Tuguegarao gets new archbishop

TUGUEGARAO CITY—Bishop Ricardo Baccay was installed as archbishop of Tuguegarao in rites at Saints Peter and Paul Metropolitan Church here on Tuesday. The archdiocese of Tuguegarao has jurisdiction over the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical parishes in Cagayan Valley region. Baccay succeeded Archbishop Sergio Utleg, 76, who resigned in October last year after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. Baccay, who served as bishop of Alaminos in Pangasinan since 2016, is the eighth archbishop of Tuguegarao. Also on Tuesday, Pope Francis announced the appointment of Bishop Fidelis Layog as apostolic administrator of the Alaminos diocese. Layog, 51, was serving as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan before his appointment. He will oversee the affairs of the Alaminos diocese until a new bishop is named by the Pope.—REPORTS FROM TINA SANTOS AND VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.