Let’s Read!

Module 11
Legacy of the Propaganda Movement

Objectives. At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. value some important events in the past that lead and made us to what and where we are
today.
2. assess reasons that lead to the failure of propaganda movements.

 The Propaganda Movement (1872-1892) was the first Filipino nationalist movement, led by a Filipino
elite and inspired by the pronationalist activism of figures such as José Burgos and by his execution at
the hands of colonial authorities.
 Propagandists were largely young men, often mestizos and creoles whose families could afford to send
them to study in Spanish universities in Madrid and Barcelona.
 peninsulares, Spanish born in Spain.
 Insulares was the specific term given to criollos (full-blooded Spaniards born in the colonies)
born in the Philippines or the Marianas.
 creoles -mixed-blood from white and native.
Those persons of mixed race (Filipino and Spaniard) - known as mestizos, were one of the most rapidly
growing groups in frontier society.
Example, Chinese Mestizo.

Legacy of the Propaganda Movement

1. The virtue of equality.
One of the main goals was also to secularize parishes of the Philippines. Thus, the legacy it left the
Philippines is the virtue of equality. The people behind propaganda movement desired equality that both
Filipino and Spaniards can be educated. It is for their help that Filipinos had been educated in Spanish times.
2. Filipinos granted the same rights accorded to Spanish citizens.
The Philippines should be fully incorporated into Spain as a Spanish province and not merely as a colony.
3. It sought the expulsion of the Spanish friars from the Philippines and the empowerment of a native
Filipino clergy.
4. As a cultural movement, it showcased the writing and artistic production of the young Filipino elite
as a means of demonstrating their intellectual sophistication, on par with their Spanish peers.

Reasons why Propaganda Movements Failed?

The propaganda movement did not succeed in its pursuit of reforms. The colonial government did not
agree to any of its demands. Spain itself was undergoing a lot of internal problems all that time, which could
explain why the mother country failed to heed the Filipino’s petitions. The friars, on the other hand, were at the
height of their power and displayed even more arrogance in flaunting their influence. They had neither the time
nor the desire to listen to the voice of the people.
Many of the reformists showed a deep love for their country, although they still failed to maintain a
united front. Because most of them belonged to the upper middle class, they had to exercise caution in order to
safeguard their wealth and other private interests. Personal differences and petty quarrels, apart from the lack
of funds, were also a hindrance to the movement’s success. Lastly, no other strong and charismatic leader
emerged from the group aside from Jose Rizal.

Conclusion
The propagandists themselves were considered to be rebels at home in the Philippines, and many
were exiled. Despite its overall failure, the movement generated a political consciousness that fed into the
nationalist revolution of 1896 and the struggle for independence that followed.

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Alert!

Short Quiz

Multiple Choice.
Direction. Select the best answer from the given choices. Write the letter of your choice at the space provided
before each item.

