Rizal was executed during Christmas season - ROSES AND THORNS by Alejandro R. Roces

It is hard to believe that the Spaniards tried and executed Jose Rizal in record time and during the Christmas season. The Yuletide season officially starts on December 16 with the Novena Masses known as simbang gabi. On December 13, 1896, General Camilo Polavieja was appointed as Governor. Six days later, he decreed that Rizal be tried by court martial as recommended by the Judge Advocate.

On December 22, Lieutenant Luis Taviel de Andrade was given the records of the case against Rizal so he could study and draft Rizal’s defense. On Christmas Eve, the members of the court martial that would try Rizal were appointed by the Military Governor. The day after Christmas, Rizal was sentenced to die by musketry. On hearing the sentence, Rizal’s mother wrote a letter to the Governor General asking that her son be spared from execution. Early morning of December 29, Rizal was informed that his execution would take place the following day. Rizal wrote a letter to his European friend, Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt, saying he was innocent of the crime for which he was going to be executed. He also wrote his Ultimo Adios. The next morning, he was executed. You can’t help but wonder how the Spaniards tried and executed him during the Navidades to rub salt to the wound. Was it their way of saying "This is our Christmas gift for you!" The end result is that Rizal’s martyrdom is part of our Christmas celebration. We would not be celebrating Christmas if we had not been colonized by Spain. And the truth is that the Philippines is a Spanish creation and the greatest hero that they produced was a person that they executed as a rebel leader. All that is past.

Rizal was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, Sun Yat Sen and Rabindranath Tagore. People do not see them as contemporaries because Rizal died in the 19th century while the other three made their mark in the 20th century.

The best way to observe Rizal’s death anniversary is to wonder what his thoughts would be at the present state of the nation he devoted and gave his life for. First and foremost, what opinion would he have of President Estrada who the people elected as their president for the end and start of the new millennium? Rizal was a Renaissance Man. Our incumbent president is a licentious profligate. Rizal’s life was dedicated to his country. President Estrada’s life is devoted to wine, women and gambling. Is that what Rizal gave his life for?

We have produced our share of heroes in our time. Two classic examples are Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos and Ninoy Aquino. Our Armed Forces proved themselves in Bataan. Our people gave us the EDSA Revolution. Surely we deserve a better leader and we mean now!