Members of the Opposition found yet another reason to feel outraged over President Rodrigo Duterte’s latest statements. I don’t know why until now the Opposition still reacts with indignation because Duterte is quite predictable. Yes, he often says things that our mothers wouldn’t approve of, but we should all be used to it by now considering he never held his tongue even when he was still campaigning – a time when candidates should be sweet-talking the voters. He said what was in his mind then, he’s still saying what’s in his mind now.
Duterte’s remarks, which are often misconstrued by members of the media, become outrage fads for days or even weeks especially on social media. International media also pick up on what he says and these are considered worthy news for an international audience. It seems both locals and foreigners alike think what he says is worth analysing. That says a lot about the command he is getting not just from Filipinos, but from people all over the world. Like him or not, people are paying attention to him.
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Whether people think he is right or wrong, Duterte has a right to express his opinion just like everybody else. No one has a monopoly on being right. As long as he has not turned his statements into policy, people need to take his words with a grain of salt.
The good thing about Duterte’s outspokenness is that Filipinos are now forced to question long-held beliefs that have contributed to the country’s backwardness. Take his remarks about the story of Creation from the Old Testament. Some in mainstream media made it look like he called God “stupid” but, in fact, he called the story about God supposedly creating man because he was bored and them tempting man to sin “stupid”. Of course the religious zealots and even those who aren’t even religious but don’t like Duterte weren’t happy. A Christian church leader is demanding the President apologise. Recent announcement from the Palace says Duterte will not oblige.
Let’s face it, a lot of us swallowed Sunday bible stories hook, line and sinker when we were kids, but secretly questioned it as adults. Duterte just vocalised what was in our minds. His statement wasn’t a sign that he is suffering from dementia like some of his critics were saying. It’s actually a sign he is using his reasoning. And there are people who appreciate him for this. It’s about time we apply logic and reason to the conversation. People shouldn’t believe everything preachers say during mass. They are humans too and can be prone to using exaggeration to make a point.
Some of Duterte’s supporters also agree with his critics and said they wish he wouldn’t be too disrespectful of other people’s beliefs. However, there are members of the public who appreciate a leader who speaks his mind rather than hides his real agenda. We all remember the pious image former President BS Aquino tried to project and his slogan “straight path”. The voters ended up hating him after realising he was hiding something sinister behind the Good Guy veneer he projected to the public. Duterte won’t have that problem. He is not worried about his image at all.
Duterte’s opponents aren’t very smart because they still can’t figure him out. The President still keeps them guessing. Frankly, the Opposition has become predictable and boring. It’s become obvious that sometimes, they just want to make a big deal of things even when there’s nothing to be offended about. They have to change their tactics if they want to win the public relations war. While Duterte is just being himself, his opponents try so hard to be the exact opposite, which makes them look like hypocrites. The public doesn’t buy the fact that they show anger over Duterte’s silly remarks but are quiet about corruption involving billions of tax funds during BS Aquino’s term with some details only getting exposed now.
Inquirer columnist John Nery said that Duterte is attacking the Church to undermine it because it is a threat to him. I think his statement is an admission that the Church in the Philippines is too powerful and there are politicians who are afraid of the institution. It’s a good thing Duterte is not. It’s time to put the people who run the Church in their place. For decades, the clergymen had sitting Presidents by the balls. It all started in 1986 when the then Archbishop of Manila successfully rallied the people to support a coup d’état initiated by former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and former President Fidel Ramos who decided to turn their backs on the late former President Ferdinand Marcos. But due to people power fatigue, any calls for people power by the members of the Catholic Church will now probably fail. Only a handful of people would likely turn up.
Indeed, the clergymen particularly from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) have abused their privilege and kept meddling in politics when they shouldn’t be. While they still exert influence on their flock, a lot of members of the public are now calling them out on their continued interference in government policies. The time has come for the Church and all other religious groups to end their influence on politicians. Duterte is the first President to challenge them and hopefully, his actions will result in a society free from the clutches of religious dogma. That is a legacy worth advocating for.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
The CBCP is quite in fact an extension of the Vatican Empire. The Dark Ages is still here, NWO is real. Notice how UK leaders, US Presidents kowtow to the Pope? Duterte knows this and the Philippines is fortunate to have a leader like him. People of the Philippines need to wake up from all that centuries of brainwashing.
the bible is written base from an ancient mythology ‘the Mother and Son’ and it is written in full hallucinations. why did the jews thumbs down for jesus and king herod accepted it? and why now the vatican using jesus as god to blind the people? there’s no other god than the ‘Sun’ who created all living things on earth.
