The ruling PDP-Laban’s No. 1 principle is its belief in God, party president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said Sunday.
PDP-Laban. — PDP-Laban president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III
“If a person does not believe in God, he should not join PDP-Laban,” Pimentel said in an interview over radio dzBB on Sunday. His party, he said, believes God “has a design for us… he has a plan for our people.”
Asked about President Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge for even one person to show him a selfie with God to prove he exists, Pimentel said Duterte said he believed in God when he joined the party.
“But we have no specific God. Number 1, do you believe in supreme being, who looks at you constantly,” said Pimentel.
He also said people should focus on the President’s statement that he believes in an intelligent God.
But Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Duterte’s remarks about God and the teachings of the Catholic Church only show that he does not believe in God.
“No doubt, Duterte is an anti-Christ. More than his numerous anti-God and anti-Church statements, Duterte has been promoting a culture of killing, violence, hatred, misogyny and indecency among our people,” noted Trillanes, a staunch critic of the President.
“In other words, everything that was taught to us growing up as Christians or as Filipinos is being undone by Duterte’s evil ways,” he added.
Pimentel said Duterte’s recent remarks have not hurt his credibility.
“I haven’t seen a survey where his approval rating declined due to the current spate of killings, issues on peace and order and the economy and other [issues] like at Boracay or land reform,” he said.
He urged the people not to make an issue about Duterte’s belief in God.
“Don’t make that an issue because his first statement was that he believes in God. Except that there are some teachings which he taunted and wanted to be proved, but that’s not a violation of the Constitution,” he said.
“Let us not debate on the doctrine of the Church; it’s just a waste of time,” he added. “Let the state now concentrate on state concerns.”