The Filipino priest Gerardo Fortich Saco Jr., appointed bishop of Tagbilaran on March 25, has announced that he will not proceed with his episcopal ordination, scheduled for May 26, 2026.
In an official statement, Saco informed the faithful of the diocese of his decision not to proceed with the episcopal ordination following a process of prayer and discernment.
The priest attributed his decision to a “change of heart” arising from his awareness of his own “human limitations and inadequacies.”
A resignation before the consecration
Saco’s appointment had been announced by the Holy See on March 25.
Until then, the priest had been serving as the diocesan administrator of Tagbilaran, in the Philippines.
The episcopal ordination and installation was scheduled for May 26 in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph the Worker in Tagbilaran, as previously reported by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
“Human limitations and inadequacies”
In his statement, Saco asked for understanding from the faithful regarding his decision and assured that he will continue serving as a priest.
He also expressed his commitment to accompanying God’s people “in faith in the Risen Lord.”
The priest did not provide further details on the specific reasons for his resignation, beyond the reference to his personal discernment and awareness of his limitations.
Pastoral trajectory in the Philippines and abroad
Gerardo Fortich Saco Jr. was born on October 16, 1965, in Tagbilaran, a city to which he has been closely linked throughout his entire priestly life.
After completing his philosophy studies at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in his hometown, he finished his theological formation at the San Carlos Seminary in Cebu, one of the country’s main centers for priestly training.
He was ordained a priest on April 26, 1993, for the diocese of Tagbilaran, beginning a ministry that has developed both in the parish sphere and in diocesan responsibilities.
In his early years, he served as a parochial vicar in the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer in Calape, before taking on his first assignment as pastor in Santa Mónica, in Albuquerque.
His pastoral experience also included a period of missionary service outside the Philippines.
Between 2001 and 2003, he was sent to Libya, and later served as a visiting priest in a parish in New York, thus expanding his experience in diverse ecclesial contexts.
Upon returning to his diocese, he resumed pastoral work in various parishes in Tagbilaran and nearby localities, serving for years as pastor in communities such as Our Lady of Lourdes, the Assumption in Dauis, and the Holy Cross in Maribojoc.
To these responsibilities were progressively added more significant roles within the diocesan structure.
Between 2015 and 2021, he was episcopal vicar for the laity, and later assumed new functions as pastor of the Most Holy Trinity in Tagbilaran and dean.
In more recent years, his role in diocesan governance intensified: he was appointed vicar general between 2023 and 2025, and since that same year, he had been serving as diocesan administrator, a responsibility he held at the time of his appointment as bishop.
Diocese is once again left waiting
The decision leaves the pastoral governance of Tagbilaran in suspense once more, a diocese that had remained vacant since Alberto Uy’s transfer to the Archdiocese of Cebu.
Saco had been designated as his successor to become the eighth bishop of the diocese.
The resignation, occurring just a few weeks before the consecration, now opens a new process for the appointment of a pastor for this Filipino diocese.