Rizal's burial to be re-enacted for the first time

For the first time, the transfer of the remains of the country's national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, will be re-enacted — down to the minutest detail — in a large-scale performance before an expected crowd of 7,000. At a press conference on Friday, Knights of Rizal Supreme Commander Reghis Romero II announced that together with other groups and government agencies, they will be re-enacting the transfer of Rizal's remains from Binondo to Rizal Park on Sunday, December 30, the 116th anniversary of Rizal's death. "This is the centennial commemoration of the transfer of the urn containing the mortal remains of Dr. Rizal,” Romero said. “It is a special event not only for the Knights of Rizal who took the lead of leading the transfer but also for all the Filipino people who were there."

The Knights of Rizal is a civic organization that was granted a charter by the Philippine government through Republic Act 646. According to the law, the group shall "study the teachings of Dr. Jose Rizal, to inculcate and propagate them in and among all classes of the Filipino people, and by words and deeds to exhort our citizenry to emulate and practice the examples and teachings of our national hero; to promote the associated knights the spirit of patriotism and Rizalian chivalry, to develop a perfect union among the Filipinos in revering the memory of Dr. Jose Rizal and to organize and hold programs commemorative of Rizal’s nativity and martyrdom." The group had lined up several activities throughout December to celebrate Rizal's month. Rizal was executed by a firing squad on Dec. 30, 1896, but he was only given a proper burial on Dec. 30, 1912, after the Spaniards were defeated and Americans took over the country. Rizal's burial At first, his body was secretly buried at the old Paco Cemetery. After the Americans took over Manila in 1898, Rizal's remains were exhumed, brought to his sister Narcisa's house, and placed in an ivory urn that stayed there until 1912. In 1912, the government finally moved to put the urn at the base of the Rizal monument, which would be mounted a year after.   The 1912 burial began with a solemn procession from Narcisa's house in Binondo, Manila. The procession passed through Intramuros and ended at Rizal Park. Romero said that they will re-enact what happened then with the help of the Grand Lodge of Masonry, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Department of Education, the City of Manila, and the Metro Manila Development Authority.   "We are going to re-enact everything that happened in 1912 including the clothes, the music, and that is why we are inviting everybody all the Filipinos to participate in this event because gusto nating maramdaman natin yung kasaysaysan sa ating puso kung ano naramdaman what we felt at that time in our hearts," he said at the press briefing. He said that the participants will meet up in Binondo at 4 a.m. on Sunday.  They will be carrying a replica of Rizal's urn with a part of the hero's vertebra inside.  Rizal's vertebra, specifically the part where he was shot, is being kept by the NHCP. "Magkakasalubong ang groups, one coming from Binondo and Fort Santiago and then going to Luneta Park," said Romero. Rizal was detained in Fort Santiago before he was executed. Before 7 a.m. on Sunday, the urn will be brought to Luneta Park, where the national hero will be given full military honors. President Benigno Aquino III will lead the symbolic placement of the urn and the traditional wreath-laying rites in Luneta Park. On the other hand, Romero, Education Secretary Armin Luistro, NHCP chair Ma. Sereno Diokno, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, and MMDA chair Francis Tolentino will lead dignitaries and officialdom in the historic event. Low profile Former Ms. International Gemma Cruz-Araneta, one of the descendants of Rizal, said the national hero never wanted any recognition. "I would like to remind everybody that Jose Rizal himself said he did not want any of that sort or type of honors to be given to him," she said during the same press conference. However, she also acknowledged that Rizal's contributions to the country cannot be ignored. "I guess it's inevitable because the Filipinos themselves gave Rizal the honor and recognition for what he did and what he sacrificed for our nation," she said. — KBK, GMA News