DAVAO Archbishop Romulo Valles is set to step down as Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president on November 30, 2021 after Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan was elected president on Thursday, July 8, during the first of the two-day bishops' online plenary assembly.
In a report from CBCP News, David has been serving as conference vice president since December 2017, working alongside Valles.
In a video message during the 122nd online plenary assembly (online), he thanked everyone who supported him in his journey as CBCP president.
"I have very strong wonderful memories of serving the CBCP these past four years as President – memories that make me really thankful to the Lord and thankful to each one of you," the Davao archbishop said.
On May 22, 2012, Valles was ordained Archbishop of Davao.
The Davao Archbishop was later on elected as CBCP president on July 8, 2017, succeeding Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, and assumed the post on December 1, 2017.
Both Valles and David were reelected to their posts during the CBCP Plenary Assembly in July 2019.
They started their second term as president and vice president of the CBCP, respectively, on December 1, 2019.
Meanwhile, David was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983.
In 2006, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese where he had served for around 14 years. He was transferred to the Caloocan diocese in January 2016.
David previously chaired the CBCP's Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate.
Based on various media reports, David is also a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, prompting the President to openly castigate him for supposedly using the pulpit to attack the administration.
Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara was elected CBCP vice president.
David and Vergara will begin their terms on December 1, 2021.
CBCP officials have two-year tenure in office or a total of four to include the second term.
