PRESIDENT Duterte’s questioning the existence of God—although hypothetical—“tries to subliminally convince us that his plans are the best for the country,” an official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.
“It implicitly justifies too his intention to govern based on his own rules and designs and not of anybody else,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP Permanent Committee on Public Affairs.
But, Secillano asked, what if there is a God?
“Would Mr. Duterte be humble enough to realize that we should play our roles based on some established designs that previously existed even before he became president?” Secillano said.
He said no one in his right mind would want to inflict injury on another.
Moral obligation
“But since it is happening, it is now the moral obligation of our leaders to strongly ensure the proper functioning of different institutions to prevent wrongs from being committed.”
“These institutions,” Secillano said, “are also duty-bound to work not merely within legal norms but with much gusto along moral norms with God as the foundation.”
On Monday, Mr. Duterte said he wanted to reimpose the death penalty to ensure that criminals paid for their sins in case God did not exist.
‘Bleeding hearts’
He said “bleeding hearts” like priests and human rights advocates claimed the death penalty did not deter crime when it was in effect for years. But, he said, the problem was that past presidents did not have the political will to use capital punishment to strike fear in the hearts of criminals.
“Every president along the way didn’t impose it only because the Catholic Church and all the bleeding hearts would say that only God could kill. But what if there is no God?” he had said.
On Tuesday, in Arayat, Pampanga, at the site of an industrial-size purported “shabu” laboratory, Mr. Duterte said, “These pastors, when they attack me they always bring up God. It’s a sin against God. I ask: Who says I believe in God? Who believes that I have no religion? That is the hard part. They use God, hell. What if I say to you now I’m an atheist? An agnostic?” With a report from Gil C. Cabacungan