The Holy Angel University in Angeles City confers an honorary degree on Diocese of Kalookan’s Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, for his “solid record” as a scholar of biblical theology and defender of the poor. (Photo courtesy of HAU)
ANGELES CITY—Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has urged the faithful to live as good humans as he began his first day as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The outspoken bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan gave that advice when the Holy Angel University conferred on him a doctorate in humanities on Wednesday here for his “solid record” as a scholar of biblical theology and defender of the poor.
David was the youngest elected president of the CBCP, according to Pampanga Bishop Emeritus Paciano Aniceto. Nicknamed Ambo, which meant a portable lectern when the early Christians were persecuted, Aniceto said David is “called to heal wounds by his courage and love for the poor.”
In a simple rite that had online and in-person audiences, David said he wanted to rewrite the song “Sapagkat Kami’y Tao Lamang” because it sends the message that it is “masamang maging tao (bad to be human).”
He particularly frowned on the lines “Ganyan lahat tayong lahat/O Kay saklap ng buhay.” David pointed out that in the reverse, “masarap magpakatao.”
“The example of that is the Son of God,” he said, earlier citing that Christ “restored the divine likeness in us.”
In the rite, he honored the humanity of mothers, defending them, especially his mother Bienvenida Songco, who was bad-mouthed by a top official after David criticized President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs because, in it, addicts are “not treated as humans” and addiction is “not seen as a spiritual and psychological disease.”
According to David, part of being a good human is being able to make sense of what happened in the past and apply it in the here and the now.
He expressed awe that after a widow fought strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, another widow was battling another Marcos.
He did not mention the name or presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo.
In the event, David wore a pink face mask, the color identified with Robredo, one of five top presidential candidates in the May 9, 2022, national and local elections.
In a phone interview, he confirmed wearing pink-colored face masks in the last two weeks, adding that observers should “not overstretch” their idea of the candidate he preferred.
David also warned that Filipinos would be “doomed” when they do not learn from history and “be dismembered” if they do not remember the past.