Philippine Churches, citizens brace for Duterte presidency

May 26, 2016

MANILA, Philippines: Outgoing Philippine President Benigno Aquino tagged him a local Hitler.

Investment analysts and foreign policy experts blew alarm whistles. A senator hurled charges of hidden wealth and warned of a heightened potential for coups.

Women’s groups railed against a return to a caveman gender culture. Catholic bishops denounced his “politically precarious but worse, morally reprehensible” positions.

At the end of a bruising, divisive campaign, the voters of Asia’s only Catholic majority nation gave Rodrigo Duterte a 6 million winning margin for the presidency. Key rivals conceded a day after the polls, with the count still partial and unofficial.

Days after the elections, the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines offered “vigilant collaboration.” It’s a wise move. After all, 90 per cent of voters are Catholics and they gave Duterte a landslide victory.

Bishops of the Catholic Church do not engage in partisan politics. But they issued a series of statements clearly aimed at Duterte in the run up to the polls, slamming his “politically precarious but worse, morally reprehensible” positions.

Fr Francis Lucas of the Prelature of Infanta, president of the Catholic Media Network, said the Church needs to listen to “the voice of the people.” He expressed optimism over Duterte’s promise to serve the poorer, weaker segments of the country, and banish greedy and abusive officials.

The next president’s unabashed affection for extra-legal means of dealing with criminals is a major problem, as is his support for the death penalty. In those areas, militant groups will match the Church’s vigilance.

Clergy and activists acknowledge the Davao strongman’s progressive side, including a commitment to resume stalled peace talks with Asia’s longest running communist insurgency and a pledge to allow genuine autonomy for the Bangsamoro — Muslims who make up the country’s largest minority group. -- Global Pulse