___1. What movement by ilustrados which exposed the conditions of the Philippines and demand reforms from
Spain?
A. Katipunan C. Propaganda
B. Confradia de San Jose D. Circulo Hispano-Filipino
___2. What is the aim of the secularization movement?
A. The use of native language in church services.
B. Sending of Filipino priests to Europe to be educated.
C. Transfer of authority over Parishes from regular priests to secular priests.
D. Transfer of authority over Parishes from secular priests to regular priests.
___3. Why were the GUMBURZA executed?
I. They actively supported the secularization movement.
II. They refuse to submit to the authority of the regular priests.
III. They were accused as the leaders of the 1872 Cavite Mutiny.
IV. The act was tragic but served as one of the moving forces that shaped
Filipino nationalism.
A. I & II only C. II & III only
B. IV only D. all of the above
___4. Which statements are TRUE about Filipino nationalism?
I. It only started to emerge during the 19th century.
II. It was a product of an armed revolt against Spain.
III. It was introduced by the Spanish Friars through catechism.
IV. It is a product of the social, political and economic changes in the 19th century.
A. I & II only C. II & III only
B. IV only D. all of the above
___5. Which statement on the term “Filipino” is NOT TRUE?
I. It was derogatory term for native inhabitants used by the Spaniards.
II. Originally, it was a term associated with Spaniards born in the Philippines and creoles.
III. It is a term of the inhabitants of the Philippines gradually learned to equate with racial equality, human
dignity and love of country.
IV. It is a term or label which gradually became a term associated with the ilustrados during Rizal’s time.
A. I & II only C. IV only
B. II & III only D. all of the above
___6. Which main event paved the way for the influx of liberal ideas and also influenced the emergence of
Filipino consciousness.
A. 1872 cavity Mutiny C. The execution of Rizal
B. The secularization movementD. Ilustrados studying in Europe
___7. How did the 1872 Cavite Mutiny and the execution of the GOMBURZA affect the Filipinos?
A. These events threatened the Filipinos not to rebel against the Spanish rule.
B. Filipinos realized the might of Spain and pledge their loyalty to the Spanish colonial government.
C. These were viewed by Filipinos as form of indignation and injustice of Spaniards to the Filipinos.
D. These events discouraged the Filipinos from forming organizations that advocate reform or
independence.
___8. Why did Rizal annotated Morga’s work?
A. He wants to prove that the Philippines was an advanced civilization prior to the Spanish conquest.
B. He wanted to be an idol of the people.
C. He was not contended of the work of Dr. Antonio Morga.
D. He was challenged by brother Paciano.
___9. A novel wherein the unjustified social Spanish rule was exposed.

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A. Noli Me Tangere C. El Filibusterismo
B. Sucesos D. Rizal’s 3rd unfinished novel
___10. Who was the Author of Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas?
A. Dr. Jose Rizal C. Dr. Antonio Morga
B. Magellan D. lapu-lapu
___11. What was all about Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas?
A. The way of life of Filipinos during pre-Hispanic era.
B. All about the Filipinos struggles under Spanish rule.
C. It depicts the life of native people during the era of colonization and discoveries under a colonizer’s
viewpoint.
D. How Spaniards treated the Filipinos.
___12. Why did Rizal choose Morga's novel as basis in rediscovering Filipino values and cultures?
A. Morga’s book was rich in facts and was considered as a first-hand information being a
Spanish Governor- general assigned to the Philippines during his time, so it was easier
for him to get access to numerous accounts and documents.
B. Morga’s historical background was quite interesting.
C. He belongs to elite class.
D. None of the above.
___13. After his stay in Liverpool for only one day, where did he went next?
A. Paris C. London
B. Madrid D. Germany
___14. Why did Rizal choose London as an ideal place in writing Philippine history?
A. He chooses London because he believed that it is a safe place for him and it is where
British Museum can be found wherein writings of Spanish colonies were written and stored.
B. He chooses London because it was a dream country for him.
C. He chooses London because he was supported by the British government.
D. All of the above.
___15. Primrose Hill was owned and managed by _____?
A. Bracken family C. Rizal family
B. Beckett family D. Rost family
___16. It is a rare Philippine history book available at the British Museum.
A. Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas
B. Noli Me Tangere
C. El Filibusterismo
D. All of the above
___17. This is the propaganda newspaper.
A. La Liga C. Diaryong Tagalog
B. La Solidaridad D. The Secrete Society
___18. What is the penname of Jose?
A. Taga-ilog C. Plaridel
B. Naning D. Laong Laan and Dimasalang
___19. It is a letter to the brave women who requested to establish a school where they could study and learn
the Spanish language.
A. Letter Fr. Pablo Pastells
B. Letter to del Pilar
C. Letter to the young women of Malolos
D. Letter to his brother Paciano
___20. Two of the propaganda movement leaders along with Dr. Jose Rizal in Madrid, Spain?
A. Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo
B. Ferdinand Blumentritt and Valentin Ventura
C. Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Graciano Lopez Jeana
D. Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Mariano Ponce

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Let’s Read!

Module 12
Noli Me Tangere
(Touch Me Not)

Objectives. At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. appraise important events in the novel Noli Me Tangere and what they represent;
2. examine the present Philippine situation through the examples mentioned in Noli.
3. compare and contrast changes in social, political and economic situations during the 19th
century and to our present time.

