Antonio Fortich, 89; Bishop Opposed Philippines’ Marcos

Antonio Fortich, 89, a retired Roman Catholic bishop of the Philippines who was a staunch opponent of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and a fighter for social change, died Wednesday in Bacolod, the capital of the central Philippines province of Negros Occidental. Fortich died of multiple organ failure caused by diabetes.

He became bishop of Bacolod in 1967 in the midst of worker unrest against sugar barons on Negros Island.

Six years later he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called Asia’s Nobel Prize, for being a prime mover for social change in the province.

The award came a year after Marcos imposed martial law and began ruling by decree. Despite government restrictions, Fortich was a vocal critic of military abuses and human rights violations while supporting land reform on central Negros Island, which was a hotbed of communist insurgency.

Marcos was ousted in a popular revolt in 1986, and he died in exile in Hawaii in 1989.

In later years, Fortich monitored cease-fires between the government and Marxist forces. He later helped negotiate the release of foreign captives held by the guerrillas including Peace Corps volunteer Timothy Swanson. Fortich retired in 1989.