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Alberto Baldovino Ramento (August 9, 1936, in Guimba, Nueva Ecija – October 3, 2006, in Tarlac City) 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.
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 People's 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.
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 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.
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.
Ramento is Veneration as a The 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.
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