EWTN Asia exec named CBCP’s first lay comms officer

By CBCP News

An international media executive has been appointed the first lay communications officer of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Edwin Lopez, 65, a married layman, was named executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Communications (ECSC), a position previously held by clergy.

Lopez has been the international manager for Asia-Pacific of the Eternal Word Television Network, a global Catholic media organization, for the past 24 years, and will continue in that role alongside his CBCP appointment.

His appointment was announced during the Advent recollection of CBCP personnel and volunteers held recently in Manila.

Lopez succeeds Fr. Ildefonso “Ilde” Dimaano, a clergy of the Lipa archdiocese, who served as ECSC executive secretary since 2020.

Dimaano, director of Lipa Archdiocesan Social Communications Commission, was tapped by CBCP president Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa as his spokesperson.

As executive secretary, Lopez will work closely with Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon of Caceres, who recently assumed office as the new chair of ECSC.

Lopez is a board member of TV Maria and a professor in the philosophy and theology department of San Carlos Seminary in Makati City.

He holds postgraduate degrees in business administration, international management and development communication, and has completed doctoral units in commerce.

The executive secretary of a CBCP commission serves as its chief operating and coordinating officer, translating the bishops’ pastoral vision into concrete programs and initiatives.

In the ECSC, Lopez will oversee program implementation, coordinate communications efforts and serve as the commission’s technical and administrative officer.

Mr. Edwin Lopez, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Communications. JAY MANGUSSAD/CBCP NEWS