DAVAO CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte has formed a three-man team to initiate dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious sectors to tackle several issues between the religious sector and the government.
In a press briefing Tuesday at the Presidential Guest House in Panacan here, Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque said the three-man panel is composed of himself, Commissioner Pastor Boy Saycon of the EDSA People Power Commission, and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella.
President Duterte gave the directive Monday evening while they were flying to Davao City from an engagement in Cagayan de Oro City, Roque said.
Roque said he already got in touch with Saycon and Abella so they could start the process by Wednesday (July 27). He noted that Saycon and Abella are both respected church leaders.
The decision of the President came as several religious figures took notice of his remark about God in his speech at the National ICT Summit in Davao City, where the President told a story from the Book of Genesis.
In his speech, the President said, “Adam ate it (the forbidden fruit) then malice was born. Who is this stupid God?” He stressed that it did not make sense how God created “something perfect” and then “think of an event that would tempt and destroy the quality of your work.”
The President’s decision also came on heels of a report about the call for dialogue from the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches in the Philippines to lessen bitter statements between the religious sector and the government.
Roque said the issue could be one of the reasons why the President thought of initiating dialogue with the religious sector. He added that the engagement may prevent further the souring of the relationship between both sides.
Still, Roque maintained that there is a separation of the church and state and that while there is no need for a dialogue, the President felt that it was the right thing to do.
He said the agenda in the prospective dialogue should aim to improve relationships and resolve certain issues.
“Hayaan na lang po natin na yung agenda ay ma define ng simbahan at ng gobyerno (Let’s allow the church and the government to define the agenda of the dialogue),” Roque told reporters. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
