Order of the XIII Martyrs of Cavite

Awarded to

Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 4 F&AM

Hall of Fame

City of Cavite

WM Ricardo G. Marmolejo with the brethren of Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 4 attended the wreathlaying ceremony at the Thirteen Martyrs Monument, Samonte Park, Cavite City

“Condenado” The re-enactment of the execution of the Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite City

The penalty of death and inspirational message delivered by Bro. Ric Alvarez during the commemoration of 111th year of martyrdom of the XIII Martyrs of Cavite City

Bagong Buhay Lodge No. 4 “Cavite City Hall of Fame” first recipient of The Order of the XIII Martyrs with MW Jim Bantolo GM, VW Ric Alvarez AGS, VW Bert Esperat GBB, WM Ric Marmolejo, Bro. Meng Miranda, Bro. Gerry Agbunag, Bro. Larry Crawford, Bro. Mike Herradura, Bro. Bong Domingo & Bro. Ronald Aikman

DID YOU KNOW…?
A Short Article…
By Bro. Ric M. Alvarez

That the first Masonic Lodge in the Philippines was La Primera Luz Filipina constituted in Cavite in 1856 under the auspices of the Gran Oriente Lusitano by Spanish naval officers Malcampo and Mendez Nunez, and were composed mainly of officers of the Spanish Navy, Army and the bureaucrats from the Spanish colonial government?

That prominent Masons were part of the Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite of 1896, most notably Victoriano Luciano, Maximo Inocencio, Feliciano Cabuco, Eugenio Cabezas, Hugo Perez, Maximo Gregorio, Jose Lallana, Severino Lapidario and Alfonso Ocampo?

That Bagong Buhay Lodge was founded by prominent propagandists and revolutionary leaders WB Jose A. Reyes, WB Ladislao Diwa, and WB Juan N. Santos on August 11, 1907 in San Roque, Cavite?

That WB Jose A. Reyes, WB Ladislao Diwa, and WB Juan N. Santos were originally members of the Sinukuan Lodge of Tondo before they established the Bagong Buhay Lodge in Cavite?

That aside from the three founders of the Bagong Buhay Lodge, prominent members of the Sinukuan Lodge were Manuel Quezon, Rafael Palma, Quintin Paredes, Jorge Vargas, Juan Nolasco and Manuel Earnshaw?

That Bagong Buhay Lodge was one of the four Lodges formed after the constitution of the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines?

That the four new Lodges formed after the constitution of the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines were (with their old numbers) Balagtas (149); Taliba (165): Pilar (203); and Bagong Buhay (291)?

That of the four new Lodges formed after the constitution of the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines, only Bagong Buhay was newly established; the others were revived, reconstituted or reorganized old Lodges? In effect, Bagong Buhay was really the first new Lodge founded under the auspices of the Grand Regional Lodge?

That the other founding Lodges (and their old numbers) of the Grand Regional Lodge were Nilad (144); Walana (158); Dalisay (177); Sinukuan (272); and Mabini (290)?
That Bagong Buhay’s WB Jose A. Reyes was elected Grand Fourth Vice President of the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines during an assembly in 1906?

That on November 15, 1908, WB Jose Reyes took part in the first installation of officers of Silanganan Lodge No. 305 (now Lodge No. 19), presided by RW Valentin Polintan and accompanied by Bros. Pantaleon Garcia, Francisco Licuanan, Felipe Buencamino, Elias Asuncion, E. Vergara and Pascual Casimiro?

That in 1907, Bagong Buhay Lodge was referred as Lodge 291 under the Filipino-dominated Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines?

That the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines was constituted in 1907 under the jurisdiction of the Gran Oriente Espanol?

That among the more prominent members of the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines were Apolinario Mabini, Felipe Buencamino, Ramon Diokno, Ladislao Diwa, Pantaleon Garcia, Baldomero Aguinaldo and Emilio Aguinaldo?


That the Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines was similar to the earlier initiatives of Filipino Masons to have a separate but equal jurisdiction over its territorial lodges, when in 1894 they initiated the founding of the Grand Regional Council of the Philippines?

That from 1868 until 1917, there existed Spanish, English, German, Scottish, French, Filipino and American lodges, and that the Philippines was administered by more than one Masonic jurisdiction?

