Malacañang denies giving kid-glove treatment to Duterte

There was no kid-glove treatment of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio when the Department of Interior and Local Government failed to punish the local executive for assaulting a sheriff last July 1, Malacañang said Saturday. Abigail Valte, President Benigno Aquino III’s deputy spokesperson, said there was no basis to punish the mayor because no one has stepped forward to file a formal complaint against her. “There was no complainant in the investigation, so what is there to punish? The DILG cannot mete out penalties if there is no complainant," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. She said sheriff Abe Andres, who was the recipient of Duterte-Carpio’s punches in the July 1 incident, did not file a complaint against her. Valte pointed out: “It is not true the mayor was not punished because she is an ally of the administration. This is because we have a process." Valte, however, declined to comment on a scenario where victims of abuses by powerful local officials could not file complaints because the officials concerned are warlords. — JE, GMA News