Nilad Lodge Gets Approval

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition Series 2):

MARCH 10, 1892

Logia Nilad (Nilad Lodge) was approved by Grande Oriente Español as Logia Nilad No 144. 

It was organized by Pedro Serrano Laktaw with Moises Salvador and Jose A. Ramos, and was constituted on January 6, 1892. 

Jose P. Rizal was appointed Honorary Worshipful Master of the Lodge in July that same year. 

Nilad Lodge, the first Filipino lodge became the mother of all lodges in the Philippines and was also known as Logia Central y Delegada and had the power to supervise the other lodges.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy)  All rights reserved

Photo credit: hubpages.com

Fr. Jose Burgos

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 9, 1837

Fr. Jose Burgos (February 9, 1837 - February 17, 1872), born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, was a secular priest and a staunch advocate for the secularization of the clergy throughout his ecclesiastical career. 

He was one of the brilliant Filipinos in his time who earned a doctorate in theology and canon law. 

Aside from being a priest at the Manila Cathedral, he was a professor who taught in seminaries. 

He was considered a threat by the Spanish friars who are opposed to the idea of the Church being led by Filipinos. I

In 1872, Spanish authorities implicated him, together with Fr. Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora as among those involved in the 1872 Cavite Mutiny. 

The three of them, known as GOMBURZA, were arrested, tried and executed at Bagumbayan Field (now the Luneta). 

Dr. Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo was dedicated to the Gomburza priests.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

Jose Rizal Dies By Firing Squad

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

DECEMBER 30, 1896

At 6:30 in the morning, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, who was dressed in a black suit and white vest was taken from his prison cell in Fort Santiago and was marched towards Bagumbayan (now the Luneta), to be executed by firing squad. 

Rizal, holding a rosary in his right hand and tied at the elbows, was accompanied by counsel Lt. Luis Taviel de Andrade, Fathers Estanislao March and Jose Villaclara. 

They walked behind four Spanish guards who were armed with bayonets. 

In the execution field, a squad composed of six to eight Filipino soldiers of the Spanish Army prepare their task as executioners. 

According to some accounts, only one of the rifles has a live bullet while the rest were blanks. 

Spanish troops were positioned at the back of the executioners and prepared to shoot them should they fail to fire their shots. 

The Spanish Army Surgeon General, Dr. Felipe Ruiz Castillo took Rizal’s vital signs and pulse rate and found everything normal. 

The commanding officer raised his saber, a signal for the squad to take their aim. He shouted “fuego” (fire) simultaneously swinging the saber downwards, followed by a burst of rifle fire.

Rizal turned his face towards the squad and then fell face up, with his derby hat thrown ahead. His last words were “consummatum est" (It is finished). 

He was secretly buried in an unmarked grave in Paco cemetery. 

His sister Narcisa went to find him in all grave sites and saw Spanish guards posted at the cemetery gate. She found freshly turned earth at the site and assumed it was Rizal’s burial spot. She then asked the caretaker to mark the site “RPJ” (Rizal Protacio Jose) and gave him a gift. 

In 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree ordering December 30 of every year as Rizal Day. Jose Rizal’s remains are now rested at his monument at the Luneta.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wikipedia org

Royal Decree Replaces Gov. Gen. Ramon Blanco

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

DECEMBER 13, 1896

Governor-General Ramon Blanco y Erenas was replaced through a Royal Decree. 

His term which began on December 9, 1893 saw the establishment of the first electric light in Manila and the birth of Andres Bonifacio’s Katipunan. 

He had a conciliatory position on the revolution to improve Spain’s image but declared martial law in Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas and Nueva Ecija, which represented the eight rays in the Philippine flag. 

He opposed Jose Rizal’s execution and as an apology to the family he gave his sash and sword.        

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

Spanish Military Court Accuses Jose Rizal

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition): 

DECEMBER 6, 1896

Dr. Jose Rizal was tried by a Spanish military court. The crimes the Spanish colonial government accused him were as follows: 1) Founding the La Liga Filipina which was an illegal organization that aims to perpetrate rebellion, 2) Rebellion, which he promoted through his activities, and 3) Illegal association. The penalty for these crimes is life imprisonment to death, and correctional imprisonment and the sum of 325 to 3,250 Pesetas. 

