Editorial – A tough act to follow

THE talk of the town last week was the surprise visit by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to nightspots along Quirino Avenue and F. Torres Street where he saw for himself that some 20 of them were brazenly violating certain city ordinances—the serving of liquor past 2 a.m., the anti-smoking ban, “ledge dancing” involving minors (girls), and the serving of liquor to minors (boys and girls).
The visibly irked mayor on the spot ordered the police to arrest the operators, managers and waiters,  wryly observing that all of them could not be accommodated in the city’s already crowded detention cells and opting instead for a thorough investigation before further taking any other action.
The mayor’s action, taken at a time when he and his partymates are campaigning for the 2010 elections, was not lost to the public. It was a tough act to follow, considering the toes he was stepping on (hundreds, if not thousands, of customers patronize these establishments at any given hour of the night).  But that’s another story.
It is unusual for the mayor of a city as large as Davao to go out of his way to check on the goings on around his city, in this case, a responsibility of the Business Bureau and the police department which are mandated to enforce the law.
Besides investigating the suspect establishments for such violations, which have been wantonly committed for the longest of time, how about putting the onus on government agencies tasked to see to it that pertinent laws are followed and violators charged accordingly? That is the most logical thing to do. The city mayor has bigger problems to attend to sustain the liveability of Davao City, an honor not lost to citizens of foreign countries who see it as a coveted destination for investing, retiring or just plain visiting.
After this incident, perhaps the concerned agencies will henceforth attend to their responsibility and leave the mayor to take care of other and more pressing matters. That’s the way it ought to be done.