Malacañang defers comment on Duterte assault

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang today said it is deferring its comment on the assault by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on a local court sheriff over a violent demolition in the city yesterday morning.

"We are deferring our comment because as we know, the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) has already initiated an investigation," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview on state-run radio dzRB when asked to react on Duterte's mauling of City Court Sheriff Abe Andres.

Valte said that Malacañang does not want to make it look like that President Aquino is biased and has prejudged the incident.

She said President Aquino will be giving his take on the incident after the result of the DILG's administrative investigation has been elevated to him.

"The investigation has been initiated. As such, we will observe the process. We do not wish to give the impression that it had been prejudged," Valte said.

"It will be elevated to President Aquino for his decision," she added.

The presidential spokesperson, meanwhile, assured that the political alliance between President Aquino and Mayor Duterte will not affect the judgment on the administrative investigation.

The mayor has supported Aquino's presidential campaign in 2010.

Valte, meanwhile, said that even if the court sheriff had already expressed that he will not sue Duterte, the administrative investigation will still push through.

"Criminal charges are separate from the administrative charges under the DILG," she said.

Mayor Duterte was seen in video footage hitting Andres with a closed fist in the face at least four times. The sheriff walked away after the beating, but he was taken by at least a man, who appeared to be an aide of the mayor, and brought to Duterte again.

The visibly irate mayor was also seen grabbing the sheriff by the hair while talking to him.

Duterte said she got angry at the sheriff for refusing to heed her request to give a two-hour extension before the implementing the order of demolition of shanties in Barangay Agdao.

She said that she did not want to prevent the demolition and just wanted to see to it that it was done peacefully. As it turned out, the demolition, which was marred by violence, was done without the mayor's presence.

“That was why I asked for just two hours. Unfortunately, while I was in the middle of assisting the flood victims, reports reached me that a riot already erupted in the area and that a policeman was sent to the hospital and several other people were also already wounded. That was why I had to rush to the area,” she said.