Antonio Tobias

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Antonio Realubin Tobias (born June 13, 1941) is a Filipino Catholic bishop who served as the second Bishop of Novaliches from 2003 to 2019.

He was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, and studied at Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary and San Carlos Seminary, earning philosophy and theology degrees. He later earned a licentiate in canon law, magna cum laude, from the University of Santo Tomas in 1968.

Tobias was ordained a priest on December 21, 1965, by Cardinal Rufino Santos at Manila Cathedral. He served as an assistant priest in Pasay (1966–1970), worked with the Metropolitan Matrimonial Tribunal, and was a seminary formator in Makati (1970–1982).

In 1982, Pope John Paul II named him Auxiliary Bishop of Zamboanga; he was ordained bishop on January 25, 1983. He was then appointed Bishop of Pagadian in 1984 and later Bishop of San Fernando in La Union in 1993.

After a scandal involving the first bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Novaliches, Tobias was appointed apostolic administrator sede plena on June 21, 2003. He was officially appointed Bishop of Novaliches on November 25, 2003, and was installed on January 26, 2004.

In 2016, his diocese opened a drug rehabilitation center in response to the government’s drug war. Pope Francis accepted his retirement on June 6, 2019, and Roberto Gaa succeeded him, with Tobias serving as apostolic administrator until Gaa’s installation on August 24, 2019.

In 2005, Tobias apologized to former President Joseph Estrada for the Catholic Church’s role in the events leading to Estrada’s ouster; the apology reflected his personal view, not the Church’s official stance. In 2007, he helped lead a prayer rally at Plaza Miranda calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.