SIR CARLOS ARNALDO AND RIZAL'S GRAND NIECES

A family visit with Siony, Naty and Carmen, the grand nieces of José Rizal

Carlos Arnaldo

Philippines
January 17, 2010
Source: http://www.mnnetherlands.com/categories/articles/224/224_afamilyvisitwithsionynaty.php

“Magandang umaga po, maaari po ba kaming umakyat?”

“Tuloy po kayo. . . Ako po si Mrs Anna Maria Belen Lopez Rizal Bantug, these ladies are my mother, Mrs Asuncion Lopez Rizal Bantug, and her sisters, Mrs Natividad Lopez Rizal and Mrs Carmen Lopez Rizal Consunji. All are the grand nieces of José Rizal, grand daughters of his elder sister, Narcisa.”

Author Carlos Arnaldo with the Three Grand Nieces

I felt honored to be welcomed into the home of these three elegant ladies, the last vestige of a long gone era of heroism and national ardor. When they heard I was coming to visit, they even proposed to wear their old Filipina gowns with the large balintawak shoulders. But this was not possible, everything was burned in the family home last November 2009.

Over late morning coffee, we started talking about whether Rizal was a mason or not, and whether he recanted as it is still hotly debated today. Even our tempered discussion fell into a quiet hush amidst puzzled faces. It must be recalled that in the actual days of Rizal, fealty to the church and the friars was expressed in outward devotions, like mass, sacraments, baptisms, generous contributions. To be a free mason or propound any of their beliefs would immediately be taken as an act of disloyalty with the risk of all the punishments and stigma attached. To admit even a hint of masonry at that time, could be perilous. Silence today was a gesture of loyalty to their Lolo José.

Carmen Consunji Lopez Rizal

Carmen with Chit Pedrosa

In her book, Lolo José: an illustrated portrait of José Rizal (Quezon City: Vibal Foundation, Inc. and the Intramuros Administration, 2008), author Asuncion Lopez Rizal Bantug is less silent. She discusses both sides of the question, “One faction insists that he did [retract], having been won back by two Jesuits who visited him on his last night, bringing with him an old school medallion of his and a statue of the Sacred Heart he had carved as a boy. According to this claim, he wrote down his retraction, confessed, heard Mass in the morning and received communion, and was then married to Josephine Bracken.”

And yet this explanation does not fit in well with other historical events following the execution, like the ‘disappearance’ of his body and its being found unidentified in a burial place in Santa Ana. If he retracted, he should have been buried with discrete honor in a Catholic cemetery and the friars should have been celebrating the triumph of his defeat.

And so “Another faction ,” writes Siony, “argues that it’s not only what we know of Rizal’s character that militates against this claim of retraction, but also what we know of his activities on his last night, which leaves no room for the various religious functions he is said to have joined. Or so avers this group—which therefore brands as a forgery the document of retraction allegedly found in the church archives in 1935.”

Anna Maria Belen Lopez Rizal Bantug

I would tend to believe, with Siony and her daughter, Mrs Belen Lopez Rizal Bantug, that through his Jesuit education, Rizal had reached a higher level of intelligence that could assimilate seemingly contrary beliefs and philosophies which when seen at a lower, more fundamental level, seem irresolvable; but when looked at through a higher logic and more profound understanding, can be reconciled.

Four Generations of Consunji-Lopez-Rizal

Group Photo

Also recall at that time that Rizal’s antagonist was not the credo of the Catholic church, but the lavish lifestyle of the friars and their frivolous, contemptuous treatment of the peasants. And hence, Rizal could have expressed his stance for social justice in terms of the socialistic philosophies of the time without at all putting into question any Catholic doctrine. But such declarations of social justice, however inherent in catholic dogma itself, would have a direct accusatory bearing on the life style of the friars and the guardia civil who supported them, and who in effect ignored the basics of Catholic dogma and hardly ever lived it. In effect, Rizal was not so much a threat to Christianity or to Spain, as a threat to the religio-political connivance of friars and the local governor lords.

And so “A third is that there was no retraction, because Rizal never apostatized and thus didn’t consider himself outside the Church. He refused to retract ‘religious errors’ because he did not feel he had committed any.”

