MANILA (PHILIPPINES)
ABS-CBN News
June 20 2018
By Dharel Placido
President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday insisted that he respects the Catholic Church and its leaders, even as he continued linking some clergy members to alleged illicit affairs.
Critics have been saying that Duterte’s tirades against priests and the Catholic Church have emboldened killers of 3 Catholic priests slain in the last 6 months.
The President has denied persecuting the clergy and said he cannot order their killings.
“Wala kaming policy na galit kami sa pari, nothing of the sort. As a matter of fact, nirerespeto ko ang Simbahan,” he said in a speech in Mandurriao district, Iloilo City.
“Sa totoo lang hindi ko kayang magpatay ng pari, pati na babae at bata.”
(We don’t have a policy against priests, nothing of the sort. As a matter of fact, I respect the Church. The truth is, I cannot order the killing of priests, women and children.)
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