Drug suspect dead, others left Davao after Duterte’s ultimatum

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Drug pushers in Davao have decreased in number after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte issued on Monday an ultimatum ordering outlaws to leave the city or get killed.

“If you are into drugs, I’m warning you. I’m giving you 48 hours, 48 hours. If I see you there (Dewey Boulevard), I’ll have you killed,” said Duterte.

“Believe me. I’m being candid about it. If I still see you there, I’ll kill you,” he added.

Duterte claimed that he knew the identities and whereabouts of the drug pushers in his city because the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has given him a list.

“So get out now. I know where you live. I’ll finish you if you are still there,” warned Duterte.

On Tuesday, just a day after Duterte threatened to kill drug dealers, Armanuel Atienza was shot dead by police operatives in Davao after resisting arrest during an entrapment operation. Atienza was a member of the city’s Barangay Peace and Order Unit.

According to Supt. Roland Lao of San Pedro police station, in an interview with Inquirer.net, a handgun and sachets of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) was in possession of Atienza when he was killed.

“We had repeatedly asked him to stop but he did not listen. So on Tuesday, we launched the operation and he got killed in the process,” told Lao.

“When drug pushers violently resist during operations, our policemen can fire back,” Supt. Antonio Rivera, spokesperson of the Southern Mindanao police, told Inquirer.net

Another suspect named Leo Julius Monterola was arrested in the operation, said Lao.

Intelligence reports showed that some of the Davao’s drug dealers have disappeared from Dewey Boulevard, the area that Duterte mentioned on Monday during a command conference with the police and the military, told Senior Insp. Milgrace Driz, spokesperson of Davao City Police office, to Inquirer.net.