The Truth About Dr. Jose Rizal: 2012

Dr. Jose Rizal

(1861 – 1896)

RIZAL For the people of Calamba, June 19 is the Grand Fiesta Day of all, being the birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, Philippine National Hero, the most illustrious son of town.

On the 150^th anniversary of Rizal’s birth, the whole town mounted a spectacular celebration to honor the National Hero. Colorful flags and banners were hung about in the streets or waved by people, some of whom traveled from the farthest corners of the province to make a pilgrimage to the hero’s hometown.

After the usual ceremonies and toasts, the pilgrims trooped to the old Rizal house, bringing with them twigs and flowers for the revered hero. Afterwards, a parade of garlanded floats rolled its way all around town, followed by music bands and street dancers. Even the weather seemed to pay tribute to the great Dr. Jose Rizal: the sun was up and bright, the skies blue and radiant.

Indeed, even though Rizal has been dead for 150 years now, he still commands a very strong presence in Calamba. In fact, Rizal Day or not, one can hardly pass by Calamba without seeing his posters and statues displayed prominently on buildings and streets. Rizal is forever enshrined in the hearts and memory of the Calambeños, the beloved hero who gave up his life for our country.

The hill of Lecheria is a short drive from the Calamba town proper. It is nestled among the foothills of the mystical Mount Makiling. During the Spanish times, the hill was where the Dominican friars kept goats and cows for milking purposes, thus earning the name LECHERIA, THE LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY (Numbers 14:7,8)”. From the hill, one can view the lovely landscape of Calamba, the Laguna de Bay, the adjoining Laguna towns, and the imposing Mount Makiling.

Lecheria, Calamba, Laguna is the place where Rizal spent his youth, preached his gospels, and supposedly replicated the miracles of the LORD Jesus Christ. Here, Rizal healed people of their illnesses and fed hundreds with only a small basket of food. Indeed, Lecheria is so steeped in legend and lore about the amazing and wondrous adventures of young Rizal.

Looking back 150 years ago, in this small peaceful Calamba town, the boy Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861. He was the seventh among the 11 children of Don Francisco Mercado and Dona Teodora Alonso. Older than Rizal were Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, and Maria. His younger siblings were Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad, and Soledad. The baby was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church of Calamba by Father Rufino Collantes with Rev. Pedro Casanas standing as sponsor.

Those are the quick facts one can gather on Rizal’s birth and family, as told and retold in hundreds of Rizal biography books, notably the standard biographies by Rafael Palma (Biografia de Rizal), Leon Ma. Guerrero (The First Filipino), and Austin Coates (Rizal: Philippine Nationalist and Martyr). Their biographies, however scholarly written, but I discovered that there was “spiritual” version of Rizal’s birth that are shrouded in mystery that is why I decided to share to all of you my dear brothers and sisters “The Truth About Dr. Jose Rizal”, That you may know Him now who really He is.

DR. JOSE RIZAL STILL LIVED

Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonzo have not earned surname of Rizal. The name FRANCISCO MERCADO RIZAL in some other books of Rizal was truly FABRICATED, therefore DR. JOSE RIZAL was their ADAPTED SON and NOT A LIGITIMATE SON. Rizal was not born by flesh, he was born by the Spirit of God.

Rizal is God Himself. He took on a human form, much like what Jesus Christ did 2,000 years ago. In fact, Jesus Christ and Jose Rizal led parallel lives even though they lived two millennia apart. Both were born in a small country under a foreign rule, performed miracles, advocated the Golden Rule, healed people, were maligned and persecuted, and gave up their lives for the people.

Unknown to many of us, Rizal is still living, 115 years after he was supposed to have been killed by the Spaniards. The man executed in Bagumbayan field at 7:03 in the morning of December 30, 1896 was a fake, a Rizal double. The genuine Rizal was not killed but still lives and walks among us. He is not a ghost, but a real man of flesh and blood although now very old, with wrinkled skin and grey hair, beard and moustache, but still wearing the same double-breasted coat he always wore, and carrying the Noli and Fili books in his right hand. At present, he has hidden himself somewhere in the forests and caves of Mount Makiling.

Dr. Jose Rizal was the prime teacher in Iglesia Watawat ng Lahi, Inc. located at Brgy Lecheria, Calamba City, founded on July 4, 1934. Also with him are the Sanggunian, the Philippine heroes. They are descending to earth from heaven everytime they will have spiritual gatherings. He instructed its members that none with you will use the Holy Bible this time as it’s not the right time to open it. Time will come that Holy Bible will be used and opened when Prophet Elijah come, because He is the One Sent from God Almighty who will explain the Bible’s prophecy and the One who will teach and turn peoples to God (Malachi 4:5,6).

DR. JOSE RIZAL AT FORT SANTIAGO

November 26, 1896 at 11:56 in the evening, Rizal was imprisoned at Fort Santiago.

December 29, 1896 at 2:08 AM, Rizal was advised by his Sentinel that he has been given a chance to make two last request before his death.

December 29, 1896, at 1:00 PM , Dr. Jose Rizal requested his jail guard or Sentinel to provide him with a “Banting ng Saging or a banana trunk” as he was given a chance by the Spaniard officers to make last request before his death.

December 29, 1896 at 7:45 PM, Dr. Jose Rizal started writing “MY LAST FAREWELL or MI ULTIMO ADIOS” inside his prison cell at Port Santiago and was completed at 4:00 o’clock in the morning of December 30.

