Chapter 19 Garcia

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CHAPTER 19:
Practical Nationalism in Dapitan

As pointed out in the previous chapter, Rizal was deported to Dapitan

by virtue of Despujol's gubernatorial decree of 1892. In the four years of
banishment to Dapitan, Rizal demonstrated practical nationalism by living-
out what he had preached to his countrymen and fellow reformers. This
chapter is focused on Rizal's exile in Dapitan from 1892 to 1896.

Dapitan During the Arrival of Rizal

At the time of Rizal's deportation to Dapitan, the place had long

been a politico-military outpost of the Spaniards in the Philippines (Qurino,
1971). It was one the forefronts of Spanish culture, religion, and civilization
in Muslim Mindanao. It was headed by a politico-military commander
and with a parish priest, tasked with the conversion of the island into
Catholicism.Rizal arrived at Dapitan on July 17, 1892, on board the steamer
Cebu. The place was swampy with unplanned streets, at the time Rizal
set foot in Dapitan. Nonetheless, he found its land fertile. There was no
potable water in the place, as well as lighting system, which made the
town appear desolate. People were dying of different diseases, as they
were not provided proper medical services by the authorities. The economy
was tied to primitive agriculture, with an undeveloped fishing industry.277
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Although, trade was conducted in the town, it was at that time controlled
by the Chinese inhabitants of the place. This was Dapitan at the time of
Rizal's arrival.

Rizal and Captain Carnicero

Captain Ricardo Carnicero, the politico-military commander of the

town received Rizal as a prisoner. Originally, Rizal was to reside at the
Jesuit Mission House under the Father Obach, the parish priest of Dapitan,
based on the letter of Father Pablo Pastells, the Superior of the Society
of Jesus in the Philippines. Rizal, however, opted not to stay with the
Jesuits, on account of the following conditions stated in Fr. Pastells
letter to Fr. Obach, which he had to comply with, namely: (1) to make
public retraction of his religious errors; (2) to issue public statements
unmistakably pro-Spanish; (3) to undergo the spiritual exercises of St.
Ignatius; (4) to make a general confession of his past life; and (5) to lead
a model religious and pro-Spanish life (Guerrero, 1998).As Rizal was not willing to comply with the
aforementioned conditions,
he decided to stay temporarily with Captain Ricardo Carnicero. Considering
that the politico-military commander of the island was a free thinker,
Rizal was able to get along well with him. In due time, Carnicero found
Rizal a man of commendable qualities and good personality. As a
consequence of the positive impressions that Carnicero had of Rizal, he
gave the latter a free rein to help improve Dapitan. Moreover, Carnicero
gave Rizal all the liberties except to the leave the place. In fact, he was
just required by Carnicero to report to the military outpost once a week.Rizal and Carnicero became good
friends. In the frequent exchange
of views between the two, Rizal in many occasions had communicated to
Carnicero his political beliefs at the time of his exile in Dapitan
(Guerrero, 1998). For Rizal, the Philippines would become the happiest
country in the world should Spain grant her the following reforms; (1)
representation in the Spanish Cortes; (2) securization of the parishes;
(3) reformation of the administration in all its branches; (4) encouragement
of primary instruction and elimination of friar intervention; (5) granting
teachers of both sexes better salaries; (6) division of government jobs
equally between the Spaniards and Filipinos; (7) making the
administration moral; (8) creation of schools of arts and trades in
provincial capitals; (9) freedom of the speech and press; and (10) freedom
of religion.
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Carnicero, on his part, recognized Rizal's rationality on advocating
support on
the aforementioned reforms. In fact, he offered Rizal assistance and
made Rizal realize the possibility that the friars will be out to opposehaving these reforms made known in
Spain. Nevertheless, hethese reforms.In appreciation of Carnicero's kindness and generosity, Rizal
composed a poem, entitled A Don Ricardo Carnicero (Romero et al, 1978).
The poem runs as follows:A Don Ricardo Carniceroas noStreets of Dapitan
That before in the dark night
Caused sad and fear,
Now lighted smile;
Everywhere are labor projects,
Everywhere continuous work;
Here a school, there a road,
There the mind plans
The bringing of the fountain
From the nearby clear Linaw.Only a year had passed,
And already the towns stir,
Already Dapitan is awakening
From the lethargy it slept;
And hopes that he who started
Without doubt and uneasiness,
Shall not depart without the sun
Seeing his work completed,
For if nothing terrifies him
"Tis because faith in Dapitan he has in excessMore than chief and commander
Who rules with mailed fist,
Continue being the good Spaniard
Of the district loving father
And since at this instant
You are the premier power
Of the people that under the flag
Of Spain faithfully shelter take,
Be a father to the daughter
Who in her mother alone depends.
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And even if toward your conduct
Inert, mute and cold,
They know not how to with great vigor
Gracefully correspond,
Deny them not your love,
For poor and simple people
Find not eloquent voice
To express their tenderness,
And in their sad misfortune
Are more silent the more they feel.Because our greatest longing
Is that in this foreign land
You find the same Spain
With the same sun and sky:
That our soil be yours
Like your infant cradle;
Teach her with fondness
Labor and justice,
For if the.country is not Galicia
Our love is well worth Miño.

