After tagging the hometown of the President as the “most dangerous city in the Philippines,” the local officials of Davao City have declared opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes as persona non grata.
“We do not need you here in Davao City. You are unwelcome and unwanted in our city of Davao,” Vice Mayor Bernard Al-Ag said in a privilege speech on Tuesday.
Al-ag also said that Trillanes’ continuous efforts in putting the city and the chief executive in a bad light will never succeed.
It can be recalled that Trillanes said in a 2017 media briefing that “Davao City is not a paradise, contrary to what they tell proudly. Is there peace and order there? There’s none. It is one of the most dangerous places in the country.”
“Mr. Trillanes, you will not succeed in destroying our city. You will not succeed in destroying our beloved President Rodrigo Duterte,” Ag-ag said.
In response to Davao City’s move, an unfazed Trillanes said that his remarks were based on the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) statistics which stated that Davao City has the “highest incidence of murder and second highest in rape.”
“The people of Davao either know it but tolerate it out of fear or they’ve actually believed the lie that was fed to them that Davao City is the safest city in the world,” the senator added.
Aside from Trillanes, Filipino-American businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis was also declared “persona non grata” in Davao City.
Despite his persona non grata status, Trillanes is not barred from entering the city.
(DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 02/ 13 /18)