Biñan marks 100th death anniversary of Rizal’s mom

BIÑAN CITY—One hundred years ago, hundreds of mourners lined the route of the funeral procession to the North Cemetery where Teodora Alonso, the mother of national hero Jose P. Rizal, was laid to rest. Her coffin was placed on a hearse pulled by two horses that came from Australia.

“People had expressed bereavement over the loss of the great mother of the great hero,” said Amelita Almosara, deputy executive director of the National Historical Commission (NHC).

On Tuesday, the city government of Biñan in Laguna and a cultural group, the United Artists for Cultural Conservation and Development, commemorated the 100th death anniversary of Alonso

A short program attended by two descendants of Rizal, Gemma Cruz-Araneta and Liza Tinio, was held in front of the Alberto Mansion at the city plaza. The Alberto Mansion is the 200-year-old ancestral home of the Alonsos where Rizal had briefly spent his childhood.

“(Alonso) lived here first, (making) your town very noble,” said NHC commissioner Dr. Fernidand Llanes.

It was the first time Biñan commemorated Alonso’s death anniversary as it also recently claimed a part in history at the height of its campaign to keep the ancestral house.

In Calamba City, Rizal’s birth town, a similar program was held at the Rizal Shrine. Alonso’s remains and those of her husband, Francisco Mercado, were transferred to the Calamba Shrine in 1997.

“Hundreds of people came to (Alonso’s) funeral. Somehow people remembered her because of her role (in history) and because her life was truly rare,” Llanes said.

A popular story about Alonso was when, at the age of 64, she was forced to walk from Manila to Sta. Cruz town in Laguna as punishment for not using her Hispanized surname Realonda de Rizal. She insisted on using Alonso.

But Llanes said little was known about Alonso leading the women of Calamba in a petition to bring back their husbands, who were exiled to Mindoro, Bohol and other provinces.

“It was a very significant document. It was touching as it (the petition) explained why the exile was illegal,” Llanes said. He said the two-page document was written in 1891 and signed by Alonso and the other women.

Llanes said he discovered the document while researching in the national archive in Madrid in 1994. Its publication is under way.

Biñan plans to make the Alonso death commemoration an annual event as its officials continue the battle to preserve the Alberto Mansion, said Mayor Marlyn Alonte-Naguiat.

Early this year, the city government allocated funds to expropriate the house from its present owner, Gerardo Alberto, who had reportedly closed a deal to sell the antique structure to a heritage resort in Bataan.

The sale of the house spurred an outrage among cultural advocates, who believe that relocating the structure will distort the context of history.