The strong and stable Church leadership

While Philippine politics today is unpredictable and even adversarial, the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines has remained strong, stable, and in harmony with the more than 93 million Catholics in the country today. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is in perpetual communion with the Holy See.

I happened to be a convention speaker the other day at the CBCP Convention in Laoag City and I wish to share with you how the Church is well-organized. I met all the top CBCP leaders and they asked me to join them in institutionalizing HR principles, processes and mechanisms in all the archdiocese, dioceses, and parishes in the country.

The current president of the CBCP is Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of the archdiocese of Lipa with Archbishop Julius Tonel of Zamboanga as vice president.

The following are our Cardinals: Cardinal Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization; Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila; Pablo Virgilio David, bishop of Caloocan; Orlando Quevedo, retired; and Gaudencio Rosales, retired. Advincula heads the ecclesiastical province of Manila, the Manila archdiocese, and the dioceses of Antipolo, Cubao, Imus, Caloocan, Malolos, Novaliches, Parañaque, Pasig, San Pablo, and the Military Ordinariate.

The ecclesiastical province of Cebu, headed by Archbishop Alberto Uy covers the dioceses of Dumaguete (Bishop Julito Cortes), Maasin (Bishop Precioso Cantillas), Tagbilaran (vacant) and Talibon (Bishop Patrick Daniel Parcon). I met a Cebuano priest and lawyer, Fr. Dan delos Angeles, founding president of PAI LEGAL composed of lawyer priests. He’s an officer of IBP Cebu City and a USJ-R Law professor.

The ecclesiastical province of Palo, Leyte with Archbishop John Du covers the Archdiocese of Palo, and the dioceses of Borongan, Calbayog, and Naval. I was in constant dialogue with Du when I was in the convention in Laoag. He’s the expert on financial management. He also heads the pension fund for retired bishops and priests.

The ecclesiastical province of Jaro, Iloilo, is headed by Archbishop Midyphil Billones and comprises the archdiocese of Jaro, and the dioceses of Bacolod, Kabankalan, San Carlos, and San Jose, Antique. Capiz is a separate archdiocese headed by Archbishop Victor Bendico and covers the archdiocese of Capiz, and the dioceses of Kalibo and Romblon.

The ecclesiastical province of Tuguegarao, headed by Archbishop Ricardo Baccay and covers the archdiocese of Tuguegarao and the dioceses of Bayombong, Ilagan, and the Prelature of Batanes. The ecclesiastical province of Nueva Segovia headed by Archbishop David Antonio, covers the archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, and the dioceses of Baguio, Bangued, and Laoag.

The ecclesiastical province of Lingayen-Dagupan headed by Archbishop Socrates Villegas covers the archdiocese of Lingayen and Dagupan and the dioceses of Alaminos, Cabanatuan, San Fernando, La Union, San Jose, Nueva Ecija, and Urdaneta. The ecclesiastical province of San Fernando, Pampanga is headed by Archbishop Florentino Lavarias and covers the archdiocese of San Fernando, and the dioceses of Balanga, Iba, and Tarlac.

The ecclesiastical province of Lipa headed by CBCP president Garcera, covering the archdiocese of Lipa, Batangas, and the dioceses of Boac, Calapan, Gumaca, Lucena, and the Prelature of Infanta. The ecclesiastical province of Caceres, headed by Archbishop Rex Alarcon, covers the Archdiocese of Naga (Caceres), and the dioceses of Daet, Legaspi, Libmanan, Masbate, Sorsogon, and Virac.

Mindanao is divided into the ecclesiastical provinces of Cagayan de Oro (Archbishop Jose Cabantan), Cotabato (Archbishop Charlie Inzon), Davao (Archbishop Romulo Valles), Ozamiz (Archbishop Martin Jumoad), Zamboanga (Archbishop Julius Tonel). Davao covers the archdiocese of Davao, and the dioceses of Digos, Mati, Tagum, and Cotabato.

Cagayan de Oro covers the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro and the dioceses of Butuan, Malaybalay, Prosperidad, Surigao, and Tandag. Ozamiz covers the archdiocese of Ozamiz, and the dioceses of Dipolog, Iligan, Pagadian, and the prelature of Marawi. Cotabato covers the archdiocese of Cotabato and the dioceses of Kidapawan and Marbel. Zamboanga covers the archdiocese of Zamboanga, and the dioceses of Ipil and the prelature of Isabela, Basilan.

The Church leadership is strong because cardinals, archbishops, bishops, parish priests, and lay leaders serve with humility and passion, without the greed for power and money that besets our public officials. There are but few misguided souls and lost shepherds of the flock.

The Church has an effective mechanism for discipline and rehabilitation. That was my mission when I spoke the other day in the Laoag convention --to help strengthen the Church more through human capital development. Compared to the Philippine government, which is disorderly, the Church is led by leaders who are faithful servants of God.