Filipino Martyr: CLETO L. YANCE

 CLETO L. YANCE
Cavite Mutiny Indictee
A marked man by the Spanish authorities for his avid espousal of reformist ideas, Cleto
Yance y de Lara openly expressed his views on the rights of Filipino priests to have equal
opportunities with the Spanish friars in administering parishes and being appointed to high
ecclesiastical offices in the country.
When the Cavite Mutiny broke out on January 20, 1872, he was one of the first five
Filipinos arrested. He was charged with complicity in the uprising and sentenced to serve 10 years
imprisonment. He was originally ordered to serve his sentence in one of the Spanish prisons in
Africa, but this was revoked. Instead, he was sent to Cartagena, Spain, together with Crisanto de
los Reyes, Maximo Inocencio, Enrique Paraiso, and Rafael Calda. Five months after the aborted
Cavite Mutiny, the group arrived in Cadiz, Spain aboard the Spanish frigate Chica.
Without any valid and conclusive evidence, he was convicted of the crime of conspiracy
against the political constitution of Spain.
Reference:
Boncan, Celestina P. Remembering the Cavite Mutiny of 1872 Manila: Geronimo Berenguer de
Los Reyes, Jr. Foundation, Inc., 1995.