A Tribute To Bishop Fortich at Diocese of Bacolod, Philippines, Bacolod City, Philippines 6100 PH - Sister Is Seriously Ill

'Bishop of the poor' dies SISTER SERIOUSLY ILL, TOO BY CARLA GOMEZ The bishop of the poor and man of peace, who was an outspoken advocate of human rights even in the most trying times of martial law, peacefully passed away at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City at 8:15 a.m. yesterday. Bishop Emeritus Antonio Y. Fortich, 89, succumb to systemic infection concomitant with multiple organ failure secondary to diabetes mellitus, Dr. Angel Araneta said. Fortich was to turn 90 on Aug. 11. "He was unconscious since Tuesday last week, it was a painless death," Araneta said. "He died peacefully in his sleep," was how Msgr. Victorino Rivas, Vicar General of the Diocese of Bacolod, described his death. Fortich was admitted at the RMC Intensive Care Unit on April 28 when he complained of difficulty in breathing and in swallowing food, and has been surviving on a respirator since. He was transferred to a private room of the hospital on May 16 where he died yesterday. He had suffered a mild stroke in November. Before he was admitted, the prelate had gone to Dumaguete City to visit his ailing sister Caridad Fortich, 88. Fortich's nephew, Dr. Demetrio Sy, said Caridad is currently confined in the Intensive Care Unit of the Holy Child Hospital in Dumaguete City and turned for the worst on Tuesday. She had a tracheotomy on that day, to allow a tube to go down the trachea to provide a breathing channel, just like the bishop, Sy said. On Tuesday night Sy said he told Fortich, who was very close to his only sister, not to worry as he would take care of her. Sy is the son of Zotica Sy, a cousin of Fortich. Caridad had not been told of the death of her older brother.

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