MANILA (UCAN): Bishop Ireneo Amantillo, the former bishop of Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao, the Philipines, died on October 11 at the age of 83. He had been suffering from prostate cancer.
 
The Diocese of Tandag announced that the bishop, who championed the education of tribal children especially in Mindanao, passed away at the Redemptorist House in the central Philippine city of Cebu.
 
Bishop Amantillo, who served the diocese from 1978 until his retirement in 2001, was ordained a priest in Cebu in 1962 and became a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
 
He was auxiliary bishop of Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese from 1976 to 1978. 
 
Tribal people in the Andap Valley complex in Surigao del Sur province said the bishop “will not be forgotten.”
 
The late bishop was instrumental in the establishment of tribal schools that continue to serve 22 tribes in the area.