Rizal's Trial and Martyrdom PDF

# Jose Rizal's Trial and Martyrdom ## Rise to Fame In the middle of 1892, Rizal became known to every Filipino, and was a part of every socio-political conversation. His popularity was such that the Spaniards, especially the friars, paid attention to Rizal's every movement. His popularity even ex...

# Jose Rizal's Trial and Martyrdom ## Rise to Fame In the middle of 1892, Rizal became known to every Filipino, and was a part of every socio-political conversation. His popularity was such that the Spaniards, especially the friars, paid attention to Rizal's every movement. His popularity even extended to the point that his family, friends, companions, and acquaintances underwent house searches to look for evidence related to Rizal's works and ideologies. ## Arrest and Trial - At the very same year, together with his fellow ilustrados, Rizal established the La Liga Filipina in the house of a prominent man, **Doroteo Ongjungco** in Tondo, Manila. - Several days later, the Spanish authorities arrested Rizal for: - Publishing anti-Catholic and anti-friar books and articles - Having in possession a bundle of handbills, the Pobres Frailes - Criticizing the religion and aiming for its exclusion from Filipino culture - Dedicating his novel to the GomBurZa (Gomez, Burgos and Zamora). ### The Trial - **September 1896**: Jose Rizal was arrested en route to Cuba, where he had volunteered to serve as a doctor. While in Spain, the Philippine Revolution (led by the Katipunan) erupted. - **September 30, 1896**: Rizal was detained in Barcelona and then shipped back to the Philippines on board the steamer S.S. Colon. - **November 3, 1896**: Rizal arrived at Manila and was confined _incommunicado_ at Fort Santiago. Interrogation was done as a preliminary act of the investigation, and was administered by a military officer, **Colonel Olive**. Colonel Olive was the same military leader who led the troops that forced the Rizal family to vacate their Calamba home in the year 1890. - **November 20, 1896**: The preliminary investigation on Rizal began. During the five-day investigation, Rizal was formally informed about the cases against him, together with the two kinds of evidence – written and testimonial. - **Fifteen Documentary Evidences:** - Rizal's letters - Letters of his compatriots like Marcelo del Pilar and Antonio Luna - A poem (Kundiman) - A Masonic document - Two transcripts of speeches of Katipuneros (Emilio Jacinto and Jose Turiano Santiago) - Rizal's poem “A Talisay.” - **Oral Testimonies of 13 Filipinos:** - La Liga officers like Ambrosio Salavador, Deodato Arellano, the Katipunero Pio Valenzuela, and among others. - **November 21, 1896**: Rizal was interrogated with his relationship with Andres Bonifacio, president of the Supreme Council of the Katipunan. - **November 26, 1896**: Rizal was sworn in for his trial, with the military tribunal gathering various documents and testimonies against him, including letters and poems. - **December 2, 1896**: Captain Dominguez summarized the case and brought it back to Blanco to be examined by **Judge Advocate General Don Nicolas Dela Peña**. Peña, after examining the cases, ordered the following: 1. Rizal be instantly brought to trial. 2. He must be kept in jail. 3. An order of attachment be issued against his property. 4. A Spanish army officer, not a civilian lawyer, be permitted to defend Rizal in court. ### Defense Counsel - **December 9, 1896**: The 106 officers below the rank of first or second lieutenant officers were drawn and considered eligible to be Rizal's defense counsel. - **December10, 1896**: The 106 military officers were presented to Rizal (soldiers, a military officers not lawyers; low-ranking officers with no concrete legal background to help Rizal). Rizal, upon seeing the list of eligible counsel, chooses **Luis de Taviel**. On the very same day, Taviel accepted the duty - **December 11, 1896**: The arraignment of Rizal. Dominguez decided that there was no need for Rizal to see/meet or to be cross examined by the "witnesses" who had accused him. - **December 12, 1896**: A new Governador general, **Camilo de Polavieja**, assumed office. Although there was a change of governors, it did nothing to the speed of Rizal's trial - **December 25, 1896**: The list of Judges were shown to Rizal as the trial proceedings continued. - **December 26, 1896**: The military trial begins, characterized as a "moro-moro" court martial, meant to handle military cases, not civilian affairs. According to Rizal, there are twelve points to prove his innocence: - He was against rebellion and it was testified by Pio Valenzuela. - He had not written a letter addressed to the Katipunan. - He knew nothing that his name was used by the Katipunan. - If he was guilty of the cases brought to him, he should have escaped the country while in exile in Dapitan. - If guilty, he shouldn't have built a home, bought a parcel of land nor established a hospital and school in Dapitan; the revolutionists should have consulted him if he was really the leader of the revolution. - The La Liga Filipina is a civic association, not a revolutionary society. - The La Liga did not last long. - He had no idea on the reorganization of La Liga after nine months. - There is no need to organize Katipunan, if the purpose of La Liga is revolution. - If the Spanish authorities found his letters having bitter atmosphere, it was because in 1890 his family was being persecuted resulting to their dispossession of properties and deportation of all his brothers-in-law. He lived an commendable life in Dapitan, in terms of socio-political, education, agriculture and even in religious and engineering. ## Martyrdom - **December 26, 1896**: Atty. Alcocer's reiteration of the charges against Rizal urged the court that Rizal be punished with death through a firing squad. Meanwhile, the crimes he was accused of: rebellion, sedition and illegal association, penalized him for being life imprisonment to death and correctional imprisonment and a charge of 325 to 3,250 pesetas. - **December 27, 1896**: Auditor General de Guerra Peña recommends the approval of Rizal's death sentence. - **December 28, 1896**: Governor General Polavieja orders the death of Rizal at 7:00 am of December 30 in Bagumbayan by firing squad. - **December 29, 1896**: Judge Advocate Dominguez officially informed Rizal about his death sentence. - **December 30, 1896** - **7:00 AM**: Rizal was transferred to his death cell and was visited by Jesuit priests, Miguel Saderra Mata and Luis Viza. - **8:00 AM**: Another priest came to visit him and shared breakfast with him; Fr. Antonio Rosell. - **8:30 AM**: Lt. Andrade visited Rizal. Rizal thanked his defense lawyer. - **9:00 AM**: Santiago Mataix of the Spanish newspaper "El Heraldo de Madrid" interviewed him. - **10:00 AM**: Fr. Federico Faura visited Rizal, asking him to forget his resentments and be married to Josephine canonically. - **11:00 AM**: Missionary from Dapitan also visited him: Fr. Jose Vilaclara and Vicente whom, convinced Rizal to write a retraction. - **12:00 NOON**: In the cooled light rayed cell, Rizal was left alone. He used the time to write some letters to his, probably finished his last poem and read the bible". - **2:00 PM**: Rizal was visited by Fr. Estanislao March and Fr. Vilaclara. - **3:30 PM**: Rizal was visited by Balaguer to discuss about the retraction. - **4:00 PM**: Doña Teodora with Rizal's sisters came to see him for the last time. - **6:00 PM**: Rizal met Josephine Bracken inside the cell in Fort Santiago. - **8:00 PM**: Rizal then took his last supper. - **10:00 PM**: Rizal was visited by Catholic priests for the hero's retraction. - **3:00 AM**: Rizal heard Mass, confessed sins, and took Communion. - **5:00 AM**: Rizal attended to his personal needs, read the Bible, and had his last breakfast. Rizal made his last letters and poems to be sent to his family, friends and to Josephine. - **6:30 AM**: Rizal wearing a black suit and black bowler hat, tied elbow to elbow, with his defense lawyer, Andrade, and two Jesuit priests, March and Vilaclara, starts his last _marcha_ while reminiscing his happy days in Ateneo and looking for the last glance of everyone in the corded area to Bagumbayan. - **7:03 AM**: The Captain's command had been given, “_Fuego!_”. - **7:03 AM**: **Consummatum est!** - Jose Rizal The image is of a poster about Jose Rizal's trial and execution. It contains a timeline of the events that led to his death and the last moments of his life.