Natividad Lopez Rizal

Siony Lopez Rizal Bantug, Naty Lopez Rizal, Carmen Lopez Rizal

In this way, Siony in her book fills in the many gaps of other works on Rizal, she fills them in from the memory of the stories her father, Dr Leoncio Lopez Rizal, had told her. She started this book, by noting down his stories, and over the years comparing these with other sources she read. These then became a pile of anecdotes that she meticulously reorganized into coherent chapters, thus filling in, through the memory of her father, the many gaps, that are found in the other accounts of the national hero. The first edition was published in 1988 through the support of Dr Jaime Laya, then the Action Officer of the Intramuros Administration. The second edition was published in 2008 with a preface by Nick Joaquin who aptly writes that Siony is writing not research from documents and archives, but “reportage: the words of witnesses, the testimony of primary sources, the gospel of disciples. But even more exciting is the unfamiliar material, the private details known only to and lovingly cherished by the family.” The book is also rich with images and illustrations of the period.

I was therefore most pleased when Siony took the pen and signed my copy of her book!

Siony Lopez Signs Her Book

“You are leaving already,” asked Naty with a tone of sadness. “We are enjoying your company, you must stay this afternoon and dance with us.” And Carmen began waving her hands to the beat of a cotillon. Several times a week, the three ladies dress up in dancing gowns and have an hour of dance class. “We all dance very well,” she said invitingly.

The Burnt Lopez-Rizal Residence

And on that happy note, we left, passing by their burnt house, symbolic of the real threat to paper-based history, documentation and archives. If it weren’t for the equally fragile living memory of Siony and her sisters, and how they transmit this to their children, and their children’s children, how could we ever know all we know of Lolo José today?

Carmen concluded this intimate and rich family visit with a smile full of a lifetime of memories: “Ako, apo ni Rizal, I’m proud to be the apo ni José Rizal.”

CONGRATULATIONS TO SIR CARLOS ARNALDO

Sir Carlos Arnaldo, KCR exalted to KGOR

At official ceremonies at OKOR Headquarters on the anniversary of Rizal’s martyrdom, 30 December 2009, Sir Virgilio Esguerra, KGCR, Supreme Commander assisted by the Supreme Pursuivant, Sir Samuel Samuela, KGOR conducted induction ceremonies for several new Knights. Keynote speaker was Sir Lamberto Nanquil, KGCR, member of the Council of Elders.

Highlighting the occasion was the exaltation of Sir Carlos Arnaldo, KCR to the further degree, KGOR. The citation was read by the Supreme Chancellor and the official sword and sash were rendered to Sir Carlos. Sir Carlos then addressed the audience, focusing on the younger knights, urging them that it is not promotion which is important, it is solid work and contribution to the ideals of the Order. Higher rank means more work, more service, more demands.

A highlight of the cultural presentation that followed was the dance of a group of the Rizal Youth Leadership Institute.

SIR CARLOS ARNALDO, A TRUE RIZALIST

Rizal, the hero of Dapitan

Sir Carlos Arnaldo, KCR, Deputy Area Commander, France

The Netherlands
January 12, 2010

Photos : Sir Carlos Arnaldo

(Dapitan, 28 December 2009) The landing of Rizal in Dapitan is as contradictory as its presentation in bronze sculpture. It is the newest monument to the national hero, scheduled to be inaugurated later today by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, on the very shores of the island of Dapitan, actually a long, narrow sandbar fronting the city proper, then a military outpost in the wilds of the ‘great island,’ Mindanao.

This December 28 and 29, the Order of the Knights of Rizal will be represented by its highest official, Sir Virgilio Esguerra, KGCR, Supreme Commander, to participate in the celebrations and the inauguration of the bronze sculpture, the Landing of Rizal in Dapitan. Ceremonies will be conducted by the Knights of Rizal Dapitan Chapter.

He was sent to Dapitan by the Spanish guardia civil, as a traitor for whom they found insufficient evidence to condemn. He arrived as a free man and was escorted by the Commanding General himself to be lodged at his office and residence in town.

Choy at Dapitan

He was sent to exile on this forsaken island? He arrived as a doctor ready to set up practice.

He was persecuted for his beliefs in social equality, and justice. He landed as an educated renaissance man, ready to open a school and educate the talented young citizens of Dapitan.

The Landing in Dapitan">

The Landing in Dapitan

The landing scene in life-size bronze shows Rizal leading his ‘captors’ from the skiff to the shore, he is dressed, as usual, in his Spanish styled overcoat. Commanding General Ricardo Carnicero accompanies him, but walking slightly behind.

Yes, Rizal leads the way. Ironically, Rizal appears triumphant, not dazed or daunted. He is strong, not weakened by the inane questioning of his ignorant captors and their friar consorts. Rizal is the dominant figure here, not the guardia civil nor the church. He is more triumphant descending this skiff, than MacArthur landing in Lingayen from a battleship.

In Dapitan, Rizal is the hero, not the prisoner in exile.

