Fr. Picardal, peace advocate and critic of Duterte’s EJK, dies at 69

Fr. Amado Picardal FILE PHOTO / CBCP News

MANILA, Philippines — Known peace advocate Fr. Amado Picardal died at the age of 69, according to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

CBCP said Picardal died due to cardiac arrest in Cebu City on Wednesday, citing Fr. Edilberto Cepe, the provincial superior of the Redemptorist Province of Cebu.

“He was found lifeless at the garden beside the Busay Retreat House, a short distance away from his hermitage at around 1 p.m. yesterday,” Cepe was quoted as saying in a CBCP statement on Thursday.

Picardal was known as “Fr. Picx” and was a staunch human rights advocate in Mindanao.

He was a major critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte and the alleged extrajudicial killings committed since his mayoralty stint in Davao City until his term as president.

READ: Priest bares threat from ‘death squad’

According to the CBCP, Picardal was also the brains behind a 2017 detailed report on the “Davao Death Squad” from 1998 to 2015, which was included in the information sent to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC is currently investigating Duterte’s bloody war against drugs during his administration.

Picardal was also known as the “biking priest” after he pedaled across the nation twice in 2011 to call the government’s attention to various issues, including peace deals with communist and Moro guerrillas.

READ: Biking priest decides to walk, run for peace talks

Meanwhile, just a few hours before his death, CBCP said Picardal was able to write on his social media, expressing thanks to God “for the grace and strength to remain faithful to the solemn promise I made through the years.”

He even dedicated a poem titled “A Hermit’s Companion” to his dog, Bruno.

Meanwhile, the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission of Basic Ecclesial Communities expressed sadness over the death of Picardal.

“We remember him not only for his leadership but also for his unwavering faith and passion for social justice,” it said.

“May his spirit continue to inspire us to build a more just and loving world,” it added.

Picardal’s wake will be at the Cebu Redemptorist Church, with the funeral service set to take place on June 6, 9 a.m.