That only in 1917, that Bagong Buhay lodge was started to be referred as Lodge No. 17, under the unified Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands (fusion of the Filipino-dominated Grand Regional Lodge of the Philippines, and the American-dominated Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands, and other small jurisdictions) and became under the direct jurisdiction of American Masons?

That during the fusion of the Grand Lodge in 1917, Bagong Buhay Lodge listed 115 master Masons as members?

That after the union, it was originally agreed that a Filipino Grand Master alternates with an American Grand Master in heading the unified Grand Lodge?

That in 1918, Manuel Quezon became the first Filipino Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands, but only next to William H. Taylor, the American Grand Master who became the first GM of the unified Grand Lodge in 1917?

That in 1920, Rafael Palma became the second Filipino Grand Master of the GLPI, the fourth to hold such a position under the alternating scheme?

That the union of the two Grand Lodges to form the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands came at a price for the Filipino Masons? All the Grand officers of the Grand Regional Lodge lost their positions; the rituals and ceremonies were abandoned and supplanted by American oriented rituals; the laws and statutes governing members and the lodges were replaced by the GLPI; and the Lodges of Filipinos were physically redecorated?

Sources / References:

Kalaw, Teodoro. Philippine Masonry: Its Origins, Development and Vicissitudes up to the Present Time 1920. Translated by Frederic Stevens. Manila: McCullogh Printing, 1955

KAPATIRANG TUNAY…

Isang Tula
Ni: Kap. Jun Necessario

Simula ng ako'y maging isang Mason

Kaliwa't kanan ang aking Kapatid

San man dako maging sa ibang bayan

Dayuhang kapatid kaagapay ko.Kami'y magkasama sa lahat ng Gawain

Obligasyon man at ibang tungkulin

Maghapon magkasama hanggang sa uwian

Pilit tinatapos para sa kapatid

Subalit ngayo'y ibang kapatid

Pilit pinuputol ugnayang nabuo

Sila'y itinuring tunay na Kapatid

Maging kailanman, hanggang sa huling buhay

Tunay na Kapatid ayaw palayain

Na ang tanging mithi maayos na Kapatiran


Sa maayos na samahan

At matatag na LipunanSari-saring kutya pilit inuunawa

Di batid makakasama sa Lipunan

Ang tanging Dasal sa may LUMIKHA

Alitang umiral mawala ng tuluyan.

THE XIII MARTYRS OF
CAVITE CITY
By Bro. Ric M. Alvarez

The Katipunan adopted the “Masonic Procedures” in getting members into the secret society, and perhaps, most of the Katipuneros were leaders and members of Freemasonry.

Philippine Masonry played an important role in the 1896 Philippine revolution against Spain and the Fraternity of Masons had noble mission of liberating the country through the organization of the Katipunan which was founded by Masons. Bro. Ladislao Diwa, Bro. Andres Bonifacio and Bro.


Teodoro Plata, the K.K.K. triumvirate were all Masons.

With the turn of events, Freemasons were placed under surveillance by the Spanish authorities. The distrust arose from the fact that the leaders and members of the Katipunan were mostly Masons and that had adopted some of the rituals of Freemasonry; such as the conferring of degrees, secret ceremonies and the adoption of symbolic names, like our very own Bro. Ladislao Diwa. In the Katipunan his symbolic name is “Balite”, and in Masonry, it’s “Baguio”, and he was conferred degrees in secret ceremonies by both the Katipunan and the Masonry. These two (2) organizations were often mistaken one for the other.

In August 1896, at the height of the Filipino uprising, the Spanish authorities were alarmed and a series of retaliatory measures were conducted. Arrest, tortures and execution became the order of the day in Manila, Cavite and nearby provinces. Several innocent Filipinos were arrested,
tortured and forced in signing written confessions but were not allowed to read the contents. With these confessions in the hands of the Spanish authorities, the arrests were inevitable. In Cavite City, first to be arrested among the Cavite’s illustrious thirteen (13) men were Bros. Severino Lapidario, Alfonso de Ocampo and Luis Aguado. They were brought to the cruiser Don Antonio de Ulloa for interrogation. Thereat, Bros. Lapidario and de Ocampo were tortured, for every negative answers reaped brutal beating and as expected, forced confessions were extracted.

