CHAPTER 24: LAST HOMECOMING AND TRIAL  Rizal owned brother, Paciano, was also

arrested and tortured but never said

A Martyr’s Last Home Coming
anything against his younger brother.
 October 6, 1896 – Rizal left Barcelona, he
Preliminary Investigation
recorded events in his diary
 November 20, 1896 – preliminary
 October 8, 1896 – a friendly officer told
investigation was conducted
Rizal that the Madrid newspapers were full
of stories regarding the revolutions in the  Colonel Francisco Olive – Judge
Philippines and he was blamed from it. Advocate to whom Rizal, as the accused,
appeared
Confiscation of Rizal’s Diary
 Rizal was subjected to a 5-day
 October 11, 1896 – before reaching Port
investigation, Rizal was informed about his
Sid, Rizal’s diary was confiscated; his cabin
charges and been given the chance to
was searched nothing significant was found.
answer the questions they have on him
 November 2, 1896 – Rizal’s diary was though he was never permitted to confront
returned. those people who testified against him.

Unsuccessful Rescue in Singapore  Two Evidences presented against him,

namely documentary and testimonial.
 Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor and Sixto Lopez
(from London) – dispatched telegrams to Documentary Evidences:
an English lawyer in Singapore named
1. A letter from Antonio Luna to Mariano
Hugh Fort to rescue Rizal, by means of
Ponce dated Madrid October 16, 1888,
writ of habeas corpus
showing Rizal’s connection with the Filipino
 When the Spanish steamer arrived in reform campaign in Spain.
Singapore Atty. Fort instituted proceedings
2. A letter of Rizal to his family, dated Madrid,
at the Singapore Court for the immediate
August 20, 1890, stating that the
removal of Rizal from the said steamer.
deportations are good for they will
 Chief Justice Loinel Cox – denied the writ encourage the people to hate tyranny.
of habeas corpus on the ground because
3. A letter from Marcelo H. del Pilar to Deodato
the steamer carries Spanish troops hence it
Arellano, dated Madrid, January 7, 1889,
is a warship of foreign power which under
implicating Rizal in the propaganda
the international law was beyond the
movement campaign in Spain.
jurisdiction of Singapore Authorities
4. A poem entitled Kundiman, allegedly written
Arrival in Manila
by Rizal in Manila on September 12, 1891
 November 3, 1896 – Rizal arrived at
5. A letter from Carlos Oliver to an unidentified
Manila, he was transferred to Fort Santiago
person, dated Barcelona, September 18,
 Spanish authorities gather evidence against 1891, describing Rizal as the man to free
Rizal. These people were brutally tortured to the Philippines from Spanish oppression.
implicate Rizal:
6. A masonic lodge document, dated Manila,
1. Deodato Arellano February 9, 1892, honoring Rizal for his
2. Dr. Pio Valenzuela patriotic services.
3. Moises Salvador
7. A letter signed Dimasalang (Rizal’s
4. Jose Dizon
pseudonym) to Tenluz (Juan Zulueta’s
5. Domingo Franco
pseudonym), dated Hongkong, May 24,
6. Temoteo Paez
1892, stating that he was preparing a safe
7. Pedro Serrano Laktaw
refuge for Filipinos who may persecuted by
the Spanish authorities.
 8. A letter to Dimasalang to an unidentified
committee, dated Hongkong, June 1, 1892,
soliciting the aid of the committee in the
“patriotic work”
9. An anonymous and undated letter to the
Editor of Hongkong Telegraph, censuring
the banishment of Rizal to Dapitan.
10. A letter to Ildefonso Laurel to Rizal, dated
Manila, September 3, 1892, saying that the
Filipino people look up to him (Rizal) as
their savior.
11. A letter to Ildefonso Laurel to Rizal, dated
Manila, 17, 1893, (walang month na
nakalagay sa pdf) informing an unidentified
correspondent of the arrest and the
banishment of Doroteo Cortes and
Ambrosio Salvador.
12. A letter to Marcelo H. del Pilar to Don Juan
A. Tenluz (Juan Zulueta), dated Madrid,
June 1, 1893 recommending the
establishment of a special organization,
independent of Masonry, to help the cause
of the Filipino people.
13. Transcript of a speech of Pingkian (Emilio
Jacinto) in a reunion to a Katipunan on July
23, 1893, in which the following cry uttered
“Long Live the Philippines! Long Live
Liberty! long live Dr. Rizal Unity!”
14. Transcript of speech of Tik-Tik (Jose
Turiano Santiago) in the same Katipunan
reunion where in the katipuneros shouted “
Long Live the eminent Dr. Rizal! Death to
the oppressor nation!”
15. A poem by Laong Laan (Jose Rizal) entitled
A Talisay, in which the author makes
Dapitan schoolboys sing that they know
how to fight for their rights.
Testimonial evidence
1. Martin Constantino
2. Aguedo del Rosario
3. Jose Reyes
4. Moises Salvador
5. Jose Dizon
6. Domingo Franco
7. Deodato Arellano
8. Ambrosio Salvador
9. Pedro Serrano Laktaw
10. Dr. Pio Valenzuela
11. Antonio Salazar
12. Francisco Quison
13. Timoteo Paez
 November 26, 1896 – after the
investigation, Col. Olive transmitted the
records of the case to Gov. Gen. Ramon
Blanco, and the letter appointed Capt.
Rafael Dominguez (as special Judge
advocate to institute the corresponding
action against Rizal)
 Dominguez made a brief resume of the
charges and returned the papers to the
Governor General Blanco, who thereupon
transmitted them to the Judge Advocate
General Don Nicholas de la Peña for an
opinion.
 Peña submitted the following
recommendations:
1. The accused should be immediately
brought to trial
2. He should be kept in prison
3. An order of attachment be issued
