Life in Dapitan

The deportee could have stayed in the Dapitan parish convent had he retracted his anti-Catholic pronouncements and made a general confession of his past life. Not willing to accede to these main conditions set by the Jesuits, Jose Rizal instead opted to live at the commandant's residence called "Casa Real."

The commandant Captain Ricardo Carnicero and Jose Rizal became such good friends that the exile did not feel that the captain was actually his guard. Later in his life in Dapitan, 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 procuring a parcel of land near the coast of Talisay, a barrio near Dapitan. 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.

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.

Rizal would rise at five in the morning to see his plants, feed his animals, and prepare breakfast. Having taken his morning meal, he would treat the patients who had come to his house. 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 p.m. 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.

The first attempt by the Jesuit friars to win back the deported Rizal to the Catholic fold was the offer for him to live in the Dapitan convent under some conditions. Refusing to compromise, Rizal did not stay with the parish priest Antonio Obach in the church convent.

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 efforts, 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 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 the forest there by providing evident trails, stairs, and some benches. He invented a wooden machine for the 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, tuberculosis, and even leprosy (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 112).

Rizal also helped in the livelihood of the abaca farmers in Dapitan by trading their crops in Manila. He gave them lessons in abaca-weaving to produce hammocks. Noticing that the fishing method by the locals was inefficient, he taught them better techniques, like weaving and using better fishing nets.

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 some 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).

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.

 


Species and Secrets

Not just once did Rizal learn that his "enemies" sent spies to gather incriminating proofs that he 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 & Ventura, 1997, p. 116). 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 a 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 (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 117).

In June 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 were 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 & Ventura, 1997, p. 133). (For discussions on Rizal's relation and collaboration with Bonifacio, read Appendix M: "Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio.")

 


Visits by his loved ones

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 likewise 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 experienced 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 his mother left. Josephine Bracken came to Jose's life. Josephine was an orphan with Irish blood and the stepdaughter of Jose's patient from Hong Kong.

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.

 


Departure from Dapitan

In 1895, Blumentritt informed Rizal that the revolution-ridden Cuba, another nation colonized by Spain, was raged by a 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!" as 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" (as cited in G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, p. 242).


 


  • The Trial in Fort Santiago

    • Various significant events happened during Rizal's trip from Dapitan to Manila. 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 many 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

    As the steamer approached Luzon, there was an attempt by the Katipuneros to help Rizal escape (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 135). The Katipunero Emilio Jacinto, disguising himself as a ship crew member, had 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 was said to have refused to be rescued by Katipunan's envoys. (Another version of this story claims that the rescue attempt happened when Rizal's ship was already docked at Manila Bay.)

    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 Gil, 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 assaults happened on August 29 and 30 when the Katipuneros attacked the Civil Guard garrison in Pasig and more significantly the 100 Spanish soldiers protecting the powder magazine in San Juan. But 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 some other suburban Manila areas on that same day prompted the governor-general to proclaim a state of war in Manila and seven other nearby provinces.

    On the same day (August 30), Blanco issued letters of recommendation on Rizal's behalf to the Spanish Minister of War and the 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.

     


    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 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 worse 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 with 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 some 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 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 p.m. 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 up and handcuffed before reaching any port.


     


    The Last Retrun Home

    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 interrogations 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 was 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 & Ventura, 1997, p. 141).

    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 (a) Rizal be instantly brought to trial. (b) he be kept in jail. (c) an order of attachment be issued against his property, and (d) 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. Concerned 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. Polavieja thus disallowed to issue Rizal's manifesto.


     


    The Rat in the Kangaroo Court

    On the morning of December 26, 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 & Ventura, 1997, 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 was 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 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 that 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. The jury unanimously voted for the death sentence. The trial ended with the reading of the sentence-Jose Rizal was found guilty, and 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's Last 25 Hours

    • Accounts on Jose 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.

     


    From 6 am to 12 Noon

    Standard biography states that at 6 a.m. of December 29, Judge Advocate Dominguez formally read the death sentence to Rizal. At about 7 am, 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." ("Rizal's Last Hours." n.d., para. 5).

    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 a heated discussion about religion as witnessed by Rosell ("Rizal's Last Hours," n.d., para. 8).

    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 & Ventura, 1997, p. 147).

     


    From Noon to 7pm

    At 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 ("Rizal's Last Hours," n.d., para. 10). 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" (as cited in Cueto, 2012, para. 7).

    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 (G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, p. 265). Rizal then wrote letters and dedications and rested shortly.

    At 4 p.m., the sorrowful Doña Teodora and Jose's sisters went to see the sentenced Rizal. The mother was not allowed a last embrace by the guard, but her beloved son, in quiet grief, managed to press a kiss on her hand. Dominguez was said to have been moved with compassion at the sight of Rizal's kneeling before his mother and asking for forgiveness ("Rizal's Last Hours," n.d., para. 14). 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 (Bantug & Ventura, 1997, p. 149)

    The Dean of the Manila Cathedral, Don Silvino Lopez Tuñon, went to see Rizal to exchange some views with him at about 5:30p.m. Balaguer and March then left, leaving Vilaclara and Tuñon 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 with each other ("Rizal's Last Hours," n.d., para. 16).

     


    The Night of December 29

    At 7 p.m., Faura returned and convinced Rizal to trust him and some other Ateneo professors. After some quiet moments, Rizal purportedly confessed to Faura ("Rizal's Last Hours," n.d., para. 17).

    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 arrived and had an amiable talk with Rizal.

    Historians Gregorio and Sonia Zaide alleged that at 10 p.m. Rizal and some Catholic priests worked on the hero's retraction (1984, pp. 265-266). Supposedly.

    Balaguer brought to Rizal a retraction draft made by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda, 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 was said that he wrote his retraction renouncing freemasonry and his anti-Catholic ideas. (Zaides' book, 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 30. perhaps praying and meditating once in a while.

     


    The Early Morning of December 30

    The Zaides alleged that at 3 a.m., Rizal heard Mass, confessed sins, and took Communion (1984, p. 266). At about 4 a.m., Rizal 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 & Ventura, 1997, pp. 151-152). Historian Ambeth R. Ocampo, on the other hand, wrote "three hard- boiled eggs and related that Rizal "did not have any breakfast" (Ocampo, 2012. p. 227). Both historians nevertheless 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" (as cited in G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, pp. 266-267).

    Though some accounts state that Bracken was forbidden from seeing Rizal on this fateful day, the Zaides 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" (1984, p. 267). (Josephine Bracken's biography, including her sorry life after Rizal's death, is discussed in Appendix R: Josephine Bracken: Jose Rizal's Dear and Unhappy Wife.)

    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 (as cited in G. Zaide & S. Zaide, 1984, p. 268): To my very dear Mother,

    Sra. Dña. Teodora Alonso

    6 o'clock in the morning. December 30, 1896.

    Jose Rizal

     


    Slow Walk to Death

    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 guards of armed soldiers and behind them was 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 on that morning, many 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, 2012, p. 228).

    Once in a while, Rizal conversed with the priests, commenting on things like his happy years at 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 take a walk here with my sweetheart" (Ocampo, 2012. p 228).

    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 finally agreed to turn his back to the firing squad on the condition that he would 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. The curious doctor was startled to find Rizal's pulse 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" (Ocampo, 2012, p. 228). When the command had been given, the executioners' long guns barked at once, Rizal yelled Christ's two last words "Consummatum est!" (It is finished!) as he simultaneously exerted a final effort to twist his bullet-pierced body halfway around. Facing the sky. Jose Rizal fell on the ground dead at exactly 7:03 on the morning of December 30, 1896.