Early in the morning of December 30, 1896, at 6:33 AM, thirty minutes before his rendezvous with a firing squad, the jail guard acceded and brought a trunk of banana to the prison cell of the condemned hero. When the jail guard momentarily left, Rizal, through his supernatural powers, created a duplicate of himself from the banana trunk. By order of the Spaniard Commander to bring Rizal to Bagumbayan, the Sentinel humbly said to Rizal: “Time Is It, Sir!”. At this time the sentinel found two Rizals which are exactly the same inside the prison cell. At 6:56 AM, the Spaniard Commander passed by the prison cell and picked up Rizal. The sentinel said to his Superior, Sir! Still another Rizal remain inside his prison cell! But his superior did not believed him as he did not see the other Rizal which is the original Rizal, and the one picked up by the Spaniard Commander is the duplicate of Rizal.The sentinel leaved the prison cell opened and genuine Rizal went out of his cell and proceed to the nearby restaurant Hotel Francia and eat his breakfast.

December 30, 1896, Friday at 7:03 AM, Dr. Jose Rizal was put to death by firing squad at Bagumbayan by the Spaniards. As the rule of the Spanish clergy prevail, six (6) filipino soldiers were assigned to shot Rizal and at their back were the Spaniard soldiers who will shot them if they will not comply. Prior to firing squad, Rizal was ordered to face back before the gunners to proved that Rizal was guilty of committing crimes against the Spaniards, but at the last signal to fire him, he turned about face and fell to the ground facing to his executioners proving that he is not guilty. Thus, the man executed by the Spaniards was not the genuine Rizal, but his double. In fact, when the Spaniards checked the ground where Rizal fell in Bagumbayan, they could not find blood or even a drop of blood.

When the news of Rizal’s death spread, some guardias civil stationed near the Hotel Francia in Manila shouted, “Viva! We have finally killed the indio!” But the owner of Hotel Francia, an old woman, who went out to see what the shouting was all about told them:“How can you say Rizal is dead? I served his breakfast here just now! Look, there’s still the plate he had eaten from, and leaved 10 centavos coins of tip money.

At 7:19 AM, December 30, 1896, the body of Rizal, the condemned hero was put inside a wooden coffin provided by his family and brought to Manila Bay by eight (8) peoples including Paciano, Rizal’s elder brother where there is a “Baroto” or Banca waiting for Him to be taken to Calamba by sea. At 8:15 AM, sailing started through paddles by eight (8) peoples on board. Family members, relatives, friends and military officers and soldiers were also sailed to Calamba using Barotos. At 11:50 AM, Baroto with Dr. Jose Rizal’s remains arrived at Laguna de Bay in Aplaya St., Barangay Lingga, Calamba. At 12:10 in the afternoon, arrived at Rizal’s residence at San Juan St. Calamba carried by a “two horsed Kalisa”. Many Calambeños were become happy when Dr. Jose Rizal died, because they did not believe in him and instead they criticized him. It’s really happened what JESUS

said in the Bible: And He said, “TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, NO PROPHET IS ACCEPTABLE IN HIS OWN TOWN, (Luke 4:24; Mark 6:4; John 4:44 and Matthew 13:57)”. Exactly the same what happened to Jesus Christ when He was persecuted by his fellow Jews and nailed to death at the cross.

After almost 21 hours of eternment, on December 31, 1896 at 9:15 AM, the remains of Dr. Jose Rizal was brought back to Bagumbayan for eternal repose. Pit for Rizal was already prepared upon arrival, and after a short Mass at 12:56 in the afternoon, Rizal was buried at the place where he shot by firing squad. The Spaniards paid tribute to the condemned hero’sburial and the eight spanish soldiers shot upward seven times as “Gun Salute”.

The news about Dr. Jose Rizal from the owner of Hotel Francia reached before the Spaniards and the guardias civil reported this matter to their commanders. To prove if Rizal is still alive, on January 4, 1897 at 8:00 AM, the Spaniard commander ordered to exhumed immediately the body of Rizal and they find out that the coffin in a pit contained a “Banana Trunk or Katawan ng Tinibaang Saging na Saba”, the hat and shoes of Rizal. They decided to keep it secret what they found so that people will believe that Rizal was indeed killed. They taken out the Banana Trunk inside the pit and disposed it secretly. In fact the Sentinel who guard Rizal at Fort Santiago prison cell was also killed by his superior to keep silence on Rizal’s death.

Because the Spanish authorities feared the filipino people might riot, they had transferred Rizal’s remains (hat and shoes) in Paco Park on March 19, 1897 with his name’s initials on the cross reversed – R.P.J. On August 17, 1898, Rizal’s sisters had his grave dug and found out that he was buried without a coffin. Only his hat and shoes remained. This in order to confirmed by Rizal’s family that the news about Rizal from the owner of Hotel Francia is true, and found out really true that the Rizal being executed by firing squad was not the genuine Rizal but his double, and therefore their brother Dr. Jose Rizal is still alive.

SPIRITUAL : Jesuschrist descended to earth from heaven to save the worlds.

MATERIAL : Dr. Jose Rizal descended to earth from heaven to save the Philippines from

the hands of the enemies or the Spaniards through his wisdom, and teach the

Filipino peoples the right way how to worship God in truth and righteousness.

Remember : IF DR. JOSE RIZAL NEVER EXISTED, JESUSCHRIST WILL NEVER EXIST.

