GomburZa Plot Summary
Gomburza is a historical drama inspired by events that led to a revolution in the country and a fight for independence against Spain. It details the significant role played by the execution of three priests that led to an uprising and, eventually, the battle for independence.
The story’s premise centres around religion and the inequality that oppressed Filipino or secular priests, demanding they agree to follow the rules and teachings of the Spanish priests known as the Friars. Since the secular priests had more influence over the people, their churches were more prosperous in terms of following and financial standing.
The Friars wanted a cut in the profits, so they started a campaign by leveraging the politics of colonialism to take control of the secular churches. However, things go astray when a dictator governor, Izquierdo, takes advantage of their selfish desires and uses it to brand innocent secular priests as insurgents, which leads to their execution.
What happens To Father Palaez Pedro?
The film starts with Father Palaez Pedro, who is telling a story about an Indie Priest named Pule who was turned away from becoming a priest because of his race. He tells the story to his students, Jose Burgos and Father Gomez. He talks about how Pule started a secular sect of priesthood that embedded both Christianity and Indie culture in their teachings and how the Spaniards massacred them.
Father Paaez tells them about a revolution that has taken hold in other Spanish colonies, including Mexico, and talks about the commands that have been sent, forcing the secular priests to work under the Spanish priests. Father Palaez is not looking to start a rebellion but wants equal rights for the secular priests who are considered lower class just because they are of mixed Filipino and Spanish descent. Therefore, Father Palaez started a campaign against merging secular churches under the Friars’ rule, and many secular priests stood behind him.
Father Palaez’s claim is simply that the Filipinos believe more in the secular priests because they speak their language, and he only wants them to be left alone to minister to the Filipino believers. However, before achieving his goal, Father Burgos dies in an earthquake. The Frairs use his death as an opportunity to speak ill of Father Palaez and brand him as an anti-Spanish rebel. Ftaher Burgos is devastated and cannot sit by and watch as the memory of Ftaher Palaez gets tarnished, so he anonymously writes a manifesto for the Filipinos in the newspaper. Father Burgos is also a great teacher; his students admire and listen to him.
What changes take place after Governor General Don Carlos Mara De La Torre’s appointment?
The appointment of Carlos De La Torre as the governor general brings hope for the Filipinos in their quest for equality since he abolished many of the unjust laws in the country. It allowed people to want something more, leading to Felipe and Paciano’s establishment of the Liberal Youth Group. The group sought to change the outdated rules that governed schools, such as kissing the bishop’s ring or learning in Latin instead of a language they all understood quickly.
The students protest by refusing to attend classes and sending out fliers with their requests. However, the student protest is taken as an anti-Spanish agenda, and the governor general arrests Felipe. Luckily, Don Carlos is a just man, and after Father Burgos talks to him and explains that the students are not starting a revolution but want to be treated equally, he agrees to let Felipe continue his studies. Carlos warns Father Burgos to stop inciting the students because the government who will replace him may not be as liberal. Soon after, Governor Carlos is replaced by Izquierdo, who sees the secular priests as threatening the Spanish rule over the Philippines.
What happens during the Cavite Mutiny?
After the dictator Governor-general Izquierdo took over the government, he removed all the liberties that the liberal general Carlos Maria Del La Torre had given the Filipinos. The people, including those from the army who were put to forced labour and paid taxes, had had enough, and they decided to stage a revolution and take back what belonged to them.
The elite men from the Association of Filipinos are behind the mutiny as they provide the resources and the planning sent through Francisco. The elite plan a coordinated attack on three fronts, but they have a mole who reveals their plans to Izquierdo. Therefore, on the day of the attack, the Spanish army and those Filipinos still loyal to the Spaniards ambush the revolutionaries, killing many of the soldiers and forcing the ones who survive to pledge their loyalty to Spain or risk their deaths.
What happens after the Cavite Mutiny fails?
After the failed mutiny, the people believed to be behind it were arrested, including leaders of the Association of Filipinos and secular priests Gomez, Burgos, and Zamaro. The three are taken from Gomez’s church, where Burgos went to check on his health. Zamaro’s arrest is because the soldiers find a note in his room talking about getting guns away and bringing ammunition, which is code for gambling and money.
The soldiers claim to have found guns and ammunition in Gomez’s possession. After the arrest, the leaders of the Association of Filipinos, who planned the whole thing, make a deal with Izquierdo’s lawyer and are only exiled while the priests are court-martialed. The trial is unfair, and the suspects cannot tell their story. The evidence against Zamaro is the gambling note, while the one against Gomez is the box guns and ammunition. In Father Burgos’s case, the government makes a false promise to Francisco, the messenger for the elite group, and during the trial, he gives a false testimony claiming that Father Burgos sent him to pass information and resources, so he planned the Cavite mutiny. The four men, including the priests and Francisco, are sentenced to death.
Governor-general Izquierdo wants the priests stripped of their priest clothes and die as ordinary people, but the archbishop refuses. He feels guilty because he was played by Izquierdo and used the Friars’ selfish desire to get rid of the secular priests against them. The archbishop seeks retribution by supporting the priests in the end because he does not want history to remember the Friars as bad people.
On the day of execution, the four men are led to the garotte, and the Filipino people, including Father Burgos’s students, come to witness their last moments. Francisco is considered a traitor by the people as he cries out for a chance to talk to the governor-general since they gave him false hope, and he framed his father, Burgos. Father Zamaro had no idea that a revolution was brewing in the background, so he goes mad in prison, and on the day of the execution, he is practically lifeless. Father Gomez believes everything happens for a reason and boldly marches to the garotte since he thinks it is God’s will.
Regarding Father Burgos’s execution, he looks down at the people and sees his students giving one final speech, telling the people that they are innocent and have been falsely accused. The soldier in charge of the execution kneels in front of Father Burgos, seeking forgiveness, and he puts a hand on his head, saying that he has forgiven him and everyone else who conspired to frame him. Father Burgos raises his tied hands to form a cross when he is strangled to death as Paciano hugs his brother Pepe and kneels in respect. Suddenly, everyone in the crowd kneels and takes off their hearts, grieving the death of their religious leaders.
How does Gomburza end?
After the execution of the three priests, the narrator reveals that the story is being told through Paciano’s younger brother, Pepe, perspective. He talks about the uprising that followed, stating that the death of the three priests led to a revolution and the formation of the KKK that fought for the independence of the Philippines from Spain. Therefore, as Father Gomez had said before his execution, the death of the three priests became the guiding light that brought together the Filipinos, regardless of race, and they fought together towards their independence. The film ends by replacing the KKK flag with the flag of the Philippines.
Gomburza represents the truth about the false accusations and the death of the priests clearly and straightforwardly. The script is split into four parts that chronologically outline the events from the beginning of the conflict between the secular priests and the friars, the effect of the hint of liberalism, the filed mutiny, the execution, and the consequences of the martyrdom.
The film does a fantastic job authentically representing a 1980’s Filipino environment with the costumes and the buildings. The characters’ ensemble is superb as each character embodies their roles with conviction, drawing in the viewers and allowing them to live through the emotions.
Read More: GomBurZa Movie Review