First Homecoming of Rizal in

the Philippines
(1887-1888)
Rizal's plans of coming back
home
▪As early as 1884, Rizal wanted to go back
to the Philippines for the following
reasons:
-financial difficulties in Calamba
-Dissatisfaction with his studies in Madrid
-Desire to prove that there is no reason to
fear going home.
-His belief that the Spanish Regime will
not punish the innocent.
 Decision to Return Home
• After five years of his memorable sojourn in
Europe, Rizal returned to the Philippines.
• However, Rizal was warned by the following
not to return to the Philippines because his
Noli Me Tangere angered the friars:
-Paciano Mercado- Rizal's adviser and only
brother
-Silvestre Ubaldo- Rizal's brother in law;
husband of Olympia (Lympia)
-Jose Ma. Cecilio (Chenggoy)- one of Rizal's
closest friends.
• Rizal was determined to come back to
the Philipines for the following reasons;
-To operate his mother's eyes
-To serve his people who had long
been oppressed by spanish tyrants.
-To find out himself how the Noli Me
Tangere and his other writings were
affecting Filipinos and Spaniards
-To inquire why Leonor Rivera
remained silent.
 Rizal arrives in Manila
Rizal left Rome by train to
Marseilles, a french port
and boarded Djemnah,

• The same steamer that

brought him to Europe
five years ago.
There were 50 passengers; 4 English men, 2
Germans, 3 Chinese, 2 Japanese, 40 French
men, and 1 Filipino (Rizal)
•When the ship
reached Aden the
weather became
rough and some of
Rizal's book got
wet.
•In Saigon (Ho Chi
Minh) Vietnam he
transferred to another
steamer, Hai Phong,
that brought him to
Manila.
Happy Homecoming
•When Rizal arrived in
Calamba, rumors spread
that he was a:
-German Spy
-An agent of Otto Von
Bismarck-the liberator of
Germany
-A protestant
-A mason
-A soul halfway to
damnation
 • Paciano-did not leave him
during the first days after
arrival to protect him from
any enemy assault.

•Don
Francisco did
not permit
him to go out
alone.
 In Calamba
Rizal established a medical clinic
Doña Teodora was Rizal's first
patients
Rizal treated her eyes but could not
perform any surgical operation
because her cataracts were not yet
ripe.
• He painted several beautiful
landscapes in Calamba
• He translated German
poems of Von Wildernath in
Tagalog
 Doctor Uliman-Rizal was
called this name because
he came from Germany.
-He earned P 900 in a
few months and P 5,000
before he left the
Philippines.

•Gymnasium-was opened by Rizal for the

young people.
•He introduced European sports fencing and
shooting to discourage them from
cockfighting and gambling.
Sad moments while Rizal was
in Calamba
Leonor Rivera-Rizal tried to
visit her in Tarlac but his
parents forbade him to go
because Leonor's mother did
not like him for a son-in-law.

•Olympia Mercado-
Ubaldo- died because of
child birth
Storm over the Noli Me Tangere
• As Rizal was peacefully living in
Calamba, his enemies plotted his
doom.
• Governor General Emilio Terrero-
wrote to Rizal requesting to come
to Malacañang Palace.
-Somebody had whispered to his
ear that the Noli contains
subversive idea.
-Rizal explained to him that
he merely exposed the truth,
but did not advocate
subversive ideas.
-He was pleased by Rizal's
explaination and curious
about the book, he asked for
a copy of the novel.
 Rizal visited the Jesuits
Rizal visited the Jesuits Father to ask for their
feedback on the novel.
He was gladly welcomed by the following friars:
-Fr. Francisco de Paula
Sanchez
-Fr. Jose Bech

-Fr. Federico Faura-told Rizal that

everything in the novel was the truth
and warned him that he may lose his
head because of it.
•Governor General Emilio Terrero-a
liberal-minded spaniard who knew
that Rizal's life was in jeopardy
because the friars were powerful.
-Because of this he gave Rizal a
bodyguard to protect him.
Jose Taviel de Andrade
• A young Spanish
Lieutenant came from a
noble family
• He was cultured and
knew painting.
• He could speak French,
English, and Spanish.
• They became good
friends.
 Attackers of the Noli
• Archbishop Pedro Payo
-A Dominican
-Archbishop of Manila
-sent a copy of the
Noli to Fr. Gregorio
Echevarria,Rector of the
University of Sto. Tomas
to examine the novel.
 UST and Rizal
• The committee that examined the Noli
Me Tangere where composed of
Dominican Professors.
• The report of the faculty members from
UST about the Noli states that the novel
was:
-Heretical,impious and scandalous in
the religious orders, and anti-patriotic,
subversive of public order, injurious to
the government of Spain and its function
in the Philippine Islands in the political
order.
Governor General Terrero-was not satisfied with
the report so he send the novel to the Permanent
Commission of Censorship which was composed of
Priests and lawyers.

