David to assume post as CBCP president on Dec. 1


Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David will formally assume his post as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday, December 1.

Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David (COURTESY OF RYAN REZO/DIOCESE OF KALOOKAN)

The prelate was elected to the post last July during the bishops' plenary assembly.

David will replace Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles.

Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983, the prelate is known as one of the country’s leading Bible scholars.

In 2006, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese, a post he served for around 14 years until he was transferred to the Kalookan diocese in January 2016.

David also previously chaired the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate and was also among the five Filipino bishop delegates to the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in the Vatican in 2008.

In 2019, the Ateneo de Manila University conferred its “Bukas Palad Award” on David for his service to the poor and “for his courage in speaking out against the evil of injustice and violence.

Before being elected as president, he served as vice president of the CBCP.

Aside from David, other newly elected officials of the CBCP Permanent Council will also begin their terms on Dec. 1 such as Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, the new vice president.

The CBCP officials have two-year tenure in office, or a total of four to include the second term.

The CBCP meets in plenary session twice each year — in January and July, and its works are carried out by a number of commissions and committees.

When the plenary assembly is not in session, the Permanent Council acts for and on behalf of the entire organization.