No more cursing? Rody bothered by conscience, bishop says

MANILA, Philippines - It wasn’t God but his conscience that told President Duterte to stop cussing, a bishop said yesterday.

Duterte said while he was on the flight home from Japan last Thursday, he heard God’s voice telling him to stop cussing or else the plane would crash. He promised not to curse anymore.

But Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said “only holy and mystic persons have that privilege (to converse with God).”

“It was the voice of his conscience. His conscience was bothering him,” he added.

For Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, it is better to wait for Duterte to fulfill his promise.

“Good for him, but I think what should be laudable is not the promise but the fulfillment of such promise. It is good though that he realizes the need to change for the better,” Secillano said.

“At the end of the day, as a leader he should walk the talk,” he added.

Cuss-free speech

The President did not use a single cuss when he visited Cotabato City yesterday afternoon, but said his critics are fools and stupid.

In Cotabato for the launching of the Comprehensive Reform and Development Agenda for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other Conflict Affected Areas in Regions 9, 10 and 12, Duterte said “ayoko ng magmura (I don’t want to cuss anymore).” – With Giovanni Nilles, AP