Return to Calamba

Life and Works of Rizal

Home After Five Years

His brother

Paciano and brother-in-law warned that some people

may cause him harm but ignored by Rizal.

Rizal’s Reason for Returning Home

Desire to operate his mother’s eyes

To serve his countrymen

To know the effect of Noli Me Tangere

Find out why Leonor had stopped writing to him

Rizal’s Contribution to the Community

Established a medical clinic in Calamba and his first patient

was her mother, whose removal of double cataract

was considered miraculous by the townspeople

Soon, people , even from Manila and other provinces, started to flock in his clinic

He was referred as “Doctor Uliman (German)”

Within a few months, he earned $900 as physician

Sad facets of Rizal’s return to Calamba

Sister Olimpia died from childbirth

Unable to see Leonor

Leonor’s mother

objected to their

relationshipCesar Montano as Jose Rizal

Other Contributions of Rizal

Opened a gymnasium to generate the

interest of his townspeople in sports like fencing, shooting and gymnastics and discourage them from idleness and gambling

Took park in Calamba’s civic affairs

Made paintings on his spare time

Translated German poems

The Furor over the Noli Me Tangere

His arrival in the Philippines increased the tension.

Gov. Gen. Emilio Terrero, during his meeting with Rizal in Malacañang, said that his novel was spreading subversive ideas

Rizal defended that he was only providing a true picture about the conditions of the Philippines.

He gave a copy of the Noli to the general which he took from a friend

The Furor over the Noli Me Tangere

Knowing that his life was in danger, the

General assigned a bodyguard to Rizal named Lt. Jose Taviel de Andrade

Attack against the novel

Support to the novel

Del Pilar, in his Caiigat Cayo, defended the novel, a response to Caingat Cayo

Fr. Sanchez defended the novel in public

Also, it was not attack on the Church but to its immoral and corrupt

practices

Fr. Garcia, a Filipino priest, said Rizal was not ignorant for he in a university

and recipient of awards

From Spain, Barrantes attacked the novel as unpatriotic and offensive to

Spain

The Caingat Cayo by Fr. Rodriguez accused the readers of the novel to

commit mortal sin

From Fr. Font, recommended the absolute prohibition of the novel

From the Rector of UST, Fr. Echaveria, it was heretical, impious, and

scandalous.

Caingat Cayo

Protesta de Calamba

While Rizal was in Calamba, Gov. Gen. Terrero

ordered an investigation of the friar landholdings for they suspected that the

tenants were evading the full payment of

the Taxes

Rizal in defense

Rizal drafted a complaint with the following reasons from the tenants:

They were losing money to the

advantage of the Dominicans

Dominicans increased the rent

every year

The Dominicans did not contributein the towns fiesta

High interest rates were charged for

delayed payments. Failure of payment means

confiscation ofthe carabaos,

tools, and homes of tenants

The other side of the controversy

Dominicans controlled vast landholdings in CalambaBiñan, San Pedro, Sta. Rosa, and Los Baños . Many of the lands were rent-free for settlers for many years

Dominicans did not enrich themselves for the collection of rents were used

• to maintain churches and institution like UST and The College of Letran

• in supporting Dominican seminary and missionary works

The other side of the controversy

Dominicans actually contributed to the town fiestas

Increase in rent happened as costs increased but not considered as expensive as in the case of the rent mentioned in the Noli.

Hacienda administrators actually provided grace periods in cases there are poor harvests and low prices of agricultural products

Departure for Europe

Under the advisement of Terrero, Rizal left the Philippines for his own good.

Before leaving he wrote a poem entitled Himno el Trabajo (Hymn to Labor) which which commemorated the elevation of Lipa, Batangas into a status of villa under the Becerra Law of

1888 that contained nationalistic sentiment

Departure for Europe

Promised to follow up the progress of agrarian protest of Calamba in Spain

By the time he reached Spain his family and

several townmates involved in the Calambaprotest were evicted

He believed to fight for his country in Europe. And perhaps he was influenced by the teachings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

END