David, 62, has served as the conference's vice president for the last four years. He will begin the two-year term as head of the conference on December 1.

The bishop is well known as a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs. In 2017, he likened the thousands of victims to "slaughtered sheep."

Ucanews.com reported the bishop was also among several priests accused of sedition after videos surfaced online accusing Duterte's family of being involved in illegal drug operations.

In return, David received the ire of President Duterte in 2019: "You know if you are a priest and you want to attack me. Listen, you son of a whore, get out of your pulpit.

"Don't use religion.

"Come here. In the church, you attack me.

"When I fight back, this will be hit."

As a young man, David attended Jesuit-run San Jose Seminary and Ateneo de Manila University. He studied theology with former Manila archbishop Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, now prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

David was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983 where he was appointed as the auxiliary bishop for 14 years until he was transferred to the Caloocan diocese in January 2016.

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

David also holds a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Inquirer

"When someone is baptised, you have to pay…when someone dies, you have to pay," he says.

"Build your own chapel in your own house and pray there. You don't have to go to church to pay for these idiots," he is reported to have said.

Duterte's slighting comments follow months of putdowns targeting the Church and senior clergy.

Last week, for example, Duterte accused Filipino Bishop Pablo Virgilio David (a vocal critic of Duterte-sanctioned drug-related killings in the Philippines) of giving church donations to his own family. He offered no supporting evidence for his accusation.

David denies Duterte's accusations. "People who are sick sometimes do not know what they are talking about," he says.

This week, Duterte says he thinks David might be into drugs.

"I'm telling you, David. I wonder why he goes around in the evening. I suspect that he might be into drugs," he said.

Reacting to Duterte's statement, David posted on Facebook: "No sir, I'm not into drugs of any sort, whether legal or illegal. Never been.

"I only help in rehabilitating people addicted to drugs … Thank God I am not even taking any maintenance drugs yet.

"I only take vitamins with fruit shake blended (with moringa) in the morning. You might want to try it, sir. It will do you a lot of good. God bless you."

Filipino Bishop Arturo Bastes says people should disregard the president's statement.

"Every Filipino with the right mind should only ignore this nonsense," Bishop Bastes said. "I don't want to comment on this crazy idea. I am tired of his stupid remarks."

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga said the president's statement is "very irresponsible and heartless" and could sow division.

Earlier this week Duterte lambasted the bishops for believing in an "archaic" church that is good only at making money.

"The Catholic Church and Bishop David are clinging to a belief 3,000 years ago," he said. "How can people 3,000 years ago predict what is happening today?"

Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manilla said Duterte's ranting "will have no effect."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• The Catholic Register
• Catholic Philly
• Image: UCAN Directory