4. Who is Rizal?
● Full name: Jose Protasio
Rizal Mercado y Alonso
Realonda
● Birthdate: June 19, 1861
● Date of death: December 30, 1896
● Birthplace: Calamba, Laguna
● Nickname: Pepe
● Penname/s: Laong Laan and
Dimasalang
.
5. Who is Rizal?
Jose Rizal is identified as a hero of the
revolution for his writings that center on
ending colonialism and liberating Filipino
minds to contribute to creating the Filipino
nation. The great volume of Rizal’s lifework
was committed to this end, particularly the
more influential ones, Noli Me Tangere and
El Filibusterismo. His essays vilify not the
Catholic religion, but the friars, the main
agents of injustice in the Philippine society.
6. It is understandable, therefore, that any piece of writing from
Rizal that recants everything he wrote against the friars and
the Catholic Church in the Philippines could deal heavy
damage to his image as a prominent Filipino revolutionary.
Such document purportedly exists, allegedly signed by Rizal
a few hours before his execution. This documents, referred to
as “The Retraction”, declares Rizal’s belief in the Catholic
faith, and retracts everything he wrote against the Church.
7. Primary Source: Rizal’s Retraction
Source: Translated from the document
forund by Fr. Manuel Garcia C.M. on May
18 1935
8. I declare myself a catholic and in this Religion in which I was
born an educated wish to live and die. I retract with all my
heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and
conduct has been contrary to my character as son of the
Catholic Church. I believe and I confess whatever she
teaches and I submit to whatever she demands. I abominate
Masonry, as the enemy which is of the Church, and as a
Society prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate may,
as the Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this
spontaneous manifestation of mine in order to repair the
scandal which my acts may have caused and so that God and
people may pardon me.
Manila 29 of December of 1896
9. There are four iterations of the texts of this retraction: the first was published in La
Voz Espaňola and Diario de Manila on the day of the execution, 30 December 1896.
The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, on the magazine La Juventud, a few
months after the execution, 14 February 1897, from an anonymous writer who was
later on revealed to be Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
However, the "original" text was only found in the archdiocesan archives on May 18,
1935, after almost four decades of disappearance.
The fourth text appeared in El Imparcial on the day after Rizal’s execution; it is the
short formula of the retraction.
10. VOCABULARY
On the day of his execution,
the newspaper La Voz
Española reported what
happened in Luneta, and it
also printed the text of the
retraction letter that Rizal
allegedly signed (NAP
Manuscript A-1, Doc. 27).
La Voz Española
01
Diario de Manila was a
Spanish language newspaper
published in the Philippines,
founded on October 11, 1848,
and closed down by official
decree on February 19, 1898,
after the colonial authorities
discovered that its
installations were being used
to print revolutionary material
Diario de Manila
02
11. VOCABULARY
A la juventud filipina is a
poem written in Spanish by
Filipino writer and patriot
José Rizal, first presented
in 1879 in Manila, while he
was studying at the
University of Santo Tomas.
La Juventud
03
El Imparcial, founded in 1918,
was a newspaper in Puerto
Rico. It circulated daily, except
Sundays./ About El Imparcial.
(San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?.]
United States Library of
Congress. Retrieved 26 July
2012.</ref> Its complete name
was El Imparcial: El diario
ilustrado de Puerto Rico.
El Imparcial
04
13. Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially
because only one eyewitness account of the writing of the
document exist—that of the Jesuit friar Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
According to his testimony, Rizal woke up several times,
confessed four times, attended a mass, received
communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which seem out of
character. But since it is the only testimony of allegedly a
"primary" account that Rizal ever wrote a retraction
document, it has been used to argue the authenticity of the
document.
15. Primary Source: Eyewitness Account
of the Last Hours of Rizal
Most Illustrious Sir, the agent of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia stationed in Fort
Santiago to report on the events during the (illegible) day in prison of the
accused José Rizal, informs me on this date of the following:
At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his
counsel, Seňor Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest Vilaclara. At the
urgings of the former and moments after entering, he was served a light
breakfast. At approximately 9, the Assistant of the Plaza, Seňor Maure, asked
Rizal if he wanted anything. He replied that at the moment he only wanted a
prayer book, which was brought to him shortly by Father March. Seňor
Andrade left death row at 10 and Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit
fathers, March and Vilaclara. regarding religious matters, it seems.
16. Primary Source: Eyewitness Account
of the Last Hours of Rizal
It appears that these two presented him with a prepared retraction on
his life and deeds that he refused to sign. They argued about the matter
until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken.
Afterwards he asked to leave to write and wrote a long time by himself.
At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal
handed him what he had written. Immediately, the chief of the firing
squad, Senor del Fresno and the Assistant of the Plaza, Senor Maure
were informed. They entered death row and together with Rizal signed
the document that the accused had written.
17. Primary Source: Eyewitness Account
of the Last Hours of Rizal
At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the
prison…dressed in mourning. Only the former entered the chapel,
followed by a military chaplain whose name I cannot ascertain.
Donning his formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the artillery, the
nuptials of Rizal and the woman who had been his lover were
performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis). After embracing
him, she left, flooded with tears.
18. This account corroborates the existence of the
retraction giving it credence. However, nowhere in the
account was Fr. Balaguer mentioned, which makes the
friar a mere secondary source to the writing of the
document.
The retraction of Rizal remains to this day, a
controversy; many scholars, however, agree that
the document does not tarnish the heroism of
Rizal. His relevance remained solidified to Filipinos
and pushed them to continue the Revolution,
which eventually resulted to independence in 1898.
19. If Rizal retracted, he would not have been
executed. But he was executed;
therefore Rizal did not retract. He would
have been an example for the cause of the
friars; he would have been given a decent
Christian burial, not buried like a dead dog
outside Paco Cemetery.
21. They wanted Rizal to retract because the
writings of Jose Rizal made a greater impact
wherein, he exposed the conditions of the
Philippines, particularly the actions of the friars
and the colonial officials, so the friars wanted to
hide that fact.
