The 57-year-old prelate had served as the bishop of Dumaguete since 2001. In Palo, he succeeds Archbishop Jose Serofia Palma, who was moved to Cebu in 2010.
John Forrosuelo Du was born in Bantayan in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1979.
The Archdiocese of Palo has a population of 1,8 million, some 1.4 million of whom are Catholics. They are served by just 161 priests and less than 200 religious.
