DUTERTE BELIEVES IN OWN BRAND OF JUSTICE

He is often referred as the "Enforcer" or just "Dirty Harry". But for Davao
City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the names mean nothing.

He is proud of his tough, no-nonsense approach to law and order in this
city of just over 1.3 million people.

In the 1980s, Davao resembled a wild-west town with communist guerrilla
death squads as well as anti-communist militias roaming the city.

The port area was so notorious for crime and killings, it was called
Nicaragdao just to reflect the chaos that existed in Nicaragua at the time.

Today, it is Duterte's proud boast that "anyone can walk around my city day
or night without fear", and Davao now markets itself as "the safest city in
the Philippines."

Duterte insists that street crime is at an all-time low, and figures
supplied by the police appear to back him up.

The number of rapes in Davao have more than halved from 94 in 2000 to 45
last year, while robberies have plummeted from 94 to 57 over the same period.

The figures for murder, however, tell a different story, painting an
altogether more sinister picture of Davao that is at odds with the gleaming
success story Duterte insists it is.

Killings have risen steadily since 2000, when 71 people were murdered. The
figure rose to 73 in 2001, 104 in 2002 before soaring to 120 last year.

Many of these murders are said to be the work of a vigilante group known as
the Davao Death Squad (DDS), who single out drug dealers and drug pushers
for execution. Duterte's critics accuse him of sanctioning the vigilante
group's activities, a claim he vehemently denies.

According to data compiled by the coalition against summary execution, a
group of nine NGOs established in 2001, two people were summarily executed
in 1998. It rose to 16 in 1999; 11 in 2000; 29 in 2001; 59 in 2002; and 98
last year.

Paul Relacion, who runs a program for troubled youngsters, said the cases
of summary executions, especially among Davao's youth, was "alarming".

"I am not pointing a finger directly at him (Duterte) but judging from his
public pronouncements during his campaign rallies he could be involved," he
said. Relacion cited a campaign rally recently where the mayor said: "If I
am going to make it as a mayor again, better get your criminal kids off the
street."

"Reading between the lines the mayor is giving a warning to parents whose
kids are troublesome," Relacion said.

Another social worker, who requested anonymity, said: "Children do not
deserve to die like this."

"Many children are involved in petty crimes because they are poor and are
into solvent drugs to help them forget that they have not eaten. It is
absurd to say they are criminals when they are in fact the victims."

She cited an example of Clarita Alia, in her 60s who has lost three sons --
Richard, Christopher and Bobby -- to death squads.

Following a spate of kidnappings towards the end of 2001 Duterte went on
local television in January 2002 and read out the names of suspected
kidnappers living in the city. The kidnappings soon stopped.

But it is drugs and in particular the dealers and pushers the 59-year-old
former prosecutor loathes with a passion. Many of those who are executed
are known to local police and have criminal records.

"I tell my police officers that when their lives are put in jeopardy by
these people. Shoot them in the head. There is no point in aiming for the
arm or leg," he said in an interview with AFP.

"You can't talk to them. They have no respect for human life. They deserve
to die."

Duterte said: "If there has been a rise in so-called vigilante drug-related
killings in this city then so be it. But I have nothing to do with this.

"Drugs, what ever kind, kill people. They destroy lives. They destroy
families and communities.

"I know what people say behind my back and I am ready to accept criticism
but I won't accept drugs. I say to drug dealers 'come to Davao but come at
your own peril."

Mayor for three terms 1988 to 1998, Duterte was elected to Congress in July
1998 serving one term before being re-elected as mayor in July 2001.

Under the Philippine constitution, mayors can only serve three successive
terms. Duterte is seeking his second three-year term and few doubt he will lose.