At 72, Federico Gapuz does not look like a swashbuckling lawyer with a 10-gallon Stetson hat. But make no mistake: he does not seem to have passed his prime either. Gapuz remains among the few, brave men of the legal profession who wouldn?t hesitate to come to the rescue of people prosecuted ? and persecuted — for their political beliefs. Davao Today managing editor Cheryll D. Fiel recently had the chance to chat with this ?people?s lawyer.?
Foreign delegates at a recent gathering of lawyers in Davao City bewailed the continued killings of activists and the harassment and other threats being faced by lawyers who take the cases of the poor and those who suffer from abuses of the state. Davao Today?s Cheryll D. Fiel reports.
Was Mayor Rodrigo Duterte?s unprecedented appearance at the City Council motivated by a serious desire to eradicate the drug problem? If so, why didn?t he or the PDEA file cases instead in court against the alleged drug dealers? Was it because of desperation and exasperation — that no matter what Duterte does, illegal drugs continue to proliferate? Or was it meant to spook councilors into giving him more ?peace and order? money in next year?s budget? Davao Today managing editor Cheryll D. Fiel tries to answer these questions.
Related story: Duterte?s Admission of Failure Proves Extrajudicial Killings Not the Answer
By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com
DAVAO CITY ? If there?s one thing the appearance of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte at the City Council last week proved, it is that the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and addicts, something that this city has seen for quite a long time now, cannot solve the drug problem, according to human-rights advocates.
In his testimony, Duterte expressed exasperation over the continued proliferation of illegal drugs in the city, which he said are creating ?zombies? out of users.
In this photo essay, Davao Today?s Barry Ohaylan and Grace S. Uddin chronicle the day when peasants from Davao City and the other Davao regions took to the streets to denounce poverty and oppression.
