Filipino Martyr: GABRIEL PRIETO

 GABRIEL PRIETO

(d. 1897)

Revolutionary Martyr from Bicol

Gabriel Prieto was one of the 13 martyrs from the Bicol region who were executed during

the Philippine Revolution. At the time of his execution he was the parish priest of the town of

Malinao, Albay. Together with two other members of the clergy who were executed with him,

Fathers Inocencio Herrera and Severino Diaz, he had been implicated as being among the leaders

of the revolution in Bicol.

Prieto showed remarkable intelligence as a youth. This won the admiration not only of the

town curate but also of Bishop Francisco Gainza, who helped him acquire a scholarship at the

seminary of Nueva Caceres, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. After he was

ordained as an Augustinian priest, he became the parish priest of Malinao, Albay, as well as the

secretary and spiritual adviser of Bishop Casimiro Herrero.

The rapid spread of the revolution to the eight Tagalog-speaking provinces of Luzon

following its outbreak in August 1896 fuelled speculations that the conflict would engulf the Bicol

region as well. These were confirmed by the authorities with the arrest of Vicente Lukban, who

later rose to prominence as one of the generals of the revolution. Lukban was not only a member

of the Masonic lodge La Luz Oriente but was the president as well of its chapter, called Triangulo

Bicol. Residents from Bicol region, including rich businessmen, professionals, and members of the

clergy, were members of this chapter.

Upon interrogation, Lukban implicated several persons, among whom was the pharmacist

Tomas Prieto, Fr. Prieto’s brother. After his arrest in Nueva Caceres, Tomas Prieto then implicated

Fr. Prieto and others as plotters of the projected revolution in Bicol. According to him, his brother

would receive the arms coming from Cavite.

During the first week of October, the authorities arrested Fr. Prieto along with several

prominent residents of Malinao. On October 9, he and other prisoners were brought to Manila on

board the mail steamer Aeolus. Upon arrival in Manila, he was imprisoned in the convent of San

Agustin together with other priests from Albay who were also accused of rebellion against Spain.

They were locked in filthy cells and subjected to insults by the guards and Spanish friars. Their

condition somewhat improved when Bishop Arsenio Campo came to visit them.

On December 29, the eve of Rizal’s execution, Prieto stood trial for committing acts of

rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy to commit rebellion under Articles 229 to 230 of the Spanish

penal code. The only evidence against him was his brother’s testimony which was obtained under

duress. The trial was over in one day and the verdict, guilty, was pronounced by the court. Fr.

Prieto was sentenced to die by musketry along with his brother Tomas and two other priests, Frs.

Inocencio Herrera and Severino Diaz, and Manuel Alba, his son Domingo, Camilo Jacob, Macario

Valentin, Camilo Mercado, Mariano Melgarejo, and Florencio Lerma. They were to share a

common fate, for their enlightened liberalism and expressed desire to see the emancipation of their

country from tyranny.

Their death sentence was carried out in Bagumbayan on January 4, 1897, exactly five days

after Rizal’s execution.

References:

Galang, Zoilo M. Encyclopedia of the Philippines. Manila: 1935.

Reyes, Jose Calleja. Bikol Maharlika. Quezon City: 1992.

Schumacher, John S.J. Revolutionary Clergy and the Nationalist Movement 1850-1903. Quezon

City: Ateneo University Press, 1981.