Thursday, March 13, 2008 Ledesma: Davao City, our city By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is back and is on the helm of the City Peace and Order Council. By the way, it is good to remember that the mayor has irrevocably resigned as chairman of the Regional POC, this way we will feel more assured that the mayor is focused mainly on peace concerns of Davao City.
There is only one exception though--drug lords and drug syndicates.
Mayor Duterte will cross political boundaries if he finds out that the source of drugs peddled in the Davao City is from other cities or province. As to the staff members of Dutere who may still have the hang-up and may still have the temerity of acting for and in behalf of the mayor on matters involving RPOC, it is best that he or she makes her nose clean to do away with the impression that the good mayor is intruding into other territories.
But back to CPOC. The police gave a briefing on the peace situation in the city. Except for the usual gang wars, which have been abetted by Sen. (Kiko) Pangilinan's law that virtually prohibits authorities from imposing punishment on young offenders, local residents and visitors need not worry of any threats at all.
If there were crimes committed, these are isolated cases brought about by alcoholism. Of course, the New Peoples Army has stepped up operations but then the rebel groups are out to make their presence felt now and then.
The NPAs are making some scores in remote business operations in Compostela Valley.
Mayor Duterte has wise counsel for this: Do not provide high-powered firearms to the 'blue guards' for they are not trained to fight like the military or police men.
In the many instances, NPAs overran and overwhelmed the security guards and confiscates their firearms without firing a single shot. These days the NPAs have so many firearms in their arsenals than men so they are now in the business of recruiting.
In Davao City, Mayor Duterte has instead established strategic "tripping points." These are actually the mayor's eyes and ears in the urban and rural areas.
The problem with some political enemies of Duterte, they started questioning and even had the expenditures of the peace and order fund audited. So for a while, this matrix of tripping points was in jeopardy.
But the mayor is now back on track and it will be crazy adventurism on the part of any crime syndicate or terrorists who try their luck in Davao City.
The CPOC forum would have been bland and unexciting except for the report from the womenfolk, led by Councilor Angging Librado, who reported that they monitored a night joint somewhere in the city that's showing "hubo't hubad" live show.
The mayor cannot hide his amusement over the report while around me the graying men who looked like Louie Jacinto, Boy Quitain and Jimmy Torres were whispering: "Asa kaha na?" Now you get the menfolk curious.
Really, if it is bacchanalian nightlife that you are expecting in Davao City, you might just die of boredom. Karaoke bars yes. Coffee shops are mushrooming in every nook and corner instead of nightclubs. Isn't this good enough for our prudish members of the City Council?
With the peace and quiet that we have you can be certain that it is all systems go for the grand celebration of the Araw Ng Dabaw! It's Mayor Duterte himself who is on top of the situation. If it is of any interest to our foreign guests, there is a good harvest of variety of fruits these days. Even durian harvests are good. The heavenly smell permeates even the closed doors of private vehicles that pass through the fruit stands in Magsaysay Park.
We are getting feedback even from faraway Turkey. Expect a group of visitors from that part of the world to be around. Let's take care of them.
