“This is a welcome development,” the group said in a statement.
“His long track record in defending human rights, and his staunch and consistent opposition to extrajudicial killings makes him the ideal leader of the [bishops’ conference] to help lead the Church and shepherd its flock back to the path of democracy,” it added.
Bishop David has been the target of the ire of Duterte in the past. He was among several priests and bishops who were accused of sedition by the government. The charges have since been dropped.
The prelate had also received several death threats following his condemnation of the spate of killings in the country.
In 2018, Duterte accused Bishop David of corruption. "You, David, you be quiet. You go on asking for contributions. ... Where does the people's money go?" the president said.
"You don't have to go to church to pay for these idiots," said Duterte, referring to bishops who have condemned the wave of drug-related killings in the country.
Bishop David has repeatedly asked the Filipino faithful to pray for Duterte because he is a "very sick man." He made the statement after the president called saints "fools" and "drunkards."
Bishop David's pronouncement angered the president, who said the bishop “might be into drugs.”
Reacting to Duterte's statement, Bishop David posted on Facebook: "No sir, I'm not into drugs of any sort, whether legal or illegal. Never been."
"I only help in rehabilitating people addicted to drugs ... Thank God I am not even taking any maintenance drugs yet," the bishop said.
Bishop David, 62, was born in Betis in Pampanga province.
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He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of San Fernando in 1983, at the age of 24, and was appointed auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese in 2006.
His episcopal consecration took place July 10, 2006, and he was appointed Bishop of Kalookan in 2015.
Jose Torres, Jr., is editor-at-large of the Catholic Asian news site LiCAS.news. He is also editorial consultant of Radio Veritas Asia. He finished his Multimedia Journalism studies at the Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University.