Written in Spanish and published in 1887, José Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere played a crucial role in the
political history of the Philippines. Drawing from experience, the conventions of the nineteenth-century novel,
and the ideals of European liberalism, Rizal offered up a devastating critique of a society under Spanish
colonial rule.

Learner’s Activity
Corner
Direction . Read and understand the important events taken from the
novel Noli Me Tangere. Carefully examine/critic those events. Write your analysis at the table
provided. Answer briefly but direct to the point. Example has been provided for your guidance. Underline your
basis from the passage or excerpt.

The characters and Highlights of the novel.

1. Crisostomo Ibarra, mixed-race heir of a wealthy clan, returning home after seven years in Europe and
filled with ideas on how to better the lot of his countrymen. Striving for reforms, he is confronted by an
abusive ecclesiastical hierarchy and a Spanish civil administration by turns indifferent and cruel. The
novel suggests, through plot developments, that meaningful change in this context is exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible.

Represented event during Social, political and Philippines at present

the 19th century economic situations

The church The State

Rizal, an ilustrado came Friars rule Indifference Abuses are not tolerated.
from different races. in the and cruelty. People are more liberal.
(Chinese, Spanish and society Injustice. Separation of church and
Japanese lineage) and state.
came from a family of
merchants.
(addendum)

(addendum)

(addendum)

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2. The death of Ibarra’s father, Don Rafael, prior to his homecoming, and the refusal of a Catholic burial
by Padre Damaso, the parish priest, provokes Ibarra into hitting the priest, for which Ibarra is
excommunicated. The decree is rescinded, however, when the governor general intervenes. The friar
and his successor, Padre Salvi, embody the rotten state of the clergy. Their tangled feelings—one
paternal, the other carnal

Represented event during Social, political and Philippines at present

the 19th century economic situations

The church The State

3. Maria Clara, Ibarra’s sweetheart and rich Capitan Tiago’s beautiful daughter, steel their determination
to spoil Ibarra’s plans for a school. The town philosopher Tasio wryly notes similar past attempts have
failed, and his sage commentary makes clear that all colonial masters fear that an enlightened people
will throw off the yoke of oppression.

Represented event during Social, political and Philippines at present

the 19th century economic situations

The church The State

4. Ibarra’s enemies, particularly Salvi, implicate him in a fake insurrection, though the evidence against
him is weak. Then Maria Clara betrays him to protect a dark family secret, public exposure of which
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would be ruinous. Ibarra escapes from prison with Elias’s help and confronts her. She explains why,
Ibarra forgives her, and he and Elias flee to the lake. But chased by the Guardia Civil, one dies while
the other survives. Convinced Ibarra’s dead, Maria Clara enters the nunnery, refusing a marriage
arranged by Padre Damaso. Her unhappy fate and that of the more memorable Sisa, driven mad by the
fate of her sons, symbolize the country’s condition, at once beautiful and miserable.

Represented event during Social, political and Philippines at present

the 19th century economic situations

The church The State

Learner’s Activity
Corner

Read the Noli Me Tangere

Direction.

1. List the characters in the novel.

2. Adda little description or their role in the story.
3. Significant event happened to them in the story or famous lines.
4. Analysis
5. What characteristics do they represent in our society today?

Character Description/role Significance/Famous Analysis

lines
Example: Father Damaso’s
Don Santiago de los known as Captain Father Dámaso and arrogance and
Santos Tiago. Crisostomo Ibarras Ibarras undeniably
Very wealthy. 1st meeting in the high regard or
Father of Maria dinner set by the treatment he gets
Clara Don. from the the
crowd. **Quick
establishment of
harsh relationship.
between them
Father Dámaso loudmouthed says that “indios are What Fr. Damaso
Franciscan friar very lazy.” thinks about the
nature of the

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indios indicates
his excessive
confidence and
lack of cultural
compassion.

Maria Clara

Crisostomo Ibara

Elias

Father Salví
Old Tasio (Don
Anastasio)
Pilosopo Tasyo

Don Rafael Ibarra

Crispín

Basilio

Doña Consolación

The Ensign

Continue…….

Use Extra sheet if necessary

Let’s Read!

