BISHOP Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos advised the public not to take President Rodrigo Duterte's tirades against the Catholic Church seriously.
He stressed, though, that he does not agree with Duterte's behavior, saying the President does not represent a good example, especially to the youth.
"If the President would ask me, I would not encourage him to continue doing that," Alminaza said.
The bishop, in a press conference on Thursday, January 17, said they are getting used to Duterte's criticisms against them and that the President's spokesperson had already stated time and time again that it was just a joke.
"Even with those claimed by Duterte on the book 'The Altar of Secrets.' We have long been asking for forgiveness, we do not deny it, but there are some things that are not exactly correct," the bishop said.
Alminaza, however, stressed that even though they do not agree with Duterte's policies, especially on matters regarding extrajudicial killings, they still cooperate with the administration's efforts against illegal drugs.
He said the Diocese of San Carlos helps the local government unit in offering community-based drug rehabilitation programs, and even lauded Duterte for the reduced time in processing government papers and the immediate actions on complaints forwarded on the “8888” hotline or the citizen's complaint hotline, which tackles poor government service deliveries, and corrupt practices in all government agencies.
"That is what we have been trying to search before," Alminaza said.
Alminaza also does not believe that Duterte's tirades affected the Catholic faithful in some way that they would be pushed to leave the church for another religious denomination.