MANILA, Philippines — “We cannot say “vox populi, vox Dei,” that is, “the voice of the people is the voice of God.” Not necessarily!”
That was Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo’s opinion on the proclamation of Rodrigo Duterte as president of the Philippines.
Duterte, who became president after winning the May 2016 presidential election, was elected by the people and not “divinely ordained,” Pabillo wrote in a Rappler column.
“Duterte was elected by 16 million voters, not even the majority of our 50 million voters in 2016. He is not even a majority president,” he said
“God did not give us Duterte to be our President. The 16 million voters chose him to be President and he is now President,” he added.
The bishop also reminded the faithful of what the Bible says about subordination to authority.
He said that even though Romans 12: 1-2 admonishes resistance to authority, Luke 20:25 and Matthew 22: 36-38 affirmed Peter and the apostles’ argument that ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”
“Therefore subordination to civil authority is secondary to subordination to God, especially if the civil authority is no longer serving truth, justice, and peace,” Pabillo said.
Pray for Duterte
Albeit criticizing Duterte for causing “fear to innocent people” with his “orders to kill,” “swearing,” usage of “government money to pay” trolls, and other “machinations,” the bishop said that faithful should still pray for Duterte, as the Bible tells.
“Even how evil and unfit they may be we should pray for them. Even if they persecute us, as Jesus said: “But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father,” Pabillo said.
“Let us pray for them all the more. Let us never cease praying, especially in these dark times,” he added.
Pabillo also stressed that “good can come out” from “something bad.”
“First, I hope we can become better voters this time,” he said.
“Secondly, in our desire for change and for a strong leader, hopefully we have learned the lesson not to be blinded by propaganda, like tough talk (which later proved to be empty) and now social media,” he added.
“Thirdly, people are now more courageous. If before many are apathetic, now people are standing up because our beliefs are being maligned,” he further stated.