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 CalambaI
• 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 CalambaCalamba

• 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.
o Somebody had whispered to his ear that the Noli contains
subversive ideas.
o Rizal explained to him that he merely exposed the truth, but did
not advocate subversive ideas.
o He was pleased by Rizal’s explanation and curious about the
book, he asked for a copy of the novel.
o 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.
•
Agrarian Problem in Calamba
• Influenced by the novel, Governor-General Emilio Terrero ordered a
government investigation of the friar estates to remedy whatever
inequities might have been present in connection with land taxes
and with tenant relations.
• One of the friar estates affected was the Calamba hacienda by the
Dominican order since 1883.
 • Upon hearing about the investigation, the people of Calamba asked
helped from Rizal to gather facts and list the grievances so that the
government might institute certain agrarian reforms.
Findings submitted by Rizal
• The hacienda of the Dominican Order comprised not only the lands
around Calamba, but the whole town of Calamba.
• The profits of the Dominican Order continually increased because of
the arbitrary increase of he rentals paid by the tenants.
• The hacienda owner never contributed a single centavo for the
celebration of the town fiesta, for the education of the children, and
for the improvement of agriculture.
• Tenants who spent much labor in clearing the lands were
dispossessed of the said lands for flimsy reasons
• High rates of interest were arbitrarily charged the tenants for
delayed payment of rentals
• When the rentals could not be paid, the hacienda management
confiscated the work animals, tools, and farm implements of the
tenants.

FriarsReaction
• Rizal’s exposure to the deplorable condition angered the friars.
• The friars exerted pressure to Malacañang to eliminate Rizal.
• They asked Gov. Gen. Terrero to deport Rizal but the latter refused
for there is lack of charges against Rizal in court.
• Anonymous threats in Rizal’s life alarmed his parents, siblings,
Andrade his bodyguard, friends, and even Terrero, thus they all
advised him to leave the country.

Rizal’s reasons for leaving the Philippines

• His presence in Calamba was jeopardizing the safety and happiness
of his family and friends.
• He could not fight better his enemies and serve his country’s cause
with greater efficacy by writing in foreign countries.
Himno Al Trabajo
• A poem for Lipa – shortly before Rizal left in 1888, he was asked by
a friend to write a poem in commemoration of the town’s cityhood.
• Himno Al Trabajo (Hymn To Labor) – title of the poem dedicated to
the industrious people of Lipa.

Farewell Philippines
• On February 3, 1888 Rizal left his country with a heavy heart.
• But this is for his own good and the safety of his family and friends.