Manifiesto

written by Fr. Jose Burgos

o original text in Spanish entitled A La Nacion (To the Nation)
First published in La America (September 12, 1864); had the sign Los Filipinos dated June 27, 1864
It aims
o to defend the Filipino clergy and its right to the parish (by contradicting a 1864 article which was
in favor of regular clergy )
Arrival of Jesuit priests in 1859
Decree of 1861- deprive native secular priests of any parish of significance in favor of the friar
order
o vindicate Padre Pelaezs name
rumors have circulated that Pelaez had planned to conspire against Spanish rule
Also published by Jose Ma. Basa in Hongkong (1889), in antifriar pamphlet Viva: it was the version with the
interpolated 1864 texts ; Manifesto to the Noble Spanish People which the Loyal Filipinos Address in their
Defense of their Honor and Loyalty that had been Grieviously Offended by he Newspaper La Verdad of
Madrid
o Rizal was believed to hand the 1864 version to Basa
o Rizal/ del Pilar were believed to interpolate it (1888 trips to HK)
During Rizals stay in Calamba the hacienda dispute with the Dominicans had begun
and one of his principal concerns in Hong Kong was to look into the
finances of the friar orders in preparation for the struggle he planned
Content:
o he pointed out to the author of an article in La Verdad who was in favor of the regular clergy, "proclaiming
itself its defender without any valid reason"; the author he pertains to had falsities in preferential rights
and false judgments of the intellectual capacities of Filipinos
o As a defense, he reviewed the Laws of the Indies, canon law, and cited letters and publications in
contradiction to the false ideas
Cited false ideas (from the La Verdad article)

Defenses of Burgos

the native clergy aims at certain rights that

do not belong to it

preferential right of the secular clergy of the

Philippines (whether or not it is native
secular clergy) to the parishes

the Roman Pontiff does not ordinarily grant apostolic dispensation

to the religious nor the Church request it
It is not right that a privilege be given to the religious when
there are not numerous priests; the same still applies when
there are many priests

the most recent canon law does not grant

the religious to be parish priest except when
there is lack of secular priests
In Peru, some of the mendicants were
assigned parish priests due to lack of
them (they are granted the dispensation
by the Apostolic See)

PI100. Reported by Roma Elaine Cruz

Filipinos are not good for carrying out high offices

"..do not have the quality of being European...their intelligence
is not at the level of the lofty charge as pastor of souls"

Gall's Historia Universal: "...unity of our

species
preeminence does not depend on
innate superiority of intelligence but
only in education
Cited an article (in Cursus Juris Canonici by
Rev. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde) and book
dedication (directed to His Majesty, Parnaso
Filipino) that exalted outstanding Filipinos.

The archbishop of Manila is making an unjust

war on the regular clergy, who have rendered so many services to
civilization and to our country

Indeed, archbishop is making

an unjust war against them with his intended
division of parishes, thus
attacking their financial interests

It is well known and recognized by all who know the Philippine

Archipelago that it owes its development, its civilization, its
progress, and its advancement to the unceasing labors of the
Spanish regular clergy."

the government contributed; the friars are

the constant obstacle to all the moral and
material progress of the country and of its
inhabitants
use of the Castillan language;
despite the commands of the
King, the teaching of the language
was not widespread
away from the Spanish name and from the
flag that waves over us, we will be nothing,
and perhaps worse than nothing

Influence the government to keep the regular clergy, to keep the

nation from its emancipation

o Mentioned that if there are less outstanding learning Filipinos,let this not be attributed by influence of
the climate nor much less to that of race, but rather to the discouragement that for some years now
has taken possession of the youth, because of the almost total lack of incentive.
Could have inspired the concept of indolence by Rizal
o He also honored several selfless secular parish priests in the provinces
o Vindicating Padre Pelaez:
o Died during the 1863 earthquake; rumors spread that he set up a rebellion on the same day
that he died
o a man of dignity; defended the secular clergy when it is deprived of the parishes due to the
friars ambitions
o rumors could have been the result of friars grudge on him
Concluded:
Now nothing remains for us to do but, first, to ask God that he give us a heart capable of bearing insults and
enduring calumnies. Secondly, we ask the magnanimous and generous nation, to whom we address our words, to
do justice to our loyal sentiments
Reference:
Schumacher, J.N. 2006. The Burgos Manifiesto: The Authentic Text and Its Genuine Author. Philippine Studies vol. 54, no. 2
(2006): 153304

PI100. Reported by Roma Elaine Cruz