COTABATO CITY – The former Catholic prelate of Basilan, who was a prized target for the Abu Sayyaf in the 1990s, was named bishop of the Kidapawan Diocese by the Vatican.
Bishop Romulo Tolentino de la Cruz, who was installed on Wednesday as the new bishop of Kidapawan, will have pastoral jurisdiction over 14 towns in the adjoining provinces of North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, which have 27 priests, some of them belonging to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
The Diocese of Kidapawan has had no bishop since January, after Bishop Romulo Valles was transferred to the Archdiocese of Zamboanga.
The 60-year-old De la Cruz was born in Balasan, Iloilo. He was 29 when he was ordained priest after completing his priestly studies, starting at the Notre Dame Archdiocesan Seminary in Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan.
De la Cruz also served as bishop of San Jose de Antique in Panay for six years, after he headed the Catholic community in Basilan in the 1990s.
No date has been set yet for the installation of De la Cruz as the new Kidapawan bishop. – John Unson, Evelyn Macairan