Preliminary Investigation After fishing as much evidence as possible, on November 20, 1896, the preliminary investigation on Rizal began. During the five-day investigation, Rizal was informed of the charges against him before Judge Advocate Colonel Francisco Olive. He was put under interrogation without the benefit of knowing who testified against him. Presented before him were two kinds of evidences – documentary and testimonial. There were a total of fifteen exhibits for the documentary evidence. Testimonial evidences, on the other hand, were comprised of oral proofs provided by Martin Constantino, Aguedo del Rosario, Jose Reyes, Moises Salvador, Jose Dizon, Domingo Franco, Deodato Arellano, Pio Valenzuela, Antonio Salazar, Francisco Quison, and Timoteo Paez. 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:
Charges against Rizal On the 11th of December 1896, in the presence of his Spanish counsel, charges against Rizal were read. When asked regarding his sentiments or reaction on the charges, Rizal replied that:
Rizal's trial Accustomed to share the merry season with family, friends and relatives, the 1896 Christmas was indeed, Rizal's saddest. Confined in a dark, gloomy cell, Rizal was in despair and had no idea of what his fate may be. Under this delusion, he wrote a letter to Lt. Taviel de Andrade requesting the latter to visit him before his trial for there was a very important matter they need to discuss. Likewise, Rizal greeted the lieutenant a joyous Christmas. The next day, December 26, about 8 o'clock in the morning, the court-martial of Rizal commenced. The hearing was actually a kind of moro-moro – a planned trial wherein Rizal, before hearing his verdict, had already been prejudged. Unlike other accused, Rizal had not been allowed to know the people who witnessed against him. The trial took place at Cuartel de España, a military building, with a court composed of seven military officers headed by Lt. Col. Jose Togores Arjona. Present at the courtroom were Jose Rizal, the six other officers in uniform (Capt. Ricardo Muñoz Arias, Capt. Manuel Reguera, Capt. Santiago Izquierdo Osorio, Capt. Braulio Rodriguez Nuñez, Capt. Manuel Diaz Escribano, and Capt. Fernando Perez Rodriguez), Lt. Taviel de Andrade, Judge Advocate Capt. Rafael Dominguez, Lt. Enrique de Alcocer (prosecuting attorney) and a number of spectators, including Josephine Bracken. After Judge Advocate Dominguez opened the trial, it was followed by Atty. Alcocer's reiteration of the charges against Rizal, urging the court that the latter be punished with death. Accordingly, the three crimes accused to him were rebellion, sedition and illegal association – the penalty for the first two being life imprisonment to death, while the last, correctional imprisonment and a charge of 325 to 3,250 pesetas. Lt. Taviel de Andrade, on the other hand, later took the floor reading his speech in defense of Rizal. To supplement this, Rizal read his own defense which he wrote in his cell in Fort Santiago. According to Rizal, there are twelve points to prove his innocence:
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Upon hearing the court's decision, Rizal already knew that there's no way that his destiny would be changed – Rizal knew it was his end, and had accepted his fate. Captain Rafael Dominguez, at 6 o'clock in the morning of December 29, 1896, read before him the official notice of his execution, scheduled the next day. Rizal was immediately transferred to the prison chapel where he spent his last hours on earth.
