Chapter 12- The

Execution of a
National Hero
 Rizal knew that his faith was sealed-
he was destined to die
 Formally notified of his death
sentence 24 hours before the exact
time of execution
 Fort Santiago- prison cell
 Jesuit Fathers- former professor at
Ateneo; offer spiritual consolation
and prayers
 Father Miguel Saderra Mata- rector
of Ateneo
 Don Santiago Mataix- correspondent
of Heraldo de Madrid
 Trinidad- Rizal gave alcohol cooking
lamp, inside which he had written
his Ultimo Adios
The Retraction(Pagbawi)

 Rizal’slife as a national hero-

the most documented in both
primary and secondary sources
 10pm- draft of retraction from
Archbishop Bernardo Nozaleda
was shown to him, he did not
like him-too wordy and too
long
 Another draft was shown to him by
Father Balaguer prepared by Father
Pio Pi- superior of the Jesuit Mission
in the Philippines
 He agonized on the question whether
to heed the advise of the priest to
reconcile with the Catholic Church
which he finally abandoned in favor
of Free Masonry
 Rizal wrote a retraction which he
renounced Masonry. This retraction
was premised on the attacks he
made against church practices and
religion and not hid personal
political philosophy
 Retraction and renunciation of
Masonry and returning to Catholicism
made Rizal a greater man
 December 30,1896- Rizal woke up
early, recite the morning prayer,
heard mass of Fr. Balaguer, made
confession and receive communion
to him
 Read the Acts of Faith, Hope and
Charity from Spanish prayer book
entitled Aceptation dela Muerte
(Acceptance of Death) and Imitacion
de Cristo ( The Imitation of Christ)
by Thomas a Kempis
 5am- last breakfast
 Rizal requested Fr. Balaguer to
solemnize canonical marriage with
Josephine an hour before his death
 Rizal’s last letter- father, mother,
Paciano, Blumentritt
The Death March Begins

