Proposed column name: “Joke and Dagger” or “Sarcasmic”

Article title: Of God And Man

We Filipinos often think of ourselves as devout Christians (including Catholics!). We even refer to
ourselves as a “Christian country.” We love our God, we love our Jesus, we love our congregations
and our churches and our temples.

So when you have President Duterte calling the Christian God “stupid,” you know the excrement just
hit the fan.

The response was immediate. People who had been generally quiet about this administration’s
egregious faults were up in arms over how Duterte blatantly disrespected their religion. Never mind
that Duterte has been blatantly disrespecting the Christian faith since Day Zero by violating every last
Commandment there is, but since we’re here, let’s go ahead and draw the line at “God is stupid.”

You’d think that the unusual uproar would give Duterte and his sycophants pause.You’d think that
they would take a step back and notice how people were responding so negatively. You’d think they’d
be circumspect and approach the situation they created with a bit of humility and a touch of class.

Nope. Not a chance in hell.

“Duterte wasn’t criticizing God, he was criticizing the creation story!” “It’s Duterte’s personal belief,
he’s entitled to his personal belief!” “The Catholic Church should apologize for their rapist priests!” All
of which sound reasonable at first, but then you realize that none of them actually confronted the
fact that the incumbent President just insulted the Christian God. It’s like listening to a man caught
cheating in flagrante by his wife and trying to concoct every conceivable story that could explain why
his plunger was cleaning out someone else’s pipes.

It was even more hilarious reading social media comments of people bending and twisting their
religious beliefs just to find some way to justify Duterte’s God-awful comment.

“God won’t be offended, so neither will we be offended!” Except one of the Ten Commandments goes,
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” I don’t know about other Christians, but
last I checked they were “Ten *Commandments*,” not “Ten Suggestions That People Named Rodrigo
Duterte Aren’t Required To Follow.” Pretty sure God didn’t stutter.

“The God Duterte calls stupid is the God that oppositionists invoke, because DELAWAN KA BAYARAN
KA YELLOWTARD TROLL.” I didn’t make that last part up. People did in fact use those words in
defending Duterte, because of course they would, it’s in their script and they get docked QA points if
they omit those. Come on, people, have a heart, they’re just trying to earn a dishonest living.

In fact the agents working at the troll centers did such a great job that two days ago, Duterte decided
to throw everyone else under a bus and doubled down on the God-shaming using a similar line:

"Your God is stupid. Your God is not my God."

Well, that clears everything up. It makes sense now. Duterte worships another “God.”

Maybe that “God” is made in China?

In the end, though, Duterte was just gaslighting everyone. In the same speech, Duterte states:

“If you don't believe me kindly review the tapes. Mas bright po ako sa inyo hindi ako nagsasalita ng
wala akong cover."

Well played, President Duterte. Well played.

Now that that episode is over and done with, let’s get back to talking about how this Duterte regime
continues to appease China to the detriment of our own sovereignty. How this regime has murdered
over 23,000 Filipinos in the name of its “war on drugs.” How this regime is trying desperately to look
like they’re fighting crime by targeting tambays. How our stock exchange has entered bear market
territory. How our economic indicators continue to slide.

Yes, the Christian God ought to be respected.

So should your country, Filipinos. So should your country.

Jego Ragragio is a lawyer working in a full-service law office in Quezon City. He occasionally blogs at
raggster.wordpress.com. You can follow him and chat him up on Twitter at @JegoRagragio.