Last Friday in Pandacan, people assembled at the charming shady park to remember a martyr, Fr. Jacinto Zamora. The park is dedicated to him as she was a native of Pandacan. More fortunate than other native priests of his time, Padre Zamora became parish priest of Marikina and Pasig and was later appointed to the Manila Cathedral after passing with flying colors the qualifying examination. Padre Zamora was only two years older than Fr. Jose Burgos on the day of their execution.

According to the grapevine of history, Padre Zamora's pastime was gambling and he had a group of friends with whom he regularly played cards. They communicated in code and once he received a cryptic note about gun power and ammunition which meant that their gambling paraphernalia was ready for a series of games. Lamentably that particular missive fell into the wrong hands and was used as evidence against him when he was implicated in the Cavite Mutiny with Padre Burgos and Gomez. Padre Zamora did not leave a substantive body of work, unlike Jose Rizal and other Propagandists who were prolific writers; none of his sermons have survived but he was said to have contributed anti-friar articles to the underground press, advocating the secularization of parishes.
His terrible death, and that of Burgos and Gomez, by cruel garrote and sanctioned by the Church during colonial times was a turning point in this nation's history.

During the Philippine Revolution and the Malolos Congress that followed, the separation of Church and State became a hot and sensitive issue that threatened the very unity of the First Republic. The memory of GOMBURZA was still fresh in the collective memory and the Filipino secular priests wanted to enjoy the social and political prestige of the Spanish friars they had replaced. The Republic's dilemma was to fulfill the aspirations of the Filipino seculars but avoiding friar-style abuses and to detach Filipino priests from the spiritual jurisdiction of the Spanish Archbishop of Manila without severing ties with the Vatican.

Aguinaldo's presidential decree of 24 June 1899 ordered the local clergy to show their patriotism and loyalty by sending parish collections to Fr. Gregorio Aglipay of the Philippine Independent Church and not to Spanish Archbishop Nozaleda. The actions taken by Aglipay and the Filipino clergy were, to the Malolos legislators, a barometer of national sentiment. Padre Zamora's sacrifice was not in vain. (gemma601@yahoo.com)