cestaño came
and had an amiable talk with Rizal.

Historian Gregorio F. Zaide alleged that at 10 p.m. Rizal and some Catholic priests worked on
the hero’s retraction (Zaide & Zaide, pp. 265-266). Supposedly, Balaguer brought to Rizal a
retraction draft made by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda (1890-1903) 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 is said that he wrote his retraction renouncing freemasonry and his anti-
Catholic ideas. Zaide 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, perhaps
praying and meditating once in a while. Zaide however alleged that at 3 a.m., Rizal
heard Mass, confessed sins, and took Communion.

At about 4 a.m., he 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, pp. 151-152). Known historian
Ambeth R. Ocampo, on the other hand, wrote “three hard-boiled eggs” and related that
Rizal “did not have any breakfast” (Ocampo, p. 227). Both historians however 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.”
Though some accounts state that Bracken was forbidden from seeing Rizal on this fateful day,
Zaide 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”.

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:

To my very dear Mother,

Sra. Dña. Teodora Alonso
6 o’clock in the morning, December 30, 1896.
Jose Rizal
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 guard of
armed soldiers and behind them were 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 in that morning, plenty of 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, p. 228).
Once in a while, Rizal conversed with the priests, commenting on
things like his happy years in 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
talk a walk here with my sweetheart.”

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 agreed to turn his back to the firing
squad but requested that he 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 and the doctor was startled to find it 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” (Ambeth Ocampo, p. 228).

When the command had been given, the executioners’ guns barked at once. Rizal yelled
Christ’s two last words “Consummatum est!” (“It is finished!”) simultaneously with his final
effort to twist his bullet-pierced body halfway around.
"It is a useless life that
is not consecrated to a
great ideal. It is like a
stone wasted on the
field without becoming
a part of any edifice.“

Dr. Jose Rizal