Archbishop Midyphil Billones of Jaro will temporarily take charge of the Diocese of Kabankalan after Pope Leo XIV appointed him as its apostolic administrator amid a transition in the local Church.
The appointment, contained in a letter from the Dicastery for Bishops dated August 11, was made public Friday, August 14, according to CBCP News.
Billones will serve as caretaker of the diocese until the Vatican names and installs a new bishop.
The Diocese of Kabankalan is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Jaro, which forms part of the ecclesiastical province covering Western Visayas.
The leadership change comes days after Bishop Louie Galbines was installed as the new bishop of Bacolod on Tuesday, August 11.
Galbines had previously led Kabankalan for nearly eight years before Pope Leo transferred him to Bacolod, where he succeeded retired Bishop Patricio Buzon, who served the diocese for a decade.
Billones, who previously served as an auxiliary bishop of Cebu, has headed the Archdiocese of Jaro since April 2025.
His appointment places the leadership of two dioceses within the Jaro ecclesiastical province in transition, with Kabankalan now awaiting the Vatican’s decision on its next bishop.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.