Padre Burgos House
Padre Jose Apolonio Burgos. Born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, he is one of the three martyred priests known as “GomBurZa”, along with Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora. They were falsely convicted as the main instigators of the Cavite Mutiny in 1872 after a short trial and were executed at Bagumbayan on the 17th of February 1872.
Jose Rizal was heavily influenced by the ideas of Padre Burgos through Rizal’s brother Paciano, who once worked as Burgos’s assistant. The death of Burgos along with the two priests sparked nationalist ideas not only in Rizal but also in the Katipunan, the revolutionary organization within which “GomBurZa” was used as one of the passwords. Rizal dedicated the novel “El Filibusterismo” to the memory of the three priests.
As one of the prominent figures of Filipino Nationalism during the Spanish Colonial rule, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) joins the country in commemorating Padre Burgos’s birth anniversary.
The NMP takes pride in being the institution tasked to safely keep what is believed to be Padre Burgos’s childhood home, which was built in 1788. The house is one of the two museum buildings of the NMP Ilocos Regional Museum Complex in Vigan City, along with the Carcel de Vigan.
In line with this commemoration, the National Museum of the Philippines created a postcard below (with a timeline of notable events related to the house).
Padre Burgos House (National Cultural Treasure)
1788: The house was built by Juan de Gonzales and Florentina Gascon.
1837: Padre Jose Apolonio Burgos was born on the 9th of February.
1939: A marker was installed by the Philippine Historical Committee to indicate the house as a historical building.
1970: The house was acquired by Insular Life Assurance Company and was later transferred to Filipinas Foundation (now Ayala Foundation Inc.)
1975: Opened to the public as Ayala Museum – Vigan. The house was declared a National Cultural Treasure by Presidential Decree No. 756.
1989: On loan from the Ilocos Historical and Cultural Foundation, the house was transferred to the care of the National Museum of the Philippines.
You may want to read: