Trivia no. 7: Jose Burgos, the Most Educated Indio

DID YOU KNOW that Jose Burgos was the most educated ‘indio’ during the Spanish colonial regime?

By Rancho Arcilla
26 May 2020

Jose Apolinario Burgos was probably the most educated “indio” during the Spanish colonial regime. While he is known today because of his nationalistic sympathies for the secularization of the clergy in the Philippines, what really occupied him for most of his life was school. He lived, like Rizal, for only 35 years, however, unlike Rizal, he spent 25 years of them inside the classroom hidden behind books. 

He had a total of eight degrees, and if our pantheon of heroes was a university, Burgos would undoubtedly be its headmaster. 

All in all he received the following degrees: 

1. Bachelor of Arts, 1855 (Letran) – 18yo
2. Licentiate in Philosophy, 1860 (UST) – 23yo
3. Bachelor of Theology, 1860 (UST) – 23yo
4. Licentiate in Theology, 1862 (UST) – 25yo
5. Bachelor of Canon Law, 1866 (UST) – 29yo
6. Doctor of Theology, 1868 (UST) – 31yo
7. Licentiate in Canon Law, 1868 (UST) – 31yo
8. Doctor of Canon Law, 1871 (UST) – 34yo

According to Fidel Villarroel, the former archivist of UST, his academic record at the pontifical university remains unmatched even today. His seven degrees from the same university can be explained by the fact that the University of Santo Tomas (UST) was the only higher education institution existing in the Philippines during the 19th Century. So by default, unless one goes to Europe for further studies, an indio hoping to pursue advanced degrees would naturally enroll at Santo Tomas. The Bachelor of Arts degree that other schools offered at that time (e.g. Letran, Ateneo, etc.) are considered equivalent to today’s High School diploma. 

His academic prowess did not go unnoticed, of course. From 1863 to 1872 he was Master of Ceremonies of the University of Santo Tomas, and in 1866, he was promoted as the Supervisor of Secondary Education in Manila. From 1865 to 1872 he was Curate of the Parroquia del Sagrario and Ecclesiastical Fiscal and Acting Canon of the Cathedral of Manila. 

So why was Burgos so obsessed with academic degrees? Perhaps he wanted to prove to the Spaniards that an “indio” priest could reach the high cultural standards of white men during those days? If that was the case, he made his point loud and crystal clear. He would have made an illustrious professor or a good bishop if given the chance of living long enough, but because of circumstances implicating him to the 1871 Cavite Mutiny, he was charged with conspiracy and sentenced to the garrote.

At 35 with an iron bar at his neck he was dead. 

Could intelligence be lethal? At the end of the day for Burgos it was not, for he was reborn in immortality in our national consciousness. But for an ailing empire, the sick man of Europe that cut off his head, it proved to be a death sentence, as his death directly led to a series of events which eventually ended up in revolution, the end of an era, and the birth of a nation. 

Reference: 
Villarroel, Fidel (1984). Jose Rizal and the University of Santo Tomas. Manila: UST Press.

Texts and Illustrations by Rancho Arcilla
All rights reserved by the author.
26 May 2020 (updated 31 May 2020; 03.37)