Romulo Valles

Romulo Geolina Valles (born July 10, 1951), is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Davao in Davao City, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines and was the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from 2017 to 2021. He was the former archbishop of Zamboanga before being appointed to the Davao see.

Biography He was ordained a priest on 6 April 1976 at the age of 24. On 6 August 1997, aged 46, he was elevated to a bishop, and appointed to Kidapawan, Philippines. After 9 years, he was elevated to Archbishop of Zamboanga on 13 November 2006. He was appointed Archbishop of Davao on February 12, 2012, Valles took over the Davao archdiocese from Archbishop Fernando Capalla, 77, whose resignation has been accepted by the pontiff. The new archbishop was installed in a solemn liturgical rite of reception in which he canonically took possession of the metropolitan cathedral church, the San Pedro Cathedral, on May 22, 2012, in the presence of Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, cardinals, other archbishops, bishops, priests, and laity from Davao City, and all over the country.

Valles was elected on July 8, 2017, as President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, succeeding Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, assuming the post on December 1, 2017. He was reelected to the same position in 2019.

On 23 May 2020, Valles suffered a mild stroke and was hospitalized until July 6 due to an acquired hospital pneumonia. Pablo Virgilio David, vice-president of the CBCP, was temporarily appointed acting president. In July 2021, David was elected president by the CBCP and succeeded Valles assuming the position last December 1, 2021.

On 23 April 2022, Ateneo de Davao University President Joel Tabora conferred upon Valles the Doctor of Humanities Honoris Causa on the event of the 72nd Commencement Exercises of the University, the second event of its kind done virtually.

Following the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte in 2025, Valles said "Justice…must be pursued with fairness and integrity. It must remain free from partisan political motivations or personal vendettas", and offered prayers for Duterte and his family while reiterating calls for accountability.