‘I was just testing the limits’

MANILA, Philippines — In remarks replete with verses from the Old Testament, President Duterte yesterday declared that he believes in God as he reiterated his denial that he had called the Creator stupid.

Speaking before a gathering of vice mayors in Bohol, Duterte explained he was “just testing the limits” of people’s patience in making controversial remarks – even about matters of faith and religion.

He also stressed his Creator is a “forgiving God” and that he would not apologize to critics although he vowed to refrain from talking about his tiff with the Catholic Church.

“We have different views. We won’t understand each other. But I have this deep and abiding faith in God,” the President said.

Duterte had earlier claimed to believe in a Universal Being but not religion.

Paraphrasing verses from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament, which he claimed to read almost everyday, Duterte said, “There’s a time to be calm, there’s a time to be silent, to be poignant, a time to be subdued and a time to be vicious. Ganoon talaga ang buhay (That’s how life is).”

“And for now, I will just keep my silence for I want to see how the nation reacts. It’s like I’m shaking the tree. If you would notice me every now and then, either national or local, I’m really shaking the tree,” Duterte said.

“I said there is time to talk... shut up na ako. I just (shook) the tree,” he added.

In one of his speeches last week, Duterte sparked outrage when he questioned the creation story in the Bible and called God “stupid” for allowing temptation to ruin His work.

The President later claimed that his statement was taken out of context and that his tirade was a reaction to Sister Patricia Fox’s meddling in Philippine affairs.

The Australian nun is facing possible deportation for speaking at a rally of workers.

Some religious groups have asked him to apologize for disrespecting Christianity. But Duterte insisted he won’t apologize for his remarks.

“No, I will not do that, definitely. Not in a million years. You know, God is personal; it is not formed by textbooks,” he said. “You nurture God as your faith based on the values that you get from life, early on from your parents,” the President told reporters after his speech.

“That is how you conceived God to be. So if you use God as a transmission (of your messages to) other sectors of society, then you invite criticism. You say that in the name of God, you say that you know, it’s not allowed by God... If you use it as a transmission of messages, you are up to also be on the receiving end,” he added.

Asked to elaborate on his decision to be silent, Duterte said he was referring to his rift with the Catholic Church, to which more than 80 percent of Filipinos belong.

“I have no quarrel with the others but if they want to join the fray, it’s fine... That’s my vice, from time to time, I shake the tree of society,” he added.

Evasco joins panel

Hours before Duterte’s speech in Bohol, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. had been named the fourth member of the panel formed to dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups.

Roque said Evasco, a former priest, may have been asked to join the panel because of his familiarity with Catholic dogma.

“I was just informed very late last night that he (Evasco) will be the fourth member,” Roque said at a press briefing in Malacañang.

Evasco will join Roque, Pastor Boy Saycon and foreign affairs undersecretary Ernesto Abella in the committee ordered established by Duterte to ease tension with the Roman Catholic Church.

Evasco entered the priesthood in 1970 and was assigned in different towns in the province of Bohol. He served as mayor of Maribojoc from 2007 to 2016.

He was appointed chief of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council in 2016 after Vice President Leni Robredo resigned from her post.

Rebuff on Sara

Meanwhile, Sens. Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes IV said there could be no filter for the statements made by President Duterte because as the country’s leader, whenever he speaks, everyone listens.

Reacting to the statement made by presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio telling the public not to listen to her father whenever he talks about the Bible or the Quran, Lacson said this was good advice “but may not be applicable because her father is the President of the Republic.”

“When he talks, Filipinos listen for different reasons – some are waiting for his mistakes so they can have a field day criticizing him; others want to be informed, so they will learn and be guided by his policy statements; the rest may simply want to be entertained and make their day. In any case, we all listen,” Lacson said.

Trillanes said Duterte, as the country’s president, should be responsible for everything that comes out of his mouth.

He said that everything the President says is presumed to be true and that what he said recently about God and the Catholic Church must also be taken seriously.

Trillanes said he does not expect any apologies from the President for his statements.

He recalled how Duterte had never been contrite about cursing Pope Francis during the campaign season.

While the government had already formed a team to dialogue with religious groups, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) voiced his preference for a president-to-president dialogue.

In an interview before a meeting with Saycon, CBCP Public Affairs Committee (PAC) executive secretary Fr. Jerome Secillano said a meeting between the two presidents is “doable.”

He said, “for all we know, they might already be talking” since Duterte and Valles are known to be good friends,” referring to CBCP head Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao.

When asked if they could trust Duterte’s word since he would sometimes issue clarifications on his statements, the CBCP-PAC official said that whatever statement the Chief Executive issues, “you could make him accountable since he already issued the statement.”

He also clarified that the meeting between him and Saycon was just preliminary and not yet the dialogue between the CBCP and the panel.

In his preliminary meeting with Saycon, he said he would be raising questions and relay the concerns of the Catholic Church.

Secillano said that as much as possible, “I would want to tone down the chaos because it is the people who are affected, we would be divided as a nation.”

Meanwhile, on Carpio’s advice to critics of her father’s controversial remarks, Secillano said the President should not issue such statements to begin with if he thinks he’s no expert on religious matters.

“There should be prudence. This means that I am not an expert on this field so why should I comment. That is how it is, common sense,” Secillano added. – Evelyn Macairan, Marvin Sy