ARCHBISHOP Romulo Valles, who took an indefinite hiatus as Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president, is now recovering after being hospitalized due to mild stroke, an official from the Archdiocese of Davao said.
"As a close aide of the archbishop, I am happy to let you know that he is getting back to his normal self in an almost miraculous way, with only a slight problem of his physical movement which is also showing great improvement," Monsignor Paul Cuison, vice general of the Archdiocese of Davao, said in an official statement posted on the Davao Catholic Herald, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese.
The Archdiocese issued a statement after Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David announced on Friday, July 17, 2020, that he will temporarily serve as CBCP president, in lieu of Valles, who personally requested him to take over his position while he is recovering. David is the current CBCP vice president.
Cuison, meanwhile, gave details on the timeline of the Archbishop's hospitalization.
He said Valles was admitted on the evening of May 23 and was discharged on July 6.
"The prolonged days in the hospital were due to some complications like hospital-acquired pneumonia. But he has long been declared by his physicians as stable," Cuison said, adding Valles was already discharged from the hospital and is currently recuperating at the Bishop Residence.
Cuison said about noontime Friday, he received a text message from an unnamed friend in Manila, who was asking the Archbishop's health condition after news surfaced on his health condition.
"Since then, social media is flooded with prayers for healing and expressions of support from all over," Cuison said, saying it is "heartwarming" to receive messages of concern and prayer for the local religious leader.
Meanwhile, he said the public has nothing to worry as Valles is already recovering and will be back to celebrate public masses soon.
Valles was first elected as CBCP president on July 8, 2017, succeeding Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas and assumed the post on December 1, 2017.
Both Valles and David were re-elected to their posts during the CBCP Plenary Assembly in July 2019.
They started their second term as president and vice president of the CBCP, respectively, on December 1, 2019. They will serve from December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2021.
Valles recently celebrated his 69th birthday last July 10.