Rizal Builds His Home at Talisay

As mentioned earlier, Rizal stayed with Captain Carnicero at the

beginning of his exile in Dapitan. After two months in the area, Rizal was
able to build his own home in Dapitan. This was because his ticket won
in the Spanish lottery. Way back in Europe, he was so fond of buying
these tickets while he was studying at the Unibersidad Central de Madrid.
For the first time, he won a prize amounting to 1000 PhP.With cash on hand, Rizal immediately bought land in
Talisay, which
was more than 70 hectares (Quirino, 1940). He then constructed house
made of nipa and bamboo, with a veranda at front and to one side of the
house. As a physician, he was cognizant of the dangers of dysentery and
cholera germs from an open pit, so he took all the necessary precautions
to prevent their occurrence in his own home. Aside from his own home,
he built four or five additional houses for his p pils and patients, which
were all of the conventional square type.
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After settling down in Talisay, where he built his home, a school,
and a clinic, Rizal organized a very hectic, daily schedule for himself.
This can be gleaned from his letter to Blumentritt, as cited by Osias
(1948). Part of this letter is shown below:I get up early
chickens, wake up my people and get things moving. At 7:30, we have
breakfast: tea; curdled cheese, sweets, etc. Afterwards, I treat my poor
patients who come to see me. Iget dressed and go to town in my baroto,
attend to the sick people there, and bu noon return home where lunch is
waiting. Then I teach the youngsters until 4 o'clock, and the rest of the
afternoon I dedicate to agriculture. I spend my evening reading and
studying.at 5 o'clock in the morning. I visit my fields, feed my-It was here in Dapitan, particularly Talisay, where
Rizal used his
talents and limited resources to be of service to his countrymen during
his four years of exile. Here, Rizal practiced his profession as a doctor,
farmer, teacher, community developer, engineer and scientist. In effect,
Rizal won the admiration, respect, and recognition not only of the people
of Dapitan, but also of Captain Ricardo Carnicero.

Community Leadership in Dapitan

After a few weeks of familiarizing himself with his new environment,

Rizal found himself busy with a round of activities for Dapitan and its
people. He conceptualized and implemented plans for beautifying the
town. He drew a sketch of the public plaza with suggested improvements
and had it approved by Governor Carnicero. With the assistance of the
newly arrived Father Sanchez, his former teacher at Ateneo Municipal,
Rizal constructed a huge relief map of Mindanao out of stones, earth,
and grass (Quirino, 1940). Later, he facilitated the putting up of lampposts
at every corner of the town, with the help of the people. To supply water
for drinking and irrigation, he directed the construction of a water system.Rizal soon opened a school for
young boys of his neighborhood,
following the Atenean system of education (Capino et al, 1977). The
subjects offered to these young boys consisted of reading, writing,
arithmetic, geometry, languages, geography, history and good conduct.
As a teacher, Rizal saw to it that his pupils were not only equipped with
learning skills. He gave them practical lessons on the use of their hands.
Thus, training of pupils centered on both academic and vocational pursuits.
This was because Rizal believed that education had to be integrated with
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the development of the home and the community. Moreover, he also
taught his pupils boxing, swinging on parallel bars and rings, swimming
and arnis on account of his belief that a sound body makes a sound
mind,Rizal's method of teaching was, therefore, very different from the
elementary and parochial schools of his time. He saw to it that learning
was related to the actual life situations in Dapitan, particularly in Talisay,
where. the school was situated. Moreover. Rizal included involvement in
community development as part of the curriculum of the school heestablished in the area.A Soctor, Rizal
practiced his profession in his new home. When
the people learned that he was a good physician, patients start flocking
to his clinic, As he offered his services free for those who were financially
incapable of paying a doctor, many sick people started consulting him.
One of his patients in the month of August, 1893 was his own mother.
Owing to her failing eyesight, Doña Teodora traveled to Dapitan with
Trining, to have her eyes operated on by Rizal.Owing to the fact that the Chinese controlled retail trade
andcommerce in Dapitan, Rizal organized an association of farmers to improve
farm production and generate higher incomes. This organization even
included residents of the town, who were encouraged by Rizal to engage
in the buying and selling of goods and products, particularly copra and
hemp. This enterprise proved advantageous to the farmers who got higher
prices for their products.Rizal even taught the fishermen of Dapitan the making and use of
fishnets in fishing. He even invited fishermen from Calamba to teach the
townsmen of Dapitan new methods of fishing. The training provided by
Rizal along this line had helped improve the way of living of the fishermenin the area.These experiences of
Rizal in Dapitan greatly enhanced his concept
of practical leadership and nationalism (Romero et al, 1978). These
experiences, likewise, led Rizal to conclude that self-improvement and
community development are very vital in the achievement of national
integrity and good governance.
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Rizal-Pastells Debate on ReligionDuring his exile in Dapitan, Rizal had a very lengthy debate with
Father Pastells on religion. This debate was triggered by the sending of
Father Pastells of Sarda's book, with his advice that Rizal had to abstain
from his foolishness of viewing religion from the prism of individual
judgment and self-esteem (Zaide & Zaide, 1999).At the time that exchange in religious views took place
between
Rizal and Pastells, Rizal was 31, while Pastells was 45 years old. Pastells,
then was the Superior or the highest ranking Jesuit in the Philippines.
Pastells' purpose was to bring back Rizal to the fold of the Catholic faith.
On the other hand, Rizal wanted to know if he could go back to his old
faith, without violence to his conscience and convictions. The exchange
of correspondence between the two was marked by mutual cordiality and
respect. Nonetheless, as time went on their letters took on an air of
religious debate.Replying to Father Pastells' instructions to Rizal that the latter
should stop his foolishness for wanting to look at his affairs with the
prism of his own self-judgment and self-love, Rizal stressed the point
that God himself equipped each person with the lamp of intelligence as
his moral guide. The person may have recourse to the opinion of others,
to extrinsic authority, but in the end, the decision rests on judgment
made in the light of one's own God-given conscience.From the foregoing, it can be gleaned that for Rizal,
conscience is
consequent to his belief in God. This was very clearly illustrated by Rizal
in one of his letters to Fr. Pastells (De la Rosa, OP, 2000):How can I doubt God's existence when I am so
convinced of my own?
Whoever recognizes the effect recognizes the cause. To doubt God's
existence would be to doubt one's own conscience and consequently
everything else. But then, would life have any meaning at all?Rizal believed in the freedom of the human mind
and the validity of
individual reasoning (Torres, 1978). Thus, he averred: "what I do believe
now, I believe through reasoning and it is because my conscience cannot
accept more than what is compatible with thought
would be remiss in my duty of being rational if I prostitute my reason and
accept what is absurd."I believe that I...Father Pastells replied by saying: "I say that you should not be
guided by the prism of your own judgment and self-love because these
are obstructed and falsified by erroneous principles and disorderly
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affections" (Bonoan, 1994). He even accused Rizal of being a Protestant
by his writing of the Noli Me Tangere. Rizal countered by saying: "Rizal a
Protestant..... Your Reverence should have heard my discussion with a
Protestant pastor..." Arguing further, he averred:There, speaking freely, calmly, with deliberation, we
discussed our
respective beliefs in morality of peoples and the influence on them of
their respective creeds. A great respect for the good faith of the adversary,
and for the ideas which were necessary pooled apart due to diversity of
race, education, and age, led us almost always to the conclusion that
religions, no matter what they were, should not make men enemies of
one another, but good friends, and good friends at that (Kalaw, 1930-
1938).From the foregoing, it is evident that Rizal was telling Father Pastells
to respect the religious beliefs of others. He refuted reasoning within
the ambit of religious dogma for scholasticism was not the only
philosophical or theological vehicle in order to arrive at the truth in
matters of faith.The main arguments in the Rizal-Pastells' correspondence are
summarized below (Bonoan, 1994).Rizal rejects faith and upholds reason as the sole norm of knowledge.
He believes in God by reason, not by faith and rejects the Christian
revelation running counter to reason: the Bible as mere classical writing;
miracles are impossible; Christ is merely a great man; and the Church
is the best of religious bodies but not divine. Rather, Rizal believes in
God's living revelation of nature.On the contrary, Pastells counters reason, damaged by its original
sin, must be supported by faith; that revelation is verified by prophecies
and miracles. His argument is from authority: the Church, which proposes
dogmas, is worthy of belief as it is a divine institution, founded by Jesus
Christ who proved himself as God's son by miracles, especially by risingfrom the dead.On the basis of Rizal-
Pastells debate, it is evident that Rizal's
rationalist rhetoric on religion, consists of the following elements (De la
Rosa, OP, 2000): the primacy of conscience; a firm belief in God; boundless
trust in the Divine Providence; the profound experience of God as a loving
Father; a sense of mission; strength of conviction; daily recourse to prayer,
and an openness to dialogue.
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Pastells tried to contrive the discussion into political issues by stating
that Spain subjugated and sustains its control of the Philippines by a
divine and natural right. Rizal did not contest Pastells on this point, as
politics for him needs wide, open spaces where freedom reigns. In the
end the great debate ended in stalemate. In one of his letters to
Blumentritt, he said:From these discussions, which took place almost everyday for more than
three months, Ithink Igot nothing more, if my judgment does not fail me,
than a profound respect for any idea conceived with sincerity and
practiced with conviction (Kalaw, 1930-1938).

Rizal and Josephine Bracken

Rizal's fame as an ophthalmologist spread beyond Dapitan and the

Philippines. Many, therefore, had visited Rizal in his clinic in the town
but none of them was so beautiful than Josephine Leopoldine Bracken.
Josephine and his uncle, Mr. George Tauffer, traveled all the way from
Hong Kong, with a card of introduction from Julio Llorente. Mr. Tauffer
wanted to see Rizal at that time as he was suffering from an eye ailment,
which was not cured in the British colony by the local eye specialists.
Prior to the arrival of Josephine and his uncle, Rizal was so busy with his
trading activity with merchants from Manila.Josephine's arrival in Dapitan drastically changed Rizal's daily
routines. He soon forgot the many things he had to attend to and instead
concentrated his time attending to the needs of Mr. Tauffer and his
foster daughter. This had been due to the nineteen-year old Josephine,
who was so beautiful and possessing all the enticement of womanhood.
Rizal, therefore, offered them the hospitality of whatever he had at that
time. With the passing of days, he found himself head over heels in love
with Josephine, who in turn, reciprocated Rizal's feeling for her.Rizal saw in Josephine, the qualities which
made him attracted to
Nellie Boustead. Josephine was very feminine in her ways. She was
modest and wise in the ways of the world. Rizal's relatives and friends
looked upon her with suspicion. In fact, rumors spread in Dapitan that
JosephineSinger in a Hong Kong restaurant. Josephine was a fifth and youngest
child of an Irish schoolmaster in the Pembroke Detachment at the Victoria
Barracks in Hong Kong, and when her mother died in 1876, after giving
birth to her, she was given to the Tauffers to be brought up. The first
and second Mrs. Tauffer died, and the third disliked Josephine much.
This led Josephine to live in the Italian convent in Hong Kong. Later,
Mr. Tauffer begged Josephine to return to take care of him on the groundwas not really an adopted daughter
of Mr. Tauffer but a café
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that his wife was starving him. In 1893, he developed an eye disease,
which cannot be cured by the specialists in Hong Kong. This led him and
Josephine to take a long journey to Mindanao just to have Rizal treat hiseye disease.ars with evil plans and
asked their brother not to eat any food that she
ight prepare without having Josephine taste it first. Despite the warning
Biven to him by his sisters., Rizal accepted Josephine, trusting his own
intuition and the promptings of his unhappy heart. Thus, in less than a
th after Josephine's arrival, Rizal asked her to become his lifetimeSisters suspected Josephine of being an
emissary of thepartner.Kizal sought the permission of Mr. Tauffer and expectedly, the latter
raged in fury. Rizal had been treating him, permitting him to regain a
little eyesight. Nonetheless, Tauffer lose hope of regaining his eyesight,
as his case was a hopeless one. Since Josephine was the only one left to
him in this world, Tauffer seized a razor to slash his throat either because
he was doomed to blindness or parental selfishness. Rizal, however, was
able to prevent Tauffer from killing himself.Tauffer, then left Dapitan and insisted Josephine accompany him.
Josephine did not go against the demand of the old man. Upon arriving in
Manila, however, Josephine took refuge in the house of Rizal's mother,
to whom she brought Rizal's letter of introduction, which runs as follows
(Quirino, 1940):Dapitan, March 14, 1895My very dear mother,The bearer of this letter is Miss Josephine
Leopoldine Tuafer, with
whom Iwas on the point of marrying, relying of course on your consent.
Our relations were broken at her suggestion because of the many
difficulties that came on the way. She is almost an orphan in everything;
she has no relatives except distant ones.As I am interested in her and it is very easy for her later to decide
to join me, and since she may be left all alone and abandoned, I beg of
you to give her the hospitality, treating her as if she were a daughter,
until she has a better opportunity or occasion to come back...Treat Miss Josephine as a person whom I esteem
and greatly
appreciate, and whom I would not like to see exposed or abandoned.Your affectionate son who loves you,Jose
Rizal
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Josephine was a total stranger to Rizal's mother and the other
members of the family, It was, however, enough that Rizal loved her.
They, therefore, welcomed her as Rizal's fiancée. One month after,
Josephine was back in Dapitan with Rizal. nJosephine's presence made life bearable for Rizal in Dapitan.
Meantime, she lived with Rizal's sisters to avoid any gossip, while Rizal
was arranging for their forthcoming marriage. Meanwhile, Rizal
experienced difficulties with Father Obach, the parish priest of Dapitan,
who insisted that a retraction is necessary before any marriage between
Rizal and Josephine can be officiated. Since Rizal was not inclined to
agree with this requirement but was cager to make his relationship
legal, a church ceremony was absolutely necessary, he argued with Father
Obach who decided to refer the matter to the Bishop of Cebu, who had
jurisdiction over Dapitan. Upon the advice of his family and with the
consent of Josephine, Rizal backed down with the negotiations with the
parish priest. In the absence of formal matrimony, Rizal and Josephine
pledged themselves before heaven lives as husband and wife.The following year after their common-law
marriage, Josephine
delivered prematurely a baby boy who died a few hours after birth. She
gave birth as a consequence of a quarrel with Rizal. Rizal named the
still born baby as Francisco, after his father and buried him under a
santol tree in Dapitan. Josephine, afterwards decided to leave for Hong
Kong via Manila. Rizal permitted her to go. In Manila, Josephine stayed
with Rizal's relatives. Her brief separation with Rizal made her realize
that life was unbearable, so after a month she asked Narcisa to accompany
her back to Dapitan. At first, Rizal was irritated by her return but because
he loved her very much, he welcomed Josephine with open arms, the
woman who shall be with him till his last days on earth.

