Did you know: Teodora Alonso

Teodora Alonso, the mother of Jose Rizal, was born on Nov. 9, 1827, in Manila. After marrying Francisco Mercado in 1848, they moved to Calamba, Laguna, where they raised 11 children, Jose being the seventh child. When Rizal was sentenced to death, she appealed to the governor-general to spare her son’s life to no avail. Rizal paid her the highest tribute when he wrote in his work, Memoirs of a Student in Manila: “After God, the mother is everything to man.”–Marielle Medina, Inquirer Research