Bishop to Duterte: If you are sincere, engage with critics decently

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo. (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to prove his sincerity by engaging with critics “decently and responsibly.”

“If the President is really sincere, his government should stop using legal means, threats and foul language against his critics but engage with them responsibly,” Pabillo told INQUIRER.net in an online interview on Wednesday.

“A public official should not disdain critics but engage with them decently and responsibly,” he added.

Pabillo’s reaction came after Duterte bared a text message from Manila Archbishop Luis Cardinal Tagle, saying that Caloocan Bishop Pablo David and other priests have received death threats.

Duterte then urged the public to not harm bishops and priests, saying his fight with the Catholic Church is “personal.”

“Ang sagot ko ganito, ‘yang aming away ko sa Katoliko amin lang yan personal. Kayong mga adik, ‘wag ninyong totohanin ‘yong pukpokin yung bishop at kardinal, hindi sila kasali sa political ruckus,” the President said in his speech on Monday.

READ: About-face: Duterte now says ‘Don’t kill bishops, priests’

But Pabillio doubted Duterte’s sincerity in making such call, noting how the 73-year-old leader conducted “constant reversals” of his statements.

“With the constant reversals of the statements of the President one can no longer say what is true and what his intentions are. His sincerity is very much in doubt,” he said.

Pabillo then indicated that “he did not receive any threats so far.”

Previously, Duterte intensified his attacks against the religious leaders as if urging for their assassination.

“[I]tong mga obispo ninyo, patayin ninyo. Walang silbi iyang mga gagong iyan. All they do is criticize,” he said in a speech in December 2018. /je

READ: Another joke? Duterte says Catholic bishops useless… kill them