My God is forgiving—Duterte

● My God is forgiving—Duterte

● Goodbye, SPO1 Adonis Dumpit!

God really works in mysterious ways. He made President Rodrigo Duterte talk about God, now everybody is concern about God.

However, if we are engaged in a religious debate, such topic will have no end. So, we better respect each other’s beliefs.

More about Duterte’s “God” when he was the keynote speaker during the 25th national convention of the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines (VMLP) in Bellevue Resort in Panglao town last Thursday, June 28.

He said his favorite chapter in the Holy Bible is The Ecclesiastes.

President Rodrigo Duterte with the provincial and local leaders during the 25th national convention of the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines (VMLP) in Panglao town. Contributed Photo

“If there’s a page in the Bible which I read almost every day, it’s the Ecclesiastes 3,” he said at the start of his speech.

Ecclesiastes is found in the Old Testament after the book of Proverbs and before Song of Solomon.

“There’s a time to be calm, there’s a time to be silent, to be poignant, a time to be subdued, and a time to be vicious. Ganoon talaga ang buhay (That’s life),” he continued.

“There is always time…a time to be proper and a time to be a shit…all because this is planet earth, this is not heaven,” he said.

The President was expected to arrive at 3 p.m. but he arrived at 4:12 p.m.

At least 600 vice mayors attended the convention, according to Tagbilaran City Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso.

It was his second visit to the island-province since he was elected in 2016.

Duterte drew flak after his “stupid God” remark. But he said his own God is forgiving.

“I have a God, it’s a God in my… my concept of God is according to my values. We have different gods, hindi tayo magkaintindihan (We do not understand each other). I have this deep and abiding faith in God.

 Duterte is not sorry. Ever.

 Bishop Alberto Uy of the Diocese of Tagbilaran
with Presidential Communications Operations
Office head Secretary Jose Ruperto Martin
Andanar during the town fiesta of Garcia
Hernandez, Bohol.
Photo from Bishop Alberto Uy Facebook Account

Despite the public outrage, the President remained unapologetic for his “stupid God” remarks.

“I will not do that. Definitely, not in a million years,” he told reporters.  

“You know God is personal, it is not formed by textbooks. You nurture God as your faith based on the values that you get from life early on from your parents. That is how you conceived God to be. So, if you used God as a transmission sa ano ninyo other sectors of society then you invite criticisms,” he said.

But the president said he “has a forgiving God.”

“For now, I will just keep my silence for I want to see how the nation reacts. Kumbaga, I’m shaking the tree. If you’d notice me every now and then, either national or local, ginugulo ko talaga ‘yung puno,” he continued.

He drew laughter when he added, “Talagang takot din ako. May mga anak ako, may mga apo, may duha asawa ako, may three girlfriends ako (I am also scared. I have children. I have grandchildren. I have two wives. I have three girlfriends).”

While others were conciliatory, more Church leaders have come out to denounce what some called “blasphemous” remarks.

“My God is not stupid. He is almighty, all-wise and all-loving. To him be the glory, now and forever,” Bishop Alberto Uy of Tagbilaran said on his Facebook page.

Bishop Uy said some stories in the Bible call for a deeper interpretation as they have religious truths in them that tells humanity of God’s plans and how people should live their lives.

“Not all (stories) in the Bible are to be interpreted literally. Some stories, though not historical, have religious truths, which can inform us about God and His plan for the world and humanity,” he said.

During Sunday Mass at St. John the Baptist Church in Garcia Hernandez town, he appealed to parishioners “to pray for healing so that the President’s heart could be healed.”

“We need to be hopeful. We continue to respect our President. And we pray for him,” Uy said. “We pray for healing.”

Duterte also warned mayors who were inactive in the government’s campaign against crime and illegal drugs that they would be replaced by the police.

“I will file a case against you [for] serious neglect of duty or simple neglect or sheer ignorance of law or simply doing nothing,” he added.

He also warned narco-policemen that they would die if they continue their involvement in illegal drugs.

***

Goodye, Dumpit!

When SPO1 Adonis De Los Amantes Dumpit was transferred to Bohol in 2016, I had the opportunity to interview him for this little corner.  He was teary-eyed when he told your VRS (and The Freeman’s Jessa Agua-Ylanan) that he missed his 85-year-old mother Liwayway in Davao Oriental, and only son, Norman.

