DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Despite being made a virtual punching bag, Court sheriff Abe Andres has apologized to Mayor Sara Duterte.
“Ma’am, pasensiya na ho (Ma’am, my apologies),” Andres said in a television interview Wednesday, explaining that he was waiting for the judge to decide whether to proceed with the demolition of shanties on a piece of contested property in Davao’s Agdao district on July 1.
Angered by Andres’ refusal to delay the demolition at a time she was supervising relief efforts in the wake of a flashflood that left at least 30 dead, Duterte rushed to the scene and repeatedly punched the sheriff in the face as work crews were about to knock down the squatters’ shanties. A policeman was wounded in a melee shortly before the mayor arrived.
Duterte claimed that she lost her temper because the melee could have been avoided if Andres had heeded her request to delay the implementation of a court’s eviction order.
Andres also said he was not filing any complaint against the mayor, who has been widely criticized for what she did although many of her constituents have hailed what they perceived was her defense of the poor.
The Department of Interior and Local Government has started an investigation.
No comment yet
Duterte, who is on official leave of absence to give investigators a free hand, has so far not commented on the sheriff’s apology. But her father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, said it was only proper for Andres to apologize.
“The demolition was illegal; the sheriff was not supposed to be there,” the elder Duterte said, citing Republic Act 7279, which makes it mandatory to give local governments a 30-day notice before implementing an eviction notice.
The court notice was issued on June 21; the demolition happened on July 1.
He said the law required that the demolition be implemented “in good weather,” but there was state of calamity in Davao at the time of the demolition.
Meanwhile, people were expected to gather at the Rizal Park here on Friday for a rally in support of Mayor Duterte.
It was difficult to find the organizers of the planned rally as no identifiable group had come forward to openly say it was organizing the activity. A local bureaucrat said someone had asked for a rally permit.
Green ribbons
At the social networking site Facebook, the mayor’s supporters replaced their profile photos with green ribbons or “We support Mayor Sara Duterte” badges. Duterte was wearing a green shirt when the punching incident happened.
Among those who said they will wear green on Friday were barangay kagawads Benedict Adan and Jackie Lyn Danao of Mintal, who said they will join the rally to show their support for the mayor.
Butch Ramirez, a retired government worker and one of those who volunteered to help organize the rally, said it was a spontaneous response to criticisms the mayor was getting for punching Andres.
Ramirez, however, said the rally would not be about the punching incident.
“It’s about her defending the poor. Her care and sympathy for the poor. This is something that has not been discussed. That is the other side of the story,” Ramirez told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.
Also expected to join the rally are members of the Filipino-Chinese community, members of the urban poor sector and other people’s organizations.
The Barangay Councilors’ League here also said it will join the rally.
“What Mayor Inday Sara said was morally justifiable,” said the statement of support of the Davao chapter of the Barangay Councilor’s League of the Philippines.
“At the time she arrived at the scene of conflict, there was a veritable crime committed. She assumed authority and had the legal and moral ascendance over the police, the settlers and even the sheriff.”
“We do not condone the use of violence. The mayor’s action may be inappropriate for a public servant but she was only protecting the women, children at the demolition site,” the league’s statement said.–Reports from Germelina A. Lacorte, Dennis Jay C. Santos, Joselle R. Badilla, Inquirer Mindanao