President hits Catholic clergy anew, urges support for anti-drug campaign
President Duterte lashed out at Catholic priests “extorting money from the faithful” and defended his anti-drug campaign amid criticisms on the rising death toll, in speeches he delivered Thursday at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new bridge in Cordova and at a business forum in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu.
The President renewed his tirade against the Catholic bishops criticizing his human rights record. He claimed priests live extravagant lives but have not helped the government with drug rehabilitation facilities.
“Priests preside over masses every Saturday and Sunday. The priests are rich but I never saw a rehab center built by them. Where did the people’s money go?” he asked.
“Jesus Christ was nailed to a wooden cross… Look at the cross in
your necklaces; it’s gold. The chalice is also gold. I suggest they should sell those and buy rice for the poor,” the President said in Visayan.
“And stop collecting. If you don’t, I will have you arrested for extortion,” he added.
Replying to criticism of the government’s anti-drugs campaign, the President said, “There’s a whale of a difference between killing an innocent person and killing a criminal. They ought not to be mixed up.”
“I’m trying to zero in sa law and order because peace is what makes a country develop and progress. I hold it as an article of faith,” he added.
The President urged the Catholic clergy to “prioritize your people first,” saying they should visit the community and discourage them from taking illegal drugs.
He said he will order every police precinct commander all over the country to give Catholic priests lists of drug personalities in the hope they could convince them to mend their ways.
“All the priests have to do is to convince the guys. Go around and find out who are connected with drugs. I know you can do it. You have plenty of money from your collection,” he added.
Duterte made clear that he still believes in God despite his dismay with Catholic priests. “I have a God but it’s not a God from like the others… I have my own personal relations with God. I have this deep and abiding faith in God, that is really the Supreme Being of all the universe,” he said.