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 The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalookan (Lat: ''Dioecesis Kalookana'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines which comprises Malabon, Navotas, and the southern portion of Caloocan. History The Di ...

and is the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...

(CBCP).

Early life and education

Pablo Virgilio David was born in Betis,

Guagua Guagua, officially the Municipality of Guagua ( pam, Balen ning Guagua; tl, Bayan ng Guagua), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 128,893 people. The town o ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

on March 2, 1959. He is the 10th of the 13 children of Pedro David and Bienvenida Siongco. He attended Mother of Good Counsel Minor Seminary in

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, ...

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 Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. 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 The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando ( lat, Archidioecesis Sancti Ferdinandi; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng San Fernando; es, Arquidiócesis de San Fernando; Kapampangan: ''Arkidiosesis ning San Fernando'') is the archdiocese of the Latin Chur ...

(in Pampanga) by Archbishop

Oscar Cruz Oscar Valero Cruz, (17 November 1934 – 26 August 2020) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. He was the Archbishop of Lingayen–Dagupan in Pangasinan, Philippines, from 1991 to 2009. Biography Oscar Cruz was b ...

and on May 26, 2006 was appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

to be auxiliary bishop of San Fernando and titular bishop of the Diocese of Guardialfiera. He was consecrated as a bishop by Gaudencio Borbon ''Cardinal'' Rosales, Archbishop of Manila, with

Paciano Aniceto Paciano Basilio Aniceto, (born March 9, 1937) is a Filipino Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of San Fernando. He was the third prelate to head the Archdiocese, which is located in San Fernando City, Pampanga, Philippines. ...

, Archbishop of San Fernando, and

Angel Lagdameo Angel Nacorda Lagdameo ( la, Angelus Lagdameo; 2 August 1940 – 8 July 2022) was a Filipino bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Jaro from 9 May 2000 until 14 February 2018. Life and career Angel Lagdameo was born on 2 ...

, Archbishop of Jaro, as co-consecrators. He became Bishop of Kalookan in January 2016. He is hugely involved in the

(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. David is noted for being a critic of President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

war on drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

. 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 David, fellow bishops

Honesto Ongtioco Honesto Flores Ongtioco (born 17 October 1948) is a Filipino bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the first and only Bishop of Cubao, and also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Malolos from May 12, 2018 to August 21, 2 ...

and

Socrates Villegas Sócrates Buenaventura Villegas (born September 28, 1960) is a Filipino prelate, and a professed member of the Dominican Order, He is the current Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan, and is the former president of the Catholic Bishops ...

, 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". David was elected as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 Romulo Geolina Valles, D.D. (born July 10, 1951), is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Davao in Davao City, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines and the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines since Decem ...

on December 1, 2021.

References

External links

Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David
profile by Catholic-Hierarchy.org {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Pablo Virgilio 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Philippines Living people Roman Catholic bishops of San Fernando 1959 births People from Pampanga Ateneo de Manila University alumni Filipino Roman Catholic bishops Roman Catholic titular bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Kalookan