MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte – who recently sparked outrage for calling God “stupid” – made a new controversy by saying he will resign if anybody can prove that God exists.
Duterte questioned anew in a speech late Friday some of the basic tenets of the Catholic faith, including the concept of original sin, which he said taints even innocent infants and can only be removed through baptism in a church for a fee.
“Where is the logic of God there?” Duterte asked in a speech at the opening of a science and technology event in Davao City.
The 73-year-old leader said if there’s “one single witness” who can prove – perhaps with a picture or a selfie – that a human was “able to talk and to see God,” he will immediately resign.
But the President also suggested that there must be a God or a supreme being that prevents billions of stars and celestial bodies from colliding in a frequency that could have long threatened the human race.
Last week, Duterte was slammed, including by some of his political allies, for calling God “stupid” in another speech, with one Catholic bishop calling him a “psychopath.”
Duterte lamented in that speech that Adam and Eve’s sin in Christian theology resulted in all the faithful falling from divine grace.
“Who is this stupid God? This son of a bitch is then really stupid,” he said. “You were not involved but now you’re stained with an original sin…What kind of a religion is that? That’s what I can’t accept, very stupid proposition.”
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV shot back at Duterte by describing him as “one evil man” and his remarks as “very much consistent with the deceitfulness, heartlessness and ruthlessness of his policies.”
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque defended Duterte’s remarks, saying the President has the right to express his opinion on religion.
Meanwhile, Duterte on Friday also said he would not seek a second term under a new constitution, countering suspicions that he might seek to overturn the single-term limit which will not allow him to stay in office beyond 2022.
The Consultative Committee (ConCom) tasked to review the 1987 Constitution approved a draft federal charter last Tuesday.
ConCom member Julio Teehankee said the draft constitution “rules out term extension for the current president and vice president but does not prohibit them from seeking reelection.”
Congress will begin debating the proposed constitution this month, aiming to put it to the public in a referendum next year. (With reports from AP and Reuters/PN)
