Retired Tandag Bishop Amantillo dies at 83

Retired Redemptorist Bishop Ireneo Amantillo of Tandag died Oct. 11. He was 83 and had been suffering from prostate cancer.The prelate passed away at 8:25 am at the Redemptorist House in Cebu City.Amantillo was the first bishop of Tandag in Surigao del Sur and shepherded the diocese for 23 years.The Diocese of Tandag is mourning the death of the bishop who championed the rights of the poor, the organization and education of the Lumads, and integrity of the environment. Let us remember our beloved Bishop Ireneo in our masses and prayers, Bishop Raul Dael of Tandag told his clergy.Redemptorist Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar of Pagadian has earlier asked the faithful to pray for Amantillo who at that time just got out of the hospital. He is very seriously sick. His prostate cancer had spread, Cabajar said in a text message to bishops Oct. 8.Amantillo was born on Dec. 10, 1934 in Alimodian, Iloilo. He was ordained as Redemptorist priest on Dec. 16, 1962.In January 1976, he was named as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese Cagayan de Oro. Two years later, he was appointed as the first bishop of Tandag until he retired in 2001.Amantillo becomes the seventh Filipino prelate to die this year after retired Bishop Jesus Varela of Sorsogon, retired Auxiliary Bishop Zacharias Jimenez of Butuan, Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos, retired Bishop Camilo Gregorio of Batanes, retired Archbishop Edmundo Abaya of Nueva Segovia, and Bishop Wenceslao Padilla of Mongolia.