 In 1986 he was secretary general of the Fourth Diocesan Synod of Cebu convoked by Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.In the same year he became Coadjutor Bishop of Dumaguete, succeeding Bishop Epifanio B. Surban on 2 August 1989.As Bishop of Dumaguete he convoked its first diocesan synod in 1992 a year after the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines.