Hermano Pule, 26 Yrs Old

(1815-1841) was born Apolinario de la Cruz in barrio Pandác, Lucbán, Tayabas (now Quezon), but is better known as Hermano Pule. He led the first major revolt in the Philippines, based on a struggle for religious freedom and independence.

As an infant, Apolinario wanted to become a priest. At the age of 24 in 1839, he attempted to enter a prestigious monastic order in Manila. He was refused because he was considered of a lower social class, an ‘indio’ (native and indigent). Frustrated, he worked in the San Juan de Dios Hospital. During his spare time, he studied the Bible and other religious material. He also listened to church sermons, thus developing his own racially-inspired versions of theology.

In June 1840, without permission of the Holy Father, he founded the Cofradia de San José (Confraternity of St. Joseph) which excluded all Caucasians. The brotherhood fostered a practice of Christian virtues, while excluding brothers and sisters of other races. When Spanish religious authorities became aware of the creation of the organization, it was condemned as heresy and against the teaching of Christ of brotherly love. The brotherhood’s number grew despite its proscription by the Catholic Church.

Authorities, including (Spanish)Governor-General Marcelino Oraa and Roman Catholic Archbishop Jose Segui, regarded the Cofradia as heresy and an abomination of universal Christian values, ordering its dissolution. Despite its religious prohibition, the Cofradia continued to multiply in its numbers.

Feeling an attack on their religious freedom from Catholic authorities, Pule rallied 4,000 followers at Barrio Isabang on the slope of Mount Banahaw and was able to resist an attack by Alcalde-mayor Juan Ortega and his 300 men on October 23, 1841.

However, reinforcements came on November 1st, with Colonel Joaquin Huet who annihilated the Cofradia forces, allegedly massacring hundreds of old men, women and children who joined Pule in Alitao in defying the Catholic leaders of the Church.

Pule fled to Barrio Ibanga but was captured by authorities the following evening, and on November 4, 1841 he was executed by a firing squad at the town of Tayabas.

Jose Rizal, 35 Yrs Old

(June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896, Bagumbayan), was a Filipino polymath: a poet, writer, artist, intellectual, and educator. He was a nationalist and the pre-eminent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. Rizal’s 1896 court-martial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution. He is widely considered the most prominent Filipino and a national hero. Since Philippine Independence, the anniversary of Rizal’s death has been commemorated as a national holiday.

Born to a wealthy family, Rizal earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He enrolled in both the schools of Medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas. Then he traveled to Madrid, Spain to continue studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid, earning the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He attended the University of Paris before completing his second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. Rizal was conversant in at least ten languages. His most famous works were his two novels, Noli me Tangere and El filibusterismo. These social commentaries on the Philippines formed the nucleus of literature that both inspired dissent among peaceful reformists and spurred the militancy of armed revolutionaries against the Spanish regime.

Rizal founded La Liga Filipina (The Philippine League), a civic organization working to reform Spanish colonial rule. Rizal proposed institutional reforms by peaceful means, but the extent of his support for outright revolution has been subject to scholarly debate. Scholars agree that his political leadership and unjust execution by the government were major inspirations for the Philippine Revolution, led by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo.

Rizal had to walk from Fort Santiago to the place of execution, then Bagumbayan Field (now called Luneta). His arms were tied tightly behind his back, and he was surrounded by a heavy guard. The Jesuits accompanied him. Rizal’s request to face his executioners was denied, as it was beyond the power of the commanding officer to grant. Rizal said he did not deserve such a death, for he was not a traitor to Spain. He was promised that his head would be respected. Without a blindfold and erect, Rizal turned his back to receive the bullets. He twisted a hand to indicate under the shoulder where the soldiers should aim so as to reach his heart. As the volley came, he turned and fell, face upwards, thus receiving the shots which ended his life.

Moments before his execution, with a backup force of Spanish troops, the Spanish surgeon general requested to take his pulse: it was normal. Aware of this, the Spanish sergeant hushed his men to silence when they began raising “¡vivas!” with the partisan crowd. Rizal’s last words were, “Consummatum est” (It is finished). These were among the Seven Last Words of Christ, as gathered from the Gospel accounts. This sentence appeared in the Gospel of John (John 19:30) of the Bible.

The government secretly buried Rizal in Paco Cemetery in Manila, where they placed no identification on his grave. When his sister Narcisa toured all possible gravesites, she found freshly turned earth at the cemetery and civil guards posted at the gate. Assuming this was the most likely spot, as there had never been ground burials before, she made a gift to the caretaker to mark the site, “RPJ”, Rizal’s initials in reverse.

He died too young.