Cardinal ‘Ambo’ David: Papal conclave’s ‘dark horse,’ drug war critic

MANILA, Philippines — As the world turns its eyes on the Papal conclave after the passing of Pope Francis, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David who is known as a staunch critic of the past administration’s war on drugs, is considered as a “papabile” and even a “dark horse” candidate.

David, a native of Betis in Guagua, Pampanga, was born on March 2, 1959. At a young age of 24, he was ordained a priest for the metropolitan archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga on March 12, 1983.

For four decades, he dedicated his life to the Lord’s teachings, especially in standing up with the poor and oppressed, even when he had to receive death threats for it.

Journey to priesthood, teaching roles

At a very young age, David set sights on priesthood as he attended secondary school at the Mother of Good Counsel, as noted by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila.

READ: CBCP head on Trump’s pope tweet: ‘Not funny’

According to the College of Cardinals Report, David earned his Bachelor’s degree in Pre-Divinity from the Ateneo de Manila University. He then obtained his Master’s degree in Theology from Loyola School of Theology.

Vatican Press said that a year after David’s role as deputy parish priest, he became the director of the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary until 1986. From 1986 to 1991, he studied at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium where he received a licentiate and doctorate in Sacred Theology.

He also obtained a diploma from attending courses at the Ecole Biblique de Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, David held teaching roles when he returned to the country where he became the director of the Department of Theology of the archdiocesan seminary in 2002. He also taught Sacred Scripture.

The cardinal was then elected as both vice president of the Association of Catholic Biblists of the Philippines and Archdiocesan Media Apostolate Networks in the same year.

In 2006, he was appointed as the Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando and Titular Bishop of Guardialfiera by Pope Benedict XVI. David was consecrated on July 10 of the same year.

In October 2015, he was appointed as Bishop of Kalookan. According to CBCP News, the news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, David’s appointment as bishop “put him in the center of the ministry of the urban poor” where he later gained perspective on marginalized sectors at the Synod on Synodality, or the process of dynamic praying and discernment.

David was elected as president of the CBCP from 2021 up to present. He also served as the vice president of the conference from 2017 to 2021.

Appointment as a cardinal

Meanwhile, the late Pope Francis’ appointment of David as one of the new cardinals of the Catholic Church in October 2024 came as a shock for the latter. In a Facebook post, David shared a screenshot of his conversation with the procurator of the Collegio Filippino.

The procurator sent him a congratulatory message for being appointed as cardinal in which he replied with a “Joke?”

David was formally elevated to the rank of cardinal during a consistory at St. Peter’s Basilica in December 2024.

In a Facebook post last December 7, on what David described as the “red day” of his life and ministry as a bishop, he recalled his “Red Wednesday” homily last November 2020.

READ: Kalookan bishop, drug war critic is PH 10th cardinal

David, who described red as a dangerous color, said that raging bulls are not only found in bull fight arenas. He said that they can also be found in “some uniformed authorities who see red everywhere, especially in the context of the new Anti-Terror Law.”

“If you haven’t noticed yet, RED TAGGING has become fashionable again. Haven’t we heard lately about some very well-known women and religious Church leaders who have been red-tagged, all because they had the courage to support some social advocacies especially in serving as voice for the voiceless?” his post read.

David also said that red is “more obviously the color of the blood” that can be seen on the streets “when people are brutally murdered, when their human dignity is violated.”

But he also said that Red Wednesday in the Church “calls attention to the plight of persecuted Christians around the world.”

“It is a celebration that uses the color more appropriately—the color of martyrdom, the color of fearless prophetic witnessing, even at the price of so much persecution, or even at the price of death,” his post added.

Standing up against war on drugs

David’s mission to fight injustices dated back to his student years.

According to CBCP News, David stood up against the dictatorship of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Under the Martial Law era, thousands were killed, tortured, and went missing.

Decades later, David’s opposition to the bloody drug war of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte sent him at the receiving end of threats made by the government, and Duterte himself.

David was the one who buried Kian Delos Santos in 2017. Delos Santos’ death became one of the brutal images of the widespread killings caused by the drug war.

READ: President’s drug war is ‘biggest lie’ to people, says bishop

David openly denounced the death threats he received from the government.

“That’s really our calling. Hindi naman sa gusto naming magpakamatay o magpakamartyr. But we will not run away from danger,” he said, as quoted by the CBCP News.

(That’s really our calling. We do not want to die or be a martyr. But we will not run away from danger.)

READ: Cardinal David emerges as ‘dark horse’ in papal race

Conclave’s ‘dark horse’

Aside from Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who is dubbed as the “Asian Francis,” David has also been considered as a strong contender for the conclave.

In a press conference, Father Shay Cullen, an Irish missionary known for human rights work, said that David’s stance on war on drugs and denouncement of abuses makes him a “person of integrity,” emphasizing that “it would be very positive if Cardinal David were elected pope, representing the Philippines.”

“It’s time for a Filipino pope who defends human rights and protects children,” Cullen added.

David, Tagle and Cardinal Jose Advincula will be joining the upcoming conclave. This is the first time in history that the Philippines will have three cardinals in the election.

The Papal election is set to begin today, May 7.