The Dirty Harry of the Philippines, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, sported spurts of threats to heinous criminals to either “be good or be dead ” in his recent Bohol visit on Thursday last week.
Citing illegal drugs as the root of all evils, Duterte minced no words to druglords and their runners as his Davao Death Squad can pull the trigger anytime.
“If you lost your child to illegal drugs, you lost your child forever,†according to Duterte.
He said that drug menace is, in fact, the top problem of the country and the effort of every caring parent in rearing up the child would only be wasted when a criminal high on drugs attacks him or her.
Duterte also bragged of the DDS ridding Davao of organized crime groups in many instances already, in which he attributed the high level of peace and order in his place.
He said he had been aware of the habitual law offenders when he was still a prosecutor in Davao and hinted the DDS as the ultimate “cleanser†and that he never negotiates with criminals.
Duterte, however, clarified that he has no plans of running for President in 2016, but goes around to push for federalism. “I know that it’s never easy to do the job as the President,” he admitted.
Joining Duterte during the “Meet the Press” monthly forum at the Bohol Tropics Resort, this city were The Bellevue Resort Manager Rommel Gonzales representing the forum sponsor–Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants (BAHRR), Bohol Tri-Media Association president Peter Dejaresco, and Maribojoc Municipal Mayor Leoncio Evasco–a trusted leader of Duterte who worked as his former city administrator and trouble shooter in Davao.
During the forum, Duterte explained that the “enormity of the problem” besetting the country makes him believe that the solution is beyond becoming a President.
He suggested, however, that the approach shall be “exponential” and the change must be on the institutional aspect and he proposed federalism.
Duterte cited the mal- distribution of the Internal Revenue Allotment from the taxes remitted to the national government as one of the concerns that federalism can address.
According to Duterte, taxes remitted from Mindanao cover 54 percent of the total export earnings in dollars, yet 75 percent go to Luzon ‘s development.
Corruption plaguing the system, wherein it has been obvious that all the people’s money remitted to the government goes through the Congress, also discouraged majority of the businessmen to pay taxes with the impression that it would only end up in the pockets of corrupt officials.
Meanwhile, Duterte traced his roots to Bohol, his grandmother being a Boholana.
He even recalled having spent some time in Tagbilaran when his family headed for Davao from Danao City in Cebu when he was four years old yet.
Duterte was born in in Maasin City, Southern Leyte though.
Being close to his heart, some areas in Bohol received assistance–through Evasco–after the magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck on October 15, 2013.
Duterte also said he sent medicines and a medical team to Leyte right after Supertyphoon Yolanda ravaged the area.
These were, however, kept from publicity until recently.
Duterte said he never bragged of his brand of public service as he hinted that it is unlike another high -ranking national official who claimed to have achieved a caliber like that of the founder of Singapore named Lee Kwan Yew.Duterte quipped that the great man of Singapore never stole money of the people.
The recent visit of Mayor Duterte was welcomed by the Boholanos especially that the drug problem in the province has escalated during the past years which to many would demand a “Duterte style” in eliminating the drug personalities.
In the last quarter of last year, several sectors in the province suspected that the Davao Death Squad was operating here after the succession of killings of drug personalities.