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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-8/sal-panelo.webp" alt="Salvador S. Panelo" />
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(Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo, inset, Bishop Broderick Pabillo)
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"We recognize the right of members of the clergy expressing their advocacy or dissent on certain issues. However, when members of their top ranks, collectively, in the name of their religion, exert pressure and influence on a purely governmental process by publicly posting a powerful rhetorical question such as: 'Will the highest level of our Judiciary assert its independence, or will they, too, succumb to political pressure?' , they cross the line that separates the church and state." 
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Panelo urged the Church not to interfere in purely political or temporal matters as its strong persuasion can dictate how the nation should run its earthly affairs which is a clear derogation of the separation of church and state principle. The presidential counsel said:
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"While we do not entertain the notion of ever regulating the observance of religion, let us make sure that religion, encompassing as it does large segments of our society, does not unduly influence the formulation and implementation of state policies. Our overriding concern as a committee, therefore, can only be this: The Church or the State can destroy itself by interfering with the business of the other. The passage 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's' is not an idle passage in the Holy Book. It is an established principle, and violating it can only mean disaster, either for the Church or the State."
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"It is unfair as undeniably their postulations intrinsically involve the moral obedience of its numerous followers to faith - that adopting a hostile position against the ATA is to be on the right side of fighting evil when, in truth and in fact, the measure is pro-life and crafted by legislators precisely to address the evils of terrorism." 
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Panelo also answered Pabillo's dare.  He said:
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"It is amusing and disturbing to witness a bishop dare - or pose a challenge for - the government to file a case against them. The manner in which it was hurled seemed to demonstrate hubris and hate on his part. We will simply shrug off such challenge. Pursuing such an action would only give them the excuse to decry government suppression, silencing of voices, and weoponization of the law, similar to what detractors and critics recite when they are hailed to court for their transgressions." 
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<b>Sources</b>
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<li>
Panelo to bishop: Don't use God, <a href="https://tribune.net.ph" class="news_link" title="Source" target="_blank">The Daily Tribune</a>, July 22, 2020
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"When you criticize me, do not use the platform of God" - Panelo