Statue of Rizal in the park fronting St James Churchm Dapitan

A rather complete and anecdotal account of Dapitan, based on letters and documents of the time can be found in the chapter, ‘Rizal in Dapitan,’ in the Great Island (Studies in the exploration and evangelization of Mindanao; Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2004) by the late Fr Miguel Bernad, S.J. Fr Bernad was a prolific talker, a highly organized speaker, and an elegant writer. He lends his gentle plume to this work making use of, but refusing enslavement to the discipline of sources. Mme Elisabteh Enerio, Professor of History at Xavier University, in Cagayan de Oro, led me to this significant work of our dear late friend, and to other writings, as well as the letters of Rizal. She herself is an avid reader of Philippine history and literature and finds great comfort in the writings of José Rizal. In this short article I can capture only small but vivid snapshots, all showing that exile was hardly the term for Rizal’s life in Dapitan.

St James Church, Dapitan

Upon arriving in Dapitan, he was originally offered the choice to set up lodging with the Commanding General, or stay with the Jesuits, then assigned to the island. Again, a nemesis situation, as his favourite mentor, Fr Francisco de Paula Sanchez, S.J., was on hand to welcome him, the very same Jesuit, now ordained, who as a scholastic at the Municipal de Ateneo in Intramuros had been his teacher in religion, Spanish, Latin and Greek. He would naturally have chosen the Jesuits, but the Manila Jesuit Superior had already sent ahead a letter to the local parish priest to welcome Rizal provided he recanted his being a mason and returned to the fold to receive the sacraments. According to Fr Bernad in his book, Rizal opted to stay with the general, and against all expectation, they became very good friends, the general even supporting many of Rizal’s projects. Other historians, among whom, Fr John Schumacher, S.J., as Elisabeth pointed out, believe that there is no documentary evidence to show that Rizal ever formally became a mason, though he did hold several beliefs common to the masons.

Chinchin Gutierrez in the role of Josephine Bracken in the film of Jose Rizal.

During his four year sojourn in Dapitan, aside from a paradise romance with Josephine Bracken, Rizal made a number of significant contributions to Philippine society at that time. His earliest was the creation of a large relief map of Mindanao, eventually to be followed by similar maps of all the other island regions of the country. This he did with the help of Fr Francisco’s scientific knowledge of measuring heights and distances and his measuring instruments. The relief maps were originally built in stone and shell and constructed to reflect the exact topography of the island of Mindano, as it was then known and charted. The other islands, however, were never completed. And that of Mindanao has now been flattened by yearly rains and poor maintenance. Today, exhibiting little relief, it is a somewhat flat grassy plain showing only the outline of the ‘great island.’

A second major work was his description of the structure and process of the Tagalog language. This was particularly in preparation for similar studies of the languages spoken in Mindanao.

A third, though short-lived project, was his establishment of a school for young talented boys to learn the humanities, in very much the same way he did as a student at the Municipal de Ateneo. For this he was helped by Fr Francisco de Paula Sanchez. And under his influence, and in response to his scientific bent, Rizal adjusted the usual curricula or ratio studiorum, adding algebra, geometry and geography. The students also practised farming and fencing, as they sing in their academy hymn:

Los problemas de ciencias exactas,

De la patria la historia estudiamos

Tres y quatro lenguas hablamos

Acordando la fé y la razon.

Nuestos brazos manejan a turno

El chuchillo, la pluma , la azada

La piqueta, el fusil y la espada

Companeros de fuerte varon.



We study the problems of the exact sciences,

And the history of our country.

We speak three or four languagegs,

Reconciling Faith and Reason.

With our hands we handle in turn

The knife, the pen, the spade,

The pick axe, the gun, the sword—

Companions of the brave man.

Fourth, he set up a clinic in a sawali and bamboo house on a part of the long sandbar of Dapitan called Talisay. Here he treated patients principally as an ophthalmologist, as that was his training in Manila, Madrid, Paris and Heidelberg. He had many patients from all over the nearby provinces and islands, and even as far as Hong Kong. Most of the time, however, he had to work as a general practitioner and tend to more common ailments, but all these services he often provided without fees.

The hexagonal sawali house where Rizal received his patients and performed eye surgery.

Retiro.">Large fishing bangkas with spider nets, fronting the Retiro.

