NEW ARCHBISHOP OF DAVAO

The Vatican has appointed Zamboanga Archbishop

 Romulo Valles as the new head of the archdiocese of 

Davao, according to the Catholic Bishops’ 

Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Valles will replace 77-year-old Archbishop Fernando 

Capalla, whose resignation has been accepted by 

Pope Benedict XVI.

His appointment was announced on Saturday noon 

in the Vatican (7 p.m. in Manila) and by Papal 

Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Guiseppe 

Pinto in Manila, according to CBCPNews, the official 

news service of the Philippine Church hierarchy.

But Capalla will continue to serve the Davao 

archdiocese as temporary administrator until a date 

has been scheduled for Valles’ canonical installation 

as the province’s new archbishop, said the CBCP 

media office.

Valles, 60, a native of Maribojoc, Bohol, has served 

the Zamboanga archdiocese for five years. The 

archdiocese covers the Prelature of Ipil and Isabela, 

Basilan and the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo as its 

suffragans dioceses.—Jocelyn R. Uy