Duterte dares gay bishops to ‘come out’

President Duterte said gay bishops should come out into the open and be allowed to have boyfriends as he renewed his attacks against the Catholic Church for criticizing his drug war.

In a speech in Bulacan, Bulacan, Duterte once again claimed that majority of bishops are gay and that the Catholic Church should now embrace homosexual relations among the clergy.

However, the President doubted if people will still believe in a gay bishop.

“Karamihan sa kanila bakla. O tingnan mo. Wala akong ano sa bakla. Eh sa dormitory ang ka-roommate ko bakla man (Most of them are gays. I have nothing against gays, I even had a gay roommate in the dormitory),” he said Thursday evening.

“Pero sila (But they), they should come out in the open, cancel celibacy, and allow them to have boyfriends also. Ang problema kung sino’ng maniwala sa iyo (But the problem is who will now believe in you),” he added.

Duterte, who earlier revealed he was molested by a priest when he was a student, also said he would not mind if attacking the Church will lead to his downfall.

“No politician of recent memory makipag-away diyan sa Vatican pati sa pope. Nagka... mahiya sila dito sa akin (No politician in recent memory would stand up against the Vatican and the Pope. They would really be embarrassed because of me),” he said.

“Ako (Me), so be it. If it will cause my downfall, I will accept it. If I die or totally destroyed or discredited as a politician, that would be my destiny,” he said.

The President then explained anew why he is launching tirades at the Church, saying they should not be like politicians who use their platform to criticize the government.

“Kasi inaatake nila ako sa pulpito eh. Huwag mong gamitin ito kasi parang Liberal Party ka na rin o PDP Laban ka diyan nagsasalita (It’s because you are attacking me in the pulpit. Do not do that because you are now like Liberal Party or the PDP Laban when you do that),” Duterte said.