Davao Mayor Sara Duterte turns violent in defense of illegal squatting

An imminent riot at a squatter demolition site and TV cameras on the scene. It seemed to be a perfect opportunity for a publicity stunt. Perhaps this was the motivation behind Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte's assault on court sheriff Abe Andres who was acting on orders from his superiors to proceed with a demolition of illegally-built structures that were home to 500 families in Barangay Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Suliman, Agdao.

Duterte was caught on camera as she launched at Andres fists swinging...

Footage taken by ABS-CBN Davao showed Duterte gesturing to Andres to come closer before punching him repeatedly in the face.

Two men were also seen holding on to Andres while Duterte held on to his collar and talked to him.

In an interview, Andres said Duterte's attack left him with contusions above his eye.

According to Duterte, she "lost her temper" after Andres allegedly expressed his intention to proceed with the demolition despite her request for a 2-hour reprieve.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo today said that Duterte could be "removed from her post" as a result of her acting on her "loss of control" over her anger at Andres. Before the incident, the illegal residents of the village had already started to attack Andres's demolition and the police officers escorting them by throwing rocks and sharp objects at them. The violent actions of the villagers -- assaulting city officials and police officers -- are, themselves, serious criminal offenses. It can be argued, it seems, that Duterte acted in defense of such illegal behaviour when she punched Andres in the face...

After learning that the situation had turned violent, Duterte-Carpio rushed to the site, summoned Andres — who was there to serve the court order — and punched him in the face and head as he was approaching.

Robredo said Duterte-Carpio could end up being either reprimanded or dismissed from public office due to her actions.

Presidential Decree No 772 which penalised "squatting and other criminal acts" was repealed by the infamous Republic Act No. 8368 or the "Anti-Squatting Law Repeal Act of 1997." Presidential Decree 772 was the basis for a successful jailing of thousands of squatters under the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Republic Act 8368 limited liability for criminal prosecution to "professional squatters" which, according to RA 7279, refers to...

[...] individuals or groups who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner and who have sufficient income for legitimate housing. The term shall also apply to persons who have previously been awarded homelots or housing units by the Government but who sold, leased or transferred the same to settle illegally in the same place or in another urban area, and non-bona fide occupants and intruders of lands reserved for socialized housing. The term shall not apply to individuals or groups who simply rent land and housing from professional squatters or squatting syndicates...

Since the repeal of PD 772, the euphemism "informal settler" has been used in "polite" society instead of the more descriptive word squatter. More recently, Occidental Mindoro Rep. Amelita Calimbas-Villarosa is pushing House Bill 2145 which extends the definition of the term "professional squatters" to include...

[...] any person or group of persons who with the use of force, intimidation or threat, or taking advantage of the absence or tolerance of the landowner, [who] succeeds in occupying or possessing the property of the latter against his will, and having received a written demand to either vacate or pay rent from said landowner, [...] refuse[s] to do so within a period of ninety (90) days.

This effectively broadens the scope of the Law to include a bigger portion of what common sense dictates is a squatter.