Group of mayors seeks dialogue with Duterte over killings

Socorro, Oriental Mindoro mayor and president of The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Maria Fe Brondial (far right). (PCOO)

MANILA, Philippines — A group of mayors on Wednesday, June 4 said that it has requested to engage in a dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss the recent killings of two town mayors.

Speaking over radio DZMM, Socorro, Oriental Mindoro mayor and president of The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Maria Fe Brondial raised alarm over the assassinations of Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili, and General Tinio, Nueva Ecija Mayor Ferdinand Bote, who were killed on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

“Nakakalungkot po talaga ang mga nangyaring ito sa ating mga mayors na karumal-dumal. Sa mga nangyaring ito ngayon, nakikita natin na wala nang takot ang mga pumapatay — wala nang takot sa Diyos at wala nang… respeto sa mga buhay ng mga tao. Nakakatakot talagang maging public official (The gruesome incidents that are happening to our mayors are really saddening. With what is going on, we can see that murderers have lost fear — lost fear in God and lost respect towards the lives of the people. It’s really frightening to become a public official),” Brondial said.

In her meeting with the president, Brondial would also be talking about the government’s ‘narco list’ and the removal of police powers from some mayors.

She said that the LMP had previously requested to the former DILG secretary to restore the police powers of mayors who were stripped off of it following their inclusion to Duterte’s ‘narco list.’

“Ngayon, talagang kakausapin ko na ng personal ang president para dito (Now, I will personally talk to the president for this),” Brondial said.

She added that the mayors who are on the ‘narco list’ have expressed fear following the killings of their fellow mayors.

“Natatakot po kasi lalo ang ating mga mayors na nasa listahan. Ang sabi nila, ‘Mayor, hindi naman talaga kami kasali d’yan. Bakit kami napasama?’ Kaya’t nakaka-awa din ang mga mayors na ganoon (Our mayors on the [narco] list are really frightened. They said, ‘Mayor, we’re not really part of the [drug trade]. Why are we included [in the narco list]?’ That’s why those mayors are also pitiful),” Brondial said.

She also stressed that the rule of law should be applied to erring public officials and not violence.

“Kung sakali pong may maling nagawa ang ibang mayors, hindi naman po tama na patayin sila. Mayroon tayong korte. Mayroon tayong Ombudsman, may DILG, kung saan pwede nating isampa ang mga reklamo laban sa mga maling mayors, pero hindi dapat paslangin (If other mayors committed mistakes, it is not right to kill them. We have the court. We have the Ombudsman, the DILG, where we can lodge complaints against the erring mayors, but they shouldn’t be killed),” she said.