MANILA (UPDATED) — Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was critical of the Catholic Church, its leaders and its teachings when he was in Malacañang, now regularly goes to Mass, he claimed Saturday night, saying also that he has become a "very holy man" in his retirement.

Speaking to members of the media in a Davao City hotel, the former president also claimed that it would be "disgusting" for him to still meddle in politics.

"On Sundays, I go to Mass. Three times. One in the morning, noontime mass, and in the evening," Duterte, whose controversial statements were often explained by his spokespersons and supporters as just hyperbole and exaggeration, said.

"I am a very holy man. I'm a whole human being now," he said.

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Late Saturday evening, Duterte visited the wake of former Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president Fernando Capalla at the San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City.

Duterte, who described Capalla as a good friend and a religious man, acknowledged the late archbishop's influence on both his personal and public life.

"Pinapatawag niya ako for advice to me from him. Pumupunta talaga ako sa kanya. There’s also some occasions na I sought his counsel. He was a good counselor, adviser. He was a good constituent and I respect him deeply. I am sad sa pagkamatay niya," Duterte said in a media briefing in Davao City on Saturday.

Capalla, who was described as a peace advocate for Mindanao, was also a vocal critic of Duterte's war on drugs. He urged the former president to "listen to the people."

'STUPID GOD'

While president, Duterte clashed with the Catholic Bishops' Conference over his administration's bloody war on drugs.

He and his supporters sometimes countered these criticisms by pointing to abuses and scandals within the Catholic Church.

Duterte also courted controversy in 2018 for commenting on the Biblical creation story and commenting that God was "stupid" for allowing temptation to corrupt Adam and Eve.

That same year, he also criticized the Catholic observance of All Saints' and All Souls' days, saying the saints were just drunkards and that the people can instead put a picture of "Santo Rodrigo" on their altars instead.

Duterte, who claimed to have been abused by a priest while a student, also claimed in 2018 that "[m]ost of them, 90 percent of the priests" are gay.

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In 2015, he said he had cursed out Pope Francis over the traffic that was caused by his visit to the Philippines.

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'NO MORE POLITICS'

Aside from going to Mass on Sundays, Duterte said he has also enjoyed reading books and "three or four newspapers" in his retirement from politics, which he said is final.

"No more politics for me. I'm retired. Retired na talaga ako. I'm tired," Duterte also said. "Ayoko na ng pulitika. Hindi naman ako nasusuka. I find it disgusting for me to still meddle in politics."

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Duterte, who has been placing in surveys on potential candidates for senator in 2025, famously rejected rumors of a presidential run in 2016 before eventually becoming a substitute candidate for president under PDP-Laban. — with a report from Hernel Tocmo