Background
Garcera was born in Magarao, Camarines Sur, to Celestino Borja Garcera and Nenita Romero Armea.
Garcera was born in Magarao, Camarines Sur, to Celestino Borja Garcera and Nenita Romero Armea.
He studied at Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City, then at Holy Rosary Major Seminary where he completed a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1983.
He was appointed to head the diocese by Pope Benedict XVI on April 4, 2007, and took office June 30, succeeding Bishop Benjamin J. Almoneda, who had reached the mandatory age for retirement. The same year, on May 29, he was ordained a priest. After his ordination, Garcera served for eight years until 1991 as an assistant parish priest at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Naga City.
He subsequently received a Master of Arts decree in religious studies from Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, in 1992, with the thesis "A Proposed Basic Catechetical Formation Program for the Deaf." In 2004, Garcera completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Organization Development (Doctor of Optometry) from the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute (SAIDI), Antipolo City.
His dissertation was entitled "An Doctor of Optometry Intervention in Evolving the Desired Organizational Culture of the Episcopal Commissions of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)."
In addition to other pastoral and diocesan assignments, Garcera was administrative director of Radio Veritas in Quezon City from 1992 to 1995, assistant secretary general of the Catholic Bishops" Conference of the Philippines from 2001 to 2003.
Since 2004, he has also held positions as National Director of the Pontifical Missionary Societies of the Philippines and as a member of the Superior Council Pontifical Missionary Societies, Rome.
