DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has become the talk of the town. A humble man with simple taste.
He used to live in a small house not far from a river which now and then unpredictably flooded his home and even a gated subdivision nearby. Not too long ago flood came quite frequently he decided to move to a low-cost subdivision this time in another simple bungalow.
When most of his peers in his profession and politics acquired mansions in Manila and virtually resided there, Duterte is contented with his frugal lifestyle. His first marriage had been annulled. He and his second wife with their 8-year-old daughter have lived for over a decade now in this modest bungalow.
I do not know what vehicle he personally owns presently but the last time it was a rickety Volkswagen although he has a big bike. As city mayor, he opted to be assigned a pickup truck thus the standard vehicles issued to the rest of the city officials are pickups. Those who insist on close van cannot go beyond what a pickup would cost. The only time the mayor rides another vehicle is when he drives a taxi about midnight to prowl the nooks and cranny of the city hunting for criminals and when there is none picks up helpless senior citizens and women with children stranded in flood and deliver them safely to their homes.
Early on during his first term as mayor of Davao City, I was fortunate to be present in a breakfast he had with the late Regional Development Council Chairman Atty. Jesus V. Ayala in the latter's residence. "Take care of the peace and order, and business will take care of itself," counseled JVA.
From the time Rodrigo Duterte took over the helm of the city government, Davao City took a major transformation. From being a New People's Army bastion and later a territory of organized crimes and drug syndicates, Duterte governed the city with uncompromising leadership. He neutralized kidnapers, leaders of criminal and drug syndicates. He banned smoking in public places, pyrotechnics, serving of alcoholic drinks after 1 a.m., and strictly imposed speed limits.
Not a few of course silently protested the impositions on their libertarian lifestyle. But how can one complain when the mayor himself and his daughter, not to mention some of his closest friends, were apprehended too and paid the fines and inconvenience. In the end we see a disciplined and law-abiding community. For Duterte the laws and ordinances are not enough. To strengthen law enforcement he borrowed money and established 911 emergency notification apparatus, the third of its kind in the world after the United States and Canada. It is equipped with ambulances and manned by trained and very efficient first aid personnel. 911 Davao is a rapid response to emergencies and therefore linked to police, fire department and hospitals. Under Duterte the City liberally spends its intelligence funds for police vehicles, motorcycles, network of grassroots intelligence apparatus that serves as eyes and ears of the mayor who is hands-on in his drive against crime.
When Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares complained that rice smuggling was so rampant to the point that there was a decline in tax collections from rice importers, she personally sought the assistance of Duterte. The mayor actually does not want to intrude into what is the core responsibility of the Bureau of Customs but when Henares asked for his assistance, he promptly went to work and identified the head of the rice smuggling syndicate. David Tan alias David Bangayan was positively identified by Duterte during the senate hearing. The problem was the Department of Justice slapped him with a lesser crime which was bailable. That David Tan was also operating in Cotabato and Lanao and I was informed that the documents among them IDs of the smuggling lord were provided by the Muslim assets of Duterte. You see the mayor does not leave a single stone unturned.
So we think that his iron fist policy on criminals is only known in Davao. We are wrong. When a business woman, Mrs. Chua of Quezon City was kidnapped she remembered Duterte, who according to her statement was her only salvation. She sweet-talked her kidnappers into withdrawing the ransom money in Davao City. It's a long ride from Quezon City to Davao and she could have opted to just have the ransom remitted to any bank along the way. But Chua did not take chances. She said she has better chances to survive in Davao because Duterte is there. She made the right decision because her abductors were all killed in a shootout and she survived to tell her story.
His famous feat against crime was not confined in Davao. All the major television channels rabidly exemplify Duterte. Anthony Taberna and Ted Faylon of ABS-CBN, Mike Enriquez of Super Radio GMA and the Tulfo Brothers of TV5 set as an example Davao City Mayor Duterte in waging war against all sorts of crime. TV Host Boy Abunda wonders why Duterte can instill discipline and why when one is in Davao he feel safe and secured.
For the past 30 days, Mayor Duterte is on a roadshow for Federalism. It is no wonder why local officials, business and civic leaders, the academe and the youth sectors accorded him warm welcome. This time they came close enough to see who this denim and faded t-shirt-attired mayor is. A mayor who can be down-to-earth he can speak the lingo of ordinary man on the street and yet can level up to tell us what Federalism can do to provide permanent solution to the strife in conflict areas in Mindanao and how wealth and government service can be equitably allocated for all the regions in the country.
Here is a leader so far remove from the league of the present crop of politicians some of whom made no reservations of wanting to become president. If we are to believe the surveys the statistics show that the respondents are wanting for an alternative. Even the captains of the industries and professionals -- members of the Rotary Clubs -- have invited Davao City Mayor Duterte to be their Guest of Honor and speaker in their upcoming District Conference. The Rotary District 3860 is composed of eastern Visayas Rotary Clubs as far north of Samar to Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and down to Surigao and Agusan provinces Comval, Davao provinces all the way to Saranggani. This of course includes the cities and municipalities.
Rotary District 3820, which is composed of Rotary Clubs from Batangas, Bicol, Laguna, Quezon, Masbate, Romblon and Mindoro, have also sent in their invitation.
By the way it is going, Digong will have his hands full. Since he will be facing these huge business assemblies he should be prepared to respond to questions about his business agenda.
I mused about this seriously. And I recall what he and JVA agreed as a basic formula. "Take care of the Peace and Order and leave business to business." In retrospect, the mayor is correct because Davao City has become a beacon for capital investments and Davaowenyos live in comfort and safety. He knew that businessmen know what exactly to do in an environment of peace.