In 1885, several years before Rizal left for Dapitan, the Dominican friars had claimed the whole of the Calamba territories; including the residence and farm of the Rizal family, their neighbors and tenants. Though this was disputed in court, the land was finally ceded to the Dominicans, who then started the process of evicting the farmers and tenants. With all the opposition they had, the Dominicans then decided to evict only five families as an ‘example.’ This had hurt Rizal very much and he wanted to do something to restore this unjust situation. So he bought another plot of land near Dapitan, and called it Nueva Kalamba, preferring the ‘k’ spelling to the hispanicized ‘c’ spelling. Here (his fifth project), he resettled the old Calamba farmers gradually and slowly, so as not to attract attention of the friars nor of the guardia civil.

The life of Rizal in Dapitan is epitomized in his Retiro, a plot of 16 hectares where he built a clinic for his medical practice, his own residence, and a workshop and school. Here, Rizal also did a little farming. Mi Retiro, Rizal’s own poem, describes it.

Su techo es fragil nipa, su suelo debil cana

Sus vigas y columnas madero sin labrar

Nada vale por cierto mi rustica cabana

Mas duerme en el regazo de la eterna montana

Y la canta y arulla noche y dia la mar.



Or in Nick Joaquin’s elegant hand --

Its roof is fragile nipa , its floor is brittle bamboo

Its beams and posts are rough as rough-hewn wood can be

Of no worth, it is certain, is my rustic cabin

But on the lap of the eternal mount it slumbers

And night and day is lulled by the crooning of the sea.

Let us hear the story of Rizal’s life here, in his own words, his letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt on 19 December 1893 (Epistolario Rizalino, V. Part II,No. 110, pp. 657)658)

I am going to tell you how we live here. I have a square house, another hexagonal, and another octagonal –all made of bamboo, wood and nipa. In the square one, my mother, my sister Trinidad, a nephew and I live. In the octagonal, my boys live—some boys whom I teach arithmetic, Spanish and English –and now and then a patient who has been operated on. In the hexagonal, are my chickens. From my house I hear the murmur of a crystalline rivulet that comes from the high rocks. I see the beach, the sea where I have two small crafts—two canoes or barotos as they call them here. I have many fruit trees—mangoes, lanzones, guayabanos, baluno, nanka, etc. I have rabbits, dogs and cats, etc. I get up early—at 5:00. I visit my fields, I feed the chickens, I wake up my folks, and start them moving. At 7:30 we take breakfast --tea, pastry, cheese, sweets, etc. Afterwards I treat my poor patients who come to my land. I dress and go to the town in my baroto, I treat the people there and I return at 12:00 and take lunch. Afterwards, I teach the boys until 4:00 and I spend the afternoon farming. I spend the evening reading and studying.

Retiro">Statue of Jose Rizal in the gardens of the Retiro

I say this retiro de Talisay sums up Rizal’s life in Dapitan, because it was here where he lived in peace and walked the gardens in meditation and reflection, often with Fr Francisco, his lifetime partner and soul brother. You can still visit this retiro in Dapitan, pretty much as it was in Rizal’s time. It is also instructive to sit on the grass near the sawali clinic in front of the bay and read the whole poem in Spanish or in English. Read again too his letter to Blumentritt.

He held his medical practice here and operated on his own mother in the sawali clinic. He ran the little academy behind and planted his garden.

But in all, his was a life of service to the community-- hardly the makings of a life in exile.

His principal threat to the Spanish judiciary system was his campaign to move the evicted farmers from the lands in Calamba (Laguna) to Nueva Kalamba near Dapitan, not because this was wrong to do, but because it pointed to the wrongness of their being evicted and their lands being grabbed by he Dominican Friars. Similarly, had the colonial authorities been more intelligent, they would quickly discover that his very educational efforts were ‘subversive,’ in the sense that he was teaching his students how to learn their environment and understand their political situation of indebtedness and slavery to the whims of business, the church and the guardia civil, and how to speak to the world at large. Rizal believed deeply that education was the first step to liberty.

In every way, José Rizal the humanist, was still in many ways, Rizal the brash student putting into practice the teachings of his Jesuit scholastics about equality, social justice, equality, and peace.

Hence even his bronzed statue today depicts Rizal as landing, not in defeat, but in triumph.

Source: http://www.mnnetherlands.com/categories/articles/217/217_rizaltheheroofdapitan.php

PLEASE PASS ON...

Something to Raise your Consciousness...

FILIPINO HUMOR

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VISIT OF TWO RIZAL DESCENDANTS IN EUROPE

Source: http://www.mnnetherlands.com/categories/articles/225/225_visitoftworizaldescendant.php

Lucien Spittael

Belgium-December 2009

The great Malayan, Jose Rizal, is still very alive in the Rizal family.

Last October I gave a two hour's lecture "Rizal in Europe” at the National Historical Institute. The same lecture was given to the Rizal family.