IF JESUSCHRIST NEVER EXISTED, DR. JOSE RIZAL WILL ALSO NEVER EXIST.

Meaning “They are ONE”.

Dr. Jose Rizal and Prophet Elijah has equal power from God bearing the same Spirit. Both of them were re-incarnated by the Spirit of Jesuschrist as the same with Melquisedec, the King of Salem, priest of the Most High God (Hebrew 7:1,2). Although they were bearing the same Spirit of Christ they have their own “Mission” to accomplish as God given them.

I S R A E L

I L

S I

A A

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MALACHI 4:5,6 – “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”

Prophet Elijah was the last prophet whom did not meet with death because he was arisen by God to heaven. He is the one sent

by God Almighty on earth at these last days as the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, the Teacher, to turn peoples to God:

John 16:7 - Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for If I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

John 14:26 – But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Acts 1:4, 8 – And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerosalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witness in Jerosalem.

Matthew 11:14 – And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.

Matthew 17:10, 11 – And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” He replied, “Elijah does come, and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.”

John 6:28, 29 – Then they said to Him, “What must we do, to be doing the work of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom He sent.”

JOHN 13:20 - “Truly, truly , I say to you, he who receives anyone whom I send receives me: and he who receives me

receives him who sent me.”

In fact, Prophet Elijah was became our Teacher in Jerosalem Religious Group of the Philippines from 1957-1997, forty years. Jerosalem is the True Church of Christ: Acts 15:16, 17, 18, Zech 1:16, Matt 16:18, Psalm 147:2, Romans 9:27, Isa 37:32, Isa 4:3, Zachariah 8:7, 8, Gal 4:26, Heb 12:22, 23, Micah 4:1, 2.

None other church written in the Holy Scriptures according to the prophecy except Jerosalem.

The prophecy according to Malachi 4:5, 6 have done to us at JRGP. This is the “Greatest” things I have ever discovered and witnessed in my life! The Teachings of Prophet Elijah, the Holy Spirit is direct to us from God the Father in heaven (John 6:45, John 16:13).

The teachings are in Tagalog but if you cannot understand Tagalog, you will hear your own dialect or language spoken.

Whatever nationals you are you don’t need an Interpreter, you can hear your own languages. Say: you are Chinese then you will hear Mandarin, you are Japanese- Nehongo, American – English, Visaya - Waray..etc. and its really happened to us at JRGP (Acts 2:1-8).

DR. JOSE RIZAL, in Spirit, was also became our special Teacher in our Spiritual gatherings specially during our General Assembly every June 18 -19^th. He is old, but He is alive. Presently he is somewhere in the caves of Mount Makiling, the Holy Mountain, and He will show himself to all at the time of the Armagedon, the end of times, to save those who believe in Him.

REVELATION 7:1,2,3,4

After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. Then I saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, or the sea, or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.” And I heard the numbers of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the son of Israel.

Prophet Elijah, our Teacher in Jerosalem, the True Church of God, justified that the angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with seal of the living God who said “till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads”. is none other than Gat. Dr. Jose Rizal.

He is one with Prophet Elijah who sealed us or teach us in Jerosalem in forty years. We heard their voices everytime they preach us and really we, too, can make a reason with them. In his Mi Ultimo Adios in 10^th paragraph justified that we can hear his voice..

”If you hear the sound of cittern or psaltery

It is I, dear country, who, a song t’you intone.”

ECCLESIASTES 9:13, 14, 15, 16 – I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege works against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.

A poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city, is none other than Gat. Dr. Jose Rizal.

THE REAL MANIFISTATION OF DR. JOSE RIZAL

God Rizal is one of the four Supreme Kings in Heaven. The other three are the Diyos Ama (God the Father), Diyos Anak (God the Son), and Diyos Espiritu Santo (God the Holy Spirit). However, it must be noted that they are only One God.

One day in heaven, the voice of God overheard, saying: the Fourth Person (God Rizal) must be brought to earth as he is “Excess” in the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit).

As God Almighty commanded, the Seven (7) Archangels, they are: Michael Salve, Gabriel Deus, Rafael Sueta, Uriel Csarca, Seatiel Salacte, Hudiel Meus and Barachel Etifani, accompanied God Rizal as he traveled to earth. Their journey started in 1786 and ended in 1861, a period of 75 years. It was not clear why it took them that long to reach the earth. Then finally they arrived on earth at the Golden Land of Pots (Ginintuang Lupain ng Kabangaan – and later was named Kabangaan to Calamba) on June 19, 1861, Friday, at 4:00 PM. God Rizal who was in Spirit, arrived on earth –- but because of the different elements and climate conditions of the place, he was transformed into a baby boy. In other words, he was born as a human.

The seven Archangels went to the three mystical sisters Mariang Makiling, Mariang Ararat and Mariang Sinukuan and requested them to take care of the baby boy. Afterwards, the archangels went back to heaven. The three sisters named the baby Jove Rex Al. Jove is the secret name of God: Rex meaning King, and Al meaning all. Jove Rex Al thus means God, King of All. This eventually became Jose Rizal.

