DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 March) – Hours after Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared his “war against drugs,” the first blood was spilled at 12:56 a.m. on Saturday when an alleged drug pusher was killed in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Communal in Buhangin.
Duterte on Friday afternoon declared a “war against drugs” and vowed to kill those who will not stop using them.
“I hereby declare a campaign that the city is at war against drugs,” said Mayor Duterte as he welcomed Police Col. Richard Bad-ang, the new director of the Davao City Police Office, during the turnover ceremony.
Mayor Sebastian Duterte at the turn-over of command from outgoing City Director, Police Col. Alberto Lupaz and Police Col. Richard Bad-ang on Friday, 22 March 2024. Photo courtesy of DCPO
Duterte cited reports from barangay captains but did not disclose which barangays recorded rampant drug use.
On Saturday, the DCPO report said the suspect, Sherwin Familiar Martin alias “Win,” an alleged drug pusher, was killed during an “armed confrontation” with personnel of the Buhangin Police Office and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency regional office.
Martin, according to the report, is a “Top 1 City Level Drug personality of Davao City.” Seized and recovered from the suspect were 110 grams of suspected shabu worth 748,000 pesos; 50 grams of Marijuana worth 6,000 pesos; and one unit of .45 caliber pistol (Colt 1911) with serial number 258371 loaded with five live ammunition.
Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, waged a bloody war on drugs in Davao City while serving as mayor here for 22 years and as Philippine President from 2016 to 2022.
Mayor Duterte told reporters his ultimatum to those involved in illegal drugs is “ugma, ugma dayon panghawa na mo diri, panghipos na mo sa inyong mga gamit, panghawa na mo. Kay kung di mo mohawa, kay og di mo moundang, pampatyon ta mo (Tomorrow, get out of here tomorrow. Pack your things and get out! If you will not leave, if you will not stop, I will kill you).”
He also acknowledged there are challenges in controlling the entry of illegal drugs, citing the city’s open borders, He stressed the need for action by both the safety and security cluster and the barangay captains.
Drug suppliers rather than users
Bad-ang, the newly-installed DCPO director, said they will abide by the city mayor’s order and will focus more on hunting the drug suppliers rather than the users.
He promised to continue the “Duterte legacy – the war on drugs and criminality.”
He said his plan includes adding more barangay checkpoints and “intensifying intelligence units.”
But he vowed the war on drugs “will not be bloody.”
“We’ll make it sure na all the procedures will be upheld and be implemented,” he said.
On March 16, a P2.5 million worth of alleged shabu was seized by the Sasa Police Station at Punad Village in Barangay Angliongto.
Police Master Sergeant Richard Penpillo, a police officer based in neighboring Panabo City, was also caught for P3,150 worth of alleged shabu on March 20 in Ma-a this city.
Mixed reactions
Mayor Duterte’s declaration gained mixed reactions among Dabawenyos.
Maxie Capacio, a resident of Lasang, Davao City who works in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, supports the mayor.
“Maayo kay dili na makalusot ang mga drug users sa checkpoint, kung asa ko pirmi gaagian adlaw-adlaw (Good because drug users will not be able to go past the checkpoints where I pass everyday),” she told MindaNews in a text message.
Jayson Rubrico, correspondent of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) shared a post depicting Mayor’s Duterte declaration of war on drugs from an SMNI-connected Facebook page Totoong Boses ng Bayan, with caption “Yes! War against drugs activated *clap emoji*”
Dindo, a store owner in one of the barangays in the city, is worried about possible deaths in the war on drugs.
“Basig daghan mamatay sama sa iyang amahan, unya mapasanginlan na pod sa bisan kinsa, pwede sa akoa isip tao, pwede sa uban … Ginahuna-huna ba kaha na ni Mayor (Many people might die like under his father’s time, and anyone can be accused. Is the mayor thinking of this?), he told MindaNews.
“Kapoy na anang ‘patayon ta mo’ nga mga storya-storya uy. Daghan ma’g pamaagi para magdisiplina” (I’m tired of hearing ‘I will kill you.’ There are many ways of disciplining people), he said. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
