In war vs youth offenders, Duterte reaches for the shotgun
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Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has created an “Anti-Hoodlum Unit” that will go after gang members and abusive cabbies. He said the unit can shoot these “embarrassments to the city” with shotguns if necessary. “I warn you,” he said last week. “You bring out the worse in me.” He also warned child advocates to get out of his way and to stop pampering juvenile delinquents.
DAVAO CITY — To Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, a good way to deal with juvenile delinquents, even taxi drivers who overcharge passengers, is shoot them with a shotgun.
In a move that raised yet again concerns about human rights and due process in the city, Duterte, who is notorious for his uncompromising ways and tough rhetoric on crime, announced that he has created the Anti-Hoodlum Unit, a police unit that is charged with dealing with street gangs, youth offenders and those who, according to him, bring shame to the city.
“The law says if you get caught, you minors will spend a night in jail,” Duterte said in his television program last week. And if jail doesn’t work, there’s always the shotgun.
Members of the unit, the mayor announced last week, will be given shotguns — they can shoot offenders in the leg, if necessary. Duterte said he will not allow the use of M-16 rifles because, according to him, these are “lethal and dangerous.”
He also warned taxi drivers who overcharge, who refuse passengers, or who force passengers out of the taxi if they refuse to pay the driver’s price. These drivers, many of them at the Davao International Aiport, are creating headaches for the city, Duterte said. He added it’s about time these drivers are taught a lesson because they are an embarrassment to the city.
He advised the public to call 911, the cityt’s hotline, to report incidents of abuses by drivers and gang activities.
The mayor’s move came a couple of weeks after he promised, during his oath-taking, to continue his war against crime. The city has gained both fame and notoriety because of the mayor’s approach to crime. On one hand, his administration is credited for keeping the peace, regardless of his repeated statements that tend to contradict that — statements that depict the city as crawling with delinquents and criminals and that the only recourse is his iron hand. As a result, the city has been recognized for being orderly and safe, particularly for tourists.
On the other hand, Duterte’s administration has likewise been blamed for the series of extrajudicial killings, often attributed to the so-called Davao Death Squad, that victimize mainly young people. The mayor has made public countless times his support of the killings, regardless of the condemnation by human-rights groups and child advocates, who decry the breakdown of due process in a city ruled by a former city prosecutor. Many of the victims had not been acquitted in a court of law; some of them were murdered as soon as they stepped out of police stations.
In his television program last Sunday, Duterte warned that he would not go soft on youth offenders, many of whom, he said, are exploited by criminal syndicates, such as the Akyat Bahay Gang that uses small children to break into homes. “I warn you,” he said. “You bring out the worse in me.”
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ORPHANED
July 19th, 2007 at 4:35 am
I’ve heard of Mayor Duterte of Davao from a very good journalist friend of national standing who recently passed away. Said friend was an avid supporter of the Davao mayor’s “Dirty Harry” approach to solving the city’s crimes.
While I believe that a tough stance against criminality is the call of the chief executive of Davao, there can be no debate that it IS definitely criminal to even remotely consider the murder of erring individuals, taxi drivers, even if they are thieves and worse, the killings of juvenile delinquents, victims of summary executions by the Davao Death Squad.
Summary executions do not have a place in any society. People who order summary executions, particularly of juvenile delinquents or street children should be brought before the International Criminal Tribunal to be judged for crimes against humanity. (Read Father Shay Cullen’s article in PREDA and reports by Carlos H. Conde.)
The barbarism with which Mayor Duterte (who looks like a criminal himself) wants to instill law and order in the city by openly endorsing killings, to my mind is already a violation of the basic human rights of his adult victims but that he should make it his rule of law to shoot juvenile delinquents, even taxi drivers who overcharge passengers with a shotgun is not only brutal but points to the mayor’s mental state – he is mentally deranged!
I wonder if this man happens to know that in this day and age, people, never mind if they have been elected the chief executive of their villages, their cities, their regions or their nations, can’t go about shooting people!
I don’t have to lecture Mayor Duterte about the various socio-political ways and means that he could adopt to bring about law and order in his city more humanely. Surely this man must possess a minimum of intellect, a minimum of decency, enough doze of charity in his heart to find the right balance. I don’t believe Mayor Duterte is so debilitated not to realize that The Davao Death Squad of which he is, I suspect, the de facto organizer and main cheerleader is not the answer to eliminating poverty which is one of the main root causes of juvenile delinquency.
Either he stops this insanity and finds ways and means to deal humanely with the erring and even criminal elements of his city or he should be brought to justice. Should that fail, the good and the remaining morally upright citizens of Davao must not hesitate to hang him from the highest lamppost! The souls of his murdered victims can then rest in peace.
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I have to agree with the mayor. NO room for these kind of people. Even though, I live in the US and not Filipino, I have seen over here how groups that are not tough on crime mess up societies. All I can say is Mayor Duterte is right. People who go against the law and the law is one that protects the people have no room in society.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:38 am
A lot of people support him. That’s why he always wins in the elections. If you don’t agree with what he’s doing, try running for mayor and let’s see what you can do. I doubt it if you can even up his achievements. He’s damn good.
August 11th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
where is the wife of mayor duterte?she was never mentioned on any news. is she still alive and well?
August 27th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
Mayor Duterte, should be cited as an example by other Mayor in the Philippines.
I can go along Davao City not fearing someone will snatch my pricey cellphone, or my wife jewelry.
To those human rights advocates, Davao City is not a place for you. You are only concerned with Human rights of criminals not the rights of the victims.
August 28th, 2007 at 3:52 am
Let’s say for discussion sake – that Duterte’s approach brings out results. What will happen after Duterte dies – just like everyone else. Look for another Duterte-like figure?
As long as widespread poverty exists – hoodlums and gangsterism will be there. So given that scene – shall we just keep on going for quick fixes and keep on riding shotgun? Davao has been doing the tough-guy approach all these years – it might appear that it works better when compared to other cities. However, has it really worked for Davao in the sense that the killings eliminate crime – or has it whitewashed Davao’s incapacity to create a better climate for children?
So shall Davao keep on shooting whatever and whoever till kingdom come – is this the only solution that Davao is capable of?
Is this an admission that Davao is totally incapable of providing and developing an environment which proactively addresses gangsterism?
How about if those councilor put their pork barrel where their mouth is – more schools, more playground, more books, more teachers.
As the saying goes – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Has Davao lost its moral bearings?
December 8th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
well, no doubt Duterte will always win in any election here in Davao . But that doesnt mean he is loved by the people . He wins because he uses the 3 Gs (guns, goons and gold) . Di na binoboto pero nananalo . if you are from Barangay Talomo , davao city you should know that. how his goons (tata sala) coerced the electorate . how the city disaster team awashed the barangay with money , NFA rice and sardines . kawawang dating barangay captain Mr. Jeminez nagtago natakot. so paano ka pa makapangampanya nyan? well, just like any human being who would like to preserve his life . as long as the people of davao is scared of his dirty tactics . we will always be at the mercy of this guy from hell . Only God’s mercy can heal you from your illness Mr. Duterte .