The Folly of a Bible-Quoting Politician

The recent ascendancy of Alan Peter Cayetano to the Senate presidency, replacing Tito Sotto following a coup orchestrated by the supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte, has made him perhaps too confident and overly predictable. Given his proclivity to project himself as a deeply religious person, I cannot avoid anticipating what verses from the Bible he will use in giving speeches and justifying his actions as Senate President (SP).

In his speech after taking oath as the new SP, he quoted Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”

He explained that this quote from Jeremiah is the basis of his belief and of his faith. And he encouraged his fellow senators to do the right thing and do what is right.

During a June 26, 2023 Senate press event, where he connected his father’s teachings to the commandments of Jesus, Cayetano quoted Matthew 22: 37-39, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart...Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In the same 2023 event, he emphasized the importance of seeking God’s kingdom over material concerns by quoting Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Why Cayetano continues to quote the Bible is beyond me. Perhaps he wants to project the image that what he says is the ultimate truth; or, perhaps, he wants to teach his supporters what the proper Christian values they ought to embrace. Simply put, he probably wants to project himself as God’s chosen prophet on earth.

But what Cayetano preaches is different from what he does.

During the Senate hearing investigating the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte in 2025, Cayetano introduced himself saying, “More than being Alan Cayetano, or a senator, a former secretary of foreign affairs, I believe I am an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Cayetano appears to have built his entire public persona by quoting verses from the Bible with seriousness and solemnity. Full of self-righteousness, in a press conference after the recent Senate shooting a couple of days ago that many Filipinos think was staged, he said, “My whole life, people doubted me. But God does not doubt me. So, I’ll do my best.”

His speeches may sound morally uplifting, but his actions tell a different story. My observations, based on what I’ve read and when I watch him on TV, reveal a pattern of behavior that contradicts the very moral values he claims to champion.

When he was the secretary of foreign affairs during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, he branded as ‘disinformation and fake news’ the report by the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Duterte administration’s war on drugs that killed thousands of its own citizens. Thus, he earned the moniker from Human Rights Watch Duterte’s “Denier-in-Chief.”

He grabs whatever opportunity offers him the most visibility. Just a few days ago and without any hesitation, Cayetano spoke highly of the late Juan Ponce Enrile. He said, “I call my titos ‘Tito’, but I call my blood uncles ‘Uncle.’ But the only people I call ‘Uncle’ na hindi ko kadugo is dalawang tao lang, and one of them is JPE because I grew up with him.”

Katrina Ponce Enrile, JPE’s daughter, refuted him with a clear warning saying, “Our father’s legacy, sacrifices, and decades of service to the nation should never be revisited only when convenient, politically useful, or publicly advantageous.”

Beneath his constant use of biblical references lies a politician who is driven by ambition and who uses manipulation to achieve his goal. When confronted with criticism, he responds angrily, as demonstrated when a journalist asked him to comment on allegations that the Senate shooting had been staged.

He said with marked hostility, “This is the Senate of the Philippines. We are allegedly under attack.” But if the Senate was under attack, there were no media reports of senators or their staff running, hiding or taking cover to protect themselves. Was Cayetano lying or at the very least exaggerating to cover up something?

I don’t see a forgiving and a humble heart in Cayetano when he accuses minority senators as “busy...trying to talk to our members and convince them to join them again” adding that there were “invitations to talk and intimidation.” Yet he once quoted Psalm 51:10-12 (“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.”) upon resigning as Speaker of the House in 2020, invoking a message centered on humility, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

If it is true that one who lives by the sword dies by the sword, then it follows that one who proclaims biblical teachings yet fails to live them in his actions invites a downfall no less severe – a fate brought by the very scorch of the earth he has sown through his own hypocrisy.

Let me end with a quote from Galatians 6:7 the biblical principle that a person’s action has inevitable consequences, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”

This statement should serve as a solemn warning to Cayetano that the misuse of Scriptures as a tool for propaganda carries consequences he may one day deeply regret. One cannot deceive the public indefinitely, and certainly not God.