José Protasio Rizal

Mercado y Alonso
Realonda
June 19, 1861 Calamba, Laguna
 was her puppy love.
Unfortunately, his first love was
engaged to be married to a town mate-
Manuel Luz.
 a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal
send her love notes written in invisible
ink, that could only be deciphered over
the warmth of the lamp or candle. He
visited her on the eve of his departure
to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.
 his sweetheart for 11 years played the
greatest influence in keeping him from falling
in love with other women during his travel.
Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of
her daughter’s relationship with Rizal, who
was then a known filibustero. She hid from
Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart.
Leonor believing that Rizal had already
forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the
Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother’s choice.
 the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s daughters, fell in love with
him. He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of
his best poems. The Ortiga's residence in Madrid was frequented by
Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in love with her and
Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses. He suddenly
backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance,
because he wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not
want to destroy hid friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was madly
in love with Consuelo.
 a Japanese samurai’s daughter taught
Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as
su-mie. She also helped Rizal improve his
knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was
a man without a patriotic mission, he would
have married this lovely and intelligent woman
and lived a stable and happy life with her in
Japan because Spanish legation there offered
him a lucrative job.
 While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the Beckett family, within walking
distance of the British Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl
was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal.
Tottie helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left
London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him.
Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the
Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their
brief relationship.
 In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels
because of the high cost of living in Paris. In
Brussels, he lived in the boarding house of the
two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell deeply in
love with each other. Suzanne cried when Rizal
left Brussels and wrote him when he was in
Madrid.
 Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of
courting other ladies. While a guest of the Boustead family at their
residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty
daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the
sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also
a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply
infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken
Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks against Nellie Boustead. This
prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately, Luna
apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots.
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan, Rizal met an
18-year old petite Irish girl, with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a
happy disposition. She was Josephine Bracken, the adopted daughter
of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal
for eye treatment. Rizal was physically attracted to her. His loneliness
and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a
better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters
suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars and they considered her
as a threat to Rizal’s security.
THE
APPRAISAL
OF
RIZAL’S
WRITINGS
AND
NOVELS
Prodigy of the Pen. Not only was Jose
skilled in brush, chisel, and pen-

THE APPRAISAL OF RIZAL’S WRITINGS AND NOVELS

knife, but also in pen. He was a born
poet. His mother encouraged him to
write poetry. At an early age when
children usually begin to learn their
A,B,C, he was already writing poems.

THE APPRAISAL OF RIZAL’S WRITINGS AND NOVELS

 Sa Aking mga Kabata

Kapagka ang baya'y sadyang umiibig

sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit,
sanlang kalayaan nasa ring masapit

Sa Aking Mga Kabata

katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.

Pagkat ang salita'y isang kahatulan

sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharian,
at ang isang tao'y katulad, kabagay
ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.
A Tagalog poem known to be the first piece he
wrote.He wrote it in an appeal to our
Ang hindi magmahal people
sa kanyang salita
mahigit sa hayop at malansang isdá,
to love our national language
kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusá
na tulad sa isang tunay na nagpala.

Ang wikang tagalog tulad din sa latin,

sa ingles, kastilá at salitang anghel
sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingin
ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.

Ang salita nati'y huad din sa ibá

THE APPRAISAL OF RIZAL’S WRITINGS
na may alfabeto AND letra,
at sariling NOVELS
na kaya nawala'y dinatnan ng sigwá
ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una

―Calamba,1869
 THE APPRAISAL OF RIZAL’S WRITINGS AND NOVELS

His first probably poem

he wrote during his days
in the Ateneo, was Mi
Primera Inspiración (My
First Inspiration) which
was dedicated to his
mother, Teodora Alonzo
Realonda, on her
birthday. It is said that
he wrote it before he was
14 years old.
 In 1875, inspired by Father Sanchez, he
wrote more poems, such as:

1. Felicitatión:
(Felicitation)

2. El Embarque: Himno a la
Flota de Magallanes (The
Departure: Hymn to
Magellan’s Fleet)

3. Y Es Español: Elcano, el
Primero en dar la Vuelta el
Mundo (And He is Spanish:
Elcano, the First to
Circumnavigate the World)

4. El Combate: Urbiztondo,
Terror de Jolo (The Battle:
Urbiztondo, Terror of Jolo)
THE APPRAISAL OF RIZAL’S WRITINGS AND NOVELS
1. La Tragedia de San Eustaquio (The Tragedy of St.
Eustace)

2.Un Recuerdo á Mi Pueblo (In Memory of My Town)

3. Alianza Intima Entre la Religión y la Buena Educación

(Intimate Alliance Between Religion and Good Education)

4. Por la Educación Recibe Lustre la Patria (Through

Education the Country Receives Light)

5. El Cautiverio y el Triunfo: Batalla de Lucena y

Prisión de Boabdil (The Captivity and the Triumph:
Battle of Lucena and the Imprisonment of Boabdil)
In 1876, Rizal wrote poems on various
Kkk
topics−religion,
6. La Entrada education,
Triunfal de los childhood en Granada
Reyes Católicos
(The Triunfal Entry memories,
of the and Catholic
war. Monarchs into
Granada) THE APPRAISAL OF RIZAL’S WRITINGS AND NOVELS
 A year later, in 1877, he wrote more
poems. It was his last year in the
Ateneo.

