Duterte public apology thumbed down
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte should not heed calls by the leader of a Protestant-based Christian group to apologize for his “blasphemous” statements against God, Malacanang said on Wednesday.
“I don’t think anyone can demand anything from anyone – not because he is President, but, as he said, ‘answer if you want to answer.’ That is the form of free speech [we have in the Philippines],” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said shortly after Brother Eddie Villanueva of the Jesus is Lord Movement asked the President to issue a public apology for saying that God was “stupid.”
In a radio interview aired over dzMM, Roque said that Duterte was merely exercising his freedom of speech.
“The President has said, ‘you curse me, as long as you are a Filipino I will accept that.’ That is true, everything has been hurled unto the President and he accepted it in stride. He accepts those in part of his affirmation that freedom of speech is important. So, no one can complain that the President is subjecting just about anyone because he allows that,” Roque said.
Roque also said that the Palace was expecting a retaliation because “that is how democracy works.”
“As I said, do not be onion-skinned. And it is not good that the Catholic Church will be the only one to hurl criticism on the President, and if the President hurls criticism (unto them), they cannot accept,” Roque said.
The spokesman also said the Catholic Church was unhappy that Duterte won the presidency in 2016, which is why the criticism has “never stopped” over the past two years.
Also on Wednesday, Duterte’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte urged the public not to listen to his father interpret the Holy Bible or even the Islam’s Quoran because “he is not a priest, a pastor or an imam.”
“He is the President, listen only when he speaks about his work. And criticize him on his work not on his ‘talkkalese,’” the Davao City mayor said in a Facebook post.
“Do not waste your negative energy on his interpretation of the Bible, that is his opinion. He is protected by the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression even if he is President,” Sara said.
Over the past week, Duterte has incurred the ire of a lot of Christians in the country for his questionable statements against God.
In a speech in Davao City last Friday, Duterte called God “stupid” in the creation story in the Holy Bible in which the first woman, Eve, was tempted by a snake to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and offered it to Adam, the first man.
“Adam ate [the forbidden fruit]then malice was born. Who is this stupid God? That son of a bitch is stupid if that is the case,” Duterte said.
While his comment was received negatively, Duterte was unfazed as he affirmed his statement a few days after.
He said that while he believed in a supreme being, his God was not the same as the people’s God, since “his god was perfect” and has “perfect common sense.”
“God cast them away for being sinners. And then this theory of idiotic proportions, we are all born in this world with original sin. You created a perfect paradise. You created perfect human beings, two of them. You gave them all. But why did you have to call the snake to bring an apple to Eve and to tempt both? It would have been perfect,” Duterte said in a speech on Monday in Cagayan de Oro.
“Tell me, if it is a perfect God. I will kneel here. I will kneel down and stretch my hand and ask forgiveness. Tell me if it is a very poignant story of the history of mankind or it is really a stupid one. That is why I do not believe it. It is foolishness,” Duterte said.
On Tuesday, Roque announced that Duterte formed a committee to hold a dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups in an effort to mend the rift between him and the religious groups.
The Philippines is one of two predominantly Catholic countries in Southeast Asia, aside from East Timor. RALPH VILLANUEVA
The post Duterte public apology thumbed down appeared first on The Manila Times Online.