LESSON 17:
TRIAL AND
EXECUTION
Module 6: Rizal’s Heroism, the
Nation, and the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
• Identify the accusations that led to Rizal’s trial and execution;
• Analyze the effects of Rizal’s execution on Spanish Colonial Rule
and the Philippine Revolution, and
• Value the meaning of Rizal’s execution through writing a thank you
letter for Rizal.
MOTIVATION
Supposedly this day is the
last day of your life, and tomorrow
you will face your final destiny.
What will you do/say before your
time expires?
Lesson 17: Trial
and Execution
• Jose Rizal is regarded as one of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives
for the attainment of the rights of the Filipinos and of Philippine
freedom.
• A martyr can also suffer persecution and death for advocating,
renouncing, and refusing to advocate or renounce a belief as
demanded by an external party. Rizal is truly a martyr for
demonstrating an unwavering commitment to free the Filipinos from
colonial bondage.
•
Rizal’s death was considered as an impactful episode in Philippine
history because it was not only the death of a martyr but also a birth of
reforms to the society and the transformation of the lives of the
Filipinos.
• He was charged and put to death for what his enemies considered as
“subversion.” He was also accused of forming an organization that
posted a severe threat to the existing social order at the time.
TWO KINDS OF EVIDENCES PRESENTED AGAINST
RIZAL:
1. Documentary evidences
2. Testimonials
DOCUMENTS PRESENTED AGAINST RIZAL:
1. Letters he wrote ( to propagandists and to his family) and the letters
he received
2. the poem Kundiman
3. a Masonic document honoring Rizal’s patriotic services
4. a letter signed by Dimasalang (his pen name)
5. undated letter to the editor of Hong Kong telegraph
6. a transcript of the speech of Pingkian (pen name of Emilio Jacinto)
7. a transcript of the speech of Tik-tik (pen name of Jose Turiano
Santiago)
8. a poem by Laong Laan (pen name of Jose Rizal) entitled “Hymno A
Talisay”
TESTIMONIES AGAINST RIZAL WERE GIVEN BY:
• Rizal was immediately sent to
trial and held in prison after
the evidences were reviewed.
Alongside his incarceration,
his properties were seized as
indemnity and he had to pay
one million pesos.
• Instead of a civilian
lawyer, an army officer
Luis Taviel de Andrade
represented Rizal in
court.
• During the trial, Rizal defended himself when he said that he did not
question the jurisdiction of the court, but he had nothing to admit on the
charges against him as well as on the declarations of the witnesses
who testified against him. What he only needed to clarify was the
charge that he dealt with political matters while in exile.
• Despite all pleadings, the court voted for Rizal to be sentenced to
death. Governor General Camillo de Polavieja ordered the death of
Rizal.
• Rizal spent his last 24 hours in his prison cell. During his last hours,
he was visited by his family and wrote a letter to his “second
brother” Ferdinand Blumentritt. Then, in the morning of December
30,1896, Rizal set to his walk from Fort Santiago to Bagumbayan
square where he eventual faced his death.
• Up to the last minute at Fort Santiago, Rizal defied orders from his
captors as he was instructed to face the sea and turn his back against
the firing squad. But Rizal wanted to do otherwise. Instead, he faced
the firing squad to show his innocence of the charges thrown at him.
But the Spanish authorities forced him to face backwards and shot him
at the back instead of the head.
• Rizal was shot at 7:00 in
the morning, two hours
after he got married by
Josephine Bracken.
• Rizal’s last words, as that
of Jesus Christ, was
“Consummatum Est” – It is
finished.
APPLICATION
Make a Graphic Organizer showing the proofs and evidences
that lead to the trial and execution of Rizal. Be guided by the
following criteria:
• Content: 5 points
• Organization: 5 points
• Neatness: 2 points
• TOTAL: 12 points
ASSESSMENT
Read Rizal’s poem “Mi Ultimo Adios” (Tagalog Version only, the
translation of Andres Bonifacio) written on the eve of his execution. Write
a 100-200 words analysis of the message Rizal wants to convey through
the literary piece. Consider the existing social circumstances when it was
written and determine its historical significance. Be guided by the
following criteria:
• Content and Organization – 10 points
• Grammar and Coherence – 5 points
• Depth of Analysis – 5 points
• TOTAL: 20 POINTS
ASSIGNMENT
As a Filipino citizen, show how you value the death of our
National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal through writing a letter to him expressing
how grateful you are that we had him in our country. This is good for 10
points.