Fr. Romeo Intengan, activist priest during Marcos period, dies at 75

Fr. Romeo Intengan, an activist priest exiled during the Marcos dictatorship, passed away on October 10, Tuesday, at the age of 75.

The Philippine Jesuits told GMA News Online that Intengan died at around 6:30 a.m. due to heart attack.

They said his nurse found him unconscious in his room and was rushed to the Quirino Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

Intengan served as the head of the Philippine Jesuits from 1998 to 2004.

Intengan entered the Society of Jesus on July 25, 1970, and was ordained a priest on March 27, 1977.

Intengan also served as a doctor, having completed his medicie degree at the University of the Philippines in Manila.

He was a member of various health institutions such as the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB), Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS), and Department of Science and Technology (DoST).

In 1980, Intengan fled the country after then-First Lady Imelda Marcos became suspicious that the Philippine Democratic Socialist Party (PDSP) was involved in the April 6  bombings, a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) said.

Intengan and his friend, former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, were the founders of the PDSP.

Intengan's wake will be held starting Tuesday evening at the Oratory of St. Ignatius, Loyola House of Studies inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City.

The funeral mass is tentatively set on October 14, Saturday, at 8 a.m. in the Oratory of St. Ignatius. The Philippine Jesuits said this may need to be adjusted pending the arrival of his family from the United States. —KBK, GMA News