After controversial statements from President Rodrigo Duterte regarding the God of the Christian religion, Senator Joel Villanueva called for the respect of all kinds of faith and religion.

“I stand firm that my God is real and He is alive. We pray for the President’s enlightenment. We should condemn bigotry and respect all faith and religion,” Villanueva said in a statement on Monday.

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The senator, who is the son of Bro. Eddie Villanueva, founder of the Christian church Jesus is Lord (JIL), said that he was raised with the idea of respecting the name of the Christian God.

“All my life I was taught to never put God’s name in vain as Exodus 20:7 says, ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain,’” the senator said.

“I know that many individuals were offended by the recent statement of the President. The Filipino nation is God-believing and God-honoring,” he added.

President Duterte called God “stupid” in a speech last Friday, questioning the motives of the deity in the Biblical story of the creation. He drew the ire of some of his allies and critics alike after his controversial statement which, in a predominantly Catholic and Christian country like Philippines, is a mortal sin.

READ: Lacson says he can only pray Duterte ‘would be forgiven for all his sins’

Some of the President’s closest aides, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, have defended the president, saying he is free to express his own beliefs and that it was more of a rhetorical question than a statement. /je

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