Powerpoint about Jose Rizal's trial and execution in 1896

1. H. Rizal’s Trial and
Execution

2. Journey to Kangaroo Court
• Left Manila on September 3 to
Barcelona
• Governor Blanco issued two
letters of recommendation to
Ministerio de Ultramar in Spain
saying that Rizal is cleared of
any connection to
revolution in Manila

3. • The one addressed personally to Rizal
and another one was for General
Marcelo de Azcarraga of Ministerio
de Ultramar.
• Rizal met Pedro Camus and Don
Pedro Roxas, a rich creole from
Manila and his son Periquin as a
fellow passenger.

4. • When the boat Isla de Panay
arrived in Singapore (September 7),
Rizal was urged by his two met
passengers to escape in Singapore
to save his life but he refused.
• Rizal was unaware that the
Governor General and the head of
Ministerio de Ultramar had
exchanged letters to plan his arrest
in Barcelona because he was
considered now as a “dangerous
Filipino” who was responsible for the
raging Philippine revolution.

5. • Afternoon of September 8, Rizal and
Isla de Panay left Singapore to
Barcelona unaware of the negotiations
made by the Spanish officials for
him.
• A stop-over in Port Said in Egypt
happened on September 28 wherein a
passenger told him that he would be
arrested by order of Governor
General Blanco and he would be sent
to prison in Ceuta opposite Gibraltar.

6. • Before reaching Malta, Capt.
Alemany informed Rizal that he will
be arrested and detained because
of a file charged against him, he
advised to stay on the cabin
• Reached Barcelona on October 3
and placed under Gen. Eulogio
Despujol

7. • Detained temporarily on October
6 at Montjuich Castle headed by
Eulogio Despujol
• After interrogating, he was
advised to be brought back to the
Philippines on the same day with
the ship “Colon”

8. • During the journey to Manila, a
friendly officer told Rizal that Madrid
newspapers were full of stories about
the bloody revolution in the Philippines
and were blaming him for it.
• On October 11, before reaching Port
Said, Rizal’s diary was confiscated
and was critically examined (but
returned on November 2) and his
cabin was search thoroughly by the
authorities.

9. • Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor and Sixto Lopez
attempted to rescue Rizal as they
dispatched telegrams to a lawyer in
Singapore, Hugh Fort.
• When steamer Colon reached Singapore,
Atty. Fort instituted proceedings at the
Singapore Court for removal of Rizal
from the steamer.
• But Chief Justice Lionel Cox of
Singapore denied saying that the
steamer was carrying Spanish troops in
the Philippines and it was beyond the
jurisdiction of Singapore law.

10. • After landing in Manila on November 3,
he was imprisoned to the Fort Santiago
as “incommunicado.”
• Spanish authorities grabbed several
evidences against Rizal as they arrested
and tortured Paciano, Deodato Arellano,
Dr. Pio Valenzuela,
Moises Salvador,
Jose Dizon,
Domingo Franco,
Timoteo Paez and
Pedro Serrano Laktaw.

11. • On the preliminary investigation
happened on November 20, Col.
Francisco Olive interrogated accused
Rizal of being the responsible and
master-mind for the uprising in Manila
on August 1896.
• But Rizal was not
permitted to confront
those who testified
against him.

12. Documentary evidences:
1. Letter to Antonio Luna and Marcelo H.
Del Pilar (October 16, 1888)
2. Letter to his family (August 20, 1890)
3. Letter to Marcelo H. Del Pilar and
Deodato Arellano (January 7, 1889)
4. Kundiman (September 12, 1891)
5. Letter to Carlos Oliver (September 18,
1891)
6. Masonic Document (February 9, 1892)
7. Letter to Juan Zulueta “Tenluz” (May
24, 1892)