Module 13
The El Filibusterismo
7
(The Reign of Greed)

Objectives. At the end of the lesson you should be able to:

1. value the role of the youth in the development and future of society;
2. compare and contrast the character, the plot and the theme of the Noli and El Fili.

El Filibusterismo
El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed)
 the second novel written by Jose Rizal
 the sequel to Noli Me Tangere.
 Published in 1891.
 It continues the Noli's criticisms of the abuses and corruption perpetrated by the Spanish
government.

A dark, brooding, at times satirical novel of revenge, unfulfilled love, and tragedy, the Fili (as it is
popularly referred to) still has as its protagonist Juan Crisóstomo Ibarra. Thirteen years older, his idealism and
youthful dreams shattered, and taking advantage of the belief that he died at the end of Noli Me Tangere, he is
disguised as Simoun, an enormously wealthy and mysterious jeweler who has gained the confidence of the
colony’s governor-general.

A number of other characters from the Noli reappear, among them:

 Basilio, whose mother and younger brother Crispin met tragic ends;
 Father Salví, the devious former curate of San Diego responsible for Crispin’s death, and who had
lusted after Ibarra’s love, María Clara;
 the idealistic schoolmaster from San Diego;
 Captain Tiago, the wealthy widower and legal father of María Clara;
 Doña Victorina de Espadaña and her Spanish husband, the faux doctor Tiburcio, now hiding from her
with the indio priest Father Florentino at his remote parish on the Pacific coast.

The plot
Where Ibarra had argued eloquently against violence to reform Manila society, Simoun is eager to foment it
in order to get his revenge: against Father Salví, and against the Spanish colonial state. He hopes to liberate
the love of his life, María Clara, from her suffocating life as a cloistered nun, and the islands from the tyranny of
Spain. As confidant to the governor-general, he advises him in such a manner as to make the state even more
oppressive, hoping thereby to force the masses to revolt. Simoun has a few conspirators, such as the
schoolmaster and a Chinese merchant, Quiroga, who aid him in planning terroristic acts. In sum, Simoun has
become an agent provocateur on a grand scale.
Basilio, now a young man, has risen from poverty to become Captain Tiago’s charge. Close to
acquiring his medical degree, he is pledged to Julí, the beautiful daughter of Cabesang Tales, a prosperous
farmer whose land is taken away from him by the friars. Tales subsequently murders his oppressors, turns to
banditry, and becomes the scourge of the countryside.
In contrast to Simoun’s path of armed revolution, a group of university students—among them, Isagani,
Peláez, and Makaraig—push for the founding of an academy devoted to teaching Castilian, in line with a
decree from Madrid. Opposed even to such a benign reform, the friars manage to co-opt the plan.
Subsequently the students are accused of being behind flyers that call for rebellion against the state. Most
observers see the hand of the friars in this whole affair, which results in the incarceration of the student
leaders, even of Basilio, though he was not involved, and the break-up between Isagani and the beauteous
Paulita Gómez, who agrees to marry the wealthy Peláez, much to the delight of Doña Victorina, who has
favored him all along.
In the meantime, Tiago, addicted to opium, dies of a drug overdose while attended to by Father Irene. A
meager inheritance is all that is given to Basilio and all the incarcerated students are soon released except for
him. Julí approaches Father Camorra to request him to obtain Basilio’s release. The friar attempts to rape her
but she commits suicide rather than submit to his lustful designs. Released from prison,
The lavish wedding celebration is to be held at the former residence of Captain Tiago, purchased by
Don Timoteo Peláez, the bridegroom’s father. Simoun has mined the residence, so it will blow up once a fancy
lamp—packed with nitroglycerin, it is Simoun’s wedding gift—has its wick lit. The resulting assassination of the
social and political elite gathered at the feast will be the signal for armed uprising. But Isagani, informed by

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Basilio of what will happen, rushes into the house, snatches the lamp, and throws it into the river, and in the
confusion is able to escape.
The planned uprising is aborted, and Simoun’s true identity is finally revealed, partly through a note he
leaves for Father Salví at the feast. Wounded, he eludes capture and manages to seek refuge at Father
Florentino’s residence. There, he commits suicide but not before revealing to the priest what he has wrought.

