Filipino Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, known for speaking out against former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, is now one of the electors choosing the next Pope. The papal conclave started on May 7, but no decision was made on the first day, indicated by black smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney.
“Not even in my wildest imagination did I think this would happen,” said Cardinal David, speaking to the BBC at his cathedral in Caloocan, a poor district on the outskirts of Manila, Philippines, a day before departing for Rome.
David is one of the three Filipino cardinals voting in the conclave. He was elevated to cardinal only five months ago.
“Normally, you would expect archbishops to become cardinals, but I am only a humble bishop of a little diocese where the majority of the people are slum dwellers, urban poor, you know. But I thought just maybe, for Pope Francis, it mattered that we had more cardinals who are really grounded there,” he said.
Known affectionately as “Apu Ambo” by his congregation, Cardinal David rose to prominence during Duterte’s presidency by publicly denouncing the administration’s brutal anti-drug campaign, which led to thousands of extrajudicial killings. He offered sanctuary to those fearing for their lives and launched drug rehabilitation efforts in his diocese.
“It was just too much seeing dead bodies left and right,” he told the BBC. “And you know, when I would ask people what they thought, you know, why these people were targeted. They said they’re drug users. I said, so what? So what? Who told you that just because people use drugs, they deserve to die?”
In 2017, he installed a memorial outside his cathedral to honour Kian Delos Santos, a 17-year-old boy killed by police. The murder, captured on CCTV and contradicted by witness accounts, led to the conviction of three police officers.
Cardinal David’s criticism of the drug killings led to death threats, sedition charges, and personal attacks from Duterte, who accused him of using drugs and once talked about beheading him. The charges were later dropped.
On a visit to Rome in 2019, Pope Francis pulled him aside for a private blessing, telling the bishop he was aware of what was happening in his diocese and the danger he faced. He urged him to stay safe. That moment, David says, was a turning point.
“You have not been called to martyrdom yet,” the Pope reportedly joked during another meeting in 2023.
Cardinal David’s presence at the conclave reflects Pope Francis’ push to make the Church more connected to the poor and vulnerable. Despite the Philippines being a major Catholic country, the Church there is struggling with declining attendance and criticism over issues like family planning, divorce, and abuse scandals. David believes the Church must regain trust through humility and focus on being a moral guide, not a political power.
The conclave continues in the Vatican as 133 cardinal electors decide who will lead the Catholic Church into its next era.