1. El Heroismo de Colón (The Heroism of Columbus)

2. Colon y Juan 11 (Columbus and John II)

3. Gran Consuelo en la Mayor Desdíscha (Great

Comfort in Great Misfortune)

4. Un Dialogo Alusivo a la Despedida de los

Colegiales (A Farewell Dialogue of the Students)
In the year 1879 the Liceo
Artistico-Literario
(Artistic-Literary Lyceum)
of Manila, a society of
literary men and artist,
held a literary contest. It
offered a prize for the best
poem by native or mestizo.
Rizal, who was then eighteen
years old, submitted his
poem entitled A La Juventud
Filipina (To the Filipino
Youth)
The first prize that he
received was a silver pen,
feather-shaped and decorated
with a gold ribbon.

A classic in Philippine
literature for 2 reasons:

–it was the first great poem in

Spanish written by a Filipino,
whose merit was recognized by
Spanish literary authorities

–It gives for the first time a

nationalistic concept that the
Philippines is the “fatherland
of the Filipinos”
Junto al Pasig
(Beside Paig River)

A drama which was staged

by the Ateneans on
December 8, 18180, on the
occasion of the annual
celebration of the Feast
Day of the Immacualte
Conception, Patroness of
the Ateneo. It was a
melodrama, which he wrote
as President of the
Academy of Spanish
Literature in the Ateneo
 A poem that was probably written
when Rizal left for Europe on May
3, 1882. Leonora Rivera , was the
childhood sweetheart, first love ,
lover by correspondece, and cousin
of Jose Rizal. It was believed
that Rivera was the “greatest
influence” in preventing Rizal
from falling in love with other
women while Rizal was travelling
outside the Philippines.

Goodbye to Leonor
To the Young Women of
Right after the article of Lopez Jaena was published in La
Solidaridad, Marcelo H. del Pilar wrote from Barcelona to
Jose Rizal in Madrid, on February 17, 1889, requesting Rizal
to write them a letter in Tagalog commending the bravery of

Malolos
the women and with hopes that this valiant struggle against
friar hegemony in the affairs of the Filipinos will enthuse
all compatriots. Hence, Rizal sent del Pilar on February 22,
1889 the letter written in Tagalog for transmittal to the 20
young women of Malolos.
Noli Me Tangere (Touch me not) a
novel written in Spanish, is a
sweeping and passionate unmasking
of the brutality and corruption
of Spanish rule in
the Philippines. Rizal dedicated
the novel to the Philippines― “To
My Country” The title of the
novel was not originally
conceived, for he admitted taking
it from the Bible

Gospel of St. John 4:13-17

According to St. John, on the

First Easter Sunday, St. Mary
Magdalene visited the Holy
Sepulchre, and to her Our Lord
Jesus just arisen from the dead,
said:

“Touch me not; I am not yet

ascended to my Father, but go to
my brethren, and say unto them, I
ascend unto my Father, and your
Noli Me
Tangere
Father; and to my God and your
God”
Touch me not
 1885- When he went to March 1887-Rizal wrote
Paris in 1885, after to Felix Hidalgo and
completing his studies said: “Noli Me Tangere,
in the universidad words taken from the
Central de Madrid, he Gospel of Saint Luke,
continued writing the signify ‘do not touch
novel, finishing one me’”
1887-
In citing
Thethe
half of the second half. first
biblical edition
He wrote the last fourth March source
29, Rizal
1887-
made of a the
Noli novel It
mistake.
Me Tangere
of the novel in Germany should be the Gospel of
was
came printed
off the
Saint John
in Berlin.
press

1884- THE MAN WHO SAVED

toward the 1886-During
THE “NOLI” the
end of Indark days
mid-December, of a
1884, Rizal December, 1886,
telegram from
began he almost arrived.
Barcelona threw
writing the Itthe
was manuscript
sent by Dr.
Novel in Maximo
into Viola. When
the fire.
Madrid and he
The learned
novel wasof
finished Rizal’s predicament,
about one- healmost finished
advanced some
half of it then.so that the
money
novel could be
printed
The Monkey and the
Tortoise
The Monkey and the Tortoise
is a fable that teaches a
lesson about greed. Jose
Rizal made a publication of
the story in English in the
July 1889 issue of Trübner's
Oriental Record in England,
which is considered to be the
formal beginning
of Philippine children's
literature
 El Filibusterismo (The Reign
of Greed) is the second and
last novel completed by Jose
Rizal. It is the sequel of
his first novel Noli Me
Tangere.

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

El
advantage of the belief that
he died at the end of Noli Me
Tangere, he is disguised as
Simoun, an enormously wealthy

Filibusterismo
and mysterious jeweler who
The Reign of Greed has gained the confidence of
the colony’s governor-
general.
 March 29, 1891-
He finished the
manuscript in
Biarritz after
toiling on it for
three years

October September 18,

1887- 1891- El
Filibusterismo,
Rizal had the sequel to the
begun Noli Me Tangere,
writing came off the
the novel press.
Rizal dedicated this poem to an Irish woman,
Josephine Bracken, whom we called his “dulce
extranjera”(sweet foreigner). The poem somehow
manifests that Rizal is “smitten” with
Josephine.

When Josephine was eighteen years of age, she

visited Manila for the purpose of seeing Dr.
Jose Rizal to accompany her adoptive father
for an eye operation. Then, she developed
affection towards Dr. Rizal despite her
stepfather’s objection. Despite several lady
loves in the past, Josephine alone was the one
Dr. Jose Rizal sought for marriage.

To Josephine
Upon the request of Dona
Teodora, Dr. Jose Rizal came up
with a beautiful poem vis-à-vis
his tranquil life in Dapitan.
The poem, which was entitled “Mi
Retiro” (My Retreat) was sent to
his mother in 1895. It was
commended by the critics as one
of the best of his literary
creations.

Mi Retiro
Before Rizal died, he
was able to bequeth his
last thoughts to his
people in a beautiful
poem. This poem, which
he left untitled, was
aptly given the title of
“Ultimo Adios (Last
Farewell) by the
Rizalists. It was
written on the 29th of
December 1896, the eve
of his execution, in his
Ultimo Adios
prison cell at Fort
Santiago
The Trial and
death of the hero
On September
Before
On Novemver
reaching 2, Spain,on
3, the 1896, Colon
steamer a the
week after
arrived in the
afternoon of
September
Manila. Rizal
outbreak 30,when
was the
of the brought
steamer
to Fort
Philippine hadRevolution,
left
Santiago
Port Said
he
and
left was cruising
Manila Mediterranean
Bay for Spain. His sea,destination
Rizal was
placed under arrest by the ship skipper, Captain
was Cuba, where
A. Alemany, he hoped orders
upon telegraphic to contribute his
from Manila.
medical skills to combat the yellow fever
epidemic.
 CHRONOLOGY OF THE PROCEEDINGS
November 20-21 – Rizal was subjected to a
Prelimenary investigation

December 2- Blanco endorses the case to Dominguez

December 3- Dominguez formally opens the case

Blanco endorses the case to the Auditor General de

December 5- Dominguez submits his report
Guerra Nicolas de la Peña

December 8-Feast of Immaculate conception. Blanco

apponts Enrique de Alcocer fiscal (prosecutor)

December 9- Alcocer submits his judgement on the

merits of the case. Same day, The fiscal instructs
the juez prosecutor to prepare all materials for
December10- The list is shown to Rizal and chose
the trial. Also, a list is drawn up of 106 officers
Don Luis Taviel de Andrade, 1st Lietunenant of the
below the rank of captain who are considered
Artillery. On the same day, Taviel accepted the
eligible to become Rizal’s defense counsel.
task.
December 11– the juez instructor (Dominguez decides
that it is “unneccessary” for Rizal to confront his
accusers. Rizal is formally arraigned. On the same
day, the charges were read to Rizal in the presence
of his counsel. The procedure begins for the
confiscation
December 12- The
of Rizal’s
juez instructor
properties
declares
and other
theassets
case
to “reimburse”
ready for trial.On
the government
the same day,
forBlanco
the “damage”
was that
Rizal hadby
replaced inflicted
Governorthe
Camilo
nation.
de Polavieja.Polavieja
then endorsed the case to Auditor de la Peña for
final action.
December15-Rizal wrote a manifesto to his people
appealing to them to stop the unneccessary shedding
of the blood and to achieve their liberties by
means of education and industry. de la Peña
recommended Polavieja that the manifesto be
suppressed.
December 17-It’s publication
Peña’s decision was prohibited

December 21- Alcocer (fiscal) submits his Bried for

the Prosecution
December 22- The prosecutor’s Brief is shown to
Rizal and his defense counsel

December24- Christmas eve. The judges of the court

martial are appointed

December 25- Christmas List of judges is shown to

Rizal. Brooding iver his hopeless case, he wrote a
letter to Lt. Taviel

December 26-Court martial is held. The judges

listened to the prosecutor’s Brief, defense
counsel’s Brief, and Rizal’s “adiciones a mi
defensa” On the same day, sentence of death is
pronounced and is communicated to Polavieja.
Polavieja endores
December 27- Peña death sentence
recommends to deof
approval lathe
Peña for
death
comment
sentence
December 28- Polavieja orders the death sentence to
be carried out. He specifies the day, hour, place,
and the manner of death. (30 December, 7 am in
Bagumbayan field by firing squad

December29- The death sentence is read to Rizal. He

is placed “en capilla”

December 30- Rizal passed away at the age of 35

According to claims,

Dr. Jose Rizal wrote a retraction paper on

December 29, 1896 taking back all his
words and writing against the Church.

