Burgos, José (1837-1872), was a Filipino Roman Catholic priest who called for the reform of Spanish government in the Philippines. He was executed in 1872, along with two other Filipino friars. The execution made him a martyr for the cause of Filipino nationalism and influenced the fight for reform later led by José Rizal (see Rizal, José ). This reformist movement eventually led to the end of Spanish rule in the Philippines.
Burgos was born on Feb. 9, 1837, in Vigan, Ilocos Sur province, of mixed Spanish and Filipino parentage. He was educated at San Juan de Letran College and the University of Santo Tomas, Manila. As a gifted scholar, he rose quickly in the ranks of the Filipino clergy and joined the staff of the university cathedral in Manila. He also became university chaplain. He assumed the leadership of the Filipino clergy in their endeavors to get the Spanish priests to allow them to administer local parishes. In an open letter, To the Spanish People (1871), he angered both conservative priests and the government by attacking the privileges of the Roman Catholic Church and appealing for reform and a greater measure of self-government for the Philippines.
Shortly afterward, a group of 200 Filipino soldiers and workers mutinied in the town of Cavite. Although Burgos had nothing to do with the mutiny, the Spanish authorities arrested him in retaliation for the incident. On Feb. 17, 1872, Burgos was publicly executed, together with two other Filipino priests, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora.
