Caloocan bishop blasts Duterte for calling his mother ‘whore’

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines —My mother does not deserve to be insulted and called a “whore.”

Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said this in his Facebook post on Wednesday after President Rodrigo Duterte called him a “son of a whore” during a speech in Malabon on Tuesday.

“[Duterte] called me a son of a whore for allegedly attacking him from the Church pulpit—which I have never ever done,” David said in a statement posted on Facebook.

“Our family does not expect anyone in government to give her a recognition for her immense contribution in nation-building. But we do not expect anyone either, to insult her memory and call her a whore. She does not deserve it,” David added.

The bishop said that his deceased mother, Bienvenida Siongco David, did everything to raise 13 children despite being a widow at the age of 58.

He added that his mother was able to raise one sociologist, one architect/urban planner, two lawyers, one civil engineer, one real estate broker, one banker, one medical technologist, one critical care nurse, one bishop, one nutritionist, one dentist, and one economist.

“Her efforts did not end up in vain; not a single one of her children became a liability to the country,” David said.

David said his mother also supported his father’s career as an assistant city prosecutor of Manila despite living in meager salary for resisting “corruption in his work.”

She also  received a “Gintong Ina” award in the late 80’s,  the bishop added.

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During his speech, Duterte also accused David of using religion to criticize the administration.

David, however, explained that he was only calling to end violence brought by the “war against drugs” campaign and was not seeking to attack the government itself.

“The pulpit is never for that purpose. Unless, of course, he thinks that calling for an end to violence and extrajudicial killing in my diocese is tantamount to attacking him,” David said. /jpv

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