Rizal said to be convinced in converting

and writing the retraction paper by
Fr. Vicente Balaguer, a priest he had been
with in Dapitan
May 18, 1935, a document was discovered
in the vault of the Archbishop of Manila by
Father Manuel Gracia

This document, among others, is the much

debated "original" of Dr. Jose Rizal's
retraction of his anti-Catholic writings and
propaganda as well as his affiliation to
Masonry.
 WAS IT A
FORCED RETRACTION?
HE WANTS TO
LEGALLY MARRY
JOSEPHINE BRACKEN
TO SAVE HIS FAMILY
AND TOWN FROM
THE PERSECUTION OF
THE GOVERNMENT
HE WANTS TO
SECURE SPANISH
REFORMS
HE WANTS TO HEAL THE
CHURCH FROM THE
INSIDE IN THE HOPES
THAT SOMETHING WILL
CHANGE
MAJOR ARGUMENTS FOR
RETRACTION

The Retraction Document

discovered in 1935 is
considered the chief
witness to the reality of the
retraction
MAJOR ARGUMENTS FOR
RETRACTION

The testimony of the press at the

time of the event, of “eye-
witnesses,” and other “qualified
witnesses,” i.e. those closely
associated with the events such
as the head of the Jesuit order,
the archbishop, etc.
MAJOR ARGUMENTS FOR
RETRACTION

“Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity”

reportedly recited and signed by
Dr. Rizal as attested by “witnesses”
and a signed Prayer Book which
was amongst the documents
discovered by Father Garcia
along with the Retraction
MAJOR ARGUMENTS FOR
RETRACTION

Acts of Piety performed

by Rizal during his last
hours as testified to by
“witnesses.
MAJOR ARGUMENTS FOR
RETRACTION

His “Roman Catholic

Marriage” to Josephine
Bracken as attested to by
“witnesses.” There could be
no marriage without a
retraction.
1 The Retraction Document
is said to be a forgery.

First of all there is the matter of the handwriting. To date, the only
scientific study criticizing the authenticity of the document was
made by Dr. Ricardo R. Pascual of the University of the
Philippines shortly after the document was found.

A second argument directed against the authenticity of the

document itself is based on the principles of textual criticism.
Several critics have noted differences between the text of the
document found in 1935 and other versions of the Retraction
including the one issued by Father Balaguer.
1 The Retraction Document
is said to be a forgery.

A third argument applies to the Retraction itself is that its content

is in part strangely worded, e.g. in the Catholic Religion “I wish to
live and die,” yet there was little time to live, and also Rizal’s
claim that his retraction was “spontaneous.

Finally, there is the “confession” of “the forger.” Antonio K. Abad

tells how on August 13, 1901 at a party at his ancestral home in
San Isidro, Nueva Ecija a certain Roman Roque told how he was
employed by the Friars earlier that same year to make several
copies of a retraction document.
2 Arguments against the Retraction, claims,
other acts, and facts do not fit well with
the story of the Retraction.

The document of Retraction was not made public until 1935.

Even members of the family did not see it. It was said to be
“lost.”

No effort was made to save Rizal from the death penalty after his
signing of the Retraction.

Rizal’s burial was kept secret; he was buried outside the inner
wall of the Paco cemetery; and the record of his burial was not
placed on the page for entries of Dec. 30th.
2 Arguments against the Retraction, claims,
other acts, and facts do not fit well with
the story of the Retraction.

There is no marriage certificate or public record of the marriage

of Rizal with Josephine Bracken.

Rizal’s behavior as a whole during his last days at Fort Santiago

and during the last 24 hours in particular does not point to a
conversion.
3 The third chief line of argument against
the Retraction is that it is out of character.

Senator Rafael Palma, a former President of the University of the

Philippines and a prominent Mason, also argued that if Rizal
retracted, it would have been a very drastic change of
character in Rizal which is very hard to believe knowing how
mature and strong in his beliefs Rizal was.

He called the retraction story a "pious fraud.”

THE DOCUMENT
English translation

“ I declare myself a Catholic and in this Religion in which I was

born and educated I wish to live and die.

I retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings,

publications and conduct have been contrary to my character
as a son of the Catholic Church. I believe and I confess whatever
she teaches and I submit to whatever she demands. I dominate
Masonry, as the enemy which is of the Church, and as a Society
prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate may, as the
Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this spontaneous
manifestation of mine in order to repair the scandal in which my
acts may have caused and so that God and people may
pardon me.
 THE DOCUMENT
Actual Document

Analysis of the Document

Varieties of forms of Capital and Small Letters

- C: C of Creo differs from that of “Catolica”
- D: D in Diocesano and Diciembre differs from
that of Dios
- A: Abomino differs from Autoridad
- Small Letters: a, h, o, p
COMPARISON OF
HANDWRITING
RETRACTION
DOCUMENT
“I declare myself a Catholic and in
this religion in which I was born
and educated I wish to live and
die. I retract with all my heart
whatever in my words, writings,
publications and conduct has
been contrary to my character as
son of the Catholic Church.”
STANDARDS OF COMPARISON

The standards for our comparison must be the

handwritings of Rizal that bear the date as near as
possible to the date in question.
The date under
consideration
is December 29, 1896.
About this time there are, however,
enough writings that we can take for
our standards
MI ULTIMO ADIOS
Some say it was about the twelfth or
the fourteenth of December of the
same year.
This poem is in the National Library.
TO MY COUNTRYMEN
December 15, 1896
 Fort Santiago

 The original of which cannot

now be located.
Probably it is or it has been in
the archives of the Spanish
Government.
DEFENSA
December 12, 1896
A LETTER TO D. LUIS TAVIEL DE ANDRADE

Hisdefender
December 25,1896
PHYSICAL
CONDITION
The kind of paper of this discovered
document, Figure I, is the same as that of
the "Defensa".
The crumpled and soiled edges
are quite alike in both documents.
They measure equally in
length and breadth. The
color of the paper is almost
the same, perhaps because
that kind of paper is not
easily faded or tinted with
yellow.
Only in the case of the "Defensa",
there are no holes made by
bookworms unlike that of the
document in question.
The "Ultimo Adios" was written on
a "piece of ordinary commercial
paper
Certainly, these physical conditions
are genuine marks of "authenticity as
to the age" of the paper
As to writing, the
"Defensa" was
written in pencil,
while the
"Retraction" was in
ink.
As to writing, the "Defensa" was
written in pencil, while the
"Retraction" was in ink.
The "Ultimo Adios" was, however, written in
ink but the writing is quite small, due to
economy in paper so as to facilitate its
concealment.
MARGIN
Defensa has quite a
comparatively small margin at
the left, in comparison with that
of the "Retraction" which leaves
off more than one fourth of the
width of the paper for that
margin.
The "Ultimo Adios" has a narrower
margin at its left side than at its
right, probably because this is a
poem.
the size of the margin in the habitual
writing is quite habitual too, unless
affeeted by other forces at the time of
writing.
SLANT

The slant of writing is sometimes

variable with some persons and
with others, a little less variable.
The difference between the
averages of these two writings is
quite small, only 3.52°.
Observer may hastily draw the
conclusion that
since there is not much
difference in their slants,
therefore they were the writings
of one and the same person.
 "Since between two standard writings of one man the
difference is great, therefore his slants are variable, and
the fact that the slants are variable warrants the conclusion
that the man writes many forms of slants. Since the difference
between the average of the slants of the writing
in question and that of a standard writing is small, even
smaller than the difference between genuine writings, therefore
it falls within the scope of probability to consider that
the questioned writing has an affinity with the genuine
writing.”
WRITING HABIT
It must be borne in mind that
writing
as well as many other
actions of human beings is
done in an habitual,
almost automatic, manner.
Considering the fact that
Rizal was not a beginner in the art of writing, neither was he an
infirm old person at the time that he was said to have written the
retraction, we can therefore presume that he wrote at that time,
if ever he wrote anything, with his habitual way.
the hand of an individual is not a
typewriter or a printing
press that prints in the same way.
Signature
We have now come to the most important
phase of our analysis, the signature of the
document in question.
THAT IN THE SIGNATURES OF RIZAL TO HIS
FAREWELL TO HIS MOTHER
AND THE LETTER TO ANDRADE THE
CONNECTION STROKES BETWEEN "R"
AND "I", BETWEEN THE LATTER AND "Z" WERE
ALSO A LITTLE ANGULAR
LIKE THE CHARACTERISTIC OBSERVED ABOVE IN
THE SIGNATURE OF THE DISPUTED
RETRACTION.
THE LOWER LOOP OF "Z'~
WAS NOT A
CONTINUOUSLY,MADE LINE
AS COULD. BE SUPPOSED IN
AN HABITUAL WRITING.
 Hagan, an expert in handwriting:
PUTS IT MORE STRIKINGLY IN THIS QUOTATION17 :
" ..... AND STILL ANOTHER CHARACTERISTIC OF FORGED
SIGNATURES
THAT ARE NOT TRACED FROM A GRNUINE SIGNATURE IS THAT
THEY ARE WRITTEN WITH GREATER LENGTH IN PROPORTION TO
THE WIDTH AND HEIGHT OF THE LETTERS THAN OCCURS IN THE
GENUINE
SIGNATURES FROM WHICH THEY ARE COPIED IN IMITATION. THIS
WANT OF PROPORTION OCCURS GENERALLY FROM MAKING THE
LINES
CONNECTING THE LETTERS OF THE SIGNATURES LONGER THAN
THOSE
OF THE COPY."
width and height of the letters than occurs in the genuine
signatures from which they are copied in imitation. This
want of proportion occurs generally from making the lines
connecting the letters of the signatures longer than those
of the copy."
 Mr. Charles Reade

