A few days before election day, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a pastoral letter encouraging Catholics not to vote for a candidate who is “morally reprehensible” and who has “scant regard for the rights of others and the teachings of the Church” ( ABS-CBN News 2016). The controversial and offensive remarks did not endear Duterte to many Church leaders. During the presidential campaign, Duterte entertained his audiences with populist jokes, including one where he cursed the Pope for creating a massive traffic jam in Manila during his visit. The emergence of Rodrigo Duterte as a national political actor has ushered in a new period in government relations with the Catholic hierarchy. However, recent altercations between the Philippine president and Catholic Church leaders have apparently blurred traditional secular and religious boundaries. We argue that institutional relations between Church and State remain stable despite the Duterte-Catholic Church conflict. What accounts for the changing Church-State relations in the Philippines? How will this conflict affect State policy towards religion, religious freedom, and religious education? In the present study we discuss the present context of the Church-State separation principle in the Philippines.
In the process, the conflict has resurfaced issues about the principle of Church-State separation.
However, traditional boundaries governing political and religious agency have been crossed during Duterte’s presidency causing a conflict between leaders of government and the Catholic hierarchy.
While the principle honors distinctions between temporal and spiritual functions, both Church and State maintain a unique and cooperative relationship geared towards the common good. In its declaration of principles, the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides for the separation of Church and State.
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