Role In The Revolution

Bracken garbed in Filipina attire

After his execution in Bagumbayan, relatives and friends were barred from retrieving Rizal's body. Instead, it was collected by cemetery workers and authorities had it dumped and buried in an unmarked grave in nearby Paco district.  Josephine and Narcisa were able to sneak behind and bribed a digger to place a marker "RPJ" on the freshly dug grave so they could get back to it later when it was safe.  (Exhumation was done two years later, under American rule. His shoes, hat and bones were retrieved and his corpse was obviously uncoffined).  Thereafter, within two weeks of his death, Rizal's vast Talisay estate property in Dapitan was subjected to sequestration by authorities.

Three days after the execution, bitten with bitterness from the loss of her husband and the impending sequestration of the place dear to her, Josephine the orphan twice over, joined the Filipino revolutionary forces in Cavite Province, crossing rebel lines guided by Rizal's sibling-revolutionaries, Paciano and  Trinidad.

Introduced as the widow of Rizal, she was well-received by the revolutionaries and became the source of their strength.  She took care and cured the wounded in the battlefront, refilled gunpowder for Mauser rifles and learned marksmanship. She was in attendance at the Tejeros Convention, March 22, 1897 (that surprisingly turned later into an election) and must have witnessed how Daniel Tirona insulted Andres Bonifacio, Katipunan Supremo, for not being a lawyer, the latter drawing his pistol challenging the former to a gun-duel or take back his word. They were calmed down by cooler heads.

Some battlefield eyewitness accounts mention about Josephine shooting to death a Spanish officer in one skirmish. She walked barefooted or rode on a carabao in their hike to the Katipunan redoubt in Maragondon.  After spending months in the battlefield, her movement was monitored by Spanish authorities and received threats of torture if captured. She either had her "golden hair" (as described by Rizal) dyed to black or wore a wig, as in the photo above, to confuse the Spaniards. Sometime May 1897, Paciano arranged her escape back to Manila where she was intercepted by the Spaniards before embarking for Hong Kong.  Her demeanor in the interrogation was wrought with utmost hatred and sarcasm against the establishment responsible for the death of her husband.  But they let her go because she was the daughter of an American citizen.

Rizal's drawing of Josephine

Following are excerpts of Josephine's reactions as told to French writer Henry Turot: “The whole world knew the mockery of a trial which was given to Rizal. Not only were there lacking proofs against him but also none could accuse him of having committed any wrong or injury. They criticized him on account of his book, the major portion of which had not even been read by the Spanish officers who composed the court-martial. Rizal insisted he was innocent; nevertheless, they imposed upon him the death penalty.

“He was to be executed at sunrise the following morning. It was then I entreated to be married to him. Believing that the separation following the nuptials would add to the torture of the martyr, they granted my request.

“The marriage celebration was performed by a friar. I spent the whole night on my knees in prayer, in front of the door of the prison where my husband was held.  At daybreak, the doors were opened and Rizal came forward, surrounded by the soldiers who were to shoot him. His arms were tied behind him. He walked with regular steps. They conducted him to the Luneta, the favorite promenade of the inhabitants of Manila and the place where, after the insurrection, capital punishment was enforced.

“The Spanish lieutenant who commanded the squad asked Rizal, where do you wish to be shot?’ Right in the heart,’ replied my husband in a strong, clear voice. ‘Impossible,’ replied the Lieutenant. ‘There is none convicted except those in high rank that has the right to ask to be shot in that manner. You shall be shot in the back.’ There was a moment of silence; then the volley was fired, and the victim of one of the the most odious crimes against Spain fell dead. ‘Long Live Spain,’ shouted the soldiers

“I asked for the remains of my husband, but I was refused. Then I swore to avenge his death. With a revolver and a dagger, I reached the camp of those in arms. They promised to aid me in accomplishing my objective and they gave me a Mauser gun captured from Spanish troops.”

Turot continues: "It was on January 6, 1897 that Josephine joined Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s rebels. She once led a charge against the Spaniards and killed one Spanish officer with her own rifle. She participated in many skirmishes, like the Battle of San Juan de Malabon. Most of the time she was barefooted and hungry."



next page:  Back In Hong Kong

My other blogs:

Traditional Hong Kong Herbal Tea House

Jou San! Sham Shui Po

Caramoan: Island-Gems of Camarines Sur, Philippines