Martyrdom in Bagumbayan Saddest day in Philippine history

1. MARTYRDOM AT
BAGUMBAYAN

2. • After being court- martialed, Rizal returned
to his cell in Fort Santiago to prepare his
rendezvous with destiny.
• He was also able to write his last poem- his
final contribution for the emancipation of
the Filipino people.

4. Last Hours of Dr. Jose P. Rizal
• December 29, 1896
• 6 am: Capt. Rafael Rodriguez was assigned by
Gov. Gen. Camilo Polavieja to read Rizal’s
death sentence,- to be shot at Bagumbayan
by a firing squad at 7am the next day.
• 7am: Rizal moved to the prison chapel, where he
spent his last moments.
• 7:15am: Rizal reminded Fr. Luis Viza the statuette of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus whom he carved
as a student in Ateneo.

5. • 9am: Fr. Federico Faura arrived. Rizal
reminded him that he said that (Rizal)
would someday lose his head for writing
the Noli. “Father, you are indeed a
prophet.”
• 10am: Fr. Jose Villaclara and Fr. Vicente
Balaguer visited Rizal then discussed with
him his retraction letter. Santiago Mataix,
a Spanish journalist, followed for the
newspaper, El Heraldo de Madrid.
• 11am- 3pm: Rizal stayed in his cell. He was busy
writing poems and letters. He hid his
farewell poem in an alcohol cooking stove.
He also wrote his last letter to Professor
Blumentritt.

6. • 4pm: Teodora Alonzo visited him. They
had a very emotional encounter.
Rizal gave the alcohol cooking
stove to Trinidad which contains
his farewell poem. Several priests
have visited him afterwards.

7. Mi Ultimo Adios

8. • 6pm: Don Silvino Tunon, the Dean of the
Manila Cathedral visited Rizal.
• 8pm: Rizal had his last supper. He told
Captain Dominguez that he forgave his
enemies including the military judges.
• 9:30pm: Rizal was visited by Don Gaspar
Cestano, fiscal of the Royal Audience
de Manila.
• 10pm: The draft of the retraction letter sent by
the anti- Filipino Archbishop Bernardo
Nozaledawas given by Fr. Balaguer to
Rizal for his signature. He had rejected It.

9. • Upon Rizal’s death, his supposedly Retraction
Letter became of one of the most controversial
documents in our history.
• This Retraction Letter allegedly contains his
renunciation of the Masonry and his ‘anti-Catholic
Religious Ideas’
• Depending on whose side you are on, some
Rizalists claims that it is fake while some believe it
to be genuine.
• There had been some evidences but so far these
had only heated up the debate between two
factions.

10. •December 30, 1896
•3am: Rizal heard Mass,
confessed his sins and
took Holy Communion.
•5:30am: He took his last breakfast.
After which he wrote his
last letters for his family
and his brother, Paciano.

11. • Rizal said, “Now I
am about to die, and
it is to you I dedicate
my last lines, to tell
you how sad I am to
leave you alone in
life, burdened with
the weight of the
family and our old
parents.”

12. • 5:30am: Josephine Bracken arrived
together with Rizal’s siters,
Josefa, with tears in her
eyes, bade him farewell.
Rizal embraced her for the
last time, and before she
left, Rizal gave her a last
gift, a religious book,
“Imatition of Christ” by
Father Thomas Kempis.
• 6am: As the soldiers were
getting ready for the death
march to Bagumbayan,
Rizal wrote his last letter
to his beloved parents.

13. • “My beloved Father, pardon
me for the pain with which I
repay you, for sorrows and
sacrifices for my education. I
did not want it nor did I prefer
it. Goodbye Father, goodbye.”

14. • “To my very dear Mother, Sra. Dona Teodora
Alonso, 6 o’clock in the morning”
• 6:30 am: a trumpet sounded at Fort
Santiago to signal the death march
to Bagumbayan.
• Rizal walked calmly with his defense counsel and
two Jesuit priest at his sides.
• He was dressed elegantly in a black suit, black
derby hat, black shoes, white shirt and black tie.
His arms were tied behind from elbow to elbow.

15. • There a lot of spectators lining the street
from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan.
• As he was going through the narrow Postigo
Gate, Rizal looked at the sky and said to one of
the priests: “How beautiful it is today, Father.
What morning could be more serene! How clear
is Corregidor and the mountains of Cavite! On
mornings like this, I used to take a walk with my
sweetheart.”
• While he was passing in front of Ateneo, he saw
the college towers above the walls. He asked: “Is
that Ateneo, Father?” Yes”, replied the priest.

16. • Rizal bade farewell to his Fathers March and
Villaclara and to his defender, Lt. Luis Taviel de
Andrade. Although his arms were tied, he had
firmly clasped their hands in parting.
• One of the priests blessed him and offered him a
crucifix to kiss.
• He requested the commander of firing squad that
he be shot facing them. His request was denied
for the captain had implicit orders to shoot him at
his back.

17. • A Spanish military physician, Dr. Felipe Ruiz
Castillo, asked his permission to feel his pulse.
He was amazed to find it normal, showing that
Jose Rizal was not afraid to die.
• The death ruffles of the drums filled the air. Above
the drum beats, the sharp command “fire” was
heard, and the guns of the firing squad barked.
Rizal, with supreme effort, turned his bullet-
riddled body to the right, and fell on the ground
dead- with face upward facing the morning sun. It
was exactly 7:03 in the morning- aged 35, 5
months and 11 days.

18. Rizal being shot at Bagumbayan

19. •“I die just when I see the dawn break,
through the gloom of night, the herald
the day; And if color is lacking my
blood thou shalt take, pour’d out at
need for thy sake, to dye with its
crimson the waking ray”

20. • It is interesting to know that 14 years before his execution,
Rizal predicted that he would die on December 30th. He
was then a medical student in Madrid, Spain.