Philippine's Dirty Harry - getting rid of scum and other nice things

Time Asia ^ | 7/1/02 | Phil Zabriskie

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City, is sitting in his favorite bar, After Dark, a glass of brandy in front of him, a .38 pistol tucked in his waistband. He's wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt loudly adorned with wine bottles and bunches of red and green grapes—the same outfit he wore to work. While other guests take turns singing along with the piano player, Duterte tells a strange and disturbing story.

In 1993, Davao's San Pedro Cathedral was hit with three grenades during an evening Mass. Six parishioners were killed. The attackers were Muslim militants, the sort easily found in Davao, a time-honored haven for kidnappers, bandits, communist rebels and roaming private armies. Four of the attackers were quickly arrested. Just as quickly, Duterte relates, "They went missing." Disappeared. Dead. "Then," the mayor says flatly, "it got ugly." Further killings? "More like assassinations," he says. The targets—other militants—didn't receive the courtesy of arrest, much less a trial. Were they dispatched on his orders? "Oh no," he responds. "I don't believe in state-sponsored killing." A pause. "I can't say any more, but I taught them a lesson."

The island of Mindanao remains troubled. A Muslim separatist rebellion has raged there for decades. Al-Qaeda members have roamed the island. Foreign businessmen and missionaries must constantly be on guard there against kidnappers. But Davao, a sprawling port city on the southern coast, has emerged as the exception—an oasis of peace in the middle of the Philippines' lush center of chaos.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

"Suspicions immediately focused on the so-called Davao Death Squad, a vigilante outfit the city has come to know well over the past decade. According to press and police reports, more than 100 thieves and drug pushers—some convicted, some charged, others not even formally arrested—have been killed in the city during that time, almost always with the same modus operandi: two men on a motorcycle with a .45 or a 9-mm firing at close range. Such killings were heavy in 1996 and 1997, then sporadic during Duterte's time in Congress. The pace picked up during and after his mayoral campaign last June, spiking last fall after Duterte ordered all drug dealers to leave town by Nov. 30, or else. "

Frontier justice aint pretty.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

I've spent some time in Davao, and I can't imagine what it used to be like. It's a pretty good town and I felt safer there than, say, Cebu.

[RichInOC]

How can he be the Dirty Harry of the Philippines if he's not packing the right gun?

"I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"

[Mark17]

Frontier justice aint pretty.

My sweety is from Davao City, and she says this is 100% true. She says Davao City is one of the safest places in all Mindanao. Also, the mayor gets really hostile and angry, when anyone messes with the tourists. They want that cash cow to stay alive.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

I didn't have any problems. Great town. One of the towns mentioned in the article, Digos, was the site of a massacre some years ago and now they have their own vigilante squads. This town is a piss-stop for bus travelers going between Davao & General Santos.

[Marobe]

Frontier justice aint pretty. Maybe not, but it is efficient and we could use the same method in DC ...plenty of white collared criminals to practice on..... Go Mayor !

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

The only problem with that is, over here I don't trust authority enough to grant them this kind of power (and I doubt most on FR would, either). Over there, if that guy gets out of line he would end up like the other vigilante gangs that went too far.

[Marobe]

The only problem with that is, over here I don't trust authority enough to grant them this kind of power (and I doubt most on FR would, either). I don't trust the "authorities" not to abuse a good thing either. Its just getting harder and harder to tell the good guys from the alleged terrorist bad guys and I am talking about DC. Its nice to "clean up the town" and rid it of undesirables ....but is the Mayor just making room for his "associates" that dress nicer....A nine millmeter delivery boy with a tie ????