Davao City mayor beats up sheriff in demolition row

The mayor of Davao City, who is the daughter of former Mayor and current Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, on Friday beat up a sheriff who was trying to enforce a demolition order at a community in the city. Video footage from GMA News correspondent Tek Ocampo showed Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio approaching a group of local officials overseeing a demolition operation that had turned violent, as residents tried to resist the demolition team. Duterte-Carpio was seen summoning a man in a checkered polo, but as the man drew close, she threw at least four punches in his face and head. The punching only stopped after Duterte's bodyguards stepped in and tried to pacify the irate mayor. The man was later identified as city sheriff Abe Andres. Duterte-Carpio ordered that the sheriff be brought to the hospital for medical treatment, but the latter refused the offer.
In an interview on GMA News TV Live's On Call, Duterte-Carpio said she did not regret her actions. According to her, she lost her temper because the sheriff did not follow her orders. Duterte-Carpio said she had requested to delay the demolition operations for at least two hours, while she was attending to relief operations for those hit by floods. She said she had wanted to be personally present at the demolition to prevent violence. "Kasi hindi sila [villagers] naniniwala doon. Even sa pulis hindi naniniwala iyong mga tao. Naghahanap sila ng mayor at kami ang may usapan kahapon," Duterte-Carpio said. "Pero at 9 a.m. pinapasok nila ang demolition team nila na hindi naman mukhang demolition team at mukhang laging nagra-riot lang sa lugar na ito," she added. Duterte-Carpio said the riot that had erupted earlier in the day stopped when she arrived. She said she wanted to reprimand the sheriff for the violence that happened while she was not around. "So pinatawag ko siya, sabi ko ano ba hinihingi... Medyo mainit na talaga ulo ko... Hinihingi ko lang dalawang oras. Ano ba naman ang dalawang oras sa kanila?" she said. Several people, including a policeman, were injured in the riot. Asked what she thought about the possible consequences of her actions, Duterte-Carpio said: "I do not care about public opinion. Hindi naman sila kasali dito at hindi makakatulong sa problema dito." Contusions In an interview with GMA News, Andres said he suffered contusions around his eye and ended up seeking medical attention after the incident. Andres maintained that he was merely serving an order from the court to demolish the houses in the area. He added that he would prepare a formal report about the incident but said he has no plans of taking legal actions against the mayor. In a separate television interview, Andres said a lawyer from the Duterte-Carpio camp has conveyed the mayor's apologies for what happened. "[Pero] iyong 'sorry,' hindi naman ho natin sabihing okay na lang din," he said. 'Be a mayor first' Duterte's temper flared again just a few hours after the incident when she became irked during a radio dzBB interview past noon of Friday. DzBB radio's Gani Oro asked Duterte-Carpio why she immediately resorted to attacking Andres, when she could have spoken with him first to discuss the matter. "Kinausap ko siya, ‘di ba? Sabi ko bigyan mo ako hanggang alas-onse. Sabi niya hindi, ipagpatuloy niya ang demolisyon. O? Ano ‘yung sinasabi mo na hindi ko siya kinausap?" Duterte-Carpio said. In his follow-up question, Oro asked the mayor, "So ‘yun ho ang solusyon ninyo mayor? ‘Yung manakit sa tao?" It was a line of questioning that irked Duterte-Carpio. She said, "Anong hindi ko siya... Alam mo, alam mo… You know what? Mag-mayor ka muna bago mo ako kausapin," before cutting the line. Reprimand or dismissal? Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said Duterte-Carpio could be removed from her post if it could be proven that she abused her powers when she mauled a city court sheriff. Robredo said being a former Mayor of Naga City himself, he understood Duterte-Carpio's situation of having to divide her time and effort between the flood victims in a number of inundated villages in the city and ensuring a peaceful demolition in Agdao. However, Robredo said the investigation would focus on the people involved in the riot that ensued during the demolition and why Duterte-Carpio had to resort to violence against Andres. [See related: The punch heard around the (social media) world] The Commission on Human Rights has likewise said it would investigate the incident to determine any human rights violations during the incident. — LBG/YA, GMA News