The prosecution gathered as many information about Rizal and his so called subversive activities which included the writing and the publication of “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” which was dedicated to the three Filipino priests executed in 1872 as traitors, annotations to Morga’s History of the Philippines, writing of various articles against the friars, and establishment of Masonic lodges which were the propaganda and fund raising center for subversive activities. 

The charges against him were endorsed to Judge Advocate Colonel Francisco Olive who endorsed them to Governor Ramon Blanco. 

The charges were read to him in the presence of his Spanish lawyer Lt. Luis Traviel de Andrade. 

The military court unanimously voted for death sentence despite all the pleadings. 

Dr. Jose Rizal was found guilty of all charges and ordered to be shot at 7:00 in the morning of December 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan Field.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: Facebook Group 7 - Jose Rizal

Fr. Mariano Dacanay

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

NOVEMBER 26, 1862

Fr. Mariano Dacanay, an Ilokano priest was born in Bacnotan, La Union. 

He was responsible for giving the title “Mi Ultimo Adios” (“My Last Farewell”), a poem by Jose Rizal written in Spanish on December 29, 1896. 

Fr. Dacanay was a noted translator of religious works and was jailed for his Masonic leanings and a supporter of the Katipunan. 

He published the poem in the first issue of “La Independencia” on September 28, 1898. 

“Mi Ultimo Adios”, Rizal’s 14 five-line stanza poem was written a day before he was executed by firing squad at the Luneta. 

It was unsigned, untitled and undated. Rizal placed the poem inside a small alcohol stove (cocinilla). 

When his mother Teodora together with his sisters visited him in prison, he told his sister Trinidad that there was something in the stove. 

A guard gave them the stove as they left. At home, they found a folded paper with the poem and made copies and sent them to Rizal’s friends in the country and abroad.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: joserizal.com

Jose Rizal Arrives In Manila

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

NOVEMBER 3, 1896

Jose Rizal arrived in Manila from Barcelona and was immediately brought to Fort Santiago. 

He was on his way to Cuba via Spain when arrested by the authorities on September 2, 1896 on board the ship, Castilla. 

He was imprisoned in Barcelona on October 6, 1896 and was sent back to Manila to stand trial for his alleged involvement in the revolution staged by the Katipunan. 

Earlier, Rizal asked Gov. Gen. Ramon Blanco to allow him to serve as a doctor in the Cuban War of Independence. 

He left Dapitan with Blanco’s letter of recommendation.  

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: thetruthaboutjoserizal.blogspot.com

Jose Rizal's "Filipinas Dentro De Cien Años"

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

SEPTEMBER 30, 1889

"Filipinas Dentro De Cien Años" (The Philippines a Century Hence), a famous essay written by Dr. Jose P. Rizal was published in “La Solidaridad”, the reformist propaganda newspaper of the Filipinos.

This four-part essay focused on the relationship between Spain and her colony, the Philippines. Rizal gave Spain two choices, reform or independence and warned that the people may seek civil liberties and a national identity that is different from Spain.

He also mentioned that Spain would be overthrown and replaced by another foreign power.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: wowlaguna com

Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo

Today in Philippine History (Philatelic Edition):

SEPTEMBER 18, 1891

El Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed), Jose Rizal’s sequel to Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) was published in Ghent, Belgium. 

Rizal started writing El Filibusterismo in his hometown in Calamba, Laguna in October of 1887. 

While in London, he revised some chapters and finished the book on March 29, 1891. El Filibusterismo was dedicated to the Gomburza priests, Fathers Jose Burgos, Jacinto Zamora and Mariano Gomez. 

Both novels written in Spanish, portrayed the abuses and corruption of the Spanish authorities and sparked the 1896 Philippine Revolution.  

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

Today in Philippine History: Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera

APRIL 13, 1857

Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho (April 13, 1857 – March 26, 1925) was born in Manila with Spanish and Portuguese ethnicity. A man of vast learning, he was a physician, historian, politician and a versatile writer next to his friend Jose Rizal. His sister Paz was the wife of Juan Luna. During the American period, he was a member of the Philippine Commission and founded the Federal Party. Prior to his death on March 25, 1925, he was the director of the Philippine Library and Museum and founded the Philippine Library Association.

Photo credit: http://bayanihannews.com.au/