Kalookan Bishop Pablo David named cardinal

MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis has appointed Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David as one of the new cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.

The pontiff announced this on Sunday, October 6 (Manila time), during his weekly Sunday Angelus in Vatican City. 

Francis appointed 20 other cardinals, also known as “princes of the church,” who are also tasked to elect the pontiff’s predecessors. 

David’s cardinal title will be formalized during a consistory on December 8.

David will become one of the three active cardinals in the Philippine Catholic Church, the other two being Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula.

Two other Filipino cardinals, Gaudencio Rosales and Orlando Quevedo, are now retired and above the age of 80.

Who is Carindal-elect David?

David, popularly known as Bishop Ambo, is also the President of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. 

He was installed in the Diocese of Caloocan in 2016 by Pope Francis, three years after Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez resigned due to health reasons.

Born in Betis, Pampanga, David was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983. He became auxiliary bishop of San Fernando in 2006, prior to his appointment as the Caloocan prelate. 

With 41 years of priesthood and 18 years as a bishop, David is recognized as one of the Philippines' foremost biblical scholars, having earned a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

Currently, he is in Rome, leading the CBCP delegation at the second session of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality, which runs until October 27.

In February 2024, David was elected the next vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences where he will officially assume the post in January 2025.

Drug war critic

David is also a staunch critic of the war against illegal drugs by former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

His diocese, which covers the cities of Caloocan, Navotas, and Malabon, is among the places in the country where drug war killings are prevalent.

David lamented how Duterte’s notorious campaign against illegal narcotics had turned his diocese into a 'killing field.' Due to the prelate’s criticism of the drug war, he previously stated that he had received death threats from unknown individuals.

Within David's diocese, 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar was killed in Caloocan, while another teenager of the same age was killed in Navotas.