Davao mayor punches sheriff over demolition

DAVAO CITY ,Philippines  – Mayor Sara Duterte let loose her fist of fury against a city sheriff who had enforced a demolition of shanties in Barangay Agdao yesterday morning without waiting for her.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) meanwhile will determine details of the commotion before meting any necessary disciplinary action.

Duterte was seen on video footage punching city sheriff Abe Andres in the face at least four times because of the latter’s alleged refusal to heed her request to delay the demolition for just two hours and wait for her arrival so she could help ensure that it would not turn violent.

The mayor told The STAR that she did not have any intention of stopping the demolition as all she wanted was for her to personally see to it that the whole process would be done peacefully.

“That was why I asked for just two hours. Unfortunately, while I was in the middle of assisting the flood victims, reports reached me that a riot already erupted in the area and that a policeman was sent to the hospital and several other people were also already wounded. That was why I had to rush to the area,” she said.

The residents were said to have long resisted the demolition, which was earlier ordered by the court.

Still fuming after the incident when interviewed by Manila-based radio dzBB news anchor Gani Oro, the local official ranted against the sheriff for ignoring her verbal request.

The sheriff allegedly told her that he would only act on her request if he gets direct order from the court.

Duterte claimed she also tried to talk with the judge on the case over the phone, but the judge refused her calls.

“The judge is even a relative of mine,” she said.

Mayor Duterte was further incensed when Oro retorted that as a local official, she should not have resorted to violence as she did to the sheriff.

“Aren’t you listening to me at all?” Duterte barked in Tagalog. “Have yourself elected first as a mayor before you tell me that!”

Duterte then hung up ending the live phone-patch interview.

She told local reporters said that as early as Thursday, she already met with the concerned parties in the demolition, including the lawyer of the owner of the concerned real estate property.

“We already had everything mapped out so that nothing untoward would happen until the sheriff refused to wait for me and there was already chaos,” Duterte said.

She also shrugged off reports that the sheriff might file charges against her.

“No problem. He can file if he wants to file,” the mayor said, adding that she even asked her aides to send the sheriff to the hospital after the incident but the sheriff refused treatment.

Andres said he suffered contusions below his left eye as he also sought medical attention himself after the incident. He said he would also consult his lawyers with regard to possible legal action.

Duterte, on the other hand, said she does not mind public opinion regarding what happened.

Like father, like daughter

After yesterday’s incident, the mayor, who is a lawyer, has been labeled as very much like her father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who was also known to be a no-nonsense mayor.

“But Sara’s case is different. She is so soft-spoken and is very demure. And she showed what she got yesterday with what she did with the sheriff. She showed yesterday that she is a chip off the block,” said Antonio Ajero, publisher and editor-in-chief of the EDGE Davao weekly paper.

Ajero said the mayor could have already been stressed as she had to contend with the problems brought about by the floods.

The elder Duterte has been considered to be responsible for the stable peace and order situation in this southern metropolis.

The younger Duterte, like her father, garnered the biggest margins against opponents in the elections.

Sara led former House speaker Prospero Nograles by 250,000 votes in the last elections, considered to be one of the biggest margins in the history of the local polls.

Robredo wants details

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said the fact-finding to be conducted by the DILG-Legal Division will determine all the details about the incident and ask the protagonists to explain.

“The normal course is somebody must file a complaint, then we will investigate but in this case, motu proprio we’ve seen incident, we will ask them to explain immediately,” said Robredo in a telephone interview. “We’ll treat it as another case, hindi naman parang dahil Duterte sya eh iba ang mag-investigate. (Not because she is a Duterte, another agency will conduct the investigation).”

He said the result of the fact-finding would be submitted to President Aquino.

“Based on the account that I’ve seen and heard, the mayor was asking for two hours (lead time for the demolition) but the sheriff gave only 15 minutes,” Robredo said, adding that the mayor’s request appeared to be reasonable considering she had to deal with flashfloods that ravaged the city.

“Up to the point when she was asking for two hours, and the sheriff was saying 15 minutes, the sheriff erred. The demolition was not a life-and-death situation. But not the physical attack. The mayor should have settled it in another way, and that’s her problem,” he said.

Robredo said the agency “will not yet make an official pronouncement and judgment on the matter on the police and Duterte until the fact-finding is concluded.”

“Let’s complete the fact-findings. I think the police officers were also surprised with the turn of events. I don’t think the mayor planned the attack. She got mad, prompting her to hit the sheriff,” he added.

DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero, however, clarified that the formal complaint of Andres will serve as the “trigger” in any action to be taken by the department. – With reports from Marichu Villanueva, Cecille Suerte Felipe