by Greg Deligero, Photos by Joseph Lawrence P. Garcia
THOUSANDS of Dabawenyos marched and staged a rally Friday in support of Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio, who made headlines both here and abroad after she punched a trial court sheriff last July 1 during a confrontation between informal settlers and a demolition team backed by riot police in sitio Soliman, barangay Agdao Centro.
The mayor, who was at the time elsewhere attending to victims of the June 28 flash flood had earlier pleaded with sheriff Abe Andres to give her two hours to talk to the settlers to avert violence, but the sheriff insisted on enforcing a court order for the demolition, thereby triggering a stone-throwing incident which threatened to blow up into a full-scale riot.
Mayor Duterte arrived at the scene and, incensed by what she saw immediately sought out the sheriff and in righteous indignation punched the sheriff several times which was caught on video. Shortly thereafter, the video images were seen around the world, eliciting various reactions from viewers, especially in the Philippines and Filipinos abroad.
Amid negative commentaries by some Manila-based columnists and calls from political figures for administrative and criminal sanctions against the 32-year-old lady mayor, a massive outpouring of support for the beleaguered mayor was mounted by thousands of Dabawenyos who considered the mayor’s punching of the sheriff a “righteous indignation.”
They marched through the city’s main streets which culminated in a rally at the Rizal Park.
The phrase “righteous indignation” is typically a reactive emotion of anger over perceived mistreatment, insult, or malice. It is akin to what is called “sense of injustice”. In some Christian doctrines, righteous indignation is considered the only form of anger which is not sinful, e.g., when Jesus drove the money lenders out of the temple,” according to Wikipedia.
The mammoth crowd filled Rizal Park, a portion of San Pedro Street behind the stage, the adjacent Quezon Park, City Hall Drive, sidewalks and open spaces between the City Hall and the Sangguniang Panlungsod building. The regular Friday afternoon flag retreat was cancelled after the crowd invaded the grounds.
Thousands of participants from various sectors of society—informal settlers, students and school administrators, barangay leaders, women’s organizations, Muslim community, religious groups and even local artists lent a festive air to the occasion which was reminiscent of past election rallies. Many of the people in the crowd wore green shirts while others brought green balloons and ribbons. Green was Sara’s election campaign color.
Placards and streamers bearing various messages of support and words of encouragement were part of the scenery.
“Duterte para sa mga pobre,” said one placard. “We are behind you Mayor Inday Sara,” said another. And so on.
Among the groups that joined the march-rally were barangay-based councils of women, the Liga ng mga Barangay, members of barangay councils, the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, On Any Sunday Riders Club, Brokenshire College, Davao Merchant Marine Academy, Davao City Vendors Federation, United Musicians of Davao and Bangsamoro League of Davao City and the Davao Tourism Association.
There was live musical entertainment on the stage occupied by members of the City Council, barangay captains and members of the media covering the event.
The crowd roared when the mayor’s father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, went up the stage.
The elder Duterte is the acting mayor after Sara took a leave of absence for the duration of the DILG investigation into her case. Sara faces a possible charge of slight to serious misconduct, with penalties ranging from reprimand to dismissal.
In the rally, Vice Mayor Rodrigo said the attempted demolition was illegal, 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 attempted demolition was on July 1.
The law requires that the demolition be implemented “in good weather,” but the city was under a state of calamity at the time of the demolition.
“Inday Sara, as mayor, was only exercising her executive power as there was already violence in the area, violence perpetrated by the sheriff, the police and demolition team who were not supposed to be there as it was not yet there time to be there,” the vice mayor said when he addressed the crowd.
Women
Right after the July 1 incident, Mayor Duterte received praises and support from various sectors and individuals. Among those who threw their support were the women’s umbrella group GABRIELA Davao which declared that Duterte “has exemplified a woman leader that is determined to protect the oppressed sectors from further violence.”
“We salute her for siding with the poor. She is a cut from the usual brood of politicians who only have indifference to the people’s plight borne by poverty and government neglect, especially the women and children who suffer the most. Our women are still deprived of the right to basic social services, including comprehensive health services and housing. We need more people in government like Sara,” said the group’s chairperson emeritus Lyda Canson.
