BY LESLIE ANN G. AQUINO
For a change, several Catholic bishops praised President Duterte for asserting the country’s rights and sovereignty when he raised the Philippines arbitral win against China in his speech before the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday.
The church leaders, however, expressed hope that he will remain firm in his position.
Several church leaders have been critical with the Duterte administration especially on its war against drug campaign.
After Duterte’s UN speech, church leaders were heard singing a different tune.
“We are grateful to our president for his reasonable, justifiable speech in defense of territorial integrity. We pray and hope he will remain firm with his speech, and much more to translate it to action,” Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos said in an interview Thursday.
“I thank him for doing so and I pray he will continue to do so,” said San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza.
“I hope this is now his stand and later not say that it is a joke. He is so unreliable in his speeches,” Archdiocese of Manila apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick Pabillo said.
Retired bishops Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon and Teodoro Bacani of Novaliches also welcomed the speech of the President.
“This is a happy news! Praise the Lord for enlightening Duterte to do what is right: to assert our sovereignty and legal ownership of the Spratly Islands on West Philippine Sea situated South of China!” he said.
“Finally, Duterte has realized that he is wrong to bow to China!” added Bastes.
“I’m happy that finally he had the courage,” Bacani said.
