“Kamong tanan nga konektado niya, dili na ta magbinolahay. Kabalo mo nga kamo akong ginatunong. Who has had, or who had had dealings with (Balingit). Tagaan ta mo’g 24 oras. Makita ta mo sa Davao, mosuroy ko. Sorry na lang. Ayaw kog mahaya.” – Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte
By MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN
Davao Today
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Davao City Vice-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, once again, gave his classic tough guy ultimatum to drug pushers and killers: leave the city in 24 hours. As to a former councilor linked to drug syndicates, Duterte also gave him 48 hours to prove his innocence.
Duterte made the statement addressing those who had links to police personnel SPO4 Allan Balingit who was killed during a police operation at 1 AM the Sunday February 3. Balingit, allegedly, had been involved with drug syndicates.
“Kamong tanan nga konektado niya, dili na ta magbinolahay. Kabalo mo nga kamo akong ginatunong. Tagaan ta mo’g 24 oras. Makita ta mo sa Davao, mosuroy ko. Sorry na lang. Ayaw kog mahaya (Those of you who are connected to him, this is not the time for joking. You know that I’m referring to you. I’m giving you only 24 hours. I will go around the city and once I see you, you’ll be sorry. Don’t blame me.),” Duterte warned during his weekly television program Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa, February 3.
He mentioned an unnamed jail guard, who was also allegedly involved with the crimes.
“Ang imong buhaton, isulod na ang imong kaugalingon sa prisohan. Unya hangyoa ang warden nga ikandado ka sa sulod (I’m telling you, surrender now. You ask the jail warden to lock you up in the prison cell),” Duterte advised the said jail guard.
Of Balingit, Duterte said “Dugay na man nako ning gi-istudyohan ang iyang lihok (I’ve been investigating him).” He also showed a matrix linking Balingit with other individuals in the police, government and the civilian community.
He also named alias Kano, Winay, Ponyong, Bruce Lee and one from Bangkal.
“Ang uban naa na sa prisohan, ang anak ni Galope, number one man pud to dinha sa Talomo [Some are already in prison like Galope’s son who was number one (drug pusher) in the Talomo area],” he said.
There are over 10 individuals on his list, including their profiles, which he said he will furnish to the Philippine National Police, the Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Justice.
In his typical tough guy fashion, Duterte held no punches and said he’s ready to be sued in court saying, “Idemanda lang ko. Walay problema sa akoa (Just sue me).”
“Dugay na kung nagsulti. Kung mosulod mo (dinhi), mopugos gyud mog negosyo, kay panginabuhi man ni, kwarta man ning droga ug murder for hire, mag-unay ta diri (I’ve been warning you. But if you insist in running your (dirty) business here, then you’ll be dealt with accordingly),” Duterte said.
Meanwhile, Duterte pointed at the Mini-Forest in Boulevard as the stronghold of drug syndicates in the city.
“Pinakamalakas ang droga dyan, may 24-hour camera kami, hinayaan ko lang dyan (Drugs are rampant there. We have installed surveillance cameras in a 24-hour basis,” Duterte revealed, saying prohibited drugs coming from outside the city are being unloaded/delivered in the area, especially at dawn.
With this, he took a lashing at village captain and former councilor Amilbangsa Mandin.
“Ako nagdududa ako sa yo. Kahibalo ka nga kontra ko gyud na, wala gyud kay gibuhat. Naa pay balita nga nagabayad daw ang mga pusher dinha sa imo as protection (I’m suspecting you. You knew all along that I oppose that kind of activity, and you just did nothing. There are even loose talks that pushers are paying you for protection),” he said.
He gave Mandin only two days to prove his innocence.
“I am demanding now that you resign or get out of the way. Otherwise, I will transfer the police headquarters right in your home. And I will also demand the PNP to transfer their headquarters in the Mini-Forest. Bahala na’g mag gyera mo dinha (I don’t give a damn if a war will erupt there),” he warned.
Duterte said he’s doing this to avoid problems in the future.
“I expect you to do something about it. I’ll give you about 48 hours. Iprove mo sa akin na wala kang pakialam dyan sa droga, na hindi ka kasali. Pero makialam ka sa law and order (Prove to me that you have nothing to do with it. If you’re not involved with drugs, then be involved with law and order,” he said.
“Kung mag combine yang droga at murder for hire, kung walang droga, mag shift dyan sa murder for hire at kidnapping, then we have a problem (The combination of drug pushing and murder-for-hire is dangerous. If there are no drugs to sell, they will shift to murder-for-hire or kidnapping. That’s when we’ll have bigger problems),” he said. (Marilou Aguirre-Tuburan/davaotoday.com
