President Rodrigo Duterte The Philippines’ Catholic Bishops’ Conference has prepared a response to an attack on the Philippine Church by president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, but has decided not to publish it until after his presidential inauguration on June 30.
The bishops’ response has been prepared against a background of apprehension that Mr Duterte’s accession to the presidency may see the return of paramilitary ‘death squads’ to the Pacific nation.
Such ‘special forces’ were commonly deployed during the dictatorship of Ferdinando Marcos but Mr Duterte has frequently praised them, and the extra-judicial killing of criminals has been a hallmark of his time as Mayor of Davao.
Cebu’s Archbishop Jose Palma, meanwhile, has said he does not understand the presumptive president.
Speaking at a press conference, Dr Palma said, “The incoming president seems to be a very difficult (person) to assess, I put it that way. He says one thing today, (but) he modifies a little bit the next day”.