against his property to the amount
one million pesos as an indemnity
4. He should be defended in court by
an army officer, not by a civilian
officer.
Rizal chooses His Defender
 Rizal chooses a defense council which is
the only right given to him by the Spanish
authorities
 December 8, 1896 (Feast day of the
Immaculate Conception) – a list of 100
first and second lieutenants in the Spanish
Army was presented to Rizal
 Don Luis Taviel de Andrade (1st liutenant
of the Artillery) chosen by Rizal to be his
defense, he was the brother of Jose Taviel
de Andrade his previous bodyguard.
Reading of Information of Charges to the Accused
 December 11 – charges were formally read
to Rizal in his prison cell with his legal
counsel present
  He was accused of being ‘the principal
organizer and the living soul of the
Filipino insurrection, the founder of
societies, periodicals and books
dedicated to fomenting and propagating
ideas of rebellion’
 He pleaded not guilty to the crime of
rebellion. He admitted he wrote the
Constitution of the Liga Filipina which was a
mere civic association. He stated that he
had taken no part in politics since his exile
in Dapitan.
 December 13 – Dominguez forwarded
Rizal’s case to Malcañan Palace, same day
General Camilo G. de Polavieja became
Governor General. One of the intriguing
what ifs of history.
Rizal’s Manifesto to His People
 December 15 – Rizal wrote a manifesto to
his people appealing to them to stop the
necessary shedding of blood and to achieve
their liberties by means of education and
industry.
 Judge Advocate General Nicolas de la
Peña – recommend Governor General
Polavieja that the manifesto be suppressed.
Rizal’s Saddest Christmas
 December 25, 1896 - was the saddest
Christmas of Rizal. He wrote a letter to Lt.
Taviel Andrade
The Trial of Rizal
 It was patently a mistrial. Rizal, a
civilian, was trialed by a military court
composed of alien military officers. His
case was prejudged; he was considered
guilty before the actual trial. The military
court accepted all charges and
testimonies against Rizal and ignored all
arguments and proofs in favor. Rizal
was also not given the right to face the
witnesses against him in open court.
 December 26 – 8:00 am, the court-martial of
Rizal started in the military building called
“Cuartel de España”
Members of military court
1. Lt. Col. Jose Togores Arjona (president)
2. Capt. Ricardo Muñoz Arias
3. Capt. Manuel Reguera
4. Capt. Santiago Izquierdo Osorio
5. Capt. Braulio Rodriguez Nuñez
6. Capt. Manuel Diaz Escribano
7. Capt. Fermin Perez Rodriguez
Present in the courtroom
1. Dr. Rizal (the accused)
2. Lt. Taviel de Andrade (his defense counsel)
3. Capt. Rafael Dominguez (Judge Advocate)
4. Lt. Enrique de Alcocer (Prosecuting
Attroney)
5. Spectators (Josephine Bracken, some
newspapermen, many Spaniards)
 Judge Advocate Dominguez – opened the
trial, explained the case against Rizal
 Prosecuting Attorney Alcocer – delivered
a long speech summarizing the charges
against Rizal and urged the court to give the
verdict of death.
 Defense Counsel Taviel de Andrade in
defense, delivered an eloquent defense. He
ended his defense with a noble, but futile
admonition to the members of the military:
“The judges cannot be vindictive; the
judges can only be just”
 detail
 Rizal’s supplementary defense:
1. He could not be guilty of rebellion, for
he advised Dr. Pio Valenzuela in
Dapitan not to rise in revolution.
2. He did not correspond with the
radical, revolutionary elements.
3. The revolutionists used his name
without his knowledge. If he were
guity he could have escaped in
Singapore.
4. If he had a hand in the revolution, he
could have escaped in a Moro vinta
and would not have built a home, a
hospital, and bought lands in
Dapitan.
5. If he were the chief of the revolution,
why was he not consulted by the
revolutionists?
6. It was true that he wrote the by-laws
of the Liga Filipina, but this is only a
 civic association – not a revolutionary
society.
7. The Liga Filipina did not live long, for
after the first meeting he was
banished to Dapitan and it died out.
8. If the Liga was reorganized nine
months later, he did not know about
it.
9. The Liga did not serve the purpose
of the revolutionists, otherwise they
would not have supplanted it with the
Katipunan.
10. If it were true that there were some
bitter comments in Rizal’s letters, it
was because they were written in
1890 when his family was being
persecuted, being dispossessed of
houses, warehouses, lands, etc., and
his brother and all his brothers-in-law
were deported.
11. His life in Dapitan had been
exemplary as the politico-military
commanders and missionary priests
could attest.
12. It was not true that the revolution was
inspired by his one speech at the
house of Doroteo Ongjunco, as
alleged by witnesses whom he would
like to confront. His friends knew his
opposition to armed rebellion. Why
did the Katipunan send an emissary
to Dapitan who was unknown to him?
Because those who knew him were
aware that he would never sanction
any violent movement.

 Same afternoon (December 26), death

sentence was passed unanimously. The
decision was submitted to Gov. Gen.
Polavieja, who sought the opinion of Judge
Advocate General Nicolas de la Peña, who
affirmed the death verdict.
Polavieja signs Rizal’s execution
 On Decemebr 28, Gov. Gen Polavieja
approved the sentence, ordering Rizal be
shot at 7 a.m. of December 30 at
Bagumbayan Field (Luneta)