Honesto Flores Ongtioco (born 17 October 1948) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He is the first and only Bishop of Cubao, and also served as

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the

Diocese of Malolos The Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos (Latin: ''Dioecesis Malolosinae''; Tagalog: ''Diyosesis ng Malolos''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Malolos'') is a Roman Rite Diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippine, encompassing the ...

from May 12, 2018 to August 21, 2019. He had previously served as Bishop of Balanga in

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

from June 18, 1998 to August 28, 2003.

Early life and education

Honesto Flores Ongtioco was born on October 17, 1948, at

San Fernando, Pampanga San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Sampernandu; fil, Lungsod ng San Fernando), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, ...

. He studied elementary at St. Scholastica's Academy and high school at Don Bosco Academy. In 1958, he had seminary training at San Jose Seminary. Three years after studying

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in 1964, he took

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the Loyola School of Theology in

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

. Ongtioco earned a master's degree in Organization Development and Planning in 1983 at the Southeast Asian Interdisciplinary Development Institute in Manila. In 1984, he went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to take renewal courses on Liturgy and Spirituality at St. John's University in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After taking renewal courses, he went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1987 where he obtained a licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Ministry

Priesthood (1972–1998)

On December 8, 1972, Ongtioco was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood by Bishop Emilio Cinense y Abera, Bishop of San Fernando at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. After his ordination, Ongtioco was given several assignments in San Fernando. He served as

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, and other positions in

Mother of Good Counsel Minor Seminary The Mother of Good Counsel Minor Seminary is the minor seminary of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, in the Pampanga province of the Philippines. It houses sixty-two minor seminarians. Its current director is Rev. Fr. Jayson V. Miranda and its cu ...

University of the Assumption The University of the Assumption (U.A.) is a private archdiocesan Catholic university in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. The University of the Assumption is the first Catholic archdiocesan university in the Philippines and in ...

, and other educational institutions. He was also appointed as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the Holy Rosary Parish in

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

from 1974 to 1975 and in St. Peter and Paul Parish from 1975 to 1977. On March 21, 1992, Ongtioco was invested as

honorary prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.Pontificio Collegio Filippino The Pontificio Collegio Filippino (English: ''Pontifical Filipino College''; Filipino: ''Dalubhasaang Pilipinong Pontipikal''), officially named the ''Pontificio Collegio Seminario de Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje'' (English: ''Pontifical ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Bishop (1998–present)

Ongtioco was appointed as the second Bishop of Balanga on April 8, 1998 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

and was installed on June 18 of that same year. On June 28, 2003, he was appointed as the first bishop of

Cubao Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

by the same pope and was installed on August 28 of that year, the same day the new diocese was canonically erected. Due to the death of Bishop José F. Oliveros, the fourth bishop of

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to th ...

, on May 11, 2018,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed him as the

of the diocese on May 16, 2018. As per No. 244 of the Apostolorum Successores or Directory of Pastoral Ministry of Bishops, Ongtioco holds “all the faculties and rights to exercise the office of a diocesan bishop.” He ceased being

of the diocese on August 21, 2019 upon the installation of Dennis Cabanada Villarojo, the fifth bishop of

. On July 19, 2019, the PNP–

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is the primary investigation arm of the Philippine National Police. History The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group was established as the Criminal Information Service whose origin tr ...

(CIDG) filed charges against Ongtioco and members of the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, ''estafa'', harboring a criminal, and

obstruction of justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...

Coat of arms

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ongtioco, Honesto 1948 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines Filipino people of Chinese descent Kapampangan people People from San Fernando, Pampanga Ateneo de Manila University alumni Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II