But the three sisters were worried about what people might say if they took care of the baby boy because they were all maidens! They therefore decided to find a couple to take care of the baby. They heard of a well-to-do couple who was reputed to be the most respected in town. One night, the three sisters went to the house of this couple named Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso. They left the child by the door but before doing so, they embroidered the name Jose Rizal on the baby’s cloth diaper so that the baby’s name would not be changed. The three sisters hurriedly left when they sensed that Don Francisco and Dona Teodora had waken to the sound of baby cries. The couple was overjoyed to see a baby left on their door step, and decided to take it as their own child. Moreover, during those times, it was considered lucky to be the foster parents of an abandoned child. Thus, Francisco Mercado and Teodora Alonso were not the real parents of Rizal. Rizal was, after all, a God. The couple did not know that they are taking care of God Rizal as a baby.

Here is a collection of some of Jose Rizal’s quotations taken from the letters, novel, articles and poems:

Law has no skin, reason has no nostrils. - (The Philippines: A Century Hence)
To wish that the alleged child remain in its swaddling clothes tis to risk that it may turn against its nurse and flee, tearing away the old rags that bind it. -(The Philippines: A Century Hence)
The tyranny of some is possible only through the cowardice of others.-(Letter to the Young Women of Malolos - translated by Gregorio Zaide)
A government that rules a country from a great distance is the one that has the most need for a free press more so even than the government of the home country. (The Philippines: A Century Hence)
Encystment of a conquering people is possible, for it signifies complete isolation, absolute inertia, debility in the conquering element. Encystment thus means the tomb of the foreign invader. -(The Philippines: A Century Hence)
While a people preserves its language: it preserves the marks of liberty.
It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great deal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.
I wish to show those who deny us patriotism that we know how to die for our country and convictions. -(inscribed at Fort Santiago Walls)
Ignorance is servitude, because as a man thinks, so he is; a man who does not think for himself and allowed himself to be guided by the thought of another.
No good water comes from muddy spring. No sweet fruit comes from a bitter seed. -(Letter to the Young Women of Malolos)
Youth is a flower-bed that is to bear rich fruit and must accumulate wealth for its descendants. -(Letter to the Young Women of Malolos)
Maturity is the fruit of infancy and the infant is formed on the lap of its mother. -(Letter to the Young Women of Malolos)
A tree that grows in the mud is unsubsantial and good only for firewood.-(Letter to the Young Women of Malolos)
Man works for an object. Remove that object and you reduce him into inaction. -(Indolence of the Filipino - La Solidaridad -1890)
One only die once and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again. - (Letter to Mariano Ponce - 1890)

Man works for an object. Remove that object and you reduce him into inaction. -(Indolence of the Filipino - La Solidaridad 1890)
One only die once and if one does not die well, a good opportunity is lost and will not present itself again. - (Letter to Mariano Ponce - 1890)

All men are born equal, naked, without bonds. God did not create man to be a slave; nor did he endow him with intelligence to have him hoodwinked, or adorn him with reason to have him decieved by others. -(Letter to the Young Women of Malolos)

Without education and liberty, which are the soil and the sun of man, no reform is possible , no measure can give the result desired. – (Indolence of the Filipinos-La Solidaridad)

"I die just when I see the dawn break,

Through the gloomof night, to herald the day;

And if color is lacking my blood thou shalt take,

Pour'd out at need for thy dear sake,

To dye with its crimson the waking ray".

Dr. Jose Rizal was executed by firing squad at Bagumbayan, Manila on December 30, 1896 at 7:03 AM.

Rizal Monument at Luneta Park

The Rizal monument was created by a Swiss sculptor named Richard Kissling. The site is guarded 24 hours a day 7 days a week by ceremonial soldiers known as Kabalyeros de Rizal.

On December 26, 1896, after a trial, Rizal was sentenced to die, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition, and of forming illegal association. On the eve of his execution while confined in Fort Santiago, Rizal wrote a poem Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell) and hid it inside the gas burner and gave the gas burner to his sister Trinidad and his wife Josephine.

He was executed on December 30, 1896 at the age of 35 by a firing squad at Bagumbayan, now known as Luneta Park in Manila.

Jose Rizal was a man of many accomplishments - a linguist, a novelist, a poet, a scientist, a doctor, a painter, an educator, a reformer and a visionary, he left his people his greatest patriotic poem, Mi Ultimo Adios to serve as an inspiration for the next generations.

Through Dr. Jose Rizal's literary works, he opened the minds of the Filipino people to fight for their rights in their own country. His two most famous novels with highly nationalistic and revolutionary ideas are Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, two novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy. These two novels provoked the animosity of those in power and these literary works led himself into trouble with the Spanish officials. He was imprisoned at Fort Santiago from July 6-15, 1892 then exiled to Dapitan until 1896.

During his exile, the rebellion by the militant secret society Katipunan had become a full blown revolution and his enemies lost no time in pressing him down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with these revolts and he was again locked up in Fort Santiago on November 3, 1896. He was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal associations. In his prison cell he wrote a poem now known as Mi Ultimo Adios, a masterpiece, expressing not only his love for his country but also that of countrymen.

MY LAST FAREWELL (MI ULTIMO ADIOS) OF DR. JOSE RIZAL

(His friend Mariano Ponce gave it the title of MI ULTIMO ADIOS, as it originally had none)

Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,

Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,

With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;

And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,

I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,

Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,

The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,

Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,

It is the same if asked by home and Country.

I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show

And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;

If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,

Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,

And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,

My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,

Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient,

Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane

Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.

My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,

Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;

Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;

To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,

And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity!

If over my tomb some day, you would see blow,

A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses,

Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so,

And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow,

Warmth of your breath, a whiff of your tenderness.

Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry,

Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light,

In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh,

And should a bird descend on my cross and alight,

Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site.

Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize

And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky;

Let a friend shed tears over my early demise;

And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high,

Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I.

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,

For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;

For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;

For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,

And pray too that you may see your own redemption.

And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry

And only the dead to vigil there are left alone,

Don't disturb their repose, don't disturb the mystery:

If you hear the sounds of cittern or psaltery,

It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.

And when my grave by all is no more remembered,

With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,

Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered

And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,

Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:

Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;

Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:

Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,

Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.

My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,

Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, harken

There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,

I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen

Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,

Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;

Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;

Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;

Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.

-END-

Dr.Jose Rizal Monument - site of countless wreath-laying activities year round honouring the national hero.

ANG BAYAN KONG PILIPINAS

Ang bayan kong Pilipinas

Lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak

Pagibig ang sa kaniyang palad

Nag-alay ng ganda’t dilag

At sa kaniyang yumi at ganda

Dayuhan ay nahalina

Bayan ko binihag ka

nasadlak sa dusa,

Ibon mang may layang lumipad

Kulungin mo at umiiyak

Bayan pa kayang sakdal dilag

Ang di magnasang makaalpas

Pilipinas kong minumutya

Pugad ng luha at dalita

Aking adhika Makita kang sakdal laya.

*************************************

This is the center place of the Golden Land of Pots (Ginintuang Lupain ng Kabangaan) where Dr. Jose Rizal descended from God the Father in heaven. This was called the Golden Land of Pots as Pots contained water which means the words of God.

History

The name of the city comes from a legend that during the early time of the Spanish period in the country, two "guardias civil" or soldiers were lost and passing through what is now Calamba. The soldiers met a young lady who came from a river carrying a jar of water and a clay stove. The soldiers unwittingly in Spanish language and in authoritative tone, to conceal the fact that they were lost, asked the local maiden the name of the place they were in. The lady, who speaks only her native language, naturally thought she was being interrogated about what she was carrying and nervously uttered "kalan-banga", meaning "clay stove" (kalan) and "water jar" (banga). Because the Spaniards could not pronounce it properly, the town has been called Calamba supposedly since then. This legend is immortalized with a large concrete water jar erected in the city plaza with the names of the city's barangays written on its surface. It is considered the World's Biggest Clay pot.

Dr. Jose Rizal’s Calamba Residence “front and side view”

Dr. Jose Rizal’s Residence “back view”

Smaller Replica of Rizal’s Ancestral residence

Dr. Jose Rizal’s “Kalisa”

Dr. Jose Rizal at his detention cell at Fort Santiago

Dr. Jose Rizal’s Painting when He was executed by firing squad at Bagumbayan on December 30, 1896

Aplaya Sea Port, Bgy Lingga, Calamba City

This was the place in Laguna de Bay where the “Baroto or Banca” with Dr. Jose Rizal’s coffin alongside from Manila de Bay departed at 8:15 AM, December 30, 1896 and arrived at Aplaya Sea Port at 11:50 AM.

Way from Aplaya Sea Port, Brgy Lingga where the coffin of Dr. Jose Rizal was transported from to Rizal’s residence at San

Juan St. Calamba, City arrived at 12:10 in the afternoon.

The tallest (22 feet) Dr. Jose Rizal’s Monument made from bronze materials inaugurated on June 19, 2011, 150^th birth anniversary (1861-2011) of the Philippine National Hero at Calamba City.

LIFE AND WRITINGS OF DR. JOSE RIZAL

Dr. Jose Rizal
(1861-1896)

Dr. Jose Rizal was born on June 19, 1861 in Calamba, Laguna to Don Francisco Mercado from Biñan and Doña Teodora Alonso Realonda from Manila. It was said that his paternal grand-parents were descendants of one Domingo Lamco, a Chinese immigrant from the Chinchew District of Fookein, China. Doña Teodora’s father Don Lorenzo Alberto Alonso was also said to be very “Chinese in appearance.”

In compliance with the 1849 decree of Governor-General Claveria regarding surnames, the Alonsos added the surname Realonda, while the Mercados chose Rizal, meaning “of rice or” “of green fields.”

To the marriage of Don Francisco and Doña Teodora, the following were born: Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olimpia, Lucia, Maria, Jose, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad and Soledad.

Don Francisco was a landholder and also a leasee of the Dominican lands in Calamba. Before Jose was born, he built a house probably the best residential edifice constructed in the center of the town. Here Jose was baptized by Fr. Rufino Collantes on June 22, 1861; another priest, Father Pedro Casanas, stood as godfather.

At three years old, he learned the alphabet from his mother who also taught him to appreciate Spanish poetry although he did not speak Spanish well. An uncle took care of his intellectual development; another uncle, Gregorio, instilled in him the importance of work, judgment and visualization of what was previously seen, and a burly uncle Manuel, helped him developed his physical strength for as a boy, Jose was frail and sickly. He took long rides on horseback, moulded clay and wax figures, developed proficiency in sleight-of-hand tricks and held high respect for the rights of others in work and in play. This behavior was the result of the influence of Fr. Leoncio Lopez on him.

At age nine, he was sent to study under the schoolmaster Don Justiniano Aquino Cruz in Biñan. After a few months, the tutor reported to his parents that their son had nothing more to learn in school. Jose did not only show his academic excellence but he also displayed prowess in physical contests.

