18 Facts About Antonio Fortich

Antonio Yapsutco Fortich was the third bishop of the Diocese of Bacolod.

Antonio Fortich is noted for being a social activist who fought for social justice in Negros.

In 2018, Fortich was recognized by the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board as a Motu Proprio victim of the Martial Law Era.

Antonio Fortich was born on 11 August 1913, in Sibulan, Negros Oriental.

Antonio Fortich attended elementary and high school in Dumaguete, and pursued his college and theological studies at Ateneo de Manila.

On 4 March 1944, at the height of World War II, Fortich was ordained by Michael J O'Doherty, Archbishop of Manila.

Antonio Fortich served the Diocese of Bacolod under Bishop Casimiro Lladoc, assigning him as assistant parish priest of the San Sebastian Cathedral.

Antonio Fortich was then appointed as Vicar General of the diocese under Bishop Manuel Yap on 31 December 1952.

When Bishop Yap died on 16 October 1966, Antonio Fortich was assigned diocesan administrator while waiting the appointment of a new bishop.

Antonio Fortich's episcopate was marked with great concern and action towards the poor and oppressed of his diocese, which is in line with the church teaching of "preferential option for the poor".

Antonio Fortich was one of the first people to alert the government to the illegal activities of timber poachers, who had stripped hundreds of acres of forest in Negros.

Antonio Fortich set up co-operatives composed of small landowners and sugar workers, to break the debt cycle suffered by Filipino sugar workers.

Antonio Fortich's efforts was encouraged by Pope John Paul II, who personally came to Bacolod and gave a speech to sugarcane workers, landowners, and the faithful of the diocese on 20 February 1981.

Bishop Antonio Fortich resigned on 31 January 1989 after reaching the mandatory age of 75.

Antonio Fortich was succeeded by Bishop Camilo Gregorio, then Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu.

Antonio Fortich supported the election of Joseph Estrada as president of the Philippines, and when it became clear that Estrada was using his position to accumulate personal wealth, the bishop withdrew his support.

Antonio Fortich is buried in a tomb at the right side of the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod.

Antonio Fortich's name is inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, in recognition of his opposition to the excesses of the 21-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.