Alberto Ramento

{{Short description|Filipino bishop, martyr and saint (1936–2006)}} {{Philippine name|Baldovino|Ramento}} {{Infobox Christian leader |type = bishop |honorific-prefix = The Most Reverend, Venerable Martyr |name = Alberto Ramento, ''Obispo Maximo IX'' |honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|list=D.D.}} |title = ''Ninth Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church'' |image = Venerable Martyr Alberto B. Ramento - Obispo Maximo IX.png |caption = Bishop Alberto Ramento, {{circa|1993}} |church = Philippine Independent Church |see = Manila |term_start = 10 May 1993 |term_end = 10 May 1999 |predecessor = Tito Pasco |successor = Tomás Millamena |other_post = *Chairperson of the IFI Supreme Council of Bishops (2005–2006) *IFI Bishop-in-Charge of Western Pangasinan (2000–2002) *IFI Diocesan Bishop of Tarlac (1999–2006) |ordination = 8 April 1958 {{small|(Diaconate)}} 28 April 1958 {{small|(Priesthood)}} |ordained_by = Isabelo L. de los Reyes Jr. |consecration = 9 May 1969 {{small|(Episcopate)}} |consecrated_by = Isabelo L. de los Reyes Jr., Thaddeus Zielinski, Philip Strong, and Gilbert Baker |birth_name = Alberto Baldovino Ramento |birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|08|09|mf=y}} |birth_place = Guimba, Nueva Ecija, Commonwealth of the Philippines |death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|10|03|1936|08|09}} (''Assassinated'') |death_place = Tarlac City, Philippines |buried = Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, Cavite City, Philippines |spouse = {{marriage|Celerina Mendoza|1963|}} |children = 4 |residence = Tarlac City |nationality = Filipino |parents = Felipe Ramento y Curpoz {{small|(father)}} Margarita Baldovino y Bermudez {{small|(mother)}} |religion = Aglipayan {{small|(Philippine Independent Church/''Iglesia Filipina Independiente'')}} |education = *Far Eastern University {{small|(AB)}} *Saint Andrew's Theological Seminary {{small|(BTh and MDiv)}} *General Theological Seminary {{small|(D.D. – ''h.c.'')}} |previous_post = *IFI Diocesan Bishop of Cavite (1970–1993)  | feast_day = October 3 | venerated = *Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany *Philippine Independent Church {{small|(non-canonized)}} | saint_title = Bishop and Martyr | beatified_date = | beatified_place = | beatified_by = | canonized_date = October 3, 2010 | canonized_place = Mainz, Germany | canonized_by = the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany<ref name="oldcatholic">{{Cite web |title=Feast of Alberto Ramento (October 3) |url=http://www.alt-katholisch.de/fileadmin/red_ak/neuheiten/Pressemitteilungen/Pressemitteilung_-_PM-28-09-10.pdf |work=Katholisches Bistum der Alt-Katholiken in Deutschland |access-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-date=August 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812052608/http://www.alt-katholisch.de/fileadmin/red_ak/neuheiten/Pressemitteilungen/Pressemitteilung_-_PM-28-09-10.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> | attributes = Episcopal vestments Crown of martyrdom Martyr's palm | patronage = Human rights Persecuted Christians | shrine = *National Cathedral of the Holy Child, Taft Avenue, Ermita, Manila *Church of Saint Sebastian, Tarlac City *Church of Saint Anthony of Padua, Cavite City | module = {{Ordination | embed = Yes | expand = | denomination =Philippine Independent Church | name = Alberto Ramento | alternate name = | ordained deacon by = Isabelo L. de los Reyes Jr. | date of diaconal ordination = 8 April 1958 | place of diaconal ordination = Church of Maria Clara, Santa Cruz, Manila | ordained priest by = Isabelo L. de los Reyes Jr. | date of priestly ordination = 28 April 1958 | place of priestly ordination = Church of Maria Clara, Santa Cruz, Manila | consecrated by = Isabelo L. de los Reyes Jr. | co-consecrators = Thaddeus Zielinski, Philip Strong, and Gilbert Baker | date of consecration = 9 May 1969 | place of consecration = National Cathedral of the Holy Child, Taft Avenue, Ermita, Manila | elevated by = | date of elevation = | bishop 1 = Rhee Timbang Obispo Maximo XIII | consecration date 1 = 29 September 1996 | bishop 2 = | consecration date 2 = | bishop 3 = | consecration date 3 = | bishop 4 = | consecration date 4 = | bishop 5 = | consecration date 5 = | bishop 6 = | consecration date 6 = | bishop 7 = | consecration date 7 = | bishop 8 = | consecration date 8 = | bishop 9 = | consecration date 9 = | bishop 10 = | consecration date 10 = | bishop 180 = | consecration date 180 = | sources = | qid = | suppressfields = | onlysourced = }} | module2 = {{Infobox bishop styles |embed= Yes | image = | bishop name = Alberto Ramento | dipstyle = His Eminence | offstyle = Your Eminence | relstyle = Obispo Máximo IX The Most Reverend |deathstyle = Venerable Martyr }} }}

