Phil Catholics doubt former president’s 'holy man' change

Claims by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that he is a changed “holy man” need to be demonstrated by his willingness to face murder charges, say Church officials and Catholics.

Duterte, who is facing an international investigation for leading a drug war that killed thousands, told the media that he is a changed person and attends Mass three times on Sundays.

“I am a very holy man. I’m a whole human being now,” ABS-CBN News reported Duterte saying on Jan. 7.

After retiring from politics, he has focused on religious and humanitarian work, he claimed, adding that he is now "a changed man” from the perceived agnostic or atheist to a pious person now.

Local and global rights groups have accused Duterte of committing crimes against humanity for overseeing extrajudicial killings of an estimated 20,000 suspected drug dealers and users during his time as president (2016-2022) and earlier as the mayor of Davao City.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, chairman of the Catholic bishops’ Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace, said no one can judge the true intentions of Duterte.

“Who are we to judge? But a repentant person must show remorse, there should be external acts,” Bagaforo told UCA News.

The prelate also said that if Duterte was looking for peace, his quest for it should come with justice.

“There could be no peace without justice. Peace is the product of justice, as St. Thomas Aquinas, once said,” Bagaforo added.

The Office of the Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter, attested to the change in the former president.

He has reportedly donated 10 million pesos (US$181,818) to support the victims of an earthquake that hit General Santos City in November, in Soccsksargen province, in the Mindanao region.

“His donation will go  a long way to building and repairing homes of earthquake victims,” lawyer Jessel Garilba, the Vice President’s executive secretary, told UCA News.

Garilba said Duterte also donated “undisclosed” amounts after retiring from public office and has supported several other projects.

Filipino Catholics are unimpressed by Duterte’s reported religiosity and philanthropy.

Some alleged the reported change aims to deflect public attention from a possible probe by the International Criminal Court (ICC).  

“Perhaps reality has sunk in as sooner or later he will be facing charges by the ICC for the murders of thousands of drug suspects,” Paul Legonzon, a Catholic and rights activist from Cotabato Archdiocese in Mindanao, told UCA News.

Duterte has attempted to dodge international investigation by arguing that the Philippines withdrew its membership from the Hague-based ICC in March 2019, so the court cannot not exercise jurisdiction in the Catholic-majority nation.

However, ICC investigators said that since the crimes were committed when the country was still a member, the court can exercise its jurisdiction and prosecute Duterte.  

Legonzon said Duterte's  “true” intentions shall be judged if he surrenders to the ICC and face his charges.

Human rights advocate Father Flavie Villanueva said Duterte can no longer escape trial despite his reported good activities now.

“Even if he participates in 100 masses a day, if he does not face the charges, there can be no justice to all those drug suspects he allegedly killed as mayor and president of this country,” Villanueva told UCA News.

Sheila Rivera, wife of a slain drug suspect in San Mateo, a village near Manila, refused to accept Duterte’s reported change.

“My husband was killed like an animal. No number of masses can erase that fact. If, indeed, he is repentant, he should surrender to the proper authorities and clear his name in court,” she told UCA News.