Solons slam Duterte's sexual abuse tale at confessional

Progressive lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Sunday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte for telling an anecdote at a confessional involving sexual abuse, in a fresh attempt to put the Catholic Church in bad light.

In a message to reporters, ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro said Duterte's story —a confession wherein the boy confessing supposedly touched the private part of a maid while she was sleeping —was "really disgusting, uncalled for."

"Sa gitna ng kabi-kabilang nararanasan ng mamamayan na kalamidad bago magtapos ang taon ay nagagawa pang magkwento ng ganito ang pangulong ito. Sa halip na gamitin ang pagkakataon na makatulong sa mga mamamayan," Castro said.

"Di kailangan ng mga tao ang ganitong kwento. He is truly a sick man," she added.

Duterte, in his narrative, also said that while the boy was making the confession, he was also being touched by the priest at the confessional.

It is not clear, however, if Duterte actually did what he narrated in the story, as he pointed out towards the end that this incident supposedly happens to everyone.

"Ganu'n man 'yan. Kayo, ayaw lang ninyong ma — hindi niyo masabi dito. Ako wala man akong — media? Totoo man. It’s true. Lahat man ng mga bata dumaan ng…" he said.

Whether Duterte was the boy in the story, Gabriela Women's Party finds it "deeply disturbing."

"The maniac in Malacañang has proven that he had no qualms violating the rights of women, people of lower stature and viewed them as his own personal toy," the party said, represented by Emmi De Jesus and Arlene Brosas in Congress.

"This latest confession has brought shame not only on himself but on the entire nation that trusted him to lead judiciously and righteously. He has proven himself unworthy of his position and should resign," they added. —Erwin Colcol/LBG, GMA News