To get rid of FINANCIAL and EMOTIONAL poverty and “backbonelessness”, easily and emotionally influenced by the powerful Philippine Roman Catholic Church, Filipinos need to think for themselves and not being controlled and manipulated emotionally by the Philippine Church. It’s about time for Filipinos to divorce themselves from such powerful influence. Unless this is done, Filipinos will always be poor in spirit (perhaps “rich” in religiosity through fanaticism), poor financially and poor in their mindset. All this lead to backwardness.
We all know that Diggong Duterte is brutally frank. He speaks out what is in his mind. He is like U.S. President Donald Trump. Whatever it is, we have a President for the first time , who is not beholden to the powerful Roman Catholic Church. Cory Aquino and Pnoy Aquino, were beholden to the Roman Catholic Church. The Aquinos kowtowed and kissed the rears of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.
This makes the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church angry. They cannot control Diggong Duterte. Neither, they can control his Big Mouth.
If you take seriously what is written in the Christian Bible; you will be confused. If religions “humanize” God, or any of their gods; the more their followers are confused. In the Book of Revelation, in the New Testament of the Christian Bible; you can read it. It is written in allegory or riddles. There are many unknown animals, devils , beasts , etc..featured. There is even a Harlot, like Kris Aquino, riding on a beast, arrayed with precious stones and jewelries. So, we can say: “Why does the Christian God want to confuse his own people?”.
Diggong Duterte is not surely God, but he confuses people, also and his political opponents to the point of them being totally angry with him. Surely, the Church leaders are angry at him, because he meddled with their beliefs , and they cannot control what he says…
In Atheism, it is by reason and logic, that Atheist practice their belief. My friend here in this Web site : Mr. Robert Haighton , is well versed in Atheism. I hope anybody will come out also, who is well versed in Agnosticism. There are Rizalistas, in our country, who believe that Dr. Jose Rizal, is God the Father.
We would like to discuss all kinds of beliefs and religions. Whatever your belief or religion can be known in this GRP website. Maybe, this will be a chance to proselytize your religious beliefs, or any kind of belief… You don’t have to go knocking on people’s door. Some readers maybe interested in your religion or belief.
Dear Hyden,
I think I can and will speak on behalf of all atheists globally and worldwide: atheism is not a belief, nor a religion. It is a way of living. It is based on logic, reason and being practical. It goes even so far that today I can be against abortion and tomorrow I am in favour of abortion. How? Well if the medical professionals find out that abortion may lead to – I dont know – insanity then I can imagine that I am against abortion. Oh and pls dont get me wrong. Being against abortion does NOT mean that the entire world must make it illegal. I still understand that for other people abortion is still a way to solve a problem. So being against abortion is only limited to my personal and my private life.
Pinoy Citizen mentions a Facebook account “Filipino Freethinkers”. Well that sort of ‘clubs’ are non-existent in my country (as far as I know).
BTW: Pls try to find out when the pope visited my country for the last time and try to find if that was a huge success in terms of turn out of people in public spaces trying to grasp/find a glimpse of him. Obviously, he will not set foot again in my country in any near future.
@Robert Haighton:
We appreciate in informing us about Atheism. People think that Atheist are Devil Worshipers.
The Roman Catholic Church in our country is fully politicized. It meddles in government affairs. This is the reason, we are educating people on religions and beliefs.
Hyden,
“People think that atheist are devil worshippers.”
That is probably because most (or all) atheists are pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia (to mention just a few issues).
Most Catholics have the ‘opinion’ that god decides about death (and when you will meet him) and about life.
“This is the reason, we are educating people on religions and beliefs.”
Why? Why not educate them in academics and getting skilled in a profession? Educate me on religion and beliefs does NOT pay the bills. So its not very practical.
If I were to speak in behalf of the Roman Catholic Church, I wouldn’t take the statement of Duterte seriously since I know he is known to be hypocrite, erratic and inconsistent of his words and actions many times in his position towards Catholic Church. And I think he just wants to have public fun and attention and, more importanlty, this is his version of diversionary tactics to sway the attention of Filipino people from the more pressing issues the Philippines is in right now like inflation rate, peso value depreciation, stock market decline and many more. He has no moral ascendancy to criticize, really. A lot of Duterte’s supporters like the author of this article are happy but let us see…Wasn’t this president who declared January as “national bible month” and part of his statements he is giving importance to the faith of the majority of the Filipino people and the importance of Bible in ther lives? Wasn’t this president who came and knelt in front of Jesus inside the Catholic Church many times? These are just two of indications that contradicts his “Stupid” Catholic belief remarks and a high level of hypocricy to himself. Sorry Ilda, but your president isn’t that sure of himself.
