Philippine’s Duterte vows to resign if anybody can prove God exists
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who recently sparked outrage for calling God stupid, has courted new controversy in his largely Roman Catholic country by saying he will resign if anybody can prove that God exists.
Duterte questioned anew in a speech late Friday some of the basic tenets of the Catholic faith, including the concept of original sin, which he said taints even innocent infants and can only be removed through baptism, reports .japantimes.co.jp.
Duterte asked, ‘Where is the logic of God there?’
He said if there’s ‘one single witness’ who can prove, perhaps with a picture, that they were able to see and talk to God, he will immediately resign.
Last week, Duterte was slammed for calling God ‘stupid,’ with one Catholic bishop calling him a ‘psychopath.’
Also Friday, Duterte said he will not seek a second term under a new constitution, countering suspicions he might seek to overturn the single-term limit which will not allow him to stay in office beyond 2022.
A 22-member panel that is reviewing the 1987 constitution is expected to submit its draft to Duterte on Monday. Congress will begin debating the proposed constitution this month, aiming to put it to the public in a referendum next year.
Amid speculation in Philippine media that the new text would lift the single-term limit, Duterte said he was not seeking such an outcome.
‘Make my term coterminous with the beginning of the draft constitution,’ Duterte said Friday, meaning his term would end when the new charter comes into force.
‘Make the changes now. Make me resign or ask me to step down,’ he added.