AT around 7:30 in the morning of Dec. 30, 1896, Remington shots rang out under a clear sky in the Bagumbayan field (now the Luneta) in Manila. A firing squad consisting of Filipino soldiers had carried out the death sentence of the now national hero Jose Rizal on orders of the Spanish colonial government.
Defiant to the end, he haggled with authorities on how he ought to face his death. He rejected suggestions that he be blindfolded with his back to the firing squad, which appeared to be the protocol for the execution of traitors.
The court martial that found Rizal guilty of sedition, rebellion and conspiracy completed a âjudicial processâ in 56 days, starting with his arrest on board a ship bound for Spain on Nov. 3, 1896. The formal trial itself, commencing with the appointment of judges on Christmas Day of that year, lasted only two days. The colonial government imposed the penalty of death for offenses like the ones he allegedly committed; on December 26, the court is