The Diocese of Boac in Marinduque is no longer ‘sede vacante.’
This is after Pope Leo XIV on Saturday named Fr. Edwin Panergo of the Diocese of Lucena as its new bishop.
In a statement on Saturday, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) noted that before Panergo’s appointment, the Diocese of Boac had been vacant since November 2024.
‘During the vacancy, the diocese was administered by Fr. Elino Esplana, who served as diocesan administrator,’ the CBCP said. Father Panergo
Panergo, the 54-year-old newly designated Boac bishop, was born in Lucena City, Quezon.
He serves as rector of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Seminary in Sariaya, Quezon. He is also the director of the Diocese of Lucena’s Commission on Vocation. The bishop-elect studied philosophy at St. Francis de Sales Major Seminary in Lipa City and theology at St. Alphonsus School of Theology in Lucena.
He likewise holds a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from St. Louis University in Baguio City as well as a licentiate in sacred theology from Notre Dame de Vie in Venasque, France.
Panergo was ordained a priest at Lucena Cathedral on September 8, 1997.
Following his appointment in the Diocese of Boac, Panergo will succeed Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr., who led the diocese for about nine years before being transferred to the Diocese of San Pablo in Laguna province last year.