[The Wide Shot] Alan Peter Cayetano, ‘ambassador of the Lord’

Ah, that awkward smile on the face of Senator Imee Marcos.

Had I been in her place, I would have reacted awkwardly, too. The person next to her, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, had just made the boldest of introductions.

“Gentlemen, ladies, pardon my introduction. I’m not imposing this on you. This is my personal code. More than being Alan Cayetano, or a senator, a former secretary of foreign affairs, a former speaker or congressman, I believe I am an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ,” Cayetano said during a Senate hearing on Thursday, March 20.

The hearing, led by Marcos, tackled the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte over a crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court. Duterte is accused of ordering the killing of thousands of Filipinos in his controversial drug war.

“Ambassadors don’t have opinions,” Cayetano said, adding that envoys merely echo the position of their principal — in his case, the good Lord. 

“So when we pray the Lord’s Prayer — ‘Your kingdom come here on earth, as it is in heaven’ — you are actually aligning your government and your culture with God’s culture and God’s purpose. The simplest is: do good or promote good, and prevent evil,” he said.

He said complications arise, however, due to interpretation. For Duterte supporters, he said the drug war promotes peace and order and is, therefore, a way of “doing God’s will of promoting good.” For critics, on the other hand, “even if a person is a pusher and addict,” the person does not deserve to be killed.

Under the cloak of a neutral tone, Cayetano then launched into his usual defense of Duterte’s drug war — and called for “due process” for the former president. (Watch an excerpt from the hearing below.)

Cayetano, 54, has always been one of the staunchest defenders of Duterte’s war on drugs. The senator, who was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election, once served as Philippine foreign secretary under the populist leader. In September 2018, he even defended the drug war at the United Nations General Assembly. 

Cayetano’s introductory remarks on Thursday reminded me of a recent Catholic recollection on the “Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Lively Virtues.” The recollection master, Father Dave Concepcion of Greenbelt Chapel, reflected on humility. “Humility,” said Concepcion, “is the most difficult among the virtues, because the moment you say you have it, you’ve lost it.” 

Mm-hmm, Mr. Senator.

In the first place, how proper was it to trumpet one’s religious “ambassadorship” in a government hearing? Yes, we cannot separate faith from daily life. It is quite another thing, however, to explicitly declare that one is an “ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ” while standing as an elected representative of 109 million Filipinos, including a non-Christian minority.

I hope he remembers that the Duterte-Cayetano tandem, in 2016, ardently courted the votes of Filipinos in Mindanao, where most of the country’s nearly seven million Muslims live. I hope he understands, too, that of the 85% of Filipinos who identify as Christian, including the Catholic majority, many are only Christians by name and have stopped practicing their faith.

How does it make nonbelievers feel to have a senator like him?

But let us assume, for the sake of argument, that Cayetano’s declaration was proper for a tax-funded public official representing citizens of a secular state.

Was Cayetano acting as a true ambassador of the Lord? Was he living up to his Christian faith?

One who defends the powerful, and neglects the oppressed, cannot be an ambassador of the Lord who died to free us from slavery. 

The line of Cayetano, who is a Christian, is not original. The line comes from the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians (5:20): “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

What does it mean to be an “ambassador of Christ”?

Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF), a prominent Christian church in the Philippines, explains on its website: “An ‘ambassador’ is a trusted and respected person authorized to speak as God’s emissary and represent His kingdom. The appeal is to come alongside people and encourage them that God’s desire is for them to be reconciled to God.”

CCF continued by explaining “our job as an ambassador,” in the words of Jesus:

• “Preach the Gospel to the poor”
• “Proclaim release to the captives”
• “Proclaim recovery of sight to the blind”
• “Set free those who are oppressed”
• “Proclaim the favorable year of the Lord”

When Cayetano focuses more on defending Duterte instead of drug war victims, how is that setting free the oppressed?

In a December 2024 press conference, reflecting on the Christmas story, two Evangelical bishops emphasized the need to care for the “shepherds” in the face of the “Herods” of our time.

The Evangelical bishops spoke at the December 23 launch of an anti-corruption movement alongside Catholic priests, alarmed at the P6.4-trillion ($109-billion) national budget for 2025.

“The first Christmas greeting was given by an angel to the shepherds,” said Bishop Efraim Tendero, global ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, in response to one of my questions. He described shepherds as those “on the margins of society during those times.”

“We are joining this because this affects the stomachs of our countrymen, the future of our children,” Tendero said, referring to the anti-corruption movement.

Bishop Noel Pantoja, national director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, criticized people like King Herod, who lied to the Wise Men that he wanted to worship Jesus but actually wanted to kill him. 

“Herod lied. Now, many people are also lying. There’s a lot of fake news — pretending to worship when there is actually greed and evil in the heart,” Pantoja said. “Until now, there are many Herods. But thankfully, the Messiah was born — ready to forgive Herod, bless all people, and lift up the shepherds on the margins of society.”

In an interfaith rally at EDSA Shrine on January 31, Pantoja and Tendero joined other religious leaders in criticizing both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.

“The Church is one with the people and all who love our country. The Church opposes the ruthless killing of Filipinos. Thou shall not kill,” said Pantoja. “Thou shall not steal.”

Love for the poor and oppressed — not the defense of the rich and powerful — is the mark of a true ambassador of the Lord who “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7).

I end with the words of the late great Jesuit superior general, Father Pedro Arrupe, who spoke to Jesuit high school alumni in 1973. His address is now a landmark document for institutions run by the Society of Jesus, including the Philippines’ Ateneo network of schools, pledging to form “men and women for others.”

“Today,” proclaimed Arrupe, “our prime educational objective must be to form men and women for others; men and women who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ — for the God-man who lived and died for all the world; men and women who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbors; men and women completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce.”

To His Excellency, “Ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ” Alan Peter Cayetano, with all due respect: “Love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce.” – Rappler.com

The Wide Shot is a Sunday column on religion and public life. If you have suggested topics or feedback, let us know in the faith chat room of the Rappler Communities app.