President Rodrigo Duterte will probe the violent dispersal of a rally at the US Embassy in Manila that injured dozens of protesters. (Earl O. Condeza/davaotday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Updated 9:49 AM) – President Rodrigo Duterte said he himself will investigate the violent dispersal of a rally at the US Embassy in Manila last Wednesday.
“I will talk to the police, I will talk to the activists,” Duterte said midnight Saturday, upon his arrival at the Davao International Airport from his state visit in China.
“I would like to know what really happened. I would do the questioning myself,” the President said.
The violent dispersal of the protest rally last Wednesday resulted to the injury of at least 50 protesters.
Duterte said the driver of the patrol car who drove and hit the protesters identified as PO3 Franklin Kho, “may just be acting on instinct of self-preservation.”
He added that he was not justifying the dispersal that happened.
Duterte added that he does not want government troops to carry long firearms during mass demonstrations.
The President also recognized that demonstrations as “part of the territory of democracy,” adding that he does not want anybody to be hurt, not the police nor the militants.
“We should really treat this matter with civility,” Duterte said.
Limited info
But one of the protesters who was among those injured said the President was briefed with only limited information on the incident.
“At least, he admitted that he still needed to know what actually transpired,” said Piya Macliing Malayao, an Ifugao leader of the Sandugo alliance.
Malayao said various video footages of the incident showed that the police vehicle itself was positioned in an area “with much space to maneuver.”
“Yet PO3 Kho still recklessly drove in reverse and then forwards several times, toppling many unsuspecting protesters who, by that time ,were still reeling from the effects of the tear gas that was just released moments before,” she said.
Malayao was among the protesters who was severely injured during the police vehicle “plowing”.
Malayao said they are “very much ready” to relay to the President what transpired during the protest.
On Friday, Malayao on crutches, with other convenors of Sandugo went to the Malacañan Palace to submit a letter of request for a meeting with the President. (davaotoday.com)
