Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and CBCP President Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles. File

MANILA- Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. slammed Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles on Friday, calling him a "moron" after the latter called for prayers for Vice President Leni Robredo.

Locsin, in a tweet, lambasted Valles as a "disgrace" to Catholicism and told the prelate that he should be grateful to President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Say Thank You to the President you moron in a white Mu-Mu. Without him, she'd be stuck with her retarded retinue and ecclesiastical idiots like you," said Locsin, who was never shy to speak his mind on social media.

"How did you pass theology? You're a disgrace to what is supposed to be the world's most intellectual religion," he added.

Valles had sought prayers for Robredo following her recent appointment as co-chair of the country's anti-drug panel. The Vice President has vowed to shift focus of the campaign to prevent unnecessary killings, the main point of criticism against Duterte's drug war.

While Valles did not respond to Locsin's criticism, his fellow prelate Caloocan Bishop Pablo David defended the CBCP president online.

David, in a Facebook post, said the Davao archbishop passed theology "with flying colors."

Valles, according to David, finished his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, and Theology degrees from the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary in Davao City in 1972 and 1976 respectively.

He also reminded Locsin that Valles was a professor of theology in several schools before becoming an archbishop.

"I can only wonder what it was in what the archbishop had said in his request for prayers for VP Leni that deserved such vitriolic and patently undiplomatic remarks from our country’s top diplomat?" David said.

