PRRD asks Church not to use pulpit to criticize him

After agreeing to halt his tirades against the Catholic Church, President Duterte has called on the Church leaders to avoid using the pulpit to criticize his administration.

The President raised his concern on the separation of the Church and state during his private meeting with Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles in Malacañang last Monday.

“One of the things that the President did mention was given that there is separation of church and state, huwag naman sanang gamitin ang pulpito para batikusin iyong kaniyang administrasyon (the pulpit should not be used to criticize his administration),” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said during a press conference in Cavite.

“Tinatanggap niya ang mga batikos, ang mga pula ng mga ordinaryong mamamayan. Pero kung pupuwede ay huwag sanang manggaling doon sa pulpito at huwag manggaling sa simbahan mismo iyong pagbabatikos sa kaniya dahil mayroon nga tayong paghihiwalay ng simbahan at ng estado (He accepts criticisms, reproach from ordinary citizens but if possible these criticisms should not come from the pulpit, not from the Church because we have separation of Church and state),” he added.

Roque admitted that the President “did most of the talking” while Valles “did most of the listening” during their meeting.

Malacañang earlier announced that the President has agreed to a “moratorium” on his statements about the Church following his 30-minute meeting with the CBCP leader.