By I. Inojales, Helen Castaño | 07:19 PM September 10, 2026
TAGBILARAN CITY —Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed Bishop Crispin “Bai” Varquez of Borongan as the eighth bishop of Tagbilaran, returning the Bohol-born prelate to the diocese where he was ordained a priest.
The Vatican announced the appointment at noon in Rome, or 6 p.m. Philippine time.
Varquez, 65, succeeds Archbishop Alberto Uy, who was appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Cebu in September 2025.
His appointment comes about four months after then bishop-elect Gerardo Saco Jr. withdrew from taking over the Diocese of Tagbilaran, just three weeks before his scheduled episcopal ordination.
Saco, who remains diocesan administrator, said in a May 5 statement that his decision followed “much prayer and careful discernment” and was prompted by a deep awareness of his “human limitations and inadequacies.”
From Bohol to Borongan
Varquez was born on Dec. 5, 1960, in Sevilla, Bohol. He studied philosophy at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Tagbilaran City and theology at St. Augustine Major Seminary in Tagaytay City.
He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Tagbilaran on April 14, 1989, at age 28.
He later pursued postgraduate studies in seminary formation in Cebu City and family counseling at the Center for Family Ministry of Ateneo de Manila University.
Varquez served as a formator at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Bohol for four years and at St. Augustine Major Seminary in Tagaytay for five years.
He later held several diocesan posts, including vicar general of Tagbilaran.
In August 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Borongan. He was ordained to the episcopate at the Tagbilaran Cathedral on Oct. 18, 2007, and installed as Bishop of Borongan on Nov. 8 of the same year.
He has led the Diocese of Borongan for nearly two decades.
Varquez will now return to the Diocese of Tagbilaran, which was established in 1941, as its eighth bishop.
One of his predecessors in Borongan was retired Bishop Leonardo Medroso, whom Varquez succeeded as bishop of the Eastern Samar diocese.
CBCP leadership
Within the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Varquez served two consecutive terms on its Permanent Council from 2013 to 2017.
He also chaired the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Women for three terms from 2019 to 2025.
He currently serves as vice chairman of the CBCP Committee on Bishops’ Concerns and as a member of the Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace.
Varquez’s appointment ends the vacancy in the Diocese of Tagbilaran and marks his return to the local Church where his priestly ministry began.
