President Rodrigo Duterte again hit Catholic prelates on Wednesday, to the extent of calling for their slay.

In a speech in Malacañang, Duterte said he could not have attained so much in life if he has no God.

I couldn’t have made it in life even the barest that I --- before the presidency --- without God. But your bishops, kill them, those idiots are useless," he said in jest.

"All they do is criticize," Duterte added.

Duterte said he never said he did not believe in God.

"What I said is your God is stupid, mine has a lot of common sense. That’s what I told the bishops. I never said I was an atheist," he said.

Duterte was criticized before when he called the God of the Catholics stupid.

"Well, the presidency is a God-given gift. I am sure God would not have given me the position if I was a b***s***. Let us be clear on that," he added.

The Catholic Church has been critical of the alleged extrajudicial killings due to Duterte's war on drugs. Celerina Monte/DMS