Sponsorship Speech of Senator Risa Hontiveros on Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David
December 10, 2024
Sponsorship Speech of Senator Risa Hontiveros on Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David
Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, isang mapagpalang gabi. Kasabay ng ating ating paggunita sa ikalawang linggo sa panahon ng pagdating ng Panginoon, I join the Catholic faithful and other faith communities, in witnessing and welcoming the kindness and favor that the Advent season brings to us.
Nitong nagdaang buwan, naging saksi tayo bilang isang sambayanan sa pagtatalaga at paghirang ng mga bagong obispo at tagapangasiwa ng Simbahang Katolika.
Simula Marso nitong taon, buong kagalakan at puno ng pasasalamat na tinanggap, lalo na ng mga maliliit na pamayanan ng Simbahan, ang pagtatalaga at paghirang sa katungkulan ng mga bagong pastol at tagapangasiwa ng iba't ibang arkdiyoses at diyoses sa bansa, kabilang sina:
- Archbishop Rex Alarcon, sa Archdiocese of Caceres;
- Bishop Jun Sipalay sa Diocese of Alaminos;
- Bishop Louis Occiano sa Diocee of Virac;
- Bishop Raffy Cruz sa Diocese ng Diocese of Baguio;
- Bishop Junie Maralit sa Diocese ng San Pablo;
- Bishop Eugene Canete sa Diocese of Gumaca;
- Bishop Nolly Buco sa Diocese of Catarman;
- Bishop Eli Ayuban sa Diocese ng Cubao;
- Bishop Jun Sescon sa Diocese of Balanga;
- Bishop Jun Andaya sa Diocese ng Cabanatuan; at si
- Bishop Ruben Labajo para sa bagong tatag na Diocese of Prosperidad sa Agusan.
With a grateful heart, as part of the Catholic laity, I join our ecclesiastical communities in extending our congratulations and best wishes to our newly installed and designated good shepherds of the Holy Mother Church.
It seems, Mr. President, with Advent being a gift that keeps giving, nito lamang nagdaang Sabado ng gabi, on the eve of the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our country's principal patroness, we've waited with great anticipation and joy, and one in prayer with the Catholic faithful around the world, especially with the Diocese of Kalookan, to receive the gifts of new cardinals, including the Philippines' very own Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David.
As an expression of the recognition of the honor, and more so, of the responsibility bestowed on the office of the Cardinal, it is a privilege to introduce Senate Resolution 1247 congratulating and commending the appointment and designation of Bishop, now Cardinal, Ambo, of the Diocese of Kalookan.
Cardinal Ambo, a priest for 41 years, is the tenth cardinal to come from the Philippines, the fifth among our living cardinals, the third among active Filipino cardinals, and the second cardinal from the province of Pampanga, hence the preference to be called Apung Ambo, more than being styled as His Eminence.
In joining the rank of cardinals, the elevation of Cardinal Ambo comes with many firsts, historic on their own, in the sense that he became the first Filipino non-archbishop, the first from the diocese of Kalookan, and the same ecclesiastical province of Manila, and the first incumbent or sitting president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to be elevated to the cardinalate.
Regardless, I believe that for Cardinal Ambo, the cardinalate is just another hat to wear, so to speak, Mr. President, and just a top-up responsibility for being the Bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan, the President of the CBCP, incoming Vice President of the Federation of the Asian Bishops Conference, and a member of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod.
Even before Pope Francis' gentle reminder to the newly elevated cardinals to walk in the path of Jesus with humility, wonder, and joy, Cardinal Ambo has long been inspired by these acts of service expected of cardinals: Walking with wonder as servants of the Gospel, meeting others, and caring for those most in need.
Lahad nga ng kanyang nakatatandang kapatid, ang public intellectual na si Randy David, na akin ring nakasama at naging kaibigan sa mahabang panahon, si Cardinal Ambo, pang-sampu sa labingtatlong magkakapatid, has always been a brother that offers tight fraternal embrace. Cardinal Ambo, mindful of the sharp divide between the spiritual and the material and between divinity and humanity, teaches and reminds us that God sent his only begotten son to become man to show the rest of us what it is to be human, to show that being human need not mean only being fallen, flawed or sinful, but also that in the larger scheme of things, even mistakes contribute to the task of becoming human together.
Kaya hindi po nakapagtataka, na sa kasagsagan ng infamous war on drugs sa bansa, sa panahong nagmistulang killing fields ang CAMANAVA at may banta sa kanyang seguridad at sariling buhay, naging matatag si Cardinal Ambo para sa kanyang maliit na pamayanan ng Simbahang Katolika sa Diyoses ng Kalookan, relentlessly pleading to stop the killings.
Together with religious men and women, and the laypeople, Cardinal Ambo as a pastor for the peripheries, created "mission stations in the poorest neighborhoods, each with a makeshift chapel at its heart, to serve as spiritual sanctuaries for then victims of drug-related killings, and now, being sustained to meet the spiritual and existential needs of the communities.
Central to the mission and ministries of Cardinal Ambo is the commitment to "bring the Church to the poor," being in solidarity--pakikibahagi--and with such attentiveness--pakikiramdam--to the needs of those in the peripheries, the lost, the least, the last, the vulnerable, the oppressed, and the excluded.
At kung mayroon mang mahalagang aral si Cardinal Ambo, bilang isang pastoral at spiritual leader ng bansa, at sa pagtugon natin sa mga hamon ng bansa bilang lingkod bayan, marahil ito ay pakikiramdam (attentiveness) at pakikibahagi (solidarity) lalo na sa kababayan nating maralita, dukha at walang-wala, or else, we'll end up alienating the people who need and trust as the most and marginalize ourselves in the end.
Lastly, Mr. President, kasabay ng ating malugod na pagtanggap sa pagtatalaga at paghirang kay Cardinal Ambo, at sa iba pang bagong pastol at tagapangasiwa ng Inang Simbahan, binubukas din nito ang paanyaya para sa sama-samang pakikibahagi, pakikilahok, at pakikisaksi sa liwanag at pag-asang dala ng pagbubukas ng Inang Simbahan para sa ekstra-ordinaryo't banal na taon ng Jubilee 2025 sa pagtatapos ng Adbiyento, sa December 24, sa bisperas ng Pasko.
Indeed, Mr. President, the Advent season is a gift that keeps giving, and hope does not disappoint in the time of the Jubilee.
Maraming salamat at Mabuhay.
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