On Tuesday, the city council declared Trillanes, which it said spread “fake news” about the city, persona non grata, along with Filipino-American businesswoman and philanthropist Loida Nicolas Lewis, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Vice Mayor Bernard E. Al-ag said Trillanes’ statement “is offensive, malicious and pure lies. In short, this statement is not true.”
He lambasted the opposition senator for saying Dabawenyos had been “brainwashed” just like North Koreans and were made to believe that the city is the safest in the world.
In a viral video shared by Duterte supporters on social media, Trillanes said he based his claims on crime statistics of the Philippine National Police in 2015.
“Pero yung mga taga-Davao (but the people of Davao) were so brainwashed into believing that Davao City is the safest city not only in the Philippines but in the world.[]
Parang silang mga North Koreans (they are just like North Koreans). That’s the thing here,” he said.
He said General Santos City is even better than Davao in terms of peace and order and urban planning.[]
