Duterte drug war critic is newest PH cardinal

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David

MANILA, Philippines — Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of the Kalookan Diocese, one of the most vocal critics of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal drug war, on Monday, likened being picked by Pope Francis as the country’s newest cardinal to “being caught in a whirlwind.”

In a surprise announcement on Sunday night (in Manila), the Holy Father announced the names of 21 new cardinals, including David, to pilgrims and tourists at St. Peter’s Square.

The new “princes of the church” will be installed in a ceremony known as a consistory on Dec. 8.

READ: President’s drug war is ‘biggest lie’ to people, says bishop

David, the 65-year-old president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is currently in Rome for the general assembly of bishops. In a Facebook post on Monday, he said he was not even aware he had been named by the Pope as a cardinal.

Big surprise

David narrated that he was preparing to celebrate Mass for Filipino migrants when he got a call from an international number. He ignored it, knowing that an overseas call could be very expensive.

He later received a congratulatory message on WhatsApp from the procurator of the Pontificio Collegio Filippino, the home of Filipino priests in Rome.

But David thought it was a joke and only believed it after he watched a video clip of Pope Francis’ announcement.

“It felt like being caught in a whirlwind. I did a five-minute breathing exercise, which instantly calmed me down,” he recalled.

10th Filipino cardinal

David will be the 10th Filipino cardinal in history, serving as among the closest advisers of the Pontiff.

Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, vice president of the CBCP, said the Pope’s choice of picking David was “consistent with his selection of cardinals who reach out to the peripheries.”

He noted David’s work in establishing several mission stations within the Kalookan Diocese “to better serve the poorest of the poor.”

With a population of more than 1.3 million, many parishioners in David’s diocese are informal settlers. The diocese covers the southern part of Caloocan and the cities of Navotas and Malabon.

David, fondly called “Bishop Ambo” by many, decried how his diocese had turned into a “killing field” when Duterte launched his antidrug campaign in 2016.

In 2019, David received the backing of Pope Francis after getting death threats amid his scathing criticism of Duterte’s drug war.

He also introduced in the diocese several community-based drug rehabilitation programs.