Duterte quotes Bible: There’s a time for everything

MANILA, Philippines - Despite his cussing and tirades against the Catholic Church, President Duterte has not entirely lost his religion, and even quotes from the Bible.

But he likes verses only from one part of the Bible, he disclosed yesterday: Ecclesiastes.

He quoted passages from Ecclesiastes 3 about having a “time for everything” as he sent soldiers for deployment in Marawi City yesterday, on the third day of the implementation of martial law in Mindanao. 

“I am here just to give you the consoling advice that we do this for the country… Nobody wants to get killed here. Even the Moros do not want to be caught in the crossfire,” Duterte said before troops of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry (Magbalantay) Brigade (2MIB) in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte. 

He talked about the magnitude of the problem, noting that local terror groups Maute and Abu Sayyaf have combined forces to establish a caliphate in the country using Marawi City as a staging point. 

“The ISIS is here already, with the fact that they are flying flags,” Duterte said, referring to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

He then reminded soldiers of the verses in Ecclesiastes 3, which preach that everything has its own time. 

“There is a time for everything. This time, this is a time for victory. We cannot lose it. How can we lose it? We will overcome, and we will win,” the President stressed.