@Pnoy Citizen:
I don’t think that the “sky is falling” in the Philippines, because of Diggong Duterte. The Philippines was in worse situation during the Aquino era. Widespread corruption and blatant incompetence.
Yet, those cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns…and other presumed religious leaders, never voiced a whimper. Where were these people, when Pnoy Aquino and that corrupt Abad, were stealing from the DAP and PDAF ? Where were those cardinals, when Mar Roxas stole the Typhoon Yolanda Fund ? Those Typhoon Yolanda victims were staying in cemeteries, and that thief, Mar Roxas did not care. So, were the Roman Catholic Church. Did cardinals complained about the cheating in the 2016 election ? Did they complain about, that crook, Andres Bautista has multiple bank accounts ?
Hypocrisy was worse during the Aquino era. Cory Aquino was kneeling infront of altars; while she ordered the massacre of her Hacienda Luisita tenants. Pnoy Aquino had no empathy on those murdered SAF police. Kris Aquino, the harlot in their family, used PAF helicopters as her transportation. She is not even a government employee.
It is the bias and hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church, cardinals, bishops, priests and nuns, that I am concerned. Not the “brutally frank” , Diggong Duterte. Let Durterte’s Big Mouth boom all over the Philippines … We are all listening !
Hyden,
You are out of topic, out of tune. Take your hate against Aquinos in other articles that are related. We are not talking about them here, we are talking about Duterte and his statements.
@Pinoy Citizen:
The Aquinos use the Roman Catholic Church in their quest for political power. The Roman Catholic cardinals, bishops, priests , nuns, etc…let themselves be used by the Aquinos to gain power, and to hold on their Hacienda Luisita.
The Roman Catholic Cardinal Sin, was a tool of the Aquinos in the 1986 EDSA coup d’ etat. Now, this “politicized church ” is again active in trying to oust the duly elected , Pres. Duterte, and put the 3 times Bar exam flunker, Leni Robredo, as President.
The Aquinos are behind the Roman Catholic Church political activities. If the Aquinos refrain from these activities; and the Roman Catholic Church cardinals, bishops, priests , nuns, etc…are not willing tools. They would be left alone.
Hyden,
Instead of wallowing in the past events, why not looking at the news now. Since you are a fan of taking shots at PCOS alleged cheating with COMELEC’s corroboration. What can you say about Duterte’s presidency is now in question? The SC did not dismiss the petition of Atty. Pamatong alleging Duterte’s candidacy for presidency as questionable since it is not allowed by the law.
If the former comelec commissioner Bautista was a puppet of liberal party, why then he approved the Certificate of Candidacy of Duterte? Now the supreme court is asking Malacanang side to comment. The SC thinks the petition/complaint of Atty. Pamatong against Duterte has a merit.
Merit my ass. I don’t know if Pamatong’s quo warranto petition against Duterter will prosper because his COC was defective-having been filed in substitution of a candidate for Pasay City Mayor! Oh, and other shenanigans like this:
https://www.facebook.com/173904336579952/videos/194657864504599/?hc_ref=ARRgtNCvQ5UC3dgEoz26YhVBatr3ll6JNXJtM_5kBBMdGW2OByMxBAKdPZ9Owf_HJRM
There ya go.
@PinoyCitizen: It worked though. He got the Yellowtards all riled up and the Catholic Church on defensive mode. The statements had so far caused a media circus and had put the country’s foremost “atheist” communities on the spot on account of their current position of being critical of Duterte.
These “atheists” are now unable to take advantage of this opportunity of a lifetime to sustain a consistent bombardment of the Roman Catholic Church and are, instead, treading carefully to the detriment of their credibility.
Democracy and press freedom. They work for those who know how these really work.
Benigno,
I know the trick of Duterte somehow works for some of the religious people, that’s why what I’m saying in my above comment is that if I were in their position, I wouldn’t take the bait set by Duterte. There are more important national issues that Filipino people have to focus on nowadays rather that this. I think this is diversion by Duterte. Good thing Cardinal Tagle reminded his flocks to focus on economic issues.
And I think some Christians forgot how inconsistent Duterte is with his words and actions. As I have already mentioned above, Duterte declared “National Bible Month” every January, which gives importance/value to the faith of the Christian people and their Bible as their guidance of Spirituality. Duterte, in the past, was found entering the Catholic Church and kneeling in front of Jesus Christ. He also said he is against divorce. And now his puppet Solicitor General is against same-sex marriage too. So, really, Duterte is contradicting himself. It would be interesting if he will insult Allah and Muhammad also. Let’s see if he has the balls to do that. Muslims would surely be his mortal enemies. Unlike Muslims, Duterte knows how forgiving Christians are. So he chose whose God he has to insult to.
