Miguel Purugganan

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(Redirected from
Miguel Gatan Purugganan
)
In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Gatan and the surname or paternal family name is Purugganan.
Titular Bishop
of Egnatia (1971–1974)
MottoMinistrare
(To Serve)
Ordination history
History
Priestly ordination
Date3 March 1957
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator
Teodulfo Sabugal Domingo
PlaceSt. Peter's Metropolitan Cathedral
Styles of
Miguel G. Purugganan
The Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Miguel Gatan Purugganan (November 18, 1931 – July 8, 2011)

Martial Law era.[2]

Early life and education

Miguel Gatan Purugganan was born in

Gregorian University in Rome, attaining summa cum laude. He then took another doctorate degree in theology, but was ordered to return to the Philippines before he could finish it.[1]

Priesthood

Purugganan started as seminary prefect of discipline. He eventually became bishop’s secretary, assistant parish priest, seminar rector, vicar-general of the

diocese of Ilagan. Aged 39, he was one of the youngest bishops in the country.[1]

He was chair of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines‘s commission on lay apostolate, and a member of the CBCP’s commissions on canon law and social action, in addition to being a member of its Permanent Council.[1]

Social Work

Purugganan was heavily involved in social action work and defending human rights during the Marcos regime, being one of seven bishops who denounced it and

martial law who became known as the “Magnificent Seven.”[1]

Purugganan opened diocesan programs to respond to the regime’s repressive policies, particularly to help the poor defend themselves against abuses. Among these programs was the Community-Based Health and Development Program (CBHDP). He built up his diocesan staff for social action in the communities, arousing the suspicion of the military, which believed that they were fronting for the

New People’s Army. When some of them were arrested for their work, Purugganan confronted officers at their barracks and demanded their release.[1]

Purugganan provided support for some 20,0000 peasants who were farming an 11,000 hectare-tract of land spanning the Haciendas San Antonio and Santa Isabel in

Ilagan,[3] which was being claimed for large-scale commercial agribusiness purposes by Marcos cronies Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco and Antonio Carag, who in turn were supported by Marcos who sent soldiers to intimidate the residents. In response, many church people, led by Purugganan himself, gave aid and support to the farmers. The Bishop placed the entire social action network under his office to help the farmers’ struggles. In December 1981, he led over 50 priests, nuns and journalists to visit the haciendas in defiance of soldiers and private guards who tried to keep them out.[1]

The Marcos government retaliated by placing Purugganan and his staff under military surveillance. Days after the Aquino assassination in 1983, soldiers raided his residence in Ilagan and a nearby nuns’ residence in an unsuccessful attempt to find weapons and wanted persons. Purugganan denounced these raids and continued in his advocacy, even after the collapse of the Marcos regime in 1986.[1] He later successfully campaigned against the proposal to divide the province of Isabela into two separate provinces in a 1995 plebiscite, which had been criticized as an attempt at gerrymandering by ruling political dynasties.[4]

Purugganan also helped found the Basic Christian Communities – Community Organizing (BCC-CO) program, serving as its chair. It became one of the most effective ways that church people empowered communities by teaching people their rights and interests, urging them to struggle for their demands, and to resist martial law. The BCC-CO encouraged communities to make the regime accountable for its excesses, and often led demands to stop militarization in the countryside.[1]

Death

Purugganan died due to cardiac arrest on July 8, 2011 at the Saint Paul Hospital in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.[5]

Legacy

Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the 2012 batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Miguel Purugganan.

In recognition of his efforts, his name is inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, which honors the heroes and martyrs who fought the Marcos dictatorship.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "PURUGGANAN, Miguel Gatan". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. 2015-10-09. Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  2. ISBN 978-1-5017-4639-0
    .
  3. ^ "PADILLA, Sabino "Abe" Garcia Jr". November 29, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Isabelinos' Struggle Against Warlordism and Political Dynasty". Bulatlat.com. 2004-06-13. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  5. ^ "Isabela's Bishop Purugganan, 79". Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  6. ^ "PURUGGANAN, Miguel Gatan". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  7. ^ "Bishop Miguel Gatan Purugganan". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
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