Duterte to be blamed for death threats on Caloocan bishop — Hontiveros

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte should be blamed for the death threats received by clergymen including the threats on Caloocan Bishop Pablo David, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday.

David has revealed that he has been receiving death threats following the verbal attacks against him by the President.

READ: Bishop confirms death threats

Hontiveros expressed her “strong outrage over the death threats” and condemned “the climate of violence that continues to grip our country.”

Duterte has repeatedly slammed David who has been critical of the administration’s war on drugs and brutal anti-crime campaign.

“These threats are a direct result of the same threats that President Rodrigo Duterte himself made against Bishop Ambo last year. They are also the consequences of the violent verbal attacks of the President on the Catholic Church and its religious leaders in light of its strong critique of the present administration’s bloody and abusive war on drugs,” Hontiveros said.

The senator said the threats received by David and members of the Catholic clergy “further assert the culture of impunity to try to silence valid Church-led criticisms of state policies, particularly those with implications on human rights and due process.”

“Not even President Duterte’s sudden turnaround will absolve him of his role in this matter. This is what happens when you have a leader who encourages violence through his words,” she said.

“But I know Bishop Ambo will not lose his resolve to tend to the faithful and do his duty to the Church and the greater cause of peace. I stand with him, both in solidarity and in calling for an end to this madness,” she added. /muf