The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) with the City Government of Manila will commemorate the 153rd anniversary of the martyrdom of Frs. Gomes, Burgos, and Zamora on 17 February, 8:00 a.m., at the GOMBURZA Execution Site, Rizal Park, Manila.
The Ateneo de Manila University Professor and Philippine Historical Association (PHA) President Dr. Francis Navarro will spearhead the flag-raising and wreath-laying rites. He will be joined by NHCP Chair Regalado Trota Jose Jr., National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairman Victorino Mapa Manalo, National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) Director-General Jeremy Barns, National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) Executive Director Cecille Lorenzana-Romero, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Director Loreta M. Malaluan, City Government of Manila DTCAM Director Charlie DJ. Dungo, LPT, Intramuros Administration (IA) Atty. Joan M. Padilla, Department of Education (DEPED) Manila Administrator Cristito A. Eco, CESO III with the principals from the GOMBURZA elementary schools, and other non-government organizations.
A wreath-laying activity will also be held at the GOMBURZA National Monument along P. Burgos St., Manila (in front of NMP) after which a blessing of the tomb of the three martyrs at Paco Cemetery, Manila will follow. The blessing will be officiated by Rev. Fr. Joel Rescober, C.M.
GOMBURZA is a portmanteau of the three priests’ surnames, it is remembered that they were sentenced to death by garrotte when they were implicated in the Cavite mutiny on January 1872. They believed in the secularization movement, and equal rights for both Filipinos and Spanish in the country.
Dr. Jose Rizal honoured their memory by dedicating his second novel, El Filbusterismo to GOMBURZA. The Katipunan, through its founder Andres Bonifacio also remembers their martyrdom as evidenced by documents within the movement.
The NHCP is the national government agency mandated to promote Philippine history through its museums, research, and publications, and to preserve historical heritage through conservation and the marking of historic sites and structures.