Whilst Rizal was on board the cruiser Castilla which was awaiting
orders, the Katipunan revolt broke out in Manila and the suburbs. Very
soon afterwards his voyage Spainwards was commenced on board the
S. S. Colon, the insurrection becoming more and more wide-spread
daily. On finding to what an extent Rizal was complicated in the
work of the revolution, his return to the Archipelago, as a prisoner,
was demanded, and so our "hero" returned to be judged as were so many
of his fellow agitators, for the crimes for which he was morally and
physically responsible.
A council of war was constituted under the presidency of
Lieut. Col. Tabares, Capt. Tavil de Andrade taking charge of the
defense of the prisoner. The accusation preferred against him was that
he was the chief organizer of the revolution. The trial took place in
the hall of the Cuartel de España in the presence of a large audience
among whom were his sister and the woman with whom he had been living
in Dapitan. The charge having been read out, several declarations were
made by Rizal, some before his voyage to Spain and others since his
return were also read. During his trial Rizal denied the knowledge
of several persons who were his intimate friends and co-workers;
among them Maximo Inocencio and Mariano Linjap, and others with whom
he had been in almost continual communication. He denied knowledge
of the "Liga Filipina" stating that not only did he not found it,
but that he was not aware of its existence. He affirmed ignorance of
who Valenzuela was, and almost immediately afterwards stated that he
had held an interview with him in Dapitan when that individual had
been sent there by Bonifacio to consult him on the subject of armed
rebellion. Throughout the whole trial he pursued the same tactics,
proving that, of himself, he was but an ordinary Filipino indian who,
when left to himself to stand on his own merits, gave no signs of
particular judgement or power of thought. The Filipino on trial,
even for some significant affair, cannot tell a lie to advantage:
Rizal was no exception even in this. The trial being ended he was
condemned to execution.
Previous to meeting his death he confessed and received the Holy
Communion from the hands of the Jesuit Fathers having after long
consideration, made the following retraction of his errors:
"I declare myself Catholic and in this religion in which I was born
and educated I wish to live and die. I retract with all my heart
all my words, writings and actions that have been contrary to my
condition as a son of the Catholic Church. I believe and profess
whatever She teaches and I submit to whatever She demands. I
abominate masonry as an enemy of the Church and as a society
condemned by the Church.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account