Court sheriffs seek multiple sanctions vs Dutertes

The Sheriffs' Confederation of the Philippines (Scophil) will launch on Monday a series of actions against Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, her father and her brother to condemn the supposed abuse received by Davao City court sheriff Abe Andres last month. Sara was caught by television cameras punching Andres during a demolition row last July 1. After she received flak for assaulting the sheriff, her father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and brother, Councilor Paolo Duterte, came to her defense and flashed dirty fingers to her critics. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) may have already found probable cause to file administrative charges against Sara, but Scophil is still bent on seeking multiple sanctions against the Dutertes. The group will hold a motorcade whose first stop is at the Office of the Ombudsman, where the sheriffs will seek Sara's suspension from office. The new complaint to be filed on Monday is separate from the complaint of direct assault and grave misconduct that the group filed with the Ombudsman last July. After filing the new complaint with the Ombudsman, Scophil will then head to Malacañang to file a complaint of grave misconduct against the three Dutertes. Afterward, it will go to the Supreme Court's Office of the Bar Confidant to file a disbarment case against Sara to have her expelled from the practice of law. GMA News Online tried to reach Sara's lawyer, Salvador Panelo, for comment but he could be contacted as of this posting. Sara's camp has repeatedly justified and stood by the mayor's actions. July 1 assault and its aftermath Hours before the punching incident on July 1, Sara had requested Andres to push back the serving of the demolition order by two hours so she could personally oversee the operation. Her request was unheeded because an approval from the court that issued the demolition order was needed. Violence erupted at the demolition site even before the wrecking operation began and while Sara was not yet around. Sara rushed to the demolition site after distributing relief goods to residents in flooded areas in Davao City. Unable to control her anger over her "rejected" request and the violence that erupted at the site, the mayor punched Andres in the face and head. Sara's assault elicited a wave of criticisms, prompting her father and brother to come to her defense. In two separate interviews, Rodrigo and Paolo Duterte flashed the dirty finger to Sara's detractors. The punching incident also warranted an investigation by a DILG panel, which found the mayor guilty of "conduct unbecoming of a public official." Last July 19, Interior Sec. Jesse Robredo said that Sara was indeed at fault for punching the sheriff. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMA News