Photo Credit: Dionesio Grava
During a reenactment of the historic Dec. 30, 1896 execution of the Philippines foremost hero, many in the crowd were taken aback when the squad leader of the rayadillo-attired role-playing Spanish soldiers – played by actor Frank Paras, Jr. — approached the lifeless body of their target after the volley of blank ammunition was fired and subsequently delivered a fatal shot to his head to make sure that he was not feigning death. I think many of us were not aware about this coup the grace that according to Prof. Ambeth Ocampo is historically accurate. The historian wrote in Rizal Without the Overcoat that although the soldiers granted Rizal’s request that his head be spared from the damage of gunfire, in the end the “tiro de gracia” nullified that permission. Ocampo also mentioned that although Jose Rizal was denied his other request to face the execution squad, he managed to twist his body at the last moment and fell to the ground with his face to the sky. There are those who interpret that as Rizal’s last act of defiance against the Spanish authorities.
That much was ascertained about the martyrdom of Rizal as reenacted in connection with the unveiling of an eight-foot-tall bronze statue of the Philippine national hero in the newly established Carson International Sculpture Garden. Many controversies remain to be resolved and many of us may not know of certain “facts” such as, according to author Rodolfo A. Arizala: “Eight native soldiers composed the firing squad. Behind them were eight Spanish soldiers with Mauser rifles, ready to shoot the native soldiers if they refused to shoot Rizal.” About Rizal’s dead body, Arizala wrote that it was not given to the family but secretly buried without a coffin in the old Paco Cemetery upon the order of Spanish officials. It was not until the Americans occupied Manila in August 1898 that the remains were exhumed and transferred to the base of the monument erected earlier at the Luneta.
Meanwhile, about the recent U.S. presidential election, it is reported that President Trump may not concede his defeat and that several legislators will object “to the electoral college vote submissions from states with such flawed election systems as to render their election results untrustworthy” when Congress convenes to proclaim the election winner on January 6. Rep. Madison Cawthorn gave this reason for his objection: “The right to vote in a free and fair election is the cornerstone of our Republic. Attempts to undermine this strike at the very heart of a representative government ‘of, by, and for the People.’”
The Trump campaign had brought up several cases regarding the alleged big time fraud committed during the election but complained that the courts had not given them the opportunity to present the facts. Lawyer Mark Levin is one of the many conservative pundits who had criticized the federal judiciary as being highly political and liberal while picking and choosing which cases to hear. The talk radio host alleged 15 ways that Democrats in the pivotal swing states of having unconstitutionally manipulated or changed the rules to help their candidate Joe Biden.
