Rizal’s First Homecoming (1887-1888)

Rizal’s plans of coming back home

• As early as 1884, Rizal wanted to go back to the Philippines for the following
reasons:
– Financial difficulties in Calamba
– Dissatisfaction with his studies in Madrid
– Desire to prove that there is no reason to fear going home.
– His belief that the Spanish regime will not punish the innocent.

Decision to return home

• After five years of his memorable sojourn in Europe, Rizal returned to the
Philippines.

• However, Rizal was warned by the following not to return to the Philippines because
his Noli Me Tangere angered the friars:
– Paciano Mercado
– Rizal’s adviser and only brother.
– Silvestre Ubaldo
– Rizal’s brother in law; husband of Olimpia.
– Jose Ma. Cecilio (Chenggoy)
– one of Rizal’s closest friends.
• Rizal was determined to come back to the Philippines for the following reasons:
– To operate his mother’s eyes
– To serve his people who had long been oppressed by Spanish tyrants.

– To find out for himself how the Noli Me Tangere and his other writings were affecting
Filipinos and Spaniards.
– To inquire why Leonor Rivera remained silent.
 Rizal arrives in Manila
• Rizal left Rome by train to Marseilles, a French port and boarded Djemnah, the same
steamer that brought him to Europe five years ago.

• There were 50 passengers: 4 Englishmen, 2 Germans, 3 Chinese, 2 Japanese, 40

Frenchmen, and 1 Filipino (Rizal)
• When the ship reached Aden, the weather became rough and some of Rizal’s book
got wet.

• In Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), Vietnam – he transferred to another steamer, Haiphong,

that brought him to Manila.

Happy Homecoming
• When Rizal arrived in Calamba, rumors spread that he was a:
– German spy
– An agent of Otto Von Bismarck
– the liberator of Germany.
– A Protestant
– A Mason
– A soul halfway to damnation

• Paciano – did not leave him during the first days after arrival to protect him from any
enemy assault.
• Don Francisco – did not permit him to go out alone

In Calamba
• Rizal established a medical clinic.
• Doña Teodora – was Rizal’s first patient

• Rizal treated her eyes but could not perform any surgical operation because her
cataracts were not yet ripe.
• He painted several beautiful landscapes in Calamba.
• He translated German poems of Von Wildernath in Tagalog.
• Doctor Uliman – Rizal was called this name because he came from Germany.
– He earned P900 in a few months and P5,000 before he left the Philippines.
• Gymnasium – was opened by Rizal for the young people

• He introduced European sports fencing and shooting to discourage them from cockfighting
and gambling.
 Sad moments while Rizal was in Calamba
• Leonor Rivera – Rizal tried to visit her in Tarlac but his parents forbade him to go
because Leonor’s mother did not like him for a son-in- law.
• Olimpia Mercado-Ubaldo – died because of child birth.

Storm over the Noli Me Tangere

• As Rizal was peacefully living in Calamba, his enemies plotted his doom.

• Governor General Emilio Terrero – wrote to Rizal requesting to come to Malacañang

Palace.
– Somebody had whispered to his ear that the Noli contains subversive ideas.

– Rizal explained to him that he merely exposed the truth, but did not advocate
subversive ideas.
– He was pleased by Rizal’s explanation and curious about the book, he asked
for a copy of the novel. – Rizal had no copy that time but promised to send one for
him.

Rizal visited the Jesuits

• Rizal visited the Jesuit fathers to ask for their feedback on the novel.
• He was gladly welcomed by the following friars:
– Fr. Francisco de Paula Sanchez
– Fr. Jose Bech
– Fr. Federico Faura – told Rizal that everything in the novel was the truth and
warned him that he may lose his head because of it.
• Governor-General Emilio Terrero – a liberal minded Spaniard who knew that Rizal’s
life was in jeopardy because the friars were powerful.
– Because of this he gave Rizal a bodyguard to protect him.
Jose Taviel de Andrade

• A young Spanish lieutenant who came from a noble family

• He was cultured and knew painting
• He could speak French, English and Spanish.
• They became good friends.
 Attackers of the Noli
• Archbishop Pedro Payo
– a Dominican
• Archbishop of Manila

• Sent a copy of the Noli to Fr. Gregorio Echevarria, Rector of the University of Santo
Tomas to examine the novel.

UST and Rizal

• The committee that examined the Noli Me Tangere were composed of Dominican
professors. • The report of the faculty members from UST about the Noli states that
the novel was:

– Heretical, impious and scandalous in the religious orders, and anti-patriotic,

subversive of pubic order, injurious to the government of Spain and its function in the
Philippine Islands in the political order.

• Governor-General Terrero – was not satisfied with the report so he sent the novel to
the Permanent Commission of Censorship which was composed of priests and
lawyers.
• Fr. Salvador Font – Augustinian friar curate of Tondo was the head of the
commission.
– The group found that the novel contain subversive ideas against the Church
and Spain and recommended that the importation, reproduction and circulation of the
pernicious book in the islands be absolutely prohibited.
• The newspaper published Font’s written report
• The banning of the Noli Me Tangere served to make it popular
• The masses supported the book.
• Fr. Jose Rodriguez
– Augustinian Prior of Guadalupe
– Published a series of eight pamphlets under the heading Questions of
Supreme Interest to blast the Noli and other anti-Spanish writing.
– Copies of anti-Rizal pamphlets were sold after mass
– Many Filipinos were forced to buy them in order not to displease the friars.
 Noli Me Tangere in Spain
• The novel was fiercely attacked in the session hall of the Senate of the Spanish
Cortes.
• Senators:
– General Jose de Salamanca
– General Luis de Pando
– Sr. Fernando Vida
• Vicente Barantes – Spanish academician of Madrid who formerly occupied high
government position in the Philippines bitterly criticized the novel in an article
published in the Madrid newspaper, La España Moderna.

Defenders of the Noli Me Tangere

• Propagandists such as Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez-Jaena, Antonio Ma.
Regidor, Mariano Ponce rushed to uphold the truths of the Noli.
• Father Francisco de Paul Sanchez – Rizal’s favorite teacher in Ateneo defended and
praised the novel in public.
• Don Segismundo Moret – former Minister of the Crown.
• Prof. Miguel Morayta- historian and stateman
• Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt – Rizal’s best friend
• Rev. Fr. Vicente Garcia – a Filipino Catholic priest-scholar, a theologian of the Manila
Cathedral and a Tagalog translator of the famous Imitation of Christ by Thomas
Kempis.
– Under the pen name Justo Desiderio Magalang he wrote a defense of the novel
published in Singapore.

• Rizal cried because of his gratitude to his defenders especially to Fr. Garcia who
defended him unexpectedly.

• He attacked Barantes by exposing his ignorance of Philippine affairs and mental

dishonesty which is unworthy of an academician.

• Because of the interest of both enemies and protectors of the Noli the price of the
book increased from five pesetas per copy to 50 pesetas per copy.