Philippine president’s city ‘under Daesh threat’

By Hader Glang

ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines (AA) – A southern Philippines city where President Rodrigo Duterte served 22 years as mayor is facing threats from Daesh, Davao City’s acting leader said Thursday.

News broadcaster ABS-CBN quoted Paolo Duterte, the newly sworn-in president’s son, as saying that authorities were intensifying intelligence monitoring to further verify information about the threat posed by Daesh -- to which some armed groups in Mindanao island have pledged allegiance.

Calling on the public to remain calm and vigilant, he said he had already instructed the military and police in the Davao region to beef up security.

A spokesman for Eastern Mindanao Command, Maj. Ezra Balagtey, said that it had “directed subordinates to intensify intelligence and monitoring in Davao considering that this is his [Rodrigo Duterte’s] showcase.”

Under Duterte, who won the May 9 election on a crime-fighting campaign, Davao was transformed from a crime-ridden hovel to a peaceful and investment-friendly city. Duterte, who took office June 30, is the first Philippine leader to hail from Mindanao.

Balagtey was quoted Thursday as saying that authorities had yet to verify the Daesh threat, but underlined that Davao City always had to remain on alert due to its proximity to troubled areas in Western Mindanao, including the Abu Sayyaf strongholds of Sulu and Basilan island.

“With or without the threat, we have intensified our anti-terrorism efforts in Davao City because the Kadayawan [August thanksgiving festival] draws near, and because of the frequent stay of President Duterte here,” he added.

He underlined that military personnel in Davao “have been on their toes since President Duterte emerged as the leading candidate in pre-election surveys”.

Duterte has pledged to curb corruption and criminality within three to six months of his presidential term, vowing to re-impose the death penalty and offering a bounty for the capture of drug suspects.

He had also made overtures toward the country’s communist insurgency and its one-time largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is involved in an ongoing peace process.