Miguel Gatan Purugganan (November 18, 1931 – July 8, 2011)[1] was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Ilagan and became a prominent critic of the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos during the Martial Law era.

He built up his diocesan staff for social action in the communities, arousing the suspicion of the military, which believed that they were fronting for the New People’s Army.

[1] Purugganan provided support for some 20,0000 peasants who were farming an 11,000 hectare-tract of land spanning the Haciendas San Antonio and Santa Isabel in Ilagan,[3] which was being claimed for large-scale commercial agribusiness purposes by Marcos cronies Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco and Antonio Carag, who in turn were supported by Marcos who sent soldiers to intimidate the residents.

[1] Purugganan died due to cardiac arrest on July 8, 2011, at the Saint Paul Hospital in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

[5] In recognition of his efforts, his name is inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, which honors the heroes and martyrs who fought the Marcos dictatorship.