Unveiling Treasures: Ambeth Ocampo's Personal Collection of Artifacts from Philippine Heroes

Ambeth Ocampo, a historian and expert on Jose Rizal, has rediscovered what is said to be a fragment of Jose Rizal's brain in the Ateneo University Archives.

In the recent episode of "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho," Ambeth said he found interest in digging deep into Rizal's relic stored in Ateneo when he saw the post of Dr. Chas Navarro, Ateneo Archives director.

Ambeth said he was uncertain whether or not it was indeed Rizal's brain, but he claimed it could be a fragment of the national hero's skull.

Meanwhile, according to Dr. Navarro, the claims about the relic being part of Rizal's brain could be traced back to when he was shot in the head at Bagumbayan.

"Nung sa Bagumbayan, ang daming tao dun. Pagkakuha sa kanya ay 'yung mga tao naglapitan," Dr. Navarro said.

"I could presume pinulot," he added. "So dun na nagstart 'yung story naman ng 'yung pagkuha ng relics, or 'yung part ng brain ni Rizal."

["There were so many people then. When Rizal's remains were collected, I could presume that there were other people there as well."]

Dr. Navarro also said they need more evidence to support this claim, so the relic is not officially displayed.

According to forensic expert Dr. Erwin Erfe, there are several things needed to know if the relic was part of Rizal's brain or skull.

"'Yung provenance, ibig sabihin kung ano ang pinanggalingan noon. At pangalawa, 'yung chain of custody noong bone at saka brain tissue fragments na 'yun," Dr. Erfe said.

"Another evidence is DNA. Although hindi nga natin alam kung anong ginamit doon na preservative," he added.

["We have to find out where it came from. Another evidence is DNA, but we don't know what kind of preservatives it had been in."]

Earlier this month, Ambeth posted a photo of Rizal's relic on Facebook, which caught the attention of netizens.

"I did not know [until] recently that Rizal's eldest sister Saturnina kept fragments of the hero's brain in a bottle," he wrote.

"I presume the fragments were formerly preserved in alcohol that has since dried up. Still researching the story and context of this relic," he added.

As of writing, Ambeth's post has garnered over 68,000 reactions and over 11,000 shares on Facebook.

Other than the picture of Rizal's supposed brain fragment, Ocampo also got a hold of an image of Rizal's vertebra.

"'Yung backbone ni Rizal pag tinignan mo parang bato lang. Meron siyang lamat sa side, dun daw tumama 'yung bala. So nu'ng inipon 'yung kanyang labi bago inilagay sa ilalim ng Luneta, tinago nila," Ocampo shared.

["If you look at it, you'd think it's just some kind of stone. But you could see the supposed area where the vertebra was grazed by the bullet. So when they collected Rizal's remains, they kept this."]

The backbone is currently stored at the Rizal Museum in Fort Santiago.

Another artifact from Rizal that Ocampo got a hold of was a handkerchief supposedly stained with Rizal's blood when he was shot in Bagumbayan.

The bloodstained handkerchief is currently under the care of descendants of Rizal's sister, Saturnina.

In his collection, Ocampo also had the cedula of Philippine national anthem composer Julian Felipe, the passport of writer Marcelo Del Pilar, as well as a copy of the Philippines's very first constitution, the Malolos Constitution.

Ocampo even has a silver belt that belonged to Juan Luna, and Emilio Jacinto's silver quill that was believed to have been won by Jacinto in a poetry competition at San Juan de Letran.

But probably one of the most notable in his collection is a lock of Apolinario Mabini's hair. It was given to him by the former staff of National Historical Commission of the Philippines when Mabini's remains were dug up in 1980.

The lock of hair is not available for public viewing as it is currently being preserved at the Mabini Museum, according to Janna Saba, a curator at the museum.

Ambeth revealed that he'd like to know more about the late hero.

"Tingin nung mga tao kasi si Ambeth Ocampo, associated ako kay Rizal. He is my whole life. Pero ang talagang gusto kong pag-aralan pa, si Apolinario Mabini. So this is a way to connect with him, 'di ba?"

["People typically associate my name with Rizal. He's my whole life. But I'd like to know more about Apolinario Mabini, and this is a way to connect with him."]

"Nung una akong nagturo nung '88, meron kasi akong dinalang mga estudyante, pumunta kami sa Intramuros. Ipinakita ko kung saan nakalibing si Luna. That was a life-changing moment. 'Yung isa kong estudyante, ang tagal-tagal niyang nakatingin doon sa nitso. Tapos sabi niya, 'Si Luna ba ang nakalibing diyan?' 'Oo, ayan ang pangalan oh.' Sinabi niya, 'Ang ibig mong sabihin totoong tao 'yan si Luna?' And bakit siya ganun? Kasi nga nababasa lang natin sa libro, 'di ba, si Luna, si Aguinaldo, si Mabini. Parang fairytale lang sila."

["When I first started teaching in '88, I brought several students to Intramuros. I showed them where Luna was buried. That was a life-changing moment. One of my students asked, 'Is Luna really buried there?' I said yes. Then he said, 'So Luna was a real person? If you'd think about it, we only know Luna, Aguinaldo, Mabini from books. It's like they're some sort of fairytale."]

For Ocampo, having a deeper understanding of our history from these artifacts will help our nation move forward.

"So itong mga bakas ng nakaraan ay nandiyan para itulak tayo na mag-iba, magbago, umunlad."

["These relics from the past are here so they could push us forward, to change, and to progress."]

—Hermes Joy Tunac/MGP, GMA Integrated News