Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte reacted to the Commission on Human Rights-Davao (CHR-Davao) initiating an investigation following reports of deaths that happened hours after he declared Davao City’s war against illegal drugs last month.
“Kahibaw mo ang premise ana kinahanglan sila mahibawo, mu refer sila sa akong statement. Unsa man ilang imbestigahan? Akoa man to, wala man nako sila (pulis) gisugo. So far, nagbakasyon ra man ko ug wala pa man ko’y nasugatan na pusher dinha o wala pa man puy namatay,” Duterte said in an interview with the media on Tuesday.
On March 22, the mayor declared war against illegal drugs and told those involved in illegal drugs to leave Davao City.
“So, I hereby declare the campaign that Davao City is at war against drugs. Buot pasabot ana, pasensyahay ta. Tagaan ta mo ug oras muhawa mo diri kung gabaligya mo ug droga, if you are selling drugs sa mga bata, sa mga breadwinners sa pamilya ug bisan kinsa pa dinha, hawa na karon kay napul-an nami dili mi gusto ug ingon ana diri,” the mayor said.
In a statement released on Tuesday, CHR-Davao expressed concern that the mayor’s declaration will resume the drug war and even emphasized that arrested criminals have a fundamental right to life.
“Pag imbestiga lang mo, okay man na. Pero I suggest kung mag-imbestiga na lang man mo tungod kay daghan man raid sa drugs dinhi sa Davao ug mga kaso, ask the City Prosecutor’s Office, kana na lang inyong buhaton, CHR man kaha mo?” the mayor said.
Based on the anti-illegal drugs accomplishment report of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), as of March 2024, there were 139 anti-illegal drug operations conducted, wherein 175 persons were arrested, 13 persons neutralized during the operations and a total of 206 cases were filed.
From the operations conducted, at least 569.3899 grams of shabu were confiscated with a total value of P3,871,851.32 and 188.6562 grams of marijuana with a total value of P22,638.744.
