The drive from home to Makati was less than 1.5 hrs (including refuelling and tire air). Surprisingly smooth. I was with my mom as the girls were fetched by their dad last night so they can spend the new year’s eve celebration with their paternal side.

After checking in at our hotel, mom and I crossed Ayala Triangle park to reach Greenbelt. Preparations for the countdown along Ayala Ave are underway.

Let’s see how the GomBurZa movie fares. I hope it’s not just all hype.

Ok, the Gomburza movie was good, relative to the usual Filipino fare but I enjoyed Heneral Luna more. I think the reason why the movie is “talky” is because the production company is JesCom (Jesuit Communications) = Jesuits = priests. It’s academic since it was heavy with expositions. Half of the movie was shot within or about the Church. It’s like a history lesson on video. I was searching for the missing element—the entertainment value, the oomph factor.

Luna had that in droves. It was funny and yet it angers the Filipino-ness in us. Its script was brilliant as Luna kept dishing out lines such as “Para kayong mga birheng naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta! (You are like virgins believing in prostitues’ love!)” when Luna was confronted by the duplicity of those around him, the betrayals, and the lies of fellow Filipinos. “Ganito ba talaga ang tadhana natin? Kalaban ng kalaban. Kalaban ng kakampi. Nakakapagod.” (Is this really our destiny? My enemy is my enemy, my ally is my enemy. It’s exhausting!”

Hay Luna, more than a century later, it’s the same-same. You will weep when you see how we are faring now…

Anyway…

What made Gomburza notable was the acting chops of Cedrick Juan (Padre Jose Burgos) and Enchong Dee (Padre Jacinto Zamora) and to some extent, Dante Rivero (Padre Mariano Zamora). I love how Cedrick was able to carry the movie even though the three priests were in the title (GOMez, BURgos, ZAmora). I seldom have crushes on local actors but he’s now topping that list, if I have any.

Here are the things I learned from the movie:

1) The Jesuit producers had acquitted Burgos of his hand in sparking a revolution. It was as if his death was circumstancial, not because of his ideas he was espousing. History, as I have learned now that I’m out of school, has really pointed to Burgos as the inspiration for the simmering revolt among the Los Filipinos, as he gave a nation its name. He was the one who inspired José Rizal’s El Filibusterismo.

Or maybe it’s just me.

But deep inside I know that Burgos knew why he was sent to the garrote and he was not the defeated priest shown in the movie who was pleading his innocence. He had penned so many essays that had been pushing for reformation and the idea of a nation comprised of Los Filipinos—as a writer you know when you are already pushing the envelope and you know it will trigger the higher ups and yet you still did it. Writing such things require deep thought and weighing of consequences. He knew what he was doing. I refuse to believe that Burgos pleaded his innocence. As a writer, I know every time I write, I have one foot on my grave (or libel case).

2) The concept of Los Filipinos as an identity. Prior to Burgos’ essays, we indios identified ourselves based on our ethnicity like I am a Tagalog, or he is a Waray, a Kapampapangan, an Ilocano. There was no such thing as Filipino as a collective. Burgos identified the Los Filipinos as a group of people not recognized by the Spaniards from Spain or even Mexico (called insulares) as equals. It is the Creole Spaniards and Spanish mestizos born in these islands. Perhaps the indios (natives) as well, much later on. The term Los Filipinos has emboldened the other non-Spaniards (as recognized by Madrid) to organize themselves into a fraternity in the hopes they can push for reforms.

Which of course, later morphed into Katipunan, which was led by an indio named Andres Bonifacio.

3) Burgos was the intellectual of the three martyrd priests. He had a doctorate and was also a lawyer.

4) Zamora lost his mind while incarcerated. He just had the bad luck of being in the same place when Burgos visited an ageing priest and therefore, was unjustly associated with Burgos. He was also very young.

5) Gomes was much older than Burgos. He was a passive priest who shared Fr. Pelaez’s beliefs of equality but he warned Burgos of the dangers of espousing the same among the latter’s students at Unibersidad de Santo Tomas (UST).

6) Hermano Pule was quartered and his head was stuck on a pike and his parts were scattered in different provinces/towns as a warning to other indios not to go against the Church or Spain. Like how William Wallace was executed and desecrated by the English.

7) I’d rather die by firing squad (á la José Rizal) than by garrote. It’s less gruesome compared to being beheaded and quartered. Perhaps less gruesome compared to being hanged.

Why do I have these macabre thoughts on New Year’s Eve? 🤔