Do You Believe?

Jhaera Mae A. Tordecilla

12 – St. Uriel

“Who is this stupid God?” Following this controversial line by one of the most, influential
figures in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte received the utmost backlash from the people
for not only directly attacking the Catholic Church, but directly insulting God Himself. The
president casted his doubts about the biblical story of creation in one of his speeches last June
wherein he questioned why God created Adam and Eve only to let them be tempted by the serpent
and sin against Him.

Duterte has hit his lowest level of the Filipinos’ approval rating since he was elected in
2016 after dropping this bomb among his listeners. Controversy after controversy, is it still
possible for people to believe in him right after numerous wars against humanity? Against the
Church? Against God Himself?

To answer that question can be compared to weighing the yin and yang - there is both the
good and bad of the world. It may be at this moment where the president shows himself as a person
who’s attacking the Church and accusing them of heresy, a person who condemns the Church
members who are against his war on drugs campaign. Yet, believe it or not, behind these
malevolent events, Duterte was still able to do his part as a president and was able to do quite well
for the sake of his country. Throughout the years, he was the only president who was able to
successfully purge town after town on illegal drugs and has made a name for himself as the man
who ruled with an iron fist.

Then again, his good “contributions” as the president isn’t really the real issue here, isn’t
it? It is how he does it that’s the real problem. Yes, it is quite alright to be less than professional to
his listeners so they’d feel more of a connection to him as a person rather than only seeing him as
a person ruling the country, spouting curse words and speaking in his home dialect. But, what he
should know is that people get offended when one does not think his actions true, and that’s in
multiple occasions now considering the number of controversies Duterte has built up over the past
two years. Yes, rape jokes are not funny. Yes, cursing someone publicly is not what a president
should set as an example of. Yes, insulting God on live national television is a wrong move. What
the president needs to learn in order to avoid severe backlashes like these in the future is not only
to publicly apologize and accept his mistakes, but also, he needs to learn the value of prudence,
that is, to think with your head and not just run around with your mouth.

Prudence is a significant piece that brings out decency in a person. When one thinks about
the consequences of his actions before actually doing it shows one considers how others may react.
Why think before speaking? Because sometimes, one only realizes the magnitude of his mistakes
when he has already spoken. Like how Duterte slips up a sentence here and there, he wouldn’t
actually realize that what he said would offend so many people until he’s able to read about his
controversy the following day on the internet or newspaper. As a human being, sure, it is inevitable
to not have an issue with the people in the six years of your career but then, think about it. Is it
really worth it to have the Filipino people lose their trust in you just because of the words that
came out from your mouth? The very same mouth that promised the same Filipino people to give
them a better nation? Surely, it is not.

Yes, there is still room for improvement, there are more chances to be given to the
president. He has acknowledged his mistakes and the Church has acknowledged his apology. But
still, in the future, hopes are gathered even more to wish that nothing like this happens anymore.
Lots of teenagers look up to Duterte as their model, and it would cause serious grievances in the
future if their example chooses to just speak whatever is on his mind without thinking about the
consequences he’d face afterwards. Yet, one should believe in the hopes that people get better
when they learn from their mistakes and hopefully, Duterte has learned his lesson.