The 66-year-old is the newest Filipino cardinal, having only been named by Pope Francis in December last year.
He was appointed Bishop of Kalookan by Pope Benedict XVI in October 2015.
Cardinal David is known for his charitable work for the surviving kin of the fatalities of the bloody “war on drugs” under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently detained at an International Criminal Court facility in the Hague on accusations of crimes against humanity over the deadly drug crackdowns.
At the height of Mr Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, Bishop David of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalookan in northern Metro Manila took protective custody of drug war witnesses, whose lives were under constant threat at that time.
The Philippines’ capital region of Metro Manila has 16 cities and one municipality. Cardinal David’s diocese covers Malabon City, Navotas City and the southern part of Caloocan City – all areas with a higher density of underprivileged communities with drug war fatalities.
As he assisted families of drug war victims, Cardinal David received death threats.
He was also “red-tagged”, a term referring to how Filipino advocates are often unduly labelled as communist terrorists for their civic action. Similarly, Pope Francis had been tagged a communist by his critics.
Cardinal David had often recalled how Pope Francis encouraged him to employ what the pontiff called divine humour in dealing with death threats.
He was also reminded by the late pope during their encounter not to let the title “His Eminence” get to his head.
Following Pope Francis’ death, Cardinal David underscored the late pontiff’s role as a bridge-builder.
He recalled how the late pope called Filipino migrants “smugglers of faith.”
The Philippines’ diaspora comprises over 10 million Filipinos worldwide.
He also remembered how the late pontiff taught the world that the heart of the gospel beats most strongly where poverty and exclusion dwell.
CARDINAL JOSE ADVINCULA
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippines-pope-francis-cardinals-tagle-david-advincula-conclave-5099406
