In war vs youth offenders, Duterte reaches for the shotgun
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Another Duterte at the City Council
He said groups like Tambayan are “pampering” these delinquents. Minors, he said, should be taught accountability and a sense of responsibility to society. “We should tell them straight that if you kill, if you rape someone, you are going to face consequences,” he said.
The mayor warned NGOs from interfering with his work. “You continue to interfere with my work. I might end up hitting you,” he said. “Do not interfere with the work of the police, or else I will also beat you up as well,” he said.
Doysabas said they were unfazed by the mayor’s threat. “We’re used to hearing him say those things,” she said.
Duterte has the support of some members of the City Council. Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, the chairman of the Peace and Public Safety Committee, enjoined Davaoeños to rally behind the mayor. “I urge everybody, the citizenry, to support and rally behind the mayor’s campaign against gangsterism. We must participate in his advocacy,” Dayanghirang said a privilege speech last week.
Dayanghirang also urged parents to do their part, asking them to be responsible. “They must provide their children the love that they deserve. Otherwise, the parents do not have business (getting) the sympathy of the public if their children are killed in violence if they themselves are negligent of their children’s needs,” he said.
Dayanghirang told child NGOs to back off. “The NGOs, instead of criticizing and opposing the government’s way of eliminating gangsterism, should back off and understand how the government operates,” he said. “They should not use the ongoing gang war problem as an opportunity to criticize and oppose the government but instead to look at this campaign to fight against gangsterism in a very objective manner.”
Another councilor, April Dayap, who is the Sangguniang Kabataan representative to the council, said she supports the mayor as long as the approach is “good.” She said the mayor means well. When told about the shotguns, Dayap said she had not heard of it. Maybe, she told davaotoday.com, Duterte “was just being figurative.”
Doysabas, responding to the criticism of NGOs, said child advocates should not be disheartened by the mayor and his allies. “We consider this a challenge to NGOs and to other people to uphold the children’s rights,” she said. “If we are afraid, who will protect the children?” (Cheryll D. Fiel, with a report from Tyrone Velez/davaotoday.com)
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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?