In 1871, while Jose was on vacation, the members of his family prepared for his enrollment in Manila. In spite of the objections of his mother, Paciano, his brother took him to Manila and at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, he took entrance examinations and passed them with high ratings. Going back to Calamba for vacation, he found his mother involved in a court case against the Dominican friars who subsequently had her jailed. This event made him decide to stay home for a while thus his enrollment in the Ateneo instead of the friar owned Letran College. It was only through the intercession of Dr. Manuel Xeres Burgos, a nephew of Fr. Jose Burgos, and a close friend of Paciano, that Jose was finally admitted by Fr. Magin Ferando to enroll at the Ateneo. In the same year, Paciano, then a student in the Colegio de San Jose lost interest in his studies, an offshoot of his “academic encounters” in his classes with his mentors. For this behavior, he was also forbidden to take his final examinations in the Colegide San Jose.

The Ateneo de Manila became an excellent training ground for the extremely talented and brilliant Jose. Here, the Jesuits were impartial to both Filipinos and Spanish students. After a week, Rizal was promoted. For besting his classmates, he was emperor after a month. He read avidly Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo and Cantu’s Universal History. He sculptured an image of the Sacred Heart and the Jesuit Fathers, becoming aware of his religious sentiments, customs and progress, admitted him to the Congregation of Mary.

After five years in the Ateneo, he graduated on March 14, 1877 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Fathers Francisco Paula de Sanchez and Pedro Villaclara were proud of their tremendous influence on his academic achievements. In Ateneo, his works were: Felicitacion, Por la Educacion Recibe Lustre La Patria, Un Recuerdo a Mi Pueblo, and El Heroismo de Colon.

In 1878, Jose enrolled in the college of medicine of the University of Santo Tomas, in addition to a course in surveying which he also finished. In the literary contest sponsored by the Liceo Literario-Artistico, his poem, To The Filipino Youth, (A La Juventud Filipina) won first prize. On the occasion of the 263rd death anniversary of Cervantes, Rizal’s entry entitled, The Council of the Gods, won the highest award. But the coveted prize was given eventually by the Board of Judges to a Spaniard, despite the vigilant criticism of the press. He also wrote, Beside the Pasig which was highly regarded.

He found out that student life at the pontifical university was frustrating. There were discriminations against Filipinos in favor of Spaniards by the Dominican friars. He found the method of teaching uninspiring. Once, while on vacation in Calamba, he was brutally assaulted by Lieutenant Porta of the Civil Guards for failure to render courtesy to him one evening. This accident led him to decide finally to continue his studies abroad.

Without the knowledge of his parents, his uncle Antonio Rivera was able to secure secretly a passage ticket for him to board the Salvadora for Spain. This was made possible through the help of his other relatives and his friend Chenggoy (Jose Cecilio). But his Jesuit teachers in Ateneo knew of his going abroad, having been consulted earlier. Armed with letters of introductions to important persons in Madrid, he had his brother Paciano take him to Manila, who also gave him P356 as pocket money, and boarded the boat for Singapore where he took another boat, the French steamer,Djemnah for Europe.

After one and a half months travel, he arrived in Madrid where the liberal atmosphere greatly impressed him. At the Central University of Madrid, he enrolled in medicine and in Philosophy and Letters. And as often as his time allowed, he went to the San Fernando School of Fine Arts to take art courses. He bought books and avidly read them and lost himself in hard work and study whenever loneliness weighed on him. Attacks of homesickness inspired him to write “You Ask Me For Verses.” He joined theCirculo Hispano-Filipino whose members were Filipino residents in Madrid and some Spanish-born students. He wrote El Amor Patrio wherein he expressed his love of country. In La Solidaridad, he published, The Indolence of the Filipinos to refute the Spanish criticism that the Filipinos were indolent and lazy. He said that the colonial policy of divesting the Filipinos of the fruits of their toil, the climate that was conducive to the slow tempo of progress, the lack of incentives to work harder were some causes why the Filipinos were seemingly indolent. His other articles were Ingratitude, Without A Name, The Philippines in the Spanish Cortes, and The Philippines A Century Hence.

At the Ingles Restaurant on June 25, 1884, on the occasion of the Filipino celebration of the winning of Luna and Hidalgo in the Fine Arts Exposition in Madrid, he eloquently said that “Juan Luna and Felix R. Hidalgo are glories of Spain in the Philippines...that genius was a patrimony of all, cosmopolitan like space, like God.”

In 1884, he obtained his Licentiate in Medicine followed by Licentiate in Philosophy and Letters on June 19, 1885. By this time, he had already started writing the Noli Me Tangere but, desirous to learn more of his profession, left in 1885 for Paris, to become an assistant in the clinic of Dr. Louis de Wecker, a famous ophthalmologist. In 1886, he was in Heidelberg, Germany where he got acquainted with Doctors Otto Becker and Hans Mever. He attended lectures in psychology and history at the University of Heidelberg. In Leipzig, he translated Schiler’s William Tell to Tagalog and in Berlin, befriended Dr. Feodor Jagor, author of Travels in the Philippines.

The Noli was ready for publication when he was in Berlin but he did not have the money to print it. Luckily, Dr. Maximo Viola arrived and loaned him P300 to print the first 2,000 copies. He later paid his loan with the money he received later from his brother, Paciano. Dr. Viola noticing Rizal’s failing health, invited him for a tour of Europe. In Leitmeritz, in Austrian Bohemia (Czekoslovakia), they met Ferdinand Blumentritt, professor of geography in the Municipal Anthenum, who later became a life-long friend of Jose. By this time, after eleven months, he had mastered the German language.

