Known for his association with Dutch, people were enthralled by his charm, wit, and intelligence. He created an indelible remark and reputation wherever he may be, building friendship and relationships.
His exposure to the as a youth to the hurdles under the Spanish colonial government had stimulated him the need for change in the system of how the country was being governed. He spent most of the time with his older brother Paciano who had been linked to Filipino priests (Gomez, Burgos and Zamora) who pursued reform within the Catholic Church toward equality between the Filipino and Spanish priests. The latter were indicted as revolutionists and executed under the Spanish colonial government.
Jose Rizal witnessed how the Spanish authorities regarded his beloved mother Teodora Mercado who was accused of attempting to poison her cousin and detained in Santa Cruz, Laguna. His mother had to walk sixteen kilometers from their home to the jail and was imprisoned for 2 and a half years until they triumphed for an appeal which cleared the charges at the highest court of the Spanish government.
In first his first stay in Europe, Rizal wrote Noli Me Tangere. The novel was written in Spanish and first published in Berlin, Germany in 1887. It narrates about a young Filipino man who travels to Europe to study and returns home with new awareness to the inequalities and corruption in the country.
Noli Me Tangere was an intense criticism of the Spanish colonial system and Philippine society in general which drew harsh reactions from the elite, the church and the government. In this novel, Rizal employed elaborate characters epitomize both the tormentors and the tormented, concentrating on countrymen who had espoused to the colonizer’s custom than preserving nationality, the Spanish friars who were exposed for their debauchery, gluttony and self-seeking minds, and the impoverished and tyrannized society by the Church and the state.
The comparison between the lives of Jesus and Rizal the Christlike heroism has been well defined by Rizal's biographer Austin Coates who says that like Jesus, the former was sent into the world to fulfill a purpose, for which both were called for a sacrifice even up to the point of their death – Jesus for the redemption of humanity from sin for and Rizal for the redemption of his people from cruelty.[2]
The Governor General of the Philippine Islands summoned Rizal as returned to the country to explain accusation on inciting a rebellion. Although he was acquitted by defending himself commendably, his name remained on the watch list of the colonial government. In the same way, his efforts created an enormous upheaval in the Catholic Church causing him excommunication.
The Spanish government apprehended him as he returned to the Philippines in 1892. He was exiled to Dapitan (southernmost island group of the Philippines, Mindanao) for being accused of involvement in rebellion. While in the island, he set up a school that taught English to young boys, run agricultural projects on abaca (a banana-like plant which fiber is developed into rope), continued practicing medicine and eventually met Josephine Bracken.[5]
Like Jesus, Rizal was also aware that death would be the ultimate demand and final act of his redemptive purpose. When Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He said to his disciples: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day” (Mark 10:33). During His agony in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 26:36), Jesus prostrated in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)
Conversely, before his second return to the Philippines, Rizal wrote two letters, his Testamento Politico on June 20, 1892, in Hong Kong, where he confided that his decision to go back would endanger his life but faced this reality to obey his conscience in exchange of autonomy from unjust oppression of his country. In a separate occasion on October 9, 1896, he was again going back to the Philippines after an arrest while on his way to serve as volunteer doctor for the Spanish Army fighting Cuban rebels, in which he accounted in his diary by tranquilly saying, “May God’s will always be done … Oh Lord. Thou art my hope, my consolation! Thy will be done and I am only too ready to obey it.”
Rizal continued his writing despite the corollary by writing another novel El Filibusterismo which was published in 1891. Unlike in Noli whose central character is played by Ibarra, a peace advocate toward reforms in the system, the El Filibusterismo is led by Simeo who was more radical and desired to stir up an armed rebellion to terminate cruelty. In effect, this had opened the eyes of the government to revolt against and depose the Spanish colonizers.
Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Filipino Masons in Spain turn to be close friends of Morayta, Gran Maestre of the Grande Oriente Espanol. Before the revolution, Grand Master Morayta was a vigorous participant in the Filipino campaign for colonial reforms in Madrid, leading the Hispano Filipino Association[3] as president and contributing to the periodical La Solidaridad, the propaganda movement’s mouthpiece.
The Spanish government believed that Rizal’s novels provoked agitation in the island although Rizal’s constant pronouncement was about advocating non-violent reforms in the country. Jose Rizal and other leaders favored reforms rather than independence. Even so, the Spanish authorities linked him with the militant Katipunan.[4]
Andres Bonifacio had read these novels and employed these as a foothold for rebellion. He was one of the leaders of the revolutionary group called Katipunan. Recognized for his being influential, Rizal was admitted as a member of the Katipuneros even without his permission, and yelled his name as part of revolutionary battlecry.
Governor General Ramon Blanco who had no wish to link him to the revolution granted Rizal a permission to travel to Cuba, another Spanish Colony at the time, to support in the medical endeavors required to bottle up yellow fever epidemic.
While on his expedition to Cuba, Rizal was arrested and imprisoned in Barcelona brought by the political manipulations of the friars who witnessed Blanco stripped off from the office and succeeded by Camilo de Polavieja.
To face charges of rebellion due to his reported involvement with the revolutionary movement, Rizal was then sent back to the country. The court judged him guilty and executed by a firing squad on December 30 1896, at 7:00AM, in Bagumbayan (now called Rizal Park). His remains were buried in an undamaged grave in the nearby Paco Cemetery.
Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish philosopher and writer, who characterized Rizal’s execution as Spain’s ignominy and who, in 1907, was the first to name Rizal the Tagalog Christ.
Rizal’s works and values have been alluded to by many reformists, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Sun Yat Sen and even Ghandi as non-violent reforms channel.
Recognized as the national hero of the Philippines, his works are required reading for all students. Streets, buildings, and parks have been named after him. Every 30th of December marks his death anniversary which is declared a national holiday.
Jose Rizal’s legacy was not merely his intelligence, personality, literary sharpness, or anti-violence principles that qualifies him to be the country’s national hero but his nationalism, sanguinity, perpetual love for the country and trust to his countrymen which made him unique among others. He believed not simply on autonomy but the Filipino people and their giftedness to go beyond under the Spanish colonial government, and all that he desired was for them to be bestowed with the chance to explore that giftedness.
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References:
[1] Penélope V. Flores, Rizal’s Great Loves , http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/6/rizals-great-loves
[2] Dr. Pablo S. Trillana III, The Tagalog Christ, Philippine Daily Inquirer, http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/331899/rizal-honored-with-many-names-but-none-like-the-tagalog-christ
[3] History of Philippine Masonry, From Barcelona to Manila, 1889-1896, http://www.philippinemasonry.org/philippine-masonry-from-barcelona-to-manila-1889-1896.html
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