Rizal’s First Homecoming

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 to innocent.

1. Decision to return home

• After 5 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 (Chenngoy) – one of Rizal’s closest friends.

1. Decision to return home

• 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.

1. Decision to return home

• On June 29, 1887, Rizal wrote his father about his homecoming.

• He expected to be in Philippines by the 15th to 30th of August 1887.

1. Rizal arrives in Manila

• Rizal left Rome by train to Marseilles, a French port and boarded Djemnah on July 3, 1887, the same
steamer that brought him to Europe 5 years ago.

• There were 50 passengers: 4 Englishmen, 2 Germans, 3 Chinese, 2 Japanese, 40 Frenchmen and 1

1. Rizal arrives in Manila

• 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 on August 2, 1887, he reached Manila on August 6.

1. 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 half way to damnation

• Paciano – did not leave him during the first day after arrival to protect him from any enemy assault.

• Don Francisco – did not permit him to go out alone.

1. In Calamba

• Rizal established a medical clinic.

• Doñ a 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.

1. In Calamba

• 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 folks

• He introduced European sports fencing and shooting to discourage them from cockfighting and
gambling.

1. Sad moments while Rizal was in Calamba

• Leonor Rivera – Rizal tried to visit her in Tarlac but his parents for bade him to go because Leonor’s
mother did not like him for a son-in-law.

• Olimpia Mercado-Ubaldo – died because of child birth.

1. 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 Malacañ ang Palace.

 Somebody had whispered to his ear that the Noli contains subversive ideas.
 1. Storm over the Noli Me Tangere

 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.

Rizal visited the Jesuits

● 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.

The Attacks of Noli Me Tangere

 The committee that examined the Noli Me Tangere were composed of Dominican professors.

 The report of the faculty members form UST about the Noli states that the novel was:

 Heretical, impious and scandalous in the religious orders, and anti-patriotic, subversive of
public order, injurious to the government of Spain and its function in the Philippines Islands
in the political order.
1. The Attacks of Noli Me Tangere

 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.

1. The Attacks of Noli Me Tangere

 The newspaper published Font’s written report

 The banning of the Noli Me Tangere served to make it popular

 The masses supported the book.

1. The Attacks of Noli Me Tangere

• Fr. Jose Rodrigues – Augustinian Prior of Guadalupe

 Published a series of 8 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.

1. 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 Pando

 Sr. Fernando Vida

• Vicente Barantes - Spanish academician of Madrid who formerly occupied high government position
on the Philippines bitterly criticized the novel in an article published in the Madrid newspaper, Las
Españ a Moderna.

1. Defenders of Noli Me Tangere

• Propagandists such as Mercelo H. del Pilar, Granciano Lopez-Jeana, Antonio Ma. Regidor, Mariano
Ponce rushed to uphold the truths of the Noli.

• Father Francisco de Paula Sanchez –Rizal’s favorite teacher in Ateneo defended and praised the novel
in public.

1. Defenders of Noli Me Tangere

• Don Segismundo Moret –former Minister of the Crown.

• Prof. Ferdinand Blumentritt –Rizal’s best friend

1. Defenders of Noli Me Tangere

• 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 dated July 8, 1888.

1. Defenders of Noli Me Tangere

2. Rizal cannot be an “ignorant man” as Fr. Rodriguez alleged, because he was a graduated of Spanish
universities and was a recipient of scholastic honors.

3. Rizal does not attack the Church and Spain because what Rizal attacked in the Noli Me Tangere were
the bad Spanish officials and not Spain, and the bad corrupt friars and not the Church.

4. Father Rodriguez said the those who read the Noli Me Tangere committed a mortal sin. Since he (Fr.
Rodriguez) had read the novel therefore he also committed mortal sin.

5. Defenders of Noli Me Tangere

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

• Rizal was untouched in Calamba because he was with a body guard.

• Upon hearing about the investigation, the people of Calamba asked helped from Rizal to gather facts
and list the grievances so that the government to impose certain reforms.

1. Defenders of Noli Me Tangere

• After a thorough study of the conditions of the Calamba hacienda which the Dominician Order
owned since 1883.

• He wrote down his findings the tenants and the 3 officials of the hacienda signed on January 8, 1888
and was submitted to the governor general for action.

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 Dominician order continuously increased because of the arbitrary increase of the
rentals being 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.

Findings submitted by Rizal

• Tenants who had spent much labor clearing the lands were ejected from their lands for flimsy
reasons.

• High rates of interest were charged from the tenants for delayed payment of rentals and;
 • When the rental could not be paid, their carabaos, tools, and homes were confiscated.

1. Friars Reaction

• Rizal’s exposure to deplorable condition angered the friars.

• The friars exerted pressure to Malacañ ang to eliminate Rizal.

1. Friars Reaction

• They asked Gov. Gen Terrero to deport Rizal but the latter refused for there is lack of charges against
Rizal 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.

1. Rizal’s reasons for leaving the Philippines

• His presence in Calamba is endangering the safe and happiness of his family and friends.

• He could fight better his enemies and serve his country efficiently 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 o the industrious people of Lipa.

1. 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.