Mrs. Malou Villaroman, at a Rizal marker in Paris, France on 31 December 2009. (Photo Sir Leo Mojica, Paris)

Mrs Malou Villaroman at the Rizal marker in Ghent, Belgium

A descendant of Rizal's eldest sister Saturnina, Mrs. Malou Villaroman, asked for more information about the hotel Noailles in Marseilles where Rizal stayed in 1882. As soon as she found out that there was no Rizal marker at this location she informed me about a visit to Europe.

At the end of 2009, Mrs. Villaroman and her daughter Beatriz came to Europe and visited France and Belgium. With the help of the Knights of Rizal in Paris she started the procedure for the installation of a marker in Marseilles.

Mrs. Malou Villaroman at the Rizal marker in Brussels, Belgium

Mrs. Malou Villaroman and daughter Beatriz at my residence

From Paris Mrs. Villaroman came to Belgium. El Filibusterismo Chapter had the honour to welcome her at my house.

Before lunch Mrs Villaroman leafed through my Rizalian library consisting of more than 300 titles and we talked about Jose Rizal. After lunch we visited the Rizal markers in Ghent and Brussels.

Mrs. Villaroman left very satisfied Europe and knows that Rizal is also still alive in Europe.

KAPUTT - FERTIG

Mr Marasigan:

"Kaputt" is German word meaning broken.
"Fertig" is the German word for done or finished.

Your loud NON-Answers to Lazir's varied questions mainly confirmed/cemented readers' strong suspicions you KNOW/COVER-UP something stinky! We have many discerning Readers here, thanks to Sir Nito! hehehe

By all means, please MOVE FORWARD. Lazir is not going to slow you down nor stop you.

Readers await your written PROGRESS REPORT (6 months from now? or after 1 year from today?) on implementation of your IMMEDIATE Plans and Projects!

Might interest you to know two German businessmen reportedly went "BANKRUPT" attempting to do business in Manila, reportedly "facilitated" or helped by former Europe Area (before Europe became a Region) Cdr Sir Carlos Benitez (nephew of former Senator Helen Benitez) and a top IHQ KOR official (can we ask Quiambao?) reportedly asking for a PERCENTAGE cut (?) to be part of the deal get (hospital cleaning?) equipments/gadgets pass through Philippine customs.

When the Germans reportedly couldn't bring their container into Manila, through Philippine customs, they gave up!

Did the Germans REFUSE payment of the requested exorbitant/high (?) percentage CUT that ultimately stopped the deal? Or how come the deal did not get through? Why couldn't the Germans bring their container into Manila? How LONG did they try to get their container in before giving up? Months? Was any amount given/paid to any KOR official? Why did the Germans become "bankrupt"?

May no Corrupt official, small time or big time operator stop you.

:)
Lazir

----- Original Nachricht ----
Von: JMarasigan
An: kor-world@googlegroups.com, mari...@arcor.de
Datum: 15.01.2010 22:30
Betreff: [KOR World] TIME TO MOVE FORWARD

Mr. Victoria:

As far as I am is concerned our TABLE EXERCISE is a done deal, kaput! I expected in Round 3, that you will finally admit those magic words - TALK IS CHEAP - you did.

You heard my views and I heard yours, and you admitted that you are now going in circle - CORRECT, people are getting bored.

Now its Show Time - you may proceed with the IMPLEMENTATION PHASE - Defending your Principles and Deeds on a Number of Issues with KOR.

Let's hear them if people are interested. I will wait for the final product if you address your timetable and date. Don't be too hang-up on the THESIS Issue, we will hire a couple of "Cleaning Ladies" to sort it out.

You're Good to GO. Good Luck!

For the mean time, I will carry-on with our On-going internal projects that the Canada Region is initiating. (RY2009-2012 Plan) OPI - Regional Pursuivant:
a.) KOR Canada Region / PIDC GK Project
b.) Re-Integration of Inactive Chapters in the GTA Area, Vancouver and Montreal
c.) New Canada Region Organizational Structure for RY 2010-2012
d.) On-Going research on the controversial Letter of Retraction (Thanks to Sir Lucien recently for confirming some issues and input provided by a number of Brother Knights in the GTA Area)
e.) KOR Federal Funding Application on Remote Development re: Introduction of Renewable Energy in Remote Areas in Visayas and Mindanao. (Advisory Board - Manny Bade)

Let us all look forward for a better tomorrow, working together in harmony and maintaining respect to one another for the good of the Order.

Thank you Sir Nito Abad for allowing us to participate.

NON OMNIS MORIAR:

Sir Jimmy Marasigan
Canada Region