IN HIS latest attack against the Catholic Church, President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, December 5, said it would be better to kill bishops who are "useless".
"Itong mga obispo ninyo, patayin ninyo. Walang silbi 'yang mga g***** 'yan (Your bishops, kill them. Those stupid are useless). All they do is criticize," the President said in a speech delivered at Palace's Heroes Hall.
He reiterated that the Catholic faithful's God was "stupid," far different from his God who has a "lot of common sense."
"I never said I do not believe in God. What I said is your God is stupid, mine has a lot of common sense. That's what I told the bishops," he said.
"I never said I was an atheist. Well, the presidency is a God-given gift. I am sure God would not have given me the position if I was a b***s***. Mag-klaro tayo doon (Let's be clear on that)," he added.
Duterte earlier slammed Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, who has been critical of the administration's war on drugs.
David, who is also the vice president of Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, was accused by Duterte on November 22 of stealing Church donations to benefit the prelate's family.
The President then stepped up his accusation, as he alleged in a speech on November 26 that David could be involved in the illegal drugs trade.
"David, nag-dududa nga ako bakit sige ikot ka diyan nang gabi. Duda tuloy ako, p****** i**, nasa droga ka (David, I'm suspecting why you're loitering at night). I couldn't help but think you're involved in illegal drugs)," Duterte said in a November 26 speech in Davao City.
David, however, merely brushed aside Duterte's accusation, stressing that such claim against him would only come from a "sick man." (SunStar Philippines)