Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte posted on social media to advise Filipinos not to listen to his father’s remarks about religion.
Over the past few days, President Rodrigo Duterte drew flak from various church leaders for criticizing God and the Catholic faith. In separate speeches, the president called God “stupid”, and described Jesus’ apostles as “idiots”.
Days after, the presidential daughter decided to raise her sentiments regarding the issue. “Please do not listen to him interpret the Bible or Quran, he is not a priest, a pastor or an imam. He is the President,” the younger Duterte said.
She also asked Filipinos to only listen to his words when it is about his word, and to criticize him not based on his “talkkalese”.
“Do not waste your negative energy on his interpretation of the Bible, that is his opinion. He is protected by the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression even if he is President,” she added.
The Davao City mayor also defended her father against his critics who called him ‘sexist’ and ‘misogynistic’. President Duterte was also criticized last month when he said that he only prefers men to hold cabinet positions.
“What he doesn’t like lies not in the gender, but in the character, he has no respect for weakness. And many women and some men are known to be damsels in distress, that #BabaeAko [campaign] included,” she wrote.
