Philippine Presidential Spokesman Thinks Duterte Might Need ‘Better Speechwriters’

Harry Roque, a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said on Thursday that he thinks his boss might need “better speechwriters” to avoid such little slips of the tongue as alienating his 85 percent Catholic constituency by referring to God as a “stupid son of a bitch.”

Roque told a television interviewer that he has advised Duterte to “stick with the prepared script” when he speaks in public.

“Although I have promised him that I will help look for better speechwriters who will actually write speeches that he will actually read,” he added.

The Philippine Star notes that Duterte is well-known for abandoning his prepared speeches at public events because they “do not reflect his sentiments and his concerns.” He did, however, promise to turn over a new leaf by remaining on-script for his State of the Nation address on July 23.

Duterte has offended all sorts of people with his off-the-cuff remarks, but the Catholic flap is the first to significantly damage his popularity and force him to make some effort at contrition (after doubling down a couple of times, naturally, because this is Rodrigo Duterte we’re talking about).

The Philippine president has clashed with the Catholic Church before, but this time he seemed to be in danger of losing support from some key legislators. He might not be clear of the controversy yet, as Catholic bishops, disenchanted Duterte supporters, and people who were exasperated with him for a variety of other reasons have questioned the sincerity of his apologies.

“There is a call on the side of the government for dialogue with the churches. We welcome dialogue. It should have been done long before in the first place before the tirades should have come. We cannot then fault people who see this offer for dialogue as a damage control measure for the strong protests against Duterte and his cohorts. It may just be offered as a face-saving strategy. Is there really sincerity in this offer of dialogue? Unfortunately, the track record of this government does not point to this,” Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Manila said this week.

It should be noted that if Duterte wants to question the benevolence and intelligence of God using a carefully prepared script, there are writers who are more than capable of helping him out.