Bishop Pablo Virgilio David says Duterte mistook him for someone else

MANILA, Philippines — Accused of stealing church donations, a Catholic bishop said President Duterte "has confused me for someone else.”

Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said this yesterday in reply to accusation made by President Duterte that a bishop by the name of “David” is stealing church donations and giving them to his family.

While the President did not clearly identify the “David” he was referring to, the Caloocan prelate said, “I am the only Bishop David in the CBCP (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines).”

David is the current vice president of the CBCP. 

He described Duterte as “sick,” which is possibly the reason why the President is making baseless accusations.  

“You see, people who are sick sometimes do not know what they are talking about, so we should just bear with them,” he added. 

David also defended himself against accusations that he stole from the church, pointing out that “my parents never taught me to steal.” 

This was the second time that David has described the Chief Executive as a “sick” man.

The first time was during the observance of All Saints’ Day last Nov. 1 when the President called the saints “stupid” and “drunkards.”

David asked the public to include Duterte in their prayers.

“Please remember, Jesus taught us to be merciful when dealing with sick people. I think it should be obvious to people by now that our country is being led by a very sick man. We pray for him,” he added.

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