A Tribute To Bishop Fortich at Diocese of Bacolod, Philippines, Bacolod City, Philippines 6100 PH - A Diabetes Victim

Diabetes victim BACOLOD (AP) - Retired Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Fortich of the Philippines, a staunch opponent of late President Ferdinand Marcos and a fighter for social change, died Wednesday after a long bout with diabetes. He was 89. Doctors at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City said Fortich died from multiple organ failure caused by diabetes. He had been in the hospital since April 28. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called Fortich "a champion of the poor and the oppressed, a courageous vanguard of peace and justice." Fortich became bishop of Bacolod in 1967 in the midst of workers' unrest against globe-trotting sugar barons on Negros island. In 1973, Fortich received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for being a "prime mover of social change" in the province. "Deeply rooted in local conditions, he sought a just society of recognized rights and responsibilities, prodding planters and centrals (sugar mills), priests, politicians and the less privileged to cooperate in meeting glaring needs," the award said. The award came a year after Marcos imposed nationwide martial law and started ruling by decree. A popular revolt ousted the dictator in 1986, and he died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. During Marcos' rule, Fortich became a vocal critic of the military's abuses and human rights violations while supporting land reform on central Negros island, which was a hotbed of communist insurgency. He helped ease the plight of hundreds of Negros villagers displaced by military offensives in the 1980s against the guerrillas by allowing them to take shelter and bring their dead to his church. After Marcos was toppled, his successor Corazon Aquino opened peace talks with the underground Marxist umbrella group, the National Democratic Front. Fortich was chosen by both sides to head a committee monitoring a 60-day nationwide ceasefire until Feb. 8, 1987. During the cease-fire, he criticized military officials for blaming rebels for violations without sufficient evidence and also spoke against killings by the communist New People's Army. Fortich, whose personal contacts with the rebels earned him the disdain of conservatives in and out of the church, had said that many of the rebels remained Christian despite communism's rejection of the faith. Three priests from his diocese had joined the rebels. One of them, Luis Jalandoni, is the chief rebel peace negotiator in on-and-off talks with the government since 1986. Jalandoni, who has left the priesthood and lives in exile in the Dutch city of Utrecht, was the first head of a social action center established by Fortich. Former priest Frank Fernandez now heads the rebel movement on Negros. Critics accused Fortich of being pro-communist. One group calling itself Christians Against Communist tossed a grenade at his home in Bacolod in April 1987, but he escaped injury. He also escaped an earlier attack by unidentified men who torched his residence while he was away. In 1990, Fortich helped negotiate the release of a Japanese farm technician, Fumio Mizuno, and an American Peace Corps volunteer, Timothy Swanson, who were captured by communist guerrillas on Negros. During the release, Fortich brought a basket of eggs for the Marxists up a mountain, a custom he had done every time hostages were freed by the rebels through his intercession. Fortich retired at age 75 in 1989. The diocesan vicar general, Msgr. Victorino Rivas, who was at Fortich's side when he died, announced funeral services will be held on July 15. President Arroyo offered her condolences to the family of the Catholic Bishop Antonio Fortich, who died yesterday morning in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. In a statement, the President hailed the deceased bishop for his anti-poverty advocacy and his peace initiatives. "The death of Bishop Fortich has been a great loss to the Filipino people. He was a champion of the poor and the oppressed, a courageous vanguard of peace and justice," she said. "He was blessed by a great faith in God and in the people, whose love and affection he will carry forever," she added. Fortich, who died of multiple organ failure, was confined at the Riverside Medical Center for nearly a month. His remains lie at the San Sebastian Parish Church. Fortich, a known critic of the Marcos dictatorship, earned a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-poverty and peace efforts. Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. yesterday expressed "profound sadness and a deep sense of loss" over the death of Bacolod's Catholic BishopEmeritus Antonio Fortich. "Our nation, our people have become all the poorerwith the passing of Bishop Fortich. He was more than a man of the cloth. He was a true patriot," Guingona said. Bishop Fortich, 89, suffered a mild stroke in November last year and seemed to recover after being hospitalized for 10 days. His health then began to worsen after the Holy Week when he returned from Dumaguete City to visit an ailing sister. Bishop Fortich was put in the Intensive Care Unit of the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City from April 28 to May 16 but has since been transferred to a private room. "Bishop Fortich was always with his flock and hisservice to the Filipino people went well beyond the Diocese of Bacolod and the Visayas," Guingona said. "We remember how strongly and staunchly Bishop Fortich stood with us, from his pulpit and on the streets,never blinking, never compromising in our battle against the Marcos dictatorship," Guingona added. Visayan leaders expressed sadness yesterday (July 2) on the death of Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich, bishop emeritus of Bacolod. Rep. Jun Lozada of the fifth district of Negros Occidental said: "Today is a sad day for the Philippines. (The death of) His Excellency, Antonio Y. Fortich, Bishop Emeritus of Bacolod, a progressive and activeman of God, is a great loss not only to the Catholic Church but also to the people, particularly of Negros, who he served with all his heart and soul." The chairman of the House committee on foreign relations said: "It is with deepest feeling of loss that I and my family, together with my constituents and the rest of the nation, mourn the death of Bishop Fortich. "I am one of the countless people whose lives he touched personally as he fulfilled his calling to serve God and his people. I have had very good relation with Bishop Fortich in his lifetime, both as my pastor and my spiritual counselor, and I personally witnessed how be practiced what he preached." The lawmaker described the late Bishop Fortich as a "strong pillar of the Catholic Church and he has left Negros a legacy of stronger faith in God and corresponding strong confidence in each and everyone of us to face our problems economically and politically." "He has opened our eyes to the realities of life - that we have to go true to our respective responsibilities in life, especially in the service of our people, said Lozada, stressing that "Negros will never be the same with his demise." "May his soul rest in peace. My family and I pray for his everlasting peace," Lozada said. Rep. Augusto "Boboy" Syjuco (Second District, Iloilo), a former national student leader, described Bishop Fortich as "a guiding torch for both government and private sector leaders for good, logical, Christian, moral and upright destiny for the welfare of the nation and people."

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