Literary Works at Dapitan

Two important literary works Rizal produced, as an exile, were the

poems: Hymn To Talisay; and My Retreat. Hymn To Talisay is a poem
which Rizal intended to be a college song for the pupils he was teaching
in Talisay (Laubach, 1936). This poem was used as evidence, against him
at his trial. The poem runs as follows:
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HYMN TO TALISAY

At Dapitan, the sandy shore

And rocks aloft on mountain crest
Form thy throne, O refuge blest,
That we from childhood days have known,
In your vales that flowers adorn
And your fruitful leafy shade,
Our thinking powers are being made,
And soul with body being grown.We are youth not long on earth
But our souls are free from sorrow;
Calm, strong men we'll be tomorrow,
Who can guard our families'rights.
Lads are we whom naught can frighten,
Whether thunder, waves, or rain
Swift of arm, serene of mien
In peril, shall we wage our fights.With our games we churn the sand,
Through the caves and crags we roam,
On the rocks we make our home,
Everywhere our arms can reach.
Neither dark nor night obscure
Cause us fear, nor fierce torment
That even Satan can inventLife or death? We must face each!"Talisayans", people call us!
Mighty souls in bodies small
O'er Dapitan's district all
No Talisay like this towers.
None can match our reservoir.
Our diving pool the sea profound!
No rowing boat the world around
For a moment can pass ours.We study sciences exact;
The history of our motherland;
Three languages or four command;
Bring faith and reason in accord.,
Our hands can manage at one time
The sail and working spade and pen,
The mason's maul-for virile men
Companions -and the gun and the sword.
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Live, live, O leafy green Talisay!
Our voices sing thy praise in chorus
Clear star, and precious treasure for us.
Our childhood's wisdom and its balm.
In fights that wait for every mena,
In sorrow and adversity,
They memory a charm will be,
And in the tomb, thy name, thy calm.CHORUS:Hail, O Talisay!
Firm and untiring
Ever aspiring,
Stately thy gait.
Things, everywhere
In sea, land and air
Shalt thou dominate.Another important literary work by Rizal while in Dapitan was the
poem entitled Mi Retiro or My Retreat. This poem portrays Rizal's serene
life in his place of rustication. He wrote the poem in response to his
mother's request that Rizal should revive his interest in poetry writing.
From this poem, Rizal clearly expressed his acceptance of his fate for he
believed that justice would prevail in the end. Part of Derbyshire's
translation of this poem, as cited in Craig (1918) is presented below:
MY RETREAT

