Duterte affirms belief in ‘supreme God’ while in Holy Land

President Rodrigo Duterte has affirmed his belief in a “supreme God” upon his arrival on Sunday to Israel, a nation which hosts sites sacred to Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

Duterte, in a speech before the Filipino community, maintained that he does not believe in the god of his critics.

“Hindi ko naman sinabing hindi ako naniniwala ng Diyos. Sinabi ko lang, ‘Ayaw kong maniwala sa Diyos mo,’” Duterte said, eliciting cheers from the crowd at a Jerusalem hotel mostly composed of Israel-based Filipinos.

“You know, when you attack me in public using God as a platform picturing me or portaying me as a devil, you open the issue to debate. I believe in the supreme God that my father and mother passed into me,” he added.

The President then urged everyone to dismiss “intrigues” that he does not believe in God.

Duterte drew flak in June following his scathing remarks about God, the creation story in the Bible and the concept of original sin.

Following the backlash, Duterte created a four-man panel that would dialogue with the Catholic Church and other religious groups that had been offended by his comments.

On July 9, Duterte met with Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles during which he agreed to stop his rhetoric against the Church, which Malacañang said stemmed from his experience of being molested by a priest when he was a young student.

Duterte appeared to have broken his promise, as he reiterated in a speech in Clark, Pampanga on July 10 that his critics should not use God in their attacks against his administration.

The President repeated his vow to resign if anyone could prove the existence of God with a selfie. He also expressed doubts on the concept of heaven and hell.

He later clarified that his remarks had nothing to do with his agreement with Valles and the moratorium would not stop him from speaking the "truth."

After the event, Duterte had a two-and-half hour meeting with evangelist Brother Eddie Villanueva in Malacañang during which he apologized to his “all-forgiving God." —KG, GMA News