Davao mayor could face raps for threatening smugglers

ABS-CBN News 2019-09-02

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MANILA - The Commission on Human Rights plans to raise a complaint against Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte before the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Ombudsman and the Senate for possible violation of Article 11 of the Constitution and the Code of Ethics of Government Officials. This is after Duterte supposedly committed grave misconduct when he threatened to take the law into his own hands and kill suspected smugglers in his city. Duterte made the threat as he faced smuggling suspect Davidson Bangayan during the Senate probe on rice smuggling on February 4. CHR chairperson Etta Rosales said the Senate should have cited Duterte in contempt. She said they are looking into the matter after submitting an initial complaint to the Ombudsman and DOJ. "Pwedeng sabihing joke lang pero ano ang impact nito. Pinari-research ko lang 'yung Legal Investigation Office ng CHR para gumawa sila ng maayos na analysis and on the basis of this analysis, I will write my letter to the DILG, to the Senate. And then kung makikita na namin 'yung enough evidence, then we will write a letter to the Ombudsman," she said. On Wednesday, Rosales said Duterte was sending the wrong signals by threatening to kill smuggles and encouraging vigilantism and a culture of impunity in the country. The CHR said this is the third sensitive statement issued by Duterte since his shoot-to-kill order against criminals in Davao City in July last year. Rosales said the rights body had already investigated Duterte over the so-called Davao Death Squad killings in the southern city. The CHR said it had recorded some 200 extrajudicial killings from 2005 to 2009 in Davao City, which were allegedly committed by the DDS. The investigation revealed a "systematic practice of extrajudicial killings in Davao City" and the systematic failure of local officials to conduct any meaningful investigation into the deaths. The rights body has recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate "the possible administrative and criminal liability of Mayor Duterte for his inaction in the face of evidence of numerous killings committed in Davao City and his toleration of the commission of those offenses."

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