13. 8. Letter to a committee (June 1, 1892)
9. Undated Letter to the editor of Hong
Kong Telegraph
10. Letter from Ildefonso Laurel
(September 3, 1892)
11. Letter from Ildefonso Laurel (1893)
12. Letter of Marcelo H. Del Pilar to
Juan Zulueta (June 1, 1893)
13. Speech of Emilio Jacinto in Katipunan
(July 23, 1893)
14. Speech of Jose T. Santiago in
Katipunan (July 23, 1893)
15. A Talisay

14. Oral testimonies of:
Martin Constantino
Aguedo del Rosario
Jose Reyes
Moises Salvador
Jose Dizon
Domingo Franco
Deodato Arellano
Ambrosio Salvador
Pedro Serrano Laktaw
Dr. Pio Valenzuela
Antonio Salazar
Francisco Quison
Timoteo Paez

15. • Col. Olive submitted the interrogation
reports to Governor Blanco on
November 26.
• Then, Capt. Rafael Dominguez was
assigned to be a special judge
advocate. They made a summary of
the case and submitted to judge
advocate general Nicolas Dela Peña.

16. • Other than, Dela Peña recommended
three major scenes; (1) Rizal must be
brought to a trial, (2) Rizal must be
kept in jail during the time of trial
and (3) Rizal must have a Spanish
army officer for as a lawyer not a
civilian lawyer.
• Among the 100 choices offered by
the Spanish authorities, Rizal chose
Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade to be his
lawyer, the brother of his former
bodyguard in Calamba on December 8.

17. • Charges were formally read to Rizal
on December 11. Yet, the primary
accusation was being the main
organizer of revolution and forming of
illegal organization. He pleaded not
guilty to the crime by explaining his
side.
• In the midst of Rizal’s trial, Governor
General Camilo Polavieja replaces
Governor General Blanco as Governor
General of the Philippines on
December 13.

18. • Rizal wrote a manifesto to Filipinos to
stop the revolution but Governor
Polavieja through disallowed to issue it
because it may cause a severe influence
to continue the massive struggle.
• The trial was decided to be happened at
Cuartel de España (military court) to be
led by Jose Togores Arjona and
subordinated by Capt. Ricardo Muñoz
Arias, Capt. Manuel Reguera, Capt.
Santiago Izquierdo Osorio, Capt. Braulio
Rodriguez Nuñez, Capt. Manuel Diaz
Escribano, and Capt. Fermin Perez
Rodriguez.

19. Rizal’s Trial
• Among the spectators were
Josephine Bracken, some
newspapermen and many Spaniards
• Capt. Dominguez presented
Rizal’s case on the day of
the formal trial under a
Military court
(December 26).

20. • Enrique de Alcocer, prosecuting
attorney, mentioned a dramatic
speech about the lives of Spaniards
who died in the revolution because of
Rizal’s cause and later, he petitioned
for a death sentence to the accused.
• Withal, Lt. Andrade defended the
side of the Filipinos for being thirsty
for their freedom that caused the
revolt.

21. • Rizal had his defense speech
explaining:
-La Liga Filipina was a civic
organization that seeks reform not
a revolutionary group
-he even advised Valenzuela to not
pursue the planned revolution
-he was a true traitor, he could
escaped in Dapitan or in Singapore
during the time that he was there.

22. • Alcocer petitioned for a death
sentence to Rizal and Col. Arjona
declared that the trial was over and
the jury voted for the death
sentence.
• Formally, Rizal was found guilty and
sentenced to death by firing squad.
• Governor General Polavieja signed the
decision on December 28 with the
date of execution on the morning of
December 30 and its place at
Bagumbayan.

23. • Archbishop Nozaleda of Manila
convinced Jesuit members to give
spiritual consolation for Rizal in order
to retract his Masonry linkage, a
chance for him to save his life for
the last minute.

