FRANCISCO OSORIO (1860-1896)
OF THE Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite, Francisco Osorio had the best chance of being saved from death from firing squad – if only wealth could buy his acquittal.
Osorio was neither a Freemason nor a Katipunan member. No arms nor incriminating documents were found in his possession. As de from Alfonso de Ocampo’s declaration that he was one of the leaders of the projected uprising, the Spanish investigators found nothing against him.
On the other hand, his father, Antonio Osorio, businessman and reputed to be the richest man in Cavite at the time, was a “protégé” of the politico-military governor, Fernando Pargas. There was a time when the provincial capital suffered from scarcity of meat caused by rinderpest, and Antonio Osorio attempted to relieve the situation by selling the meat of slaughtered cattle stricken by the plague. However, Maximo Gregorio, chief clerk of the Comisiara de Guerra, ordered the seizure of the banned meat. Frightened, Antonio fled.
Upon hearing the death Verdict on the accused plotters, Osorio’s millionaires father, using his “connections” with the governor, made a last-minute attempt to save his son but to no avail. To the Spaniards the preservation of their sovereignty in the Philippines was far more important than the life of Osorio’s son. As a consolation (consuelo de bobo), Antonio Osorio was allowed by the Spaniards to claim his son’s body and give it a decent burial instead of being dumped into a common grave.
Available historical documents contain meager biographical information about Francisco Osorio. He was in the prime of life at the time of his execution, having been born in Cavite in 1860.
[Sources: (1) Esteban A. de Ocampo, “The Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite,” Philippine Journal of Education, September 11, 1949; (2) Leon S. del Rosario, “Cavite’s 13 Martyrs,” This week, September 11, 1949; (3) Anatolio Litonjua, “The Thirteen Martyrs of Cavite,” Sunday Tribune Magazine, September 11, 1932; (4) Jose Nava, El Proceso de los Trece Martires de Cavite (1936); and (5) Manuel Sastron, La Insurreccion en Filipinas. Madrid, 1897.]