'''Alberto Baldovino Ramento''' (August 9, 1936 – October 3, 2006) was the ninth supreme bishop (''Obispo Máximo'') and a former chairperson of the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Philippine Independent Church or ''Iglesia Filipina Independiente'' (IFI). He was known by the moniker, "''The Bishop of the Poor Peasants and Workers''". A known vocal critic against human rights abuses in the Philippines, he was murdered by unknown assailants in 2006, with his case currently remains unsolved.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF OBISPO MAXIMO ALBERTO RAMENTO |url=https://issuu.com/uspg/docs/5822_koinonia_issue_7_final_lr/s/13694382 |date=October 15, 2021 |publisher=United Society Partners in the Gospel |website=Issuu |access-date=November 14, 2022}}</ref>

==Life== Ramento was born in an affluent family to Felipe Ramento y Curpoz and Margarita Baldovino y Bermudez. His grandfather Don Felix Ramento was Guimba's town mayor from 1922 to 1925 and Alberto had three uncles who were pioneer priests in the Iglesia Filipina Independiente. His father Felipe was also the chief of police in Guimba. The Ramento family owned several large plots of land inherited from the Baldovino clan, Alberto's mother's side. Ramento was a Freemason. He was married to Celerina Mendoza of Hermosa, Bataan and had children namely: Alberto II (Aldos), Aleli, Alberto III (Altres), and Liezel.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Target: Obispo Ramento |url=https://www.bulatlat.com/2020/10/03/target-obispo-ramento/ |date=October 3, 2020 |last=Gealogo |first=Francis |work=Bulatlat |access-date=November 25, 2022}}</ref>

Prior to his election as Supreme Bishop, Ramento was the Diocesan Bishop of Cavite from 1970 to 1993. He was co-chair of the Ecumenical Bishops' Forum, chaired the Promotion of Church Peopleʼs Response–Central Luzon and human rights group Karapatan–Tarlac, and chaired other various church and cause-oriented organizations. He was an ardent supporter of the Hacienda Luisita strikers. As the chairman of the Workers Assistance Center, Inc. (WAC), he also supported the struggle of the workers in Cavite, Philippines. He was also a vocal and influential critic of the Gloria Arroyo administration. He was also very vocal about the murder of IFI priest and fellow human rights advocate William Tadena, believed to be murdered by the Cojuangco family, for his support of the Hacienda Luisita farmers.

In September 1998, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel nominated him as an Independent Observer in the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

He served as the Diocesan Bishop of Tarlac after his term as Supreme Bishop ended.

==Death== Ramento was stabbed to death by unknown assailants. He was found dead with multiple stab wounds inside his rectory at the Church of Saint Sebastian in Tarlac City in the early morning of October 3, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Filipino bishop Alberto Ramento found stabbed to death |url=https://www.anglicannews.org/news/2006/10/filipino-bishop-alberto-ramento-found-stabbed-to-death.aspx |date=October 4, 2006 |work=Anglican Communion News Service |access-date=November 1, 2022}}</ref> His remains were cremated 10 days after his death and viewing.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Slain Aglipayan bishop to get hero's burial on Tuesday |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/17100/slain-aglipayan-bishop-to-get-hero-s-burial-on-tuesday/story/ |date=October 6, 2006 |publisher=GMA Integrated News |website=GMA News Online |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Slain Aglipayan bishop buried |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/17732/slain-aglipayan-bishop-buried/story/ |date=October 13, 2006 |publisher=GMA Integrated News |website=GMA News Online |language=en }}</ref> His ashes were interred at the Church of Saint Anthony of Padua in Cavite City.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Slain IFI bishop laid to rest today |url=https://www.philstar.com/nation/2006/10/13/362723/slain-ifi-bishop-laid-rest-today |date=October 13, 2006 |last=Punay |first=Edu |work=The Philippine Star |access-date=December 5, 2022}}</ref>

