Duterte slams Catholic Church anew during Holy Week, says forgiveness not enough 

Screenshot: Radio Television Malacañang – RTVM/FB.
Screenshot: Radio Television Malacañang – RTVM/FB.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is not willing to forgive and forget, at least when it comes to drug personalities.

That’s what he said in a speech in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan yesterday where he once again slammed the Catholic Church for criticizing his war on drugs. This, as a majority of Filipinos celebrate Holy Week.

“You know what, mother f*ucker, there’s a war. I have declared war. If not, my country will lose. You priests, you won’t do anything … forgiveness, forgiveness, will forgiveness be enough?” he said in Filipino.

The president uttered these words as he was, once again, criticizing priests who slam him while on a pulpit.

“If you’re going to attack me, don’t use the church. Don’t use a pulpit and say ‘Duterte is a demon, he has bad people killed.'”

He also said that the Church would suffer consequences if he decides to take revenge.

Various priests and members of the Catholic Church have repeatedly spoken out against Duterte’s war on drugs, which has claimed thousands of lives. The Philippine National Police has said that the anti-narcotics crackdown will continue to be relentless this week, even as Filipinos observe Holy Week.

Holy Week is the last week of the Catholic season of Lent. Lent is believed to be the time for repentance and forgiveness and many Filipinos still observe it to this day.

But it seems like Duterte isn’t in the same mindset. It turns out that he’s not just stingy about absolving people, he also said in his speech yesterday that he doesn’t bother asking for forgiveness either because of the many people he has killed.

“That’s why I don’t go to mass. Because when I go to mass and say ‘forgive me, father, for I have killed last night three’ [during confession], I come back the next day, ‘father forgive me because I have killed 10 drug lords.’ I would do it over and over again, why would I still go? It’s useless,” he said.

Duterte also dismissed the concept of heaven and hell and joked that he would rather go to hell because that’s where the beautiful women are.

“Where are the most beautiful women here in Cagayan? In heaven?” he asked before shaking his head to say “no.”

“Where are the beautiful [women] in bars, karaoke [bars]? Those with beautiful bodies? Those with beautiful faces? Where are they? In hell. What would I do in heaven? Put my arm around them? Smell them?”

Just another speech from the dear president, everyone.



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