MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) elected its new president on Saturday, as the politically outspoken Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David wraps up his second and final two-year term as head of the bishops’ conference.

Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa, an archdiocese about 50 miles south of Manila, is set to lead the CBCP from December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2027, a two-year term that can be renewed one more time.

Garcera, 66, has been leading the 3.3 million Catholics of the Archdiocese of Lipa since 2017. Before this, he led the smaller Diocese of Daet from 2007 to 2017, having been made a bishop under Pope Benedict XVI.

He was a former chair of the CBCP Commission on Family and Life, putting him on the front line of issues such as proposals to legalize divorce in the Philippines, the only country aside from the Vatican where divorce is illegal.

Garcera, in a 2018 pastoral letter, opposed the legalization of divorce, as he argued that “couples who overcome trials in marriage together grow in virtue and happiness” and that children “deserve a home where love, faithfulness, and forgiveness reign.”

The Lipa archbishop was elected in a break from a long-held CBCP tradition that the outgoing vice president would serve as its next president. Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, the outgoing vice president, had been widely expected to succeed the 66-year-old David.

The election of Garcera and other officials took place during the CBCP’s 130th plenary assembly in Anda, Bohol, in the central Philippines. The plenary assembly, which takes place twice a year, is the highest decision-making body of the Filipino bishops’ conference.

For this plenary assembly, Pope Leo XIV sent his first message to the CBCP through the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

In his message, Leo greeted CBCP members and prayed that they “will take encouragement” from the current Jubilee Year of Hope.

Pope Leo, who visited the Philippines at least nine times when he was Father Robert Prevost, also urged Filipino bishops to “be courageous in supporting the cause of peace and in promoting the intrinsic dignity of all people.” He expressed confidence that local churches in the Philippines “will continue to be ‘tangible signs of hope’ for the entire nation.”

The CBCP is composed of 126 members, including 87 who are still active, 38 who have retired, and three priests who serve as diocesan administrators.

The conference’s new leadership is set to take over at a time when the Philippines, a country of over 85 million Catholics, is facing its worst political crisis in years.

The new leaders’ period in office will also cover the preparations for the May 2028 national elections, where Vice President Sara Duterte is considered one of the top contenders to succeed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos and Duterte, who are former allies, continue to be embroiled in conflict, prompting churchmen to speak out and call for national unity.

Duterte, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is the subject of an impeachment complaint that is now pending at the Senate. Her father, meanwhile, is detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over alleged crimes against humanity in his drug war that killed thousands.

The Catholic Church is one of the strongest voices against the Duterte drug war killings and in support of the legal process behind the Vice President’s impeachment.

The outgoing CBCP president, Cardinal David, has particularly spoken out on matters involving the Duterte family.

On June 10, David issued a statement criticizing the Senate for delaying Duterte’s impeachment trial.

“Public officials must transcend partisan interests and act in a spirit of justice and truth. The search for truth is not a political agenda; it is a moral imperative,” said David, who was one of three Filipino cardinal electors at the last conclave.

“We appeal to all senators, especially to those in leadership, to allow the constitutional process to proceed without obstruction. If there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear,” the cardinal added.

During the Duterte presidency, David, who was then the vice president of the CBCP, was also among four Catholic bishops charged with sedition. He was, at that time, one of the staunchest critics of the Duterte drug war, as he said his diocese became a “killing field” in this anti-drug campaign.

The charges against David and the four other bishops, including former CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas, were later dismissed.