A prelate is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin praelatus, the past participle of praeferre, which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'prefer'; hence, a prelate is one set over others.
Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan, is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago. It is just off the southern coast of the geographic Zamboanga Peninsula.
Isabela, officially the City of Isabela, is a 4th class component city (separate) and de facto capital of the province of Basilan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 130,379 people.
Personal prelature is a canonical structure of the Catholic Church which comprises a prelate, clergy and laity who undertake specific pastoral activities. The first personal prelature is Opus Dei. Personal prelatures, similar to dioceses and military ordinariates, were originally under the governance of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops. Since 4 August 2022, personal prelatures have instead been governed under the Dicastery for the Clergy. Personal prelatures are composed of lay people served by their own secular clergy and prelate. Unlike dioceses, which cover territories, personal prelatures—like military ordinariates—take charge of persons as regards some objectives irregardless of where they live.
A territorial prelate is, in Catholic usage, a prelate whose geographic jurisdiction, called territorial prelature, generally does not belong to any diocese and is considered a particular church.
The Claretians, officially named the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men headquartered in Rome. It was founded on July 16, 1849, by Fr. Antonio María Claret y Clará, C.M.F. They are active as missionaries worldwide, in 70 countries on five continents. The number of Claretian priests and brothers is at more than 3,000. The Congregation has a particular devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and members have published extensively in Mariology.
Claret School of Quezon City, also referred to by its acronym CSQC or colloquially as Claret, is a private Catholic basic education institution run by the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Quezon City, Philippines. It was established by the Claretians in June 1967 and was named after its patron saint, St. Anthony Mary Claret, who founded the Claretians in 1849. The school also has a Child Study Center which allows girls up to the Kindergarten level.
The Archdiocese of Zamboanga is a Catholic archdiocese in the Philippines. Its present jurisdiction includes Zamboanga City, with suffragans in Basilan, Zamboanga Sibugay, and the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo. It became Mindanao's first diocese in 1910, and was established as the second archdiocese of Mindanao in 1958. Today, the archdiocese covers a land area of 1,648 square kilometers and has a population of 442,345, of which 81 percent are Catholics. The archdiocese includes 28 parishes and one quasi-parish, served by 57 diocesan and 18 religious priests. There are also 51 religious sisters working in the archdiocese.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kidapawan is a diocese of the Roman Rite of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Its cathedral is in Kidapawan City.
The Diocese of Ipil is a Roman Catholic Diocese located in the municipality of Ipil in the ecclesiastical province of Zamboanga in the Philippines. It is an ecclesiastical territory in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. It occupies an area of 4,850 square kilometers extending from the boundary of Zamboanga del Norte on the north to Olutanga Island on the south, from the town of Tungawan on the west to the town Margosatubig on the east boundaries set by Pope John Paul II himself when he decreed the separation of this ecclesiastical territory from the Archdiocese of Zamboanga on December 24, 1979.
Basilan is an island province of the Philippines. It is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula. Its capital is Lamitan. Basilan is home to three main ethnic groups, the indigenous Yakans, and the later-arriving Tausugs and Zamboangueños. The Yakans and Tausugs are predomimantly Muslim, while the Chavacanos are mainly Christian. There are also a number of smaller groups.
Lamitan, officially the City of Lamitan, is a 6th class component city and de jure capital of the province of Basilan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 100,150 people.
Rhoel Gallardo, CMF was a Catholic Claretian missionary martyred in Basilan, the Philippines.
Romulo Tolentino de la Cruz, was a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. He was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Zamboanga in the Philippines.
Julio Xavier Labayen was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Ordained to the priesthood in 1955 as Discalced Carmelite, he served as bishop and prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Infanta, Philippines from 1966 until 2003. He was among the first Filipino Discalced Carmelites in the 1950s. He was the first Filipino Discalced Carmelite bishop and the second bishop/prelate of Infanta.
The siege of Lamitan took place on 2 June 2001 when members of the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf entered the city of Lamitan, one of two Christian settlements in the predominantly Muslim province of Basilan in the Philippines. They took over a church and a hospital and held priests, medical staff and patients hostage. Government forces surrounded the Muslim extremists, preventing their escape. However, the Abu Sayyaf group managed to break out of the cordon by using their hostages as human shields.
Fr. Teresito "Chito" Suganob was a Filipino Roman Catholic priest based in Marawi. He came into national public attention when he was taken hostage by ISIL-linked Maute group militants during the earlier period of the Battle of Marawi in May 2017.
Custodio J. Parcon, Jr. is a retired Philippine Marine Corps general officer and a recipient the Philippines' highest military award for courage, the Medal of Valor. He is the current commander of Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi.
Martin Sarmiento Jumoad, is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. He is the Archbishop of Ozamiz in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines.
The Santa Isabel de Portugal Cathedral Parish, also known as Santa Isabel Cathedral or Isabela Cathedral, is a 20th-century Roman Catholic cathedral located at Barangay Seaside Poblacion in the city of Isabela, Basilan, Philippines. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Isabela and is dedicated to Saint Elizabeth of Portugal.
Philippines 
