Jose Rizal's final journey ...

Andres Bonifacio and his fearless Katipuneros

cried out the hills of Balintawak (popularly
known as "Cry of Balintawak), a few miles
north of Manila. They attacked San Juan, a city
near Manila.

Following the Batle of San Juan, Governador General

Blanco declared a state of war in the eight
provincens of Manila (as a province), Bulacan, Cavite,
Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, Nueva Vizcaya, and
Tarlac for their insurgency against Spain
 During the chaos created by the uprising,
Josefrom Governor
Rizal General
received Blanco
two exonerating
letters
him from the raging insurgency, and it was
Jose's last trip abroad when he left for Spain,
troubled by the Katipuneros violent attempt
to overthrow the Spanish Government.
Colonel Olive transmitted the records in order to
begin the appropriate action against Rizal. Rizal was
only given the option of selecting his own defense
attorney. He was given a list of Spanish Army
lieutenants, and one name caught his eye. Rizal's
bodyguard in Calamba was Don Luis Taviel de
Andrade, who was the brother of Lt. Jose Taviel de
Andrade.
Jose Rizal was summoned to a military tribunal for a
court hearing, the five-day preliminary investigation was
launched, by Colonel Francisco Olive, the Spanish Judge
Advocate of military tribunal.
Presented before him were two kinds of evidences; •
Documentary • Testimonial
These evidences were endorsed by Colonel Olive to
Governor Ramon Blanco who designated Captain Rafael
Dominguez as the Judge Advocate assigned with the task of
deciding what corresponding action should be done.
Dominguez, after a brief review, transmitted the records to
Don Nicolas de la Peña, the Judge Advocate General, for an
opinion. Peña's recommendations were as follows:

1. Rizal must be immediately sent to trial 2. He must be

held in prison under necessary security 3. His
properties must be issued with order of attached, Rizal
had to pay one million pesos 4. Instead of a civilian
lawyer, only an army officer is allowed to defend Rizal.
On November 21, 1896 Rizal was asked if he knew Andres
Bonifacio president of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan

"He does not know this person by name, and in fact this is
the first time he hears of him. Nor does he know him by sight
although [Bonifacio] might have been present at the meeting
in the house of Doroteo Ong-junco, where [Rizal] was
introduced to many persons whose names and appearance
he no longer remembers."
A founder of the Katipunan, a militant
nationalist secret society that led the
rebellion against Spain and also became
one of the founding members of José
Rizal's La Liga Filipina. He is also called
"The Father of Philippine Revolution".
 Rizal was sworn in and the
court records listed him as
“a Calamba,
native Laguna,
of of legal
age, single, physician, never
been tried before.”
"As to the portrait, since the prisoner had one of ordinary size made in
Madrid, they might have secured a copy of the portrait. As to their using his
name as a rallying cry, the prisoner has no idea why they should do this, as he
has given them no pretext whatever for it, and he looks upon it as unqualified
presumption on their part. He did indeed learn from his family that his name
was being used to collect funds for him. [He brought this matter to the
military governor of Dapitan for transmittal to the Governor General in Manila
and] got his family to spread the word around by means of their
acquaintances that he was not asking for alms and that he had sufficient
funds for all his needs with what he earned by the practice of his profession
and what he had won in the Lottery."
In the presence of his Spanish counsel, charges
against Rizal were read, he was accused of
being:

"the principal organizer and the living soul

of the Filipino insurgency, the founder of
societies, periodicals, and books
dedicated to fomenting and propagating
ideas of rebellion"
Jose Rizal did not object to the court's jurisdiction,
but claimed that he was not a revolutionary. When
asked regarding his sentiments or reaction on the
charges, Rizal replied that: • He does not question
the jurisdiction of the court • He has nothing to
amend except that during his exile in Dapitan in
1892, he had not dealt in political matters; • He has
nothing to admit on the charges against him • He
had nothing to admit on the declarations of the
witnesses, he had not met nor knew, against him.
Trial of Rizal began at the
Cuartel de España. On
the same day, the
secretly and
court-martial
unanimously voted for a
guilty verdict with the
penalty of death before
a firing squad.
 December 28, 1896 He
approved the decision of and
ordered Rizal to be shot at
7:00 o'clock
the court-martial
in the morning of
December 30 at Bagumbayan
Field.