 6:30 am- trumphet in

daefening sounded that the
death march was about to
begin
 With martial pomp and
precision marching, the
Spanish soldiers with drawn
bayonets displayed their gala
uniform
 Rizal wore a black suit and vest with
black hat, walk calmly with noble
bearing, body upright with hid
defender and 2 priest while a
platoon of Spanish guards marched
behind them. His arms were tied
behind his back
 Participants of death march moved
on a brisk fashion with beat of the
drum as spectators lined along street
 from Fort Santiago to plaza del
Palacio in front of Manila Cathedral
then to Malecon Street (Bonifacio
Drive) until they reached
Bagongbayan Field
The Execution
 Rizal made farewell to his
defender, 2 priests and Josephine
 Military physician Dr. Felipe
Castillo- examined Rizal and find
that his pulse was normal
 Rizal looked unperturbed
(mapanatag), face was quiet pale
but serene and bright like the sky
 Lips shaded by thin moustache he
smiled at the world
 His request to shot facing the firing
squad was denied for the Spanish
officer had specific order from
higher authorities to shot him at the
back
 Guns of the firing squad rang out and
successively and suddenly, an
immerse sigh arouse from the
multitude, indicating that all was
over
 Rizal’s body riddled by bullets fell
lifeless on the ground with his face
upward facing the sky
 :He died exactly at 7:03 am
 Shouts of “Viva España!” (Long Live
Spain! Death to the traitors) filled
the air
 While the military band played,
people began to leave the place
 Rizal’sremains were buried in Paco
Cemetery but on December 30,1912
they were transferred to the base of the
present Rizal monument at the Luneta
 Ultimo Adios- famous, longest and
untitled poem Rizal wrote on December
29, 1896
 CharlesE. Derbyshire- translate the
poem from Spanish to English
 Jose Gatmaitan- made the Tagalog
translation
Last Hours to Martyrdom
 Wenceslao Retana, Rafael Palma,
Leon Ma. Guerrero- recounted Rizal’s
genius, methodical lifestyle and
productive hours
 Lieutenant Andrade- learned
maximum penalty could not be
evaded because government
arranged the most inclusive and
flimsy evidence against the accused
 Doña Teodora- went ot Malacañang
with a petition for a pardon but not
admitted to the palace
 Rizal’s final fate and confrontation
with the Manila government had
been sealed by the publication of
Noli and Fili
 Love of country- supreme mission of
a lifetime
Rizal’s Remain
 Article from Luis R. Sioson-member
of Historical Commission shows that
Rizal’s last request before his
execution was denied by Spanish
authorities
 One final wish was to allow his
mother to take hid corpse
 Manila Mayor Manuel Luengo allowed
Rizal’s mother to take her son’s body
 After execution, Rizal’s family went
to Bagumbayan to claim the body but
found none
 Narcisa search the whole day
bringing a small marble which the
family wanted to place on Rizal’s
grave but they failed to find the
body
 Passing at Paco cemetery, Narcisa
saw guardia civiles,unusual in those
days
 Narcisa struggled to sneak in and saw
a plot of freshly dug earth which
turned out to be her brother’s
unmarked grave
 Narcisa placed the small marble slab
she had carried and which inscribed
“R.P.J”
 “R.P.J”- actually Jose Protacio
Rizal’s initial but only in reverse
 Intentionally done so authorities
would not notice that the marble
slab designed by Doroteo Ongjungco-
a family friend belonged to Rizal
 August 17,1898- Americans took over
Manila, the family led by Narcisa,
her daughter, Angelica and several
sculptor friends had Rizal’s body
exhumed, 2 years after his death
 Rizal’s body was buried without a
coffin,clothes and shoes was
identified by the family
 Rizal’s vertebra showed a bullet
bored through, leaving a scar.
Narcisa kept hat bullet-scarred bone
in a glass and silver cup in her house
 Rest of Rizal’s bones were taken
home by Narcisa, washed with
reverence by family friends Higinio
 Francisco and Romualdo Teodoro de
Jesus
 De Jesus- crafted an ivory urn to serve
as receptacle for Rizal’s remain which
became the center of frequent public
display
 December 29,1912-16 years after Rizal
bones were retrieved by his sister, ivory
urn was carried in a procession to
Ayuntamiento in Intramuros, symbol of
mighty Spanish rule
 Ivory urn was transferred to Luneta
on “an artillery caisson drawn by 6
horses”
 Rizal’s parents did not live long to
see the monument
On Dr. Rizal’s Alleged
Retraction

 October 12,1960- Collegian

issue, official publication of
University of the Philippines
present the alleged
retraction
1. Alleged Retraction
Document-A “Pious Fraud”
 An insult not only to the memory of
Rizal but to the intelligence of the
Filipino
 In his Commonwealth Biographical
contest-winning book “The Pride of
the Malay Race”(translated by
Roman Ozaeta), Dr. Rafael Palma-
one time president of the university
 Presented the soundest argument-
why Rizal would never retract and
could never have retracted his
Masonic affiliation
 If it takes a Roman Catholic to
understand another of the same
sect, it takes a Mason to understand
fully another Mason
2. Freemasonry Not Anti-
Catholic

 Roman Catholic fanatics circulated

that Freemasonry is anti-Catholic
and Masons are enemies of the
Catholic Church
 Masonry-main object is
 brotherhood among men under the
fatherhood of God
 IfRizal died as Mason, he died as an
enemy of the Catholic Church
3. Father Burgos-Not an
Enemy of the State Either
 There is no proof that Father
Burgos was really guilty of
trumped-up charges him by jealous
and anti-nationalistic persons
 Father Burgos is a native priest
nationalist to the point of working
for the secularization of philippine
parishes
4. The Case of NBI
Handwriting Expert

 The alleged retraction

paper examined was not
the original but a
photostatic copy (original is
inaccesible to general
public for closer scrutiny)