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Elias Ayuban

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend
Elias Lumayog Ayuban Jr.
CMF DD JCD
Bishop of Cubao
Apostolic Administrator of Parañaque
Ayuban in 2025
Ayuban in 2025
Church Catholic Church
Province Manila
See Cubao
Appointed October 4, 2024
Installed December 3, 2024
Predecessor Honesto Ongtioco
Other posts Apostolic Administrator of Parañaque (2026-present)
Chairman, CBCP Episcopal Commission on Mutual Relations (2025–present)[1]
Previous posts Provincial Superior, Father Rhoel Gallardo Province of the Claretian Missionaries (2019–2024)
Co-Chairperson, Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (2022–2024)
Orders
Ordination March 9, 1996
by Crisostomo Yalung
Consecration December 3, 2024
by Jose Advincula
Personal details
Born January 1, 1968
Parang, Cotabato (present-day Maguindanao del Norte), Philippines
Residence Bishop's Residence, Cubao, Quezon City
Alma mater Saint Anthony Mary Claret College
Ateneo de Manila University
Pontifical Lateran University
Motto Misericordes sicut Pater
(Latin for 'Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful')[2]
Ordination history
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained by
Crisostomo Yalung[3]
Date
March 9, 1996
Place
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Church, Quezon City
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecrator
Jose Advincula
Co-consecrators
Honesto Ongtioco
Alberto Uy
Date
December 3, 2024
Place
Cubao Cathedral

Elias Lumayog Ayuban Jr. C.M.F. (born January 1, 1968) is a Filipino Claretian prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the second and current Bishop of Cubao, having succeeded Honesto Ongtioco in December 2024. He is the current Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Parañaque since June 2026.

Early life and education

Ayuban was born on January 1, 1968, in Barrio Landasan, Parang, which was then part of the former province of Cotabato and currently under Maguindanao del Norte.

He studied philosophy at the Saint Anthony Mary Claret College and theology at the Ateneo de Manila University, both in Quezon City.[4]

In 2003, he received a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.[5]

Ministry

Priesthood

Ayuban professed his religious vows on July 16, 1995, and was ordained a priest on March 9, 1996, in Quezon City. His first assignment from 1996 to 2000 was as parish priest of Risen Christ Church in Tungawan, then part of Zamboanga del Sur.[4][6] He subsequently held various local positions and served in the Vatican. Ayuban also held academic roles at the Institute for Consecrated Life Asia, Claret Theology House in Quezon City, and the University of Santo Tomas.[4][5]

In January 2019, Ayuban was elected provincial superior of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines, succeeding Eduardo Apungan.[7] On November 20, 2021, under his leadership, the Claretian Missionaries renamed their province after Rhoel Gallardo, a Claretian priest who was abducted, tortured, and martyred in Basilan by the Abu Sayyaf in May 2000.[8] Following his appointment as a bishop in October 2024, he was succeeded as provincial superior by Amador Tumbaga.[9]

In July 2022, he was elected co-chairperson of the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP).[10]

Episcopate

On October 4, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Ayuban as the second bishop of Diocese of Cubao, succeeding Honesto Ongtioco.[11] He is the second Filipino Claretian bishop to be appointed a bishop after Leo Dalmao of the Prelature of Isabela de Basilan. Ayuban's episcopal ordination and canonical installation took place at Cubao Cathedral on December 3, 2024, on the feast of Saint Francis Xavier.[12]

On November 21, 2025, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, appointed Ayuban to the National Tribunal of Appeals as its bishop-moderator.[13]

On June 6, 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Ayuban as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Parañaque, following the retirement of Bishop Jesse Mercado, who reached the mandatory age of retirement for bishops on his 75th birthday.[14]

Political positions

Ayuban publicly makes his positions in sociopolitical issues through editorials and social media posts.[5] He wrote a piece critical of then-President Rodrigo Duterte and his remarks of God being "stupid" in a 2018 column in La Croix International.[5][15]

He supported then-Vice President Leni Robredo's presidential campaign for the 2022 election. In response to President Bongbong Marcos' win in that race, Ayuban used the hashtag "#NeverAgain", a rallying cry opposing the dictatorship of Marcos' father, former President Ferdinand Marcos.[5] Writing for the CBCP, Ayuban also made known his position against legalizing civil divorce in the Philippines.[5][16]

In response to the testimony of 18 former members of the Philippine Marines during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on 4 June 2026, Ayuban refuted their claim that Fr. Flavie Villanueva of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) received suitcases of cash in a Church allegedly located in Mindanao Avenue. The Diocese of Cubao further clarified that there is no Church run by the SVD located at Mindanao Avenue as mentioned by the "ex-Marines"; the SVD-run Parishes are located in Kamuning (Sacred Heart Parish-Shrine), E. Rodriguez Ave. (Diocesan Shrine of Jesus the Divine Word), and Sto. Niño de Violago Quasi-Parish. He denounced disinformation as the work of the devil.[17]

References

  1. Back to citation "CBCP Chairmen of Episcopal Commissions / Committees / Offices (ECCOs)". CBCP News. July 7, 2025. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  2. Back to citation From Luke 6:36
  3. Back to citation 25th Anniversary of Priestly Ordination of Fr. Elias L. Ayuban, Jr., CMF. Timestamp at 1:38:15.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 "Resignations and Appointments, 04.10.2024". Summary of Bulletin. Holy See Press Office. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Back to citation occurrence 5.2 Back to citation occurrence 5.3 Back to citation occurrence 5.4 Back to citation occurrence 5.5 Esmaquel, Paterno II (October 6, 2024). "Who is Elias Ayuban Jr., new Catholic bishop of southern Quezon City?". Rappler. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  6. Back to citation "Who is Elias Ayuban, Cubao's second bishop? The clue lies in his name". ABS-CBN. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  7. Back to citation "New heads elected for Claretians, Redemptorists". CBCP News. January 17, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  8. Back to citation Torres, Jose, Jr. (November 22, 2021). "Claretians rename Philippine Province to honor martyred Filipino missionary priest". LiCAS.news. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  9. Back to citation "Claretians name new PH head". CBCP News. October 17, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  10. Back to citation "CMSP elects new leaders". CBCP News. July 15, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  11. Back to citation "Resignations and Appointments, 04.10.2024". Summary of Bulletin. Holy See Press Office. October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024; Patinio, Ferdinand (October 5, 2024). "Pope Francis names new bishop of Cubao diocese". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved October 6, 2024; "Cubao diocese sets ordination, installation for new bishop". Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  12. Back to citation Lagarde, Roy (December 3, 2024). "New bishop takes helm of the 'Vatican' of religious communities". Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  13. Back to citation "CBCP assigns Cubao bishop, priest to key tribunal post". CBCP News. December 15, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  14. Back to citation "Pope accepts Parañaque bishop's retirement, names administrator". CBCP News. June 6, 2026. Retrieved June 6, 2026.
  15. Back to citation Ayuban, Elias (August 20, 2018). "Standing up for God and the Church". La Croix International. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  16. Back to citation Ayuban, Elias (July 2, 2024). "Divorce: The spirit of the law". CBCP News. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  17. Back to citation "Cubao prelate refutes claim of SVD church on Mindanao Avenue". Philippine News Agency. June 5, 2026. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
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