Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David said Wednesday all cardinals who will be participating in the conclave can be chosen by the Holy Spirit to be the next Pope, even one who is less famous, just like Pope Francis before.

David, who also serves as president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said there are no specific candidates in the papal elections, so eligible cardinals can vote for anyone to be the next head of the Roman Catholic Church.

This is also the case for Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who is one of the prospects who may succeed the late Pope Francis.

"Kahit na sino sa mga eligible na cardinal ay puwedeng puwede iboto. Madalas lang pag-usapan si Cardinal Tagle dahil very prominent siya dahil nakikita siya madalas. But in general, medyo 'yung hindi mo inaasahan, 'yun 'yung pinipili ng Espiritu Santo eh. So hindi natin alam," David said in an interview on Unang Balita.

(Anyone among the eligible cardinals can be voted for. Cardinal Tagle is often being talked about because he is very prominent as he is always visible. But in general, the Holy Spirit can choose someone who's unexpected. So we don't know yet.)

"'Yun 'yung common notion kasi ng mga prospective candidate, 'yung mga tipong popular o nakikita ganoon. Eh hindi ganyan. Si Pope Francis nga, hindi naman siya kilala eh. So parang magugulat ka nalang, 'Bakit ganon?' So ibig sabihin, talagang nagdasal at kinilatis nang mabuti ng mga cardinal electors kung sino ba ang pwedeng gumabay ngayon," he added.

(The common notion of prospective candidates are those who are popular or visible. That's not the case because even Pope Francis was not well-known before. People might just get surprised. That means the cardinal electors really prayed and carefully analyzed who could lead the Church now.)

Tagle, current Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, is often called the "Asian Francis" because of his similar commitment to social justice.

He has had decades of pastoral experience since his ordination to the priesthood in 1982. He then gained administrative experience, first as bishop of Imus and then as archbishop of Manila.

Unlike PH polls

Cardinal David also explained that the conclave is very different from the election fanfare in the Philippines. There, he said, cardinals will go on a "retreat" to choose the new pope.

"Ganoon ang eleksyon para sa Simbahang Katolika, malayong malayo sa kilala nating mga eleksyon na maingay, madaming kumakandidato, at may mga tarpaulin at mga ayuda at kung anu-ano. Walang ganyan sa halalan ng Santo Papa," the cardinal said.

(The elections in the Catholic Church are far from the elections we know in the Philippines—noisy, lots of candidates, tarpaulins being posted, and financial aid handed out. There's nothing like that in the papal election.)

"Ito ay isang retreat kasi ang mahalaga ay hindi 'yung malaman namin kung sino ang iboboto namin, kundi ang gusto ng Panginoon na piliin namin. We can only do that sa konteksto ng prayer and discernment," he continued.

(This is a retreat because what's important is not us knowing who to vote for, but who the Lord wants us to choose. We can only do that in the context of prayer and discernment.)

David is set to fly to Rome on Thursday to attend the funeral of Pope Francis and participate in the papal election. Aside from him and Tagle, another Filipino cardinal, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, is also eligible to attend the conclave.

The Vatican announced Monday the passing of Pope Francis.

Based on his certificate, which was published by the Vatican, Pope Francis died of a stroke and irreversible heart failure, and had fallen into a coma before his death.

Pope Francis, 88, recently suffered from double pneumonia, which caused him to be hospitalized for weeks.

He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was elected as successor to the late Pope Benedict XVI in 2013. — VDV, GMA Integrated News