The Noli me Tangere was circulated in Europe but was banned in the Philippines. Many copies were smuggled into the country and reached the homes of enlightened Filipinos. Rizal’s parents, relatives and friends advised him to stay out of the country because the Noli had made him a marked man. By this time, he was already an ophthalmologist and, feeling it was his moral obligation to save the sight of his mother, he decided to come home.

On July 23, 1887, he sailed from Europe aboard the SS Djemanh for Singapore, switched to SS Halphong and arrived in Manila on August 5, 1887. In Calamba, he operated on the eyes of his mother and restored her sight. He also treated many people who sought his help. The common folk referred to him as Dr. Uleman (German) since he came from Germany. To wean his townspeople from gambling and vices, he established a gymnasium and introduced ball games, sipa, arnis and fencing. He explored the nearby fields, hills, and mountains and on Mt. Makiling hoisted a banner.

From Calamba, he was summoned by the Governor-General Emilio Terrero to Malacañang because of a complaint by the friars about the Noli. Rizal told the friars that he was only actually portraying the conditions in the Philippines. Liberal-minded Terrero, anxious of his safety, provided him a bodyguard, Lieutenant Jose Taviel de Andrade. Once more summoned to the Governor-General’s palace, he was to hear from the authorities that his book Noli was heretical, impious and scandalous to the religious orders and injurious to the government and to the political order in the Philippines. Whereupon, Governor-General Terrero wishing to protect him further, advised him to leave.

On February 3, 1888, he left for Europe via Hongkong, Japan, the United States and England. In Tokyo, the Spanish Embassy offered him the position of interpreter with a salary of $100 a month, residence at the Embassy and other privileges. This was tempting, but he had other plans. He met O Sei-keio better known as O’Sei-san, a beautiful Japanese girl of noble descent, who became his faithful guide and interpreter.

He left Japan on February 28, 1888 aboard the SS Belgic. He arrived in San Francisco on April 18, 1888, lodged at the Palace Hotel and then took a transcontinental train to the U.S. East Coast via Chicago and the Niagara Falls in Lake Ontario. He stayed at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York for a while and sailed for England aboard the SS City of Rome, arriving in Liverpool on May 24, 1888. He went down to London where he boarded with the Bousted Family at 37 Chalcot Crescent, Primrose. Through Mr. Antonio Ma. Regidor, he met Dr. Rienhold Rost of the London Library and Museum where he came across Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, a book published in Mexico sometime in 1609 which related that, among other things, Filipinos had a fairly well-advanced state of civilization long before the Spaniards came. He also read Colin’s Labor Evangelica and another rare book entitledRelacion de las Islas Filipinas by Father Chirino. Since copies of Morga’s book were already rare, he copied and annotated it. As a writer, he also contributed articles to the Trubner’s Record, a magazine which specialized on oriental culture, particularly on Tagal folklores. In England, he also wrote The Vision of Father Rodriquez in answer to the work of the same priest entitledQuestions of Supreme Interest. He also sculptured Triumph of Death Over Life,Triumph of Science Over Death and Prometheus Bound.

He spoke Spanish, French, German, English, Dutch, Greek, Latin and Tagalog. He had knowledge of Ilocano, Visayan, Russian, Sanskrit, Arabic, Swedish, Hebrew, Malayan, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese and Italian.

He was romantically linked with one of the Beckett sisters, Gertrude. But he did not marry her because duty to his country was far above anything else in his life. In fact, he had fallen in love with other women before he met Gertrude, like Susanne Jacoby of Belgium, O Sei-san of Japan, Nellie Bousted of France, Consuelo Ortiga of Madrid, Leonora Valenzuela of Intramuros, Leonor Rivera of Tarlac and Segundina Katigbak of Batangas.

In March 1899, he left for Paris where he proposed the organization of an International Association of Filipinologists with Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt as president. This did not materialize. Hoping to live more economically, he left the next year for Belgium but here conditions were the same as those in Paris. He lived in penury and want. The Filibusterismo was ready for publication but he lacked the necessary funds. Valentin Ventura, a rich Filipino advanced him money to print the Fili in Ghent in 1891. In Belgium he also met Jose Alejandrino, Teodoro Evangelista and Abreu who were studying in the University of Ghent.

Depressing news reached him from home. His sweetheart Leonor Rivera married Engineer Kipping; his folks were ejected en masse from Calamba; and the Spanish officials who were sympathetic to the reform movement turned hostile. He took his vacation at Biarritz at the invitation of the Bousteds. While there, brooding over his loss of Leonor Rivera, Nellie Bousted proved to be a balm for his wounded feelings. Later, he left for Paris then went to Marseilles and boarded the SS Melbourne for Hongkong. With his dwindling funds, he received money for his passage ticket sent him by Jose Ma. Basa, a rich Filipino merchant living in exile in Hongkong.

Following the advice of his parents, relatives and friends, he resided in Hongkong and practiced medicine to earn a living. Later some members of his family joined him. Their fare were contributions of Filipinos headed by Jose Anacleto Ramos (Ishikawa). In Hongkong, he became a friend of Dr. Lorenzo Pereyra, a Portuguese and Mr. Frazier-Smith, editor of theHongkong Telegraph. To help resettle the Calambeños ousted from the friar lands he attempted to found a colony in Borneo. With his aim, he took with the help of his friends a two-week trip to North Borneo aboard the SS Memnon. The British authorities were already agreeable to a 950-year lease of the proposed Filipino colony in Borneo but Governor-General Emilio Despujol disapproved the whole plan.