Inside the chapel, Rizal busied himself by writing correspondences to friends and family, bidding everyone farewell; and conversing with his Jesuit priests friends. He had a lot of visitors, arriving one or two after the other: § Fr. Miguel Saderra Mata – the Rector of the Ateneo Municipal; arrived in the prison early in the morning. § Fr. Luis Viza – came with Fr. Mata; the priest to whom Rizal asked for the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which he made during his stay in Ateneo. § Fr. Antonio Rosell – another friend of Rizal who gladly eaten a fine breakfast with him; returned in the afternoon to resume his talk with Rizal. § Lt. Taviel de Andrade – Rizal extended his appreciation for Andrade's services as his defense counsel. § Fr. Federico Faura – had prophesied earlier rather comically that Rizal would lose his head for writing the Noli Me Tangere, and the latter “congratulated” the priest for being right. § Fr. Jose Villaclara – Rizal's former teacher in Ateneo; ate lunch with him. § Fr. Vicente Balaguer – accompanied Fr. Villaclara; ate luch with Rizal as well. § Santiago Mataix – contributor in the El Heraldo de Madrid § Teodora Alonzo – Rizal knelt before his beloved mother, begging for forgiveness and understanding; the mother and son were separated by the strong grip of the prison guard. § Trinidad – arrived when Teodora left the chapel; to her, Rizal handed down an alcohol cooking stove and whispered that something was inside it (turned out to be his last piece, the Mi Ultimo Adios, written in a small piece of paper). § Gaspar Castaño – fiscal of the Royal Audiencia; had a good conversation with Rizal. Late at night, around 10 o'clock, a retraction letter prepared by Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda was presented to Rizal, however, he rejected it for being too long. Fr. Balaguer, on the other hand, showed another draft from Fr. Pio Pi, which Rizal liked but wanted some parts of which be changed. By 11:30pm, Rizal wrote and signed the retraction letter in which he renounced the mason movement – witnesses to this event were Juan del Fresno (Chief of the Guard Detail) and Eloy Moure (Assistant of the Plaza). Rizal then confessed to Fr. Villaclara, and after which, slept. Two hours later, he rose up and prayed and confessed again. Inside the chapel, he knelt before the altar and prayed with the rosary. He, for the third time, confessed to Fr. Villaclara and once finished, read Imitacíon de Cristo byTomas á Kempis. At 3:30 in the morning of December 30, 1896, Fr. Balaguer lead a mass – Rizal, once again, made a confession and received Communion. At 5:00am, he ate his last breakfast and autographed some memorabilia including religious pictures and books which will be passed on to his mother, and her sister, Trinidad. Accompanied by his sister Narcisa, Josephine Bracken arrived and as requested by Rizal, the couple was canonically blessed as husband and wife by Fr. Balaguer. To Josephine, Rizal gave the Imitacíon de Cristo as wedding gift. For the last time, he wrote a letter to his parents,Ferdinand Blumentritt and Paciano. By 6:30am, Rizal's march to Bagumbayan commenced. He – in his black suit, black necktie, black hat, black shoes and white vest – calmly walked from his prison cell in Fort Santiago to the execution site, with Lt. Taviel de Andrade on one side, and Fathers Estanislao March and Jose Villaclara, on the other side. They walked behind four advanced guards armed with bayonets. Jose Rizal was tied behind from elbow to elbow, although, still had the freedom to move his arms. In his right arm was a rosary which he kept on holding until his final breath. Meters before the execution place, a number of spectators awaited Rizal. During his long march, Rizal saw familiar faces and places; he spent his time reminiscing his childhood, the fun he had with his family and friends.\ In the Bagumbayan Field, Rizal shook the hands of the two priests and his defender, bidding them farewell. A priest blessed and offered him a crucifix which he gently kissed. Rizal had one request, that is, that he be shot facing the firing squad, however, in vain since the captain of the squad ordered a back shot. As such, Rizal had no choice but to turn his back. A physician by the name of Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo, was amazed that Rizal's vital signs were normal, particularly his pulse rate – was Rizal really unafraid to die? The firing squad was commanded in unison with drumbeats. Upon the brisk command “Fire!”, the guns of the squad flared. Rizal, by his sheer effort and remaining energy, twisted his body around to face the firing squad, and so, fell on the ground with his face toward the blue sky, his head slightly inclined toward the rising sun in the east. What can be heard from the crowd of Spaniards was their loud, audible voice, shouting “Long live Spain! Death to traitors!” Jose Rizal died at exactly 7:03 in the morning of December 30. Introduction In 1886, Rizal published in Berlin a Tagalog novel in the Spanish language with the title Noli Me Tangere, a book that overflows