DAYRIT, Kenneth G.

TM 4Y1-1 CHAPTER 8 Rizals first return in the Philippines after five years (1887-1888) After leaving Rome, Rizal left for Marseilles on July 3, 1887 on the first leg of his trip back to the Philippines. At Marseilles, he boarded the steamer Djemnah, the same steamer which brought him to Europe back in 1882. He was determined to return to the Philippines for the following reasons: (1) to operate his mothers eyes, (2) to serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants, (3) to find out for himself how the Noli and his other writings were affecting Filipinos and Spaniards in the Philippines, and (4) to find out why Leonor Rivera had stopped writing to him. At Saigon, on July 30, Rizal transferred to another steamer Haiphong, which was Manila-bound. He arrived in Manila on the night of August 6. Two days later, August 8, he reached Calamba. Despite the difficult circumstances, Rizal tried his best to contribute to the community: (1) He established a medical clinic. His first patient was his own mother. News of the arrival of a great doctor from Germany spread far and wide. Patients from Manila and other provinces flocked to his clinic. He treated his patients and his fees were reasonable enough considering the status of his patients. Having trained in Germany, he was called Doctor Uliman, (2) He opened a gymnasium where he introduced European sports such as fencing, shooting, and gymnastics to discourage them from idleness and gambling, and (3) He took part in towns civic affairs and on his spare time made landscapes and translated German poems into Tagalog. A few weeks after Rizals arrival, the controversy over his novel heightened. That reached the ears of Governor General Emilio Terrero, he sent a letter to Rizal requesting him to come to Malacanang. Rizal visited the Jesuit fathers to ask for the copy he sent them as Terrero asked Rizal to provide him a copy of the Noli. They refused to part with the book instead he received warnings from his professors Fathers Francisco de Paula Sanchez, Jose Bech, and Frederico Faura that he would lose his head for his novel. Fortunately, Rizal found a copy from a friend and gave it to Terrero. The governor general knew that his life was in jeopardy because the friars were powerful. For security measures, he appointed a young bodyguard named Lieutenant Jose Taviel de Andrade to watch over him. This lieutenant comes from a noble family. The two men turned out to be buddies as they shared common traits and interests such as: (a) being cultured, (b) knew painting, and (c) a linguist who could speak English, French, and Spanish. While Rizal was in Calamba, the genuine friendship blossom between him and Andrade. But the happy days of Rizal in Calamba was marred by: (1) the death of his older sister, Olimpia, died of complications from childbirth and (2) the groundless tales that circulated that he was a spy of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, a witch, a mason, a protestant, a sound beyond salvation, etc. Also, rumors were spread that he and Andrade raised a German flag atop Mt. Makiling and claimed the Philippines for Germany. Meanwhile, Terrero read the Noli and found nothing wrong with it. But Rizals enemies were powerful. The Archbishop of Manila Pedro Payo sent a copy of the novel to the Rector of UST, Fr. Gregorio Echavarria to review it. Echavarria formed a committee of faculty members, later on sent a report to the Archbishop denouncing the Noli as (1) heretical, impious, and scandalous in the religious order, (2) anti-patriotic, subversive of public order, and (3) injurious to the government of Spain and its function in the Philippine Islands in the political order. Terrero was not satisfied with the committee report for he knew the friars were biased against Rizal. He then sent the novel to the Permanent Commission of Censorship which was composed of priests and laymen. Fr. Salvador Font, Augustinian curate of Tondo, drafted the report of this commission recommending that the importation, reproduction and circulation of the pernicious book in the islands be absolutely prohibited for they found the novel to contain subversive ideas against the Church and Spain. The Manila newspapers published Fr. Fonts report but instead of preventing people from reading the novel it gained free advertisement as more people wanted to read Rizals novel. The banning of the Noli only served to make it popular. What the hated Spanish masters did not like, the oppressed masses like.