Learner’s Activity
Corner

Direction. Give simple analysis to each event taken from the novel.

Social, political and economic issues Analysis (with regards to our present
happened in the novel time)
1. Simoun to take revenge through
violence.

2. Simoun on liberation of María

Clara, from her suffocating life as
a nun.

3. Simoun’s urge for freedom. (from

Spain)

4. His call for a revolt. (Simoun)

5. His plan for terroristic acts.

(Simoun)

6. Basilio risen from poverty.

7. Lands owned by Cabesang Tales

taken away by the friars.

8. Tales murder its oppressors.

9. A group of opposing ideology of a

revolt, urged to establish a
Castilian school. (to which
considered the Spanish
government as a rebellion).
10. Paulita Gómez, to marry the
wealthy Peláez,

11. Doña Victorina tagged as social

climber.

12. Tiagos addiction to opium.

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13. Friars attempts to rape Juli.
(better die than be raped-Juli)

14. Assassination of the social and

political elite.

15. The secrecy of Simoun’ true

identity.

Elaborate the passage (10 points)

Father Florentino throwing all the box of jewelries into the sea.
“With the injunction that the precious stones yield themselves only when the country needs
them for a “holy, sublime reason”. (p. 328)
-Father Florentino

(Use extra sheet if needed.)

Let’s Read!

Module14
Rizal’s View of the Future and the Creation of Filipino Nation

Objectives. At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. assess the concepts of bayani and kabayanihan in the context of Philippine society;
2. examine the values highlighted by the various representations of Rizal as a national
symbol.

A. Rizal’s Exile
Jose Rizal's arrival in Manila on June 26, 1892 had become very sensational among the Filipinos. His
popularity feared the Spaniards, and as such, payed careful attention to his every move – all houses where he
had been were searched and the Filipinos seen in his company were suspected. As he had planned, on July 3,
1892 he founded the La Liga Filipina in the house of Doroteo Ongjunco in Tondo, Manila.

Four days after the civic organization's foundation, Jose Rizal was arrested by the Spanish authorities on
four grounds:
1. for publishing anti-Catholic and anti-friar books and articles;
2. for having in possession a bundle of handbills, the Pobres Frailes, in which advocacies were in violation
of the Spanish orders;
3. for dedicating his novel, El Filibusterismo to the three “traitors” (Gomez, Burgos and Zamora) and for
emphasizing on the novel's title page that “the only salvation for the Philippines was separation from the
mother country (referring to Spain)”; and
4. for simply criticizing the religion and aiming for its exclusion from the Filipino culture.

Arrival in Dapitan
Aboard the steamer Cebu and under heavy guard, Rizal left Manila, sailing to Mindoro and Panay, until he
reached Dapitan at seven o'clock in the evening of June 17. From that day until July 31, 1896, Dapitan became
the bare witness to one of the most fruitful periods in Rizal's life. His stay in the province was more than “he”

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living in exile – it was the period when Rizal had been more focused on serving the people and the society
through his civic works, medical practices, land development and promotion of education.

A Question of Faith
In Dapitan, Rizal had a scholarly debate with Father Pablo Pastells regarding religion. This exchange of
heated arguments revealed the anti-Christian Rizal – his bitterness on the abuses performed by friars, doing
such under the name of the sacred religion.

While in Dapitan………….
Rizal had maximized his stay in Dapitan by devoting much of his time in improving his artistic and
literary skills; doing agricultural and civic projects; engaging in business activities, and writing letters to his
friends in Europe, particularly to Ferdinand Blumentritt and Reinhold Rost. His careers and achievements in
different fields were as follows:

As a physician
Rizal provided free medicine to his patients, most of them were underprivileged. However, he also had
wealthy patients who paid him well enough for his excellent surgical skill. Among them were Don Ignacio
Tumarong who gave Rizal 3000 pesos for restoring his sight, an Englishman who gave him 500 pesos, and
Aklanon haciendero, DonFrancisco Azcarraga, who paid him a cargo of sugar. His skill was put into test in
August 1893 when his mother, Doña Teodora Alonzo, was placed under opthalmic surgery for the third time.

