THE APPOINTMENT of the new Vigan and Nueva Ecija prelates last Feb.12 added to the roster of alumni-bishops of the UST Ecclesiastical Faculties.
Laoag Bishop Ernesto Salgado was named archbishop of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia in Vigan City, replacing Archbishop Edmundo Abaya, who is also a Thomasian, while Msgr. Mylo Hubert Claudio Vergara was appointed the new bishop of the Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija.
Prior to Salgado’s appointment in Nueva Segovia, one of the oldest dioceses in the country, he obtained a degree in Theology in 1962 and a licentiate in Sacred Theology, both at the Ecclesiastical Faculties, and a doctorate degree in 1978 at the Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a bishop in 1997.
The 68-year-old Salgado also served in the Minor Seminary of Vigan and in the Immaculate Conception School of Theology before being appointed to the Mountain Province, Baguio and Laoag.
“I didn’t expect the appointment at all, but I’ve always wanted to follow where Pope John Paul II wants me to serve, so I didn’t hesitate to accept it,” Archbishop Salgado told the Varsitarian.
The archbishop plans to continue strengthening the program on basic ecclesial community. He also wants to take concrete steps to ensure the harmonious relationship among the dioceses under his jurisdiction.
Vergara, who obtained a doctorate degree in Sacred Theology, summa cum laude, from the Ecclesiastical Faculties in 2001, is the president of Radio Veritas Global Broadcasting System Inc. and the corporate secretary of Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center, Inc. He also served as the chancellor and vicar for clergy in the Diocese of Cubao.
Vergara says he will give up his post as the curate of the Holy Sacrifice Parish in Quezon City to concentrate on the needs of his diocese. He will be ordained a bishop on April 30. Kathleen T. Valle