24. Rizal’s Last Moments

25. December 29, 1896
6:00 AM- Capt. Dominguez read the death
sentence to Rizal on his prison cell.
7:00 AM- Rizal went to prison chapel and
was visited by Fr. Miguel Saderra Mata, Fr.
Luis Viza, Fr. Vicente Balaguer, Fr. Jose
Villaclara, Fr. Estanislao March and Fr.
Federico Faura.
7:15 AM- Fr. Saderra left and Fr. Viza
gave Rizal a medal of Ateneo’s Marian
Congregation and his former wood sculpture in
Ateneo, the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

26. 8:00 AM- Fray Antonio Rosell visited and
shared breakfast. Lt. Luis Taviel de
Andrade came to inform him that he will
be interviewed by Spanish newspaper “El
Heraldo de Madrid.”
9:00 AM, Fray Federico Faura visited and
advised him to forget about his
resentment in order to marry his wife
Josephine Bracken canonically. Spaniards
maybe didn’t allow Rizal to marry with
Catholic rites because they believe that
Rizal was a filibuster, unless if he will
retract his anti-Catholic works. Their
conversation was witnessed by Fr. Rosell.

27. 10:00 AM- Fr. Jose Villaclara and Fr.
Vicente Balaguer visited Rizal. Then,
the interview from by Santiago Mataix
of El Heraldo de Madrid was held.
12:00 PM-3:30 PM- Rizal took his
lunch, wrote his farewell poem and hid
inside his alcohol cooking stove (gift
from Paz Pardo de Tavera in 1890) and
wrote his last letter to Blumentritt
indicating “my best, my dearest friend!”

28. 4:00 PM- Rizal was visited by his mother,
Trinidad, other sisters and some nephews.
Rizal knelt down to his mother, kissed her
hands and begging her to forgive him,
while his mother was crying as the guards
separated them.
At this moment, he gave the
alcohol cooking stove to
Trinidad saying, “There’s
something inside.”

29. At the same time, he met his wife,
Josephine with his sister Josefa.
8:00 PM- Rizal had his last supper and
informed Capt. Dominguez he already
forgave his enemies including the
military judges.
10:00 PM- the “most controversial
hours” of Rizal’s last day happened,
Rizal’s Retraction

30. Controversial Retraction papers
December 28, 1896- Archbishop of Manila
Fr. Bernardino Nozaleda requested the
Jesuit Professors of Rizal in Ateneo
Municipal to give him some spiritual
consolation. Part of this was to convince
him to “retract” his Freemasonry
linkages.

31. *Based on the statements of Fr. Vicente
Balaguer in Murcia, Spain on August 8,
1917*
December 29, 1896- Fr. Balaguer went to
Rizal on 11:00 AM together with Fray
Jose Villaclara tried to convince him to
write a retraction paper.
But still believing in the Holy Scriptures,
Rizal supposedly refused to retract his
anti-Catholic views by exclaiming:

32. “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!”
But historians believed that Rizal had a
deal with the friars that he will make a
retraction paper in return, they will allow
him to marry with Josephine Bracken and
to produce a marriage certificate.

33. Allegedly, friars agreed with this deal.
After their conversation, Fr. Balaguer
reported to the Archbishop that the only
hope to save the life of Rizal was to
retract.
2:00 PM- Rizal had talks with Fr.
Estanislao March and Fr. Jose Villaclara
then, Fr. Balaguer returned to his cell at
3:30 PM to discuss (again) the retraction.
History did not know about the result of
their second discussion.

34. 5:30 PM- Don Silvino Lopez Tuñon, the
Dean of the Manila Cathedral,
accompanied by Frs. Balaguer, March and
Villaclara to talk with Rizal and exchange
some views with him. Historians did not
find any papers about their but one thing
is for sure, this was about the retraction
paper of Rizal.
Before he took his last supper, he
had confessed to Fray Faura. Afterwards,
an amiable talk happened to Rizal and
Manila’s Royal Audiencia Fiscal Don Gaspar
Cestaño at 9:30 PM.

35. 10:00 PM- Rizal and some Catholic friars
worked on his retraction papers.
Fr. Balaguer allegedly brought a retraction
draft to Rizal made by Archbishop
Nozaleda but Rizal did not like it because
it was too long.
Fray Pio Pi, the Superior of Jesuit Mission
in the Philippine, made a shorter
retraction paper that was liked by Rizal
and signed it.

