Dr. José Rizal:

The Certified Dapiteño Negociante[1]

Penélope V. Flores, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus

San Francisco State University

If one wants to know who this national hero was, he was the author of the Noli me Tangere, and El Filibusterismo novels that inspired the Philippine revolution against the colonial Master Spain.

He was considered by the Manila archbishopric and colonial government administration as “polluting the minds of the young”. To remove the accessibility of his works and to get his dangerous enlightened liberal ideas as far away as possible from the thinking crowd, the authorities sent him deep down into the bowels of the geographic Philippines:  the hinterlands of Mindanao—Dapitan.  Our historians call his Dapitan sojourn an exile.  But so vital was his presence in the entrepreneurial environment in Dapitan that in this article, I will attempt to open the Pandora’s Box and let out the other-ness of José Rizal’s little examined attribute: that of his being an astute negosyante.

Rizal practiced his medical profession in Dapitan. He writes on 31 July 1894, “I operate from three to five patients a week. Many are poor, although some pay.” (ER. Vol. II, pp. 483).

However, he became an instant Dapitan entrepreneur when he discovered that he could purchase abaca bales cheaply and sell it in Manila at a profit. He states in a letter:  “The buying of abaca in which I would like to engage is very profitable.  The aroba (25 lbs) here costs one peso and three reales so that one picul (137 ½ lbs) will cost 7 pesos and 4 reales.  There in Manila it is sold at 10 pesos and 4 reales.”

He wrote to his brother-in-law saying that since Silvestre Ubaldo has agreed to accept his goods, he was in fact acting as his Agent.  Rizal added “Is a 5 percent agent commission fine with you?” He was such a kuripot.[2] He could at least have offered his brother-in-law a higher going rate.

He observed that the Dapitan folks were inefficient fishermen. He remembered his brother-in-law’s success as a Calamba fisherman through the efficient use of the fish weir he calls Pukútan.  “There is so much fish to catch in Dapitan,” he proposed; “If you wish to sell me your pukutan at an agreed price, and if it is still in good condition, I would buy it.” ( ER. Vol. II, p 354). He even told Silvestre to find him a family from Calamba who understands fishing.  He said that he would cover their transportation cost. He assured him, “I think this will be good business (p 355).  Had the “pukutan” arrive and not lost in transit, Rizal would have become a successful big-time fish industrialist!

That is a profitable rate of return in the abaca market. He intended to buy abaca plantations that are for sale relatively cheaply.

His intention soon became a reality because at the next boat mail fortune smiled on him. The boat anchored with great fanfare. The people ashore wondered; “What now! Is the governor general on the boat?”

“No, look. The captain of the ship is waving a little sweepstakes stub. He announced that it was Rizal’s winning lottery ticket.”

Rizal’s recurring bisyo is buying lottery tickets.  He played this game of chance religiously even when living in Madrid. He continued this bisyo in Dapitan. He inveigled the district political-military commander, Don Ricardo Carnicero, to buy the other part of his ticket. 

Soon, this gambling streak of buying sweepstakes ticket at every drawing finally bore fruit. He won 1/3 of a sweepstakes ticket of P26, 000!  Carnicero won the other one/third.

With his winnings, he bought an abaca plantation. Now, he had become an abaca plantation owner.  And knowing how the Chinese merchants in Dapitan operate, he consistently worked on cornering the abaca market and beat them in the competition. He ensured accurate weighing measure wights and promised fair play. On 29 August, he wrote Blumentritt; “I load my abaca…inquire about money matters…inspect the merchandize…. Here I have become half physician, half businessman.” (ER p 491.

With his winning’s he bought chairs and benches fashioned after those he saw in the parks in Leitmeritz, Bohemia.  He made his students study geography by constructing a physical map of Mindanao on the Dapitan park grounds.  He fashioned a wooden brick maker. Soon he was producing 6,000 bricks a day. Losing no time, he put up his own brick company and sold bricks, cement, lime, and mortar at a neat profit. He reported to Blumentritt: “I have established a commercial company here.” (ER p 500).

We never hear of this business narrative. No mention at all. All we hear from the historical canon is that he constructed a dam, dike and the constructed a park in the shape of Mindanao while on exile n Dapitan.  He was so pleased with the project done by his students that he wrote to Blumentritt; “I have now 16 boys studying with me paying me with their labor.” (ER p 500.) He boasted, “The boys are 14 years of age, supervised by a person aged one and twenty” (ER p 501).  He was twenty one! 

I wondered to myself.  What did I do of any consequence when I was twenty-one?  Nothing. I was in college doing college student-antics.

Rizal’s mother and sisters were business oriented.  They bought and sold material goods, produce, grains, textiles and others. His mother had a sari-sari store on the ground floor of their Calamba house. They were real mercados (merchants).

But our national hero, José Rizal, was a true-blue certified Mercado[3]!  It was in his blood!

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[1] The Dapitan certified business entrepreneur: Dr. José Rizal

[2] Cheap skate.

[3] Rizal’s father was named Francisco Mercado.  Rizal’s mother, brother and sisters all used the surname Mercado.  Only Jose carried the name Rizal upon enrolling at Ateneo In Manila because Paciano Mercado was closely identified with the martyred priests of the revolution:  Fathers Gomez, Burgos and Zamora.