"I SPEAK WITHIN BOUNDS WHEN I SAY

THAT A GENUINE
DOUBLE COINCIDENCE, PROVED
BEYOND DOUBT, IS NOT TWICE, BUT
TWO HUNDRED TIMES, AS STRONG,
AS ONE COINCIDENCE, AND THAT
A GENUINE TREBLE COINCIDENCE IS MANY
THOUSAND TIMES AS
STRONG AS ONE SUCH COINCIDENCE. BUT
WHEN WE GET A FIVEFOLD
COINCIDENCE, REAL AND PROVED, IT IS A
MILLION TO ONE
AGAINST ALL THESE HONEST CIRCUMSTANCES
HAVING COMBINED TO
DECEIVE US ..... "
THOSE WHO STRONGLY BELIEVED THE
FAKING OF THE RIZAL RETRACTION
DOCUMENT, REPORTED THAT THE
FORGER OF RIZAL’S SIGNATURE WAS
ROMAN ROQUE, THE MAN WHO ALSO
FORGED THE SIGNATURE OF URBANO
LACUNA, WHICH WAS USED TO
CAPTURE AGUINALDO.
TEXTUAL CRITICISM
This question of retraction has
been a big problem.
Two opposing groups—the Masonic
Rizalists (who firmly believe that Rizal
did not withdraw) and the Catholic
Rizalists (who were convinced Rizal
retracted)
 THE DOCUMENT OF THE
RETRACTION OF JOSE
RIZAL, TOO, IS BEING
HOTLY DEBATED AS TO
ITS AUTHENTICITY.
THE ORIGINAL
DOCUMENT WAS NEVER
SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC,
ONLY REPRODUCTIONS
OF IT.
 FATHER PIO PI

"La Muerte Cristiana del

Doctor Rizal”
"THE RETRACTION, WRITTEN ENTIRELY
BY THE HAND OF RIZAL
AND SIGNED BY HIM AND TWO
SENIOR OFFICERS, WAS HANDED
TO THE ARCHBISHOP, NOZALEDA, A
COPY OF WHICH REMAINED
WITH THE JESUITS."
 HOWEVER, FR. PIO PI, A SPANISH
JESUIT, REPORTED THAT AS EARLY
AS 1907, THE RETRACTION OF RIZAL
WAS COPIED VERBATIM AND
PUBLISHED IN SPAIN, AND REPRINTED
IN MANILA. FR. GRACIA, WHO FOUND
THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT, ALSO
COPIED IT VERBATIM.
LATER, ANOTHER SUPPOSEDLY ORIGINAL
DOCUMENT SURFACED, IT BEARS THE
DATE “DECEMBER 29, 189C”. THE
NUMBER “0” WAS EVIDENTLY ALTERED TO
MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A LETTER C. THEN
STILL LATER, ANOTHER SUPPOSEDLY
ORIGINAL VERSION CAME UP. IT HAS THE
DATE “DECEMBER 29, 1896”. THIS TIME,
THE “0” BECAME A “6”.
THE MASTERMIND, THEY SAY, IN BOTH
LACUNA’S AND RIZAL’S SIGNATURE
FORGING WAS LAZARO SEGOVIA.
THEY WERE APPROACHED BY
SPANISH FRIARS DURING THE FINAL
DAY OF THE FILIPINO-AMERICAN WAR
TO FORGE RIZAL’S SIGNATURE.
 OTHERS WOULD LIKE TO
BELIEVE THAT THE PURPORTED
RETRACTION OF RIZAL WAS
INVENTED BY THE FRIARS TO
DEFLECT THE HEROISM OF
RIZAL WHICH WAS CENTERED
ON THE FRIAR ABUSES.
SURELY, WE MUST PUT THE QUESTION OF
RETRACTION TO REST, THOUGH RIZAL IS
A HERO, WHETHER HE RETRACTED OR
NOT, WE MUST INVESTIGATE IF HE REALLY
DID A TURN-AROUND.
If he did not, and the documents were
forgeries, then somebody has to pay for
trying to deceive a nation.
JOSE VICTOR TORRES
Personally, I did not believe he
retracted, but some documents that
was purchased by the Philippine
government from Spain in the mid-
1990s, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de
Manila,”
Popularly known as the Katipunan and Rizal
documents, the Cuerpo de Vigilancia de Manila is a
body of documents on the Philippine revolutions
that contains confidential reports, transcripts,
clippings, and photographs from Spanish and
Philippine newspapers.
“Even though it would be easy to say
he retracted all that he wrote about
the Church, it still did not change the
fact that his writings began the
wheels of change in Philippine
colonial society during the Spanish
period—a change that led to our
independence,” “The retraction is just
one aspect of the life, works, and
writings of Rizal.”
Torres noted that the controversy is irrelevant today.

