Bishop Broderick Pabillo arrived in Palawan on August 5, 2021, where he will begin duties as Apostlic Vicariate of Taytay, Palawan upon installation scheduled on August 19.
The good bishop was welcomed by locals at the St Joseph the Worker Cathedral, as captured by the bishop's own camera, where he vlogs about his arrival.
He has also posted about his first two days in Palawan on his Facebook page:
My first two days in Palawan
At long last I am back in Palawan, and not just for a visit but for good. This time however my arrival here is quite different from the first time that I came to Palawan back in 1999. At that time I was coming to the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa which covered the whole province of Palawan. I came then as a simple priest unknown to anyone in Palawan, except to Bishop Pedro Arigo who accepted me to work in the apostolic vicariate. (An apostolic vicariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction which is not yet a diocese, that is, a regular local church, because it cannot yet stand on its own resources. So it is considered as a mission territory by Rome. In the Philippines there are 7 apostolic vicariates at the moment.) On August 5, 2021 I come as a bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay, which was separated from Puerto Princesa in 2002.
I was eagerly awaited by the priests and the people. They had been without a bishop for almost three years when bishop Edgardo Juanich, their first bishop, resigned in November 2018 due to health reasons. I felt their joy when people lined up along the highway where their chapels are located on my way from the Puerto Princesa Airport to Taytay, which is around 200 kms up in the north. Since many cannot come to my installation as bishop of Taytay on August 19 due to covid restrictions, they went out of their way to wait, just to wave at me along the road as I passed by. Technically I am on quarantine but at the same time I cannot bear to just simply pass them by. I got off the car (wearing my mask and face shield of course) and gave them a short blessing. I got off the car more than 30 times! I saw the eagerness and the joy in their faces as they welcomed me. I promised to visit them soon, which I really intend to do. I resolve to visit as many parishes and chapels as soon as possible to meet the people and know the situation of the local church. I was also pleasantly surprised that many of those who lined the roads were young people. This is a young church, so a church with a future.
We covered the whole stretch in more than 4 hours. When we arrived in Taytay I immediately went to the cathedral, which is a very big structure but has been under construction since its ground breaking in 2004. There again some people and some priests – with proper physical distancing - welcomed me. I am impressed by the vastness of the Cathedral. After prayer and some brief greetings, I was brought to the bishop’s room adjacent to which is the office, for my 7-day quarantine.
I had a good sleep that first night. The place is very quiet. It is at the back of the Cathedral, away from the main road. Besides, there are few vehicles in Taytay. Today I have to resist my urge to explore the Cathedral, the bishop’s residence, and the cathedral compound which I am told covers 9 hectares!
From my quarantine area I can see at a distance people working in the cathedral. I am told that they are people who come from the nearby communities to do bayanihan work to prepare for the installation. Bayanihan is still being practiced in Palawan. People offer their free services for community projects for the church, for the school or for the barangay activities.
Yesterday I was surprised that a person from the PLDT of Taytay came here to upgrade my internet connection. He told me that he got orders to do this from his bosses in Manila. I am so glad that the internet connection is now assured. However, yesterday afternoon I realized a deeper problem. The electricity supply here is unreliable. Several times we had brown outs. I thought my challenge here in Taytay – a first class municipality – would be internet connectivity. This was easily solved but the bigger problem is reliable electricity supply. Of course we have our generator but interruptions do happen. If these interruptions happen in Taytay, how much more in the other smaller towns and in the islands?
I have to be patient to stay in my isolation while people work around the place. I am so grateful to them. I really wish I could be with them and thank them now. Patience! Patience! Patience!. Broderick Pabillo August 7, 2021
Bishop Pabillo is scheduled to be installed as Apostolic VIcar of Taytay, Palawan on August 19, the Feast of St Ezekiel Moreno and also the anniversary of Bishop Pabillo's consecration as bishop.
Additional text: MS
Photos, Video: Bishop Pabillo, Apostolic Vicariate
of Taytay, Northern Palawan