The friars continued to criticized and discredit the controversial novel. Fr. Jose Rodriguez, the prior of Guadalupe, published a pamphlet entitled "Caingat Cayo" (Mag-ingat Kayo/Beware!) in which he warned the readers that if they read it they commit mortal sins inasmuch as the said book is full of heresy; whoever reads the novel is considered as subversive (laban sa gobyerno) and heretical (kontra sa simbahan). He also called Rizal an ignorant man. The Noli had its defenders. Marcelo H. del Pilar writing under the pen name Dolores Manapat published a pamphlet entitled Caiggat Cayo (Be as Slippery as an Eel) as a response to Fr. Rodriguez' pamphlet. It advised the public that they may act like an eel that is not easily to capture or to trap by the falsehood of the friars. Rizals former professor Fr. Sanchez defended the Noli in public as did Fr. Vicente Garciaa Filipino Catholic priest-theologian. Fr. Garcia, writing under the pen name Justo Desiderio Magalang, wrote that (1) Rizal cannot be an ignorant man as he was a graduate of Spanish universities and a recipient of scholastic honors, (2) Noli was not an attack on the Church but on the immoral and corrupt practices of the friars and officials, and finally (3) if that those who read the Noli commit a mortal sin; since he (Fr. Rodriguez) had read the novel, therefore he also commits a mortal sin. The Protesta De CalambaGovernor General Terrero ordered an investigation of the friar landholdings. Rizal was involved in this investigation by helping to draft an informative report on the agrarian situation in Calamba. It was him who urges the Calamba folks to list their grievances. Departure for EuropeThe friars exerted pressure on Malacanang to eliminate Rizal. They asked Governor General Terrero to have him arrested or deported, but he refused because there was no valid charge against Rizal in court. One day, Terrero summoned Rizal and advised him to leave the Philippines for his own good; he could not guarantee Rizals safety. He was compelled to leave Calamba for two reasons: (1) his presence in Calamba was jeopardizing the safety and happiness of his family and friends and (2) he could better fight his enemies and serve his countrys cause with greater efficacy by writing in foreign countries. A Poem for LipaJust before leaving Calamba he composed a poem upon the request of his friend from Lipa entitled Himno al Trabajo (Hymn to Labor) in commemoration of the towns elevation to a villa (city) under the Becerra Law of 1888. He wrote it as a dedication to the industrious folks of Lipa. It stressed the importance of economy in the stability of the country.

CHAPTER 9 Rizals first trip to Hong Kong and Macao (February 1888) The Trip to Hong KongOn February 3, 1888 after a short stay of six months in Calamba, Rizal left Manila for Hong Kong on board the Zafiro In Hong Kong, Rizal was welcomed by Filipino expatriates. Among them were (1) Jose Maria Basa, (2) Balbino Mauricio, (3) Manuel Yriarte (son of Francisco Yriarte, alcalde mayor of Laguna), and other Filipinos who were exiled there in 1872 after the Cavite Mutiny and the martyrdom of the GomBurZa. A Spaniard, Jose Sainz De Varanda, who was a former secretary of Terrero, shadowed Rizals movement in Hong Kong. It is believed that he was commissioned by the Spanish authorities to spy on Rizal. Rizal preferred to stay in a private hotel named Hotel Victoria, during his two weeks stay there. While in Hong Kong, Rizal engaged in cultural activities like studying Chinese language, life experiences, drama, values, and customs. Visit to MacaoOn February 18, 1888, Rizal, accompanied by Jose Maria Basa, boarded the ferry steamer Kiu-Kiang for Macao. Macao, a Portuguese colony near Hong Kong, was visited by Rizal on the 18th up to the 21st of February. He stayed at the home of Don Juan Francisco Lecaros, who was a former Filipino delegate to the Spanish Cortes. On the third day of the visit to Macao, the 21st of the same month, Rizal and Basa returned to Hong Kong, on board the same steamer Kiu-Kiang Departure from Hong KongOn February 22, 1888, Rizal left Hong Kong on board the American steamer Oceanic. His destination was Japan