4-7-2023 (MANILA) In a remarkable revelation, esteemed historian Ambeth Ocampo has unveiled a recent personal discovery surrounding the revered figure of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal. Ocampo has disclosed that fragments of Rizal’s brain have been preserved in a bottle, shedding new light on the legacy of this iconic historical figure.
Ocampo took to his personal Facebook account to share a photograph of the bottle containing the fragments, and it quickly gained widespread attention, becoming a viral sensation. Known for his extensive research and expertise on Rizal, Ocampo emphasized that the majority of the hero’s remains rest beneath the renowned monument in Luneta, but there is one notable exception.
A small portion of Rizal’s backbone, believed to be the precise location where the fatal bullet struck him during his execution on December 30, 1896, is preserved at the nearby Fort Santiago. However, it was only recently that Ocampo learned about the existence of fragments from Rizal’s brain, which were kept in a bottle by the hero’s eldest sister, Saturnina. Ocampo speculates that the fragments were originally preserved in alcohol, which has since evaporated, leaving the brain fragments dry.
As Ocampo delves deeper into this intriguing discovery, he expressed his gratitude to Dr. Francis Navarro, the Director of the Ateneo de Manila University Archives, as well as Britz Hamoy, a descendant of Don Mariano Balsomo Hamoy, who was Rizal’s close friend during his exile in Dapitan. Both individuals played instrumental roles in leading Ocampo to the bottle containing the brain fragments, enabling this significant revelation to come to light.
The execution of Jose Rizal occurred when he was just 35 years old, as a Spanish firing squad ended his life in Luneta. Recently, on June 19, the Philippines marked the 162nd anniversary of Rizal’s birth, honoring his enduring impact on the nation.
