President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo courtesy of RTVM)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque announced Tuesday (June 26) that President Rodrigo Duterte has formed a three-man committee to negotiate with the Roman Catholic Church and other religious groups following Duterte’s ill remarks against the Catholic faith.
Joining Roque into the team are Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella and political strategist-civic leader, Boy Saycon.
Roque said the team is the President’s response to a call for a dialogue by the Catholic leaders. He added that the President, for his part, also feels the need to open talks with the group, hence he (Duterte) accepted the invitation.
As to the details of the dialogue, Roque said it is mainly to settle the ongoing rift between the administration and specifically the Catholic church.
“Siguro po ang tema ng pag-uusap ay paano mababawasan ang hidwaan sa pagitan ng gobyerno at ng simbahan. Alam ko may separation of church and state. Di po kinakailangang makipagdayalogo pero minabuti na po ng presidente…so hayaan na po natin na ang agenda ay madefine ng mga taga simbahan at gobyerno as the dialogue proceeds,” explained Roque.
(The agenda of the discussion is probably how to minimize the disagreement between the church and the government. I know there is a separation of church and state. There is no need for a dialogue, but the President decided to have one anyway…let’s leave it to the church and government to define the agenda as the dialogue proceeds.)
On Monday, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David addressed his comment to the President saying, not believing in the Catholic doctrine is not a license to insult its faith. David appealed to Duterte to respect the Catholics in the same way that they respect his presidency.
“Ang hindi pagsang-ayon ay hindi lisensya para mang-insulto. Iginagalang ng mga Katoliko ang tungkulin ng Pangulo, at ang mandato niya bilang pangulo. Sana igalang din niya ang mga Katoliko kahit hindi siya sumang-ayon sa doktrina ng Katoliko,” David said in a statement.
(Opposition is not a license to insult someone. Catholics respect the duties of the President and the mandate of his position. I hope he will also respect the Catholics even though he doesn’t believe in the Catholic doctrine.)
In defense of the President, Roque said he understands where the President is coming from. He added that the Catholic church has been very critical of the administration since Duterte’s day one in office.
“Pansinin nyo naman po ang talagang birada ng President; ngayon lang iyan halos dalawang taon matapos siyang manungkulan. Sa loob ng dalawang taon, halos walang tigil din ang puna sa kaniya ng simbahan. So tao rin naman ang president; of course, it’s a two-way street,” defended Roque.
(Listen to what the President is really trying to say. It’s only now after almost 2 years in office. Within those two years, the Catholic church has been relentless in their criticism of Duterte. The President is also human, of course it’s a two-way street.) – Marje Pelayo
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