PRESIDENTIAL aspirant Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday night revealed the name of the Catholic priest who allegedly molested him and several other high school boys when they were teenagers in the 1950s while studying at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Davao University.
“That priest was [the late] Fr. Paul Falvey. He wanted to touch [our private parts.] It happened during our generation, two years ahead of us and two years following us,” Duterte told Davao-based reporters on Thursday night.
“It cost him some P25 million because other victims filed a case. It was a case of fondling—you know what—he did during confession, that’s how we lost our innocence early,” Duterte said.
It took the young Duterte seven years to finish high school after being expelled from the Ateneo de Davao University for misconduct. He eventually finished high school at the Holy Cross of Digos.
“It was a sort of sexual awakening for each of us,” Duterte said. “We realized quite early that life was like that. How would you complain? We were afraid.”
Duterte also said that a joke in which he cursed the Pope for the traffic jam during his visit in January was not aimed at the pontiff but at incompetent government officials who could not handle the situation.
“God willing, if people will help me, I will not bother the people with the problem of traffic congestion,” he said.
Duterte also said he promised to avoid expletives after meeting with Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles at the Arzobispado of the Archdiocese of Davao.
Duterte said Valles took him to task for his statements during his proclamation speech Monday.
“The monsignor admonished me and lectured to me Christian values, which I accepted,” Duterte said. “From now on I will try to avoid cuss words and promise to penalize myself P1,000 for every violation and donate it to Caritas of the Church.”
Duterte said Friday morning that he will still remain a Catholic, adding that he was not upset with all members of the clergy.
He added that he had no choice but to see Valles.
“I am a member of his flock. I have not changed religion, still a Christian, and I have this deep and abiding faith in God. I only have one God,” he added.
At the same time, Duterte hit bishops who suggested he should have documented his allegations of sexual abuse and filed a complaint.
“First year, you will complain? Takot ka baka ikaw pa ang ma-whack,” Duterte said in a television interview.
On Thursday, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo challenged the presidential aspirant to do away with the “theatrics” and identify his abuser right away or file a complaint.
“If there’s a mistake committed against him, he must reveal it immediately,” Pabillo said. “It will also help clean our ranks. Nobody’s perfect. We all commit mistakes. He should also call our attention and we will fix our shortcomings.”
Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, who handled cases of sexual abuses against priests as judicial vicar of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, also called on Duterte to “file a case before civil courts against the abusers,” adding that Pope Francis has ordered strict adherence to protocols and created a special tribunal for sexual abuse charges.
The local chapter of the women’s group, Gabriela, said that Duterte can do a speech minus the expletives as they look forward to another speech similar to the one he delivered during an event to call for an end to violence against women.
“It was a nice speech,” said Jean Lindo, Gabriela Southern Mindanao chairperson, who noted Duterte did not let go of a single expletive.
“If he can do it, it’s better if he maintains it that way. I don’t know if he does it on purpose, but we will just continue to gender-police him,” she said.
While Gabriela condemned Duterte’s recent statements about having two wives and two girlfriends, it praised the mayor for the city’s progressive provisions of the Women Development Code and the Local Development Plan for Children, and on Reproductive Health.
“We have never hesitated to criticize the mayor in the past for his sexist campaign sorties. We remind him again and appeal to him to stop hurting women in this presidential race. He does not have to resort to sexism to gain popularity in the poll for he is way ahead of the others,” Lindo said.
