Does this really still surprise anyone? Forget about separation of Church and State, this involves God himself.
On Mon, Sep 26, President Rodrigo Duterte delivered a speech at the oath-taking ceremony of Malacañang Press Corps,where he also discussed his bid to revive capital punishment in the Philippines.
“The revival of capital punishment is part of the 14 priority bills that Duterte wants Congress to expedite,” points out ABS-CBN News.
Duterte stated that he believes that Filipinos’ lack of respect for the law is rooted in “the absence of fear.”
He also noted that the death penalty was hampered because “every president along the way said only God should take away life.”
Duterte asserted, “Ang mga tao sa Pilipinas hindi na naniniwala sa batas because fear is not there.”
(“The people of the Philippines don’t follow the law because fear is not there.”)
He added, “Hindi tumalab yung death penalty noon kasi hindi in-impose. One, because of the Catholic church. Second, the bleeding hearts, because only God can kill. Ang problema niyan, I ask you, ‘What if there is no God?'”
(“The death penalty wasn’t effective because it was not imposed. One, because of the Catholic church. Second, the bleeding hearts, because [they said] only God can kill. The problem there is, I ask you, ‘What if there is no God?'”)
Duterte went on to question why God fails to help women and children who are raped and killed.
“So, where now is God when a one-year-old baby, 18-month-old baby is taken from the mother’s arms, brought under a jeep and raped and killed? So where is God?” Duterte said. (Note: In this case, Duterte may have been referring to the 2014 case involving a toddler in San Juan City, Metro Manila.)
He likewise cited “the plight of Syrian women and children who are burned if they refuse to have sex with ISIS militant fighters.”
Despite his rant, Duterte declared, “I believe in God but that is my perpetual question to him: ‘Where were you when we needed you?'”
He also said: “It is not enough to say that at the end of the world He shall come to judge the living and the dead. What will be the purpose of all of that if the harms and sorrows have already been inflicted upon the human race?”
Now, if only we had God’s number so we can ask Him to comment on this.
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