Philippine panel fomed to probe rights violation of mayor Duterte

“I have ordered the creation of a fact-finding team which will include DILG officials from Davao Region to get to the bottom of the case. I can understand the cries against Duterte’s human rights violations but he must also be subjected to the legal process,” the DILG chief said.

Last Tuesday, Duterte reportedly visited a detained suspect, Manolito Gayas at a holding cell in the city.

Gayas had been accused of duping informal settlers at a district in Davao City into giving him P250 (Dhs 21.89) in exchange of supposed lot grants.

During his visit to Gayas Tuesday, the vice mayor allegedly forced the latter to eat the fake titles he had sold to his victims as a lesson while castigating the alleged swindler.

Immediately after learning of the incident, the Commission on Human Rights accused Duterte of abuse of authority.

“I don’t care who you are, you don’t abuse your authority. Forcing a person to eat fake land titles is in fact a form of torture,” Rosales was quoted in a report by the Agence France Presse as saying.

But Robredo said it may be to early to pin down Duterte on rights violations, after all, he said they have yet to receive a formal complaint from Gayas against the city official.

“As of now, we have not yet received a formal complaint against vice-mayor Duterte and we have to have that complaint against him before we can act on the matter. Like any other accused local government official, he has to go through the legal process,” the DILG chief said.

Gayas was arrested on Monday (July 9) on the basis of complaints by some Davao City-based informal settlers who claimed had sold them counterfeit documents, promising lots in the city in exchange for a sum of money.

In allegedly swindling his victims, Gayas claimed that he owns a foundation that “owns the entire Philippines,” even presenting a fake Supreme Court decision about his claims.

Duterte, who had served several terms as mayor of Davao City is known for his tough stand on crime and his unconventional, but albeit effective approach to get his constituents in line.

As a mayor, his city had been hailed as one of the most progressive in the country after being a hotbed of insurgency during the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. His daughter, Sarah Duterte-Carpio is the incumbent chief city executive.