“The way Rizal is taught in schools today, the retraction

means nothing,”
NICOLAS ZAFRA
“a plain unadorned fact of
history, having all the marks
and indications of historical
certainty and reality” in his
book The Historicity of Rizal’s
Retraction.
DR. AUGUSTO DE VIANA

He (Rizal) retracted. He died as a Catholic, and

a proof that he died as a Catholic was he was
buried inside the sacred grounds of Paco
Cemetery,”.
DR. AUGUSTO DE VIANA

who compared the martyr with Apolinario

Mabini, a revolutionary and free mason who
was buried in a Chinese cemetery
De Viana said it is not possible that the
retraction letter had been forged because
witnesses were present while Rizal was
signing it.
“Rizal awakened our knowledge of
nationalism. For me, that is enough. The issue
will not invalidate his works in any way.”
“Even though it would be easy to say
he retracted all that he wrote about
the Church, it still did not change the
fact that his writings began the
wheels of change in Philippine
colonial society during the Spanish
period—a change that led to our
independence,” Torres said. “The
retraction is just one aspect of the
life, works, and writings of Rizal.”
 147

ANGEL RANOSA
 148

Josephine Bracken
 149

∙Filed a lawsuit against the Rizal

family
∙She said that Rizal once made a
retraction document
 150

In Dapitan
 151

They had
a child?
 152

Is there a
Marriage
contract?
Is Josephine Bracken a
153

spy?
 154

Narsica Rizal
(1852 - 1939)
 155

Trinidad Rizal
(Trining)
 156

1 Statement (August 17, 1935,

st

3:30pm)

Si Trining ay nanindigang na ang

kanyang kapatid ay hindi nag retract
 157

“Walang katotohanan ang bagay na

iyan, sa aking kurokuro. lyan ay
panglilinlang lamang at pagupasala
pati sa isang patay na walang
magagawa na.”
-Trinidad Rizal
2nd Statement ( 1949, 2 yrs before
158

she died)
“Oo, bilang regalo iniwan niya ang kanyang
dasalan.”

“Dahil sa lumabas na dokumento ay

naniniwala na ko at namatay siya na isang
katoliko.”

“Wala rin akong matandaan na nainterview

 159

Namatay at
nilibing bang
Katoliko si Rizal?
 160

Paco Park Cemetery

A Catholic
Cemetery
 161

Rizal was buried in

unconsecrated ground
(buried outside the
inner circular wall)
 162

Hermenegildo Cruz
Examining the
"Books of Burial"
bearing the title "For
Adults-Old book of
the years 1887 to
1899 of Paco
Cemetery
Rizal’s name was found
163

on page 204, (February,

1887)

But should be found on

page 147
(December,1996)
 164

"Why was the annotation corresponding to

the ecclesiastical burial (sic) of Rizal found
in the last page of the book marked 204?
Why was his burial not noted on page 147
(or thereabout) on which are found noted
the corpses buried in the Cemetery of Paco,
during that month of December of 1896?
 165

Fr. Vicente Balaguer

Nagbalik loob si Pepe!

 166

Rizal fell a
Rizal’s family sleep
came 2nd Last mass Rizal
confession was
Before killed
10am Media
7-8pm noche
Dec 30, 1896
6:00am
Padre First Rizal and
Balaguer and Rizal signed confession Bracken got
Padre Villa the The married
Clara came Retraction retraction
Document paper was
read aloud
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT OF
DR. RIZAL'S CONVERSION
Psychological possibility of conversion
What is conversion?
 Conversion

defined by Prof. Jastrow

-Conversion applies to a marked ‘changed of heart’, an emotional regeneration.

-Conversion is predominantly a phenomenon of adolescence. A recent survey by E.

