Jose Burgos
José Apolonio Burgos y García (born February 9, 1837 in Vigan , Ilocos Sur , † February 17, 1872 in Manila ) was a Filipino priest of the Roman Catholic Church who campaigned for reforms in the Spanish colony of the Philippines . He is considered a national hero of the Philippines.
He was the son of the Spanish officer Don José Tiburcio Burgos and the Filipino mestizo Florencia García. After his parents died, he moved to live with relatives in Manila. He earned two doctorates from the theological faculty of the Pontifical and Royal University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Manila . In his last church function he was responsible for holding the priestly examinations in the Archdiocese of Manila and in this position also had influence on church appointments. The meeting with priest Pedro Pelaez , the diocesan administrator and chief priest in the cathedral of Manila became important for him . Peleaz and Burgos had campaigned for a Filipinization of the clergy in the Philippines, the so-called secularization movement .
In various publications, some of which appeared anonymously, he spoke out against racist prejudice with a sharp tongue and tried to invalidate the criticism of the Filipino clergy. He criticized the enrichment, greed and immorality of the Spanish monks and thus became their declared opponent. The liberal-minded Burgos rejected an appointment to a censorship commission. Instead, he joined a reform committee in a leading position, which advocated liberal legal reforms with street demonstrations. He worked closely with Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora , who went down in Filipino history as the GOMBURZA trio .
Jose Burgos was arrested in January 1872 after the Cavite Uprising. He was charged with subversion, found guilty on February 6, and sentenced to death by the Garotte . The execution took place on February 17, 1872 on the site of today's Rizal Park . It is said of the execution that he was touched by emotions and wept while going to the execution site. In the large crowd he greeted friends and acquaintances, which gave him strength again. When the executioner knelt before him and asked him to forgive him for his actions, Burgos is said to have replied: “You are forgiven, my son. I know that you are only doing your duty. Do your work ” . Burgos is said to have taken a seat on the garotte chair, then stood up again and said: “What did I do to deserve such a death? Is there no justice in the world ” . Twelve monks from various religious orders try to appease him and push him back into the execution chair. “But I haven't committed a crime!” Said Burgos again. A monk replied: "Christ also was innocent!" . Burgos prayed one last time: “My God and Father, take the soul of an innocent man into your heart” . Then the execution was carried out.
The death of the Gomburza trio outraged the Filipino public and later inspired the Illustrados movement and the propaganda movement of Filipino students in Europe that led to the establishment of the Liga Filipina , the Katipunan in 1892 and the Philippine Revolution in 1896 . José Rizal set a literary monument to Jose Burgos in his work El Filibusterismo (The Riot) .
The following parishes in the Philippines are named after Jose Burgos:
- Burgos , Ilocos Norte
- Burgos , Ilocos Sur
- Burgos , Isabela
- Burgos , La Union
- Burgos , Pangasinan
- Padre Burgos , Quezon
- Padre Burgos , Southern Leyte
- Burgos , Surigao del Norte
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Burgos, Jose |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Burgos y García, José Apolonio |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Filipino priest |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 9, 1837 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vigan , Ilocos Sur |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 17, 1872 |
| Place of death | Manila |