Antonio Realubin Tobias

Antonio Realubin Tobias (born June 13, 1941) is a Filipino Catholic prelate who served as the second Bishop of Novaliches from 2003 to 2019.

Early life and education Antonio Realubin Tobias was born on June 13, 1941, in Laoag, Ilocos Norte in the then-Commonwealth of the Philippines, to Norberto F. Tobias and Trinidad L. Realubin. After completing his high school years at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary, he studied at San Carlos Seminary, where he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He also studied theology at the same seminary.

Following a scandal involving the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Novaliches, Teodoro Bacani Jr., Pope John Paul II appointed Tobias as its apostolic administrator sede plena on June 21, 2003. Subsequently, John Paul II appointed Tobias on November 25 to succeed Bacani. He was canonically installed at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd by the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, on January 26, 2004.

In response to the drug war of President Rodrigo Duterte, Tobias and his diocese opened a drug rehabilitation center in September 2016. The move aimed at lessening the number of casualties caused by the drug war.

Pope Francis accepted his retirement on June 6, 2019, and appointed Roberto Gaa as his successor. Tobias served as apostolic administrator until Gaa's installation on August 24, 2019.

Political involvement In 2005, Tobias apologized to former President Joseph Estrada for the Catholic Church's role in the Second EDSA Revolution which led to his ouster. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), through its president Angel Lagdameo, clarified that Tobias's apology reflects his personal opinion, and not the Church's official stance. The Bishop of Kalookan, Deogracias Iñiguez, echoed Lagdameo's sentiments, but said that Tobias's apology was "unnecessary".

In November 2007, Tobias, together with bishops Iniguez and Julio Xavier Labayen, led a prayer rally at Plaza Miranda to call for the resignation of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.