Duterte, 5 other Davao execs ordered suspended

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the suspension of Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte and five others in connection with the alleged illegal demolition of a park named after his political rival, House Speaker Prospero Nograles. The 24-page order signed by overall deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro said Duterte and the other respondents “acted in capricious, whimsical and arbitrary manner with conscious and deliberate intent to do an injustice to others." Others who were suspended were city engineer Jose Gestuveo Jr., city administrator Wendell Avisado, city drainage maintenance unit chief retired Col. Yusop Jimlani, legal officer IV Elmer B. Raño, and city legal officer Melchor V. Quitain. The decision stemmed from Nograles' complaint where he said there was no legal basis for the summary demolition of the canal-cover project due to the lack of building permit. Duterte's camp, for their part, said the P2-million worth Nograles Park was demolished because it has worsened the flooding in the area. But the Ombudsman, in its decision, said the respondents “should have exercised all the necessary prudence to ensure that the proper procedure" in the demolition was complied. The order was signed last April 27 but was only released on Thursday. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) was ordered to immediately implement the decision. Duterte is running for vice mayor in Davao City in the 2010 elections, while his daughter Sarah is running for mayor against Nograles. — KBK, GMANews.TV