Most of demolitions in Davao City done sans notice to settlers—Duterte
DAVAO City, Philippines—Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said more than half of the demolitions carried out in the city were carried out without notices of hearing to affected residents, a violation of the law protecting the rights of the homeless in this country.
Duterte also warned that the law, which also carried with it penal sanctions, could put a big number of sheriffs to jail.
“If we conduct an inventory of all demolitions in the city, a large number of sheriffs will go to jail,” Duterte said during the Sunday “Gikan sa Masa, para sa Masa” local television program.
Under Republic Act 7279, violators are punished with up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of up to P5,000.
“You, sheriffs, beware, Judge (Emmanuel) Carpio has corrected himself,” Duterte said, addressing the Confederation of Sheriffs of the Philippines, which filed a case against his daughter Mayor Sara Duterte at the Office of the Ombudsman.
“If we have to follow the law, more than half of the sheriffs in the city alone are liable for penal sanctions for carrying out demolition orders without notice of hearing,” Duterte said.
He pointed out that Judge Carpio of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 16 who issued the demolition order which earlier prompted the mayor to punch the sheriff on July 1, had taken back the order.
Only 10 days after the July 1 demolition that prompted Mayor Duterte to punch Sheriff Abe Andres carrying out his order, Carpio set aside his demolition order after the lawyers of Barangay (village) Soliman residents filed a motion for reconsideration because of the absence of a hearing.
The illegal settlers’ lawyers cited a Supreme Court decision on an earlier demolition case in Quezon City where the high court penalized a judge for an order of demolition without notice of hearing. In another order also issued on July 11, Carpio ordered three geodetic engineers, two from the defendants, and one from the plaintiff Davao Enterprises Corporation, to survey the affected properties.