By the spreading beach where the sands are soft and fine
At the foot of the mouth in its mantle of green
Ihave built my hut in its mantle of green
From the forest seeking peace and a calmness divine,
Rest for the weary brain an silence to my sorrow's keen.Its roof of the frail palm-leaf and its floor the cane.
Its beams and posts of the unhewn wood;
Little there is of value in this hut so plain,
And better by far in the lap of the mount to have lain,
By the song and the murmur of the high sea's flood.A purling brook from the woodland glade
Drops down o'er the stones and around it sweeps,
Whence a fresh stream is drawn by the rough cane's aid;
That in the still night its murmur has made,
And in the day's heat a crystal fountain leaps.
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When the sky is serene how gently it flows,
And its zither unseen ceaselessly plays;
But when the rains fall a torrent it goes
Boiling and foaming through the rocky close,
Roaring unchecked to the sea's wide ways.The faith I keep and I hope to see shine
The day when the Idea prevails over might;
When after the fray and death's slow decline.
Some other voice sounds, far happier than mine,
To raise the glad of the triumph of the right.Hurl'd out into exile from the land I adore,
My future all dark and no refuge to seek;
My roseate dreams hover, round me once more,
Sole treasures of all that life to me bore;
The faiths of youth that with sincerity speak.But not as of old, full of life and of grace,
Do you hold out hopes of undying reward;
Sadder I find you; on your lov'd face,
Though still sincere, the pale lines trace
The marks of the faith it is yours to guard.You offer now, dreams, my gloom to appease,
And the years of my youth again to disclose;
So Ithank you, O storm, and heaven-born breeze,
That you knew of the hour my wild flight to ease,
To cast me back to the soil whence I rose.
By the spreading beach where the sands are soft and fine,
At the foot of the mount in its mantle of green;
I have found a home in the pleasant grove's confine,
In the shady woods, that peace and calmness divine,
Rest for the weary brain and silence to my sorrow keen.

Rizal's as An Exile

As an exile, Rizal did not forget his high sense of honor (Capino et
al, 1977). This was evidenced by his constant reminders to his pupils of
the importance of good conduct and behavior. Although Juan Sitges, the
military commander who replaced Carnicero, restricted his exercise of
freedom he enjoyed during Carnicero's time, Rizal religiously reported to
his office. He did not even escape Dapitan despite the encouragement of
many who visited him in the area. Here, we could see Rizal demonstrating
the values of obedience, self-control, and discipline.
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He demonstrated in Dapitan what a man can do and accomplish
within so little time. This had been brought in part by long years of
studious and hard work, backed up by a worthy objective and
determination to succeed (Resurreccion, 1982). Owing to his decision to
detach himself from the Propaganda Movement in Europe, Rizal was able
to devote more time other noteworthy activities. This provided him the
opportunity to demonstrate practical nationalism in Dapitan, which, in
effect, broadened his intellectual frontier and usefulness to the people
of the said town.As historical accounts would attest (Resurreccion, 1982), Rizal m
Dapitan has become: the first to introduce social and environmental
engineering; the first rural doctor; the first professional to engage in
business; the first practitioner of town planning and beautification; the
first to introduce the principles of livelihood and self-reliance programs;
the first to show the way to community development; to first ophthalmic
surgeon sought by patients from foreign land; the first to set up a precursor
of the modern community school, with himself as the first community
teacher; the first systematic collector of Philippine shells, butterflies,
reptiles, and other fauna and flora in Mindanao; the first in sanitary
engineering and public health work; and the first Filipino doctor with a
social conscience, who charged fees according to the patient's ability toрay.Thus, when he left Dapitan, the
town people regretted his departure.
On the day he left, the people had a band playing a funeral march.CHAPTER REVIEW1. Why was Rizal deported
to Dapitan in 1892?2. How did Rizal find Dapitan upon his arrival in this island town?