On the evening before his Episcopal Consecration, students of the Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion and St Theresa’s College feted Bishop Camomot with a literary-musical program at the CIC Hall. The following morning, a throng of well wishers gathered to witness the event itself at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, with all the pomp and splendor that accompanied such a significant event. Among those present was his widowed mother, Angela Bastida Camomot, accompanied by his siblings and their families. Also in attendance was his half-brother, Rev. Fr. Diosdado Camomot, who played a pivotal role in inspiring Teofilo to enter the priesthood.

Early the next day, on May 30, the new bishop held his first Pontifical High Mass at the Talisay parish church. It was a bittersweet moment for both pastor and flock, as it also signaled the end of Camomot’s memorable and productive term as their parish priest. They all came to see him one last time, to be inspired by his modest yet heartwarming preaching and to be blessed by his consecrated hands before he moves to his new assignment in Iloilo.

(Such was the love and loyalty of the people of Talisay towards Bishop Camomot that 53 years later, in commemoration of the Jubilee of Bishops in 2008, his former parishioners put up a memorial for him in front of the Sta. Teresa Church bearing the inscription: Buutang Pari, Maalagarong Kura, Masinati-ong Obispo. Translated from Cebuano, it means “Virtuous Priest, Caring Pastor, Benevolent Bishop”.)

On Tuesday, May 31, Bishop Camomot arrived to a public reception in Iloilo, after which he was brought to the Jaro Archdiocesan Seminary for another literary-musical program. The evening was capped by a dinner hosted by Archbishop Jose Maria Cuenco, whom he had been assigned to assist. The following morning, he was presented to his new charge through a Pontifical High Mass at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral, which was preceded by a formal procession from the seminary to the church.

Despite the pomp and pageantry that came with his high-ranking appointment as Bishop, a seat that dates back to an unbroken line of succession from the Apostles, Teofilo Camomot remained meek and unassuming. Throughout his life, he preferred to be called “Monsignor”, a traditional and less formal manner of addressing a prelate of his office. He roamed freely amongst the poorest of the faithful, lived in remarkable austerity and continued to give generously to anyone who asked. Even his Episcopal ring was not spared from his acts of kindness. It was not uncommon for his bishop’s ring to disappear from his finger and re-appear at a pawnshop, following a plea by someone whose wife was in the hospital, who needed money for to pay for his child’s tuition fees, whose family was being thrown out of their house for unpaid rent and an assortment of other “emergencies”. Soon enough, it became a common scenario for his office to receive a call from the local pawnshop owner who would dutifully report:

“Nia na pud ang singsing ni Monsignor Lolong (The ring of Monsignor Lolong is here again)”, as recounted by Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, who had worked with Camomot as a young priest.

His pectoral cross was not spared either. In later years, His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who succeeded Julio Cardinal Rosales as Archbishop of Cebu, would recall at least two instances when he noticed that Monsignor Camomot was not wearing his ring and his pectoral cross. “Did you pawn your ring and your cross again?” he would ask the older priest, to which the cardinal would receive a non-committal reply. Finally, he gave Camomot a new set of cross and ring, but with the strict admonition that he should never again use them as collateral for his charitable deeds.

With his approachable and mild-mannered ways, coupled with his evident piety and compassion, it did not take long for the Cebuano bishop to gain the highest esteem of both the religious and laity in Iloilo. One of his close friends, Msgr. Jose B. Buenaflor of La Paz, remembers him with unconcealed reverence:

He was very obedient to his superior. He always obeyed whatever was the decision of Archbishop Cuenco. He was a saintly man — devoted to prayer, to meditation, to conversion. [He was] a serious person, [even] while mingling with other priests… He was very charitable. Every time the poor went to him, he gave with all his heart. He was very charitable especially with priests; he used to say that priests should be helped. [He] was very firm in all his trials as a religious that he remained unshaken. There was no pride from his
mouth when he talked and he was not [a] show-off.

Monsignor Jose M. Gamboa, Vicar Forane of Jaro, echoes this recollection with a string of superlatives:

As a bishop, he was very soft-spoken, very devout, very simple, very kind, very industrious and very patient. I never saw him get angry. He was very humble — his humility was extraordinary.

Widely regarded as conservative and traditionalist, this homily echoed his call for leading a virtuous life, as exemplified in this compelling excerpt:

The fitting way to quickly attain the conversion of our soul from wickedness to grace and purity of life is to turn back to God, from whom many people — in a great tragedy of the soul — have drawn away. Let us be inspired in our faith, set our hearts aflame and purify them through good confession and worthy communion. Let us always lift our souls to the Lord, sanctify our attitudes, and preach to all a good and praiseworthy example so that the aroma of virtue and grace will dispel the stink of tolerating the indignity that will murder the soul. The lack of proper dressing in our women, especially on the occasion of entering the House of God and in receiving the Sacraments, [as well as] the ball dances that are currently popular but which are ways towards the defeat of purity and of the soul, need to be

One day, passing by the house in Cebu City, my wife and I noticed that his [Camomot] socks had big holes in them. And I exclaimed: “What, are you wearing these in your visit to Rome?” And he had a torn undershirt too. We rushed to buy him these and other little needs. And what happened? He reached Rome — as in, nay, as was: he had given to the pier boys in Cebu, the new things we’d bought! abandoned. There is nothing on earth worthy enough in exchange for a soul; the prize of a soul is a God incarnated and who died on the Cross.

While serving his term as Coadjutor Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro, Camomot also made several trips to Rome, mostly to attend the Second Vatican Council for which he served as Council Father in Sessions One (October to December 1962), Three (September to November 1964) and Four (September to December 1965)

Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, Iloilo, had this to say about the times he attended Council meetings with Camomot:

Archbishop Teofilo Camomot did answer the call of Pope John XXIII. Unlike most bishops, he traveled by sea — one month going to Rome and one month back. He was found traveling in the fourth class section of a luxury liner. When asked by a friend why he had to travel that way, the good archbishop merely replied: “Because there is no fifth class!”

Archbishop Camomot did not have choral red attire for some sessions of the Council. The good archbishop simply dyed red his white habit; but it looked more pink than red. The Filipino bishops had to chip in their liras to buy Archbishop Camomot the required choral attire. They found out later that he did have some money but he would rather give it to the poor gypsies around Santa Maria Maggiore than buy himself a new choral.

His meekness and unassuming nature was known, not only to his fellow Princes of the Church, but also to the young priests who had the good fortune to make his acquaintance. One of whom was Monsignor Esteban Binghay, who currently serves as Chair of the Commission on Mission and Episcopal Vicar of Cebu District 2:

I met him in Rome. I studied in Rome and was just a newly ordained priest at that time when the bishops attended Vatican II. Every time I said mass, he would volunteer to be my sacristan, regardless of how much I refused because he is a bishop. He did it humbly. At the times when he said mass, I felt as if he was speaking to the Lord present at the altar. As a new priest, I learned how to say mass devotedly and reflectively from him. Until now, when I say mass, I am always reminded of the way Monsignor Camomot said mass — that in every mass offered by the priest, Jesus is really present in the altar. He was sincere and humble in all his words and actions.