Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, and his recent visit to Los Angeles. Below are excerpts from his keynote address to the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on September 13, 2025.
“Our lives are shaped by stories. Storytelling is one of the most powerful things in our lives as human beings, and I invite you to share your stories. All our values are in line with our stories.”
—Cardinal Pablo (Ambo) Virgilio David
If you have recently seen the movie The Conclave, you would probably have the impression that a group of the highest-ranking members of the Catholic Church go through the process of selecting the next Pope through political intrigues and alliances. Cardinal Pablo (Ambo) Virgilio David is one of three Filipino cardinals who entered the Sistine Chapel on May 7 to vote for the successor to Pope Francis. Cardinal David dispels this impression as being Hollywood-made and not reflective of the seriousness and solemn process of choosing the head of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, during his visit to Los Angeles. The event was organized by the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and hosted at Incarnation Church in Glendale by Father Rodel Balagtas, pastor. Photos by Andy Tecson
Cardinal David is a humble man who prefers to be called Cardinal Ambo or even Bishop Ambo (because he stipulated that technically, he is still the Bishop of the Caloocan Diocese). However, he draws the line on the common title given to cardinals, “His Eminence,” a title that he hopes would be abolished. In previous interviews, Cardinal David had this to say about this title, instituted by Pope Urban VIII in 1630: “I mean, I’m honestly scandalized by that. It’s one of the things I wish mawala sa Simbahan (will be gone from the Church).”
Cardinal David recently spoke at a gathering of members of the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and shared his thoughts on the mission of the Church during the synodal period of Pope Leo XIV. His speech is divided into three main topics, and excerpts of his address are provided below.
On the Challenges Faced by Filipinos in the Homeland
Right at this moment, the Philippines is in a very critical situation. Do you know what is happening in Indonesia? Do you know what is happening in Bangladesh and what’s happening in Nepal? At this moment, the focus of attention is on the Philippines because of the issue of flood control and the related corruption that is under investigation. People are upset; they are finally sick of corruption. They say, “Shame, shame on you, who take advantage of the taxpayers’ money.” The Philippines is not a poor country, but the country becomes poor because of these corrupt politicians.
Let me begin with a story. This is a story I posted on social media that became viral and was shared by 78,000 people. This story is about a boy named Dion Angelo de la Rosa, or Gelo for short. Let me give you some background and context.
Earlier this year, I issued two pastoral letters. The first was as the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and the letter was about the legalization of online gambling. You don’t need casinos anymore; you can gamble in the privacy of your bedroom, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Young or old, anyone can gamble.
The second pastoral letter I released was as a local pastor in my capacity as Bishop of the Diocese of Caloocan. This was about the corruption involved with the construction of the floodgates in our region, worth Php 5 billion, but which had never functioned well. Then we heard about an increase in the budget, and a few weeks later, the President gave his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasan Pambansa. That is where we heard his famous line: “Mahiya naman kayo mga kontratista” (Shame on you contractors). My first reaction was, “Why only the contractors?” And the ironic thing was that the congressmen and senators listening gave him a standing ovation for his remarks, but they were also at fault!
You may think that flood control corruption and online gambling are separate issues, but they came together and intersected in this story of Gelo.
Dion Angelo was 20 years old. He was the eldest of six children and a third-year human resource services student at Malabon City College, hoping to be the first in his family to graduate. His parents were migrants from the province who worked very hard to give their children a better chance at life. Both parents had jobs, but even with two incomes, they barely survived by earning minimum wage—about $7 a day, not an hour. One day, Angelo’s father was arrested for illegal gambling, cara y cruz.
For days Angelo searched for his missing father, wading through the dirty floodwaters of Malabon. He finally found his father, detained at the police station. But by then, the boy started to develop chills. He did not know that he had been infected with leptospirosis. All his mother could give him was paracetamol (note: a common over-the-counter fever-reducing medication, known under the brand name Tylenol in the US). They had no money for hospitalization. This was on a Saturday; Gelo died on Sunday.
Gelo’s story could be the story of any of us, but he became a symbol. Gelo’s parents migrated from the provinces to the city in search of a better life. But what awaited them was the same violence of poverty. They lived in the slums, and theirs is the story of many of our poor rural migrants: they are always one emergency away from disaster.
