
Auxiliary Bishop Midyphil Billones of Cebu has been named the new archbishop of Jaro, returning to the archdiocese where he was ordained priest 29 years ago.
Pope Francis appointed Billones, 55, to lead the archdiocese in Iloilo province on Sunday, coinciding with the Solemnity of Our Lady of Candles, the patroness of Jaro and Western Visayas.
The archbishop-designate presided over a Mass earlier in the day at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral to mark the feast.
He succeeds now-retired Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo, who served the archdiocese for nearly seven years. The pope accepted Lazo’s resignation at age 76, exceeding the mandatory retirement age of 75.
Billones’ appointment follows the installation of former Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Ruben Labajo as bishop of the newly established Diocese of Prosperidad in Agusan del Sur, just five days earlier.
With Billones’ appointment, Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, who turns 75 in March, will be left without an assistant bishop.
As the 14th archbishop of Jaro, he will oversee the archdiocese, which covers Iloilo province and city, as well as Guimaras.
Born in Panay, a coastal town in the neighboring province of Capiz, he studied his Philosophy at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City and Theology at Loyola School of Theology in Quezon City, where he also earned a master’s degree in Theology.
He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Jaro on Oct. 2, 1995.
Billones served the archdiocese in various capacities, including as personal secretary to Archbishop Alberto Piamonte and his successor, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
In 2011, he earned a Doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Billones was serving as rector of St. Joseph Regional Seminary of Jaro when Pope Francis appointed him auxiliary bishop of Cebu in July 2019. He was ordained to episcopate on Aug. 27, 2019, at the Jaro Cathedral.