Bishop to Roque: Name Church leaders behind destab plot vs Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — A Catholic bishop challenged Malacañang to identify members of the clergy supposedly working with communist rebels to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said that presidential spokesman Harry Roque should identify leaders of the Catholic Church allegedly plotting to destabilize the government.

“He should name names. He is just spreading rumors. That is not responsible reporting. This one way of spreading false news,” Pabillo was quoted by CBCP News as saying.

The outspoken bishop said that statements such as this just showed the government's insecurity and its inability to see its mistakes.

"“That only shows how insecure they are. They are so blinded by their fears and their bias that they cannot see their mistakes. They deflect on others their inefficiencies," he said.

On Monday, the Palace said that some members of the Catholic Church could back an ouster move against Duterte, just days after Roque denied that such an action was in the offing.

Roque said that some members of the clergy could not accept the defeat of their candidate during the 2016 elections. However, he refused to identify this losing candidate during a regular press briefing at the Palace on Tuesday.

"The criticisms of the Church started when its candidate lost during the elections. Let's be frank: Many in the Church could not accept that their candidate was a loser," he said in a media conference from Southern Leyte on Monday. He made clear, however, that he was merely speculating.

The Palace also called for a ceasefire between the chief executive and some Church leaders ahead of a planned meeting between Duterte and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines.

Roque stressed that Duterte would not just sit idly and receive criticisms from the Church and other institutions.

“If they talk against the president, expect that he will respond. He is not a sitting duck,” he said.

Tensions between the Palace and the Catholic Church have risen in the past weeks following Duterte's tirades against it and some of its teachings.

At one point, he even called God "stupid" for tempting Adam and Eve in the Genesis creation story.

To ease the tension, the Palace created a four-man panel to hold dialogues with Church leaders in an effort to find common ground on issues.