Palace on protest: Free expression

MANILA, Philippines - President Duterte upholds freedom of expression, Malacañang stressed yesterday, after thousands of people joined a Catholic Church-organized rally against extrajudicial killings and the revival of the death penalty.

“The President allows the freedom of expression and this is one of them. That’s part of the democratic dynamic,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said when asked to comment on the “Walk for Life” prayer rally held last Saturday.

The event, organized by the Council of the Laity of the Philippines and joined by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, was held at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila and drew a crowd of more than 10,000 people.

Duterte and the Catholic Church have been clashing over the administration’s bloody war on illegal drugs and its effort to bring back capital punishment.

The President has waged a brutal war against illegal drugs, a problem that he claimed has reached “epidemic proportions.”

More than 7,000 suspected drug offenders have died since the intensified anti-drug campaign was launched, alarming Catholic bishops who believe that killing is not the solution to the problem.

Duterte has denied endorsing extrajudicial killings but has ordered government forces to shoot drug suspects if they pose any danger to their lives.

The Catholic Church, the religious group of more than 80 percent of Filipinos, is also against the revival of the death penalty, one of the priority bills of the Duterte administration.

The President had said the death penalty is not a deterrent but a retribution for wrongdoing. He even threatened to execute five to six drug convicts every day once the bill reviving capital punishment is passed into law.

Angered by the Church’s criticisms against his war on drugs, Duterte had claimed that bishops have no moral ascendancy to lecture him about the sanctity of life because of the corruption and child abuse scandals involving some clergymen.

He had also encouraged the public to maintain a personal relationship with God without going through Catholic rituals.

Bishops were unfazed by Duterte’s tirades and vowed to continue to speak out against the killings and other wrongdoings.

Last week, Malacañang said the government is open to collaborating with the Church but maintained that the bishops should make the first move.