Lipa archbishop elected next CBCP president

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Saturday elected Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera as its next president, during the CBCP’s 130th plenary assembly in Anda, Bohol.

Garcera, 66, will succeed Kalookan’s Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, who was elected to the post in July 2021.

David’s second and final term as president ends in November.

Aside from Garcera, Zamboanga Archbishop Julius Tonel was also elected as CBCP vice president.

Tonel, 68, will succeed Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, whose second and final term also ends in November.

Garcera serves as CBCP Permanent Council regional representative for Southeast Luzon. He will lead the bishops’ collegial body for the next two years.

CBCP officials serve two-year terms and may be reelected once, for a maximum of four years.

Garcera was appointed as archbishop of Lipa in 2017, which is home to more than 3.3 million Catholics.

He previously chaired the CBCP Commission on Mission and Commission on Family and Life.

Garcera served as assistant secretary general of the CBCP, executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Mission and national director of the Pontifical Mission Society prior to his appointment as bishop.

He was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Caceres in 1983.

In 2007, Garcera was appointed bishop of Daet, a role he served until he was transferred to the Lipa archdiocese.

Within the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, Garcera served as chairman of the Office on Laity and Family and as director of its yearly Synodal Leadership for Asian Bishops Seminar.

In 2014, he was one of three Philippine bishops who served as delegates to the Synod on the Family at the Vatican.

On the other hand, Tonel was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Davao in 1980 and was appointed bishop of Ipil in 2007.

In 2023, he became archbishop of Zamboanga.

Tonel previously served as chairman of the CBCP Commission on Liturgy and currently heads the CBCP Committee on Bishops’ Concerns.

Garcera, Tonel and other members of the Permanent Council will officially assume their posts on Dec. 1, 2025.