SOME of the Catholic Church leaders are hatching destabilization efforts against President Rodrigo Duterte, a member of a presidential panel engaged in a dialogue with religious groups claimed Thursday, June 28.
Pastor "Boy" Saycon Jr. accused some leaders of the Catholic Church of planning to remove Duterte from office.
"The destabilization plot against the President is real. The effort to remove him [from] office is something that he attributed to some of the leaders of the Catholic Church," Saycon, secretary general of the Council for Philippine Affairs (COPA), said in a television interview.
On June 25, Duterte tapped Saycon, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella as part of the panel to hold a dialogue with the Catholic Church and other churches.
Duterte formed the presidential committee after he drew flak over his offensive remarks against God and the creation story in the Bible.
Roque, in a press conference, announced that Duterte picked Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. as the newest addition to the panel since the latter, a former priest, is "familiar with the dogma of the Catholic Church."
The Palace official maintained that the dialogue aims to reduce tensions between Duterte and the religious groups, especially the Catholic Church.
Asked about Saycon's claim on the supposed destablization plot against Duterte, Roque said the Palace does not believe that the Catholic Church leaders are eyeing to unseat the President.
"Hindi po [kami naniniwala sa diumano'y plano ng Simbahang Katoliko na patalsikin si Duterte]. In the first place, kampante po ang Presidente sa kanyang pananampalataya. Kampante ang Simbahan sa kanilang misyon sa bayang ito," he said.
(We do not [believe allegations that the Catholic Church plans to unseat Duterte]. In the first place, the President is confident of his faith. The Church is confident of their mission for the country.)
"Ang ninanais lang natin, para 'yung dalawang institusyon, ay makapagsilbi naman sa mabuti para sa ating lipunan," Roque added.
(We only want these two institutions to serve for the betterment of the society.)
Following Saycon's accusation, Roque said he would advise the former to be "more careful" in releasing information to the public.
Roque added that Saycon would be "thoroughly briefed" on the Palace's established communication protocols, so as not to possibly jeopardize the ongoing talks with the religious leaders.
"I'll have to tell him to be more careful about what he says to the public and to the media, and that there's vetting processes before we're able to say anything to the media. So I will discuss with him the communication protocols of the government," he said.
The Palace official emphasized that the goal of the dialogue with the religious sector is to ensure that they would work together with the government in serving the Filipino people.
"We want closer cooperation [with religious groups] not just on dogmas. We want cooperation in the field of anti-drugs, on receiving poverty, on land reform, on issues that affect human beings which both the church and the state should be involved in," he said. (VoxPop Philippines)