Not like you, atheist like Filipino Freethinkers are quite objective in their beliefs. They would be either or against Duterte depending on the latter’s position of every issue.
Filipino Freethinkers don’t seem as free or as objective as they’d want to be, as I’ve seen in the Facebook group. A lot of SJWs and opposers for opposing’s sake only.
Pinoy Citizen:
The Muslim Filipinos are not trying to oust Diggong Duterte, and replace him with that three time Bar Exam Flunker, Leni Robredo. There was a rebellion in Marawi City. However, the rebels were defeated.
A far cry from Pnoy Aquino’s performance on the SAF Police, that were mercilessly murdered, because Aquino abandoned them, and let them be butchered. Same way that he hid, when the Chinese tourists were mercilessly murdered by an insane Police in Luneta Park.
Diggong Duterte has the balls to fight, if he needs to fight. The Marawi seige had proven that he has the guts to do it.
@PinoyCitizen, think again. I wrote about Red Tani and his Filipino Freethinkers just a few hours ago here. I highlighted how…
Too bad. They dropped the ball on the opportunity of a lifetime.
Benigno,
Ah, so i’m right then that Freethinkers is what you meant by “foremost atheist communities”. I don’t follow nor stalk this guy because I am not into atheism, but since you have mentioned him and you visited his fb account, I also visited the same. I thought you have done a good job but only to the disappointment.
I have read in his fb account his personal views and I won’t quote exactly but he said he still condemned both Roman Catholic Church and Duterte which is understanble of him as an atheist. He doesn’t pick sides. He remains to be objective in his views that he doesn’t like both the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and Duterte. For RCC, he cited for lack of support of LGBT and Women’s rights and alleged share of massacres in history and unscientific nonsense according to him, while, the latter, he cited that he is not a humanist nor a freethinker, by allegedly killing thousands of Filipinos in the last 2 years. So why pick one? Why not condemn both? That’s according to him.
in the philippines, the ‘good’ was once defeated by ‘evil’ but now it’s the other way around.
Faithful Filipinos have been waiting for that “good life” the the Church has promised since the Spaniards. Philippines is still a 3rd world country and many of these faithful are still poor and abused. Here’s Duterte who is working on giving them a better society, better government services, better protection from abusive employers at home and abroad, is being attacked by the Church. Duterte’s tirade against the Church simply showed the faithful that nothing catastrophic will happen if you criticize the Church. He is simply waking these faithful up from their day dream to deal with the real world, now.
@Pnoy Citizen:
All those who cheated in the 2016 election SMARTMATIC HOCUS PCOS must be punished. The crook, Andres Bautista, with multiple bank accounts must be punished. The Fake Vice President, Leni Robredo, must be removed from office. She is a puppet of the Aquinos.
Pnoy Aquino, who murdered children with Dengvaxia vaccines, must be punished. Whatever question on Duterte’s candidacy is the work of the Supreme Court.
There were overwhelming incompetence, murders and corruption, done by Pnoy Aquino during his term. We just don’t forget them. He must be punished. This is the reason the Roman Catholic cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns, …etc…are trying to divert the issue on Duterte. The Catholic Church is a tool of the Aquinos.
Hyden,
Crazy. Very easy for you to say those things against liberal party at your own convenience because you don’t need evidence to prove them before the court of law. If you are a co-conspirator/propagandist of RJ Nieto of Thinking Pinoy who wrote fake news against Trillanes and you write something like this without correct evidence to support your arguments, you might be indicted by the court of law for libelous remarks just like Nieto.
@Pinoy Citizen:
Truth hurts, but it is the truth. I don’t need evidences. I don’t need to go to any Court of Law.
This GRP Web Blog is our “Court of Law”. The Web blog readers are the Judges/Juries. Thinking Pinoy aka R,.J. Nieto, who wrote about that Trililing Trillanes, is on his own . I don’t mind him. I don’t even know him. He does not know me…
Let them indict me to any Court of Law. I am waiting for those idiots/rascals to indict me to any Court of Law. What I write are the Truth. A very clear and not corrupted Truth. I don’t have any hidden agendas to write the Truth…I am not paid by anybody to write the Truth…I have no political patron to support me, to write the Truth…I just want to inform my fellow Filipinos…Ask our readers, who are our Judges and Juries, whom they believe: You or me …
Crazier that if you think writing blogs and journalism are the same, which is not. You you didn’t provide any proof about RJ Nieto’s views and opinions ARE news. And when did opinions became news anyway? Are you saying this because you’re trying to shut people down for raising their opinion?
