DAVAO MAYOR CHANGING TACK ON EXTRA-JUDICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 000526 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, DRL/CRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR RP SUBJECT: DAVAO MAYOR CHANGING TACK ON EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS? REF: A. 05 MANILA 5749 ¶B. 05 MANILA 5521 ¶C. 05 MANILA 3754 Classified By: Acting Pol/C Joseph L. Novak for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Extra-judicial killings in Davao, Mindanao, continue, but at a lower level than in 2005. So far, there have been five summary killings in 2006, which is less than 2005's roughly 13 per month average. Observers believe that the Mayor of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte, may be worried about investigations and newly concerned with the city's image, and thus may be re-thinking his support for brutal "law and order" tactics. During meetings in Davao, February 2-3, Acting Pol/C underscored that the killings need to stop. If Duterte has indeed changed his stripes (and that is by no means clear),it would be positive human rights news. End Summary. A Dip In Killings -------------- ¶2. (C) So far, there have been five summary killings in Davao city, Mindanao, as of early February 2006, according to Kabataan Consortium, a network of NGOs based in the Davao area. This compares with the figure of 153 extra-judicial killings in Davao for all of 2005, or roughly 13 per month (see ref A for further background). During a February 2 meeting with Acting Pol/C who was visiting Davao, Manny Roldan, Kabataan's program coordinator, said the profile of the victims in 2006 had so far been very similar to those in the past: most of them were young (under 25),male, poor, and allegedly involved in criminal activities, such as the drug trade. Roldan remarked that family members of the victims have not wanted to press complaints with the police, which has been the case in the past, too. A Change in Perspective by Duterte? -------------- ¶3. (C) Asked whether the lower numbers for 2006 represent any trend, Roldan said he thought that they might. Roldan explained that the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent GRP agency that investigates graft and dereliction of duty by government officials, had suspended four Davao-based Philippine National Police (PNP) officers in 2005 for their failure to look into the summary killings in an adequate manner. While the Court of Appeals had reinstated the officers in a subsequent decision based on technicalities, Roldan commented that he thought that Mayor Duterte and his supporters (including those in the PNP) had taken note. In doing so, they may have decided not "to green light" (at least not as often as in the past) the "Davao Death Squad," a shadowy, underground network made up of former criminals and militants that reputedly carries out the killings. Roldan quickly added that none of Duterte's public statements had indicated that he was taking a new tack, however. ¶4. (C) Alfred Sipaco, the Regional Director for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR),agreed with many of Roldan's points. (Note: The CHR is an independent governmental agency that investigates alleged human rights abuses. End Note.) Sipaco added that he thought that Duterte might be newly concerned with the city's image. The Mayor, he related, had played host to the ASEAN Tourist Forum (ATF) in January and had done his best to paint a picture of Davao as a modern city at the center of a vital region that includes Mindanao, nearby islands in the western Pacific area, and the Indonesian island of Sulawesi to the south. Sipaco commented that his relationship with Duterte had cooled over the years (although Duterte was the godfather of two of his children) due to various CHR investigations of City Hall, but he thought that Duterte and many in the local business community might be beginning to think twice before unequivocally supporting summary killings as a way to stop crime -- "People in Davao know that it is the Philippines' third largest city and believe that it can play even a bigger national and international role if it becomes more sophisticated." (Note: Strong traces of Duterte's confrontational style, however, emerged during the ATF when he reportedly stated that Davao was a safer city than American cities and would be "heaven" if it had as much funding as American cities. End Note.) Underscoring Concerns about Killings -------------- MANILA 00000526 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) During his meetings in Davao, Acting Pol/C underscored that the killings need to stop. While noting that the numbers for 2006 seem to be down, which was positive, Acting Pol/C told Vice Mayor Luis Bonguyan (a 1991 IVP grantee) and Patricia Ruivivar, Duterte's Chief of Staff, that impunity has to end and perpetrators of past murders brought to justice. (Note: Duterte was in Manila for a health check-up and was not available for a meeting. End Note.) Bonguyan and Ruivivar denied any sort of City Hall involvement in the killings, but added that the city was "proud to have the lowest crime rate of any major municipality in the Philippines." Acting Pol/C made similar points in a meeting with Davao area PNP Chief Catalino Cuy, who asserted that most of the killings were related to "gangs" and had little to do with vigilantes, adding that the killings were not officially sanctioned in any case. ¶6. (C) Acting Pol/C also emphasized concerns about the summary killings in separate meetings with Davao area Congressmen Prospero Nograles, the House Majority Leader, and Vincent Garcia. In response, Nograles and Garcia basically threw up their hands, noting that Duterte was "very popular" with the public due to his tough stance on law and order and was considered "unbeatable" in any political race he chose to run in. Acting Pol/C noted that the killings were a discredit to the city and only damaged its reputation. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) If Duterte indeed has changed his stripes (and that is by no means clear),it would be positive human rights news. Davao -- which is otherwise a growing and increasingly prosperous city -- has had a poor reputation for years now due to the killings. Unfortunately, the use of summary killings have spread in recent years to such major cities as Cebu and to smaller towns (ref B). Mission will continue to emphasize that the killings and impunity for perpetrators need to end. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ Jones