Duterte hits Church's 'creeping influence' on state affairs

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday attacked the Catholic Church for its "creeping influence" on policies that government believes beneficial for Filipinos.

This critical statement came just days after Duterte vowed to be silent about his issues with the Church and his spokesperson urged a "ceasefire" between the two sides.

"That is why one of the reasons why I do not like this creeping influence of faith is because they sometimes run counter to what government believes to be good for the people at least in this temporal life," Duterte said during his speech at the anniversary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Duterte was talking about the government's reproductive health program, one component of which is the provision for government help for Filipinos who want to practice family planning.

The law, which was enacted during the administration of Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, faced stiff resistance from the Catholic Church.

The law was challenged before the Supreme Court but was eventually ruled to be constitutional.

Davao family planning program

Duterte said that despite inconsistent support from the national government, he was able to institute his own family planning program when he was the mayor of Davao City in Mindanao.

"We have reached the 100-million mark. Where will they go?" Duterte said.

"I do not want to pick a fight. It has something to do with the objection of religions, not all. I would not mention the faith because again I would not want to quarrel with them," he said.

"You can't get anything from those fools only words," he also said.

Almost eight in 10 Filipinos are Catholics, making the Philippines the largest Catholic nation in Asia.

Comments during supposed ceasefire with Church

Duterte made the remarks barely a week after promising to refrain from talking about his tiff with the Catholic Church. His fresh tirades against religion also came five days before his scheduled meeting with Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president and Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles. 

Religious leaders, including some Catholic bishops, have lambasted Duterte for his scathing remarks against God, whom he called stupid for allowing temptation to corrupt his creation. 

Duterte has claimed the remark was taken out of context, insisting that it was a response to Australian nun Patricia Fox, who is facing possible deportation for supposedly engaging in partisan activities. 

The Palace has already formed a four-man panel which would dialog with the clergy in an effort to diffuse the tensions.

Roque said that critics of the president, including the the Catholic Church, should expect the chief executive to hit back whenever he was criticized.

Duterte also doubled down on his comment that there was no hell nor heaven and vowed to immediately resign if somebody would be able to prove them.

"Your God is not my God because my religion is a formative process including the values I got from my parents," he said. — with Job Manahan, Alexis Romero