By Dr. Quirino Sugon Jr. SJ
MONK'S HOBBIT
Saturday, May 28, 2016
MONK'S HOBBIT
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Pablo Tecson wrote a petition in Change.org asking for the resignation of Bishop Villegas and other bishops for interfering in Philippine politics. But the opposite is also true: Duterte is interfering in the practice of the Catholic religion through his virulent remarks against the pope, the bishops, the priests, and the Catholic faithful. To highlight the absurdity of Pablo Tecson's petition, we shall draft a parody petition vs President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, using arguments similar to those proposed by Pablo Tecson:
PARODY PETITION VS PRESIDENT-ELECT RODRIGO DUTERTE
A. Introduction
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is the President-Elect of the Republic of the Philippines. His actions do not speak for all the Filipino citizens in the country. The Catholic Church has been a victim of the dirty mouth of Mayor Duterte who laces his sentences with p*tang ina mo (son of a whore) in his criticism of the Church.
The words of Mayor Duterte have created a division among the Catholic faithful: those who are obedient to the moral authority of the Catholic bishops (e.g. Bishop Socrates Villegas and Bishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz) vs. those Catholics who voted Mayor Duterte to the presidency. Why does Mayor Duterte keep on harping on the Catholic religion in the country when we have a separation of church and state? We all know the words of Mayor Duterte:
- “From the hotel to the airport, alam mo inabot kami ng…dito lang…niyaya ako…limang oras. Sabi ko bakit? Sabi pinasarado daw,” the politiko said. He then asked, “Eh sino darating?” “Si Pope (Francis),” answered his companion.“Gusto kong tawagan, ‘Pope putangina ka umuwi ka na. Wag ka nang magbisita dito,'” Duterte said.
- “I will destroy the Church and the present status of so many priests and what they are doing,” he said. “You priests, bishops, you condemn me and suggest I withdraw, but then I will start to open my mouth. There are so many secrets that we kept as children. Do not force (me to speak) because this religion is not so sacred.”
- “Ang hindi kasi nakuha ng Simabahan, napaka-bobo naman kasi itong Katoliko. Tapos ngayon, nagsabi pa, hindi daw sila nagkampanya. Eh ‘yung tatlong bishop na nagsalita against me?”
- Do not f*** with me, Cruz! Iparinig mo sa kanya 'yan!”.
- “Di na ako miyembro ng Katoliko....May bago ako, lipat na lang kayo dito sa Iglesia ni Duterte,"
We, the Filipino people, are calling for action by Congress to correct the behavior of Mayor Duterte once he steps into power as President of the Philippines and impose his anti-life laws, such as death penalty, divorce, and population control. Two-thirds of Congress can override the Presidential veto. And if President Duterte decides to impose martial law to crack down on Catholics and other Filipinos who dissent against his policies, Congress should stop his plans and get him impeached.
We pray that this petition will reach the House of Representatives and the Senate and we pray that with the grace of God, this petition will become an eye opener to all religious people in the country to show President-elect Duterte's limitations. Leave religion to Catholic bishops, Protestant Pasters, and INC ministers, and let the people make moral decisions guided by their religious leaders, even if these decisions touch on politics, for even the Iglesia Ni Cristo endorsed the candidacy of Mayor Duterte as President. If Mayor Duterte allows one religious group to endorse him, he must also allow another religious group to criticize him. This is democracy.
B. Petition
In summary, this petition seeks the following:
- The support of 2/3 of Congress to stop President Duterte from making anti-life laws detested by the Catholic Church, such as death penalty, divorce, and population control
- The impeachment of President Duterte in case he tries to establish Martial Law to suppress Catholic dissent against his administration.