My last encounter with Dumpit was during the command visit of PNP- Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde at Bohol Provincial Police Office two weeks ago. I was surprised to see him because I thought he was transferred to Cebu after his short stint at BPPO. He greeted me with a warm smile and extended his hand while he shrugged off those who wanted to take a selfie with him.

In his 20 years in the police force, Dumpit received awards and commendations and was dreaded by Cebu City’s underworld characters in 2000 for hunting down petty criminals. So, everyone knew him as the “super cop.”

SPO1 Adonis Dumpit was a sharpshooter
and multi-awarded policeman. Leo Udtohan

But last week’s news shocked the entire region.  He was killed.

It was his last goodbye.

Ma. Ella Amores, 45, said when her live-in partner SPO1 Adonis Dumpit bid goodbye last Wednesday (June 27, 2018) morning, she felt strange that she wanted to hug him tightly.

Little did she know that it was to be the last time she would see him.

Dumpit, her live-in partner for a decade, was killed on June 27 in a joint operation by the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Bohol.

Amores said Dumpit, 54, left home early as he had been told that President Duterte would be in Bohol on Thursday. He said he was needed at the Camp Francisco Dagohoy for a briefing.

She said Dumpit had brought his uniform and the book that he was asked to photocopy.

She was later told that Dumpit, while driving his motorcycle, was killed at 8:20 a.m. in Purok 1, Dagohoy Road, San Isidro District, at least 200 meters from their house.

Dumpit was assigned at the Bohol Police Provincial Office. He was the former close-in aide of Cebu City Mayor Tomas “Tommy” Osmeña.

She said she heard gunshots but thought they were just fireworks.

But one of her adopted children told her Dumpit was killed.

Amores believed that the 15 sachets of shabu found from Dumpit’s pants were planted. Only his uniform and some clothes were found in the utility box of his motorcycle.

"Wala jud na ana... nag-awanta mi sa among kinabuhi nga nagpuyo nga malinawon. Putlan man gani mig kuryente (We were never into drugs. We endured life’s hardships in order to live in peace. There were even times when our electricity was cut off)," she explained.

She believed some people held a grudge against Dumpit since he was active working against drugs.

Dumpit once told her that he was reassigned for some reasons.

She said Dumpit explained to her why he was transferred from Cebu to Bohol.

"Mapagan ko permanente sa pagan sa higante (I always caught in the crossfire between giants)," Amores quoted Dumpit telling her.

She also questioned the manner of operation. She said it was an ambush.

"Dapat muari sila, ilang tuyo gikan sa taas, raid sila, willing mi magpasaka unsa man ilang tuyo. Kampanti jud, kampanti tong tawo nga wala gud anomaly,” she said.

“Ambush to, ambush to. asa gud dapit maintercept. Ambush to. Dapat muari sila, ilang tuyo gikan sa taas, raid sila, willing mi magpasaka unsa man ilang tuyo. kampanti jud, kampanti tong tawo nga wala gud anomalya," she said.

But NBI-Bohol head Rennan Augustus Oliva denied Amores’ claim that their operation was an ambush.

“Iya nang opinion pero klaro to nga mingsukol, understable na kay kalive in partner siya unya mabasa ninyo ang report unysa na iyang kalive in so naa ta mga nya naa tay follow-up operation. Pero klaro man atong operation, naa may witnesses. Naa jud firefight nahitabo. Dili ambush. Kay if ambush dili mupusil una ang subject. Napusil gud og una. Naa man tay witnesses (They have their  opinions. But it was very clear that the subject engaged our operatives in a shootout, and we have witnesses to prove it,” he said. 

He said it was a legitimate operation that they had monitored Dumpit’s illegal activities.

Oliva  also stressed that the information that Dumpit was a “narco police” first came from the police and not from NBI.

The PNP Crime Lab has not released its official results on the ballistic examination and parriffin results.

Neighbors said Dumpit was a quiet and a good person.

“He was serious but fun to be around. Nobody deserves a fate like that,” a neighbor who requested anonymity said.

Another neighbor said “he was kind and who focused almost completely on his work.”

PRO-7 confirmed that there was no reason to give any honors to Dumpit, despite his earlier reputation, who ended his police career with involvement in the illegal drug trade.

***

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