T. Clark, The Psychology of Religious Awakening, (New York, 1929), bears out the
conclusion derived from general observation. It indicates that the average age of
those who experience the change as a crisis is about seventeen (years).
In the Encyclopedia Britannica

. . . true
moral conversion is an actual overturning of values and
involves a species of new creation. It has been defined as 'a
mutation of life occurring under the impulse of an ultra-
terrestrial ideal' (De Sanctis). Or again as 'a reaction taking the
form of a psychological surrender to an ideal and issuing in
moral development' (Underwood).
Catholic Encyclopedia

"The return of the sinner to a life of virtue is

also called a conversion. More commonly do we
speak of the conversion of an infidel to the true
religion, and most commonly of the conversion
of a schismatic or heretic to the Catholic
Church."
Analyzation on the reported story
()
"He frankly declared himself a rationalist or a freethinker, admitting no other criterion of truth but the individual reason, but

upon attacking him with the logic and evidence of the Catholic truth, I told him vigorously that if he would not surrender his

understanding and his reason for the sake of faith, he would then go to appear before the judgment of God and would be

condemned very surely. Upon hearing this threat of mine, he cried and replied: 'No, I will not be condemned.' Yes, I replied,

you will go to Hell, for whether you like it or not, extra Ecclesiam Catolicam nulla datur salus. Yes, outside the Catholic

Church there is no salvation . . . Before such reprehension, he told me, much disturbed, 'Look, father, if for complacency to

you, I would say yes to everything, and sign what you present me without feeling it, I would be a hypocrite and would

offend God.' Certainly, I told him, and we do not want that; but believe that it is a pain without a second to see a person

whom you love, obstinate in error, and to see him condemned without being able to remedy it.
Consider yourself sincerely, and believe that if giving the blood and life would attain your

salvation, at this moment we would give it offering ourselves to be executed in your place.

‘But Father!' he replied sentimentally, 'what do you want me to do, for it seems that I

cannot defeat my reason?' Offer, I answered him, offer the sacrifice of your self-love to

God, and although it would be contrary to the voice of your reason, ask from God the grace

of faith, which is a gift of God, which he offers plentifully and which is attained infallibly

with a humble and persevering prayer. It is only necessary that you do not repel it. 'Well,

Father,' he said, 'I promise you that the remainder of my life-time I shall employ asking

God the grace of faith.' " 120

To make a long story short, he was said to have retracted.
at what age do we find the conversion effective?
 Conversion

defined by Prof. Jastrow

-Conversion applies to a marked ‘changed of heart’, an emotional regeneration.

-Conversion is predominantly a phenomenon of adolescence. A recent survey by E.

T. Clark, The Psychology of Religious Awakening, (New York, 1929), bears out the
conclusion derived from general observation. It indicates that the average age of
those who experience the change as a crisis is about seventeen (years).
 Conversion

defined by Prof. Jastrow

-Conversion applies to a marked ‘changed of heart’, an emotional regeneration.

-Conversion is predominantly a phenomenon of adolescence. A recent survey by E.

T. Clark, The Psychology of Religious Awakening, (New York, 1929), bears out the
conclusion derived from general observation. It indicates that the average age of
those who experience the change as a crisis is about seventeen (years).
Other supporting detail regarding with the phenomena
with person’s age
"Encyclopedia
Britannica”
In conclusion, having the age of 35, Rizal was not susceptible to the phenomena of conversion.
What are the conditions necessary to effect conversion?
reference to the Encyclopedia Britannica
Did Rizal actually convert?
the philosophical controversy
Must we not say that because Dr. Rizal, having already accepted and signed
the death sentence, the consequence of his life's work, on the morning of the
29th day of December, did not then retract on the evening of the same day,
because he would have done wrongly to do so? Can we not, nay, must we not
now say, nay, shout that such a man like Rizal, who had conceived such a
high but practical idealism, must be the man too, who would refrain from
doing what is wrong without a stronger reason for so doing? His very reason
would not give any reason at all for his retraction, how could he retract then?
His alleged retraction on this account alone is already very impossible. NO! A
THOUSAND TIMES, NO! HE WAS NOT CONVINCED, THEN HE WAS NOT
REALLY CONVERTED BEYOND A MERE LIE, HOW THEN COULD HE
RETRACT? Q.E.D.
Some Clarifications on
the Rizal’s Retraction
Controversies
 RENE ESCALANTE
OIC of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines

 “RE-EXAMINING THE LAST 24 HOURS OF RIZAL USING SPY-RESULTS”

 The Cuerpo De La Vigiliancia, (bantay sa selda ni Rizal) Federico Loreno

stated that he heard Jose Rizal is writing a letter entitled “Ang Retraktasyon”

wherein the Chief of the Firing Squad JUAN DEL FRESNO and the

Assistant of the Plaza, ELOY MAURE serves as Rizal’s eyewitnesses and

signed the retraction document.

 Also he said that the Alleged eyewitness Father Balaguer was not there as

he record the people who enter and leave Rizal’s Cell.

The book Rizal gave to Josephine when they visited
Rizal on his last hours on Earth.