On Saturday, the CBCP followed tradition and raised Valles, vice president to outgoing CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, to the presidency of the influential bishops’ conference during its semiannual plenary in Manila. Valles had been CBCP vice president since December 2013. Valles’ election as CBCP president signals a “new day of peace,” the Palace said on Sunday. He was CBCP president from 1999 to 2003. The change in the CBCP leadership should result in better relations between the Duterte administration and the Catholic Church, he said, even as the Church was expected to continue protesting drug-related killings and the planned reinstatement of the death penalty.

Source: Manila Times July 09, 2017 13:52 UTC