Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has vowed to resign if anyone can prove to him that God exists, barely two weeks after causing public outrage for calling God stupid.
In a speech late Friday, Duterte said he needed just one person to tell him that they have been to heaven and spoken to God.
‘I just need one person to tell me ... there is really a God,’ he said. ‘Here, I have a picture, I have a selfie with God.’ ‘Of the so many billions (of people), I just need one,’ he added. ‘And if there is one, ladies and gentlemen, I will announce my resignation immediately.’ Last month, Duterte came under fire in the predominantly Catholic country after he questioned God's logic in the Biblical creation story of Adam and Eve.
‘Adam ate [the fruit of knowledge], then malice was born. Who is this stupid God?’ he said in a speech in his southern home city of Davao on June 22. ‘That son of a bitch is stupid if that's the case.’ ‘You created something perfect and then you think of an event that would tempt and destroy the quality of your work,’ he added.
The 73-year-old defended his statements, saying it was his right not to believe in any religion.
Duterte has in the past lambasted the Catholic Church in the Philippines, where more than 80 per cent of the population practices the religion.
He has called priests out for allegations of corruption and sexual abuse, which he has alleged he was a victim of when he was a school pupil in Davao City.