•Fr. Salvador Font-Augustinian

Friar curate of Tondo was the head
of the commission.
-The group found that the novel contain
subversive ideas against the church and Spain
and recommended that the importation,
reproduction and circulation of the pernicious
book in the Islands be absolutely prohibited.
• The newspaper published Font's written report.
• The banning of the Noli Me Tangere served to make it
popular.
• The masses supported the book.
• Fr. Jose Rodriguez-Augustinian prior of
Guadalupe
-Published a series of eight pamphlets
under the heading Questions of supreme
Interest to blast the Noli and other anti-
spanish writing.
-Copies of anti-rizal pamphlets were sold
after mass.
-Many Filipinos were forced to buy them in
 Noli Me Tangere in Spain
▪The novel was ñercely attacked in the session hall of the
Senate of the Spanish Cortes.
▪Senators:
-General Jose de Salamanca
-General Luis de Pardo
-Sr. Fernando Vida
▪Vicente Barantes - Spanish academician of
Madrid who formerly occupied high
government position in the Philippines
bitterly criticized the novel in an article
published in the Madrid newspaper, the
España Moderna.
Defenders of the Noli Me Tangere
▪Propagandists such as Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Graciano
Lopez-Jaena, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Mariano Ponce
rushed to uphold the truths of the Noli.
▪Fr. Francisco de Paul Sanchez - Rizal's favorite
teacher in Ateneo defended and praised the novel in
public.
▪Don Segismundo Moret-
former Minister of the
Crown.

▪Prof.Miguel Morayta-Historian
and stateman
▪Prof.Ferdinand Blumentritt-
Rizal's Bestfriend
▪Rev.Fr.Vicente Garcia-a Filipino
Catholic Priest-scholar, a
theologian of the Manila
Cathedral and a tagalog
translator of the famous
Imitation of Christ by Thomas
Kempis.
-Under the pen-name Justo Desiderio
Magalang he wrote a defense of the novel
published in Singapore.
▪Rizal cried because of his gratitude to
his defenders especially to Fr.Garcia who
defended him unexpectedly.
▪He attacked Barantes by exposing his
ignorance of Philippines affairs and
mental dishonesty which is unworthy of
an academician.
▪Because of the interest of both
enemies and protectors of the Noli the
price of the book increased from 5
pesetas per copy to 50 pesetas per copy.
Agrarian Problem in
Calamba
▪Influenced by the novel, Governor
General Emilio Terrero ordered a
Government investigation of the friar
estates to remedy whatever
inequities might have been present
in connection with land taxes and
with tenant relations.
▪One of the friar estates affected was
the Calamba hacienda by the
Dominican order since 1883.
▪Upon hearing about the
investigation the people of Calamba
asked helped from Rizal to gather
facts and list the grievances so that
the government might institute
certain agrarian reforms.
Finding submitted by Rizal
▪The hacienda of the Dominican Order
comprised not only the lands around
Calamba but the whole town of Calamba.
▪The profits of the Dominican Order
continually increased because of the
arbitrary increase of the rentals paid by the
tenants.
▪The hacienda owner never contributed
even a single centavo for the celebration of
the town fiesta, for the education of the
children and for the improvement of
agriculture.
▪Tenants who spent much labor in
clearing the lands were dispossessed
of the said lands for flimsy reasons.
▪High rates of interest were arbitrarily
changed the tenants for delayed
payment of rentals
▪When the rental could not be payed,
the hacienda management
confiscated the work animals, tools,
and farm implements of the tenants.
 Friars Reaction
▪Rizal's exposure to the deplorable
condition angered the friars.
▪The friars exerted pressure to Malacañang
to eliminate Rizal.
▪They asked Gov.General Terrero to deport
Rizal but the latter refused for there is lack
of charges against Rizal in court.
▪Anonymous threats in Rizal's life alarmed
his parents, siblings, Andrade, his
bodyguard, friends and even Terrero, thus
they all advised him to leave the country.
Rizal's Reasons for leaving
the philippines

▪His presence in Calamba was

jeopardizing the safety and happiness
of his family and friends.
▪He could not fight better his enemies
and serve his country's cause with
greater efficacy by writing in foreign
countries.
 "Himno Al Trabajo"
▪A poem for Lipa- shortly before Rizal left in
1888,he was asked by a friend to write a poem
in commemoration of the town's cityhood.

▪Himno Al Trabaho
(Hymn To Labor)-
title of the poem
dedicated to the
industrious people of
Lipa.
 Farewell Philippines
▪On February 3, 1888 Rizal left his
country with a heavy heart.
▪But this is for his own good and the
safety of his family and friends.
Ms. Tizza V.
Villaban