Randy Ford Author- POSTE RESTANTE Manila 59th Installment

None of these buildings (I know) impressed him as beautiful; he was touched instead by edifices like the churches in Malate, Santa Anna, and Quiapo, Fort Santiago, Malacanan Palace, Paco Cemetery, and the walls of Intramuros, all of which were built within in his lifetime. Looking at a ruin would take him back in time. He could instantly travel back and forth and often did, while at the same time questioning why he?d lived so long. Every time he knew what he was in for or what he?d be when went back. He knew that he could be viewed as a dog or a very naive young man and could well be misunderstood. But he also knew his worth and knew what he?d gained from all of the experience, and sadly knew what a difference it would make if they?d only listened to him. The old conquistador left behind all of the other conquistadors and, whenever he got the chance, fought for his adopted country. He doesn?t die and has the effrontery to choose sides and seems to get it right.

He was never a traitor (traitors seldom inspire us). He?ll be remembered as a bold man and a convert. At each turning point, he showed exceptional courage and each time he rode the tide. He watched as the Spaniards capitulated to the Americans; he stood with Aguinaldo; he somehow knew that the Japanese would be defeated, and perhaps knew that sooner of later the Americans would do what they said they would. Many conjectures would apply to the Americans, perhaps too many. If it were not true, they wouldn?t still be here.

When I read the story of this student leader from Ateneo de Manila, it made me think of Jose Mariano and his untimely death. I read how he had been a pillar of the student movement in the late sixties and early seventies and had the courage to confront and ask President Marcos to promise not to seek a third term and to put the promise in writing. Marcos gave him a tongue-lashing, which didn?t surprise me. It also didn?t surprise me that this idealistic Filipino youth faced the realities of his day, gave it his all, and subsequently like Jose gave his life for his country.

In 1872, Father Jose Apolonio Burgos y Garcia was convicted of mutiny and summarily garroted in the middle of Bagumbayan field (now Luneta Park). He was a mestizo secular priest; beyond that, he was a victim of a mock trial. His death along with two other clergymen inspired Jose Razil to write his novels. Father Burgos? fate as a Philippine martyr was sealed by a real mutineer, a sergeant by the name of Bonifacio Octavo, who claimed that a man named Zaldua recruited him for the Cavite Mutiny. Octavo testified that this man said that Father Burgos was not only one of them, but he received his orders from the priest. During cross-examination Octavo however gave inconsistent statements, which called into question the validity of his testimony. At the time, Father Burgos was the parish priest of the Manila Cathedral, or St. Peter?s Cathedral. That made him the curate of St. Peter and as such people worshiped him. But that didn?t keep him (and the others) from being implicated. Those who implicated him agreed that they heard Fr. Burgos, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Regidor, Rafael Labra, Antonio Rojas and others speak of ?wars, insurrections and rebellions at secret meetings.? Then in her tiny voice, which without amplification was barely heard, Fr. Burgos?s landlady testified as a character witness. She vouched for him, like the priest knew that she would, with her hands clasp in her lap. She said her tenant was a ?peaceful man, devout to the virgin, and didn?t like gossip,? and whereas the others might talk of mutiny and cry ?Fuera oficiales, canallas, envidiosos, malvados! or Viva Fiipinas libre, independiente!?, Fr. Burgos wouldn?t. Instead, according to her, he advised them to seek reforms without spilling of blood.

Needless to say the outcome would?ve been different had the Governor General accepted Fr. Burgos? counsel?s motion to dismiss the case for lack of evidence: his life would?ve been spared and Jose Rizal (like he said) probably would?ve become a priest. And Rizal never forgot the fate of the three martyrs and how they were set up. For throughout two novels he made allusions to the martyrdom and the Filipino people easily related to the works. But it took twenty-five years for details of the trial to come out, and by then Rizal himself was living in exile and had become a member of the Propaganda Movement, a group of Filipino ?migr?s who had settled in Europe. Composed of exiled liberals and university students, the organization aimed to simply increase Spanish awareness of the colony and to foster a closer tie between the Philippines and Spain. They had a list of aims, none of which should?ve seemed seditious: they wanted among other things representation in the Spanish parliament, legalization of Spanish and Filipino equality, a guarantee of basic freedoms, recognition of the Philippines as a province of Spain, and the recognition of human rights. They never advocated Philippine independence, though the defects of Spanish rule were evident to them.

Randy Ford

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