DILG starts probe of Duterte assault on sheriff

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday started investigating Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s assault on court sheriff Abe Andres during a violent demolition in the city last week. “Early this morning, may pumunta na pong taga-DILG sa Davao. Palagay ko po alam ni Mayor Duterte at ng sheriff na nandoon sila para humingi ng salaysay," DILG chief Jesse Robredo told GMA News TV’s “News To Go" anchor Howie Severino in an interview. Robredo said the DILG has sent the fact-finding team to Davao City but no administrative complaint has been filed against Duterte as of posting time. “Wala pa po kami natatanggap, pero sabi namin, kung mangyari man, at least ‘yung basic fact-finding tapos na po kami. Ito naman po ay isang public incident na nakita sa telebisyon," he said.

Duterte was caught on camera while beating up Andres who was trying to enforce a demolition order at a community in the city despite an order from the mayor to delay the operations. Duterte took a one-week leave of absence starting Monday while the DILG is conducting its probe. The mayor was replaced by her father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Although another Duterte took over the city’s top post, Robredo assured an independent and transparent investigation of the incident. “Ang imbestigasyon ay hiwalay naman sa city hall. Wala naming itong mga dokumento o wala namang paraan na maimpluwensiyahan ang imbestigasyon… Wala rin namang maikukubli na maliban sa nakita natin," he said. The Davao city mayor may face sanctions ranging from reprimand to separation from service if she is filed guilty of misconduct, he added. CHR to monitor probe Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said it will closely monitor the DILG investigation on the punching incident. CHR chairperson Loretta Rosales said her office would like to make sure that “human rights will be upheld" in the probe, since there were “clear violations" of the sheriff’s rights during the assault. “The approach was without due process, undemocratic and with the use of force… Kahit tama ang kanyang [Duterte's] intention and motivation that she wanted to help the people, but there is always a way of doing things. There is the law," she said in a separate “News To Go" interview. Rosales added that she was personally shocked when she saw what happened, especially with the way Mayor Duterte’s guards treated the sheriff. “Nakita ko roon na medyo may pagka-aggressive si mayor kasi sunud-sunod ang mga suntok niya e. What was more shocking is pagkasuntok niya, hinawakan ng security guards niya ‘yung sheriff para suntukin pa niyang lalo at mukhang sinabunutan pa. That to me, abuse of authority na iyon," she said. The CHR chief likewise said that her office will use the DILG findings to craft guidelines for local government officials on how to act on similar volatile incidents. - VVP, GMA News