SC, DILG start probe of Mayor Duterte

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has started its own investigation into Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s physical attack on court sheriff Abe Andres last Friday during a demolition of informal settlers’ shanties in Barangay Soliman, Agdao district, Davao City.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government, for its part, has sent DILG lawyers Christopher Tiu and Ramon Benitez to Davao City to investigate.

Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said he has directed Davao City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Isaac Robillo to submit a report on the incident immediately after watching news reports showing Duterte punching Andres in the face several times.

Marquez, who has supervision over trial courts all over the country, said the sheriff is an officer of the court so the incident calls for a probe.

“We would like to find out exactly what happened to know what the OCA (Office of Court Administrator) can do, if any,” he explained in an interview.

Asked if the court saw it proper for the mayor to hit the sheriff after he failed to heed her appeal for a few hours of delay in executing an eviction order of a Davao RTC judge, Marquez replied: “I think the mayor has already apologized… (as) what I read in the reports, so the apology, I would like to think, tells us that the action wasn’t warranted.”

He, however, said filing of appropriate charges against Duterte would depend on Andres.

The SC official was also set to meet with a group of sheriffs last night to discuss the incident.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile believes Mayor Duterte should face administrative sanctions for hitting an officer of the court who was just performing his duty.

DILG starts probe

Tiu and Benitez met with Duterte and her lawyers Nick Galas, Israel Torrentro, Michael Cloribel, Cirilo Pukot and husband Mans Carpio behind closed doors at the Sweet Garland function room of the Grand Men Seng Hotel.

Duterte said she was ready to face the probers and was open to any possibility that may arise as a result of her actions.

The DILG lawyers arrived in Davao City early yesterday morning and immediately proceeded to the Sta. Ana Police station and talked with Senior Inspector Ronald Lao.

They inspected the area where the incident happened and visited Regional Trial Court Branch 16 Judge Emmanuel Carpio at the Hall of Justice.

Saying their mission was only fact-finding, the probers said they will give the result of the investigation to Secretary Jesse Robredo who, in turn, will submit it to President Aquino.

The President will decide whether or not to dismiss Duterte or just issue her administrative sanction.

Because of the incident, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte issued an order for all eviction orders from the judiciary to be coordinated with the city government so as to prevent another incident.

His daughter officially took a leave of absence yesterday until July 11.

The mayor said she is taking a leave so that she would not be accused of influencing the investigation. She was also advised by her lawyers to refrain from granting interviews to the media regarding Friday’s incident as the complainant in the case may use this against her.

Mayor Duterte said she was also requested by her husband to refrain from making any statement against judge Carpio, who is Mans Carpio’s uncle.

She said Friday’s incident was her first involvement in a brawl. She also denied she had punched anyone in the past.

The elder Duterte said on Friday that he will not make any comment regarding the assault on court sheriff Andres as he does not want to be the next punching bag.

Asked if her father had already talked to her after the incident, the mayor said she does not talk to him about work.

“But he knows that I know what I’m doing and that I’ll stand by what I have done,” she said.

Duterte said she was merely doing her job that fateful Friday morning and if ever she would apologize to anyone, it would be to the people working in the judiciary who were dragged into the issue.

To make amends, the mayor said she will continue the city government’s support for the city judiciary.

As to the disbarment case that might be filed against her, Duterte said she will not mind being disbarred as she has no plans of returning to law practice.