As an engineer
Rizal applied his knowledge through the waterworks system he constructed in Dapitan. Going back to
his academic life, Rizal obtained the title of expert surveyor (perito agrimensor) from the Ateneo Municipal.
From his practical knowledge as agrimensor, he widened his knowledge by reading engineering-related books.
As a result, despite the inadequacy of tools at hand, he successfully provided a good water system in the
province.
As an educator
Rizal established a school in Dapitan which was attended by 16 young boys from prominent families.
Instead of charging them for the matriculation, he made the students do community projects for him like
maintaining his garden and field. He taught them reading, writing in English and Spanish, geography, history,
mathematics, industrial work, nature study, morals and gymnastics. He encouraged his students to engage in
sports activities to strengthen their bodies as well. There was no formal room, like the typical classroom
nowadays. Classes were conducted from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. with the teacher sitting on a hammock while the
students sat on a long bamboo bench.

As an agriculturist
Rizal devoted time in planting important crops and fruit-bearing trees in his 16-hectare land (later,
reaching as large as 70 hectares). He planted cacao, coffee, sugarcane, and coconuts, among many others.
He even invested part of his earnings from being a medical practitioner and his 6000-peso winnings from a
lottery on lands. From the United States, he imported agricultural machinery and introduced to the native
farmers of Dapitan the modern agricultural methods.

As a businessman
The adventurous Rizal, with his partner, Ramon Carreon, tried his luck in the fishing, hemp and copra
industries. In a letter to his brother-in-law, Manuel T. Hidalgo, he pointed out the potential of the fishing industry
in the province (as the area was abundant with fish and good beach). He also requested that two good
Calamba fishermen be sent to Dapitan to teach the fisher folks of the new fishing methods, using a big net
called pukutan.
As an inventor
Little was known of Rizal. In 1887, during his medical practice in Calamba, he invented a special type of
lighter called sulpukan which he sent to Blumentritt as a gift. According to Rizal, the wooden lighter's
mechanism was based on the principle of compressed air. Another of his inventions was the wooden brick-
maker can manufacture about 6,000 bricks a day.

As an artist

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He had contributed his talent in the Sisters of Charity who were preparing for the arrival of the image of
the Holy Virgin. Rizal was actually the person who modeled the image's right foot and other details. He also
conceptualizes its curtain, which was oil-painted by a Sister under his instruction. He also made sketches of
anything which attracted him in Dapitan. Among his collections were the three rare fauna species that he
discovered (dragon/lizard, frog and beetle) and the fishes he caught. He also sculptured the statuette called
“The Mother's Revenge” which represented his dog, Syria, avenging her puppy to a crocodile which killed it.

As a linguist
Rizal was interested in the languages 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, Japanes, Portuguese, Swedish and Russian.

As a scientist
Rizal shared his interest with nature to his students. With his boys, they explored the jungles and
searched for specimens which he sent to museums in Europe, particularly in Dressed Museum. In return,
scientific books and surgical instruments were delivered to him from the European scientists. He also made a
bulk of other researches and studies in the fields of ethnography, archaeology, geology, anthropology and
geography. However, Rizal's most significant contribution in the scientific world was his discovery of three
species:
Draco rizali – flying dragon
Apogonia rizali – small beetle
Rhacophorus rizali – rare frog

Rizal also partakes in civic works in Dapitan. Upon arriving in the province, he noticed its poor
condition. He drained the marshes of Dapitan to get rid of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. He also provided
lighting system – coconut oil lamps posted in dark streets – in the province out of what he earned from being a
physician. He beautified Dapitan by remodelling the town plaza, with the aid of his Jesuit teacher, Fr. Francisco
Sanchez, and created a relief map of Mindanao (footnote: using stones, soil and grass) right in front the
church.

