Disrespecting Francisco ‘Kit’ Tatad

In a previous post, Politikal Pinoy took issue with Francisco ‘Kit’ Tatad when he accused Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of “disrespecting the Catholic Faith” when he chose to undertake his state visits to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar on the holiest of religious holy days, Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

Let’s make this short and sweet:

• If a President is disrespecting religion by visiting the heroes of our Motherland — the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) — and attending to the plight of stranded and pardoned Filipinos convicted of crimes in the Middle East, then sure, Duterte is disrespectful
• If the President is disrespecting religion by  negotiating and sealing almost $2 BILLION in investments for the country as part of his overall mission to uplift its economy and its people, then sure, Duterte is disrespectful.
• If Mr. Tatad can show us that the Catholic Church in the Philippines has invested even just a fraction of that amount to DIRECTLY uplift the conditions of the Filipino poor and downtrodden, then sure, he has all the right to call Duterte disrespectful.

Let me remind Mr. Tatad of just three of the Eight Beatitudes:

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.

So, with due respect to Mr. Tatad, we can say that by undertaking this trip to the Middle East, Duterte has shown his mercy, purity of heart and his love for peace.

Not to mention his unquestionable love of country.