June 26, 1892 - Jose Rizal's arrival in Manila had become

very sensational among the Filipinos. His popularity

Careers and Contributions
feared the Spaniards, and as such, payed careful Rizal had maximized his stay in Dapitan by devoting
attention to his every moves. much of his time in improving his artistic and literary
skills; doing agricultural and civic projects; engaging in
July 3, 1892 - he founded the La Liga Filipina in the business activities, and writing letters to his friends in
house of Doroteo Ongjunco in Tondo, Manila. Europe, particularly to Ferdinand
Blumentritt and Reinhold Rost. His careers and
July 6, 1982 - Jose Rizal was arrested by the Spanish
achievements in different fields were as follows:
authorities on four grounds:
§ As an engineer, Rizal applied his knowledge through
1. for publishing anti-Catholic and anti-friar books and
the waterworks system he constructed in Dapitan.
articles;
Going back to his academic life, Rizal obtained the title
2. for having in possession a bundle of handbills,
of expert surveyor (perito agrimensor) from the Ateneo
the Pobres Frailes, in which advocacies were in violation
Municipal. From his practical knowledge as agrimensor,
of the Spanish orders;
he widened his knowledge by reading engineering-
3. for dedicating his novel, El Filibusterismo to the three
related books. As a result, despite the inadequacy of
“traitors” (Gomez, Burgos and Zamora) and for
tools at hand, he successfully provided a good water
emphasizing on the novel's title page that “the only
system in the province.
salvation for the Philippines was separation from the
mother country (referring to Spain)”; and § As a physician, Rizal provided free medicine to his
4. for simply criticizing the religion and aiming for its patients, most of them were underprivileged. However,
exclusion from the Filipino culture. he also had wealthy patients who paid him well enough
for his excellent surgical skill. Among them were Don
Arrival in Dapitan Ignacio Tumarong who gave Rizal 3000 pesos for
restoring his sight, an Englishman who gave him 500
July 17, 1892 – He was deported and arrived in Dapitan pesos, and Aklanon haciendero, DonFrancisco
via the steamer “Cebu”. Azcarraga, who paid him a cargo of sugar. His skill was
put into test in August 1893 when his mother, Doña
From that day until July 31, 1896 - Dapitan became the
Teodora Alonzo, was placed under opthalmic surgery
bare witness to one of the most fruitful periods in
for the third time. The operation was a success,
Rizal's life. His stay in the province was more than “he”
however, Alonzo, ignored her son's instructions and
living in exile – it was the period when Rizal had been
removed the bandages in her eyes which lead to
more focused on serving the people and the society
irritation and infection.
through his civic works, medical practices, land
development and promotion of education. § As an agriculturist, Rizal devoted time in planting
important crops and fruit-bearing trees in his 16-
Challenging the Religion hectare land (later, reaching as large as 70 hectares). He
planted cacao, coffee,sugarcane, and coconuts, among
In Dapitan, Rizal had a scholarly debate with many others. He even invested part of his earnings from
Father Pablo Pastells regarding religion. This exchange being a medical practitioner and his 6000-peso winnings
of heated arguments revealed the anti-Christian Rizal – from a lottery on lands. From the United States, he
his bitterness on the abuses performed by friars, doing imported agricultural machinery and introduced to the
such under the name of the sacred religion. Father native farmers of Dapitan the modern agricultural
Pastells tried his best to win Rizal back to the faith but methods. Rizal also visualized of having an agricultural
fortunately or unfortunately, in vain. These series of colony in Sitio Ponot, within the Sindañgan Bay. He
debate ended inconclusively in which neither of them believed that the area was suitable for cattle-raising and
convinced the other of his judgments/arguments. The for cash-crops as the area had abundant water.
debate started when Pastells sent Rizal a book by Sarda Unfortunately, this plan did not materialized.
along with an advice that Rizal should desist from his
majaderas (foolishness) in viewing religion from the § As a linguist, Rizal was interested in the languages
perspective of individual judgement and self- esteem. used in Dapitan, thus, studied and made comparisons of
the Bisayan and Malayan languages existing in the
region. In fact, Rizal had knowledge in 22 languages:
Tagalog, Ilocano, Bisayan, Subanun, Spanish, Latin,
Greek, English, French, German, Arabic, Malayan,
Hebrew, Sanskrit, Dutch, Catalan, Italian, Chinese, Father Pedro Obach, refused to do so unless they be
Japanes, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian. permitted by the Bishop of Cebu.