Desirous of sharing his countrymen’s hardships, he left Hongkong for home even if he was clearly headed for danger. June 26, 1892, He arrived in Manila with his sister Lucia aboard the SS Don Juan. He was honored by his friends and relatives but wherever he went, the places he visited were searched or placed under surveillance. Even entire neighborhoods were searched. A few days later, he was summoned to Malacañan. Allegedly found among his beddings which were forwarded later to the customhouse along with his baggage was a leaflet untitled Pobres Frailes, a sarcastic allusion to the friars.

He was arrested on July 6, 1892. Governor-General Despujol published in the Gazette the reasons for his arrest and copies were forwarded to the Spanish Embassy in Hongkong for circulation.

The British Consul issued an unofficial statement on the strange manner he was arrested. The editor of the Hongkong Telegraph devoted an entire column of the newspaper on the sad news of his detention. Therewith, he was deported to Dapitan on July 15, 1892. Because he did not retract masonry even at the advise of his Jesuit teachers in Ateneo, he had to stay with Ricardo Carnicero, the Military commandant in Dapitan.

In Dapitan, seeing the need of the people there, he established a clinic, school, and improved the lighting and water system. On Sundays, together with Father Sanchez, one of his favorite teachers in Ateneo, he conducted religious classes for the inhabitants. He bought a piece of land in Sitio Talisay where he planted coconuts, sugar cane, cacao, and various fruit trees. Loneliness impelled him to write Mi Retiro. But he reflected the strength of his spirit when he wrote Hymn To The Talisay Tree.

He corresponded unceasingly with Ferdinand Blumentritt. He gathered specimens of Philippine animal life and sent them to the museum at Dresden, Germany. Besides his close relatives who visited him in Dapitan, an Irish girl came to Dapitan with her blind foster father, Engineer George Tauffer, who needed eye treatment. She was Josephine Bracken who later became his wife.

He explored the coast of Mindanao. Sometimes he stayed for several days. Some of his friends offered to spirit him away or pick him up far out at sea to bring him to Singapore, but he refused.

He applied for the position of surgeon in Cuba where the Spanish soldiers were badly afflicted with diseases while fighting the rebels under Jose Marti. Granted his request, he sailed for Manila on July 31, 1896 only to find out that the boat that was to take him to Cuba had already left the day before. As he was still under detention, he was transferred to the Castillathen anchored in Cavite. The thought of resuming his travels inspired him to write the poem The Song of the Traveller.

He was finally able to sail for Spain aboard the Isla de Panay which took him to Singapore. While this was refueling at Singapore, Pedro Roxas urged him to leave the boat assuring him that he would be safe and free from his enemies under the British Territory. He refused.

On September 30, 1896 while the boat was in the Middle East, the ship captain received a telegram order for his arrest. The Philippine Revolution had finally erupted. Brought to Barcelona, he was lodged in Montjuich Penitentiary and was ordered the next day to take his baggages on board the Colon that would take him to Manila to stand trial.

At Singapore, while the boat was at dock, a writ of habeas corpus was filed in the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements for his release on the ground that he was illegally detained. The move was inspired by Dr. Antonio Ma. Regidor of London and some British lawyers who, through Lord Hugh Fort, attempted to free him by court proceedings. But Judge Lionel Cox ruled that the Colon was a troopship flying the Spanish Flag and that he was a Spanish subject. Therefore his case was not under British jurisdiction.

Upon his arrival in Manila on November 3, 1896, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago. On November 26, 1896, he was tried by the military court presided by Judge Advocate Enrique Alcocer at the Cuartel de Espana. In spite of the spirited defense of his counsel, Lieutenant Luis Taviel de Andrade, on the charges of rebellion, sedition and illegal organization of societies against him, he was meted the death penalty. He was not able to confront the witnesses who testified against him. Incriminating information linking him to the rebellion was just read to him.

On the eve prior to his execution he wrote the poem, Mi Ultimo Adios which he hid in the alcohol burner. Presumably he retracted masonry; married Josephine Bracken before a priest, with guards as witnesses, and wrote letters to professor Blumentritt, to his brother Paciano; and to his beloved father and mother.

On December 30, 1896, he was marched out of Fort Santiago toward Bagumbayan Field. With him were Fathers March and Villaclara and his legal counsel, Luis Taviel de Andrade. Before he left Fort Santiago he gave the alcohol burner in which he hid the poem, Mi Ultimo Adios, to his sister, Trinidad, and to his wife Josephine, he gave the book of Thomas Kempis,Imitation of Christ. He handed his belt to his nephew, Mauricio before he was shot to death.

The Spanish doctor, Ruiz y Castillo felt his pulse and found it normal. He faced the all-Filipino soldiers of the firing squad who were in turn heavily guarded by the Spanish soldiers, toward Manila Bay. Volleys were fired. He fell but with a great effort, he turned about face and fell facing his executioners.

Because the authorities feared the people might riot, they had him buried in Paco Park with his name’s initials reversed – R.P.J. On August 17, 1898, his sisters had his grave dug and found out that he was buried without a coffin. Only his hat and shoes remained.

Lunes, Mayo 7, 2012