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Deogracias Iñiguez

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The Most Reverend
Deogracias Iñiguez, Jr.
D.D.
Bishop Emeritus of Kalookan
Iñiguez in 2025
Iñiguez in 2025
Church Catholic Church
Province Manila
See Kalookan (emeritus)
Appointed June 28, 2003
Installed August 22, 2003
Term ended January 25, 2013
Predecessor Diocese erected
Successor Pablo Virgilio David
Previous posts Auxiliary Bishop of Malolos and Titular Bishop of Claternae (1985–1989)
Bishop of Iba (1989–2003)
Orders
Ordination December 23, 1963
Consecration August 22, 1985
by Bruno Torpigliani
Personal details
Born Deogracias Soriano Iñiguez, Jr.
December 10, 1940
Cotabato, Cotabato, Commonwealth of the Philippines
Alma mater San Carlos Seminary
University of Santo Tomas
Motto Totius servus Christi
(Latin for 'Servant of all Christ')

Deogracias Soriano Iñiguez Jr. (born December 10, 1940) is a Filipino Catholic prelate who served as the first Bishop of Kalookan from 2003 until 2013.

Early life and education

Deogracias Soriano Iñiguez Jr. was born on December 10, 1940, in Cotabato City. He studied theology at San Carlos Seminary and graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor of Education degree.[1]

Ministry

Priesthood

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Malolos on December 23, 1963.[1] Following his ordination, he served as a professor at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, a role he held until his episcopal appointment in 1985. In 1970, he became the diocese's chancellor. From 1971 to 1972, he was the parish priest of Saint Mark the Evangelist in Calumpit. In 1984, he served at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima as its parish priest.[1]

Episcopate

Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Malolos on July 3, 1985,[2] assigning him the titular see of Claternae. He was consecrated by Bruno Torpigliani, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, on August 22.[2][3]

On December 27, 1989, he was appointed Bishop of Iba. He took possession of the see on March 3, 1990.[1]

On June 28, 2003, John Paul II promulgated the apostolic constitution Quoniam Quælibet, establishing the Diocese of Kalookan.[4] Iñiguez was then appointed to lead the new diocese.[5] He was installed at San Roque Cathedral on August 22, 2003, in the presence of Cardinal Jaime Sin, Apostolic Nuncio Antonio Franco, and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.[6]

In July 2011, Iñiguez, as the chairman of the public affairs committee of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), called for a boycott on an exhibit containing an installation art piece by artist Mideo Cruz, which, according to Iñiguez, was sacrilegious.[7]

Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation on January 25, 2013, at the age of 72 — three years below the mandatory retirement age of 75.[8] Subsequently, Francisco Mendoza de Leon, Auxiliary Bishop of Antipolo, was appointed as the apostolic administrator of the diocese. After a two-year vacancy, on October 14, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Pablo Virgilio David, Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando, to succeed Iñiguez.[9]

Political views and involvement

On June 28, 2006, Iñiguez and opposition groups filed an impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.[10][11] In response, the Arroyo administration criticized the CBCP and called on the episcopal conference to sanction him, claiming that the complaint violated the separation of church and state.[12] Iñiguez—an outspoken critic of Arroyo[13]—clarified that he signed the complaint "on his own conviction"; he represented his group, Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME; Filipino for 'National Economic Movement'), and received support from his fellow prelates.[14]

Iñiguez supported calls for partial automation for the 2007 Philippine general election after the government initially shelved it due to time constraints. The first nationwide automated elections would only take place in 2010.[15]

In 2017, he criticized the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte, saying that he was "most responsible because of command responsibility".[16]

After the amnesty of Senator Antonio Trillanes was revoked by Duterte in 2018, Iñiguez called for protests against the "state-sponsored confusion" and the arrest of opposition figures. He further said that the Duterte administration "blanketed the country in a moral crisis".[17] In 2024, the Supreme Court of the Philippines affirmed the validity of Trillanes's amnesty and voided its revocation.[18]

References

  1. Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Back to citation occurrence 1.3 "Bishop Deogracias S Iñiguez". UCA News. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  2. Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 "Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Jr. D.D." Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalookan. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  3. Back to citation "Bishop Deogracias Soriano Iñiguez Jr". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney.
  4. Back to citation "Ecclesiastical Decree of the Creation of the Diocese of Kalookan" (PDF). Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  5. Back to citation Aravilla, Jose (June 29, 2003). "Vatican appoints 3 Pinoy bishops". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  6. Back to citation Botial, Jerry (June 29, 2003). "Bishop of Caloocan Diocese installed; Sin calls for spiritual formation". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  7. Back to citation Macairan, Evelyn (July 24, 2011). "Bishop calls for boycott of artist's 'sacrilegious' work". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  8. Back to citation "Pope Benedict accepts resignation of Bishop Iñiquez — papal nuncio". GMA News. January 25, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  9. Back to citation "Diocese of Kalookan @ 17". CBCP News. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  10. Back to citation "Bishop Iñiguez files 3rd impeach rap vs Arroyo". GMA News. June 28, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  11. Back to citation "Bishop Supports Impeachment Complaint Against Arroyo". UCA News. June 28, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  12. Back to citation Romero, Paolo (June 30, 2006). "Palace to CBCP: Sanction Iñiguez". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  13. Back to citation Punay, Edu (July 11, 2006). "CBCP: No to impeachment". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  14. Back to citation Romero, Paolo (July 4, 2006). "Palace to CBCP: Impeachment case political harassment". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  15. Back to citation Punay, Edu (February 17, 2007). "Priest asks CBCP to push for partial poll automation". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  16. Back to citation Balagtas, Aie (February 3, 2017). "'I GAVE P10,500 BUT THEY STILL KILLED MY SON'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 10, 2025 – via PressReader.
  17. Back to citation "'It's time for moral courage' – Bishop Iñiguez". Philippine Daily Inquirer. September 11, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  18. Back to citation "SC affirms Trillanes' amnesty, voids Duterte revocation order". Supreme Court of the Philippines. April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
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