Pastor-turned-congressman Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. thinks that the apparent non-inclusion of a Catholic priest in the invocation of President Duterte's State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) last Monday wasn't done on purpose.
(Facebook / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
"First of all I think we should not read too much into these things. I do not believe this was intentional. That's what I would like to believe," Abante said when asked about the matter during a virtual press conference Wednesday of the House Minority Bloc, of which he is the leader.
"We should focus on the spirit or the essence of this practice. It's about prayer. It's about recognizing the role of faith in our proceedings," he added.
It what has been described by observers as conspicuous, there was no explicit representation from the Catholic Church during the 2020 SONA's invocation. The prayer is meant to represent all faiths, if possible.
Traditionally, the prayer leader from the Catholic Church is portrayed wearing a "sutana" or cassock. Of the four prayer leaders Monday, one was Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, one was a Muslim, while the other two had no obvious religious representation.
"The other two was a lady and a young man who led the prayers. I thought that one of them was Catholic," said Abante, who represents Manila's sixth district.
But the House Minority Leader was quick to point out that the pre-speech inter-faith prayer "isn't about complete representation kasi hindi naman practically nairerepresent lahat (because it's not practical to represent all)."
He cited instances during past Congresses in which he was designated to lead the prayer. "One person is enough to pray for everyone. Ang importante (The important thing is) we recognize God in our own way."
Lastly, Abante said there are more pressing concerns that the country must attend to.
"We have bigger issues to talk about. We have bigger problems to solve. Lets focus on COVID-19, let's focus on saving lives and not get distracted by these side issues," he said.
Local Catholic Church leaders haven't had a rosy relationship with Duterte since his administration began on June 30, 2016. This had led some to think that the omission during the invocation was a "slight" toward the Church.