Palace distances self from Panelo's interpretation of 'separation of Church and State'
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang does not seem to share the opinion of Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo about the separation of Church and State enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.
Panelo previously claimed that a Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) pastoral letter criticizing the Anti-Terrorism Law "appears to have violated the doctrine of the separation of Church and State."
The CBCP issued a strongly-worded pastoral letter Sunday, denouncing the passage of the contentious Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which is feared to be used as a weapon to suppress legitimate dissent and opposition.
The dissenting voices were strong but they remained unheeded. None of the serious concerns that they expressed about this legislative measure seemed to be of any consequence to them. Alas, the political pressure from above seemed to weigh more heavily on our legislators than the voices from below," read the letter signed by Caloocan bishop Pablo Virgilio David, CBCP acting president.
Panelo said the CBCP expressly supports the petitions questioning the law, effectively exerting "religious influence" or pressure on the Supreme Court to decide against the measure. The CBCP letter also "parrots" the "favored false narrative" of the detractors of the Anti-Terrorism Law that it is violative of the Constitution, he added.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, however, noted that the separation of Church and State pertains to non-establishment, which means that the State cannot favor one religion over the other; and free exercise of one's beliefs.
"I think, since I taught constitutional law in UP Law for 15 years, separation refers to two things, non establishment, which means that the state cannot give favors to one religion, and free exercise, which is the freedom to believe," Roque said at a press briefing.
"So those are the two things guaranteed by our Constitution with regard to the separation of Church and state," he added.
Panelo, who is chief presidential legal counsel, has often floated novel interpretations of the law, like arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic is a kind of invasion that justifies the declaration of martial law.
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