Governor-General
Camilo de Polavieja
In this
Jose cell
Rizal was
detained from
prisone
November 3 to the
r of
mornin
December 29,
g
1896.
Falsel
charged with the
y rebellion, and
seditioformation of
n illegal societies.
FAMILY

FRIENDS
Captain Rafael Dominguez,
the Special Judge Advocate
of the Council of War, read
the death sentence to Rizal.
"He will be shot at the back
by firing squad at 7:00 AM in
Bagumbayan"
 Rizal was transferred to his death
cell in Fort Santiago. There he
visitors, some
received several priests, his
numerous
former professors,
including his with whom he
counsel;
supposedly
Spanish discussed
officials; andreason and
religion. His first visitors were Jesuit
priests Fathers Miguel Saderra Mata
and Luis Viza.
 After Fr. Saderra left, Rizal
askedtheFr. Viza for
statuette which he
Sacred
carvedHeart
when he was an
Ateneo student. the

From his pocket

statuette appears.
Fr. Viza was relieved
by Fr. Antonio Rosell
who joined Rizal for
Lt. Luis Taviel de
breakfast.
Andrade joins them.
who Federico
Fr. once saidFaura,
that Rizal
would lose his head for
writing the Noli Me Tangere,
arrived. Rizal told him,
“Father you are indeed a
prophet.”
 Father Jose Vilaclara (Rizal’s teachet at
Balaguer
the (Jesuit
Ateneo) andmissionary
Vicente in Dapitan
who had latter’s exile) visited the hero.
After them
befriended came
Rizal Spanish
during thejournalist,
Santiago Mataix, who interviewed Rizal
for his newspaper El Heraldo de Madrid
Rizal’s time alone in his cell. He had lunch, wrote
letters and probably wrote his last poem of 14
stanzas which he wrote in his flowing
handwriting in a very small piece of paper. He
hid it inside his alcohol stove. The untitled poem
was later known as Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last
Farewell). In its second stanza, he already
praised the revolutionaries in the battlefield for
giving their lives “without doubt, without gloom.”
According to an account of the agent of
the Cuerpo
guarding Rizal’sde
cell,Vigilancia
Rizal signed what
seems to be the document retracting
his anti- Catholic writings and his
membership in masonry. This event is a
contentious issue among Rizal experts.
Father Vicente Balaguer returned to
his cell and discussed with Rizal his
retraction letter.
 Teodora Alonzo visited him. They
had a very emotional encounter
Rizal gave the alcohol stove to his
Trinidad which contains
farewell poem.
 Rizal was visited by the Dean of the
Manila Cathedral, Don Silvino Lopez
Tuñon. Father March left Father
Vilaclara to be with the two.

Rizal’s last supper where he informed

Captain Dominguez that he already
forgave those who condemned him.
Rizal was visited by the fiscal of the Royal
Audiencia of Manila, Don Gaspar Cestaño
with whom Rizal offered the best chair of
the cell. According to accounts, the fiscal
left with “a good impression of Rizal’s
intelligence and noble character.”
The draft of the retraction letter sent
by the anti-Filipino Archbishop
Bernadino Nozaleda was given by Fr.
Balaguer to Rizal for his signature. He
had rejected it.
 Rizal heard mass,
confessed his sins
and took Holy
communion.
 Rizal took his last meal.
According to stories told to
Narcisa by Lt. Luis Taviel de
Andrade, Rizal threw some
eggs in the corner of a cell for
the “poor rats,” “Let them
Rizal
have also
their wrote
fiesta to his family
too.”
and to his brother, Paciano.
 Teary-eyed Josephine Bracken
and Josefa Rizal came. According
to the testimony of the agent of
the Cuerpo de were married.
Vigilancia,
Josephine
Josephine was and
giftedRizal
by Rizal with
the classic Thomas á Kempis book
Imitations of Christ in which he
inscribed, “To my wife, Josephine,
December 30th, 1896, Jose Rizal.”
dear and
They embraced unhappy
for the last time.
6:00AM
 Death March to Bagumbayan
6:30AM
7:00AM
7:03AM
December 30,1896
August 17, 1898
December 19, 1912
December 30, 1912; Morning
December 30, 1913