Prior to his death, Ramento had been actively involved in various organizations and movements advocating human rights, social justice (especially for the working class), civil liberties, and genuine peace, to which he had received death threats from. Initial police findings ruled his death as robbery with homicide, but IFI church officials, his family, followers and supporters were not convinced. A local court later dismissed the case against the then-robbery suspects because police failed to attend court hearings. His case remains unsolved.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Justice remains elusive eight years after bishop's murder |url=https://www.ucanews.com/news/justice-remains-elusive-eight-years-after-bishops-murder/72113 |date=October 24, 2017 |work=Union of Catholic Asian News |access-date=November 1, 2022}}</ref>

The Church of Saint Sebastian was once temporarily closed for a number of years after Ramento's death but has since re-opened.

IFI created the "''Ramento Project for Rights Defenders''" (RPRD), the IFI's human rights advocacy and service arm, in his honor.<ref>{{Cite web |title='To live simply', A tale of 3 Aglipayan priests |url=https://www.bulatlat.com/2015/04/02/to-live-simply-a-tale-of-3-aglipayan-priests/ |last=Ellao |first=Janess Ann J. |date=April 2, 2015 |work=Bulatlat |access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref>

==Veneration== <gallery widths="200" heights="150"> File:9801Tarlac City Province 25.jpg|{{center|Alberto Ramento commemorative plaque at the Church of Saint Sebastian in Tarlac City where he was assassinated.}} File:7315Nancamaliran West, Urdaneta, Pangasinan 39.jpg|{{Center|Commemorative portrait of Alberto Ramento displayed at the Aglipay Central Theological Seminary (ACTS) in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.}} </gallery> On October 3, 2010, the Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany of the Union of Utrecht canonized Ramento and commemorated him as a martyr in a liturgical service in Mainz, as approved by the International Old Catholic Bishops' Conference. His commemoration/feast day is included in the liturgical calendar of the Union of Utrecht of the Old Catholic Churches.<ref name="oldcatholic"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=ECUMENISM In community: Philippine Independent Church – Alberto Ramento |url=https://www.alt-katholisch.de/unsere-kirche/in-gemeinschaft/philippinische-unabhaengige-kirche/ |work=Katholisches Bistum der Alt-Katholiken in Deutschland |access-date=October 2, 2023 |lang=german |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002114611/https://www.alt-katholisch.de/unsere-kirche/in-gemeinschaft/philippinische-unabhaengige-kirche/ |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OUR FAITH – Frequently asked questions: Do Old Catholics venerate Mary or other saints? |url=https://www.alt-katholisch.de/unser-glaube/haeufige-fragen/ |work=Katholisches Bistum der Alt-Katholiken in Deutschland |access-date=October 2, 2023 |lang=german |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002115727/https://www.alt-katholisch.de/unser-glaube/haeufige-fragen/ |archive-date=October 2, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Ramento is venerated as a venerable and martyr both in the Union of Utrecht and the Philippine Independent Church. His commemoration/feast day is celebrated on October 3 every year.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} *[https://rprd.ph/ Official website of the Ramento Project for Rights Defenders]

{{s-start}} {{s-rel|Aglipayan Church titles}} {{s-bef|before=Tito Pasco}} {{s-ttl|title=Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church|years=10 May 1993 – 10 May 1999}} {{s-aft|after=Tomas Millamena}} {{s-end}} {{Subject bar |portal1=Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Christianity |portal4= Philippines}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramento, Alberto}} Category:1936 births Category:2006 deaths Category:People from Tarlac City Category:People from Cavite Category:People from Nueva Ecija Category:Filipino Christian religious leaders Category:Filipino bishops Category:Assassinated Filipino people Category:People murdered in the Philippines Category:Assassinated bishops Category:Members of the Philippine Independent Church Category:Bishops of Independent Catholic denominations Category:Anglo-Catholic bishops Category:Anglo-Catholic clergy Category:Anglican saints Category:Christian martyrs Category:General Theological Seminary alumni Category:2006 murders in the Philippines Category:Filipino Freemasons