Pablo Virgilio David
Pablo Virgilio Siongco David (born March 2, 1959), also known as "Bishop Ambo", is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the current bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan and is the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Pablo Virgilio David | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Kalookan | |
 Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, c. 2019. | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Kalookan |
| See | Kalookan |
| Appointed | October 14, 2015 |
| Installed | January 2, 2016 |
| Predecessor | Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. |
| Other post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | March 12, 1983 by Oscar Cruz |
| Consecration | July 10, 2006 by Gaudencio Rosales Paciano Aniceto (co-consecrator) Angel Lagdameo (co-consecrator) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pablo Virgilio Siongco David March 2, 1959 |
| Previous post(s) | Auxiliary Bishop, San Fernando (2006 – 2015) Titular Bishop, Guardialfiera (2006 – 2015) |
| Alma mater | Université catholique de Louvain Ateneo de Manila University |
| Coat of arms |  |
Early life and education
Pablo Virgilio David was born in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga on March 2, 1959. He is the 10th of the 13 children of Pedro David and Bienvenida Siongco.[1][2] He attended Mother of Good Counsel Minor Seminary in San Fernando, Pampanga for his secondary education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Pre-Divinity from Ateneo de Manila University, his master’s degree in Theology from the Loyola School of Theology, and both his licentiate and doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.
He has also trained at the École Biblique et Archeologique Française de Jerusalem, and is now considered one of the country’s leading Bible experts.
Ministry
David was ordained a priest in March 12, 1983, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando (in Pampanga) by Archbishop Oscar Cruz and on May 26, 2006, was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to be auxiliary bishop of San Fernando and titular bishop of the Diocese of Guardialfiera.[3] He was consecrated as a bishop by Cardinal Gaudencio Borbon Rosales, Archbishop of Manila, with Paciano Aniceto, Archbishop of San Fernando, and Angel Lagdameo, Archbishop of Jaro, as co-consecrators.[4] He became Bishop of Kalookan in January 2016.[5]
He is hugely involved in the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP); having been a member of the CBCP's Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate and one of the five bishops sent by the organization to participate in the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in the Vatican.[6]
David is noted for being a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.[6][7] On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against David, fellow bishops Honesto Ongtioco and Socrates Villegas, and members of the opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice".[8][9]
David was elected as President of the CBCP by its 130 members on July 8, 2021, at the start of a two-day plenary assembly. He had been the Vice President of the CBCP from 2017 until 2021, and has succeeded from former President Romulo Valles on December 1, 2021.[10][5][11]
References
- David, Randy (March 3, 2019). "Ambo @60". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- Patag, Kristine Joy (April 4, 2019). "Bishop David defends mom after Duterte calls him 'son of a whore'". The Philippine Star. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- "Bishop of Kalookan Diocese Pablo Virgilio Siongco David". UCA News. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- "Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- Depasupil, William (July 8, 2021). "Staunch Duterte critic named CBCP president". The Manila Times. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- Gregorio, Xave (July 8, 2021). "'Drug war' critic Bishop David elected CBCP president". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- "Bishop critical of Duterte drug war is new CBCP president". ABS-CBN News. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- "Robredo, ilang taga-oposisyon kinasuhan ng PNP-CIDG ukol sa 'Bikoy' videos". ABS-CBN News (in Tagalog). July 19, 2019.
- "Sedition raps: Solons, bishop hit 'stupid' PNP". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- "Bishop David officially assumes post as CBCP head". Interaksyon. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- Bajo, Anna Felicia (July 8, 2021). "Bishop David, drug war critic, is new CBCP president". GMA News Online. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
External links