Did you know that the population of Cavite grew from 1.5 million to 4.5 million in the last two decades? This is explained by poverty in the provinces pushing families to move to find work in Manila and ending up in Cavite for housing. In Caloocan, including Navotas, our population grew from 500,000 to 2,000,000, most of them poor migrants forced to settle along the riverbanks and coastlines as informal settlers. And the majority of them, about 85%, are Catholic. But they do not attend Mass. Some come to church on holy days, but they stay outside, and this broke my heart. Already they live on the margins of our society; they don’t need to feel unwelcome in the Church. So, we created mission stations and sent priests to go outside the church and mingle with the people. We also inserted them into the poor communities. Our reasoning was: if the poor cannot come to the Church, the Church must go to the poor.
The poor are in survival mode; they are trapped in the ayuda culture. They are dependent on politicians who demand votes in exchange for relief goods; they are victims of patronage politics.
When floods strike, the poor are the first to suffer. Do you know they are draining Manila Bay, and the garbage—the trash of Metro Manila—is now being dumped in the fishponds of Navotas? And the leachate that comes from the garbage has poisoned the rest of Manila Bay. It used to be very productive, but now parts of Manila Bay are dead because of these reclamation projects (which destroy natural flood barriers and push water deeper into low-lying communities).
Flood control projects were started, but the real problem is corruption. Garbage is one part, but the real problems are constricting the flow of floodwaters, and that is why our coastal cities are permanently flooded and uninhabitable anymore. Pope Francis was right when he said, “The cry of the poor and the cry of the earth are inseparable.”
Challenges of Filipinos Abroad – Why Filipinos Migrate
Migration has become part of our national story. The same powers that drive families to Manila are also what drive Filipinos to go abroad. We are not alone in this; people from Africa, Latin America, and Asia leave home in search of a better life. Among Filipinos, someone in the family must go abroad for the sake of the family to survive. That is the story of our OFWs.
Here in the United States, the search for a better life is called the American Dream. America is the destination of migrants: Europeans settled here, displacing the indigenous peoples, and Africans were brought here for labor.
Over the centuries, the country has gone through struggles for abolition, civil rights, and women’s suffrage. And out of this emerged one multicultural nation. Being an American is no longer about ethnicity but about belonging to a larger community of diversity. But today, America is facing contradictions: inequality is widening; oligarchs and billionaires benefit from tax systems that leave many impoverished. Racism and white supremacist ideologies are emerging. Migrants that once symbolized American strength are now scapegoated.
Interculturality means you can be a good American without erasing your ethnic identity. You bring something innate to this nation of migrants. As a Filipino, you bring bayanihan, your faith, your joy. You have something to contribute to the community of nations that make up America.
How has your pursuit of the American Dream changed your life? Do you feel worse or better? How is your Filipino identity here in America? These are not rhetorical questions; they matter because they connect directly to the story of your life back home.
Understanding Both Challenges in Light of Pope Leo XIV’s Vision of Embodied Communion and Hope
Embodied Communion is community that is incarnate—not in the abstract, but in flesh-and-blood solidarity. Hope is what sustains that communion, bonded together in community. There is no community without communion. It is the Church made concrete, tangible, in the way we walk with one another, support one another, and lift one another. That is Embodied Communion. It is not wishful thinking but Christian hope—the kind of hope that does not disappoint.
Coming next
The second part of this series will trace the life and witness of Cardinal David—from his early years in Pampanga to his leadership in the Philippine Church and his message to Filipinos in the diaspora.
About the writer
Carol Ojeda-Kimbrough has worked in the private, public, non-profit, and academic sectors. She served as a legislative and budget analyst for ARCO for 20 years, later as a field deputy for LA City Councilmember Jackie Goldberg, and as adjunct faculty in Asian American Studies at California State University, Fullerton. She has also taught at CSU Los Angeles and UCLA.
From 1992 to 2012, she served Los Angeles County as a commissioner for the Citizens Economy and Efficiency Commission and later for the Commission for Public Social Services. The City of San Gabriel also appointed her as a planning commissioner (2005–2012). She was a member of the Pasadena City College President’s Asian American Advisory Board.
