Palace Defends President Aquino’s Speech after His Meeting with Pope Francis

Malacañang on Tuesday defended President Benigno S. Aquino III’s speech following his meeting with Pope Francis last week, which has been criticized by netizens as unstatesmanlike.

Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said during the daily press briefing at the Palace that in his speech, the President was merely recounting his personal experiences and observations regarding the role played by the Church in the country.

“Makatotohanan ang kanyang talumpati at wala siyang layuning mapanira,” Secretary Coloma said.

“The speech was a truth-telling statement. If we review the entire text, we will understand the context. It was a narrative that is historically accurate and truthful and there is no singling out of any personality or any group,” he explained.

He described the President’s speech as a personal testimony of someone who experienced the events he was talking about.

Following his 15-minute closed-door with Pope Francis, President Aquino spoke about the Church’s “silence” while abuses were being committed by the previous administration.

The speech drew criticisms from netizens who called it “inappropriate.”

“It was a truthful statement and there was no other purpose for that speech except to tell the truth,” said Coloma. PND (ag)