Maximo S. Gregorio
(1856 – 1896)
One of the 13 Martyrs of Cavite
History of
Barangay Gregorio
Gregorio classified as rural area and has a total population of 4,330 and considered as one of
the peaceful Barangay in the City. It is surrounded by Barangays and Municipality: Tanza to the
North, Barangay Conchu to the South, Barangay Osorio to the East and Barangay San Agustin/De
Ocampo to the West. It has a total land area of 198, 000. The Barangay is divided into 8 Puroks.
Historically, Maximo Gregorio is one of the great thirteen martyrs of Trece Martires, he was
called Nol Chimo by his neighbors and friends, was one of the “Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite.” He
was born on November 18, 1956 in Pasay, then Rizal province, and the second of the three
children of Francisco Gregorio, who hailed from Badoc, Ilocos Sur, and the former Celedonia
Santiago, who was a native of Pasay. He studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, but never
failed to finish his schooling, as he was drafted in the Spanish army. After undergoing training
in San Antonio, Cavite, he joined Regiment No. 72, which was sent on an expedition to Jolo to
fight and pacify the Moros. Upon his discharge, he secured an appointment as an encargado in the
commissary of the Spanish army in Cavite, a job he held for 20 years.
He was initiated into Masonry in April 1892, and later joined the Katipunan. He was active in
bothsocieties. He supported the work of Filipino propagandists in the Philippines as well as
abroad. Gregorio was a civic – minded person who never tolerated abuses by the authorities. Upon
his admission into the Katipunan, he became busy organizing its branches in Cavite. Under him,
two local groups were established. Balangay No. 1 “Marikit,” was formed in Barrio San Antonio
around 1894 When its membership reached 25, Balangay No. 2, named “Lintik,” was formed in Barrio
San Rafael. Both barrios were in the town of San Roque. The activities of the Katipunan reached
the provincial capital due to the membership of Eugenio Cabezas, a watchmaker, and Eulalio
Raymundo, a tailor – their shops were located in the capital – in Balangay Marikit. Its other
members included Severino Lapidario, the provincial warden, Feliciano Cabuco, and Jose Lallana,
another tailor. Gregorio thus became the principal organizer of the Katipunan in Cavite, there
being no single supreme leader named for the entire province of Cavite.
Revolution and
Sacrifice: The 13 Martyrs of Cavite
The uprising in Cavite was planned for September 1, 1896, but Gregorio wanted concerted action among
all the revolutionists, so its was moved to September 3 – 4. However, the so-called secret was
unraveled by the discovery of the plan by Victorina Crespo from her dressmaker. Likewise, Judge
Pedro Solano sensed something was a foot when he suspected his cochero and his brother of stealing
some cartridges and a knife from his house. Henceforth, the authorities arrested Severino Lapidario,
his assistant Alfonso de Ocampo, and Luis Aguado. They were taken to the boat Ulloa, where they were
forced to confess to the charges brought against them after doing three hours of continuous labor.
All this happened on September 3, thus frustrating the revolutionists’ second plan. From the
declarations of Ocampo, the authorities learned that among the cabecillas, or little leaders, of the
local revolutionists were Victoriano Luciano, Hugo Perez, Agapito Conchu, Pablo Jose, Marcos Jose,
and Juan Castaneda of Imus, and that above them were Maximo Inocencio, Francisco Osorio and
Inocencio were charged with procuring arms and munitions. The authorities also learned that the
revolutionary unit’s secretary was Feliciano Cabuco, and that plans for the uprising were perfected
in the house of Maximo Gregorio.
From the declaration of Lapidario, it was learned that the incitement to take arms came from Eugenio
Cabezas, who, on August 31, was sent by Aguinaldo. From Aguado it was learned that the houses of
Antonio San Agustin and Jose Lallana, besides that of Gregorio, were used by the revolutionists as
meeting places. As a result of these declarations, the authorities affected mass arrests. On that
fateful day of September 12, 1896, the 13 doomed men were taken by fours out of their cells,
escorted to the Plaza de Armas of Fort San Felipe, and shot at 12:45, noontime. Ocampohad to be
carried bodily to the execution site due to a wound he had incurred. The dead bodies of Conchu,
Gregorio, Cabuco, Cabezas, Lapidario, and Ocampo were placed on a carabao – drawn cart and covered
with bangkuwang mats, and then taken to the Catholic cemetery of Caridad, where they were dumped in
a common hole. Other martyrs were allowed to be taken by their well–to–do families, who buried them
in separate graves.
On September 12, 1906, 10 years after the mass execution, the bodies of six of the victims were
exhumed and deposited in a vault in a monument erected in honor and memory of all the 13 Cavite
martyrs to freedom.
Gregorio’s known hobby was that of wine-making. He made it out of basic, which came from Badoc in
tibor jars. His product was enjoyed as a placer de la reunion and as a delicia de la mesa. He was
married to the former Esperanza Legaspi – who died in 1899 – and they had nine children. Only four
of them reached maturity – Agripina, Francisco, Pilar, and Josefa.
