CASE STUDY

in

READINGS

IN

PHILIPPINE
HISTORY
 ANGELA MARIE R. BATA

AB EGLISH 1-A

Retraction of Doctor Jose Rizal

Doctor Jose Rizal is known as the hero of revolution for his own writings
focusing on ending the colonialism and liberating Filipino minds in contribution on
creating Filipino’s nation. His works Noli Me Tangere and El Filibustersimo are still
famous and influential up to this time. Therefore, every piece of writing he makes
against the friars and the Catholic Church in the Philippine could cause a heavy
damage to his image as Filipino revolutionary.

Jose Rizal is a member of Mansory, a group whose members are anti catholic. In
his essays, he wrote harsh and critical things over the friars who were the main agents
of the injustice in the Philippine society. He did not really vilify the Catholic Church.
Did Rizal Retract?

The doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because of that only
one eye-witness account by the Jesuit friar named Fr. Vicente Balaguer. According to
his testimony, Rizal woke up several times, confessed four times, attended a mass,
received communion, and prayed the holy rosary. All of which seemed out of
character. But since it was the only testimony of allegedly “primary” account that
Rizal ever wrote a retraction document, it has been used to argue the authenticity of
the document. On the year 2016, Professor Rene R. Escalante researched on another
eyewitess account by Cuerpo de Vigilancia. In that account, the documents included a
report on the last hours of Rizal, written by Federico Moreno.
 There are different claims regarding this issue. First, Rizal retracted because he
was married to Josephine Bracken. In the first place, the marriage would not have
permitted if Rizal didn’t retracted. Second, Rizal did not really retracted because their
marriage certificate is fake and he was buried with no ceremony at all. Lastly, the
original copy that was lost yet was found on May 18, 1935 by an archivist named
Manuel Garcia, rumored to be fake. Therefore, the retraction wasn’t really sure.

Jose Rizal did not retract. Although there were many opinions and evidences
presented by various authors regarding whether Rizal did or did not retract. In the first
place, he was not the one who wrote the letter. He was just the only one who was
asked to sign.

WHERE DID THE FIRST CATHOLIC MASS TAKE

PLACE IN THE PHILIPPINES?

Butuan is believed to be the place where the first mass happened for three
centuries. The erection of the monument in 1872 near Agustin River commemorates
the expedition’s arrival and celebration of Mass on April 8, 1521. This claim about
Butuan is based on an elementary reading and primary sources from the event.

The available evidences and accepted interpretations of the First Mass in the
Philippines was made by Spanish and Filipino Scholars. Whether the first mass took
place in Limasawa or Masao.

There were several arguments of that Limasawa was the site of the First mass.
From here we departed and sailed west, and fell in with a large island called Seilani,
which inhabited and contains gold; we coasted it and went to west-southwest, to a
small inhabited island called Mazaba. The people are very good, and there we placed
a cross upon a mountain from there were shown three island to the west and
southwest.” That was the evidence from a page of a manuscript version written in the
log book of Francisco “Alvaro” Albo, who was the fleet captain of the ship. Next is
the evidence of Pigafetta, the chronicler of the expedition. His testimony regards the
route taken by the expedition from the Pacific Ocean to Cebu and the events of the
seven days at the island of “Mazua”. In his story about the First voyage around the
world, when Magellan landed on Homonhon, they saw a balanghay with men full of
people and a King. The King said that he was the King of Limasawa so there was a
possibility that a mass happened there.Another argument is the Confirmatory
evidence from the Legazpi’s tradition. According to this argument, the men intended
to go to Butuan but the winds brought them to Bohol instead. Also, in Legazpi’s
expedition was Mazua was an island near Leyte and Panaon.

There were also arguments of that Masao as the site of the first mass. First is the
Name of the place. In the accounts of Pigafetta, Albo, the Genoese pilot, and Gines de
Mafra, the name of the island starts with letter M (Mazua). Next argument is that the
Navigator’s route from Homonhon to Mazua took three days yet Limasawa is near to
Homonhon. Another argument is the latitude, Limasawa’s actual latitude is 8 degrees
57 minutes. The latitudes given by Albo is (9 1/3) and the Genoese pilot (9) more to
Masao. Another is the route to Cebu which the fleet sailed along “Ceylon (Leyte),
Bohol, and Baybay, Gatighan, and Canighan”. Mazua Gatighan distance is 80 n.
miles-Pigafetta. Yet the actual Limasawa-Gatighan distance is only 4 n. miles. Lastly,
the argument about the geographical features of the place. According to artifacts, at
the eastern edge of Pinamunculan, balanghai boats, burial grounds, ceramics gold
ornaments, and processing tools have been excavated. And from the Ecofacts, it was
said that the Butuan River Delta has evolved in 1521. A contemporary account of the
voyage describes Mazua as three to four leagues in circumference which implies an
area of 2,214 to 3930 hectares. Yet in Limasawa had only 698 hectares.

