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Every Filipino knows who Dr.Jose Rizal is and his role in the Philippine revolution.
Everybody recognizes him when he’s mentioned and they all know that he’s a hero.
However, do we really know him? He was The Great Malayan, The First Filipino,
The Indio Bravo. He was revered by many. Fr. Gregorio Aglipay even considered
morning of December 30,1896 and his death made a profound effect on Filipinos. He
He was persecuted by the church as the leader of the rebellion and the very soul of
the revolution. Rizal denied the accusations of political conspiracy and sedition and
Dr. Pio Villanueva was named emissary to Dapitan, in order to inform Rizal of the
revolution because he believed that it was premature for two reasons; the people are
not ready for revolution and arms and funds must be first be collected before raising
the cry of revolution. There are some who believe that Rizal rejected taking part in
the revolution for other reasons. There were speculations that he wanted to lead the
revolution but these were never proven.Bonifacio called Rizal a coward when he
heard his emissary’s report, and enjoined Valenzuela to say nothing of his trip
(Craig,1913) .
There were also speculations that Rizal retracted and renounced his beliefs and ideas
to go back to the church.The original copy Rizal’s Retraction was lost and only the
Jesuit priest bared witness to the birth of said document. These were not believed and
rejected by The Rizal family and the Filipinos as well.Almost 40 years after his
death, the so called original copy of Rizal’s Retraction. It was found by Fr. Manuel
A. Garcia at the Catholic hierarchy’s archive in Manila,but the original document was
The said document casted doubt on the identity and heroism of Dr. Jose Rizal. Fr.
Balaguer testified that the document was real along with other Jesuit priests who
witnessed the event. Fr. Balaguer said that Rizal was repenting and asked to confess
3 times the day before his death and even requested for a mass. However, the
wanted to marry her and that was his main reason for allegedly retracting.Since the
authenticity of the document was question her marriage with him was also questioned
(de Viana,2012).
For those who strongly believe that the retraction is fake, there were reports of a a
man named Roman Roque who allegedly forged Rizal’s signature.the was also the
one who forged the signature of Urbano Lacuna, which was used to capture Pres.
Emilio Aguinaldo. It was revealed by Antonio K. Abad who heard it from Roque
himself (Uckung,2012). There are also those who believe that Josephine Bracken’s
autobiography written in February 22, 1897 was forged badly. There was a allegedly
a big difference between the penmanship between the document and the letters she
My opinion Rizal’s affiliation with KKK is that there was none.I believed that Rizal
favored reform over revolt. He was trying to make a difference through speech and
not by force. He tried to gain the attention of those in office and those oppressed to
seek common ground and make for better living conditions. One without fear,
abuse,and discrimination.If it truly came to the point where revolt was needed and the
Filipinos were ready, I think that Rizal would’ve taken part but only as a last resort to
The controversial retraction of Rizal is still debated to this day.Many believe that he
retracted and abandoned his beliefs and there is also a sum of people who believe he
didn’t. Did Rizal retract or not? I say No, I think it was a propaganda of the church to
weaken and discourage the Filipinos from crying for revolution.Did it work? No. I
think that if Rizal really meant to retract he wouldn’t have only Jesuit priests as
witnesses, if he retracted he should have lived and not execute.He was more of use to
I know fully that it was possible for Rizal to retract but, the description of Rizal Fr.
Balaguer has described hours before his death was not the Rizal we came to know at
all. He was weak willed and repenting for seeking knowledge. He was not the Rizal I
knew in books and stories. I don’t believe that he will abandon his ideology even for
love. I believe that he wanted to change the Philippines and he did. He was the one
who started to try breaking the chains that bound the Filipino people for more than
300 years.
Josephine Bracken says that she and Rizal were married in Dapitan..The legality and
marriage to Rizal was thought by others to be forged. Did Rizal love Josephine? Yes,
he did love her but not to the point where he would give up on everything he stands
for just so he could get married.I think of him as a man who would stand for his
He believed that the pen was mightier than a sword. He believed that there are other
Even if the Retraction documents were real or fake one thing still remain true, he
made a difference. He gave the people a voice and something to think about. He gave
them power.If he didn’t share his voice, the Philippines wouldn’t be free from
right. He books and poems will echo freedom,patriotism,honor and courage for
generations.
References;
https://nhcp.gov.ph/the-rizal-retraction-and-other-cases/#:~:text=The%20document
%20of%20the%20retraction,viewing%20on%20May%2013%2C%201935
https://nhcp.gov.ph/a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-josephine-bracken/