Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog was named as the new head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)’s lay arm, the Episcopal Commission on the Laity (ECLA) on Friday, Dec. 15.
In a statement released by the CBCP, the 54-year-old Caermare will take charge of the apostolate of the laity and will also be responsible for implementing the Church’s programs among lay groups.
Caermare was already the vice chairman of ECLA when he took over the chairmanship from the late Bishop Enrique Macaraeg of Tarlac — who died of cardiac arrest in October.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/24/tarlac-bishop-dies-due-to-cardiac-arrest-cbcp
The CBCP established ECLA in 1950, and it is made up of a bishop chairman and four other member-bishops.
To facilitate the work of the commission, the various national lay groups and diocesan councils of the laity were organized in 1957 into the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas or Council of the Laity in the Philippines.
It is governed by a 15-member board, and its members are elected during a national convention held every two years.
In addition, CBCP said that currently, there are 54 national Catholic lay organizations and 62 diocesan councils that are members of Laiko.