DUMAGUETE CITY—Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte considers his fight against crime in Davao City the “crowning glory” of his political career.
“Davao used to be a very, very troubled place,” the mayor recalled, noting that at one time “two to three” policemen ended up dead every day.
In a recent talk before the Veloso clan reunion at Bethel Hotel in this city, Duterte said he was pleased with what he has accomplished. “Somehow, I was able to talk things out with everybody,” he added.
When Duterte assumed as mayor in 1988, Davao City was considered the murder capital of Mindanao. Under his watch, the peace-and-order situation vastly improved such that it was cited by a crowd-sourced rating site as the fifth-safest city in the world.
The successful turnaround has captured the imagination of many people alarmed over the worsening peace-and-order situation in the country.
This is the reason Duterte wants all rebellion and secessionist movements in the country to stop, as a lasting peace is a prerequisite for sustainable economic progress.
Last week Duterte asked exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison to give up the armed struggle being waged by the New People’s Army and in exchange he will consider running for president.
Duterte was having dinner with high-ranking officers of the Armed Forces who were newly assigned to the Davao region, when the mayor received the telephone call from Sison, who is based in the Netherlands.
The exiled CPP founder asked Duterte if he could travel to Europe before the 2016 elections, and that Sison also wanted to know his political plans for 2016, Duterte told the military officers later.
“He said he would like to talk to me and ask me about my plans for 2016,” Duterte told the military officers after the telephone call.
Duterte then told Sison that he was not planning on going to Europe anytime soon and that he is not yet 100-percent sure of running for president.