12/15/2014

15 Bicolano martyrs given honors in June 12 rites in Naga City | Inquirer News

NEWS

LATEST NEWS STORIES

OPINION

SPORTS

HEADLINES

LIFESTYLE

NATION

ENTERTAINMENT

REGIONS

METRO

WORLD

CITIZEN'S JOURNALISM

CDN

Facebook - Official Site

Kumonekta sa Kaibigan, Kapamilya at Kaklase. Gumawa ng Profile Ngayon!

15 Bicolano martyrs given honors in June

12 rites in Naga City
Juan Escandor Jr., Shiena Barrameda | Inquirer Southern Luzon 2:01 AM | Thursday, June 12th, 2014

376

SHARES

A- A

A+

Follow @inquirerdotnet

INQUIRER.net

NAGA CITY, PhilippinesPresident Benigno

Like 1,097,786

Aquino III will be in Naga City Thursday for the

116th anniversary of Philippine Independence,
where he is expected to deliver his

EDITORS' PICKS

Independence Day address and acknowledge

the 15 Bicolano martyrs of the Philippine
Revolution.
Naga City Mayor John Bongat said the President would raise the flag at Plaza Quince Martires
at the heart of the old central business district here where a monument, once described as an
elaborate wedding cake by historian and Inquirer columnist Ambeth Ocampo, immortalized
the 15 Bicolano martyrs who fought the oppressive colonial government during the 1896
Revolution.
Naga Councilor Gabriel Bordado said the plaza was chosen venue for the event, dubbed

December 16, 2014

De Lima vows longer prison

terms for drug lords

Kalayaan 2014, mainly because of its contribution to history, plus the fact that Naga is one of
the oldest cities in the Philippines, next only to Cebu and Manila.
The President will stay in Naga for two hours, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., because he has a
schedule in Manila at 11 a.m. on the same day,
he said.
The Bicolano martyrs were given a 21-gun salute on June 4, 2012, the 115th year since 11 of
them were felled by firing squad in Bagumbayan Field (Luneta). It was the first time they were
given such honors.
On Dec. 29, 1896 the Spanish colonial governments Council of War issued the death penalty
against the 15.

3 Sandiganbayan justices quit

cases vs Jinggoy Estrada

Three of the martyrs, all deemed illustrados of their time, were priestsGabriel Prieto, Severino
Diaz and Innocencio Herrera. The others were businessmen and persons who held positions in

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/610640/15-bicolano-martyrs-given-honors-in-june-12-rites-in-naga-city

1/6

12/15/2014

15 Bicolano martyrs given honors in June 12 rites in Naga City | Inquirer News

Spanish colonial society: Ramon Abella, Manuel Abella, Domingo Abella, Leon Hernandez,
Tomas Prieto, Cornelio Mercado, Mariano Ordenanza, Macario Valentin, Mariano Melgarejo,
Mariano Arana, Florencio Lerma and Camilo Jacob.
Four of the 15 Bicol martyrs were not given the death penalty. Ramon Abellason of Manuel
Abella and elder brother of Domingo Abella, and Arana were ordered exiled to the Isle of
Fernando Po in West Africa, which was once a colony of Spain. Hernandez and Ordenanza were
ordered imprisoned at the Bilibid.
Arrested on Sept. 16, 1896, the 15 were brought to Manila aboard a steamer named Isarog
and then imprisoned at the Bilibid, according to Tito G. Valiente, a public anthropologist and
writer, presently connected with the School of Social Sciences of Ateneo de Manila University

ADVERTISEMENT

and Ateneo de Naga University.

Valiente also gave credit to the countless and faceless Bicol martyrs, including women, who
fought during the 1896 Revolution, when he honored the sacrifices of the 15 Bicol martyrs.
Prof. Danilo Gerona, Bicol historian, said January 4, the date of execution of the 15 Bicol
martyrs, fell on a Monday, which he said was among the first spectacular official acts
carried
out by the Spanish government in 1897, which had just celebrated Christmas and New Year.
The Bagumbayan Field which had already earned its notoriety as the place for execution was
once again filled with a crowd. This was probably the same crowd who witnessed Rizals

Fast Facts: National Bilibid

Prison

execution five days earlier. But the crowd gathered on this day, a journalist noted, was far
thicker than the previous executions. Among those present were the family members of the
condemned who came early, the most prominent of whom was the Abella family,
Gerona told
the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
He said there were meticulous ceremonies observed which made the public execution
spectacular.

POPULAR
Estrada: Binay still UNAs
standard bearer

In this particular event, it commenced with the march of the prisoners to their execution site.
From their respective detention cells, the prisoners were marched out to Luneta. When the
prisoners were finally marched in the square, the women immediately spotted Manuel (Abella),
but it took a longer time to recognize Domingo (Abella). He was tall, sturdy and handsome

#InquirerSeven top NBA

scorers of all time

when they last saw him. At the end of the line of prisoners was one bent, like an old man,
encumbered by many wounds. When they finally recognized this prematurely aged man as
Domingo, Conchita (the sister of Domingo) had difficulty restraining her mother from running
to him,
Gerona narrated, citing documents he researched from the archives in Spain where he

Roxas to PNP chief: Youre

suspended

made a thorough research on the history of Bicol in the 1990s.

Gerona said the Spanish authorities immediately ordered the families of the 15 Bicol martyrs
to bury their dead within the day to prevent any outpouring of sympathy from the public.

Earn entries to Inquirer's

condo unit promo here

According to Jose Barrameda Jr., writer and book author of Bicols contemporary history, the
first commemoration of the 15 Bicol martyrs happened on March 3, 1941 based on a program
he obtained that honored them.

Toms new bachelor pad

The 15 Bicol martyrs monument, which was built in 1926, was designed by Crispolo Zamora
and sculpted by Jose Barcena.
Lt. Gen. Hernando DCA Iriberri, commanding general of the Philippine Army, was also expected
to attend the flag raising ceremony for the Independence Day rites at the plaza on Thursday
(June 12) with President Aquino and other government officials.
Iriberri visited Bicol on Tuesday to award 35 soldiers from the 31st Infantry Battalion (31IB) in
Juban, Sorsogon, who recently scored success in the governments counter-insurgency
operations against the New Peoples Army rebels in Sorsogon, specifically the encounter in May
in Sitio Hukdong, Barangay Balocawe in Matnog town in Sorsogon wherein five communist

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/610640/15-bicolano-martyrs-given-honors-in-june-12-rites-in-naga-city

2/6