Although there were a lot of arguments regarding whether the first mass in the
Philippines was held in Limasawa or in Masao, the Republic Act No. 2733 passed by
the congress on June 19, 1960 declaring that the site of Magallanes on Limasawa
Island as the National shrine to commemorate the first mass ever held in the country
is a strong proof and evidence regarding the issue.
 WHERE DID THE FIRST CRY OF REBELLION HAPPEN?

In the late nineteenth century, momentous events swept the Spanish colonies,
including our country, Philippines. An there was the “El Grito de Rebellion” or “Cry
of Rebellion” that marked the start of the revolutionary events, identifying the place
where it happen. In August 1896, the Rebellion against Spanish colonial government
was declared. These events has various roles and are important in knowing where did
really the first cry of rebellion happened.

Various personalities and accounts were present in identifying dates and places for
the cry. First is an officer of the Spanish guardia civil, Olegario Diaz, identified the
cry to have happened in Balintawak on the 25th of August year 1896. Next is the
Filipino Historian named Teodor Kalaw. According to his book The Filipino
Revolution, he wrote in 1925 that the event took place in Kangkong, Balintawak on
August 1896. The Katipunero leader of Magdiwang faction in Cavite, Santiago
Alvarez stated in 1927 that the Cry took place in Bahay Toro, now in Quezon City on
August 24, 1896. Pio Valenzuela a close associate of Andres Bonifacio declared in
1948 that it happened in Pugad Lawin on August 23, 1896. Historian Gregorio Zaide
stated in his books in 1954 that the Cry happened in Balintawak on August 26, 1896.
And his felloe historian, Teodoro Agoncillo wrote in 1956 that it took place in Pugad
Lawin on August 23, 1896. he based it on Pio Valenzuela’s statement. And the other
historians named Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas
staed that the event took place in Tandang Sora’s barn found in Gulod BARANGAY,
Banlat, Quezon City.

The eye witness account of Pio Valenzuela and the corroborative validation by
his fellow Katipuneros, and the recognition by Arturo Valenzuela, the Cry happened
in Pugad Lawin or Balintawak, Caloocan, Province of Manila, but now in Quezon
City on August 23, 1896. As a result of the cry, it started Philippine Revolution and
Insurgent governments.
 WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CAVITE MUTINY?

In the year 1872, there were two historical events: Cavite Mutiny and the
martyrdon of the three priests: Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora,
later on immortalized as Gomburza. These events are very important in the Philippine
Revolution. The Cavite Mutiny is a major factor in the awakening of nationalism
among the Filipinos of that time.

There were two basis of how Cavite Mutiny happened. First is the Spanish
accounts of Jose Montero Y Vidal. He focuesd on how this event became an attempt
in overthrowing the Spanish government in the Philippines. Since he is an Spanish
Historian, his account was criticized as biased and rabid. There was another account
from the official report written by Governor General Rafael Izquierdo implicating the
native clergy. These two accounts corroborated each other. Second is the Filipino
version by Dr. Trinidad Hermenigildo de Tavera stating that the mutiny was causd by
the discontentment of the filipinos because of the abolished rights and privileges of
the native soldiers and laborers of Cavite Arnesal. This idea was merely the same with
the ideas of the accounts of Edmund Plauchut.

Considering the four accounts of the 1872 Mutiny, there were some basic facts
that remained to be unvarying: First, there was dissatisfaction among the workers of
the arsenal as well as the members of the native army after their privileges were
drawn back by Gen. Izquierdo; Second, Gen. Izquierdo introduced rigid and strict
policies that made the Filipinos move and turn away from Spanish government out of
disgust; Third, the Central Government failed to conduct an investigation on what
truly transpired but relied on reports of Izquierdo and the friars and the opinion of the
public; Fourth, the happy days of the friars were already numbered in 1872 when the
Central Government in Spain decided to deprive them of the power to intervene in
government affairs as well as in the direction and management of schools prompting
them to commit frantic moves to extend their stay and power; Fifth, the Filipino
clergy members actively participated in the secularization movement in order to allow
Filipino priests to take hold of the parishes in the country making them prey to the
rage of the friars; Sixth, Filipinos during the time were active participants, and
responded to what they deemed as injustices; and Lastly, the execution of
GOMBURZA was a blunder on the part of the Spanish government, for the action
severed the ill-feelings of the Filipinos and the event inspired Filipino patriots to call
for reforms and eventually independence.

There may be different versions of the event, but one thing is certain, the 1872
Cavite Mutiny paved way for a momentous 1898