1. Rizal’s Controversy
There are many controversies that are still being debated by scholars whether they are true and valid:
1. One of the major controversies regarding Rizal is about the Retraction Document. This document is
one of the proofs regarding the friars' claim that Rizal retracted a few days before his execution.
Retraction means that he is taking back what he said against the catholic church in the Philippines and
the friars. If this were true, it would mean that Rizal went back to become a Catholic again after being a
mason in Europe. Some say he did this in order to marry his Irish partner, Josephine Bracken, which
leads us to the next controversy...
2. Another controversy with Rizal is whether or not he actually married Josephine Bracken after being a
Catholic again. Scholars say that there were no written accounts of the marriage between Rizal and
Josephine, but Josephine claims that Rizal actually married him a day before his execution.
3. Another controversy that questions the authenticity of being a national hero of Rizal is whether Rizal
was actually in favor of the revolution during that time. Was he a Revolutionist or a Reformist. Did he
really wish to free the Philippines from the colonization of Spain, or did he just want to make Philippines
a province of Spain?
There are many more minor controversies of Rizal during his time:
1. Rizal was a ladies' man
2. Rizal did not take a bath for 3 months during his stay in Spain.
3. Rizal was gay(?)
4. Rizal was stingy
5. Rizal went to casinos and was a drunkard.
6. Rizal as the "Brown Messiah" (there is a group of people called Rizalistas that worship him and claim
he was a reincarnate of Jesus Christ and that he would someday live again in this world...)
There are also some controversies about the true personality of Josephine Bracken:
1. Her mother was a prostitute.
2. She was a spy of the Spanish government.
3. She was abused by her step father and that the baby she was carrying was not Rizal's but her step
father's
There are still many more but unfortunately I can't tell them all right now because I have already
forgotten it.