Guzman, Phoebe M.

BSN 1-B

1. What is the main reason why GOMBURZA was executed?

The GOMBURZA were executed on 17 February 1872 in an attempt of the Spanish government and
Frailocracia to instill fear among the Filipinos so that they may never commit such daring act again. They
were executed on charges of subversion arising from the Cavite mutiny. The three secular priests who
have long voiced out the unequal treatment towards secular (Filipino) clergy in favor of the Spanish
friars. They were Mariano Gomes de los Angeles, priest of Bacoor, Jose Burgos, priest from the Manila
Cathedral, and Jacinto Zamora, a parish priest of Marikina.

2. How did this event inspired Jose Rizal to write the novel El Filibusterismo?

The execution of the three martyred priests left an indelible mark on the young Jose Rizal at age
ten. He wrote to Mariano Ponce on 18 April 1889 that he would have been a Jesuit had it not been for
the events of 1872. He continued: “At the sight of those injustices and cruelties, though still a child, my
imagination awoke, and I swore to dedicate myself to avenge one day so many victims.” He would later
incorporate the theory of a revolt staged by the friars in his first novel, Noli Me Tangere (1887) and
dedicate his second novel, El Filibusterismo (1891), to the memory of the three priests.

Jose Rizal would dedicate his second novel, El filibusterismo, to the three tragic figures: “The
Government, by enshrouding your trial in mystery and pardoning your co-accused, has suggested that
some mistake was committed when your fate was decided; and the whole of the Philippines, in paying
homage to your memory and calling you martyrs, totally rejects your guilt. The Church, by refusing to
degrade you, has put in doubt the crime charged against you.”

3. How is this event related to the 1896 Philippine Revolution?

The death of GOMBURZA awakened strong feelings of anger and resentment among the Filipinos.
They questioned Spanish authorities and demanded reforms. The martyrdom of the three priests
apparently helped to inspire the organization of the Propaganda Movement, which aimed to seek
reforms and inform Spain of the abuses of its colonial government. The execution of GOMBURZA was a
major catalyst that pushed the events forward leading to the failed reformist agenda among Filipino
liberals in Spain, pivoting to the Philippine Revolution against Spain which broke out in 1896.

References:

https://nhcp.gov.ph/remembering-the-gomburza-throughout-the-years/

https://www.philippine-history.org/gomburza.htm

https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/gomburza/m046xp8