16/02/2026
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The Filipino nation will commemorate the 154th anniversary of the martyrdom of the priests Mariano Gomes, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora on 16 February 2026 with various activities across the country.
A wreath-laying ceremony, led by NHCP Commissioner Dr. Ma. Eloisa P. De Castro and joined by the National Parks Development Committee, the City of Manila, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, will be held at the Gomburza Ex*****on Site at 7:00 a.m., Rizal Park, Manila.
Following the offerings, the NHCP and NPDC, along with the San Vicente de Paul Parish Church, will bless the final resting place of the martyr priests in Paco Park.
At 8:00 a.m., flowers will also be offered by the NHCP, joined by the National Museum of the Philippines and the Intramuros Administration, at the Gomburza National Monument in front of the National Museum of Fine Arts along Padre Burgos Drive in Manila.
The NHCP and NCCA-Metropolitan Theater will also host a screening of the documentary βGomburzaβ at 11 a.m. The local government units of the City of Manila, City of Bacoor, Cavite, and City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur; will also conduct commemorative activities in line with this annual commemoration.
Padre Mariano Gomes, Padre Jose Burgos, and Padre Jacinto Zamora were Filipino secular priests who were arrested and tried by the Spanish colonial government for alleged support to the Cavite Mutiny of 1872. Despite lack of substantial evidence, they were executed through the garrote on 17 February 1872.
The three priests were prominent figures in the early Filipinization of the Catholic Church in the country and were advocates for secular and racial equality in their ministry, access to education, and other social and political rights. Many historians recognize their martyrdom as the first sparks towards the formation of a Filipino national consciousness that would later produce advocates such as Jose Rizal and lead towards the Philippine Revolution in 1896.