§ As an inventor, little was known of Rizal. In 1887, On the other hand, Taufer returned to Hongkong
during his medical practice in Calamba, he invented a uncured. Because no priest was willing to marry the
two, the couple exchanged their vows before God in
special type of lighter called sulpukan which he sent to
their own way, which scandalized Fr. Obach. In 1896,
Blumentritt as a gift. According to Rizal, the wooden their love bear its fruit – Josephine was pregnant.
lighter's mechanism was based on the principle of Unfortunately, Bracken gave birth to a one-month
compressed air. Another of his inventions was the premature baby boy who lived only for three hours. The
wooden brick-maker can manufacture about 6,000 child was buried in Dapitan, bearing the name
bricks a day. Francisco, after Rizal's father.

§ As a scientist, Rizal shared his interest with nature

to his students. With his boys, they explored the jungles Jose Rizal, a man with so many accomplishments. Jose
and searched for specimens which he sent to museums Rizal gives all of us inspiration in all the things we do. He is
in Europe, particularly in Dressed Museum. In return, inspires us to be hardworking and diligent, which most of
scientific books and surgical instruments were delivered us are not.
to him from the European scientists. He also made a I am amazed that even though Rizal was in exile, he
didn't mind the fact that he was sent to Dapitan to live like
bulk of other researches and studies in the fields of a prisoner and yet he still manages to accomplish many
ethnography, archaeology, geology, anthropology and things. He has taught the poor Mindanao folk to unite for
geography. However, Rizal's most significant trading so that they may become independent and free
contribution in the scientific world was his discovery of themselves from the Chinese and thus become less
exploited, in the sense that he organized a cooperative
three species:
even in exile. While many people would be in panic,
Draco rizali – flying dragon despair or lose hope for any success in their lives because
of being exiled Jose Rizal continued to serve his country.
Apogonia rizali – small beetle
This is what made Jose Rizal stand out of the others as a
Rhacophorus rizali – rare frog
hero to a nation. He was truly a man of action. He always
put his countrymen first before him.
§ As an educator, Rizal established a school in He truly was a man of action, he did not only
Dapitan which was attended by 16 young boys from looked over the people nor just tell people what to do, he
prominent families. Instead of charging them for the helped them in their everyday work. Rizal was intelligent
matriculation, he made the students do community and yet very humble.
projects for him like maintaining his garden and field. Right now I wish that the tree he planted would
He taught them reading, writing in English and Spanish, somehow magically make Rizal appear in this time of ours
geography, history, mathematics, industrial work, so that I can praise him for what he did for us.
nature study, morals and gymnastics. He encouraged his Rizal truly was a person for his countrymen, he
students to engage in sports activities to strengthen truly was a patriot and nationalistic for he never wanted to
their bodies as well. There was no formal room, like the see his fellow countrymen being oppressed and being
typical classroom nowadays. Classes were conducted exploited.
from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. with the teacher sitting on a
hammock while the students sat on a long bamboo
bench.

§ Romantic affair with Josephine Bracken

Rizal had always been missing his family and their happy
moments together in Calamba and his despair doubled
upon the announcement of Leonor Rivera's death. Not
soon, to his surprise, an Irish girl enlightened his rather
gloomy heart. This girl was the 18-year old Josephine
Bracken who, to Wenceslao Retana's words, was
“slender, a chestnut blond, with blue eyes, dressed with
elegant simplicity, with an atmosphere of light (gaiety).”

From Hongkong, she arrived in Dapitan in February,

1895 with his blind foster father, George Taufer, and a
Filipina named Manuela Orlac. Rizal's fame as an
opthalmic surgeon reached overseas, and one of Rizal's
friends, Julio Llorente referred the group to Rizal. Rizal
and Bracken instantly fell in love with each and in just
one month, they agreed to marry which appalled and
disturbed Taufer. However, the parish priest of Dapitan,