PHILIPPINES
ABC News (Australia)
The Philippines’ president-elect Rodrigo Duterte has described the Catholic Church as the country’s “most hypocritical institution” and says he is ready to take on senior Filipino bishops in a debate about their wrongdoings before he takes office next month.
The tough-talking 71-year-old has yet to be proclaimed the May 9 poll winner, but an unofficial vote count by an election commission-accredited watchdog showed a huge lead over his rivals, three of whom conceded defeat. He is due to take office on June 30.
Mr Duterte’s often outrageous comments and no-nonsense approach have won him huge support and his tirades about killing criminals and even a joke about a murdered rape victim, appear not to have dented his popularity.
“I will lecture until June 29 the sins of the Catholic Church and whether or not you are still relevant,” Mr Duterte told reporters in Davao City, where he is the incumbent mayor.
“The most hypocritical institution is the Catholic Church.”
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