Some say the President could have been less offensive in criticizing the Church. Do we think the message will get through this generation if it’s “decently” packaged? The Pres. has even said that politics now is showbiz form. So what is it that certain “analysts” still don’t get? Is it an unnecessary distraction from more important matters? We usually say that culture is at the root of many problems… Well, if some of us cared enough to find out, the seeming “outbursts” of the Philippine President is drawing from a deep context. Look around.
will the cbcp president tell the people who really the god they’ve been telling the pilipinos once he meet the president for a dialog?
Ilda
I just accessed the 25-page speech Duterte delivered in Davao during the ICT Summit 22 June 2018.
The question, “Who is this stupid God?” — which appears in the second paragraph of page 18 — is apparently rhetorical, since four paragraphs later (at par. 6) Duterte again uses “stupid”:
“Eh ‘yan ang hindi ko matanggap. Very stupid proposition. Anong kasalanan? Original sin, tapos i-baptize ka. Basain pa ‘yang ulo mo ng tubig. Maniwala ka niyang pari na ‘yan.”
But only a very short portion of Duterte’s speech was devoted to that “very stupid proposition” by a “stupid God” on “original sin.”
In fact, Duterte already replied to his “rhetorical question” on “original sin” a page earlier, at page 17, 3rd paragraph:
“Pero sige lang. Eh may Diyos naman. God, at the end of this, will even things amongst us.”
Duterte even reasserts his firm belief in his “God” at page 18, par. 7:
“Ako, I believe that is a universal mind. But to what extent is the influence of that… You know, I cannot picture Him as a human being in the image of God.’
Surprisingly, the line in Dutere’s cited phrase above — “a human being in the image of God” — echoes the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) in par. 1701, Article “Image of God” in Part Three:
“1701 … It is in Christ, ‘the image of the invisible God,’ that man has been created ‘in the image and likeness’ of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original.”
Incidentally, there is CCC 389 which may provide the Catholic reply to the rhetorical “stupid proposition” Duterte posed concerning the original “first sin” imposed by a “stupid God”:
”389. The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak, the ‘reverse side’ of the Good News that Jesus is the Savior of all men, that all need salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. The Church, which has the mind of Christ, knows very well that we cannot tamper with the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of Christ.”
In fine, the Catholic reply to Duterte’s rhetorical question to its “stupid God” is:
“Adam’s sin earned us a Redeemer from sin and death.”
Been away for quite some time now. Hope this is the kind of discussion of “ideas” your title refers to.
is this Adam human or a piece of ink?
This seems to be the brainless modus operandi of the Opposition today — take the sound bytes, isolate them from their context, and then kick up an outrage fad around them.
That’s not real Opposition, that’s just lazy activism.
I read through most of it, up to that point with “stupid God.” I believe it starts with “and God doubted his creation.” I don’t remember that being taught to me, and I never believed that, but Duterte implies that a priest-teacher taught him that God doubted his creation, and so tested them with the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We know what happened. What Duterte says is that this God who doubts his creation and then makes them fall through a test is a stupid God. But he’s actually implying that the priests taught him a stupid thing, and thus the priests are nasty for doing so. It also hints that Duterte generally believes in protestant ideas now, and he read a book about the “Dark Side of Catholicism,” so he seems to have that “newly-converted zeal” to attack the Catholic church because of it. I would know, because I felt the same thing the first time I embraced protestantism, although as one grows older, I decided there were better things to do than attacking the Catholic church.
salagintong bukid
I believe that this guy, Adam, is “human”; although I never saw him personally. But this guy is just one of the many individuals I believe who existed as a “human” that I haven’t personally met.
I can readily name my forebears that I never saw or met but got to know about during the time I constructed our “family tree” years back.
But so long as there is no compulsion or any form of bodily threat to force me to believe that this guy Adam is “human,” no problem.
Mind you, the Bill of Rights in Art. III of the 1987 Constitution guarantees “the free exercise and enjoyment” of my form of religious “worship without discrimination or preference,” to wit:
“Section 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed.”
You can go ahead with your “piece of ink” belief, you’re entitled to it, so long as you don’t compel me to believe your proposition.
Always try to see yourself from the window of other cultures; only then you may begin questioning your own culture! And the road to freedom always starts with sincere questioning!