Carlos Fortich

Fortich served as governor of Bukidnon in several non-consecutive terms. He was first elected as governor in 1968 until 1978 when he was elected to the Interim Batasang Pambansa under President Ferdinand Marcos' Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL). When the interim legislature ended and was replaced by the Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984, he was succeeded by Lorenzo S. Dinlayan and Jose Ma. R. Zubiri.^[2]

He would return as Bukidnon governor in 1980. On December 31, 1985, Fortich left the KBL to join the opposition coalition United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO),^[4] and thus avoided being immediately replaced with a caretaker governor after the People Power Revolution ousted Marcos and had Corazon Aquino installed as president, with Fortich later burning an image of Marcos and his wife Imelda in Malaybalay. He would be replaced as governor in December 1987 by vice governor Esmeraldo Cudal.^[2]

Fortich became governor again of Bukidnon in 1992 and was re-elected for two consecutive terms. In October 2000, Fortich defected from the Lakas–NUCD opposition party to join President Joseph Estrada's Lapian ng Masang Pilipino just prior the latter's impeachment trial on corruption charges. Fortich's governorship ended when he resigned on February 2, 2001,^[5] after which he launched a failed bid to get elected as mayor of Valencia in 2001 before deciding to retire from politics.^[2]

Fortich died on February 24, 2019, at the Capitol University Medical Center (CUMC) in Cagayan de Oro.^[6] He was 83 years old. His remains were buried at the Shepherds Meadow Memorial Park in Malaybalay.^[7]