De Lima chides Duterte for accusing bishop of stealing donations

Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday lambasted President Rodrigo Duterte for his comments against a bishop who allegedly stole donations.

“Duterte’s attack on Bishop Pablo ‘Ambo’ David is nothing but slanderous. It is vintage Duterte. He destroys the reputation of those who oppose him and those who fight for the victims of his rule,” De Lima said in a dispatch sent from her detention cell in Camp Crame.

In a speech in Tanza, Cavite on Nov. 22, Duterte accused a member of the clergy of stealing donations from parishioners to feed his family. He mentioned a certain "David" while recounting his misgivings on the teachings of the Catholic Church including the concept of heaven and hell and the "sins of bishops there."

"Ikaw, David, tumahimik ka ha. Sige ka lang hingi ng contribution diyan sa mga… Saan ang pera ng mga tao? Ang g*** sige lang hingi, may second collection pa," the President said.

"Alam mo totoo lang, sabihin ko sa inyo, iyong mga offerings, iyong mga pinya, mga avocado, saging, saan napupunta ‘yan? Gusto ninyong malaman? Gusto ninyo ng video? Ibigay ko sa inyo. Doon sa pamilya niya," he added.

Athough the President did not mention him directly, Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said he was the only David among the prelates in the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

He just shrugged off Duterte's accusation and said "my parents never taught me to steal."

"You see, people who are sick sometimes do not know what they are talking about, so we should just bear with them," David said in a Facebook post.

“Bishop Ambo is his latest victim. Aside from tending to the relatives of EJK [extrajudicial killing] victims in his diocese, Bishop Ambo drew the ire of Duterte for his rebuke on the President’s latest attacks on the Catholic religion and the Church,” de Lima said.

The senator defended Bishop David and said he "has been successful in condemning the endless killings under Duterte, to the point that he has now become the newest target of Duterte’s intrigues, lies, and slanders."

De Lima also described David as "one of the most respected figures in the Catholic Church."

“It takes a different kind of courage to stand up against the powerful, and a psychotic tyrant at that, and to fight for the powerless. This is the kind of courage that continues to give hope to our people, and by doing so will deliver them from the evil that envelops the country,” the senator said.

De Lima then urged Filipino Catholics to rally behind Bishop David and all those fighting for justice and human rights. —KG, GMA News