The Tragedy of Violence

Anyone who saw the video of Mayor Sarah Duterte repeatedly punching the sheriff cannot deny at least two things: she was angry and she was violent. Yes, she was.

I did not have the chance to know personally the late Soling Duterte, the mother of Rodrigo Duterte, Sarah’s father. But I know that Soling fought the violence of Marcos in a non-violent way.

Today, his son Rodrigo is known for keeping Davao City in order (not necessarily peaceful and lawful) and for being feared by the people. People follow the rules because they are afraid of the consequences. That is not necessarily bad. In fact, I prefer Duterte to Nograles, one of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s henchmen.

But that does not prevent me from saying that the tragedy of what has happened to Davao City is the fact that its people now have a higher tolerance for violence. Some of my friends in Davao City, among them women, defended Sarah’s public display of violence.

When Rodrigo Duterte was the mayor, he played Robinhood or Diego Salvador. He literally disciplined the people in his city into submission, including the communist and muslim rebels who roam around his turf. I thought that with Sarah as the new lady mayor, the Duterte administration would have a more humane face. But I was wrong. She didn’t even apologize for what she did.

It will be difficult for Davao City to recover from this culture of violence. This is a huge challenge to Davao’s peace advocates. Let there be Light!