Duterte vows to resign if someone could prove Christian God exists

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday threatened to step down from office if it could be proven that the God of Christianity exists.

Duterte said he only needs one person to tell him that he has been to heaven and had a conversation with God.

"Kailangan ko isa lang sabihin niya 'mayor utos kasi ng mga ugok diyan sa Simbahan na pumunta akong langit, kausapin ko ang Diyos, meron talaga po. Ito po may picture kami nagdala ako ng selfie,'" Duterte said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Week celebration in Mindanao in Davao City.

"You do that today, one single witness, that there is a guy, a human being was able to talk and to see God. Of the so many billions na dumaan, I just need one. And if there is one, ladies and gentlemen, I will announce my resignation immediately," he added.

Born and raised as a Catholic, Duterte attacked anew the concept of original sin even as he insisted that he believed in a universal being.

He also accused the Church of using donations from parishioners to maintain "palaces."

Duterte's remarks came days before his dialogue with Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles on July 9.

The meeting was set as the government tries to mend ties with the Church and other Christian groups offended by Duterte’s remarks against God and Christianity.

He is also scheduled to meet with representatives from the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches. — MDM, GMA News