Business
The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., (DCCCII) also expressed its full support and understanding to Duterte.
“Her leadership is known to focus on peace and development of the City. Hence, her efforts cannot be gainsaid in immediately delivering relief and ensuring peace and order to two pressing situations: (1) natural calamity that has affected a huge number of her constituents and (2) use of human force in a demolition court order amid the humane request of the mayor in the pre-demolition agreement which sparked a skirmish between informal settlers and the police,” it said in a statement.
“We commend the Mayor for being soft-spoken yet decisive, firm, a hands on leader whose actions truly speak louder than words. We laud her compassion for the helpless in realizing that her mere presence would greatly help in assuring the people that they will be taken care of. Unfortunately, many were unable to see prudence in that and the circumstances beforehand,” it added.
Religious
A bishop has also defended Duterte, saying the mayor did the right thing in defying “judicial technicalities for a higher humanitarian purpose”.
“The controversy over Sara Duterte’s punching of a court sheriff in order to delay the actual demolition of homes of informal settlers in Davao’s Agdao district is a clear case where morality should be the larger consideration than legal ethics,” Bishop Felixberto Calang of Inpeace Mindanao said in a statement.
Calang said Duterte’s action which intended to delay the actual demolition was “a clear case where morality should be the larger consideration than legal ethics”. A prominent Jesuit based in the city expressed his support for the mayor’s actions. “When anger is provoked by wrong, anger is not only justified, it is a virtue. Anger is appropriate when provoked by wrong. The sheriff was simply wrong,” said newly-installed Ateneo de Davao University president Joel Tabora, S.J.
“With Sara’s action, the brutality and in-humaneness of demolition orders—despite being cloaked in legality—has been brought to the social consciousness. Sara had pierced this judicial bubble which rich property claimants have enjoyed,” he said.
He added that the demolition in Agdao was set at the “worst conceivable time…for the people of Davao” because of the flash floods that hit the city following heavy rains last June 28.
While it “would have been nicer” if the mayor did not attack Andres, the mayor’s actions were correct because they were done “in defense of the people,” Tabora said.
Barangay leaders
The Barangay Councilors’ League of the Philippines Davao City chapter also defended Duterte: “What Mayor Inday Sara did was morally justifiable,” said the group’s statement of support.
“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.
The members of the Liga ng mga Barangay in Davao City also expressed their full backing for the mayor.
“The governance of the leaders chosen by the people of Davao is put into test. The way we handle matter of peace, order and security are being meddled into by the people who are totally strangers to our community and who know nothing about social justice and embrace the tenets of feudalism. You have criticized us in different levels and different forms, lambasting how our chief executive handles the crisis in the Agdao demolition,” said the group’s statement signed by 157 Punong Barangays out of the 182 barangays in the city.
“We afford decent respect for those who express opinions fairly and objectively but to those of you who try to portray our beloved Mayor Inday Sara Duterte as barbaric and lawless, you have earned not only our disappointment but absolute rage,” it added.
City officials
Other elected city officials also expressed their support for the mayor.
Last Tuesday, the City Council also passed a resolution supporting the action of the city mayor during the demolition.
“The incident was simplified, magnified and taken out of context by those who did not even understand why the incident happened in the first place. It spread like wildfire over the internet and the media was quick to pick up the juicy, newsworthy part of the story,” it said.
“We, Dabawenyos want our mayors to be fearless and brave and at the same time compassionate and that is who Mayor Inday Sara is,” the resolution added.
LGBT
The Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) community in the city also placed a half page ad in a leading national daily expressing their support for Duterte.
“As victims of violence ourselves, we reject the hypocritical and self-righteous opinions of mostly Metro Manila-based personalities that characterize our City Mayor as “violent” and “abusive” for punching Sheriff Andres, who would have prevented the violence that occurred if he only performed his duty in good faith,” the group said.
“We support Mayor Sara Duterte not because we are “violent, uncivilized and barbaric” people but because it is about time somebody stands up against our arrogant and corrupt judiciary and honestly express the anger and disgust that most of us feel towards the injustices of our society,” they added.
