BAYANING

THIRD WORLD

Samantha C. Tejumal

Joseriz
 When I heard the title (“Bayaning Third World” by Mike de Leon) of this film that we were about
to see, I was intrigued. I was excited to watch it. Then, the viewing day came. The movie started with
several questions: Was the reason why Rizal did not approve of the revolution was because he was not the
one who started it? Did he really make love to Josephine Bracken or was he gay? Was he holding a rosary
in his right hand when he was gunned down? And the biggest question of all which will be the main topic
of discussion in this paper: was the retraction letter of Rizal genuine or fake?

Retraction means withdrawal or drawing in. Rizal’s said-to-be retraction letter was about his
withdrawal of all the things he said which were against the Church. Could this be true? I think it couldn’t.
In the movie “Bayaning Third World,” Doña Lolay and Paciano believed that Rizal did not retract because
it was inconsistent to what he believed in. I knew this was an insufficient reason, but both of them were
close to Rizal and I assumed they already knew him very well by then. And what they said really made
sense – Rizal went abroad (away from his family), wrote a lot of nationalistic poems, essays, and novels,
joined several groups, sacrificed his love life many times – all for one main goal: to give justice and equality
for the Filipinos. Did these acts deserve retraction? No. Retraction was against Rizal’s beliefs and based on
the many years of struggles to liberate the Philippines, to retract seemed to be the last thing he would do.
His sisters, Narcisa and Trinidad, on the other hand, gave ambiguous, inconclusive testimonies. It was not
clear whether they believed that Rizal retracted or not. As for Josephine Bracken, do you really think Rizal
would give up all the efforts he had done throughout the years just for a woman? If your answer is no, then
I’m with you. Romance never came first in Rizal’s priority. This was exemplified by his affairs with O-Sei-
San and several other women, which did not end happily because of Rizal’s duty to the Fatherland. And if
he really retracted only because he wanted to marry Bracken, why did he not do it earlier? Why would he
retract only just hours before his execution? Makes sense, right?

When it comes to religion, Rizal had not been a good Catholic (because he did not believe the
practices of the Church), but this didn’t mean that he was a bad servant of God. He loved God. It’s just that
he had his own way of showing it. His letter to the Malolos women was the proof. There, he said that
uttering memorized prayers, singing religious songs, and doing rituals were nothing when not done with all
your heart. So, if Rizal really loved God, why was there a need to retract, right? The friars were not God.
Documents, like the retraction letter, were nothing compared to what Rizal really felt about our Creator.

These are only my opinion about the retraction issue. No one really knows about the truth. But
whatever it is, it will not make Dr. Jose Rizal less of a hero, because through his life, works, and writings,
without any doubt, he deserved to be our national hero.