Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will install Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Caloocan as a cardinal in December.
David, who also leads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, is among 21 new cardinals set to be appointed.
He will be the third Filipino cardinal as he joins Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Jose Advincula.
David is currently in Rome as part of the Synod, a formal council of the church leaders.
Several Filipino Catholics expressed their delight upon David’s appointment as a cardinal.
“Very Good. We should have more cardinals. We are 84M Catholics,” a Filipino commenter said.
During the height of the deadly drug war by former President Rodrigo Duterte, David was a staunch critic of the killing sprees as he spoke out towards human rights and the victims of drug war.