THE RIZAL SHRINE, Dapitan City

This is the major historical landmark of Dapitan City. It refers to the more or less sixteen (16) hectares estate of Dr. Jose P. Rizal which he purchased in Barangay Talisay and is approximately two (2) kilometers NW from the City Hall.

    In August 1892, a Spaniard from Manila brought lottery tickets to Dapitan. Dr. Jose Rizal, Capt. Ricardo Carnicero, the politico military governor of Dapitan at that time and a Spaniard residing in Dipolog bought a ticket which luckily won for them 20,000 peso. Rizal’s share was 6,200 pesos. He gave 2,000 pesos to his father and 200 pesos to Basa, his friend in Hongkong. He invested his remaining winnings in business and bought lands and built houses in Talisay which is now the Rizal Shrine.

    In March 1893, Rizal transferred to Talisay. Later on, his mother Doña Teodor Alonso, his sisters, some relatives and neighbors from Calamba, Laguna came and lived with him Talisay until 1896.

    It was here where Rizal exemplified the idaeal that, “A life which is not consecrated to a great ideal is useless. It is a pebble lost in the field without forming part of an edifice. “He epitomized the existence of a man with a mission. Making the best of every moment, even if the gods weave his tragic fate.

    He spent his lonely but productive and altruistic life for four years in banishment working as a rural physician, farmer, merchant, inventor, painter, sculptor, archaeologist, linguist, grammarian, teacher, architect, poet, biologist, composer, surveyor, environmentalist, aside from being a lover, father, and brother to all Dapitanons.

    The Court Martial that tried Rizal imposed to him not only capital punishment but also “the payment of indemnity to the State in the amount of One Hundred Thousand Pesos, the obligation to pay such indemnity being transmissible to the heirs of the accused”. On January 15, 1897, Rizal’s properties in Talisay were confiscated by the Spanish authorities and Don Cosme Borrmeo was appointed custodian of the sequestered properties.

    In 1913, it was converted by the government into a park dedicated to the memory of Rizal. Years later, the park was reconstructed and in 1940, the late President Manuel L. Quezon of the Commonwealth government after visiting Dapitan several times issued Proclamation No. 616 declaring it as the “Rizal National Park” after which its administration were under the following:

• Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission through Executive Order 253 issued on June 27, 1957 during the administration of the late President Carlos P. Garcia;
• National Heroes Commission by virtue of Executive Order No. 20 isssued on December 27, 1962; and
• National Historucal Commission effected through Republic Act No. 4368 approved on June 19, 1965. On September 24, 1972, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1, the National Heroes Commission became the National Historical Institute.
• The Rizal Shrine was declared as one of the national shrines through Presidential Decree No. 105 issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on January 24, 1973.

Article taken from: www.dapitancity.gov.ph

The Rizaliana Museum inside Rizal Shrine.

Ilihan Hill viewed from Dapitan City Plaza with Rizal Monument visible