9 dioceses without a bishop

Nine dioceses in the country are “sede vacante” or without a bishop. These are the dioceses of Butuan, Daet, Ilagan, Isabela, Malolos, Military Ordinariate, San Jose de Antique, and San Jose Mindoro. The bishops had either retired upon reaching 75, the mandatory age of retirement for bishops, was transferred, or had passed away. Three more prelates from Mindanao are set to retire this year – Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma and Pagadian Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar, both 75, and Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, 79. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said, the country has around 140 bishops including those who had retired. (Christina I. Hermoso)