Retired South Cotabato bishop passes away at 79

MANILA, Philippines — Retired Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of the Diocese of Marbel in South Cotabato passed away at the age of 79 early Sunday, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.

Gutierrez died around 5:03 a.m. at a hospital in General Santos City. The bishop would have turned 80 on his birthday on February 20.

“Please pray for the repose of his soul,” Bishop Allan Casicas, current leader of the Marbel diocese, said.

The CBCP noted that Gutierrez formerly headed the Church’s National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) and has served the diocese for 35 years even after he reached his retirement age of 75 until his successor took over in April of last year.

The CBCP remembered the late bishop as “a strong advocate for the environment in a province threatened by mining interests.”

The diocese of Marbel under the leadership of Gutierrez led the fight against the copper and gold project of a foreign-backed mining company in the municipality of Tampakan in South Cotabato. /je