Did Rizal Retract?
Retraction
the act of taking back an offer
or statement, or admitting that
a statement was false
Introduction
• 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. 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 document, referred to as "The Retraction,"
declares Rizal's belief in the Catholic faith, and retracts everything he
wrote against the Church.
Primary Source:
Rizal's Retraction
Source: Translated from the
document found by Fr.
Manuel Garcia.
C.M. on 18 May 1935
I declare myself a catholic and in this Religion in which I was born and
educated I 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
Jose Rizal
Four Iterations of the Retraction
First and Second Iteration (December 30, 1896):
• The initial retraction was published in La Voz Española and Diario de Manila
on the day of the execution (December 30, 1896). It suggests that someone
made a statement or claim and later retracted or withdrew it. The details of the
retraction were made public on the same day as the execution.
Third Iteration (February 14, 1897):
• A second version of the retraction appeared in Barcelona, Spain, in the
magazine La Juventud, a few months after the execution (on February 14,
1897). This version was authored by an anonymous writer who was later
revealed to be Fr. Vicente Balaguer. It seems that the retraction was reiterated
or expanded upon in this second publication
Discovery of the "Original" Text (May 18, 1935):
• The "original" text of the retraction was only found in the archdiocesan
archives on May 18, 1935. This means that the actual, authoritative version of
the retraction, perhaps different from the previous iterations, was located in
the archives after almost four decades of being missing or undisclosed.
Balaguer Testimony
• Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because only one
eyewitness account of the writing of the document exists-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
seemed 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.
The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia
• Another eyewitness account surfaced in 2016, through the research of
Professor Rene R. Escalante.
• In his research, documents of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia included a report
on the last hours of Rizal, written by Federico Moreno.
• The report details the statement of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia to Moreno.
Primary Source: Eyewitness
Account of the Last Hours of
Rizal
Source: Michael Charleston
Chua, "Retraction ni Jose
Rizal: Mga Bagong Dokumento
at Pananaw." GMA News
Online, published 29
December 2016.
• 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 Jose Rizal, informs me on this date of the following:
• At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied
by his counsel, Señor Taviel de Andrade, and the Jesuit priest [Jose]
Vilaclara. At the urgings of the former and moments after entering, he
was served a light breakfast.
• At approximately 9, the Adjutant of the Garrison, Señor [Eloy] 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
[Estanislao] March.
• Señor 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. 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 for 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, Señor [Juan]
del Fresno and the Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure, were informed. They
entered death row and together with Rizal signed the document that the
accused had written. It seems this was the retraction.
• From 3 to 5:30 in the afternoon, Rizal read his prayer book several times,
prayed kneeling before the altar and in the company of Fathers Vilaclara and
March, read the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity repeatedly as well as the
Prayers for the Departing Soul.
• At 6 in the afternoon the following persons arrived and entered the chapel;
Teodora Alonzo, mother of Rizal, and his sisters, Lucia, Maria, Olimpia,
Josefa, Trinidad and Dolores.
• Embracing them, the accused bade them farewell with great strength of
character and without shedding a tear. The mother of Rizal left the chapel
weeping and carrying two bundles of several utensils belonging to her son
who had used them while in prison.
• A little after 8 in the evening, at the urgings of Señor Andrade, the accused
was served a plate of tinola, his last meal on earth. The Assistant of the Plaza,
Señor Maure and Fathers March and Vilaclara visited him at 9 in the evening.
He rested until 4 in the morning and again resumed praying before the altar.
• At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison
accompanied by his sister Pilar, both 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.
• Rizal heard mass and confessed to Father March. Afterwards he heard
another mass where he received communion. At 7:30, a European
artilleryman handcuffed him and he left for the place of execution
accompanied by various Jesuits, his counsel and the Assistant of the Plaza.
Father March gave him a holy picture of the Virgin that Rizal kissed
repeatedly.
• When the accused left, I noticed he was very pale but I am very certain that all
the time he was imprisoned he demonstrated great strength of character and
composure. God grant Your Excellency.
Manila 30 December 1896.
• This account corroborates the existence of the retraction document, 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 in independence in 1898.
(116) Xiao Time: Retraction ni Jose
Rizal, totoo kaya? - YouTube
