Three Other Martyrs

        There were three other martyr priests aside from “Gomburza.”

    Mention the words “martyr priests” and most Filipinos will remember “Gomburza,” the three Filipino priests who were executed for their  alleged involvement in the 1872 Cavite Mutiny.But several years after their deaths, another three martyr priests would again shed their blood in Bagumbayan. Their names are much more obscure though, mainly because they were part of a group of Bicolano martyrs collectively known as Los Quince Martires.

    After the discovery of Katipunan in September, 1896, the Spanish government immediately ordered mass arrests of those who were connected to the secret organization. The wrath of Spaniards eventually reached Bicol and arrests were made between September and October in 1896.A total of 15 men were arrested, tortured, and sentenced to death. Out of these 15, three were secular priests from Nueva Caceres (now Naga City), namely: Fr. Severino Diaz, Fr. Inocencio Herrera, and Fr. Gabriel Prieto.

         Fr. Severino Diaz y Lanuza was the first secular priest to head the Cathedral of Nueva Caceres. Fr. Innocencio Herrera, on the other hand, was actually a native of Pateros in Rizal. He moved to Bicol and later became a secular priest and choir master at the Cathedral under Diaz. Both priests were arrested on September 19, 1896 and suffered grave torture thereafter.

          The third priest, Fr. Gabriel Prieto y Antonio, was implicated when his brother, Tomas, was forced to give up names under severe torture. He was arrested at the parish house in Malinao, Albay on September 22, 1896 under the orders of then Albay Civil Governor Angel Bascaran. Like the other two priests, he also suffered verbal and physical torture after his arrest.

     Bound in ropes and chains, the three priests together with other prisoners were transferred to Manila aboard the steamships Ysarog and Montañes. They were temporarily imprisoned in the convento of San Agustin in Intramuros before being transferred to the Bilibid Prison where they would stay until their execution by firing squad on January 4, 1897.

Reference:

http://www.filipiknow.net/philippine-history-facts/