with hatred against the mother country. In it, he lashes at the Spaniards with the most infamous insults, defiles the Catholic religion and attempts to prove that the Philippine nation can never be civilized as long as it is ruled by those whom he calls decadent and contemptible Castilians. It goes without saying that after the authorities received knowledge of it, the distribution of this work in the islands was forthwith prohibited. The sequel to Rizal’s Noli came off the press by the middle of September 1891, entitled El Filibusterismo. In veneration of the three priests, he dedicated the book to them. However, Rizal succeeded in eluding the government order and in distributing the book throughout the archipelago - with the foreseeable deleterious effects. The Trial and Martyrdom of Rizal• November 3, 1896- Rizal arrived in Manila with the steamer Colon.• Rizal was brought to Fort Santiago pending the persecution of his case.• The Spanish authorities were very much preoccupied with the gathering and fabrication of evidences to be used against him. Accused be defended in court by an army officerü Order of attachment be issued against his property ü Accused be brought to trial ü Accused be kept under the custody of law ü Testimonial• The Investigation took 5 days• After 6 days, Rafael Dominquez evaluated the case and a prima facie case was against Rizal, for the crime of rebellion and formation of illegal organization.• The judge Nicolas dela Pena, gave Rizal some recommendations to Governor Blanco ü Documentary üThe Preliminary Investigation• Colonel Francisco Olive, the Judge Advocate of the Spanish military tribunal, summoned Rizal to appear before him on November 20, 1896.• Two kinds of evidences brought up against Rizal The Arraignment of Rizal• On December 8, 1896, Rizal was informed that his arraignment was set on December 11,1896.• Rizal pleaded not guilty to the crime charges against him. The Trial of Rizal• Trial commenced on December 19, 1896 for prosecution.• Taviel de Andrade defended Rizal by saying that the alleged accusations were biased.• Rizal was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt and to be condemned to death by a firing squad. Evidence to convict Rizal didn’t have any bearing on his alleged commission of the complex crime of rebellionqRizal was not allowed to confront witness against him nor his counsel to cross-examine them qAll allegations against Rizal were accepted by the court but not the arguments and evidence in his favor qRizal was already condemned guilty even before the trial qRizal was a civilian but was tried by a military tribunal qRizal’s Trial and His Alleged Guilt Rizal’s Last day• Rizal spent his last 24 hours in his death cell where he received members of his family and writes his letter of farewell, the first one to his "second brother Ferdinand Blumentritt. He gave his sister, Trinidad, an old petroleum lamp and whispered to her in English that there is something inside the lamp. Thus is Rizals famous farewell poem “Mi Ultimo Adios", (Last Farewell) was found.• Rizal said to have married his Irish girlfriend Josephine Bracken according to catholic rites in the very last hours of his life. The Old Lamp given to Trinidad The Execution of Dr. Jose Rizal• A few minutes before seven on the morning of December 30, Dr. Jose Rizal walked from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan Field (now the Luneta). His arms were tied behind his back. “His head was erect, his conscience was clear, and there was a smile on his lips.” Beside him walked Lt. Luis de Andrade, who had defended him in the trial, Fathers Vilaclara and March. Before and behind him were soldiers. Rizal, ready and calm, took his position opposite his executioners. His last words were those of Jesus Christ: “consummatum est”,--it is finished. Then Roll of drums and a volley of artillery accompany the firing of the soldiers. And even at the moment of his fall, Rizal turns his body so that he ends up lying on his back, with his face to the sun. The elegant Spanish ladies wave their handkerchiefs, the Gentlemen applaud. And while the Filipinos see the execution in enraged silence, calls of "Viva España!" resound thunderously. Rizal was secretly buried in Paco Cemetery in Manila with no identification on his grave. His sister Narcisa toured all possible gravesites and found freshly turned earth at the cemetery with guards posted at the gate. Assuming this could be the most likely spot, there never having any ground burials, she made a gift to the caretaker to mark the site "RPJ", Rizals initials in reverse. 1. Was Rizal to be shot at his head?
2. Was Rizal blindfolded and on bended knees when he was executed? 3. Was Rizal shot facing the executioners? 4. Did Rizal requested to be shot at his head? 5. Did Rizal held his breath at 7:03 in the morning of December 30, 1896? 6. Where did Rizal put the last draft of his masterpiece? 7. What are the last words of Rizal? 8. What is the title of the book that Rizal gave to Josephine? 9. Who had been Rizal's lawyer in his trial? 10. What are the crimes accused to Rizal? |