The house of Bro. Maximo Inocencio was searched for remington rifles, the offices of
Warden Bro. Severino Lapidario and Assistant Warden Alfonso de Ocampo were also searched for bolos and other weapons but they found nothing except for Masonic paraphernalia. Nevertheless, it was reported that the confiscated materials were anti-Spain. And one by one, the rest of the thirteen martyrs were arrested and detained at Fort San Felipe including Julian Felipe, Ramon Macauas, Jose A. Reyes, and many others. The thirteen martyrs were implicated in the propaganda movement and accused of alleged conspiracy to overthrow the Spanish government, while some for being suspected members of the Katipunan, and others for being active members of Masonry.

The thirteen martyrs were tried by military tribunal known as the Consejo de Guerra or Council of War. Although represented by their respective counsels, some were not allowed to testify and professed ignorance of any conspiracy, and the verdict…despite for lack of material evidences, all of them were found guilty of rebellion and imposed upon them “the penalty of death”.

That was one hundred eleven (111) years ago, a few minutes after high noon, September 12 of 1896, infront of the Filipino people, infront of the Cavitenos, the condemned thirteen (13) illustrious men were escorted by Spanish soldiers out of Fort San Felipe to the Plaza de Armas, hands tied at their backs, blind folded and in kneeling positions, the honorable and patriotic sons of the land, were shot from behind.

BY 12:45 P.M., the official doctor, Francisco Masip had examined the fallen, inert bodies of the thirteen men and pronounced “All of them dead”.

Among the thirteen martyrs executed, ten (10) were Masons, Bros. Maximo Inocencio, Jose Lallana, Eugenio Cabezas, Maximo Gregorio, Hugo Perez, Alfonso de Ocampo, Luis Aguado, Victoriano Luciano, Severino Lapidario and Felipe Cabuco. And eight (8) out of the ten (10) were members of Espana En Filipinas Lodge under the jurisdiction of the Gran Oriente Nacional de Espana, one of the oldest Lodge formed in the Philippines before the Filipino uprising. If these eight (8) martyr Masons were not executed, they would have been members of Bagong Buhay Lodge because in 1906 when the Lodge was formed, prominent Masons who were raised from other Lodges or

places but residents of Cavite City affiliated to Bagong Buhay Lodge. The non-Masons were; Francisco Osorio, Antonio de San Agustin and Agapito Conchu.

The lifeless bodies of the illustrious thirteen martyrs were carried and loaded in three (3) carabao-drawn carts, guarded by six (6) Spanish soldiers armed with rifles and bayonets and their remains were brought to the convent or Catholic Cemetery at Caridad. The wealthy family of Maximo Inocencio, Francisco Osorio, Luis Aguado, Hugo Perez and Victoriano Luciano were appropriately placed in separate coffins and buried their remains in a common grave but the underprivileged one, Maximo Gregorio, Feliciano Cabuco, Antonio de San Agustin, Agapito Conchu, Eugenio Cabezas, Jose Lallana, Severino Lapidario and Alfonso de Ocampo without any caskets were buried altogether in only one grave.


Eight (8) years after the execution, in June 1904, a group of young inhabitants of the community led by Masons together with the descendants of the thirteen martyrs proposed the construction of a monument, in honor of the thirteen Martyrs of Cavite.

On September 12, 1904, at Ballesteros Street, now named in honor of Hugo Perez, one of the thirteen martyrs, formed a committee, chaired by Don Ceferino Picache, Past Master of Bagong Buhay Lodge in 1936.

After nine (9) years, in September 1905 under the able leadership of a member of Bagong Buhay Lodge, Dr. Catalino Nicolas, Chairman of the Comite Ejecutivo (Executive Committee) and also Municipal President of United Cavite in 1903-1904; Don Juan Matias, Secretary; and Don Nicasio Desiderio, Treasurer, they were able to raise funds in the amount of one thousand (Php1,000.00) pesos, which is already a huge amount at that time.

After ten (10) years, September 12, 1906 to be exact, the monument was finally constructed. Again the Cavitenos led by brother Masons of Bagong Buhay Lodge exhumed the remains of the thirteen martyrs and in a public procession escorted, transferred and interred in the newly constructed final resting place in Isthmus of Rosario. The monument was inaugurated, in honor and memory of the departed sons of Cavite, The Thirteen Martyrs, and since then

the commemoration was celebrated annually.

Last September 12, 2006, we had celebrated the 100 years existence of the monument and 110th martyrdom of the Cavite’s illustrious Thirteen Martyrs, the honorable and patriotic sons of Cavite City.