VP Sara prays for peace, father’s return during Jolo church visit

Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday said she visited the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, where she offered prayers for peace and safety, as well as for the return of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a Facebook post, Duterte said the visit coincided with her expression of sympathy for the victims of a sea tragedy off Jolo in February.

“As we extended our sympathies to the victims of the sea tragedy off Jolo in February this year, we also visited the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral,” she said.

Duterte noted it was her second visit to the cathedral.

She also recalled the January 2019 bombing at the church, which killed at least 18 people and injured dozens during a Sunday Mass.

“It is painful to look back on the cathedral’s history as one of the sites hit by the 2019 bombing, where many lives were lost to terrorism,” she said.

The Vice President said one of her office’s advocacies is to help communities address insurgency in the countryside to prevent similar incidents.

“One of our advocacies is to help communities address insurgency in rural areas so such incidents will not happen again,” she said.

Duterte added that she lit candles and offered prayers for peace, safety, and the return of her father.

“Dito ay nagsindi tayo ng kandila at ipinagdasal natin ang kapayapaan at kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan at ang agarang pag-uwi ni Dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa ating bayan,” she said. 

(We lit candles and prayed for peace, the safety of our fellow Filipinos, and the immediate return of former President Rodrigo Duterte to our country.)

The former president is currently detained in The Hague, Netherlands, where he is set to stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity linked to drug war killings during his administration.—MCG, GMA News