36. “I retract with all my heart anything in my
words, writings, publications and conduct that
has been contrary to my character as a child
of church. I declare this spontaneously, in
order to repair any scandal which my acts may
have caused and so that God and man may
pardon me.”
The retraction paper was also signed by
two witnesses; Juan Del Presno, chief of
the Civil Guards who watched Rizal in Fort
Santiago and Eloy Maure, adjutant of
plaza in Intramuros.

37. • As stated by Father Balaguer, he was
the one who married Rizal and
Bracken before his execution (6:00
AM of December 30, 1896).
• Yet, aligned with Gregorio Zaide, for
many reasons, Rizal’s assumed
retraction and his supposed church
marriage with Josephine Bracken have
been considered as a highly dubious
by many Rizal scholars until the
present time.

38. • Nevertheless, the alleged retraction
paper “signed” by Rizal did not do
anything. Spanish military court
became firm on its decision to
sentence him to death by means of
firing squad as duly allowed by
Governor General Camilo G. Polavieja.

39. Evidence of Rizal’s retraction: The
Statement of Federico Moreno

40. • The retraction paper was found in
1935
• The issue on Rizal’s retraction was
proven because of a document that
could be an “independent eye witness
account,” the spy records of Federico
Moreno from the members of Cuerpo
de Vigilancia Manila.
• This Cuerpo were the Spanish spies
stationed in prison cell of Rizal during
his stay in Intramuros.

41. Some of its members mentioned to
Moreno three things:
• Rizal wrote a paper that he called “La
Retractacion”
• Fr. Villaclara, Fr. March, Del Presno
and Maure were on Rizal’s prison cell
during that time (match with the
persons who signed the “retraction
paper” aside from Rizal)
• Rizal was married to Bracken before
his execution.

42. December 30, 1896
• Rizal woke up at 3:00 AM to heard
mass and confessed his sins.
• At 4:00 AM, he read the book
“Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a
Kempis.
• Done personal stuffs at 5:00 am,
and ate his last breakfast. (3 soft
boiled eggs based on Asuncion Lopez-
Bantug or 3 hard boiled eggs based
on Ambeth Ocampo)

43. • After his last breakfast, wrote
several letters to family
• At 5:30 Josephine came with
Josefa and Rizal gave the copy of
“Imitation of Christ” (To my dear
and unhappy wife) and married
inside a chapel (controversial)

44. • At the last moment on his prison cell,
6:00 AM, he wrote last letters to his
parents but he did not finish.

45. • Trumpet sounded in Fort Santiago as
a signal for the start of death
march, Rizal as tied behind from
elbow to elbow, began his walk to
Bagumbayan at 6:30 AM, with Lt.
Andrade and priests Frs. March and
Villaclara.
• Rizal dressed in black suit, black
derby hat, black shoes, white shirt
and black tie.

46. • During the walk Rizal was talking
to priests when passed by the
Ateneo:
“What a beautiful
morning! On days like
this, I used to talk a
walk here with my
sweetheart.”

47. • At Bagumbayan, he shook hand with his
lawyer and bade farewell to the friars.
• Rizal requested the commander that he
be shot facing the firing squad but it
was denied.
• He just requested to be shot not in
head but in back near on his heart, not
in kneeling position and without the
traditional blindfold.
• A military physician, Felipe Ruiz Castillo
checked his pulse and saw it normal.

48. • Priests offered him to kiss a
crucifix but he refused.
• With the command, the eight
Filipino executioners with another
row of Spanish Guardia civil aimed
to his back
(Preparado!...
Apunten!)

49. • Rizal shouted, “Consummatum Est!” (It
is done!)
• With the words “Fuego!,” the
executioners shot Rizal (twisted his
body to face the sun)
• Rizal declared died
at 7:03 AM.

52. Thank you!
Yosef Eric C. Hipolito, LPT, MA
Bachelor of Arts in History
yosefhipolito19@gmail.com