Antonio L. Mabutas


Archbishop Antonio Lloren Mabutas † was the first bishop of Diocese of Laoag and the second Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Davao. He succeeded Clovis Thibault, PME on 9 December 1972. He was also the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines from 1981 to 1985.

Early years

Born in Agoo, La Union, he was ordained as priest on 6 April 1946 at the young age of 24. On 5 June 1961 he was appointed as bishop of Laoag and was ordained a month after.

Archbishop of Davao

Before becoming as Archbishop of Davao, the then Most Rev. Antonio Ll. Mabutas was appointed as coadjutor archbishop of Davao with Most Rev. Clovis Thibault, PME, JCL, DD as its first Archbishop during the time the Diocese of Davao was erected into an Archdiocese. Before becoming the Archbishop of Davao he served as titular archbishop of Valeria on 25 July 1970. He succeeded as the archbishop of Davao on 9 December 1972. He retired as archbishop of Davao on 6 November 1996.
He died at the age of 79 where he served as a priest for 53 years and a bishop for 37 years.
The pastoral letter he wrote against Martial law, “Reign of Terror in the Countryside,” citing human rights abuses and killings of church workers, is notable for having been the first pastoral to be written against Marcos' martial law administration.