Katipunan seek Rizal’s Advice

Prior to the outbreak of the revolution, the Katipunan leader, Andres Bonifacio, seek the advice of Jose
Rizal. In a secret meeting on May 2, 1896 at Bitukang Manok river in Pasig, the group agreed to send Dr. Pio
Valenzuela as a representative to Dapitan who will inform Rizal of their plan to launch a revolution against the
Spaniards.
There, Valenzuela told him of the Katipunan's plan. Regarding this, Rizal outspokenly objected
Bonifacio's “premature” idea for two reasons:
1. the Filipinos were still unready for such bloody revolution; and
2. the Katipunan lacked machinery – before plotting a revolution, there must be sufficient arms and
funds collected.
Valenzuela also told Rizal of their plan to rescue him in Dapitan. Again, the exiled hero disagreed
because he had no plan of breaking his word of honor to the Spanish authorities.

Rizal as a Volunteer Military Physician

During the peak of the Cuban revolution, Rizal offered his services as a military doctor to compromise
with the shortage of physicians in the said country. It was his friend Ferdinand Blumentritt who informed him of
the situation in Cuba and suggested that he volunteer himself as army doctor. On December 17, 1895, Rizal
sent a letter to Governor General Ramon Blanco rendering his service for Cuba. But for months Rizal awaited
in vain for the governor's reply, and loss hope that his request will be granted. It was only on July 30, 1896
when Rizal received a letter from Governor Blanco, dated July 2, 1896, accepting his offer. The letter also
stated that Rizal will be given a pass so that he can go to Manila.
Farewell in Dapitan
At midnight of July 31, 1896, Jose Rizal left Dapitan on board the steamer España, together with
Narcisa, Josephine, Angelica (Narcisa's daughter), three nephews and six of his students. Many were
saddened as the adopted son of Dapitan left.

Let’s Read!
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Module15
Rizal’s View of the Future and the Creation of Filipino Nation

Objectives. At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. assess the concepts of bayani and kabayanihan in the context of Philippine society;
2. examine the values highlighted by the various representations of Rizal as a national symbol.

B. Rizal’s Imprisonment and Execution

December 6, 1896, the trial of Dr. Jose Rizal by a Spanish military court for sedition, rebellion and
conspiracy, began
Rizal, who was imprisoned first in Barcelona and later in Fort Santiago, was implicated in the revolution
which was launched in August 1896 by the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio, whose aim was to liberate the
country from Spanish colonization.
At the time of his arrest, Rizal was supposed to leave for Cuba after he was allowed by Spanish
Governor-General Ramon Blanco, who was sympathetic to him, to serve as a military surgeon in Cuba, where
there was also a revolution against Spain.
Before he left from his exile in Dapitan for Manila and then for Spain, Rizal had issued a manifesto
disavowing the revolution and declaring that the education of Filipinos and their achievement of a national
identity were prerequisites to freedom.
Rizal was arrested while en route to Spain, imprisoned in Barcelona and sent back later to Manila to
stand trial. He was charged with being a traitor to Spain and the mastermind of the revolution.
He pleaded his innocence but he was still convicted on all three charges of rebellion, sedition and
conspiracy and sentenced to death.
Earlier, Rizal was already considered as an enemy of the state by the Spanish authorities with the
publication of his two great novels -- Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
Thus, Rizal was executed on December 30, 1896 in Bagumbayan (Luneta), which has been renamed
Rizal Park in his memory.
Source: Philippine News Agency archives

Spain's control of the Philippines ended in 1898, though the country did not gain lasting independence
until after World War II. Rizal remains a nationalist icon in the Philippines for helping the country take its first
steps toward independence.

Sources:

https://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/index.php/PS/article/view/162
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/331901/in-the-know-rizal-as-lottery-addict
https://www.britannica.com/event/Cavite-Mutiny
https://rizalianyouthcouncilhawaii.weebly.com/annotations-to-sucesos-de-las-islas-filipinas.
https://bshmjoserizal.weebly.com/our-hero-jose-rizal/chapter-eight-jose-p-rizals-exile-in-dapitan-1892-1896
http://malacanang.gov.ph/4071-jose-rizals-homage-to-luna-and-hidalgo/
Philippine News Agency archives
Photo CTTO- rappler

Prepared by:
Maria Vanessa R. Calantoc
Instructor, DCCP 1st semester AY 2020-2021

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